Tag: Creatures

Now That’s a Reindeer!

Extinct prehistoric deer Sinomegaloceros, which boastged a triceratops-like frill over its head.

Headless Juggler

Not sure what this is or what it means. But it’s cool nonetheless.

Rogue Reindeer

Since it’s near Christmas, let’s look at the world of fantastical reindeer. This caribou man, opposite, was included in an AD&D manual as a decorative illustration. He wasn’t listed as a monster with his own stats, which was too bad. (He’s definitely Quebecois because of the hairy chest.) A homebrew gamer did decide to go …

Continue reading

Worldbuilding Wednesday 12/16/20: Christmas Characters

Santa, and Father Christmas and Sinter Klaas before him, is the penultimate character representing Christmas spirit, but he has many helpers. In Germany, there’s his evil counterpart Krampus, and since 1823 (when A Visit from St. Nicholas — better known as The Night Before Christmas — was first published) his reindeer. In the twentieth century …

Continue reading

Heavy Hearted

Innocent, disturbing, whimsical, and exact, all at once.

Revolting Reindeer

Reindeer are the only cervines (members of the deer family) to be domesticated by humans. As such, they enjoy a cozy, familiar status like chicken, ducks, pigs, and domestic pets do. But, like Santa whose sled they haul each December, they have a darker side despite their cheer and competence. Let’s take these odd toys …

Continue reading

Can’t a man have a little privacy?

Japanese demons, or yokai, invade the personal space of this very aghast male bather.

Untold Horror

I really have to wonder what stories these Japanese illustrations are telling. First, someone in a caped costume meant to depict a skeletal ape menaces miniature children standing in teacups. Then, a cyclops lady with a flying, detachable head spews freezing breath at a stage magician and a teenage boy. Anyone have a clue?

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/8/20: Narnia VI

As I mentioned in last week’s Worldbuilding Wednesday, almost none of Lewis’s female Narnian creatures received a name, whether they were Talking Beasts or mythological beings. I’ve attempted to rectify that here. Naiads and maenads have Greek-type names, and dryads and hamadryads those relating to trees. As Hamadryads are bonded only to a particular kind …

Continue reading

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/1/20: Narnia V

In addition to Talking Beasts, Narnia was home to many other beings from Western mythology, as well as a few Lewis created himself. Some were referenced often, like centaurs and dwarves. Others received just one mention, like the laundry list of baddies under the White Witch’s command who bind Aslan to the Stone Table. I’ve …

Continue reading