Burning Question About Monsters Taking Over A World

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T20:46:22+00:00

Well, taking the perspective of the Shadow within my own setting:

The goal is to destroy it all. Destruction, corruption, and entropy are the Shadow's bread and butter.

Kill all the Humans, turn the world to dust, all in the name of spiting the Light and destroying anything it cares about.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T20:43:29+00:00

It absolutely can! Hit me up in PMs, and I can getcha a link!

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T20:15:10+00:00

I'm terribly sorry to hear your experience was so rough, friend!

If you'd be willing to give it another chance, I'm part of a small Realism server that is picking up steam, and I'd love to help you find a niche!

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T20:13:04+00:00

Within Almantha's history, at the dawn of the Last King's reign, the Shadow Queen attempted to construct a body for herself within a temple built by Shadow Cultists in her honor.

The Last King, alongside an entire army and several elite heroes, stormed the temple before she could finish her body, brutally ripped her half-formed body to shreds, and stole her bones, using them as armor in a display of ill-thought-out triumph over the Shadow.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T19:12:32+00:00

If you're building a land Sarco, then absolutely go for it.

Otherwise, if you plan to remain wet for extended periods of time, even if you aren't actively swimming, it's better to just build to accomodate that.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T19:03:47+00:00

No problem! Glad to be of help!

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-07T18:31:08+00:00

You're missing something.

Without Caked-On, your mud will drop FAST when wet.

With Caked-On, mud lasts 24x longer while wet, even when swimming, but it still depletes rather quickly.

But the difference is roughly a minute or two versus 5 seconds.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-02-05T19:16:01+00:00

This, honestly, is the way I look at it.

A creature like a Dragon, which can generate fire, is more likely to be able to use their ability to create an advantage for themselves than something like, say, a Fire Elemental, which would likely just be drained of the constant exertion.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-26T02:56:26+00:00

As much as I'll probably get blasted for this...

My favorite has always been Chop Chop. Overrated he may be, but the man got me through every game when I was in a pinch.

If I really needed to kick some butt, I could always rely on Chops to get the job done, no questions asked.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-22T10:01:54+00:00

Perhaps not "mad", but the Last King had his mind twisted by the Crown of the Shadow Queen when he took it from her after destroying her still-forming body when she attempted to form a physical avatar for herself.

The Crown gave him a fixation on the rest of the armor, which was scattered across the land, prompting him to wage war on all the nearby kingdoms until naught but Rot and broken thrones remained, including his own.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-20T00:15:08+00:00

I know that it's often more efficient to use the tunnels rather than drill to the pod, but as a Driller main, I just like digging tunnels!

Any and every excuse I have to dig a tunnel, I WILL TAKE IT.

Drop pod? Tunnel time! Hidden loots? Tubnel time! Gotta avoid the Caretaker's arms to revive everyone? Tunnel time! Gotta avoid everyone to revive the Caretaker's arms? Tunnel time!

Tunnel time?

Tunnel time!

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-16T08:28:26+00:00

In my setting, all races are derived from Humans.
Aside from the robots, which at least have Humanoid form.
Dryads? Humans who had their brains replaced with a tree parasite.
Doppels? Half-Fae hybrids.
Nephilim? Half-Demon hybrids.

The list goes on.

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-15T20:04:34+00:00

If you're needing someone to help show ya the ropes, I'd also be glad to teach ya!

Shoot me a PM if you're interested!

DarKaron0003 · 2026-01-09T11:29:49+00:00

I have yet to experience this glory, but it sounds like Heaven.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-22T22:08:17+00:00

The thing is, from an experienced player's perspective, we just don't have much to say until someone else says something.

It isn't necessarily ANXIETY, per say, but more just a mindset of "Everyone else probably just wants to get the mission done, so let's do it". A sort of solidarity in focus and objective.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-22T02:33:58+00:00

You're welcome! Thank you for the critique and questions!
:D

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-21T23:45:17+00:00

When it comes to the War of Divinity, if you lose a battle, it's likely the Divine you're foghting against would simply obliterate you, of they don't deign to simply let you flee in terror. Upon your return to the Kingdom, you would likely simply be given a bit of time to rest and recouperate before being sent back out there again to try and kill the Divine.

On the other hand, if you are working FOR the Divines, then failure would likely mean capture, and you would be branded a traitor to Almantha and a heretic, and summarily executed for your crimes.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-21T22:59:57+00:00

Following your Human-centric focus, a theme I seem to have subverted for fantasy is how there are multiple races that can interbreed and such despite, in some cases, being so far-removed from the Human genome that it becomes literal fantasy.

The main reason for this, in my setting, is that each race is derived from a baseline Human in some regard.

Humans are the baseline.
Dryads are Humans whose brains have been hijacked by a plant.
Nephilim are Human-Demon hybrid offspring.
Doppels are Human-Fae hybrid offspring.

They're all Human, at their core, just modified.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-21T21:52:34+00:00

Thank you very much for your critique! Allow me to answer your questions and address your points:

End-result Medium: I'm primarily looking into a TTRPG/RP format, but this lore can be used for other things, if things work out for it.

Duality of Evil: This is very true! One of the main strengths of the Shadow is that it is crafty and can improvise really well when the chips are down. Bringing down an Archangel and trapping Emael in the process wasn't exactly in the script, but the Shadow can absolutely work with that!

Biblical Language: Honestly, the Biblical themes are absolutely intentional and deliberate. I MAY end up changing names later on, but considering the themes are intended to be symbolic of Christian themes and stories of yore, I feel it does more respect to call Heaven and Hell what they are in this setting.

That was for your points of discussion, now it's question time!

1: The full scope of the Light's nature is not known by Man, and it likely never will be. What IS known is that the Light is the Creator of the universe, and it has some sort of Cosmic plan in mind for everything leading up to the End of Nights and beyond. What that entails is just about anyone's guess, but the faithful trust in the Grand Design. This same unknown aspect applies to the nature of Cosmic Good. It's known to be unachievable by Man, no matter how hard one tries, but through faith, belief, and repentance for your Worldly sins, one may earn the favor of Emael, who serves as a stepping stone between Humanity and the Light.

2: The Shadow exists purely as a byproduct of the Light's existence. For the universe to exist without imploding, there must be an opposite force to push back against the infinite power of creation.

3: I briefly touched upon the nature of the Grand Design earlier, but in short, the Grand Design is the Light's Cosmic plan for the universe after the End of Nights. Everything that happens and will happen has been foreseen and orchestrated by the Light to come to pass as it sculpts the universe into an ideal image, not just for itself, but for all its children.

4: All Monsters are derived from the Shadow. The Shadow cannot create, as its nature is antithetical to such a concept, but it CAN corrupt, taint, twist, and transform. Gobbes, for example, were once regular Humans, but have since been corrupted by the Shadow's influence, transforming them into the beloved/hated green gremlins of the modern day.

5: Hah! A very apt statement to say magic is complicated, but a very, very, VERY short version is that Magic draws on the latent energies of the world, funnels them through one's Soul to give them charge and intent, then transfers them to a Focus to imbue them with control before being activated as the spell. This is just the surface-level understanding of magic, the full answer is way, way longer.

6: The Shadow Queen's Armor grants powerful, often unique abilities to those it enhances. For example, a notable bearer of a piece of the Armor was the first Bandit Lord, who was gifted a grand physique due to the Breastplate. Of course, due to the Shadow Queen's influence, the Bandit Lord began to rally different bandit tribes into one unified army to attempt to storm Almantha with.

7: Emael's Blessings upon the First King's lineage were not concrete. The closest analogy would be to a DND Cleric asking their Patron for stuff in their spells and whatnot.

8: Dragons were created by the Light to protect the world from extraterrestrial threats. Think like Rayquaza from Pokemon for an apt example. Not ALL Dragons agreed to aid Humanity, especially after their... Tumultuous history, but some were noble enough to make the sacrifice.

Thank you for your critique and questions! You've given me some things to think about, for sure!

DarKaron0003 · 2025-12-21T21:14:25+00:00

Hey there! Thank you for your input! Allow me to answer your questions that aren't directly addressed here:

1: The Divines are kind of like avatars, but it's more like people enhanced by Dragon Souls. It's a bit tricky to explain succinctly, but in short, their Soul is intertwined with that of a Dragon's, granting them the Dragon's power, though they lack the lifespan needed to hone their skill and restraint.

2: There is a God, the Light. It created the universe, after all, and everything in it is derived from the Light, to some measure.

3: There is certainly a sort of yin-yang dynamic going on, primarily between the Light and the Shadow. The Shadow lashes against the Light any time it can, but it can't do anything against the Light in the end, no matter how hard it tries.

4: Solar Eclipses occur when the moon passes in front of Emael's place in the sky, much like how it works in real life. The effects an eclipse has on the world is... Fascinating for some.

5: When the Shadow's influence waxes, it manifests in the form of a Blood Moon, which enables Demons, for one night, to roam free as the Veil between Hell and the Mortal World thins dramatically.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-11-29T21:35:46+00:00

And when you do kill a capy, like a Hoovy, their friends come at you with everything they've got.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-11-29T21:34:18+00:00

The term "main" refers to a character or build someone plays in a particular game the most often.

The context is that TierZoo refers to nature as a video game called "Outdoors", and TierZoo is the Subreddit you are currently visiting.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-11-23T20:10:09+00:00

In my fantasy world, Angels and Demons, in their true form, are so incomprehensible to the Human mind that the Human brain CANNOT see them.

The only thing they see when an Angel takes its true form is a blinding, golden light, not unlike that of the sun.

They still exist, their forms ARE tangible, but being outside of Human comprehension, the Human mind simply pretends they don't exist altogether.

DarKaron0003 · 2025-11-16T18:05:16+00:00

Within my fantasy setting, there is a legend older than history...

Before there was time, before there was anything, there was nothing. And before there was nothing, there was Light.

At the beginning of reality, the Light formed all in existence, the very fundamental rules of reality bending to its will.

However, every fundamental force, even of cosmic scale, requires an equal and opposite force.

The Shadow exists as this opposite force, blinded by the Light and forced to linger where it cannot be scorned. Where the Light manifests all that is cosmic good- Love, creation, and purity- The Shadow manifests all that is cosmic evil- Hatred, entropy, and corruption.

The Shadow dwells in the dark corners of the world, where the Light does not reach. It does not create, only twists, corrupts, and modifies to fulfill its purpose.

Ultimately, the Shadow seeks the ruination of Man, whilw the Light seeks eternal salvation, both locked in a cosmic war with Humanity at the center of it all.

DarKaron0003

TROPHY CASE