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This category was nominated for renaming on 16 September 2017. The result of the discussion was no consensus.
Speaking of merging, why the distinction between Fictional species and Legendary creatures? How do you decide which category a creature belongs to? ··gracefool |☺ 21:33, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC)
I think a fictional creature is any creature that doesn't actually exist. Anything that exists (only) in fiction is fictional. However to be Legendary a creature must be part of a Legend - a story of particular power or significance. Thus the creatures of Greek myth are both legendary and fictional. Alien creatures from a TV show are just fictional. DJ Clayworth 13:29, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)
When does a fictional creature become a legendary creature? For instance, I changed the categories of Goblin and Goblinoid because they had little info in the way of myths or legends. What exactly is a legend? Any story more than 50 years old? 100? ··gracefool |☺ 02:40, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
I don't think we are going to be able to pin this down exactly. Certainly it's necessary for a story to be fairly old before it is a legend. Something also needs to be 'well know' as a story, and preferably without a known author. I might make some exceptions there for tales that are old enough to be retold again and again, even if the author is known (possibly Cyclops is allowed as legendary here). My view is:
Anything with a known author is not legendary unless very old indeed. So no Orcs, no Puppeteers, no Gorns, no monsters from Doom. Cyclops, Pegasus, Centaur is OK; same with similar creatures from other mythologies.
I think that's a pretty good first rule. If you can name the person or group who invented the creature, it's not legendary. DJ Clayworth 16:04, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
yeah, but it cant hurt to have a differant page for: Trolls(jrr tolkien's world) and trolls(european legends). Because tolkien trolls are similar to the other trolls, and were definatly inspired by them. but some details for both dont belong on either page. you know what im saying?
As far as distinguishing between fictional and legendary, I prefer using the definition from Legendary creature: "A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature (often known as "fabulous creatures" in historical literature)." If it's something that exists purely in books in the Fiction section of your local bookstore, then it's fictional. If it can be found in myths or legends (probably with no known author), then it's legendary. There's obviously going to be a lot of overlap, since Fantasy authors frequently use legendary creatures in their work, but those creatures created from scratch should be treated as fictional, rather than legendary. Hobbits and Orcs would be fictional, being the products of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, but Trolls, Elves, and Dwarfs would be legendary, as he simply took existing Germanic legendary creatures and adapted them for his legendarium. Pfhreak (talk) 20:10, 12 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Similarly, I think there's a case to be made for excluding non-legendary cryptids, such as the multitude of "Fooie" (from "Lake Foo") lake monsters, except in cases where it can be clearly demonstrated that the cryptid is a continuation of a myth or legend, the Unicorn being a well-known example. The Chupacabra is a good example of a non-legendary cryptid, as there are no stories, no myths or legends about it, just the occasional sighting. Pfhreak (talk) 20:10, 12 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
