The Odontotyrannos Alexander and his men encountered near India according to Medieval accounts is a worthy adversary for a S&C campaign on the southern silk road.



The Skolex Worms of the Indus River are also worth looking into.

There is a forested region in the Kingdom of Norway (historically, it's part of Sweden now) called Alfheim. Supposedly it is called such because it once ruled by a Norse King called Alf the Old in whose line there was no small amount of Elvish blood. It was said that the local nobility who claimed ties with Alf's ancient line were exceptionally good looking due to their elven descent. Alf would have ruled around the 5th century based on his contemporaries in the sagas (probably), but who ruled the generations before? In a fantastical Europe, it would likely have been the elves. Alfheim in Norway would be a good spot for the hidden ruins of ancient elf colonies dating back to antiquity. These isolated spots of decadent, supernatural civilization far beyond the Limes Germanicus could be interesting in a classical Roman game as well if you're foolhardy enough to travel that far beyond the frontiers.

Alfheim is in present-day Bohuslan.

The Mayan culture has a creature called the Xtabay, which would be somewhat similar to a "siren" of the woods. 

The Xtabay appears in front of drunken or unfaithful men to lure them with her uncanny beauty into the woods to lead them to their death by tripping or hitting their head on the Ceiba tree which is considered a sacred tree connecting heaven, earth and the underworld.

Also, they have something called an "Alux" which is a mischievous small creature that is normally invisible and hides objects to play pranks.

To my surprise, it seems it is very similar to the german "Kobold". Which made me wonder where the D&D kobold as a small reptilian creature came from. Japenese media portray the kobold as basically canine folk.

https://abookofcreatures.com/ cross-references a lot of weird creatures with citations and includes fact checking to fix fakelore. A lot of these creatures are weird, particularly when it comes to things like harvesting their body parts for ingredients.

Fearsome critters are my favorite because they're Americana. D&D owes so much to the Old West, so I think there need to be more overt western influences and fearsome critters. Less Lord of the Rings, more Wizard of Oz. Cowboys fighting orcs and snallygasters. But I suppose that's for a different thread

Quote from: Cipher on January 22, 2024, 09:23:54 PM
To my surprise, it seems it is very similar to the german "Kobold". Which made me wonder where the D&D kobold as a small reptilian creature came from. Japanese media portray the kobold as basically canine folk.

There are similar creatures in almost every culture, it's quite fascinating. As for the appearance, Bell's kobold art in OD&D was gnome-like as per many folkloric depictions. Sutherland depicted them as scaly devil-dog things based on his interpretation of Gary's write up in the AD&D monster manual. WOTC went further and made them reptile guys distantly related to dragons for some reason. Japanese art has them as dogmen because the version of D&D first released in Japan was the Basic set with the very canine Erol Otus art, then Lodoss War and the Japanese ports of Wizardry ran with that direction.

Speaking of dogmen...


The Southern Slavs of the Balkans have a demonic monster called a Psoglav which is dog-headed. They have the one-eyed (some accounts say 3 eyes) head of a dog, body shape of a man, teeth of iron, and the hooves of a horse. It is said they love to feast on human flesh, especially women and children. In addition to eating live people, they may dig up graves to consume corpses not unlike ghouls. It is said they dwell in caves or some presumably subterranean, sunless realm filled with gold and gemstones. Some Slavs say they are associated with the underworld or the Slavic god Veles. Other Slavs insist they are a problem in the far east as well, but I've seen no non-Slavic sources which corroborate this unless they are being conflated with more typical cynocephali.

Incidentally, ancient sources say the Argonauts battled groups of classical cynocephali along the Danube in the Serbia-Hungary area as well. Truly the Slavic lands are dark and full of terrors.

Quote from: WERDNA on January 24, 2024, 11:23:54 PM

Quote from: Cipher on January 22, 2024, 09:23:54 PM
To my surprise, it seems it is very similar to the german "Kobold". Which made me wonder where the D&D kobold as a small reptilian creature came from. Japanese media portray the kobold as basically canine folk.

There are similar creatures in almost every culture, it's quite fascinating. As for the appearance, Bell's kobold art in OD&D was gnome-like as per many folkloric depictions. Sutherland depicted them as scaly devil-dog things based on his interpretation of Gary's write up in the AD&D monster manual. WOTC went further and made them reptile guys distantly related to dragons for some reason. Japanese art has them as dogmen because the version of D&D first released in Japan was the Basic set with the very canine Erol Otus art, then Lodoss War and the Japanese ports of Wizardry ran with that direction.

THANK YOU! That was very informative!

The forest spirits in Scandinavia are called Skogsra. The most common type in folklore is the Huldra or Hulder. These are generally female faerie beings (the less common males are Huldrekall) which live in the northern forests. She appears as a beautiful woman with a few differences: the tail of a cow or fox, and a hollow opening in her back. The area around and within this "hollow" is compared with a tree and is presumably wooden making these fey plant-woman hybrid beings of a sort. The males may additionally possess furry legs or be outright portrayed as trolls.

In folk tales, the disposition of the creature varies often based on how they are treated, but occasionally they are depicted as malevolent. They can lure people with harp playing, singing, or dancing akin to the elves. On the other hand, if well-treated they may offer helpful knowledge about the forest, help with work, or fishing advice. Several stories give them the strength of ten or so men (sounds dangerous in combat). There are stories of human men marrying them within the Church. In some this results in the loss of their beauty and they become hags; in others they retain their fair countenance and lose only their tails and hollow backs thus becoming human although they may still possess supernatural strength.

***************

The Wusebi/Five Color Paint Brush is an interesting magic item found in Song Dynasty Chinese folk lore. Whatever is painted with this brush becomes real or comes to life if a living thing.

***************

After having read a (Google-translated) article off the University of Tehran's website, today I learned that the Lammasu/Shedu of Mesopotamian and MM1 fame is still relevant to folklore in the medieval period as, under the Persian variant the Gopat/Gopaitioshah, the creatures still appear in Islamic Persian lore in the 13th century text Marzban-nameh. Here it is a bull-demon among the Div/Jinn cast out to live in the wilds and caves. In this new role, it is less like the ancient holy guardian daimon and perhaps more like the related Jewish Shedim. Like the Shedim the Gopat can be more neutral, although plenty if not most are evil.

I've done some reading and decided to make a post on characteristics of pre-modern folklorically accurate Oni.

For those who do not know Oni are hairy, ogrish demonic beings that haunt the wild and spooky places of Japan. In some stories they resemble fairies dancing in the woods and giving boons or curses, but in most they are opponents for the hero to overcome. In Buddhist influenced lore they also torture sinners in Hell. Oni are often supernatural beings or spirits in their own right, but some are the result of a person's soul being tainted with a large amount of evil, hate, envy, etc. and transforming into one (aided by black magic in a few accounts). It's a bit like chaos corruption really.

Oni Characteristics and Powers (could probably makes some good tables from these)

• Oni may be red, blue, green, black or yellow in color (probably other colors as well).
• Oni may have one, two, three or more eyes. Even as many as 15 (or 10,000 in the special case of Dodomeki) has been attested.
• Oni may have anywhere from 3 to 6 digits and varied amounts of horns (maybe even no horn)
• Some Oni have no mouths at all
• Range in size from that of a child (Ko-Oni) to about 7 feet to giants able to swallow a man in one gulp. Size generally correlates to power.
• Oni love eating meat and drinking blood (often human). They also love women and alcohol along with the drunken revelry that comes with.
• Oni may wield various weapons such as tetsubo, mallets, mancatchers, swords, spears, axes, iron staves, sickles, etc.
• Oni have supernatural strength and constitution.
• Some Oni have the power of flight. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Some Oni can survive decapitation as a flying head. (source: Shuten-Doji and Otakemaru)
• Some Oni can pick up and reattach their severed limbs. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Many Oni can transform into both men and women. (source: Ibaraki-Doji, Otakemaru, etc.)
• Some Oni can summon thunder and Lightning.
• Some Oni can cause earthquakes.
• Some Oni can cause disease or bring forth plagues.
• Some Oni can summon strong gales. (source: Fuuki)
• Some Oni can cause floods. (source: Suiki)
• Some Oni can become invisible. (source: Ongyouki)
• Some Oni have hardened, near-invulnerable bodies. (source: Kinki)
• Some Oni can summon a rain of fire. (source: Kaki)
• Some Oni can move freely through earth and stone. (source: Doki)
• Many Oni can use magic. (source: Kidomaru, etc.)
• Oni may carry magical items. (source: Issunboshi's Oni)
• The greatest of Oni may persist after being slain as ghosts called Reiki.
• Powerful sorcerers have been reputed to bind Oni to their service. One member of the Fujiwara clan is said to have bound four to use as assassins.
• It is said throwing roasted soybeans in the faces of Oni will cause them to flinch buying time to flee.
• In some regions, magic charms made from sardine heads and holly are used to ward them off.
• The Oni of Kyoto's Suzakumon was capable of using magic and corpse parts to create an artificial human. Had it been left alone for 100 days it would have gained a soul and become a true human too. This Oni was also skilled at various board games and music.

Notes: The colors given are associated with the 5 Elements. It also seems worthy of note that one-eyed Oni are more common in more ancient tales from the Heian and Kamakura periods. Perhaps the various one-eyed youkai of the Edo period diverged from these Oni in folklore over time. I included specific folkloric Oni attested with the given powers as sources when available.

The Kijo is the female counterpart of the Oni and is also called the Hannya. Features can include horns, claws, demonic or haglike visages, tusk-like fangs, large yellowish eyes, snake bodies, blue or white skin, and white hair. Generally the amount of demonic features increases with the power and corruption of the individual from nearly human to completely monstrous. Kijo in folklore are almost always formed from women consumed by dark emotions or black magic. They can take a human form and in the powerful cases a draconic/serpentine form. Some can wield fire and/or breathe it. They are skilled in sorcery, curses, illusions, and the crafting of poisons and potions. One of the most commonly described powers is sending forth an ikiryo, an astral body of a living being which haunts a victim like a ghost often causing illness. Newly corrupted Kijo may do this unconsciously or accidentally.

Quote from: WERDNA on February 01, 2024, 02:08:59 AM
I've done some reading and decided to make a post on characteristics of pre-modern folklorically accurate Oni.

For those who do not know Oni are hairy, ogrish demonic beings that haunt the wild and spooky places of Japan. In some stories they resemble fairies dancing in the woods and giving boons or curses, but in most they are opponents for the hero to overcome. In Buddhist influenced lore they also torture sinners in Hell. Oni are often supernatural beings or spirits in their own right, but some are the result of a person's soul being tainted with a large amount of evil, hate, envy, etc. and transforming into one (aided by black magic in a few accounts). It's a bit like chaos corruption really.

Oni Characteristics and Powers (could probably makes some good tables from these)

• Oni may be red, blue, green, black or yellow in color (probably other colors as well).
• Oni may have one, two, three or more eyes. Even as many as 15 (or 10,000 in the special case of Dodomeki) has been attested.
• Oni may have anywhere from 3 to 6 digits and varied amounts of horns (maybe even no horn)
• Some Oni have no mouths at all
• Range in size from that of a child (Ko-Oni) to about 7 feet to giants able to swallow a man in one gulp. Size generally correlates to power.
• Oni love eating meat and drinking blood (often human). They also love women and alcohol along with the drunken revelry that comes with.
• Oni may wield various weapons such as tetsubo, mallets, mancatchers, swords, spears, axes, iron staves, sickles, etc.
• Oni have supernatural strength and constitution.
• Some Oni have the power of flight. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Some Oni can survive decapitation as a flying head. (source: Shuten-Doji and Otakemaru)
• Some Oni can pick up and reattach their severed limbs. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Many Oni can transform into both men and women. (source: Ibaraki-Doji, Otakemaru, etc.)
• Some Oni can summon thunder and Lightning.
• Some Oni can cause earthquakes.
• Some Oni can cause disease or bring forth plagues.
• Some Oni can summon strong gales. (source: Fuuki)
• Some Oni can cause floods. (source: Suiki)
• Some Oni can become invisible. (source: Ongyouki)
• Some Oni have hardened, near-invulnerable bodies. (source: Kinki)
• Some Oni can summon a rain of fire. (source: Kaki)
• Some Oni can move freely through earth and stone. (source: Doki)
• Many Oni can use magic. (source: Kidomaru, etc.)
• Oni may carry magical items. (source: Issunboshi's Oni)
• The greatest of Oni may persist after being slain as ghosts called Reiki.
• Powerful sorcerers have been reputed to bind Oni to their service. One member of the Fujiwara clan is said to have bound five to use as assassins.
• It is said throwing roasted soybeans in the faces of Oni will cause them to flinch buying time to flee.
• In some regions, magic charms made from sardine heads and holly are used to ward them off.
• The Oni of Kyoto's Suzakumon was capable of using magic and corpse parts to create an artificial human. Had it been left alone for 100 days it would have gained a soul and become a true human too. This Oni was also skilled at various board games and music.

Notes: The colors given are associated with the 5 Elements. It also seems worthy of note that one-eyed Oni are more common in more ancient tales from the Heian and Kamakura periods. Perhaps the various one-eyed youkai of the Edo period diverged from these Oni in folklore over time. I included specific folkloric Oni attested with the given powers as sources when available.

The Kijo is the female counterpart of the Oni and is also called the Hannya. Features can include horns, claws, demonic or haglike visages, tusk-like fangs, large yellowish eyes, snake bodies, blue or white skin, and white hair. Generally the amount of demonic features increases with the power and corruption of the individual from nearly human to completely monstrous. Kijo in folklore are almost always formed from women consumed by dark emotions or black magic. They can take a human form and in the powerful cases a draconic/serpentine form. Some can wield fire and/or breathe it. They are skilled in sorcery, curses, illusions, and the crafting of poisons and potions. One of the most commonly described powers is sending forth an ikiryo, an astral body of a living being which haunts a victim like a ghost often causing illness. Newly corrupted Kijo may do this unconsciously or accidentally.

At this point, I'm convinced that how you define an oni depends on the time and location.  I think I've come across more variations on oni than variations on elves/brownies/gnomes in European folklore.

Quote from: BadApple on December 19, 2023, 01:55:26 PM
The werewolf

The modern concept of the werewolf seems to be a creation of Edwardian fiction.  The idea that it is a curse that the sufferer doesn't have any control over is a rather new one.  The idea of a wolf-man bipedal creature is completely a Hollywood creation and was first done by Lon Cheney Jr. for the movie "The Wolf Man" in 1941.

In the Eastern European folklore tradition, a person could use magic to turn into a wolf using an item called a wolf strap.  Usually this was done to get into mischief and not be caught out as a human.  As with many folktale stories involving magic, you could dispel the transformation by speaking the person's real name.  Local traditions vary as to the competency of the person in wolf form; some stories have it where the werewolf was fully human mentally and others where they were still self aware but had their faculties dimmed to the level of a beast until they took human form.

An interesting aspect of the lore is that the wolf strap become part of the person that uses it.  If it is kept in a warm or cold place, the owner will always feel warm or cold.  Some variants hold that damage done to a wolf strap would be imparted to it's owner as well.

It's fascinating to me that so many cultures have some form of lycanthropy in their folklore.  The Hawaiians have sea turtles that that will transform into children and play with other children on the beach.  Eskimos have as a folklore tale that some seals are actually people and that they can take their seal skin off to engage with other people.  The Japanese of course have the takuni and fox shape shifters but they also had as part of their lore that shinobi could transform into wolves.  Some tribes in Africa see baboons as people with transforming abilities.  Australian aborigines have stories about people that shape shift into snakes.

Have you seen the film, "Brotherhood of the Wolf," which is based on a real French werewolf scare from revolutionary France?  Totally worth a watch.  I sometimes show it to my college students.

Quote from: Persimmon on February 01, 2024, 08:32:10 AM

Quote from: BadApple on December 19, 2023, 01:55:26 PM
The werewolf

The modern concept of the werewolf seems to be a creation of Edwardian fiction.  The idea that it is a curse that the sufferer doesn't have any control over is a rather new one.  The idea of a wolf-man bipedal creature is completely a Hollywood creation and was first done by Lon Cheney Jr. for the movie "The Wolf Man" in 1941.

In the Eastern European folklore tradition, a person could use magic to turn into a wolf using an item called a wolf strap.  Usually this was done to get into mischief and not be caught out as a human.  As with many folktale stories involving magic, you could dispel the transformation by speaking the person's real name.  Local traditions vary as to the competency of the person in wolf form; some stories have it where the werewolf was fully human mentally and others where they were still self aware but had their faculties dimmed to the level of a beast until they took human form.

An interesting aspect of the lore is that the wolf strap become part of the person that uses it.  If it is kept in a warm or cold place, the owner will always feel warm or cold.  Some variants hold that damage done to a wolf strap would be imparted to it's owner as well.

It's fascinating to me that so many cultures have some form of lycanthropy in their folklore.  The Hawaiians have sea turtles that that will transform into children and play with other children on the beach.  Eskimos have as a folklore tale that some seals are actually people and that they can take their seal skin off to engage with other people.  The Japanese of course have the takuni and fox shape shifters but they also had as part of their lore that shinobi could transform into wolves.  Some tribes in Africa see baboons as people with transforming abilities.  Australian aborigines have stories about people that shape shift into snakes.

Have you seen the film, "Brotherhood of the Wolf," which is based on a real French werewolf scare from revolutionary France?  Totally worth a watch.  I sometimes show it to my college students.

Love that movie.  Sometimes the French can make movies worth watching.

Quote from: BadApple on February 01, 2024, 07:52:30 AM

Quote from: WERDNA on February 01, 2024, 02:08:59 AM
I've done some reading and decided to make a post on characteristics of pre-modern folklorically accurate Oni.

For those who do not know Oni are hairy, ogrish demonic beings that haunt the wild and spooky places of Japan. In some stories they resemble fairies dancing in the woods and giving boons or curses, but in most they are opponents for the hero to overcome. In Buddhist influenced lore they also torture sinners in Hell. Oni are often supernatural beings or spirits in their own right, but some are the result of a person's soul being tainted with a large amount of evil, hate, envy, etc. and transforming into one (aided by black magic in a few accounts). It's a bit like chaos corruption really.

Oni Characteristics and Powers (could probably makes some good tables from these)

• Oni may be red, blue, green, black or yellow in color (probably other colors as well).
• Oni may have one, two, three or more eyes. Even as many as 15 (or 10,000 in the special case of Dodomeki) has been attested.
• Oni may have anywhere from 3 to 6 digits and varied amounts of horns (maybe even no horn)
• Some Oni have no mouths at all
• Range in size from that of a child (Ko-Oni) to about 7 feet to giants able to swallow a man in one gulp. Size generally correlates to power.
• Oni love eating meat and drinking blood (often human). They also love women and alcohol along with the drunken revelry that comes with.
• Oni may wield various weapons such as tetsubo, mallets, mancatchers, swords, spears, axes, iron staves, sickles, etc.
• Oni have supernatural strength and constitution.
• Some Oni have the power of flight. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Some Oni can survive decapitation as a flying head. (source: Shuten-Doji and Otakemaru)
• Some Oni can pick up and reattach their severed limbs. (source: Ibaraki-Doji)
• Many Oni can transform into both men and women. (source: Ibaraki-Doji, Otakemaru, etc.)
• Some Oni can summon thunder and Lightning.
• Some Oni can cause earthquakes.
• Some Oni can cause disease or bring forth plagues.
• Some Oni can summon strong gales. (source: Fuuki)
• Some Oni can cause floods. (source: Suiki)
• Some Oni can become invisible. (source: Ongyouki)
• Some Oni have hardened, near-invulnerable bodies. (source: Kinki)
• Some Oni can summon a rain of fire. (source: Kaki)
• Some Oni can move freely through earth and stone. (source: Doki)
• Many Oni can use magic. (source: Kidomaru, etc.)
• Oni may carry magical items. (source: Issunboshi's Oni)
• The greatest of Oni may persist after being slain as ghosts called Reiki.
• Powerful sorcerers have been reputed to bind Oni to their service. One member of the Fujiwara clan is said to have bound five to use as assassins.
• It is said throwing roasted soybeans in the faces of Oni will cause them to flinch buying time to flee.
• In some regions, magic charms made from sardine heads and holly are used to ward them off.
• The Oni of Kyoto's Suzakumon was capable of using magic and corpse parts to create an artificial human. Had it been left alone for 100 days it would have gained a soul and become a true human too. This Oni was also skilled at various board games and music.

Notes: The colors given are associated with the 5 Elements. It also seems worthy of note that one-eyed Oni are more common in more ancient tales from the Heian and Kamakura periods. Perhaps the various one-eyed youkai of the Edo period diverged from these Oni in folklore over time. I included specific folkloric Oni attested with the given powers as sources when available.

The Kijo is the female counterpart of the Oni and is also called the Hannya. Features can include horns, claws, demonic or haglike visages, tusk-like fangs, large yellowish eyes, snake bodies, blue or white skin, and white hair. Generally the amount of demonic features increases with the power and corruption of the individual from nearly human to completely monstrous. Kijo in folklore are almost always formed from women consumed by dark emotions or black magic. They can take a human form and in the powerful cases a draconic/serpentine form. Some can wield fire and/or breathe it. They are skilled in sorcery, curses, illusions, and the crafting of poisons and potions. One of the most commonly described powers is sending forth an ikiryo, an astral body of a living being which haunts a victim like a ghost often causing illness. Newly corrupted Kijo may do this unconsciously or accidentally.

At this point, I'm convinced that how you define an oni depends on the time and location.  I think I've come across more variations on oni than variations on elves/brownies/gnomes in European folklore.

Another fun oni fact.  In World War II some Japanese propaganda tried to portray the Allied leaders as oni.  It's not clear that it had much effect on the Japanese themselves and the Allied leaders didn't know what oni were so it failed on that count.

Along these lines, have you seen the Korean film, "The Wailing?"  Given this thread, you should absolutely see that film if you have not.

Quote from: BadApple on February 01, 2024, 07:52:30 AM
At this point, I'm convinced that how you define an oni depends on the time and location.  I think I've come across more variations on oni than variations on elves/brownies/gnomes in European folklore.

The art, at least, has remained more or less consistent. A typical oni in a Heian period picture scroll looks very much like one from the Edo or modern period.

In Germany, werewolves are almost always evil sorcerers, who turn themselves into wolves with the help of black magic (generally an enchanted wolf pelt). The most famous of these satanic werewolves is of course Peter Stubbe (aka Peter Stump), who was executed in 1589. A rather odd werewolf case is the Wolf of Ansbach (1685), who was supposedly an evil mayor returned from the dead.
An interesting creature of German folklore is the Moosweiblein (moss woman). Although moss men are sometimes mentioned, the moss women are much more common. They are described as small (around 3 feet), old, and ugly. They are often covered with moss or hairy. For some reason, the Wild Hunt likes to hunt them down and kill them.
One of my favorite "monsters" of Germanic folklore are the Fänggen (singular: Fang or Fangga) of Bavaria and Austria. Sometimes they are described as dryad-like fairies, but more often are depicted as wild giants. Johann Nepomuk von Alpenburg described them as follows: "huge, hairy all over the body, bristled, the face distorted, the mouth drawn from one ear to the other, the black hair of the head hanging full of beard lichens ... and reaches rough and shaggy down the back; in anger it curls up wildly, like a Fury's curls. The eyes are dark and night-black like coals, but also glow at times and and sparkle with lightning - the voice is a man's voice, rough and coarse. Their clothes are skirts of wildcat furs, coats of tree bark, and shaggy coats of foxes and other animals." 

Quote from: WERDNA on January 24, 2024, 11:23:54 PM
...
There are similar creatures in almost every culture, it's quite fascinating. As for the appearance, Bell's kobold art in OD&D was gnome-like as per many folkloric depictions. Sutherland depicted them as scaly devil-dog things based on his interpretation of Gary's write up in the AD&D monster manual.

I've always found the depictions of Kobolds as wrinkly cannibal gnomes to be far more evocative and sinister in appearance than when they are depicted in a more animal like anthropomorphic fashion...