New Shades are gathering...

[Jack the Reaper]

A normal man who though because of his station or authority he was beyond any person. Now he lives in this land of powerful monsters, constantly fearing that his next act will get him killed.

Yeah, I had such a thought. Maybe he pretends to be a truly powerful being by using some tricks and illusions, like the Wizard of Oz. But I don't feel satisfied with this option.

[tomokaicho]

Asking for your advice again: I want to make of a domain of a large, dark city, where everyone, with no exception, is a monster of some kind: vampires, werebeasts, hags, demons, rakshasas etc. Who or what can be the darklord of such domain (undoubtedly he must be quite powerful), and what could be his or her story?

It can be done, but the idea should be subverted somewhat. Everyone is a monster of some kind, except none of them know it - not consciously, at least. Take a leaf out of the movie Frailty. There are Demons (and other monsters) clothed in the flesh of human beings. The Dark Lord is the first among monsters - except he is an entirely mundane human being.

[Jack the Reaper]

It can be done, but the idea should be subverted somewhat. Everyone is a monster of some kind, except none of them know it - not consciously, at least. Take a leaf out of the movie Frailty. There are Demons (and other monsters) clothed in the flesh of human beings. The Dark Lord is the first among monsters - except he is an entirely mundane human being.

Ah, Frailty is one of my favorite movies, but I already took some inspiration from it in the former list ("Jess, the Left Hand of God"). Here I want something different, a domain where monsters do not disguise themselves like in other domains, but live freely and openly, reveling in their inhumanity. Something like Tom Becker's novel Darkside, or Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

[Manofevil]

Watch this movie with Vincent Price and see if you get some ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyHZQXt5mwg

[The Lesser Evil]

It can be done, but the idea should be subverted somewhat. Everyone is a monster of some kind, except none of them know it - not consciously, at least. Take a leaf out of the movie Frailty. There are Demons (and other monsters) clothed in the flesh of human beings. The Dark Lord is the first among monsters - except he is an entirely mundane human being.

My question is where would they (especially vampires) get their food supply? Would the various types of monsters be at war with each other, or is there some guidelines governing how they keep their predatory natures in check when interacting with each other? How were you planning on structuring their society?

[Jack the Reaper]

My question is where would they (especially vampires) get their food supply? Would the various types of monsters be at war with each other, or is there some guidelines governing how they keep their predatory natures in check when interacting with each other? How were you planning on structuring their society?

The society will be something like Gloomwrought or the drow cities - there are several noble houses and fractions who hold most of the power and enforce their laws, thus keeping the public order, and all the others compete for whatever power they can get and trying to advance in the hierarchy. There are endless struggles between races and individuals, and the key for survival is to know who's against whom and maneuver smartly between them. As for blood supply and other necessities, as I said above I see this city as something like Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere - a place with many "cracks" and portals leading to other lands, like the Shadowfell with the prime world. Denizens may make short trips out to fetch prey and supplies. Of course, they can also feed on other denizens who are not undead, or keep a larder of prisoners in their basement, etc.

[The Lesser Evil]

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I wasn't familiar with any of those references. Here's a few ideas to think about or even mix/match.

-A normal mortal of great evil, such that the monsters revere her as some sort of exalted embodiment of evil in that, while they were evil monsters driven by dark natures, he is one purely by choice? (The only such being in the domain). The DL herself could loathe the adoration of the unnatural abominations, but be cursed to need them for some reason.

-A corrupt priest whom dangled out the temptation of atonement, divine forgiveness, and indulgences to make himself wealthy and powerful. Despite his reputed ability to offer redemption to anyone, the priest's presence rotted the church from within, as he filled its ranks with his opportunistic cronies, whom were all quick to abuse their powers. For creating an environment of metaphorical monsters around him, the priest is now cursed to live among literal monsters.

-A skilled channeler of positive energy (like an oracle with the Life mystery) whom used her ability not to heal the sick or protect them from monsters but instead to lord over said monsters, through intimidation and bribery (offering monsters something they rarely have: the ability to heal captives such that they can be preyed upon with a regular basis.) The channeler then used this command of the monsters to take control over the nearby people. However, the monsters' predatory natures eventually took over and wiped out most other people of his native land. Meanwhile, the Channeler's overuse and abuse of positive energy has afflicted him with a warped and bloated body churning with unnatural life energy that severely inhibits interaction with normal mortals.

-An upstart monster whose great talent and grandiosity both eclipsed his young age. Wishing to rid the land of human rule, the rebel monster went against the sacred codes of monster kind and wiped out the elders, taking a war of virtual genocide against the mortals. He achieved his goal, but the scouring of the human left little there for the monsters to pray upon for each other, leaving them to fight among each other to skulk in the shadows of neighboring lands to find prey like they did before the upstart's takeover. The upstart has his kingdom of monsters, but it is a bleak and stagnant place filled with fractious infighting and petty intrigue. Good models for this character might include Deacon Frost from the first Blade movie or the Master from the Strain.

-A husband and wife who just wanted a big, happy family. It's just unfortunate that they made deals with dark forces in order to achieve that family.

-A twisted philosopher (a member of the Whispering Way?) whom believed humanity had reached the end of its rope evolutionarily speaking. She believed that the only way of saving the human race from itself was transforming it into something beyond it. The philosopher unleashed a plague upon her homeland, causing many of the people to become predatory monsters and eat those whom failed to "advance". Unfortunately, the philosopher failed to consider what life might be needed to sustain such "evolved" creatures, and how lack of said life is causing a deterioration of the evolved society.

[Jack the Reaper]

Great ideas! I liked most the first and the last (I really thought of the option that the darklord somehow transformed all the denizens into monsters). Maybe they could be combined, have to think a little bit more about it. Thanks

[KingCorn]

Melphan the Fractured was a mortal worshipper of the Demon Prince Jubilex. Upon sacrificing his friends and family to his amorphous lord, he was taken by the dark powers. Now transformed into a great Ooze, his mind is shattered in multiple pieces spread across many different slimes, which he can never fully regain control of. Among these pieces is a small Blue Jelly which represents the last bit of his frayed conscience.

[Jack the Reaper]

That's nice, I really should do something about oozes. Maybe Ivan Ooze, from the Power Rangers, can be a fitting darklord...

Just updating, I'm currently holding at about 88 darklords out of planned 100, and 38 NPCs out of 50, so I can say quite confidently that if God wills, they will all be ready on schedule for the next QtR

[Jack the Reaper]

Work is almost complete, I've got 5 more NPCs to complete the 50 Deadly Denizens, and I want one of them to be a really fast guy - like the Flash or Quicksilver. He will have a Seven Leagues boots as the source of his power, but will be cursed to see the world around him moving in slow motion all the time. I want your advice on what kind of person he should be - a hero? a villain? an undead of some type (they say the dead travel fast)? What do you think would be best?

[DustBunny]

Work is almost complete, I've got 5 more NPCs to complete the 50 Deadly Denizens, and I want one of them to be a really fast guy - like the Flash or Quicksilver. He will have a Seven Leagues boots as the source of his power, but will be cursed to see the world around him moving in slow motion all the time. I want your advice on what kind of person he should be - a hero? a villain? an undead of some type (they say the dead travel fast)? What do you think would be best?

I would not say undead as they tend to be overused.

You could also use the adage 'Live Fast, Die young'. Maybe he does have the option to 'slow down' but only by burning up 'lifespan'. He can't use his own (or maybe he can, but he can never die of old age but still gets older), but he can burn up someone elses. How he obtains 'someone elses' defines wether he is a hero or villain. Trading services for it mercenary/heroic depending on what he does. Stealing it - a villain.

But coming off a week of horror/suspense binging, here are four that come to mind who could be slotted into 'whose damned' in RL- Slenderman (internet meme), Pennywise (It), Norman Bates (Psycho) and Lloyd the Barman (The Shining).

[Jack the Reaper]

Thanks for the advice. The lists are already closed and have been submitted to our masters in the FoS. Hope you will like them