When one mentions of vampires, Braham Stoker’s Dracula often comes to mind. As time passed, the genre has grown as other authors have developed the vampire’s nocturnal world, added myths of their malicious nature. This has caused great angst for the undead who stalk the world’s streets because they would prefer such things to be left in the past as it would make their existence much easier.
Two-Legged Terrors
Superstition and legend tell of strange creatures that prowl dismal, desolate areas. Outsiders may scoff at the superstitious fools who believe in these tales, but there are those know the truth: They’ve seen these creatures with their own two eyes! Heroes might face a mythical minion of a voodoo priest. A backwater village could choose a bride (sacrifice) to offer up in exchange for their safety. One might even help a legendary creature protect its domain from poachers.
Thalassines
Lurking beneath the waves is an amphibious creature responsible for terrifying mariners that dare to sail the waters. Thalassines are humanoid, with scales in place of skin and webbed hands and feet. Their mouths are filled with row upon row of needle-like teeth. Their sole source of sustenance is blood; whether animal or human, they care little.
Tauntors
Tauntors resemble dwarfish humans, with large heads and spindly bodies. Their eyes have a yellowish cast to them, and their finger nails are long and clawlike. They appear in groups, the number of which is always a multiple of three or five.
Swans
The regal white beauty of the swan cannot be matched. These charming white-feathered birds have been seen for ages as instruments of wisdom, creativity, divine inspiration, and love. Some places, such as Finland, once considered the swan to be a holy bird. In others, it’s a form taken by supernatural beings. It’s quite likely that characters could encounter a bird endowed with supernatural abilities, such as providing a protective aura, transferring extraordinary gifts, and serving as divine messengers. The swan also has its own constellation, Cygnus (which means “swan”).
Snakes
Snakes have played the pan of villains since biblical times, and few creatures have the reptile’s natural ability to evoke primal fear in humans. Snakes can be cast as familiars for occult villains or might become the vessel for a vengeful druid’s spirit. An escaped serpent could adapt to life in the sewers of a large metropolis and dominate the subterranean world of an urban jungle. Heroes might also find themselves searching the jungle for a rare snake to harvest its venom for medicinal purposes.
Soldiers
European Armies
The aftermath of the French Revolution resulted in the formation of mass armies, which were used with great aplomb by Napoleon in his bid for Empire. The mass armies of the Napoleonic era led to the almost universal adoption of conscription by the continental European states, a tradition that is only now beginning to end in favor of professional, all-volunteer militaries. The United Kingdom, ever apart, has a tradition of a small professional military, though they did use conscription in both World Wars (and after the Second World War into the 1950s).
Giant Sewer Creatures
Over the years in the big cities, there have been crazes about exotic pets that people wanted to have, ignoring the fact that one day they would grow into an adult predator. Many collectors bought several eggs at once and let them grow until they became too big to house in the terrarium. Once that occurred, it was a question for the owner of what to do with them. Too large to simply Bush down the toilet, the collectors often dump the terrarium down the nearest storm sewer and assume that’s the end of it. Other creatures find themselves driven below by encroaching human developments.
Serial Killers
One of the true horrors of reality is that evil does not have to wear a monstrous mask to be effective. It often chooses to walk the earth in an average-looking, nonthreatening form that easily blends into the background. Serial killers are urban predators who utilize circumstance and the indifference of the world around them to stalk victims. These sadistic fiends come from all walks of life. Their prey rarely suspects their true intentions until it’s far too late. On some occasions, serial killers make benign contact with their quarry. The good Samaritan who stops to fix your tire today might stalk you tomorrow!
Sea Creatures
Many creature dwell beneath in Earth’s oceans. Their presence can sometimes give dues about what’s to come: The sudden dispersal of a school of fish could tell alert individuals that an immense predator is about co arrive in the area. Heroes may encounter jellyfish that have washed ashore after being poisoned by undersea construction. Or, they could find sea creatures displaying unusual behavior, such as circling a peculiar rock formation emitting waves of psionic energy. Electric eels could bolt from an otherwise safe haven when something long dead awakens.