4 Mythical Beasts to Use Instead of Dragons
2/10/2026 | Ian Everett
Dear readers,
Dragons? Dragons. (Nodding sagely) Dragons.
Dragons fuck.
We can all agree. No one is disputing that a divine lizard, weighing roughly the same as a blue whale and averaging the size of your garage, absolutely rules. If you do disagree, let’s run through the checklist:
It’s got scales like impenetrable armor? Check.
It’s got teeth like the swords of an army? Check.
It’s got claws that could shred through a car? Check.
And that’s just the base package. That’s not even getting into the various traits dragons have accrued over their life. People have imagined them breathing fire, flying with and without wings, and having various magical powers. Modern dragons have taken this a step further: the Dungeons and Dragons-ification of these creatures has given them a myriad of cool colors and mastery over different elements—like Bionicle never left, baby.
You want lightning dragons? We got those now. You want ice dragons? Them too. Undead dragons that willingly shuffled off their flesh for power? Buddy, how many do you want?
There’s a reason we are so incredibly fascinated with dragons in modern fantasy, and the simple fact is that they’re radical as hell. We imagine them as horrifying monsters, and they fit great in that role, and we also imagine them as companions and steeds, and the power fantasy that brings is absolutely life changing. In fact, I remember that the course of my life was forever altered by Eragon. And that book isn’t even good.
Yeah, dear readers, dragons rule. Dragons rock. Dragons aren’t going anywhere.
And yet.
And yet.
I can’t help but feel that in the niche occupied by dragons, perhaps there are others who could step up, other mythological beasts we haven’t yet considered for some of the roles we’ve automatically assigned to dragons. I mean, dragons are really cool, we’re not disputing that, but maybe some other beasts could have a chance to be really cool too?
Alright. Let’s go on this journey together and discover some fantastical beasts that, if you were feeling really daring, you could sub in for dragons. (Tch, like you’d ever want to)
Big Bird
No, not the Sesame Street one.
Making the leap from flying big lizard to flying big bird is not actually a huge one. In real life, while lizards are not actually related to dinosaurs, dragons often make people think of them. And birds actually ARE descendants of dinosaurs. Therefore, a flying big bird can take the niche of a dragon.
Even better, the various Big Birds of mythology can scratch similar elemental itches as the modern dragon. The Phoenix, of course, can hit that classic big flying fire monster with an extra regenerative twist. With its legendary rebirth in flames, the phoenix has been featured in stories, although its use as a big monster I think is rather unexplored. I know that classically it is not thought of as a big bird, but expand your mind and it can be.
And if you want to expand this idea even more… who says we’re limited to fire here? Cold, ice, etc., could totally work in the place of a fiery rebirth. Imagine a bird that slowly melts and then reforms in a burst of crystalline ice! And then make it big, because that’s what we’re doing today. Or like Zapdos, imagine a huge bird with lightning powers, the ability to call down storms, much like D&D’s blue dragons. Wait, this is just the Pokemon legendary birds, isn’t it?
Well, that’s kind of cool.
Gryphon
Continuing our trends of big birds, but leaning more into the tropes of dragon riding, the gryphon is a mythical beast that has the head and wings of an eagle, but the body of a lion. Featured in such illustrious fantasy properties as D&D again and World of Warcraft, the modern gryphon is a highly underrated and underutilized creature in fantasy. A few D&D novels have featured gryphon riders, as the city of Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms mythos features a cavalry of riders defending their walls.
This can hit some of the same tones as books like the Dragonriders of Pern novels or the Inheritance Cycle. A gryphon could satisfy that same idea, focusing on the relationship between the rider and his mount. The connection between the rider and the gryphon could, like those novels, be a magical power all on its own.
In fact, while gryphons might not be the same size as dragons in typical mythology, this can actually work in you favor if you lean into it. The stakes for a smaller, scrappier creature fighting larger beasts in the sky with the help of a human rider… There’s a story here, I can feel it. Maybe it can be yours, dear reader.
There would, of course, be slight differences to account for, such as feathers rather than scales. And bird poop. Or would it be lion poop? But you could still do the Finding the Egg trope if you wanted, which is something that really sets dragon riding stories apart.
Sphinx
Now, a different aspect of the dragon is its lethal intelligence and sometimes quite mischievous malevolence. The interaction between Smaug and Bilbo comes to mind—the deadly back and forth of banter and riddling as the dragon searches its horde for the hobbit hidden by the power of the One Ring is absolutely riveting. It’s an extremely tense scene, and it showcases an aspect of dragons that has fallen somewhat out of favor in modern fantasy—one who uses its mind and senses as much as its claws and fire.
To emulate that particular style of dragon, we don’t have to look any further than the Sphinx. The Sphinx is also a gestalt monster with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of the bird. And like Smaug, she is a being of merciless, ruthless intellect. In mythos, she challenges travelers to answer her riddles, and if they fail, she eats em right up. Pretty classic evil monster stuff, and it could occupy a similar place in a story as an intelligent, angry dragon. Imagine a Sphinx waiting outside a village, killing every merchant that travels by and taking all the wealth they bring.
On the other end of this, the androsphinx has the head of a man, and is typically depicted as a benevolent being. This can fit the same archetype as some of the D&D metallic dragons, which are typically featured as good, wise creatures that offer adventurers advice and help on their journeys.
Kraken
Now we come to the highly destructive aspect of dragons. Dragons represent a lot of things, but they are chiefly a metaphor for calamitous destruction. Towns razed to the ground, flocks devoured, knights boiled alive in their armor… and that’s just the stereotypical dragon. If we look out into the wider inspirations, we can see creatures like the five-headed Tiamat from the Forgotten Realms who can visit every kind of elemental destruction on her enemies, or the Nameless One of The Priory of the Orange Tree rising from the sea in blazing destruction, spreading plagues with his very nature and creating more of his monstrous, draconic brood as he goes.
And in terms of creatures that represent calamities, a kraken is truly a perfect substitute. The kraken is a squid monster that haunts the nightmares of sailors across history. A truly enormous sea creature, the kraken was renowned for using its massive tentacles to destroy ships and swallow them into the dark depths of the ocean. In terms of representing a disaster, the kraken works.
In the Clash of the Titans movie, the kraken is used as the sea monster threatening Argos, and in Pirates of the Caribbean, it is the pet of Davy Jones. It has also appeared in games like God of War II, Sea of Thieves, and Dredge. In all of these portrayals, the kraken is a fearsome force of nature, more akin to a tsunami than just a regular sea creature.
One step further than the Kraken would be the cosmic horror god Cthulhu, a being so far beyond humans (and probably even dragons if we’re being honest) that it represents a new kind of calamity—a truly existential kind of threat that reaches beyond giant waves and inky depths.
Of course, the leviathan of the Bible is a similar sea beast, although more in the shape of a serpent than a squid. Another similar sea serpent is Jörmungandr from Norse mythos, the World Serpent that battles Thor in Ragnarok—a fight that ends in both of their deaths.
Conclusion
I hope, dear readers, that all of this theorizing and imagining has not convinced you that dragons don’t rule. They really, truly do. But maybe, maybe some other kinds of creatures can rule, too. Who knows, perhaps these inspirations can be woven into a new kind of monster, an iconic fantasy creature that fills its own niche much like the dragon dominates its own.
Whatever the aims, Tomeworks is here to help you write stories featuring truly terrifying creatures. Reach out to one of our editors today to make sure your legendary beasts invoke the awe they should.