Literary Sources of D&D
Compiled by Aardy
R. DeVarque
The D&D game is an amalgamation of many literary
sources, from recent fantasy fiction to ancient mythology. Since understanding
how these elements were intended to work, or how to best build on or alter them
may sometimes require knowledge of their original context, a listing in one
place of such influences could be a great help. However, given the sheer size
of the game, and the overwhelming number (and intertwined nature) of literary
influences, derivations, and borrowings, a comprehensive catalog would be
several lives' work. What appears below is a humble attempt to list what I can.
According to p. 224 of the 1st edition Dungeon Master's
Guide, the following are among the books and authors that were of
particular inspiration to Gary Gygax in the creation
of D&D. According to Mr. Gygax, de Camp &
Pratt, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance,
H.P. Lovecraft, and A. Merritt had some of the most
direct influences on the direction of the game, and the others in the list had
a lesser influence. Since the list was created in part to dispel the belief
that D&D was based primarily and almost solely on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and shortly after the Tolkien
estate had accused TSR of copyright infringement, Tolkien's
name was intentionally left off of that short list. Even a cursory reading of
de Camp, Howard, Leiber, Vance, Lovecraft,
and Merritt admittedly show as great or greater influences on D&D as Tolkien, but Tolkien definitely
should have also been mentioned with those.[1] Here
is the list presented in the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide.
Law vs. Chaos
Three
Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson, and the "Elric"
series by Michael Moorcock (who apparently based his version of Order vs. Chaos
on
Barbarian class
Based
largely on the character of Conan from Robert E. Howard's series of the same
name and on the character of Kothar from Gardner
Fox's series of the same name (which is itself obviously based on Howard's
Conan stories), with some elements taken from the character of Fahfrd from Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar series.
Druid class
Based loosely on legends surrounding the pre-Christian
Celtic priests called "druids."
Paladin class
Based largely on the character of Holger
Carlson from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and
Three Lions, as well as
Ranger class
Based primarily on the character of Aragorn from Lord of
the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Thief/Rogue class
Based largely on the character of the Grey Mouser from the
"Lankhmar" stories by Fritz Leiber, with some elements taken from Bilbo Baggins from
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Wizard class
Based
largely on the wizards in the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance,
especially his story "Mazarian the
Magician," as well as on other fantasy wizards such as Martinus
from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions,
the wizards in John Bellairs' The Face in the
Frost, the characters of Gandalf and Saruman in
J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the
character of Merlin from the King Arthur legends.
The episodic "treasure
quest/tomb raiding" style & feel of D&D
In no
particular order: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien,
the "Lankhmar" short stories by Fritz Leiber, Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, and the "Cugel"
stories from the Dying Earth books by Jack Vance. Those are the most
obvious influences, but are far from the only influences.
The "epic quest"
style & feel of D&D
In no
particular order: The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson are two of the most obvious influences in
this area from the above list, but they are far from the only such influences.
Planes:
Originally a district of Peloponnesian
Planes: Elysium
In Greek
mythology, Elysium is where the spirits of good people resided after they died.
Planes: Nine Hells: Avernus
In reality, the name of a lake in
Planes: Nine Hells: Caina
The name
used for the first part of the ninth circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Canto XXXII. Dante describes it
as a completely frozen lake formed by the river Cocytus.
Planes: Nine Hells: Dis
In Greek mythology, a synonym for Hades--both the place
and, in Virgil's Aeneid (VI, 358 & 524), the god
Hades/Pluto. In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cantos VIII-IX, Dis a large, walled city in Hell with a well-guarded gate,
which is the origin of the D&D plane's description. In Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer.
Planes: Nine Hells: Malbolge
The name
is derived from Malebolge, the term used for the
Planes: Pandemonium: Cocytus
The name for one of the major rivers in Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno. Dante's description of the river bears no similarity to
that of the D&D outer plane.
Memorization system for spells
The Dying Earth
series, by Jack Vance, especially his story "Mazarian
the Magician."
Spells named partly for their
creators, partly for their function, and partly out of whimsy
Dying Earth series, by
Jack Vance.
Alter Self
Seemingly extrapolated from an unnamed spell used by the
wizard Martinus in Three Hearts and Three Lions
by Poul Anderson.
Fog Cloud
One
source is Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul
Anderson, though it is not named there.
Geas
Primarily taken from the spell of the same name in Three
Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson.
Hypnotic Pattern
Extrapolated from "Felojun's
Second Hypnotic Spell" in the story "Mazarian
the Magician" in The Dying Earth by Jack Vance.
Imprisonment
Taken from "The Spell of Forlorn Encystment"
in Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance.
Invisible Servant
Taken
from Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul
Anderson, though the novel only mentions a wizard's invisible servant, not a
spell that creates such a servant.
Magic Mouth
Taken from Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, though the spell is not named there.
Prismatic Spray
Taken from "The Excellent Prismatic Spray" spell
in the story "Mazarian the Magician" in The
Dying Earth by Jack Vance.
Arrow of Slaying (Dragon)
Heavily glorified version of Bard's arrow from The
Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. However, in the novel it was Bard's skill and the chink in
Smaug's armor that caused the arrow to do the damage
it did; in D&D, this became an inherent ability of the arrow.
Boots of Striding and Springing
"Live Boots" from the story "Mazarian the Magician" in The Dying Earth by
Jack Vance; also "seven-league boots" from European folklore.
Carpet of Flying
Derived
from the magic carpets often used in the Arabian Nights stories,
especially the story of Prince Ahmed, which is itself
derived in part from the tale in the Koran of King Solomon's magic carpet.
Dancing and intelligent weapons
"In
Ioun stones
Dying
Earth series, by Jack Vance
Phylacteries
In modern
times, the word solely refers to tiny boxes with written prayers inside that orthodox
Jews tie around their foreheads or upper arms. There was a more general
meaning, now archaic, that was a synonym for "amulet." This latter
meaning is what is used in D&D.
Ring of Invisibility
Gollum's ring from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Sword, Flame Tongue
Similar
in concept to the Dagger of Burning from Poul
Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, but this is merely an indirect
influence at best.
Sword, Holy Avenger
Probably
an extrapolation from the sword named "Cortana"
in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions,
at least in part.
Sword, Vorpal
The sword in the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis
Carroll.
Al-mi'raj
"Monster in Islamic poetry, a yellow hare with a
single black horn on its head." --
Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Ant-Lion
Based on
a real insect, though one which is not quite that large.
("Monster-figure in bestiaries, because of a linguistic misunderstanding
pictured as a lion with the hind-quarters of a gigantic ant. Described
in detail in the Physiologus." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.)
Basilisk
Medieval alchemical folklore. "King of serpents, gigantic monster
with the body of a cock, iron claws and beak, and a triple snake's tail.
Its stare, like that of the Medusa head, is fatal. Killed by
holding a mirror up to it." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons,
by Heinz Mode. The name is sometimes used in folklore as a synonym for
cockatrice. Also is mentioned, though not thoroughly described, in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Brownie
Scottish superstition. Brownies supposedly would do little jobs at night for the family on
whose farm or in whose house they reside. The name comes from being dark or
"brown" sprites, as opposed to fairies, who
were light or "fair" sprites. The term was popularized in the
Catoblepas
"Ethiopian bull-monster feeding on poisonous herbs. Its breath killed all adversaries. Mentioned
by Pliny." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Centaurs
Greek
mythology, in which the half-man, half-horse creatures were well-regarded as
archers and Chiron the centaur was a renowned scholar.
Chimera
Greek mythology. "Ancient Greek monster in Homer, with the head of a lion, the
body of a goat, the tail of a serpent. In Hesiod,
it has not a triple body, but three heads--of lion, goat, and snake. Begot by Typhon and Echidna and defeated by Bellerophon."
-- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Couatl
Derived from the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl of
Aztec myths.
Cockatrice
Medieval alchemical folklore. Created when a snake hatches a rooster's egg, the monster
combines features of each creature (wings of a fowl, tail of a dragon, and head
of a rooster). According to legend, its gaze is instantly fatal. In folklore,
it is sometimes called a basilisk.
Cyclops, Cyclopes
Greek mythology, most famously in the story of Ulysses in
Homer's Odyssey.
Demodand
The name
(changed slightly from "Deodand" to "Demodand" to add a tie to the word "demon")
and evil nature are taken from the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance, but
everything else about them was created by TSR's
writers.
Demon, Demogorgon
An evil
deity, the mention of whose very name supposedly brought down disaster. Tales
of Demogorgon go back to the 4th century, and he is
also named in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Lodovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Spenser's Faerie Queene,
and Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound,
though the actual description used in D&D is apparently Gygax's
creation.
Demon, Succubus (also Incubus)
Medieval Christian folklore.
Demon, Type V (Marilith)
Derived from Indian (Hindi) mythology.
Demon, Type VI (Balor)
Originally
named Balrog, it was taken from Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was renamed "Type VI
Demon" (with one example being named "Balor")
after the Tolkien estate asked TSR to stop infringing
Tolkien's copyrights. In 2nd edition, "Balor" went from being the name of one of these
creatures to the name for the type of demon. (The illustration in the 1st
edition Monster Manual is also vaguely similar to the demon in the "Night
on
Devil, Asmodeus
An evil
spirit or demon in the Apocryphal book of Tobit, the
"king of devils" in the Talmud and Hebrew mythology, and an evil
spirit or rebel angel in John Milton's Paradise
Lost.
Devil, Baalzebul
Derived from the Hebrew "Baalzebub,"
meaning "lord of flies," which is in turn derived from the Canaanite
deity Baal. In the Bible, Jesus is
accused of using the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils, to drive out
devils (Matthew
Devil, Dispater
In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer. "Pater"
is Latin for "father," so it is not much of a stretch from there to
call the ruler of the city of
Devil, Erinyes
Taken
from Greek mythology, where they are also known as the Furies. They are
particularly featured in Aeschylus' play Euripides. In some tales, there
are only three of them: Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera. The picture
in the Monster Manual seems to be based on the similar creatures in the movie Jason
and the Argonauts, as animated by Ray Harryhausen.
Devil, Geryon
Originally a three-bodied monster from Greek mythology. However, the D&D version is taken directly from Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cantos XVI-XVII.
Devil, Horned (Malebranche)
Inferno, by Dante
Alighieri, Cantos XXI-XXII.
Doppelganger
Loosely
derived from German philosophical folklore, in which an apparition representing
another side (often evil) of a character's personality appears, and is often an
omen the character's imminent death. This, in turn, is
derived from the unexplained phenomena of people who claim to have met an exact
duplicate of themselves while traveling, who vanishes soon after the meeting;
the claimant himself is sometimes said to have died mysteriously soon after the
meeting. (The word is from the German doppelgänger,
literally meaning "double-walker.")
Dragon
Worldwide folklore.
Most of the D&D dragons are derived in large part from European folklore
(for example, the dragon fought by Siegfried guarded a horde of treasure),
though folkloric dragons almost exclusively breathed fire. Gold dragons and the
Oriental dragons (river, sea, cloud, mist, celestial dragons, et al.) are all from Chinese mythology. Tiamat
is from Babylonian mythology, though her D&D form is much different from
her original appearance. Tiamat was the evil mother
of all dragons in Babylonian mythology, which is partly why TSR's
writers made her a "prismatic" conglomeration of all of the evil chromatic
dragons they created. The character of Smaug from The
Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is an obvious more
recent influence.
Drow
Teutonic
folklore included both light elves (good) and dark elves (evil). The word
"drow" is of Scottish origin, an alternative
form of "trow", which is a cognate for
"troll". Trow/drow was used to refer to a
wide variety of evil sprites. Except for the basic concept of "dark
elves", everything else about drow was
apparently invented by TSR's writers.
Dryad
Tree nymphs in Greek mythology, such as Eurydice from the
myth of Orpheus. Also
called hamadryads.
Duergar
The word
is [Norse?], roughly a synonym for dwarf. Paracelsus (1493-1541) wrote of
gnomes as "earth elementals", and described them as little old men
who could shift to the size of giants and were malicious, greedy, and miserable
creatures. This would appear to be the origin of D&D duergar.
Dwarf
D&D
dwarves are an amalgamation of many sources, including Germanic folklore, Three
Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, and
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Lord of
the Rings. The primary sources, especially for D&D dwarven
society and lifespans, are The Hobbit and Lord
of the Rings; Three Hearts and Three Lions is also an important
source, but not as much so as Tolkien's works. (Also,
the terms "dwarves" and "dwarven"
were coined by Tolkien. The original forms are dwarfs
and dwarfish, as evidenced by Disney's movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.)
The Germanic story The Ring of the Nibelungen
and the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairy tale retold
by the Brothers Grimm are probably close ancestors of D&D dwarves; Germanic
lore depicts dwarves as living in caves, guarding mineral wealth, and being
very skillful in making things from stone and minerals. French folklore (and
from that, Three Hearts and Three Lions) depict dwarves as
forest-dwellers, similar to D&D's hill dwarves.
The dwarven ability to detect the slope of an
underground passage is specifically mentioned in Three Hearts and Three
Lions, which is most likely the immediate source for inclusion of that
ability in D&D.
Eagle, Giant
While
giant versions of normal animals are a staple of science fiction and fantasy,
and are often found in folklore, the D&D version of the giant eagle is
lifted directly from The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Elf
D&D
elves are an amalgamation of many sources, including folklore, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings,
Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions,
the fantasy stories of Lord Dunsany, and other
fantasy novels. D&D elven society and lifespans are largely based on Lord of the Rings
and, to a lesser extent, Three Hearts and Three Lions. Elves are part of
the forces of Chaos in Three Hearts and Three Lions, which is partly why
they are of "chaotic" alignment in D&D.
Gargoyle
French folklore.
Cathedral-builders carved grotesque faces around downspouts used to route rain
run-off away from the sides of the building, partially to ward off evil
spirits, partially to find a decorative use for what would otherwise be a plain
block of stone, partially to have fun with their work; the English
"gargoyle" is derived from the French "gargouille",
which is thought to derive from the gargling sound water makes as it pours
through these downspouts. Over time, things which originally were done to scare
off evil spirits became thought of as evil themselves, as the groteque faces on these downspouts often inspired fear in
the common folk. Architecturally speaking, "gargoyles" are used to
funnel rain water away from the sides of a building; "grotesques" are
similarly-carved statuary or corner blocks that have nothing to do with the
building's drainage system.
Genie
Jinn, Efreet (Ifrit), Dao, and Jann all appear as powerful (and usually trickster-like or
demonic) creatures in Arabic folklore, sometimes identified with each of the
four elements (fire, water, earth, air). The English term "genie"
derives from the Latin "genius", which derives from the Arabic
"jinni", the plural of "jinn". The lamp-dwelling, wish-granting
genie in D&D is taken directly from the Arabian Nights tales.
Ghoul
"Ghul. English: ghoul. An
Gnome
European folklore. According to Webster's dictionary, "One of a fabled race of
dwarflike creatures who live underground and guard treasure hoards."
Teutonic mythology includes earth spirits closely resembling dwarfs--small,
stocky, & generally grotesque. They dwell in the earth and can merge at
will with trees or the earth. They occupy their time in quarries & mines
deep in the earth, where they are thought to be guardians of fabulous
treasures. Paracelsus (1493-1541) wrote of the four elements and the four types
of elementals: fire = salamander, water = nereid,
air = sylph, earth = gnome. Gnomes looked like little old men.
Goblin
Very
loosely based on The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien,
and possibly more so on the goblins from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
("Goblin" has the same Germanic root as the word "kobold".
Both mean 'evil sprites'; Goblin from English folklore, kobold is from German.
In English folklore, it is a general term for any malevolent misshapen or
grotesque creature that lives in dark places.)
Golem
Animated man-shaped statue from Medieval Jewish folklore. The golem was made of clay, and was created to protect the
Jewish quarter of
Golem, Flesh
This is
exactly the creature from Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by
Mary Shelley.
Gorgon
Edward Topsell in his 1607 History of 4-footed Beasts, included
a bit translated from Conrad Gesner's 1551 Historiae animalium
that was a description of a Gorgon as a [four-legged] animal with dragon's
scales, pig's teeth, a poisonous mane, human hands, and lethal breath, that was
a native of
Medieval
folklore, most often depicted with the body and rear legs of a lion, and the
head, wings, and front legs of an eagle, and still used as a heraldic device.
Composite creatures such as this were apparently a favorite of the authors of
medieval bestiaries. More immediately, a "griffin" is mentioned (but
not depicted) in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and
Three Lions.
Half-elf
The
character of Elrond (and his family) from The Hobbit, Lord of the
Rings, and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien is the origin for the half-elf, but the D&D
version is significantly changed from Tolkien's view.
For example, Tolkien's half-elves had to choose
whether they would be elves or men, and as a result had lifespans
typical for the race of their choice, whereas D&D half-elves are a true
amalgamation of elves and men.
Halfling
Halflings
were originally hobbits, taken from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien. They were renamed "halflings" when the Tolkien
estate asked TSR to stop infringing on Tolkien's
copyrights. 3rd edition D&D halflings are an
amalgamation of 2nd edition halflings with Dragonlance's kender.
Harpy
Greek mythology.
Hippocampus
Medieval bestiaries.
Depicted as the front half of a horse and the rear half of a
fish or sea-serpent. The name is a Latinate construction, used because
most scholarly books of the period were written in Latin and no common name
already existed for such a beast.
Hippogriff, Hippogryph
"Horse-griffin (horse's body) with eagle's head and
wings." -- Fabulous Beasts and
Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Homonculus
Medieval alchemical folklore. Homunculi were created through use of various powders,
rare earths, potions, etc., and were lesser than man because only God could
create Man from scratch; man could only create lesser beings at best. Mandrake
root is sometimes given as the primary ingredient, since it usually appears
vaguely man-shaped.
Hydra
Greek mythology.
The classical form is the Lernaean hydra, which had
nine heads and could only be killed by cutting off all of its
heads--however, whenever one was cut off, two more quickly grew in its place.
Hercules defeated it by using a torch to immediately cauterize each stump as he
cut heads off, thus preventing new ones from growing. The cryohydra
and pyrohydra variants were apparently created by TSR's writers.
Ki-rin
Chinese mythology, sometimes written "Ch'i-lin" (depending on one's transliteration scheme). "Chinese male-female form of
unicorn; symbolic of grandeur, felicity, noble offspring and good
administration." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz
Mode.
Kobold
Extrapolation from the kobolds of Poul
Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions; also, cave-dwelling evil
sprites from German folklore. (Note that the mineral cobalt is named for supposedly having the
same blue/green color as German kobolds.)
Lamassu
"Winged
lion, or winged bull with human head, of late Assyrian times. Guardian spirit of the city of
"Greek
witch who devours children, also called Mormolicoe.
She has cow's feet and cat's claws.... In the Alexander
romance, very beautiful women, larger than life, with long hair and horse's
feet" -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The
origin is from the Greek myth of
Leucrotta
From
Roman folklore, mentioned in Pliny's Natural History. (Also known there
as "leucocrotta")
Lich, lych
A lychgate is an entrance to a churchyard where a body rests
before burial--"lych" means person or dead
body (From German "Leiche", meaning
"dead body, cadaver, corpse"). The D&D lich is very similar to a
character from Taran Wanderer, by Lloyd
Alexander, a magician with an unnaturally-extended life who can only die if the
item he has stored his soul in is broken (in this case, a bone from his little
finger); however, the term "lich" is never used in the book. The
origin of both the D&D lich and Alexander's character is probably the
Russian folkloric character "Kotshchey the
Deathless", also an unnaturally long-lived magician (or demon) who was
almost impossible to kill.
Lycanthrope
Worldwide folklore.
Werewolves are found throughout European folklore, and tales of men turning
into other creatures are found all over the world. The word is a medieval Latin creation (used in bestiaries and the like),
based on Greek.
Lycanthrope, Werebear
Largely based on the character of Beorn
from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lycanthrope, Wereboar
Possibly from the tale of Circe from Homer's Odyssey?
Lycanthrope, Werefox
Possibly North American Indian mythology?
Lycanthrope, Weretiger
Possibly Hindu mythology?
Lycanthrope, Werewolf
At least
partially based on the character of Lawrence Talbot from the 1930's Universal
Pictures movie The Werewolf, and also derived in large part from the
werewolf in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three
Lions.
Manticore
"Monster
mentioned in [medieval] bestiaries, probably of Indian provenance, according to
a report by Ctesias." -- Fabulous Beasts and
Demons, by Heinz Mode. More immediately, mentioned (though not described)
in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Medusa
Greek mythology,
from the tale of Perseus, though it is a proper name
there rather than a type of creature. "Gorgon" was the general term
used to describe Medusa and her sisters, but TSR's
writers used medusa as a general term, and gorgon for a different kind of beast
(specifically, a creature found in old European bestiaries).
Mermaid
Greek
folklore, though similar tales can be found in the tales of sea-faring cultures
around the world. The D&D form is basically identical to fairy tales from
the 19th-20th centuries, such as The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian
Anderson, which were related to European sailor's tales from the 17th-19th
centuries. All of these owe their source to the Greek myth of the Sirens.
Minotaur
Greek mythology.
Bull-man creature who lived in Minos'
labyrinth of
Mummy
1930's Universal Pictures movie. Egyptian beliefs had the mummy moving on to the next life,
not returning to this one. Even the supposed curse of Tutankamun,
which was part of the influence for the movie, involved the curse's power
making people catch deadly diseases and/or suddenly drop dead, not anything to
do with the walking dead. The movie (and the Egyptology fads of the early 20th
century that spawned it) is the first place walking mummies are seen.
Naga
"Naga. Indian [Hindi] demigods, part snake, part man." -- Fabulous
Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The accompanying picture depicts a
creature with the body of a snake and the head of a man.
Nereid
Sea-nymphs from Greek mythology.
Nixie
Nixies
are water elves from European folklore, sometimes depicted as mermaids. The
D&D nixie is taken directly from Poul Anderson's Three
Hearts and Three Lions, including the desire to enslave humans, the ability
to cast water breathing on victims, their weakness to a flaming sword (a
flaming dagger in the novel) and light-related magic, and ability to summon
fish to swarm the bearer of such a light.
Nymph
Greek mythology. Female sprites who are the embodiment of beauty and female lust.
Orc
Very loosely based on The Hobbit and Lord of the
Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, which was in turn based
on creatures from English folklore.
Pegasus
Greek mythology, from the tale of Bellerophon.
Peryton
Greek folklore that the souls of the lonely manifest as
dangerous half-deer/half-eagle creatures that cast human-shaped shadows.
"A
wonder-bird, which according to Herodotus flies once every five hundred years
from
Roc
"Enormous bird, probably of Persian origin, said to
live in
Satyr
Greek mythology. Half-man, half-goat forest creatures who are the embodiment of
unbridled male lust. "Faun" is the Roman term for the same
creature.
Scorpion-man
"Sumerian and Akkadian
monster-figure, Girtablulu, created by Tiamat to do battle with the gods. Gilgamesh meets him on his wanderings." -- Fabulous
Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Sea-Horse
Horse-like aquatic creature from Sinbad's first voyage in
the Arabian Nights.
Shedu
"Human-headed, winged bull-monster of
Assyrian-Babylonian mythology." --
Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Simurgh
"An enormous bird, which lived before Adam. Al-Mas'udi describes it as
having a human face.... Gigantic bird of Persian
mythology." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Skeleton
The
concept of animated skeletons rising up to attack the living occurs in folklore
all over the world, but one possible more immediate source for the D&D
version is the movie Jason and the Argonauts.
Sphinx, Androsphinx
Based on Egyptian statues with a lion's body and a man's
head.
Sphinx, Criosphinx
Based on Egyptian statues with a lion's body and a ram's
head. (The Greek word "Crios" means "ram")
Sphinx, Gynosphinx
Greek myth of Oedipus. In the tale,
Svirfneblin
Scandinavian folklore.
Swanmay
"Swan
maiden" is a "[t]erm for the Valkyries in Nordic mythology. In fairy-tales they are
supernatural beings, who fly down to earth, mostly to bathe, laying aside their
winged or feathered garb." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz
Mode. Also, one of Grimms' tales includes seven
maidens cursed to turn into swans. The D&D swanmay
is actually taken from one of the major characters in Three Hearts and Three
Lions by Poul Anderson, who based his
"swan-may" on the folkloric swan maidens.
Tarrasque
The Tarasque (one "r") was a dragon-like creature
that lived near
Treant
The
original name, "ent," betrays the
creature's origins in Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Except for the name, which was changed along with hobbit and balrog at the behest of the Tolkien
estate, the creature is essentially identical to how it appeared in Tolkien's books.
Triton
Merman from Greek mythology.
Troll
While
trolls can be found throughout folklore, and are well-known to readers of
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the D&D troll
comes from Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul
Anderson, including the long nose and rubbery skin, ability to regenerate, and
weakness to fire.
Unicorn
"Found
in the legends of many countries. Often derived from the rhinoceros and
explained as a real animal, or interpreted as the profile view of a two-horned
animal... But in the literature of many peoples, unicorns occur clearly as
fabulous animals." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
The D&D unicorn is straight out of medieval European tales, like the
Unicorn Tapestries, that involve it being the ultimate purity, susceptible to
virgins, able to purify water with the horn, the horn being a powerful item to
use in alchemical creations, etc.
Wight
The
D& D wight is directly derived from the barrow-wight in Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The word "wight"
is the Anglicized form of the Germanic "wicht",
which now means "elf, goblin, dwarf, gnome", but originally simply
meant "a being". The English word used to mean "a human
being", but changed to be a term for a type of malicious sprite during the
14th-16th centures, as happened with many English
synonyms for "person", including hob, pukka,
orc, and boggart.
Will-o'-wisp
English
folklore, probably based on swamp lights or marsh gas, or possibly the way
lanterns look through a thick fog.
Worg
The
Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien,
though "warg" is also used as a term for the
giant wolf form of a werewolf in Poul Anderson's Three
Hearts and Three Lions.
Wyvern
Medieval heraldry & folklore, in which it is a dragon
with wings, two legs, and a barbed tail.
("Wivere" is a Saxon word meaning
"serpent".)
Bené's Reader's Encyclopedia, 3rd ed.
Borges, Jorge Luis Book of Imaginary
Beings.
Dragons.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology.
Mode, Heinz. Fabulous Beasts and
Demons.
South, Malcom,
editor. Mythical & Fabulous Creatures: a Source Book & Research
Guide.
http://webhome.idirect.com/~donlong/monsters/monsters.htm
As for the argument that all those books
are based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings...
Lord of the Rings was
first published in 1954-55 (
If you read all the books & authors listed in as
sources in the 1st ed. Dungeon Masters Guide, you can see that yes, Lord
of the Rings was definitely AN influence on the game, but definitely
not THE influence--deCamp, Leiber,
Merrit, Vance, Anderson, et al. had as much, if not
more, influence on D&D. Given the relevant publication dates, those stories
by those authors were definitely NOT influenced by Lord of the Rings.