Non-western Fantasy Creatures as PCs

#1

I have been hacking away at DW for awhile now, to make it more accessible and suitable to my children, and I have gotten to the point where the original DNA is so scrambled and recombined with other inspirations that I am begining to veer into “new game” territory, as far as I can tell.

One issue I am researching now are playable creatures outside the fantasy-default options of elf/dwarf. My criteria are (a) creatures that have a certain weight of cultural recognition behind them if you read the myths and folklore of that culture, and (b) that are referenced in the source material, at least sometimes, as being good or benign. The Jinn are one such example that meet both criteria.

What non-western creatures have you all used for your PCs, either in game design or in a homebrewed playbook for an existing game? And how have you made that creature evocative and memorable to your (western) players? (in other words, the elf/dwarf paradigm has become to some extent an imaginative crutch. But since players have leaned on it for so long, I can see players floundering to visualize and embody an unfamiliar mythological creature whose name doesn’t conjure an immediate allusion to other media they have consumed).

Lastly, I have posted this topic with some trepidation, being a very recent newcomer to ttrpgs and this community. If there are wealths of other fantasy story games out there to draw inspiration from that I just haven’t encountered yet, please gently point me in the right direction and I will be on my lonely way. :blush: Thank you all for your time and insight – the high level of discourse in this community is a treasure.

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#2

@LeandroP once played a creature from Filipino folklore in a game of Monsterhearts I ran. I believe the creature was called the duende. They used the Fey skin, which was a fascinating choice, because Western fey creatures are typically portrayed as sort of winsome, delicate, forest spirits, but the duende is more like a gnome or a troglodyte, as best I can tell (focused on dirt, burrows, the earth, and so forth). It had interesting implications for gameplay, too. The duende, as played by Leandro, was more about manners and other social protocols, which was a cool prism through which to view the skin’s contract-making moves.

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#3

I have not used them, but some of the beings from Japanese myths are fairly well known - like the kitsune or the tanuki.

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#4

Yep kitsune and tanuki appear alot in manga/anime

The japanese term yokai can mean spirit, ghost or nature creature depending on the reference material, but it covers what western media calls fey/fairy too

Yes djinn/genie like fey can be helpful, capricious or harmful, they suit what the story requires

For all the variety of creatures in star trek, most of the best episodes are the ‘heroes’ dealing with core species fighting each other or dealing with a renegade faction.

While other species are human-like in that they are upright bipeds that use tools and weapons, you can give them different architecture, arts, values, religion and outlooks. Eg; Kitsune consider the stars to be demons and one must not gaze at them too long. Now in your game you may decide a group of stars are actually demons, and weave that into the plot.

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#5

I recommend reading some Journey to the West (or all of it, but it’s a looong read). I think it would be neat to play some of the heavenly soldiers, demons, or enlightened animals.

  • Chris
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#6

My thanks to you all. These are great suggestions to start me on my research. Cheers!