Fantasy Species: 20 Common Fantasy Creatures

Fantasy species are types of fictional creatures that inhabit the pages of fantasy books. Crucially, these different species do not exist in the real world. Some fantasy species are the creation of individual authors, but a great number come from longstanding folklore and may have appeared in fantasy stories for generations.

Some fantasy novels describe worlds entirely inhabited by fantasy creatures. Examples include The Goblin Emperor (2014) by Sarah Monette (pen name Katherine Addison) and The Crucible of Time (1983) by John Brunner. More commonly, fantasy settings feature invented creatures interacting with humans and real-world animals. Examples include The Lord of the Rings trilogy (first published in 1954) by J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire (first published in 1991).

Explore twenty of the most popular fantasy species that appear in fantasy novels and movies.

1. 1. Dragons: Dragons are massive, flying, fire-breathing reptiles. They are often portrayed as ferocious and untamable, but some dragons allow humans to ride them. They appear in countless fantasy works from The Hobbit to Game of Thrones.
2. 2. Wizards: Wizards—sometimes called sorcerers—are human-like beings who possess magical abilities. Some wizards can only access magical powers sometimes; others seem nearly omnipotent. Many wizards are shapeshifters and can assume different identities.
3. 3. Giants: Giants are massive beings that tower over humans. There are many different types of giants, including brutish ogres and the one-eyed cyclops.
4. 4. Merfolk: Merfolk, including mermaids and mermen, share qualities with both fish and humans. Most live exclusively in water but have amphibious qualities that briefly sustain them on land.
5. 5. Lizard folk: These reptilian hybrids fall somewhere between lizards and humanoids. Friendly lizard folk often resemble geckos while evil lizard folk may take on the appearance of crocodiles.
6. 6. Hobbits: Also called halflings, these creatures are among the central protagonists of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. They are noted for their small size and sage wisdom.
7. 7. Elves: Wood elves typically live in the forest. High elves live in marble palaces. Dark elves typically live underground and may behave wickedly, while other elves tend to have noble intentions. Still other types of elves include night elves, snow elves, moon elves, and aquatic elves.
8. 8. Dwarves: Dwarves are typically depicted as an ancient humanoid species. Dwarves are squat, burly, and master craftsmen. They are often associated with mining and tunneling.
9. 9. Gnomes: Gnomes are short and squat like dwarves, but they tend to have a friendlier disposition in fantasy stories. They tend to be tinkerers more than craftsmen. Their signature accessory is a pointy red cap.
10. 10. Trolls: In standard fantasy literature, trolls are massive, primordial creatures that humane recruit for major battles. During peacetime, they are typically regarded as a nuisance prone to ransacking villages.
11. 11. Nymphs: Nymphs are characterized as protectors of the wilderness—particularly trees and plants. In most works of fiction, they are closely related to fairies.
12. 12. Dryads: Dryads are also known as tree nymphs. In works of fantasy, most dryads bond with a particular tree and consider it an extension of themselves.
13. 13. Satyrs: Satyrs are half human and half donkey. They typically have an appetite for carousing.
14. 14. Centaurs: Closely related to satyrs, centaurs are half human and half horse. These hybrid mammals tend to avoid human civilizations in works of fantasy. Sometimes they appear as barbarians and sometimes they appear as stewards of nature.
15. 15. Demons: Demons can take many forms in fantasy stories, but they are almost always motivated by evil and malice.
16. 16. Imps: Imps are connected to both demons and fairies. Most are motivated by mischief more than evil. Like dryads, imps closely associate with trees; some are even born grafted to trees in fantasy novels.
17. 17. Orcs: Orcs are commonly depicted as brutish monsters motivated by evil and cruelty. In some traditions, orcs are corrupted elves. Orcs had fallen out of standard fantasy tropes until J.R.R. Tolkien made them the key horde of antagonists in the Lord of the Rings series.
18. 18. Goblins: Closely related to orcs, goblins are smaller, smarter, and easily spotted thanks to their green skin. Hobgoblins are larger goblins that closely resemble orcs.
19. 19. Werewolves: Werewolves are typically depicted as humans that turn into wolves during a full moon. In some folklore, they are revenants—the undead corpse of a human killed by another werewolf.
20. 20. Hydra: A hydra is a many-headed serpent that traces back to ancient Greek mythology. Depending on the work of fiction, some are aquatic and some live on land.

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