On Spontaneous Generation

Spontaneous generation is an ancient understanding of the natural world in which living material generates out of non-living material. For example, maggots generate from dead flesh, clams from sand, etc. Medieval variation in this belief included ideas like certain organisms being the origins of others that today we clearly know is not the case. For example a fruit tree that seems to always be surrounded with a particular type of bird was believed to actually birth that bird from its fruit. Today we understand that the bird in question was likely around that particular tree because of its diet, not because that was its birthplace.

Maintaining the 'Weird'

Today we would find these ideas to be ridiculous. Our cultural understanding of the origin and classification of the natural world has overshadowed these old ideas so much so that they are unknown to many although there are holdovers still within the zeitgeist such as the phoenix - a bird that erupts into flame at the end of its life, burning into a pile of ash of which a small worm is spontaneously generated that grows back into the bird to renew the cycle.

Using the idea of Spontaneous Generation makes for a more authentic and alien-feeling setting. Taking this one step further applying the idea that living things can generate from non-tangible metaphysical realities ratchets this feeling up even more. This concept can be applied to an individual known for completely succumbing to a moral corruption of a particular type. They may become a creature that shares their particular vice (this shared vice isn't a coincidence - its why those creatures exist to begin with).

Symbolism Over Naturalism

As a fan of naturalism in games, there is a point of overkill in which the "realism" of the locale overtakes the mystery of interacting with mythological symbols, concepts, and metaphysical truths. The world from which fantasy emerged was that of the stories of the middle-ages - fairy tales, legends, and myth. Naturalism was only included when it made the story more interesting and excluded when it detracted from the story. We can see this in Beowulf. The hero swims for days down to the bottom of a lake to find the mother of a giant in a cave with no way of egress other than the way from which he came. Within the cave a magic sword not forged by men, the only thing sharp enough to kill the giant's mother. Where did she get food? Did she run out of air in such a small aquatic cave? Who put the sword there? All these questions go unanswered. Modern thinkers may try to answer these questions with more practical solutions, but the ancient reader instead considered what those elements meant symbolically rather than only seeing the naturalistic logistical problems. It relayed ancient truths about the world and man's place within it.

Human-centric

Applying these concepts necessitates a human-centric setting. It excludes settings where elves, dwarves, halflings, and men all belong to "civilization" as these creatures are not like us - they come from the chaos of the unknown. Spontaneously generating because of us as an unwanted outcome. They feed off chaos and vice. In some cases they may be like us but they are not like us. Men and demi-humans may be able to adventure together in pursuit of a shared desire, but the greater motives of men like eternal meaning, success, family, homeland, and community do not exist for demi-humans. Everything rides on man in his experience with creation. There is no worse monster than man, for all true monsters come from him. Men truly thrive in law, despite what some may try to tell you. Monsters thrive in chaos.

Examples

The Goblins

The dark cave to the west was once a place of mystery. A shrine to the old gods once stood within. A brazier never allowed to burn out. Once the old gods fell out of worship, the cave has been known as a place of bad luck, left pitch black for many years. Reports of missing sheep have caused the nearby villages to become accusatory toward one another. Neighbor unable to trust neighbor, and petty crimes committed against one another in retaliation. In addition to the unrest, some have seen small imp-like creatures skittering in and out of the cave on moon-lit nights. Some say small, hastily butchered animal carcasses can occasionally be seen scattered around the mouth of the cave. Travelers tell stories of gibbering voices near the road at night, and strange fetishes hanging from road-side tree branches.

The Giant

Two brothers with neighboring farms, have been quarrelling about their inheritance. When their father died, the eldest murdered the youngest in cold blood. In a twisted attempt to hide the evidence, he butchered and salted him for the larder and ground his bones to dust, mixing it into his bread. Once the news reached the village, the folk were disgusted and felt compelled to bring the eldest brother to justice. During their rallying to arrest the eldest brother, the ground begin to shake with heavy rhythmic footsteps. The farm was destroyed and no evidence of the eldest brother remained. A nearby abbey gave reports of a hulking creature that ravaged their garden and stole several of their cattle as it fled in the opposite direction of the brothers' farms.

The Dragon

After a multi-year long disagreement about the fate of the castellan's betrothed, the lord had his castellan vassal assassinated leaving the nearby villages in chaos. The night the lord came to the dead castellan's court and rode off with his riches and the true prize, the castellan's daughter, was the night the realm first saw the dragon. It has taken up residence in the high tower of the lord's keep, completely clearing out any guards and causing the lord's family to flee. Still more distressing, the lord and castellan's daughter went missing in all the chaos. Some eye witnesses claim that the missing castellan's daughter was held tightly in the monster's talons when it first landed in the keep.

No. 1 Rule: There are no rules

If one thing is certain in the origins and development of mythical naturalism, its that no two creatures can be assumed to have the same explanation of their existence. One cyclops may be born of a mother goddess, another might be the resulting coagulation of a blind goat and a demon. Don't let this become another mechanical understanding of the world. There must be a predictable operating procedure for the fiction that players can operate within and rely on for consistency, so don't throw out all the modern naturalism, but when the players are in the realm of the weird (underworld, dungeons, monster lairs, magic use, etc), don't allow their assumptions about our reality to always be right about the reality of your setting.

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