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| Thread: Creatures (where thay came from) |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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Illidan
Hired Hero
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posted February 13, 2003 12:04 PM |
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lol..
Gryphons/Griffons/Griffins were choosen to be guardians of the gold river that contained many gold, they loved to eat horses and hated cyclopses who tried to steal the gold from the river.
Naga's looked more like giant serpents with the faces of females, the naga homm uses are more like the demon/tanar'ri queens marilith from D&D, in the legends naga's can be male and female.
Satyr's were rough humanoids with goatparts that loved to get drunk and run after nymph females all day, the most famous satyr was Pan.
Efreeti were the evil versions of genies, instead of forfilling beautifull and good wishes the efreeti's could only forfill evil wishes, they were created by the evil fire god in some legends)
Unicorns were cursed princes that were vain and evil in their human life, then they got cursed and turned into horses with golden hoves and horns, they got the favorite hunting subject from their own king fathers that didn't know it was about their own child, so they got hunted by their own unknowing father.
Nightmare is a doomed horse cursed and changed by the devil to be his mount, whenever you see this horse your nightmares about the beast will never end and your sleep will forever be ruined(That's why they called it nightmare)
Trolls are norse giants with the sizes of mountains, in other legends it were stories to frighten the children.(Bedtime stories)
Imps are mana eating childs of the devil, they are often used as familiars for evil wizards and often betray their own master when they have absorbed enough knowledge from them.
Gargoyles are statues filled with an evil spirit from a demon, they are used by warlocks and other evil humanoids for guarding treasures or places, other stories tell about gargoyles being friendly and guarding for good only.
THunderbirds are giant eagles that said to be seen around america, they are said to kidnap bad children and original americans say they are the bringers of storm and badluck, they carry thunder and lightning on their wings.
Ogres are green giants that often guarded bridges and asked for gold to pass a particular spot. When not paid they should eat the traveler, other stories tell about ogres being lake giants that kidnap bathing females for an unown evil lake god.
Harpies are evil hag creatures, in mythology they kidnapped good souls and brought them to the underworld, they had the lower bodies of ugly vultures and the upper bodies of beautifull females or ugly old womans, they attacked the argonauts in one story.
Centaurs: They are pretty much like the satyr's only they have horse features instead of goat.
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Lord_Woock
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Daddy Cool with a $90 smile
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posted February 13, 2003 12:11 PM |
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There are more differences between satyrs ad centaurs than just the goat/horse thing. It's that satyrs have two goat legs while centaurs have four horse legs. Satyrs also have small horns.
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Yolk and God bless.
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My buddy's doing a webcomic and would certainly appreciate it if you checked it out!
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Illidan
Hired Hero
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posted February 13, 2003 12:13 PM |
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Well I meant that centaurs and satyr's are both hated by females, both loved to get drunk and both love to hunt females for sex and pleasure.
Everybody already knows how a satyr and centaur looked like... so I thought everybody should know i did meant the story...
BTW in mythology some satyr's appeared as centaurs... but then the horsepart was goat, while other satyrs(more + pan) appeared like the homm4 version.
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goodpig
Adventuring Hero
The King of Pork!!!
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posted February 14, 2003 05:43 PM |
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Hmm interesting topic.
Since the previous posters already desribed the creatures I won't bother. But I think Gogs and Magogs are from the Bible.
What I love about Heroes is it combines most of these creatures from lore or scripture.
And they are pretty acurate about how they are descibed.
For example 1 misconception about angels is that their nice, pretty girls in dresses while their description in the bible is quite to the contrary. Angels are acually very strong, powerful, warriors who carry butt-whuppin swords. Not beatiful,Nice, Princesses that carry Harps.
Basically most of the creatures are from Greek mythology, or the Bible(think of all the demonic units)
Some however are from Hinduism (such as the Nagas)
Arabian Myth (Genies, Efreet Sultans)
Tolkien-Lore (Elves, Dwarves, Dendroids)
Or Medieval Myth (Vampires,Wights, Wraiths)
This is an awesome topic.
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Qui n'a plus qu'un moment a vivre N'a plus rien a dissimuler.
Atys
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Lith-Maethor
Honorable
Legendary Hero
paid in Coin and Cleavage
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posted July 15, 2003 04:13 AM |
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found this thread lying around...
regarding TheEverLiving's post...
the whole article is BS...
point 1: mankind and dinosaurs never co-existed... a few million years made sure of that... it has been proven, that some ancient tribes found dinosaur bones ...that could be sufficient to triger the birth of dragons...
point 2: dinosaurs were NOT water creatures... all of them were land creatures (the water and flying serpents were not dinosaurs)
point 3: the ancient greek word for dragon, is... "Drakon" surprise surprise... that "greek" word the author uses, is not greek... not sure if it exists in any language actually...
EDIT: point 3 is out... just realized "Spakov" is just a severe case of typos, of "Drakon" ...hahahaahah
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You are suffering from delusions of adequacy.
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IRh
Famous Hero
Lizard
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posted July 15, 2003 10:56 AM |
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Quote:
point 2: dinosaurs were NOT water creatures... all of them were land creatures (the water and flying serpents were not dinosaurs)
No. many dinos lived both in the water and on the land. Brontosaurs, 4X. Or (don't remember the name) - heads in the air, bodies in the water, walking on the bottom.
Quote:
EDIT: point 3 is out... just realized "Spakov" is just a severe case of typos, of "Drakon" ...hahahaahah
I think it's [delta]PAKOV. Its read like 'drakon'. P is rho, V is nu/ni. (greek letters)
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Lith-Maethor
Honorable
Legendary Hero
paid in Coin and Cleavage
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posted July 15, 2003 11:23 AM |
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sigh...
first of all, there is no Bronto... you probably mean Apatosaurus and what you say is an early theory, proved wrong... for a more acurate one, go see the Diplodocus in Jurassic Park...
second, either way, the ancient greek word is still Drakon (I should know... I'm Greek...) ...and even tho "v" does look like lowercase N and p looks like the greek "R", that is no excuse for "Spakov" ...if the author wanted to go that way, it would be "Drakwn" ...since the "o" in drakon, is an omega (looks a like "w" in lowercase)
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You are suffering from delusions of adequacy.
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SMIV
![SMIV]()
Disgraceful
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posted July 15, 2003 12:39 PM |
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ELVES:
Most prevalant creature in games and books of "our" kinda regard. I've never heard anywhere else except the "Silmarillion" (book by Tolkein and son) about where they come from. Seriously though...are they not in every Hero/D&D/cool... game there is. I would love to hear some ideas and info OTHER than that which was in the "Silmarillion" If anyone is interested I'll post what I know from it, but I'll warn you it's pretty long and involved. Practically the entire book is about them.
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Lith-Maethor
Honorable
Legendary Hero
paid in Coin and Cleavage
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posted July 15, 2003 12:46 PM |
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not all the Silmarilion is about Elves...
the origins of Orcs, Dwarves, Men and Hobbits are also shown...
the orginal (pre-Tolkien) Elves however, are creatures of Celtic myths... much like faeries... for more details, ask Cat...
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You are suffering from delusions of adequacy.
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I
Famous Hero
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posted July 20, 2003 12:04 AM |
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Or Santa's employers. 
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yasmiel
Supreme Hero
Former Chessmaster
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posted July 20, 2003 07:53 PM |
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"Efreeti were the evil versions of genies, instead of forfilling beautifull and good wishes the efreeti's could only forfill evil wishes, they were created by the evil fire god in some legends)"
---------- they were fulfilling good wishes 2 but in evil way,.. ex (if u wished to be the happiest person in town
he would kill all other people in town, thus fulfiling ur wish)
"first of all, there is no Bronto... "..
------------ there IS (there WAS i mean) Brontosaurus, but im not sure that he lived in water 2..
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Rakacha
Hired Hero
Selfproclaimed Dragonlord
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posted July 20, 2007 02:12 PM |
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Quote:
the orginal (pre-Tolkien) Elves however, are creatures of Celtic myths... much like faeries... for more details, ask Cat...
Acctually (according to wikipedia & other various sources), elves are from northern germanic mythology. That means most of northeren europe, not only celtic myths.
Besides, elves where not the one that we know from The lord of the rings, but normally described as either small pixie like creature, or "evil" human like creatures who seduces men an woman to dissaper in the forest (medival scandinavia myth)
Also from north europe/scandinavian mythology is the dwarfs, Jotuns, trools, lindworms, and to some degree, western dragons.
An another thing is that nagas are south asian/indonesian dragons or great serpents like lindworms, and not like the ones from HoMM.
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for more information, go to:
www.wikipedia.org
www.godchecker.com
or read:
Norse myths (there are many books whit this subject)
Litterature by saxo (go danish litterature! )
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zehcoutinho
Hired Hero
Psytrancer
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posted September 20, 2007 06:20 PM |
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Found some info on Wikipedia for these creatures that hadn't been described in this thread.
Beholder was originally created for the D&D game.
Dendroids are based on Tolkien Ents.
Zombies are reanimated corpses in the tradition of the Afro-Caribbean religion Vodou.
Wight is an old word to describe a living being, it's use as an undead creature came also from the D&D game.
Wraith is a medieval word for ghost or specter.
Liches appear as a more general term for undead in works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "Empire of the Necromancers". But the more recent use of the term lich as a specific type of undead creature most likely originates in the D&D game.
Gremlin is a folkloric creature, commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented with a specific interest in aircraft. The word "gremlin" was a product of the second World War. The concept of gremlins as responsible for sabotaging aircraft is first recorded among airmen of Britain's Royal Air Force.
Goblin is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described in as a grotesquely disfigured or gnome-like phantom. One fabled origin for goblin is in France, in a cleft of the Pyrenees, from which they spread rapidly throughout Europe. They hitched a ride with Viking ships to get to Britain.
Roc or rukh (from Persian رخ rokh, asserted by Louis Charles Casartelli to be an abbreviated form of Persian simurgh) is an enormous mythical bird of prey, often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants. The roc had its origins, according to Rudolph Wittkower, in the fight between the Indian solar bird Garuda and the chthonic serpent Nāga.
Gnolls are a fictional race of humanoid creatures, usually described as anthropomorphic hyenas. They are strongly associated with the D&D game, but are neither original to nor exclusive to that game. Gnolls are similar to the were-hyenas of African bushman folklore, and the tall dog men (Cynocephales) of early European travellers logs and bestiaries.
In European bestiaries and legends, a Basilisk (from the Greek βασιλίσκος basiliskos, a little king, in Latin Regulus) is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power of causing death by a single glance
The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Greek Sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth, and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned or not. The tail is either of a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims. The manticore was of Persian origin, where its name was "man-eater" (from early Middle Persian martya "man" (as in human) and xwar- "to eat"). The English term "manticore" was borrowed from Latin mantichora, itself borrowed from Greek mantikhoras—an erroneous pronunciation of the original Persian name.
Pixies (or Piskies as they are sometimes known in Cornwall) are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. One myth states that pixies were a race of people who were not good enough for Heaven or bad enough for Hell and were therefore forced to remain on Earth forever.
The Phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird in ancient Phoenicia mythology, and in myths derived from it. Said to live for 500 or 1461 years (depending on the source), the phoenix is a bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new phoenix is destined to live, usually, as long as the old one.
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bigbadfly
Famous Hero
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posted September 21, 2007 08:28 AM |
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-Harpies are half women and they are always hungry...
-Yea... Brontosaurus don't exist, it was found by a paleontologist and named Brontosaurus, but then were realised, that this creature has already been fount and named Apatosaurus, but they still use the name Brontosaurus... (replying to few year old post.)
-Troglodytes are small reptiles that live in mostly watery caves.
There ius so dark that their eye have evolved off, because you can't be blind or not in dark...
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Ayreon
Famous Hero
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posted September 21, 2007 07:22 PM |
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pikeman - there based on medieval infantry, nothing really special about it
cyclops - Odysseus (Ulysses) had, on his journey homewards, an encounter with the one-eyed giant Polyfemos, a cyclop. he ate two of Odysseus' men every day, and he promised Odysseus to eat him last, because he has good wine. And Odysseus and his living mates made a spear out of a stick, which was in Polyfemos' cave, and when the cyclop was asleep, they blinded the cyclop with the spear. And they could escape when the Cyclop left his cave to let his sheep have a good time.
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Monsta15k
Tavern Dweller
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posted March 08, 2010 06:19 AM |
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Quote:
Quote:
Griffin (forgot the origen).
Cerberus (three-headed dog, guarding the gates of Hades).
Sorry,totally forgot bout those.
The cerberus-guards the gate to the underworld,lets dead souls in,but lets nobody out of the underworld(except Hermes)
Dunno bout griffons.
Not Hermes, Haides. The griffin was in a Greek story of a philosopher that escaped prison on a griffin.
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Mytical
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Chaos seeking Harmony
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posted March 08, 2010 10:51 AM |
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Vampires - Many believe, incorrectly, that vampires started with Vlaad Dracule. Although Bram Stokers incarnation undoubtedly made the creature more popular, there have been many incarnations of the creature. With various ways of disposing of them..some were not as easy to get rid of as a steak through the heart.
Unfortunately it is near impossible to trace the origin back to it's first, although it was certainly earlier then when Vlaad Dracule roamed the earth. Some claim it even goes back to Caine, who god cursed to walk the earth forever.
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Message received.
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wog_edn
Promising
The Nothingness
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posted March 08, 2010 06:35 PM |
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Edited by wog_edn at 18:36, 08 Mar 2010.
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Quote:
Vampires - Many believe, incorrectly, that vampires started with Vlaad Dracule. Although Bram Stokers incarnation undoubtedly made the creature more popular, there have been many incarnations of the creature. With various ways of disposing of them..some were not as easy to get rid of as a steak through the heart.
Bram Stoker gave them a name, but there has been myths and legends about humans living off human blood with supernatural powers and the like. Vlaad Tepes (his actual name, Dracul were given to him due to his father being in an order with that name) didn't even have anything to do with vampirism, he simply impaled his enemies and used many kinds of torture.
I wonder how 3DO got the idea about Gorgon being an amphibian bull breathing fire, when Medusa actually was a Gorgon (one of many sisters, and the only one not immortal).
Gogs and Magogs are said to be the main part of the army of Satan in the Bible, if I remember correctly.
Cerberus is the guardian of the underworld.
The minotaur is said to have had the head of a bull and body of a human, dwelling in the Cretan Labyrinth built for King Minos.
Gargoyle is simply from the legends of the stone sculptures on old churches and stuff coming to life.
I suppose the genie is from the old fairytales about a some kind of genie in a bottle granting wishes, probably why it can cast a random beficial spell.
The basilisk was some kind of hen (dunno if it's spelled right) with a serpent tail or something, turning people to stone and stuff.
The wyvern is an african dragon, if I remember right.
Well, Hercules had to fight the Hydra.. don't know more on that subject.
Dwarves and elves are kindof a given, centaur is simply a human-horse hybrid .. you have tons of those.
If I am right I think ogres are some kind of more savage brute troll, less human-like.
Roc is the legend of a giant bird, while the Thunderbird is from native american legends I think.
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Cepheus
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Far-flung Keeper
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posted March 08, 2010 06:47 PM |
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Bram Stoker invented the term "undead". The word "vampire" on the other hand had been going around about 150 years previous.
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"Those who forget their history are inevitably doomed to repeat it." —Proverb, Might and Magic VIII
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Mytical
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Chaos seeking Harmony
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posted March 09, 2010 08:35 AM |
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Yeah, the genie doesn't make much sense however. The Djinn are often evil, pranksters, or such (though some are good). Maybe they watched too many "I dream of Genie" episodes
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