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Best New Critters

Hi,

I've always quite liked owls so the thought of them as maneaters seems a little off to me. A hawk or an eagle I'd understand more. The shriek I like - it fits with an animal attack. But the lighning cast doesn't seem to me to work so well. The strix are still animals and so in my mind shouldn't be able to cast magic. That takes some sort of intelligence. Having magic on the other hand that you don't need to cast works better. So maybe lightning sometimes flashes from their talons when they strike - that sort of thing? Magic that is in keeping with instinct etc.

Cheers, Greg.
 

X Equestris

Maester
They aren't actually owls, that's just the closest physical resemblance. Their wings, for example, are more on the scale of the smallest of the prehistoric teratorns.

As for magic, they are somewhat intelligent, though not comparable to humans. Their intelligence and problem solving skills are greater than that of of any modern bird. I think the closest Earth animal in terms of intelligence would be an elephant.

Edit: and the magic itself is more along the lines of a dragon's breath attack than a spell that would be cast by a human magic user.
 

Mindfire

Istar
Cool thread! Here's a critter I haven't used in years.

The Luan--

In its true form, the luan is a vaguely humanoid monster with black skin, yellow eyes, and numerous spines sprouting from its head, arms, and back. A creature of the supernatural, it is not entirely corporeal, which gives it the appearance of an animate shadow.

The Luan cannot live in its true form for more than a few years, or else it will fade away. Instead, it feeds on the life force of its victims (usually humans, occasionally large mammals such as deer) and inhabits their bodies after they have died. It lures its victims to it by creating an illusion of something they value--a dead loved one's voice calling, or perhaps a spring of clean water--and then engulfs them in its shadow-like body. It sucks away their energy, leaving an empty shell behind, which the luan then enters.

To survive in its victims' bodies, the luan has to be an expert at mimicry. It integrates the victim's memories into its own, essentially becoming its own prey. Often it will "return" to its victims' homes and live with their families and friends without detection. In this way, when it has spent its current form's energy, it has a variety of new victims to choose from.

However, the luan's greatest strength is also its greatest curse. Sometimes the host's memories are too powerful, and the luan's own mind is overwhelmed. It may be confused at first as to which memories are its own. Occasionally, if the victim's mind is especially strong, the luan will become its host. It will lose all memory of its own life and believe it is its host until its death, or until its original memories are reawakened.

Inventive! It sounds like something that would be on Doctor Who.
 
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Mindfire

Istar
Here are a few of my more unconventional specimens:

Makai: a dangerous creature with the appearance of a human woman from the waist up and a giant spider from the waist down. They are extremely venomous and can excrete webbing of exceptional strength. According to legend, they occasionally fall in love with and kidnap human males, and can transform their spider half into a vaguely humanoid form in order to facilitate this. What happens afterward is not known.

Sapsucker: semi-sentient plant parasites that derive sustenance from dryad tree hosts. They can also use the astral forms projected by their host dryad as a puppet once they gain full control. A sapsucker's influence causes a dryad to gradually weaken and its mind to become confused and unstable. Eventually the sapsucker will strangle the dryad or poison its heartwood, causing death. Once this occurs, it will seek out a new host. Sapsuckers will also devour humans and animals, luring them with bright fruit or deceptive smells.

Rashayat: also called fire-phantoms, these are malevolent, amorphous creatures of fire and liquid glass which haunt the desert at night and terrorize weary travelers, bringing nightmares and presenting cunning illusions of their victim's deepest fears. Their true nature is unknown, but accounts of their origins abound, including a version which claims they are the disembodied spirits of conceited wilderness ascetics who spent so much time meditating on their own magical power that their neglected bodies withered away and they lost their humanity, causing them to seek to regain it by feeding on the emotions of others.
 
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Shreddies

Troubadour
Makai: a dangerous creature with the appearance of a human woman from the waist up and a giant spider from the waist down. They are extremely venomous and can excrete webbing of exceptional strength. According to legend, they occasionally fall in love with and kidnap human males, and can transform their spider half into a vaguely humanoid form in order to facilitate this. What happens afterward is not known.

Sounds a bit like the Jorōgumo from Japanese folklore. Half-woman half-spider with the ability to change into a human woman (or, more likely, simply appear as one). Lures men into a secluded area then eats them.
 

Mindfire

Istar
Sounds a bit like the Jorōgumo from Japanese folklore. Half-woman half-spider with the ability to change into a human woman (or, more likely, simply appear as one). Lures men into a secluded area then eats them.

That's actually what I based on (Spider Woman - East Asian mythical creature), though I didn't know it by that name at the time. Now that I know its actual name I might change the name of mine to reflect that. Perhaps a shortened version of the original name.
 
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Hi,

Just to add there's half dark elf (drow) half spider creatures from Neverwinter and D and D called the driders.

Cheers, Greg.
 
Probably not my invention but a forest full of plants and trees that drink blood is a part of my story. It's the location where the vampires were created and the curse they inherited turned the forest into a hideous place.
 

skrite

Scribe
Probably not my invention but a forest full of plants and trees that drink blood is a part of my story. It's the location where the vampires were created and the curse they inherited turned the forest into a hideous place.

very very cool.
 
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