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Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 06:33 PM
What sentient creatures and magical beasts would live in or visit Greece?

We're talking about Ancient/Hellestanic periods. Some of them I can figure out; Medusas, Minotaurs, Satyrs, Hydras, Nymphs, Dyrads, Rocs, sphinxes, and centuars. But I am not really well studied in mythology regarding the bestiary.

Quick info on Greece's environment;
Climate; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Greece
Geography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece#Geography

A glance at those infomation show the possibility that Greece or a greece-like region can support a number of non greek monsters, although possibility in small number.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 06:34 PM
Don't forget the Chimera.

TheElfLord
2008-04-15, 06:50 PM
Pegasus, cyclops, lions

Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 06:55 PM
Lions? I'm curious about that.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 07:02 PM
Lions? I'm curious about that.

The Nemean Lion, as killed by Heracles.
Wasn't that his first labor?

Thinker
2008-04-15, 07:07 PM
Lions? I'm curious about that.

Lions were common in southern Europe back in the day.

Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 07:08 PM
The Nemean Lion, as killed by Heracles.
Wasn't that his first labor?I forgot about that, but aside from that, I didn't recall any instance of lions living in Greece (mind you, I did mention I am not well studied in things like that).

TheElfLord
2008-04-15, 07:13 PM
Lions? I'm curious about that.

Well besides the famous one that Hercules killed, the Wikipeadia article on lions specifically mentions that they used to live in Greece.

Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 07:16 PM
Well besides the famous one that Hercules killed, the Wikipeadia article on lions specifically mentions that they used to live in Greece.I looked up lions, it does mentioned that they used to ranged as far as Greece but become extinct in AD 100 in Eastern Europe.

TheElfLord
2008-04-15, 07:19 PM
I looked up lions, it does mentioned that they used to ranged as far as Greece but become extinct in AD 100 in Eastern Europe.

And that's several hundred years after the end of the Ancient/Hellenistic period you asked us to suggest animals for.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 07:19 PM
Don't forget the Dire Horses.

Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 07:20 PM
And that's several hundred years after the end of the Ancient/Hellenistic period you asked us to suggest animals for.Oh that's not what I mean to imply, it just suggest the possibility of a dwindling population of lions in Greece.

TheElfLord
2008-04-15, 07:26 PM
Sorry, I misread your implication. Yeah I agree the population would be dwindling.

manticores are another Greek beastie

Coplantor
2008-04-15, 07:37 PM
Dont forget sirens, nereids, griffins and hipogryphs and the greek version of the dragons. Rocs are'nt greek myths, they come from india, but if you want to add beasts from other mythologies you can add the phoenix. And if you dont mind very specific monsters you have scilla.

Thane of Fife
2008-04-15, 07:39 PM
Harpies and sirens should be present.

And don't forget skeletons (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yYeZMx1Y7U) and iron golems (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUofgsvBFSg).

Admiral Squish
2008-04-15, 07:41 PM
I can't nobody's mentioned the sphinx yet. Wasn't there one guarding a mountain pass somewhere?

Collin152
2008-04-15, 07:41 PM
And the birds of the Stygian marshes.


I can't nobody's mentioned the sphinx yet. Wasn't there one guarding a mountain pass somewhere?

I believe it was in the original post.

Coplantor
2008-04-15, 07:58 PM
the sphinx blocked the roead to Tebas and was defeated by edipo. Zombies are present but not in the way we know them, totally agree with the iron golems, after all, Talos existed as a myth. there was a big giant boar also, then there were basilisks and dont forget about cerberus (If you've ever played Devil may cry 3 then you probably remember that son of a devil).

Collin152
2008-04-15, 08:01 PM
I think most forms of undead have at least soem kind of representation.

Stormcrow
2008-04-15, 08:33 PM
Depending on your story Titans make an excelent enemy to a greek story. The Collosus of Rhodes is a very large Bronze Golem... MM2 maybe...

Coplantor
2008-04-15, 08:47 PM
good thing to do: Play Age of Mythology, take all the monsters from the greeks and forget the main story.

Lord Tataraus
2008-04-15, 09:08 PM
good thing to do: Play Age of Mythology, take all the monsters from the greeks and forget the main story.

That is actually a really good idea since they actually did research!!! *gasp* Also, please, please, refer to the *shudder* "Medusas" as Gorgons, Medusa was the most famous Gorgon, but not the name of the race. I've always detested the use of that name.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 09:10 PM
That is actually a really good idea since they actually did research!!! *gasp* Also, please, please, refer to the *shudder* "Medusas" as Gorgons, Medusa was the most famous Gorgon, but not the name of the race. I've always detested the use of that name.

Gorgons in DnD are metal bulls.
And as I recall, there were only three Gorgons, mythologically.

Coplantor
2008-04-15, 09:12 PM
That is actually a really good idea since they actually did research!!! *gasp* Also, please, please, refer to the *shudder* "Medusas" as Gorgons, Medusa was the most famous Gorgon, but not the name of the race. I've always detested the use of that name.

You know what bothers me? confusion between mermaids and sirens, it wont happen to much in english speaking countries, but here, where people speak in spanish... they dont know the difference! And all because of a bad "the little mermaid" translation...

Collin152
2008-04-15, 09:13 PM
You know what bothers me? confusion between mermaids and sirens, it wont happen to much in english speaking countries, but here, where people speak in spanish... they dont know the difference! And all because of a bad "the little mermaid" translation...

It doesn't help that people keep portraying the Sirens as beign part fish when I recall them being part bird.

FlyMolo
2008-04-15, 09:16 PM
Lions were common in southern Europe back in the day.

As were italian dwarf elephants. Roman kids used to ride around on them. The size of dogs, iirc.

All the cool animals went extinct.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 09:18 PM
All the cool animals went extinct.

They're only cool because we miss them so.

Coplantor
2008-04-15, 09:20 PM
As were italian dwarf elephants. Roman kids used to ride around on them. The size of dogs, iirc.

All the cool animals went extinct.

Dude, of course we all miss the dodos but we still have the platypus!

FlyMolo
2008-04-15, 09:22 PM
Dude, of course we all miss the dodos but we still have the platypus!

The platypus is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, bar none.

Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear? I mean, moas. Stupendous badasses, all of them.

Lord Tataraus
2008-04-15, 09:49 PM
Gorgons in DnD are metal bulls.
And as I recall, there were only three Gorgons, mythologically.

Correct DnD Gorgons infuriate me. Firstly, where the heck do they come from? The closest I've ever found was the Catoblepas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas) (also a Greek mythological beast) but it's not made of metal and doesn't breath anything. So why is it that the well established race of Gorgons where renamed presumably to allow for the metal bulls to take that name? This causes a lot of confusion, at least for me and my players.

Prometheus
2008-04-15, 09:52 PM
Lamia, Naga, Harpies, Manticores, Pegasuses, are also originally greek myths.

Dervag
2008-04-15, 09:58 PM
I looked up lions, it does mentioned that they used to ranged as far as Greece but become extinct in AD 100 in Eastern Europe.Yeah.

Nowadays, we think of them as an endangered species that deserves protection, but that's because we can kill them any time they become a nuisance. Back in the day, lions were extremely dangerous creatures- the real life equivalent of renegade ogres who'd come barging out of the hills and grab your livestock. It took a team of brave men to kill one reliably, and there was a real chance that some of them would die.

The result? Lions were seen as dangerous pests and destroyed wherever civilizations got thick enough on the ground to do so. The same thing happened to wolves in North America during the 1800s and early 1900s.


Don't forget the Dire Horses.From Thrace? Yeah. Thracian horses were in fact carnivorous- peopleivorous, even.

Lord Tataraus
2008-04-15, 09:58 PM
Are you sure about the naga? I've never seen the naga in any mythology except Hinduism and the various southeast Asian Hindu-based religions. Though if there is a Greek myth with nagas, could you tell me which one it is? I'd love to read that.

Collin152
2008-04-15, 10:01 PM
From Thrace? Yeah. Thracian horses were in fact carnivorous- peopleivorous, even.

The man devouring mares that Heracles fetched, aren't they?
Scary, scary beasties.

Prometheus
2008-04-15, 10:05 PM
Are you sure about the naga? I've never seen the naga in any mythology except Hinduism and the various southeast Asian Hindu-based religions. Though if there is a Greek myth with nagas, could you tell me which one it is? I'd love to read that.
My apologies, I hadn't even looked that one up, I just assumed that I knew that it was Greek. Thinking back on it, it must have simply been association with greek mythical creatures through fantasy games like D&D (prior post edited to reflect this). I did, however, look up the rest.

Cobra
2008-04-15, 11:02 PM
check out this discussion on teh origins of the bull gorgon.

http://www.enworld.org/archive/index.php/t-46588.html

Ralfarius
2008-04-15, 11:05 PM
Correct DnD Gorgons infuriate me. Firstly, where the heck do they come from? The closest I've ever found was the Catoblepas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas) (also a Greek mythological beast) but it's not made of metal and doesn't breath anything. So why is it that the well established race of Gorgons where renamed presumably to allow for the metal bulls to take that name? This causes a lot of confusion, at least for me and my players.
Wasn't there a Catoblepas in MM2? You could put that in, as well.

Hurlbut
2008-04-15, 11:40 PM
Also I did point out that I was looking for sentient creatures like orcs, ogres, kobolds, and so on. I just wanted to know what everyone feel about which would want to live in or visit Greece itself. As I mentioned in my last paragraph on the first post; Greece's environment could support other non greek-related monsters.

Fhaolan
2008-04-16, 12:14 AM
Correct DnD Gorgons infuriate me. Firstly, where the heck do they come from? The closest I've ever found was the Catoblepas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas) (also a Greek mythological beast) but it's not made of metal and doesn't breath anything. So why is it that the well established race of Gorgons where renamed presumably to allow for the metal bulls to take that name? This causes a lot of confusion, at least for me and my players.

The Gorgon was the Medieval re-invention of the Greek Catoblepas, and was named 'Gorgon' in tribute to the Greek Gorgons, which were obviously legendary while the bull-like Gorgons were *obviously* real creatures in search of a pronouncable name.

Just because it's not original, doesn't mean it's not ancient. There were a lot of Roman copies of Greek statues stashed about the Roman Empire. Nowadays, those copies are worth a great deal even though technically they are forgeries... pretty poor forgeries in many cases. Same with a lot of Victorian copies of older works. They may not be original, but they're now old enough to be 'valid' in their own right. Same with the Medieval Gorgon.

The_Werebear
2008-04-16, 01:51 AM
Greece is mountainous enough to be home to kobold burrows, as well as a few types of dragon.

Closet_Skeleton
2008-04-16, 04:20 AM
Some of them I can figure out; Medusas, Minotaurs, Satyrs, Hydras, Nymphs, Dyrads, Rocs, sphinxes, and centuars. But I am not really well studied in mythology regarding the bestiary.

Rocs aren't Greek, they're arabic.


Lamia, Naga, Harpies, Manticores, Pegasuses, are also originally greek myths.

Except Greek Lamia are half snake vampire women, not goat centaurs like in the Monster Manual.


Just because it's not original, doesn't mean it's not ancient.

In a similar vein, Hippogriffs are a medieval varient of a classical monster.

Another Greek monster is the Hippocampus, I think they're in Savage Species.

Premier
2008-04-16, 04:35 AM
Since you're going to all these lengths to make sure your monster ecology feels authentic, I suggest you do the same with demihumans/humanoids and chuck out the 'stock' races like orcs, goblins, kobolds etc.. Otherwise, what's the whole point of this 'authentic setting'?

Satyrs and centaurs might well be PC races, and human barbarians - representing non-Greek cultures - might be considered separate 'races' mechanically. Celtic and Germanic tribes, Phoenicians, Arabs, Egyptians, maybe the occasional Nubian - lots of interesting stuff there who're not the primary focus of the settting, but who might just be common enough to qualify as exotic PC races.

One non-human race that would be vaguely mythologically correct is the Cynocephalus, the dog-headed man. Gnolls, anyone? Also, while not existent in mythology as a race, maybe some winged humans inspired by Icarus?


On another note, if you're going the whole hog, you should also rethink how magic works. I mean, D&D magic is very direct, very violent, very spectacular, as epitomized by Fireball. Magic in Greek mythology, however, is quite different, much more subtle. Gods are much more capricious and directly involved, so clerics probably won't be able to just 'get all the spells they want', every time, without failure. As for arcane casters, it would be probably closer to historical magic - mainly divinations, curses and commanding supernatural entities to do your bidding. Very little magical TNT.


If you're looking for inspiration or ideas, two things I can recommend are this homebrew AD&D setting (http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=500396), and of course the Mazes & Minotaurs (http://storygame.free.fr/MAZES.htm) retro game system / joke / tribute.

hamishspence
2008-04-16, 05:04 AM
Not seen bronze golem in 3rd ed WOTC, but I think 3rd party sources have them. Closest equivalent is the brass golem. Vile Darkness has an improved Iron Golem called Talos.

And Noble Lamia are found in Expedition to the Demonweb Pits: fit the snake- women look.

Epic has the Hecatoncheires: the hundred handed giants mentioned in some of the legends of battles between the gods and the titans.

and both Deities and Demigods, and Shining South, have versions of the cyclops.

Zim
2008-04-16, 10:22 PM
Just about any dire/legendary versions of mundane animals would be appropriate. Fey/spirits are also popular.

Another great source of encounters are beings with divine lineage. There appear to be a huge number of Greeks sporting lineage from one god or another (Zeus, for one, just couldn't keep it in his pants :smallwink: ). Half celestial/fiends and aasimar/tieflings could certainly be reasonable additions.

The part of my homebrew world that I'm running Age of Worms in is a rough (very rough) approximation of Greco-Roman culture/technology. I've busily replaced various stock monters in the campaign with more appropriate feeling creatures (eg. replaced the otyugh in EaBK with a hydra -had to redraw part of the lair to fit him in though). FYI Hydras make great low-level brute challenges.

hewhosaysfish
2008-04-17, 08:09 AM
Is this information for use in an existing campaign or starting a new one?
I feel a link here (http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/revised.html) may be handy.
I've not actually tried the system myself, but I does look like fun for those that like the old school.
Of course, the "Creature Compendium" is not all Greek monsters; they have imported some DnD favourites like orcs, elves and beholders with the names changed.

Tura
2008-04-17, 08:17 AM
Alright, I'll try to be thorough with this.

1. Cosmology

Personally, I'd get rid of the Elemental Planes, keep Ethereal and Shadow IF necessary for crunch only, and make Olympus something between the Astral Plane and... a big mountain. :smalltongue:

The outer planes need some reworking. The notion of eternal reward or punishment in the afterlife is very limited, a special treatment reserved only for the most righteous (or vile) individuals. For the rest of humanity, the procedure is this: when you die, the god Hermes (Mercury of the Roman pantheon) picks up your soul and takes it to the river Acheron, which leads to Hades. There awaits Charon the boatman, who receives the fare (coins your relatives placed on the body's mouth) and takes you across. Charon may look like the medieval Death if you like (skeleton with a cloak, but with an oar instead of a scythe) but he's not mean, he's just doing his job. The god and king of the Underworld, Plouto (also called Hades, like his kingdom) and the three Judges of the underworld (the formerly wise mortals Minos, Rhadamanthys and Aeacus) judge your soul. If you were especially good, they send you to Elysium (the Island of the Blessed) and if you were especially evil they send you to Tartatus, a deep chasm in Hades where you'll be tortured for all eternity. But usually you just end up a Shade, wandering aimlessly in the bleak Hades and lamenting your lost life.

Also, there are no "angels" and "demons" counterparts, not in the strictly moral sense at least (those came way after monotheism). You have gods and titans and their minions, but not one of them can be branded "evil". The most abominable of the twelve gods is, arguably, Ares (Mars of the Roman pantheon, the god of war) but he's not eeevil, he's just a prick. Plouto himself is actually a very wise king, no one likes him very much (since his domain is Death and no one wants to die) but no one spites him either. And Hecate, goddess of witchcraft and all things that go bump in the night, was also a goddess of protection and childbirth.

If you insist to give alignment to the gods, have in mind that it will totally screw up the "greek mythology" feeling, since gods are human in vices and virtues alike. In greek, there's not even a word for evil, and never was. (We use the word for "bad", which is infinitely less intimidating, semantically.)

2. Geography, terrain, climate

Ancient Greece had a temperate climate (hot summers, mild winters) and many rich forests (sadly, this is no more the case), but the vegetation was never as lush as northern Europe's. Not much rain, not many rivers, and no vast plains to speak of meant that running water was very important. Springs and streams were considered sacred, and were always the dwelling of nymphs.

The Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean in general, pretty much defined Greece's culture. The sea routes were much safer than traveling by land, the harbors were political, military and cultural "capitals", and the continuing trade and communication with older civilizations east and south (mainly the Persians and the Egyptians) as well as with much of the west made the athenian Golden Age possible.


3. Flora and Fauna

Olive trees were equally spread and important to nutrition with wheat. Oil was used to keep all kind of food for the winter (no spice yet). There were oak forests to the north (commonly dedicated to Zeus) but most trees were pines, firs and cypresses, with the occasional walnut and poplar tree. Near river beds, there were reeds and plane-trees (I think that's what you call them, I'm referring to this platanus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platanus_orientalis)).

Domestic animals were namely sheep and goats, with less pigs and even less cattle. Only the rich had bulls and oxes. Horses were important and a dead give-away of social status - elite warrior, usually. However, horses were used in wartime and raids mostly, and greek mythology is full of heroes who traveled the world on foot - or by sea, of course. The most common wild animals were wolves, foxes, boars and bears, but there were also lions back then and even leopards. Hawks and eagles were common too (for other birds, I'm not sure). As for sea-creatures, there were many dolphins of course, traditionally considered a good omen (and friends of the sailor), porpoises, mollusca (squids, octapi, clams) and.. fish. Not very big fish, mind you, and no sharks except for dogfish. Swordfish and the like, however, have always inhabited the Black Sea, so they weren't unknown.

4. Bestiary

Nymphs
First of all, check the wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymph) about them, which is unusually precise, and follow the links.
The D&D Dryad is, fittingly, bound to an oak tree, but other trees work as well, or other plants like laurel (Daphne). You can use the Dryad entry for most nymphs of the woods (adapt the fluff and change a couple of spell-like abilities accordingly), and the more powerful Nymph entry for those of land and water. For water nymphs in particular, it would be fitting to change their druid spells to more appropriate ones for their environment.

Satyrs
Keep the crunch, just don't ever, ever present a sober satyr. These are the followers of Dionysus, the god of wine, and for good reason.

Speaking of Dionysus, Maenads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maenad)would make a good encounter. They are also his followers, mortal women who have entered a divine (but ruthless) trance, sort of like berserk or the barbarian's rage. Famous for blindly attacking anything that moves (often killing their own husbands and children if they're not smart enough to flee) and their endless orgies.
Improvised crunch: I'd say the Maenad's trance gives you +4 STR, +4 CON, -4 WIS, immunity to fear and mind-affecting spells and effects and (like rage) it makes you unable to do anything that requires patience or concentration.
Duration: 1d6 hours, or until intoxication ends (whichever comes first).
Frequency: 1/month or less.
Prerequisites: follower of Dionysus, female, stone drunk.
Organization: they come in packs, anything from 5-30, I'd say.
Weapon: Thyrsus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyrsus). Medium melee bludgeoning/piercing weapon, 1d6 damage, 20x3 critical. When held by a Maenad in trance, the Thyrsus is treated as being affected by a Shillelagh spell (ouch).

Golems
Talos was an bronze... robot :smalltongue: , made by Hephaestus to defend Crete, so big that it could walk the whole island three times in one day. Colossus of Rhodes on the other hand, was simply a statue.
However, you could put some other golems in the game, since Daedalus the mechanic was a crazy inventor who had built some pretty wild things. Just make them metal (no flesh golems please) or use the Warforged from Eberron.

Centaurs
Definitely. They are a whole race, with many noble warriors and wise healers, but there are some mean centaurs you don't wanna cross. They can be ruthless in battle and also cunning and deceitful.

Erinyes
Erinyes (Furies of the Roman Pantheon) are not evil demons (or rather devils). They are the personification of vengeance and your own guilt haunting you, and they swiftly bring Nemesis to whoever commits Hybris. In short: breaking a solemn oath, killing your kin, or doing something grossly unnatural (anything from incest to stopping the Sun's chariot from traveling in the sky) makes these lovely ladies come hard on your butt.
Suggested Crunch: Remove the Summon Baatezu ability, and change the Charm Monster and Unholy Blight spell-like abilities to: Crushing Despair and Confusion. Add Fear and Nightmare. Just make sure they can only cast the powerful spells to the guilty.
Also, remember they are not seductive beauties, they are hideous (proportionally to the victim's crimes, according to some), but keep the CHA high because their force of personality is tremendous.

Dire Animals
Sure. Any animal that dwells in the land can be made dire if it's a particular vicious one. Bears, lions and boars are obligatory, and has anyone made stats for a stag? A dire stag attacking with horns and kicks would be beautiful. Heh.

Elementals
And in particular, water elementals. We said that every stream and spring is sacred, and personified. You can use the nymph entry, but you can also use water elementals if you don't want them to have spells. Just refluff them: they don't hail from the Plane of Water (the wha?) but are bound to a body of water (protect it, die if it dries up etc) on this earth. Choose size accordingly. You can also put some water elementals in the sea, as followers of Poseidon or Nereus or any of the endless sea deities, or use the crunch for less powerful nymphs of the sea.
Other elementals don't fit very much, but there are a couple of volcanoes around, maybe you can put a greater/elder fire elemental in Etna or Thera (Santorini).

"Gorgon"
This entry is a horrible, horrible mess. The "turn to stone" thingy is the only thing that justifies the name, the rest are irrelevant. I suggest you remove it altogether, replace it with... some death effect, and rename the beast to Poseidon's Bull. There. Ready to play. Poseidon is known to send those monsters from the sea to punish those who insult him, but he doesn't always remember to take them back after the job is done, and they are occasionally seen roaming the countryside and terrifying innocent people. Encounters with 2-5 of them make sense.

Green/Sea Hag
It can be used for the three hags on the beach, who share their one eye, one ear, and one tooth to survive. That could be fun. I don't remember how they were called, though...

Hell Hound
For Cerberus, the guardian of Hades, I'd use the Nessian Warhound stats (and add two heads of course).

Medusa
This entry is fine, use it for three monsters: Medusa and her two sisters (Stheno and Euryale), collectively known as Gorgons. Add a couple of HD to the famous Medusa for spice, if you want, they are otherwise the same.

Night Hag
There are some, mostly unnamed, creatures controlled by Hecate, who could easily resemble the Night Hag. Have them ambushing travelers at night, especially where three roads converge, accompanied by wild dogs or hell hounds.

Other entries: Chimera (unique), Griffon, Harpy, Hydra (unique), Lamia, Minotaur (unique), Pegasus (unique), Titan (you can look it up and give specific stats and classes to particular Titans - some where strong, others were smart), Triton.

... I decided to stop at Core. Oh, and the following creatures don't belong in the greek mythology: manticores, basilisks, catoblepas. But they are mentioned, around the roman times, as fables of faraway lands, so you can use them as exotic additions. Lammasu could fit too.


5. Epilogue

Let's get one thing straight. Greek mythology, as written down by upper-class scholars, is polished. According to some, the entire purpose of the homeric epic poems was to weed out the monstrosities (and atrocities) and "humanize" the gods and deities. During classical times, the poets were talking about merry satyrs with a philosophical undertone to their endless revelry, and shepherds were talking about goat-legged monsters that sucked the blood from their sheep or -ahem- raped them. Therefore, you can choose any aspect you like best, from a refined and playful Arcadian bliss to a crude and bleak life-threatening nightmare.

In the polished mythology, there are no undead, free-willed or mindless. The closest thing to undead that appears anywhere, are the Shades of the dead that Ulysses calls forth at some point (digging a hole in the ground, filling it with a sacrificial lamb's blood and waiting for the shades to come up and feed). But although the scene conjures images of spectres and ghosts, if you think about it they are just: dead. The dead don't rise from their graves, don't walk the earth, don't haunt the living, don't become re-animated by evil necromancers. [That "Jason & the Argonauts" video someone linked earlier, with the skeletons? Those movies are notorious for mixing entirely incompatible myths. Please ignore them.] However, simple folk avoided graveyards at night, and did fear ghosts. You can choose any interpretation you prefer.

Also have in mind that mythologies are never a static thing. New gods get adopted from foreign pantheons, older ones fall from grace and are forgotten, domains are being re-allocated constantly. And especially in the hellenistic era, when cultural influences came and went from half a world away, the most improbable blends occurred. (Except skeletons and vampires. Please don't use skeletons and vampires.) So you don't have to be very strict with the mythos - unless of course you want to.

Hurlbut
2008-04-17, 11:35 AM
I have The New Argonauts which is offered for free from RPGNow

Here's link http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1557&it=1

The last chapter cover the monsters. It provide some modified stats for the famous monsters of Greek Mythology like the three gorgon Sisters, of whom two are immortal and Medusa being the mortal (already slain), the 'savage' Centaurs, Erinyes, Bacchaes (Maenads), and so on. At very least those would throw my players for a loop for a bit when the monsters have slightly different abilities from what they're familar with.


I am using Iron Heroes which make the premise that Magic is rare and very dangerous.

Collin152
2008-04-17, 05:37 PM
.

Green/Sea Hag
It can be used for the three hags on the beach, who share their one eye, one ear, and one tooth to survive. That could be fun. I don't remember how they were called, though...


The Gray sisters?
You refer to the ones Perseus sought the help of, yes?

Tura
2008-04-17, 06:25 PM
Ah, yes, the Graeae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeae), thank you. (I don't know why wikipedia says the name means "gray", it simply means old women as far as I know.)

Collin152
2008-04-17, 06:32 PM
Ah, yes, the Graeae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeae), thank you. (I don't know why wikipedia says the name means "gray", it simply means old women as far as I know.)

Ah, see, I just read a a book on Perseus... hm, 4, 5 years ago, and that's what they were referred to as.

Jack Mann
2008-04-17, 06:48 PM
Ah, yes, the Graeae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeae), thank you. (I don't know why wikipedia says the name means "gray", it simply means old women as far as I know.)

Someone probably thought, "Hey, this looks a lot like 'gray,' and I've seen them called the Gray Sisters, so it must mean gray, since all English words come from Greek!"

For some reason, people tend to forget that English is a Germanic language, and derives much of its vocabulary (particularly the shorter words) from that family of languages.