Forums » Smalltalk » What's your favorite fantasy creature, and why?

Ahoy, fellas! During these merry hours of postponing all the important stuff that I should be doing, I took my thoughts off-track and reflected on how stinkin' epic some fantasy creatures are. Krakens, trolls, orcs, you name it, there's plenty of awesome non-human/non-real animal creatures that make their appearances in our stories and RPs. Though, of course, everyone's gotta have a few that they prefer over the rest, no? So, let's hear it: what non-existing creature's your favorite, and why do you feel that way? For me, it's either werewolves or dragons, although the former's slowly gaining the upper hand. Dragons've been my grind for the longest time, I think, but ironically the over-saturation of the type of dragons that I like (as in, I loved Spyro-like dragons for their anthropomorphic qualities, but now it seems like all dragons in media are that way, opposed to the savage monsters that they used to be) kinda made me lose interest in 'em. What's always appealed to me, though, is how apex predator'y and free they look! Being able to run, fight, hunt and do all the stuff your average lion and wolf can do, but also mastering the arcane arts, and even flight! I do believe it's the certain OPness of dragons that makes them so cool, plus, since they're as non-real as it gets, there's a lot of variation and creative freedom surrounding them too, which is favorable for writers/artists like most of us as well! As for werewolves, well, I dunno. I've always loved wolves, but the whole were- part only came later, after I was introduced to a children's book series in my country about a white werewolf boy and his shenanigans. I think the whole 'transformation' bit is what it makes these things so great; you don't have to be born a majestic ancient creature to be cool, you can just be a regular human during daytime and kick ass at night. Of course, there's a certain amount of angst surrounding lycanthropes that made them ever-so appealing for to edgy pre-teen Garn, and combined with the concept of being to transform into your favorite animal on steroids, it was an instant deal of the century. And, well, still sorta is- these days, I got my own 'species' of sci-fi not-werewolves that I happily deploy onto the RPing fields & future book series if given the chance. Guess it sticks to ya! Well, that's enough babblin' from me: feel free to post your essays or solid "i love x because i love 'em"-comments down below, and who knows- you might even find a couple of people who share your passion for certain critters (which can even lead to sick-ass RPs, wink-wink?). Either way, hope ye good folks have a fantastic day/night/whatever, & stay swag, sinners!

Oh man, it's tough for me to pick a favourite, but the first one that came to my mind when I read the title of this post is gryphons (or griffins, or griffons, or any other spelling you want to use.) I love them for the same reason I love dragons (big ol' majestic flying creature that I'm torn between wanting to befriend and become; anything that can fly is AWESOME to me.) The thing I like more about gryphons, though, is that I already love cats and birds, and gryphons just combine those two into one cool mix. Plus, I love the concept of gryphons that aren't just standard lion-eagles. There are so many possible combinations of big cats and birds of prey, or even cute little songbird/housecat combos which I think should be called gryphlings.
I also think gryphons are kind of underrepresented- or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places? I played this one cool text-based choose-your-own-adventure style game where you steal an abandoned gryphon egg and raise it (probably also where I got the idea of non-standard gryphon combinations?), and in some games they can be used as transportation, but I've never really seen anything else where they're actually significant to anything. Again, I could just be out of the loop- that happens a lot haha.
Either way, that's all I can think to say on the matter... for now. :]
Oh, but I also love every type of Fae collectively... and Unicorns. Just think they're neat.

Ooh, this is gonna be difficult... I like cryptids personally, especially Maine's Radiant Moose. But for strictly fantasy, I honestly love the big serpents like Jormungundr, Ouroboros, and I am hands-down in love with the ideas behind Spirit Bears and mainly, the Urayuli.

Garn knows my favourite cryptid 😏😉
But nightcrawlers are also adorable.

Questing beasts are a favourite purely cause they are underused and mistaken for other things (Yaaz just loves being a bit extra).

Sphinx recently have gotten onto my favourites list.

Red cap fae are cool too. And Wolpertingers.

Phoenix, ever since I was 11.

It'd be somewhat complicated to explain why but the TL;DR is that I've carried one around with me for a very long time.

I don't really distinguish much between the Greek and Chinese variants, to me both are equally interesting.

I've accepted that mermaids are my lifelong obsession and I'm not afraid to collect everything mermaid themed anymore. Why mermaids? No idea. I remember being in kindergarten and drawing a mermaid on a rock in the ocean. I remember always being drawn to these magical fish ladies, and the different stories about them. I remember swimming in the pool as a kid and pretending I was a mermaid.

At some point liking mermaids 'was for kids' and so I pretended they weren't my favorite fantasy creature anymore, until some years ago when I just fully embraced it.

Mermaids are amazing. I love their lore, the various cultural takes on them, how they're either vicious predators who lure humanfolk to their deaths or they're gentle creatures who soothe with their voices and save the drowned from their fate. They're drop dead gorgeous or they're terrifying and monstrous, but either way they're alluring and intriguing.

If I had the money and the means to, I would be one of those real life mermaids getting swole as heck from swimming around with a mermaid tail, no joke.

I have (and sometimes still sorta do) been a little self-concious about it for being so standard, but dragons. There are tons of amazing creatures and entities, both fantastic and real, but it just kinda always comes back to dragons for me. They're wonderfully varied, too, but it is the relatively "default" flying reptiles I stick with the most.

It's not just that draggos are super flippin' cool, either. I kinda associated myself with them for as long as I can remember (in more a shapeshifter way rather than a furry way), particularly variations of white (not D&D evil chromatic, mind you), most often silver, and more recently mercury. Awhile back, I even had strange moment involving feelings following the kinda spontaneous thought, "no gender, only dragon." (It's also been awhile since I decided I probably shouldn't overthink it.)

Specifics aside, my fondness for various mythical beings is a mix of a general fondness for fantasy, enjoying a lot of the imagery they get incorporated into, and learning about some of the various concepts people will have of them (though I'm usually pretty lazy about looking such things up unprompted). Some of the different entities to be labelled as "vampires," for example, are pretty crazy and frequently a lot more disconcerting than the sorts most folks think of (basically anything tied up in the Lugosi Dracula concept, and I'd argue even pretty much any European-based vampire concept still falls short of a lot of the types to appear in other cultures, like nukekubi or the Chupacabra).

Whilst I generally don't have any particular draw toward traditional fantasy creatures, preferring making up my own creatures as well as modern creations from various video games, I do admit that I have a lot of fun playing naga characters. There's just so much opportunity for body language and general physical expression. And not just in the tail, but the tongue, too. And even the arms, given nagas are often depicted with additional pairs (which anyone who has been through my character collection would quickly realise is something I find cool).

There's just so much variety in a character who can 'crawl' along the floor at full speed and then straighten up to tower over individuals with similar upper body proportions. Not to mention all the various fun ways to have a naga lounge about in general. And all the different poses and postures that a naga might find comfortable that a normal humanoid wouldn't. From a writing standpoint, it's so much fun.

Ball python naga is own beanbag chair.

I remember back when I was 10, I was teased for my avid obsession with dragons. I had a series of books called 'Dragonology', which treated the species as though they were real, with where to find them and many 'sketches' that the author had taken as field studies out in the wild.

Honestly, I can say without hesitation that they're still my favourite. There's a reason the fantasy genre is just so overloaded with them in general; they appear in practically all cultures around the globe and are a staple in many different mythologies. I love the origin and evolution of the European dragon, especially after studying Greco-Roman myth and its reception in the Middle Ages for my degree at university. The reasons for why the dragon has evolved across the centuries are absolutely fascinating to me, as are the speculations for why they were recorded in the first place.

Although, I have to say, when studying ancient myths, there's a lot of cross-over between the fantastical beasts that we draw distinctions between today! For instance, in Ancient Greek the word δρᾰ́κων (drákōn), translates to both 'serpent' and 'dragon', so for all the tales of great 'serpents' such as Typhon, Python and Hydra, it's not inaccurate to categorise them all as 'dragons' despite their differences.

Reviving my nostalgia for Dragonology... heh.

I also have Dragonology books, but got them as an adult. They're still in storage somewhere... I also got Wizardology and I think one other...?

My favorite fantasy creature is the Thing, from john Carpenters "The Thing"

Because I think it's neato.

Lol thanks guys, now I'm perusing Amazon for a Dragonology book because the only one I had access to was in a school library, heh.

Not sure if we can name our other favorite creatures, but aside from the phoenix, I have 2 others I really like.

The Feathered Serpents, based off the god Quetzalcóatl (the god of wind and rain), and which are sometimes called Couatl in popular fiction. The Couatl is also my favorite monster in the D&D monster manuals. I mostly just think these guys are cool and don't have much reason beyond that. They're basically storm gods, they look really awesome, and I already have a deep fondness for feathered dragons, so, heh.

The Enfield, which one of my characters is based on. These are creatures which vary by description but most commonly have the front parts of foxes, the talons of eagles, the tails and hindquarters of wolves, and eagle-like feathers on their shoulders. Some versions of the creatures have wings, others don't. My enfield character has wings when he uses his magic, or takes on his 'true' form, but opts for feathered shoulders most of the time, which he conceals, so as to appear like a normal vulpine anthro (although he's taller on average than most people.) I like endfields because they remind me of the kind of creatures I invented as a kid - furry things with wings that were some kind of chimera. I guess they instill a sense of nostalgia in me.

They were brilliant, weren't they?
It wasn't Pirateology was it? I know there was a couple of books in that series.

Now after talking about them I discovered there was a colouring-in book for Dragonology with all the different dragon 'types'... I might have just made an early morning impulse purchase. Oops!

Elves without a doubt. Though not as they're traditionally portrayed by the majority of writers. Which is to say a rather lazy "better then humanity" race that the writer can project their preferred traits onto. Rather I find the basic concept of elves, a race incorporated into the weft and weave of the world to be fascinating in it's implications. I remember reading the Lord of the Rings and tearing up a bit whenever the Elves showed up. They were wonderous and wonderful, and a reminder that all that made the world magical was fading. For as the magic faded, so did they.

There's so much one can do with the basic concept-a race whose fortunes are tied to something innate in the world. A race that is built in a fundamentally different way then humanity, yet in many ways, remains human. It's an opportunity to examine and re-examine everything. What flaws might a long-lived race develop? For they surely will have some. How do elves show age? For just because we cannot see the signs of age upon them, surely doesn't mean they don't exist....

They're a flexible, wonderful concept and one I always try to incorporate into my fantasy worlds. In the right hands, you've got something that can be truly unique and thought-provoking. A boon to any writer.

...

it's just a pity there's so few right hands, really.