World mythology and fantasy gaming is full of creatures and races that may be described as "beastmen" or "beastfolk." Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of beast people: 1) chimerical hybrids of human and animal, and 2) anthropomorphic versions of animals.
Chimerical hybrids of man and animal are commonplace in mythology and fantasy gaming. Centaurs, harpies, satyrs, minotaurs, mermaids and so forth are just a few examples. The famous examples in fantasy gaming of "beastmen" would be the Broo in RuneQuest and the Beastmen in Warhammer.
Anthropomorphic animals, or "furries" in the most reductionist term, seem to be a more recent invention with a loose precursor in the animal-headed deities of some ancient religions. There is actually a continuum of anthropomorphism, ranging from catgirls to animal-headed humans to "beastfolk."
In future posts I will explore how to world build beastmen and beastfolk in fantasy campaigns...
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