Sometimes people have trouble telling the difference between two creatures (Basilisk or cockatrice?), knowing what kind of race they want to use, or one might want to know the kinds of monsters from a particular mythology.
Whatever the reason, let's create a master collection here for anyone to refer to!
For ease of reading, use this template per race:
Name:
Type:
Origin:
Description:
I'll start with a few:
Name: Human
Type: Humanoid
Origin: Part of the Homo genus, evolved in Africa and spread across the world
Description: [Not needed]
Name: Ogre/Ogress
Type: Humanoid
Origin: European mythology and folklore
Description: Large and hideous humanoid beings that eat humans, especially children and infants. They have strong bodies and greedy appetites. Ogres are closely linked with giants and human cannibals.
Name: Cyborg
Type: Science Fiction
Origin: Science Fiction
Description: An organism or person that has restored function or enhanced abilities due to having artificial technology implanted within itself. Restorative cyborgs have lost functions restored, such as organs and limbs, to an average level.
Name: Banshee
Type: Fey
Origin: Irish Gaelic mythology/folklore; 'Banshee' means "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman"
Description: A female spirit who appears, wailing, keening or shrieking, to herald a family member's death. When several banshees appear at once, it foretells the death of a great or holy person. Sometimes known as a wailing woman
Has multiple varying descriptions of appearances, though all banshees appear as female. Includes:
• Long streaming hair, a grey cloak over a green dress, and red eyes from constant weeping
• Red hair, dressed in white, and a 'ghastly complexion'
• A virgin of the family who died young
• Shrouded woman
Name: Dragon
Type: Draconic
Origin: Mostly European, with Asian and possibly African forms as well.
Description: There are thousands of mythical dragons, whether they be a form of Satan or a Devil in the Christian faith, Jormugandr the World Serpent in Norse Mythology, or even the long, wingless dragons found in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean myth.
The most common types of dragons include:
–Dragon: Four legs and two wings.
–Wyverns: Two legs and two wings.
–Drakes: Four legs and no wings.
–Amphitere: Two front legs and two wings, snakelike.
–Wyrm: Basically a very large snake.
–Lung Dragon: Four legs and no wings, longer body than a drake.
Breath weapons aren't common to all of them, but most breathe fire. Other elements or attributes have been added due to D&D and the Tolkien mythos, but many dragons are either protectors, destroyers, or guardians of some treasure.
Name: Harpy
Type: Mythological
Origin: Typically seen in Greek and Roman mythology.
Description: They were generally depicted as birds with the heads of maidens, faces pale with hunger and long claws on their hands. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness. Pottery art depicting the harpies featured beautiful women with wings. Ovid described them as human-vultures. Half Human and Half Bird personification of storm-winds, as told in some forms of poetry. The most celebrated story in which the harpies play a part is that of King Phineus of Thrace, who was given the gift of prophecy by Zeus. Angry that Phineus gave away the god's secret plan, Zeus punished him by blinding him and putting him on an island with a buffet of food which he could never eat because the harpies always arrived to steal the food out of his hands before he could satisfy his hunger. Later writers add that they either devoured the food themselves, or that they dirtied it by dropping upon it some stinking substance, so as to render it unfit to be eaten.