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I know many of the Pathfinder monsters hearken back to real world myth. I was wondering if there was a good version of a mythological creature encyclopedia being used to get these, or if they were being taken from all different sources? I've been looking for a good reference on origins of mythological creatures for a while, and havn't found one I like.
or if anyone else has suggestions on ones to look for: that works too :)
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I know many of the Pathfinder monsters hearken back to real world myth. I was wondering if there was a good version of a mythological creature encyclopedia being used to get these, or if they were being taken from all different sources? I've been looking for a good reference on origins of mythological creatures for a while, and havn't found one I like.
or if anyone else has suggestions on ones to look for: that works too :)
The closest thing to a "whole earth" mythology guide is Bulfinch's Age of Fables which details Roman, Greek, Hindu, and Norse mythology. However, it is very Western in its mindset and doesn't necessarily do justice to the Eastern myths. In addition, it is a little puritanical in its examinations of the stories and plays down or omits details that would have made young women blush a century ago when it was published.
Joseph Campbell's Masks of God series is a more thorough examination, but is mostly interested in disecting the myths and seeing how they influenced and were influenced by the people who created them. On the plus side, it is richly filled with footnotes listing sources and detailed bibliographies, and provides a good background on creating mythologies that "feel real" for your own games.
I've got the Arcturus dictionary of Mythology (Arcturus) is the publishing company. It's 1135 pages long and contains dictionary like entries on every major mythology of human culture. It is an absolutely fantastic reference book but some of its entries are very short. Still it covers every major mythology and probably every minor on too. It also contains a lot longer entries for more important bits of mythology.
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I've got the Arcturus dictionary of Mythology (Arcturus) is the publishing company. It's 1135 pages long and contains dictionary like entries on every major mythology of human culture. It is an absolutely fantastic reference book but some of its entries are very short. Still it covers every major mythology and probably every minor on too. It also contains a lot longer entries for more important bits of mythology.
That sounds like something I'd like to look at. Do you have an ISBN # for it...I can't find it on Amazon.
Sure the ISBN number is 978-0-572-03222-7.
Like I said some the entries are a bit short but it a great reference source and only costs £20 ($40 approx).