Suggestions for Incarnations and Enemies who are base from History/Mythology/Folktales/Legends

[SweetShark]

My favourite games I had played, have many characters base mostly from mythology/history/folktales, like Shin Megami Tensei series, Odin Sphere, etc...
One of the main reason I want to play Indivisible: All its characters base heavily by those standards I love in these type ofgames.

So I decided to create a Thread to suggest or even just say what we wish to see in the game base different mythology/history/folktales around the world.
I am from Greece, so I have some suggestions.

Incarnations:

Spoiler

*From Wikipedia*
Klepht & Armatoloi
were Christian Greek irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottomans to enforce the Sultan's authority within an administrative district called an Armatoliki. They were organized based on a feudal system under which they maintained their military/police duties in exchange for titles of land. When the Ottomans conquered Greece in the 15th century, they established treaties with the armatoloi in order for them to maintain their military/police functions. The Ottomans would have units of armatoloi or kapetanioi (καπετάνιοι, captains) function as peace-keepers in territories near difficult terrain (i.e. mountain passes) or in areas where resistance to foreign rule entailed acts of theft by the klephts.

Enemies:

How would you feel if I say we have many different kind of VAMPIRES base of folktales in different part of Greece?
Please read a free translation of information I found about them:

*The first names are different places of Greece and below is the descriptions of the vampires*

Χίο
"The vampires are dress in white and they have always around them a leader, three times in size and it is all black. No eyes, mouth, ears,etc. Just a humanoid black void. Finally the other vampires dance around their leader. They appear only after midnight and they only leave to hide if they hear a white rooster scream three times."

Σκόπελο
"The vampires are animated walking Skeletons."

Σπέτσες, Ύδρα και Κύθηρα
"The vampires are humpback ugly humans with black hands and long nails. They never speak and they create strange mouth sound like silent singing"

Τήνο
"The vampires are ghosts with long beards and long sharp nails. However if they come in contract with the living, they take a physical form and they destroy everything around them."

Σαμοθράκη
"The vampires are made of FIRE, they can become INVISIBLE and they can also TELEPORT! *AWESOME!*"

Αμοργό
"These vampires can come out in the day, however they make a lot of noise *like the Nazguls*"

Κάλυμνο
"These vampires come out only in the cold nights of the Winter which they use the wind to guide them to house to house. Also they love the cold wind *duh...*"

Μακεδονία
These vampires come out when the night full-moon *like a classic vampire*. However they can also come out when it is raining. Even if it is in the daylight.

Αλόννησο
The vampires are black and they have shiny flesh. They can also light into the darkness.

Σκύρο
Someone can become a vampire if someone died and never get buried properly. Also you could become a vampire if you die while you were drinking. *yep....*

Bosses

Again a Vampire......but he is a VAMPIRE PIRATE!!!

Μύκονος
"A pirate who visit Mikono in 18th Century, died and the people who know him buried him so his soul find peace. However this never happened and he raised to cause massive damages around the Island. For that reasons the people decided to find his grave, remove his heart and throw it to another place, Kardiokaftis. Sadly this DOESN'T STOP HIM and he raised once again from his grave to find the people who removed his heart. The only way to stop him now for a small time, is to cut his head with a sword. But he will come back again."

I have many other kind of creatures/people I want to share with you because it get more crazier.
What about you? What do you want to see in Indivisible?
Cheers!!!

 

[Magma442]

You're suggesting stuff for a game that's already being developed where the incarnations are already set and at this point in time they probably have a rough idea of what the enemies are going to be.

Also you seem to like Vampires a lot.

Spoiler

Put me in as an incarnation why don't ya :P

 

[SweetShark]

You're suggesting stuff for a game that's already being developed where the incarnations are already set and at this point in time they probably have a rough idea of what the enemies are going to be.

Also you seem to like Vampires a lot.

Spoiler

Put me in as an incarnation why don't ya :P

I don't mind if my suggestions never make it in the game. I just doing this for fun mostly.
You can't believe how much material our Greek folktales have to create so many games.

Also many Medieval Bestiaries are full of wonders in my opinion.
I will write more of them in the future.

Vampire in Greece in reality have a different name. We call them "Βουρκολακες". The word means the people who come from the Mud. These people are the ones which didn't get a proper burial ritual, so they had become curse to eat flesh of the living.
In other words the without taking into account the different versions of other vampires depends the place in Greece, these Vampires were Zombies covered with Mud.
So awesome.

 

[SweetShark]

Today I have some suggestion base of Art Pieces from Medieval Bestiaries.
It have even classic animals and insects like dolphins, spiders, ants, etc. However how the artist represented them without know something about them?
Here are my Top selections of well-know species, plus other kind of creatures:

Spoiler

Ant
Yes, these dogs are Ants. The classic Ants we know. They are know as "The Ants of Ethiopia" and they dig Gold.

Spoiler

Asp
The asp is a serpent that avoids the enchantment of music by pressing one ear against the ground and plugging the other ear with its tail.

Spoiler

Amphisbaena
The amphisbaena is a two-headed lizard or serpent. It has one head in the normal position, and another at the end of its tail. It can therefore run in either direction. Its eyes shine like lamps, and has no fear of cold.

Spoiler

Barnacle goose
Barnacle geese come from trees that grow over water. These trees produce birds that look like small geese; the young birds hang from their beaks from the trees. When the birds are mature enough, they fall from the trees; any that fall into the water float and are safe, but those that fall on land die.

Spoiler

Crocodile
A beast that weeps after eating a man.....

Spoiler

Crab
Good material for an awesome Boss.

Spoiler

Panther
A gentle, multicolored beast whose only enemy is the dragon

 

[SweetShark]

I realized something about an enemy Lab Zero showed us in a trailer:

This crocodile creature is in my opinion indeed base the Medieval version of Crocodile.
Why you may ask?

From the description"

"A crocodile, attacked by its enemy the hydrus, which has entered the crocodile's mouth and is eating its way back out."

Please tell me I am right on this one Lab Zero? This would be cool.

 

[chillbean]

That actually does look pretty similar. LabZero have mentioned before that they're interested in splicing and dicing aspects of different mythos' in order to create locations, characters and enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if they took some inspiration from that creature, but the snakes and crocodile are independently referencing other creatures. The snake heads in the indivisible creature look similar to the south east asian horned serpents that inspired Alex to create Naga Rider.

 

[SweetShark]

That actually does look pretty similar. LabZero have mentioned before that they're interested in splicing and dicing aspects of different mythos' in order to create locations, characters and enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if they took some inspiration from that creature, but the snakes and crocodile are independently referencing other creatures. The snake heads in the indivisible creature look similar to the south east asian horned serpents that inspired Alex to create Naga Rider.

Interesting. Do you have an link about the snake to read? The only thing I saw is this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_Serpent

In reality there is another enemy in the trailer which combine two important mythological figures, but it is more obvious:

Pindayar is base a real town with the name Pindaya.

Spoiler

*From Wikipedia*
According to local legend, the term Pindaya is a corruption of the word Pinguya, which translates to Taken the Spider in Burmese. The name arose from the legend that there was once a large spider which resided in the caves and it had captured a local princess. The princess was rescued when the giant spider was slain by a prince using a bow and arrow. When the spider was killed, the prince was said to have exclaimed that he had taken the spider, that is to kill it. Thus, the exclamation became the name of the region, and from it Pindaya received its name.

Obviously this Boss is a combination of the Spider and the Prince.

However by FAR the most interesting thing is the title the Boss have:
Vetala Beast Lord

From the Web:
The vetala is another vampire of India. The vetala are a class of demons in Hindu mythology that have the power to enter the bodies of human or animal corpses and reanimate them. They can enter living victims as well, and manipulate them as they please.

So in others, if we that we see is a Vetala, this means a vampire demon being control the dead boby pf the prince and the spider.
Cool.

 

[WaterMystic277]

holy shit this is cool as fuck

(Also you greeks are obsessed with vampires goddamn. Did twilight do well over there?)

 

[SweetShark]

I never saw or read Twilight series, but I guess it is popular for the little girls.
Also I love classic and unique vampires, NOT the one that sparkles in daylight.
Also I am spot on about the vampires, because it seems Lab Zero use vampires [Vetala] for the main plot of the game.

 

[SweetShark]

I just discovered as well what is the wolf creature in the trailer. You can even see its name if you apay attention:

Rompo
Rompo is a mythological beast with the head of a hare, human ears, a skeleton-like body, the front arms of a badger, and the rear legs of a bear. It feeds only on human corpses and it is said to croon softly as it eats. Stories about the Rompo are found in India and Africa. The legend of the Rompo may have been inspired from sightings of any of the Old world porcupines.

In other words, this is NOT a wolf. It is hybrid of a Hare and a Badger.
Again cool.

 

[superj3]

I remember when I was kid I read a book about monsters around the world. One of the monsters that could fit in this game is the orangbati some kind of orangutan/bat hybrid that kidnaps kids and anybody who encounters it dies. I think they're making something like that already right?

 

[SweetShark]

I remember when I was kid I read a book about monsters around the world. One of the monsters that could fit in this game is the orangbati some kind of orangutan/bat hybrid that kidnaps kids and anybody who encounters it dies. I think they're making something like that already right?

Do you mean the bat thing we see in the trailer also:

It is a Ahool it seems:

The Ahool or the Athol is a winged cryptid. Some portrayed the creature as a giant bat, while others claim it is flying primate.
Although it mainly eats fish, it will occasionally attack humans. One scientist theorized that the creature may be related to another cryptid, the Kongamato. But its description describes more of a bat-like creature than a reptile-like one. So it may be more related to Orang Bati.

So you were close enough.

However this game me an idea to post Crypids that we have in Greece.
Also I will look the other enemies of Indivisible to see from were they are base of.

 

[SweetShark]

The Tree creature btw from a quick search is a Kabandha:

Kabandha was "as big as a mountain, dark as a black cloud, with pointed hairs all over his body and looked fierce with a voice as loud as thunder. He had an eye on his stomach, round and yellow, emitting a glare like a fire-name. Looking wicked he thrust his big tongue out of his huge mouth licking the sides."The Ramayana presents a similar description of Kabandha. Kabandha had a broad chest and was without a head or neck. He had only one eye on his chest and a mouth on his belly. He used his long arms to draw his prey closer. Kabandha is often depicted as a tree.

 

[SweetShark]

After a lot of thinking, I decided to ppst another suggestion for another Incarnation related with Greece once again:

Spoiler

Cretan archers

At the heart of a well-known oldest myth are the proud Cretan warriors, who fought valiantly trying to stave off the inevitable, the fall of Constantinople. The Cretans, mostly archers, had come as volunteers from the Great Island to help the City defense. Historians of the conquest place the three towers of the Golden Horn, located near where the tie chain that closed the bay, perhaps the most crucial point of the City defense in the early stages of the siege. At the final storming of the Ottomans, the Cretans fought bravely and even not allowed Turks to tread << >> part of the walls that had been in their custody. The Turks, anxious to participate in the looting of Constantinople and understanding that we had to pay a disproportionately heavy toll on to step three well manned towers, decided to allow them to leave the price, with arms and their possessions. Cretans boarded the two ships had been brought from Candia and moved to the big island. The stories of one of the Cretans, Peter Carthage or Grammatiko, are the basis of the manuscript of 1460, which is now kept in the Monastery Vatopedi on Mount Athos. The figure gives to Cretan fighters is 1500, which is however rather hyper-few hundred seems likely. Also, ships gives is five and the chroniclers of the conquest speak for two. However, the heads of volunteers Cretans was Manoussos Kallikratis from Sfakia, Gregory Vatsiana Maniakis Askifou and Peter Carthage or Grammar of Cydonia. Andreas Makris from Rethymno and Pavlis Kamateros from Kissamos were the other two heads. According to the romantic (but without basis in fact) folk legend, the Cretan ships never arrived on the island, but were wandering in a timeless sea, until the day the Greeks will try to retake the town. Then, says the tradition, the Cretans will return and will join forces with other Greeks in the ultimate battle for Constantinople.

 

[superj3]

I've been playing a lot SMITE lately and since it's based upon mythologies around the world, I thought some of the Hindu characters would fit in the game. We already have a bad guy named Ravana and Ajna is based upon various forms of Vishnu. So we an endless amount of incarnations and enemies we could possibly have. Bakasura, Kali, Sun Wukong, Kumbhakarna and others could be bosses or incarnations.

 

[Shan]

Played and finished Order of Ecclesia recently, and realized one monster from the game could be cool to see in Indivisible : the Santelmo (it's called Saint Elmo in OoE i think)

To quote Wikipedia

The term santelmo is the shortened form of the Tagalog words "Apoy ni San Elmo "-"St. Elmo's Fire". St. Elmo's Fire has long served as an omen of heavenly intervention to sailors.
St. Elmo's Fires have ranged from a ghostly dancing flame to natural fireworks. It usually is of a blue or bluish-white colour attached to fixed, grounded conductors and has a lifetime of minutes. The flame is heatless and non-consuming, occasionally accompanied by a hissing sound.

I've seen them represented as either flaming orbs or more humanoid ghostly apparitions.

Oh yeah, the Tikbalang is cool too !

Spoiler

It is generally described as a tall, bony humanoid creature with disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. It has the head and feet of an animal, most commonly a horse. It is sometimes believed to be a transformation of an aborted fetus which has been sent to earth from limbo.

Folklore says that one can tame a Tikbalang and compel it to be one's servant by plucking three golden hairs from its mane. There are also stories where a Tikbalang asks its intended prey a riddle. Someone who manages to answer correctly will be rewarded with a pot of gold.

Other legends depict the Tikbalang as a monster of the night, with eyes that glow red. This version of the Tikbalang casts it as a fearsome creature, a real danger to people. It is believed that when it is angered - and it is easily angered - it stomps on people with its hooves until they die. In these tales, the Tikbalang is always accompanied by the stench of burning hair and smokes great big cigars.

 

[MajoraZ]

Since we know there are some Aztec inspired locations and characters, I think Ahuizotl's, Cipactli, and Tzitzimime could make good enemies.

 

[OtaGamerKorin]

Personally, if we were able to stick any creepy creature in-game to fight, I'd be absolutely head-over-heels excited for a Dullahan boss. To quote Wikipedia:

The Dullahan /duːˈləhɑːˌn/ is a headless rider, usually on a black horse who carries his or her own head under one arm. Usually, the Dullahan is male, but there are some female versions. The mouth is usually in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. Its eyes are constantly moving about and can see across the countryside even during the darkest nights. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. The Dullahan uses the spine of a human corpse for a whip, and its wagon is adorned with funeral objects (e.g., candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels are made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewed pall or dried human skin). When the Dullahan stops riding, that is where a person is due to die. The Dullahan calls out the person's name, at which point the person immediately perishes.[1]

There is no way to bar the road against a Dullahan—all locks and gates open to them when they approach. They do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so (often a mark that they are among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. They are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a Dullahan away.

​

(For any of y'all who've watched Durarara, this is what Celty is.)

It seems like it'd be a super cool enemy to fight at the end of a level, like a sort of death mage of sorts. Just imagine all the cool underworld inspired moves it could have! Lashing out with it's whip or scythe, summoning it's carriage to run the party down, and who knows what all else! It'd certainly be interesting if it was linked in some way to Narssus, like it's trying to track him through the level and take his soul back where it belongs or something. Nothing like a nice chase section to get the blood pumpin. (Or maybe it could be trying to go after the evil spirit bound to him, but would have to take him out in the process.)

And hey, if a headless horseman/ reaper ain't quite your style, why not a Nuckelavee?:

The nuckelavee ( /nʌklɑːˈviː/) or nuckalavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian mythology that combines equine and human elements. It has its origins in Norse mythology, and is the most horrible of all the demons of Scotland's Northern Isles. The nuck component of its name may be cognate with Nick in Old Nick, a name for the Christian Devil. The nuckelavee's breath was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock, and the creature was held responsible for droughts and epidemics on land despite its being predominantly a sea-dweller.

A graphic description of the nuckelavee as it appears on land was given by an islander who claimed to have had a confrontation with it, but accounts describing the details of the creature's appearance are inconsistent. In common with many other sea monsters it is unable to tolerate fresh water, therefore those it is pursuing have only to cross a river or stream to be rid of it. The nuckelavee is kept in confinement during the summer months by the Mither o' the Sea, an ancient Orcadian spirit, and the only one able to control it.

Orcadian folklore had a strong Scandinavian influence, and it may be that the nuckelavee is a composite of a water horse from Celtic mythology and a creature imported by the Norsemen. As with similar malevolent entities such as the kelpie, it possibly offered an explanation for incidents that islanders in ancient times could not otherwise understand.

No tales describe what form the nuckelavee takes when in the sea,[3] but its appearance on land has been recounted in graphic detail.[15] An islander, Tammas, claimed to have survived a confrontation with the beast and, after much cajoling from Dennison, reluctantly gave his description of the monster, the only known first-hand account.[c] According to Tammas, the nuckelavee has a man's torso attached to a horse's back as if it were a rider.[3] The male torso has no legs, but its arms can reach the ground from its position on top of the equine body, the legs of which have fin like appendages.[13] The torso has a large head – possibly as much as 3 feet (90 centimetres) in diameter – that rolls back and forth.[14] The monster described by Tammas has two heads;[17] the equine head has an enormous gaping mouth that exudes a smelly toxic vapour, and a single giant eye like a burning red flame. A particularly gruesome detail is that the nuckelavee has no skin;[18] black blood courses through yellow veins, and the pale sinews and powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass.[13] Other reports state that the creature resembles a centaur;[19] narratives are inconsistent in the finer details of the demon's description however.[2] Traill Dennison only describes a man's head with a "mouth projected like that of a pig".[13] Marwick also only mentions one head with a single red eye, and he borrows some of Tammas's characterisation by recording the creature's mouth as "like a whale's".[14]

(I'm not even sure it'd be safe to post a normal depiction of it, so I'll give you the RWBY Grimm version instead, but if ya wanna see a normal one, feel free. Just don't say I didn't warn ya.)

​

Considering the hell of a jumpscare just the boss in the prototype gave some of us, just imagine this thing erupting out of the ocean out of nowhere.

Also, I'd love to see a Selkie somewhere in-game, though not as a enemy. Maybe it could be an NPC guide if the group were to travel through a more coastal/ocean region?

Selkies (also spelled silkies, sylkies, selchies, Scots: selkie fowk) are mythological creatures found in Irish, Scottish, Faroese, and Icelandicfolklore.[1][2] Selkies are said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land. The stories frequently revolve around female selkies being coerced into relationships with humans by someone stealing and hiding their sealskin, often not regaining the skin until years later upon which they commonly return to the sea, forsaking their human family. The legend is apparently most common in the Northern Isles of Scotland[3] and is very similar to those of swan maidens.[4]

Male selkies are described as being very handsome in their human form, and having great seductive powers over human women. They typically seek those who are dissatisfied with their lives, such as married women waiting for their fishermen husbands. If a woman wishes to make contact with a selkie male, she must shed seven tears into the sea. If a man steals a female selkie's skin she is in his power and is forced to become his wife.

Female selkies are said to make excellent wives, but because their true home is the sea, they will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. If she finds her skin she will immediately return to her true home, and sometimes to her selkie husband, in the sea. Sometimes, a selkie maiden is taken as a wife by a human man and she has several children by him. In these stories, it is one of her children who discovers her sealskin (often unwitting of its significance) and she soon returns to the sea. The selkie woman usually avoids seeing her human husband again but is sometimes shown visiting her children and playing with them in the waves.

Stories concerning selkies are generally romantic tragedies. Sometimes the human will not know that their lover is a selkie, and wakes to find them returned to their seal form. In other stories the human will hide the selkie's skin, thus preventing the selkie from returning to its seal form. A selkie can only make contact with one human for a short amount of time before the selkie must return to the sea. The selkie is unable to make contact with that human again for seven years, unless the human steals their selkie skin and hides it or burns it.[9]

(Kinda NSFW? Maybe? I mean there's nothing showing, and not in a sexual context, so loosely at best? It's just a selkie shedding her sealskin so, you know, they're naked. Honestly this is one of the more tame accurate selkie arts I found. I'll try putting it under spoiler cover just to be safe.)

Spoiler

​

(Sorry to gush for a bit. I'm just Scottish myself and it always makes me excited to bring up my heritage's folklore.)
(Edit: Don't know why all the links on the Nuckelavee and Selkie text vanished but *shrugs*)

 

[North888]

Honestly? I'm a big sucker for interesting skeletons. Hoping maybe we get the Gashadokuro (Japanese giant skeleton formed out of the bones and spirits of soldiers who died of starvation and other maladies unrelated to battle. It makes loud noises of teeth grinding together and is known for the deep blood red color of the bones. instead of crushing people it just attempts to grab them and bite their heads off to sate it self, though since it no longer can eat, well...I'm sure I don't have to explain what that means.)

I'm also a big sucker for unique monster characters as allies. I know there's the undead guy and I think he's really cool, but I wonder if we'll see any other sort of enemy like characters as incarnations.

 

[SweetShark]

Honestly? I'm a big sucker for interesting skeletons. Hoping maybe we get the Gashadokuro (Japanese giant skeleton formed out of the bones and spirits of soldiers who died of starvation and other maladies unrelated to battle. It makes loud noises of teeth grinding together and is known for the deep blood red color of the bones. instead of crushing people it just attempts to grab them and bite their heads off to sate it self, though since it no longer can eat, well...I'm sure I don't have to explain what that means.)

I'm also a big sucker for unique monster characters as allies. I know there's the undead guy and I think he's really cool, but I wonder if we'll see any other sort of enemy like characters as incarnations.

There are plently of cool unique looking skeletons if you search in the medieval art once again.
For example a cool one is a flying black skeleton holding a giant arrow like a knife:

--------------
So I done again research for new kinds of vampires which we have in old legends and it got even more obscure and awesome.
Oh how I wish I could design a videogame with these delightful ideas.
Anyway, here they are:

"Ίσκιοι" or in Latin "Umbra":
It seems the word Umbra is used in a RPG with the game WhiteWolf? I don't know...
Anyway, a free translation is "Shadow".
Their favourite habit: steal the life energy of no baptised babies. They doing that by literally using their ghost bodies to press them down so hard and killing them...

However there is another kind of vampire/ghost, a Shade again, but it can only harm you if you are a greedy bastard.

Saint Kerkira/Αγία Κέρκυρα:
This is an old legend of a woman get killed by his father who have strongs believes to a false god. Other people of the village after learning this, they decided decided to buried her and built a church in her name to show respect.
After many years, after the church get built, a small poor boy went to this church to show respect to Saint Kerkira. After get inside and praid, something peculiar happened: one part of the church's floor opened. He get closer and saw stairs going down. Curiosity win over him and he decided to see what it was below. After climbing down many many stair he get surprised. He saw with his own eyes and old beautiful city with a lot of pretty statues and at the edge of the city.......Saint Kerkira herself guarding a giant treasure.
She knew the boy was poor and decided to help him and his family by giving him a small pouch with small gold coins. However she asked the boy to make a promise to not anyone where he get the gold. He agrees.
However because of his hapiness for having gold to help his family, he immediately thought to go to his friend and other poor families to help them as well. She already knew about it. Amd so she begone to punish him: While the boy was running to first inform his family, he felt the pouch becoming lighter on each step he was taking. He stop to look at it. The pouch was empty. He felt something else as well. He felt he also get weaker......his own inside become empty and died. Never break the promise with Saint Kerkira.

And last, but not least are two kind of vampires which are related somehow with their origin/reason for brcoming a vampire:
- The first one said that if someone eat a sheep which had been killed by a werewolf, this person become a vampire. Cool.
But do you know what is even cooler?
- If a werewolf die there were a possibilty to tranform as a vampire aw well!!!
Let's imagine this please: In the old days the Greek people had so much imagination who decided to present their own version of vampire as a undead werewolf with thirst for blood, having even maybe bat fangs and bat wings. Jesus, calm down!

Anyway that all I have. I hope you enjoy the small research I done.