A deep study on Magical Creatures?

Question

The fantasy genre has definately become a favorite category for me to read and write about. The best thing about it is that you have no set rules to follow. It's your own story and anything goes.
After reading many fantasy books and playing fantasy games, I was curious about how much research they put into an animal. Some authors may create their own rules to the magical animal, while it looks like others have gone to fictional history books like Tolkein with Lord of the Rings, who have elves and dwarves with their own culture including language.
Either way, opinions?

Answer 1

I think that, like you said, there are no real rules to follow in fantasy. The 'traditional' way to see magical creatures is definitely not the only way. Yes, there are certain things that I don't think can be altered without creating a whole new beast. A unicorn has to have a single horn; if it has no horn or more than one, it's not a unicorn. That's the nature of the beastie. But whether that horn is silver, gold, or blue, smooth or spiraled, plays music, allows the unicorn to change shapes, has the power to heal, is breakable or unbreakable, etc., is entirely up to the creator's imagination. It may take a little bit for readers to adjust their 'mind-set', but I think most readers of fantasy can make some pretty amazing mental leaps........after all, the reason that we read fantasy is to go to new worlds and meet new creatures.

Answer 2

Fantasy creatures often evolve from either exaggerations of real animals or just very imaginative writers. Elves and dwarves are both old English fantasy creatures, as are faeires. I watched an interesting show on "The History Channel" that speculated that such creatures as giants, dragons, gryphons, basilisks and other mythical monsters might have been started by people like the Greeks and Romans discovering and misinterpreting dinosaur bones. Imagine finding a huge leg bone and not knowing what creature it belonged to? What not call it a "giant?"

Answer 3

There's so much history to magical, mystical, mythological creatures that there are in a way unwritten rules that fantasy authors stick to for their own good. For example, if you are going to use a unicorn in your story, you had better make it a horse with one horn or your readers are not going to be very happy with the story.

Answer 4

Each fantasy world has its own set of rules governing the actions of "magical creatures". Currently D&D provides the most definitive work on creatures. West Coast seems to keep updating them as each one is expanded.

Answer 5

properly what do you talk approximately a fairy tale? Pigs exist, particular they do no longer build properties yet they exist(3 little pigs). ok heavily nevertheless i think of you propose mythical creatures. Now it is an enticing concept. to a level they exist. the huge concern is extra in exaggeration. enormous Squids exist. while we've been given "clever" we stopped believing they have been authentic. Then technological awareness stumbled on them, even nevertheless they weren't as large because of the fact the be responsive to mouth made them out to be. the component is neither is that fish that have been given away, that would not propose there grow to be no fish. another creatures like the Cyclops have an enticing tale besides. the component with the Cyclops grow to be that the skulls have been "stumbled on". They weren't extremely Cyclop's skulls yet do to the animal it look that there grow to be purely one eye socket around the top. i think of it grow to be on Monster Quest that they defined those products.