Which Fantasy Creatures Find Sunlight Lethal?

[Cacique Caribe]

I’ve always wondered about this question, but never actually askEd anyone before.

So, how many (and which) creatures in Fantasy gaming manuals “lore” are killed if exposed to the sun for any amount of time?  Is there a list anywhere?

PS.  These stories made me finally ask the above question:


The trolls in The Hobbit also comes to mind.

[TR_Mancer]

The main ones that come to mind are some kinds of vampires. IIRC, Tolkein's barrow wights were destroyed by sunlight, but might be able to come back if their treasure wasn't removed/given away - or maybe that was just to prevent another one from moving into the barrow.

[Daniel36]

Trolls in Middle Earth turn to stone when exposed to sun, if I remember correctly

[Hobgoblin]

In myth and folklore (and settings derived from them), there isn't always consistency:

• Dwarfs: the dwarf Alviss is turned to stone in sunlight in the Poetic Edda (which inspired Gandalf's dispatch of the trolls in The Hobbit). But some other dwarfs in the Edda don't seem to be affected thus.
• Vampires - but this, I think, comes from the 1922 film Nosferatu; in Dracula, the film's inspiration, the eponymous vampire walks around in daylight.
• Trolls - in Scandinavian folklore and in Tolkien's works - with Sauron's Olog-hai being an exception to the normal rule.

In general, traditional monsters tend to be averse to sunlight rather than being destroyed by it. This is probably a reflection of nocturnal predatory animals (wolves, hyenas, etc); they might be out in the daylight, but they're definitely more active dangerous after dark.

Lovecraft's Haunter of the Dark is extremely vulnerable to light.

[Munindk]

Do Gremlins (from the movie) count?

Dwarfs, trolls and other subterranean creatures (dunno if thats the correct english word, "underjordiske" in danish) from folklore often dislike sunlight and are sometimes destroyed by it.

[Etranger]

Goths and Teenagers...

[monkeylite]

Goths and Teenagers...

Ha, beat me to it.