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== Tabletop Games ==
* Get a drink for this one. In ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'', [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gorgon.htm gorgons] are a variation on the creature known as the [[wikipedia:Catoblepas|catoblepas]] in more classical bestiaries. The creatures that resemble the [[wikipedia:Gorgon|Gorgons of Greek mythology]] are named [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/medusa.htm medusas], after [[wikipedia:Medusa|the best-known Gorgon]]. And as if that weren't confusing enough...the catoblepas, by that name, has actually appeared in some editions of D&D. (And while—unlike the previous two—it's always ''fit'' one version or another of the catoblepas myth, it's always been notably distinct from the gorgon.)
** Ditto for ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]] III''.
** Incidentally, the word "Gorgon" literally means "horror".
** The use of the name "gorgon" for a bull-like creature comes from a particular medieval bestiary, which used that name for the catoblepas as a reference to the whole "kill with a glance" thing.
* Lamia in ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' have a confusing history due to Lamia's own historically confusing mythology as either a [[Snake People|snake woman]], a [[Hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]] [[Wicked Witch|hag]], or as a [[Mix-and-Match Critters|four-legged beast with a woman's head & breasts]]. All editions on D&D up until 3rd have used the last one as inspiration for a lion-centaur monster which ''somewhat'' follows it. However, 4th edition just decides to chuck all mythology out the window and attach the name to a swarm of insects that crawl over the skeleton of a dead humanoid and use spells to disguise themselves as people.
* At least one article in ''Dragon'' magazine has suggested that game masters use this trope in-game to screw with their players' expectations, perhaps justifying it as disinformation spread by [[Genre Savvy]] monsters.
* ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' calls vampires' mortal servants "ghouls".
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* ''[[Homestuck]]'' has [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Lich liches] that could be much more comparable to gargoyles (though the wings are not part of the monster design; they come from the prototyped crow).
** While we're at it, the trolls are are a race of [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Monster People]] whose infant forms are reminiscent of [[Bizarre Alien Biology|insects]] and whose life cycle and physiology is [[Expospeak Gag|just a tad]] [[Art Major Biology|strange]]. While not a full example - [[All Trolls Are Different|myths about trolls rarely agree on anything]] - the ''Homestuck'' depiction was intended to be rooted more in the idea of [[Troll|internet trolls]] (that's all the characters were before [[Andrew Hussie]] decided to make them relevant to the plot), and as such are certainly divorced from the traditional brutish, man-eating monsters that live under bridges.
* Brooke from ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' and her people are called "melusines," even though traditionally, "Melusine" was a specific individual - what she was was a "nixie." It would be like calling gorgons "medusas." [[Oh, Wait!]], [[Dungeons and& Dragons|that totally happens]].
 
 
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Call a Pegasus a Hippogriff{{PAGENAME}}]]
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