Lions and Witches and Bears, Oh My

Question: Have you found any monsters/fabulous creatures for the Yoruba (because I haven't)? If yes, where did you find them?

There are actually very few monsters in Yoruba folklore - or, at least, not in the sense of what we think of as monsters from some other cultures. There are no odd body part conglomeration creatures like sphinxes or griffins, nor creepy-crawlies like the many bakemono of Japan. Yoruba myths and folktales don't invent many fanciful monsters to terrorize the countryside, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything interesting for young Scions to do!

One of the reasons that Yoruba folklore doesn't bother much with monsters is that it draws upon the natural world as its source of magical and fantastical characters and antagonists. Instead of inventing monsters, Yoruba stories focus upon animals that already exist: rabbits, water buffaloes, monkeys, tortoises and other local creatures. They act as tricksters, antagonists that flummox humanity and comically skewer themselves, or else they are dangerous enemies that must be overcome for humans to survive. Crocodiles and sharks, in particular, take on the roles usually reserved for dragons and ogres in other cultures' stories, serving as mounts for terrifying evil forces or as scourges across the countryside that must be defeated. You'll see normal animals in pivotal roles even in the stories of the gods, such as when the chameleon tricked Olokun into accepting defeat or when Oko had to overcome a plague of crows to prevent his village from starving to death.

From the perspective of a Storyteller gearing up for a Scion game, the Yoruba myths are essentially mostly devoid of Titanspawn but absolutely lousy with Nemean beasts. And not your garden variety Nemean beasts, either, but ones with intelligence at least equal to humans if not higher, and possibly minor magical powers to boot. When you play with Yoruba myth, you're not working with a few mythological creatures; every animal in Africa is fair game as an antagonist, friend or mentor.

The major antagonistic force in Yoruba folklore - in fact, in the overall Yoruba religion as a whole, and continuing onward into the modern day - is not a race of weird creatures but instead the terrible and ever-present danger of witches. Witches, semi-supernatural people (men as well as women, despite the female connotation of the word to European cultures) who wield the ability to curse, sicken and tangle the very destinies of humans, are the unremitting scourge of traditional Yoruba life, and who are often referred to as aje. They lurk among normal humans, working their evil charms, stealing the good fortune of others and preventing the innocent from fulfilling their destinies unless they are appeased. Different tales treat witches differently; sometimes they're humans with a little magical power, while at other times they seem to be completely different and terrifyingly powerful creatures (such as in the myth wherein even the gods have to hide from cannibalistic aje or face being devoured).

Aje are the bogeymen of Yoruba myth, and they're the perfect choice for Storytellers looking for scourges great and small in Yorubaland. Human aje are perfect for low-level Scions' problems, while their dangers and powers can be scaled up to continue to challenge and frighten Scions all the way up through the upper reaches of Demigodhood. Shapeshifting is a familiar trait of Yoruba witches, so they can also be crossed with the importance of animals in Yoruba myth, and their most famous skill, the magical ability to alter destiny around them, can be a potent weapon when interacting with Fatebonds and spells.

So no, I don't know of a lot of fabulous Yoruba beasts, but I do know that the Yoruba folkloric landscape is just as ready to bother, challenge and drive Scions insane as any other.