Your thoughts on the Minotaur

[OP1000]

Hello!!!!

How would you feel about the way that these classical monsters are being written in fantasy novels?

 

[SailusGebel]

Not badass enough. King Of The Labyrinth is the same, since he is not badass. He simply has cheats.

 

[BernKatstel]

They suck. They don’t produce the feeling of awe that they should. More often than not they are no more than common mobs even in their home ground.

 

[ParticleOfSand]

You could use that sentiment of the minotaur being weak and pull a twist that makes him important. Otherwise, he'd just be a throwaway character.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Not badass enough. King Of The Labyrinth is the same, since he is not badass. He simply has cheats.

I agree. Minotaurs should be like the Doom Guys of fantasy. They should kick ass and get bloody.

 

[SailusGebel]

I agree. Minotaurs should be like the Doom Guys of fantasy. They should kick ass and get bloody.

And they should always be alone.

 

[LilRora]

They are usually the strong early-game/story mob that's a goal to surpass at first, but becomes meh later on. Alternatively, if the setting doesn't permit humans growing strong enough, it's that powerful, dangerous monster that's overshadowed by something greater.

And honestly? That's pretty accurate. In greek mythology, it was powerful, but it was defeated by Theseus - so a human, if an extraordinary one - with a magic sword. That puts it far, far lower in strength than many other monsters and heroes, not to mention gods, and that's more or less where it stands in most stories and games.

That way of writing them makes them pretty boring though. I'm not for or against either that or glorifying them; if it's an addition to the story, like one of the monsters in the mc's path, then the former is completely fine. The latter is nice if the minotaur is a named character. They've got good potential there.

 

[georgelee5786]

I prefer the original way they were written

 

[Underload]

Just create your own damned demons. Better if they are human.

 

[Blitz]

Mythology wise: A pitiful being that lives a wretched life in darkness

pop culture: Feels like they’re the equivalent of a bull. They charge in to walls and toss and turn. Nothing really stands out

 

[expentio]

The bestiality part from the original myth is, uh....

 

[HelloHound]

I love their design but there's not a lot of stories featuring them that interesting me

 

[Anon2024]

They need to demand women for mating, forcing the men to stand up and fight.

 

[Voidiris]

Hello!!!!

How would you feel about the way that these classical monsters are being written in fantasy novels?

Just another fantasy monster, there was like one fiction that used them in a grant way (Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival) and another in a plot important way (Damnachi) but even then any random mythical being or made up monster could exchange them nothing would change.

Monster hunter is the only serious with great monsters in my opinion but in most entertainment the monsters need only to fulfill a specific purpose, most of the time they are just simple obstacles.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Ngl find it a bit strange that minotaurs are always like a race in fantasy stories. In the original myth there was only ever 1 minotaur.

You only ever see male minotaurs. Usually the author hasn't considered how they actually function outside of being a enemy encounter. Bonus points if the minotaur uses a weapon and has armor despite being a mindless monster with no intelligence

And if there is a female minotaur it's an anime girl with massive breasts and maybe horns if you're lucky.

 

[WaterFish]

Thoughts on the Minotaur: “Why fk a bull? Why…? How do you have a beastiality kid with it? How…? Screw it, I’m not as curious as the fact it exists. More that they didn’t kill it immediately upon birth. That grandfather was a merciful one indeed.”

 

[BearlyAlive]

The original one was a pretty poor sob, but in fantasy they're just cow-orcs...

 

[l8rose]

I always wonder if he's single.

Jokes aside, the minotaur wasn't actually the main problem in the original Greek story. It was the labyrinth he was in. If you managed to find your way through it, and not starve to death, he was just waiting to finish you off. Kind of like the clean-up crew. That's why a properly outfitted adventuring party (or demi-god in this case) could pass the challenge of the labyrinth and the minotaur.

 

[DanielPotter]

Hello!!!!

How would you feel about the way that these classical monsters are being written in fantasy novels?

“Football is a labyrinth... Messi is the minotaur!”

 

[Chaos_Sinner777]

In theory, it is one of the most iconic classic monsters. In practice, kinda ends up a base mob monster most of the time. And in the rare cases where it isn't a basic monster, it usually ends up OVERDONE somehow. Like, c'mon Minotaur ain't no S rank monster, people. If it were depicted about how the myth handled it, like small groups of normal people simply not standing a chance, but a Hero being able to fight and potentially win one on one, that'd be nice. . . Hmm, dangit, now I'm trying to rethink how I intend to use minotaurs in one of my own stories, cause the MC is supposed to be very strong for her level, like strength stat specifically is high. I was intending for her to physically overpower a minotaur like three times her size and shock some other people because of it, but that's back to treating it like a basic mob. Maybe I should rework the idea to a serious fight after she shocks the minotaur with her strength matching its own despite the size difference. Like she still handles it solo, but nevermind her grabbing its horns and breaking its neck with one sharp twist like I had been considering. Literally tearing its head off after the fight ends, perhaps, but not ending it in two moves.