I haven't told my players group yet, and we haven't gamed regularly in quite some time, but I'm hoping to pick back up this summer with a bi-weekly session. (Fingers crossed the summer allows it after I return from a delayed honeymoon).
I'm working on some encounter areas and a map based on a personal version of Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories. But I'm also planning on supplementing with a whole host of creatures out of more traditional French legend/mythology.
Below is the working version of the list, and my goal is to stat a few a week from now through early June. I may be dropping some of those here as I go. Even if I don't do much with the campaign setting, at a minimum, I'll likely collect the monsters into a published book in the 6"×9" format like the Creature Cache (available in print from Lulu.com and in PDF from DriveThruRPG).
Working List: "Bestiaire Fantastique" (a.k.a. "Le Grand Grimoire")
- Ankou (medium undead)
- Babau (large dragon)
- Barbegazi (small humanoid)
- Bigorne (medium monstrosity)
- Camba Crusa (small aberration)
- Carcolh (huge monstrosity)
- Cheval Gauvin (large fiend)
- Cheval Mallet (large fiend)
- Chevalier Géant (huge giant)
- Chicheface (medium monstrosity)
- Chien Noir (medium fiend)
- Codrille (large-to-gargantuan dragon)
- Coulobre (huge dragon)
- Craqueuhhe (medium undead)
- Dame Blanche (medium undead)
- Dame Verte (medium undead)
- Dard (large dragon)
- Dormette (tiny fey)
- Drac (large dragon/shapeshifter)
- Duphon (small monstrosity)
- Ech Goblin (small humanoid/shapechanger)
- Fadet (small fey)
- Fion (small humanoid)
- Gargouille (huge monstrosity)
- Gavant (medium monstrosity)
- Giant, Basajaun (large giant)
- Giant, Jentil (huge giant)
- Giant, Mairu (large giant)
- Giant, Tartalo (huge giant)
- Goubelin (small fiend)
- Groac'h (medium fey)
- Guivre (huge dragon)
- Houeron (medium fey)
- Houle (medium fey)
- Irrwurz (small plant)
- Jetin (tiny humanoid)
- Karnobo (medium fiend)
- Loup Garou (medium humanoid/shapechanger)
- Lupeux (medium fiend)
- Marioche (large fiend/shapechanger)
- Matagot (small fey)
- Melusine (medium fey)
- Nain Rouge (small humanoid)
- Peluda (huge monstrosity)
- Peteu (huge monstrosity)
- Picolaton (medium monstrosity)
- Quinotaur (large monstrosity)
- Rô (huge dragon)
- Tarasque (gargantuan monstrosity)
- Tempêtte (medium fey)
- Varou (medium undead/shapechanger)
- Volo Biou (large monstrosity)
- Vouivre (huge dragon)
- Yan-gant-y-tan (medium fiend)
This sounds like a fantastic concept for a campaign. Basing the setting on Averoigne and then layering in creatures from French folklore is such a rich idea — it gives the world a strong identity while still leaving plenty of room for surprises at the table. I especially like that you’re pulling from lesser-known legends instead of the usual fantasy staples; creatures like the Ankou, Melusine, and the Tarasque already have so much atmospheric flavor. Even just reading the list makes me want to look up half of them. If you do end up compiling them into a Bestiaire Fantastique, that would be an amazing resource for other GMs looking to bring a different cultural flavor into their games.
ReplyDeletebmg
Thanks. As I started working out the monsters, I realized that there's likely going to have to be a coastal element for many of these creatures (BTW, expanded the list above to include a few more). But Averoigne has a very distinctive "inland" vibe with its dense forests. So I'm going to have to see how the two ideas play together.
ReplyDeleteHi ! I am a french dungeon master !
ReplyDeleteIf you want a nice one, in Normandie we have the "Varou". It's someone killed by a werewolf who come back (after death) as an Undead werewolf.
Interesting variant. Added!
ReplyDelete