Contents
Chapter 4: Creating Domains of Dread
[image: A hexblood witch in the domain of Tepest conjures visions of adventurers' fatal fates]
Any fear might find terrible life amid the Domains of Dread. Each domain highlights its own distinctive terror or flavor of the macabre. Chapter 2 presents numerous Domains of Dread and their respective Darklords, but you can blend legendary evils, unexpected monstrosities, and grim settings into your own horrifying creations.
This chapter explores how to create a Domain of Dread, starting with defining its Darklord, the villain at the domain's heart. Descriptions of various genres of horror also provide details to guide and inspire your creations.
Creating a Darklord
Domains are reflections of and prisons for the Darklords they confine. To devise a Domain of Dread, first consider its central antagonist and prisoner: its Darklord. The following sections detail how to develop a Darklord as a focal antagonist in your horror adventures.
Building Your Darklord
A Darklord's memories, desires, mistakes, and evil deeds shape a domain and its inhabitants. This chapter presents tables with suggested questions and motifs related to a Darklord's past and personality. Choose or randomly generate prompts to develop your Darklord further, or use the table entries as inspiration.
To build a Darklord, follow these steps:
- Step 1:. Choose Genres. What horror genres does your Darklord fit into? Use those genres' principles to help develop your Darklord.
- Step 2:. Determine Their Past. Who was the Darklord before they turned to irredeemable evil? What ambitions and flaws drove them to commit heinous acts? How did the Darklord first attract the attention of the Dark Powers? The "x" section provides a multitude of prompts to inspire your Darklord's origin story.
- Step 3:. Determine Their Identity. What monstrous form does your Darklord's evil take? Turn to each genre chosen in step 1, then consult that genre's respective "Villain Identities" and "Villain Torments" sections. Feel free to mix and match the tables from different genres to achieve your desired feel.
Genres of Horror
Horror stories span a wide variety of genres. One tale might explore the grotesque, warping flesh and bone into perversions of the living; another might be fantastical and philosophical, using restless ghosts to examine the nature of the soul.
Before you begin building a Darklord, consider which genres of horror you'd like to explore. The Genres of Horror table describes the six major genres of horror explored later in this chapter and their common motifs. If you're uncertain where to start, use the table to identify which motifs interest, excite, or inspire fear in you. The sections later in the chapter also detail each genre's core principles, which drive how you develop the Darklord, the domain, and the adventures within.
These genres aren't mutually exclusive. Feel free to blend themes from different genres to create a unique and terrifying story. The end of this chapter briefly describes a handful of additional genres for consideration.
Genres of Horror
| Genre | Characters in Stories of This Genre... | Common Motifs |
|---|---|---|
| x | Explore the unpredictability of flesh. | Gore, loss of bodily autonomy, parasitic infestations |
| x | Face incomprehensible insignificance. | Faceless terrors, infinite voids, unblinking eyes |
| x | Battle grim evils and wicked magic. | Antiheroes, evil witchcraft, misty forests |
| x | Unmask ancient taboos and traditions. | Cryptic legends, masked cults, secluded towns |
| x | Examine mortality and tragic histories. | Decrepit mansions, incorporeal haunts, old ruins |
| x | Confront passions and evils within. | Ancient castles, strong emotions, tarnished splendor |
Darklord's Past
Every Darklord has committed irredeemable acts that attract the attention of the Dark Powers. Yet Darklords are still individuals who, at one point, had a home, childhood, and family. The following sections each examine a different aspect of the Darklord's life prior to imprisonment.
Past Life
What circumstances and choices pushed the Darklord down their twisted path? Choose or randomly generate at least three questions from the Past Life table to answer. If you generate the same question again, use the question one above or below the entry instead.
Past Life
| 1d10 | Question |
|---|---|
| 1 | Does the Darklord feel that they have any hope of redemption? Do they want it? |
| 2 | How did the Darklord react when challenged? |
| 3 | What ideal or philosophy governs the Darklord's greater actions? |
| 4 | What locations and circumstances shaped the Darklord's adolescence? |
| 5 | What pushed the Darklord to continue committing heinous acts? |
| 6 | What person, place, or object does the Darklord desire most? |
| 7 | What was the first depraved act the Darklord committed? |
| 8 | Whose respect did the Darklord crave? |
| 9 | Who hurt the Darklord? |
| 10 | Who loved the Darklord? |
Dark Catalyst
Negative emotions can twist one's ideals into something sinister. Choose or randomly generate at least one prompt from the Dark Catalyst table to develop what encouraged the Darklord's corruption.
Dark Catalyst
| 1d10 | Something in the Darklord's Past... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Caused them to obsess over control. |
| 2 | Celebrated the Darklord's heinous activities. |
| 3 | Drove them toward bloodthirsty revenge. |
| 4 | Enabled their indulgence and vices. |
| 5 | Escalated their violent tendencies. |
| 6 | Fueled an all-consuming fear of loss. |
| 7 | Pushed them to turn to a greater power. |
| 8 | Removed their empathy for others. |
| 9 | Sowed paranoia, encouraging them to constantly test their allies' loyalty. |
| 10 | Spurred them to pursue perfection. |
Wicked Ambitions
All Darklords have a core ambition or goal that drives them to commit evil acts. These unobtainable goals fueled their corruption and motivate the Darklords' conflicts with adventurers in their domains. Choose or randomly generate such a goal from the Wicked Ambitions table.
Wicked Ambitions
| 1d10 | The Darklord... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Seeks an apprentice or inheritor. |
| 2 | Explores ways to forget the past. |
| 3 | Longs for divine or otherworldly power. |
| 4 | Pursues ways to relieve themself of loneliness. |
| 5 | Relentlessly pursues the reincarnation of a loved one. |
| 6 | Searches for an object or artifact. |
| 7 | Seeks vengeance against a person or ideal. |
| 8 | Struggles to cheat death. |
| 9 | Wants to be a hero—but one who is twisted to the extreme. |
| 10 | Wishes to be beautiful and admired. |
Intervention of the Dark Powers
Consider how the Darklord attracted the attention of the Dark Powers. On the completion of an act of remarkable depravity, the Mists claim the Darklord—and perhaps their home—imprisoning them in a new Domain of Dread. The deed that ultimately causes a villain to be claimed by the Mists needn't be devastating, but it should represent an evil novel enough for the Dark Powers to take note. Use the Darklords' tales from chapter 2 to inspire how a Darklord might be claimed by the Mists.
Birth of a Darklord
Now trapped in a domain tailor-made to be their prison, the Darklord is immortal, and their greatest desire is just out of reach. At this point, you should have an idea of who the Darklord is, what they did, what form their evil takes, and how they came to the attention of the Dark Powers.
Now consider how the Darklord's evil manifests in their domain and how it brings them into conflict with the adventurers and the domain's inhabitants.
Monstrous Identities
Some Darklords undergo harrowing transformations on their imprisonment, as the Dark Powers warp those Darklords' forms to reflect their evil. Alternatively, the Darklord might have been a monster to begin with, or perhaps they gained their form and powers through their deeds or a curse.
Consider how your Darklord is viewed by inhabitants of their domain. Reference the genres of horror that your Darklord fits into (later in x), and use a genre's "Villain Identities" and "Villain Torments" sections to shape the Darklord's monstrousness. The "Villain Identities" sections provide options for the Darklord's primary identity or form while within their domain, while the "Villain Torments" sections provide torturous twists that the Dark Powers might employ to torment the Darklord and reflect their evil.
Finishing Touches
The story of a Darklord entwines with those of the adventurers and the domain itself. As you finish fleshing out your Darklord's details, consider the following options to further connect the Darklord to their domain and the adventures within it.
Endless Torment
In every domain, its Darklord's greatest desire remains in view but ever out of reach. How does your Darklord's torment remain central to and unignorable in the story?
Misty Borders
The x surround each Domain of Dread. The Dark Powers afford Darklords some control over the Mists bordering their domains. Does your Darklord allow the Mists to function undisturbed, or do the Mists also reflect the Darklord's nature, perpetuating the cycle of torment?
Supporting Cast
Consider what NPC types support the Darklord, exacerbate their threat, or oppose them. How do the inhabitants of the domain play into the Dark Powers' plans, taking the Darklord's situation from bad to worse?
Creating a Domain
[image: Domains of Dread might be any size or shape and can draw inspiration from any horror genre]
Once you've developed a terrifying Darklord, start shaping that Darklord's unique Domain of Dread. Everything in this realm is inspired by the Darklord's torment or personalized to it.
This section provides guidelines to help you create a suitably terrifying and tragic Domain of Dread.
Building a Domain
Similar to building a Darklord, you can choose or randomly generate prompts from the tables below to flesh out the domain's details.
To build a Domain of Dread, follow these steps:
- Step 1:. Choose Genres. Most Domains of Dread are inspired by the same horror genres that shape their imprisoned Darklord, but feel free to mix in new genre elements.
- Step 2:. Develop Details. What are the distinctive elements of the domain? How do these elements reflect and twist the Darklord's past, furthering the Darklord's torment? The "Dread Details" section contains several tables with prompts to tailor your domain to its central prisoner.
- Step 3:. Create Adventures. What adventures will the characters have in this domain? Turn to the genres chosen in step 1, and consult their "Adventure Hooks" and "Adventure Settings" sections to inspire your adventures.
- Step 4:. Choose Monsters. The genres later in x each include a table suggesting a plethora of monsters that suit the genre's sensibilities. Consult those monster tables, and choose which terrifying creatures will haunt the characters in the domain. If none of the suggested monsters fit your ideas, you can reskin or alter the suggested monsters or choose ones that do.
Dread Details
The domain's buildings, natural elements, landmarks, and creatures reflect the Darklord's vile past. This section provides prompts for developing elements of your domain and connecting those specifics to the imprisoned Darklord.
Don't get bogged down with the particulars of a working society. Things like weather, ecosystems, and agriculture needn't follow logic in a domain. Mundane details can fade into the background as your adventures focus on the domain's threats.
Domain Elements
Above all else, a domain is a torturous prison for its Darklord. Visceral sights, sounds, and smells within the domain should hint at the Darklord's past villainy or serve as a means for the Dark Powers to torment the domain's central prisoner.
Choose or randomly generate at least three questions from the Domain Elements table to answer. If you generate the same question again, use the question one above or below the entry instead. Don't be afraid to combine details in unexpected ways—the more unnatural or off-putting, the better.
Domain Elements
| 1d10 | Question |
|---|---|
| 1 | What sounds, smells, colors, or symbols pervade the domain? |
| 2 | Where do the Mists appear besides the domain's borders? What shapes and sounds haunt the Mists in and near the domain? |
| 3 | What is visible in the sky? Is there a day-and-night cycle? What's the weather like? |
| 4 | What is the domain culture's general attitude toward the Darklord? |
| 5 | What does the domain culture fear or consider taboo? |
| 6 | What does the domain culture celebrate? |
| 7 | What is scarce in the domain, and how do the inhabitants compensate for this? |
| 8 | What do buildings in the domain look like? Are they new or old? |
| 9 | What biome is the domain's environment (e.g., arctic, desert, forest)? |
| 10 | What justifications do the inhabitants use, if any, to pretend nothing is wrong in the domain? |
Darklord's Shadows
A domain's features are constant, painful, and symbolic reminders of the Darklord's wicked past. Choose or randomly generate at least one prompt from the Darklord's Shadows table to develop how the domain reflects the Darklord's history. Consider connecting the results to your answers to the questions in "Domain Elements."
Darklord's Shadows
| 1d10 | The Domain Reflects... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A taboo the Darklord broke. |
| 2 | Someone the Darklord killed. |
| 3 | Someone or something the Darklord loved—and lost. |
| 4 | Esoteric knowledge the Darklord sought but couldn't obtain. |
| 5 | A tradition sacred to the Darklord's home. |
| 6 | An act of extreme violence the Darklord committed. |
| 7 | The Darklord's greatest temptation. |
| 8 | Someone the Darklord betrayed. |
| 9 | The Darklord's greatest fear. |
| 10 | Evidence of the Darklord's vilest act. |
Unleash Your Horror
At this point, you should have a wealth of information about your Darklord and their domain. Review your notes, connect elements, establish recurring themes, and consider ways to foreshadow circumstances that adventures might focus on. You don't need to have answers for every question now; you can define many details during adventures or by focusing on elements your players gravitate toward. For examples of fully detailed Darklords and domains, see chapter 2.
Genres of Horror
The following sections provide overviews of several genres of horror. Use these to inspire adventures, Darklords, and Domains of Dread of your own creation or to further detail the domains presented in chapter 2. Mix and match elements from different genres to create your own uniquely terrifying combinations.
Body Horror
Body horror examines the fear of our failing anatomies. Tales in this genre explore the unpredictability of flesh—that robust health might be an illusion and that we might be incubating what will devour us. Examples include Alien and The Fly.
Body Horror Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with body horror themes:
- Depth of Transformation. Physical transformations are common and might affect more than bodies. Objects, architecture, and the natural world might be also anthropomorphized.
- Flesh Aberrations. Characters suffer aberrant or excessive growth, whether of organs, discordant appendages, or unnatural materials.
- Gore Is a Byproduct. Though gore might take center stage in body horror stories, it's often a side effect of stories about fear of change, difference, mortality, physical harm, or disease.
- Gore Isn't Required. Body horror doesn't need to be messy. Swapping bodies, turning to stone, or gaining one's ideal form might feature in this genre.
- Real Disabilities Aren't Horrifying. Body horror has a history of portraying disability as monstrous. Avoid this trope.
Body Horror Villains
A physical transformation doesn't make someone a villain. Villains in body horror adventures cultivate evil in tandem with the aberrant transformations afflicting their form and surroundings.
Villain Identities
Villains of this genre are often tragic figures, whether they're cultists enduring forced metamorphosis or scientists trying to extend their lives. Choose from or roll on the Body Horror Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Body Horror Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | An abandoned homunculus made in the image of its creator's child. |
| 2 | A scientist who, hoping to keep their spouse alive, grafts their spouse to their own body. |
| 3 | A fungal mass that grows more intelligent with every sapient life it engulfs. |
| 4 | A guardian angel possessed by the vile blood of the demons it has slain. |
| 5 | A dying ruler obsessed with creating a new body so they can continue their reign. |
| 6 | A cancer possessed by the mind of a dead mage that seeks to regrow their body. |
| 7 | A monarch who feeds their cannibal children, no matter the cost. |
| 8 | The priests of a forgotten god, who try to raise their deity from the faithful's flesh. |
| 9 | A house that remembers its tenants and will do anything to regain them. |
| 10 | A grieving mortician who sculpts every face they encounter into that of their lost love. |
Villain Torments
Villains in this genre simultaneously draw power from and are tormented by supernatural and physiological aberrance. Choose from or roll on the Body Horror Torments table to determine what abhorrent affliction plagues the villain.
Body Horror Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Possesses a bestial mouth in their torso. |
| 2 | Is pockmarked with eyes that never close. |
| 3 | Grows tooth-filled cysts on their limbs. |
| 4 | Is plagued by an ever-growing fungal mass sprouting from their extremities. |
| 5 | Restitches their body together. |
| 6 | Has parasites writhing beneath their skin. |
| 7 | Can dissolve their physical form at will. |
| 8 | Is gravid with bulbous egg sacs. |
| 9 | Aches with a ceaseless hunger. |
| 10 | Can't control their transformation into a beast and back. |
Body Horror Adventures
Adventures in body horror realms often become tests of endurance, whether characters are attempting to hold out until rescue arrives or endeavoring to mount a rescue themselves. Alternatively, adventures might have an investigative feel, requiring the heroes to uncover the dark secret that lies beneath the mundane.
Adventure Hooks
Body horror plots often explore the unpredictability of life and discordance between mind and body. Choose from or roll on the Body Horror Plots table to inspire your body horror adventures.
Body Horror Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Plots |
|---|---|
| 1 | A malevolent curse is transforming the village's children into misshapen statues. |
| 2 | Guests of a popular local dinner party keep succumbing to autophagia. |
| 3 | Corpses of beasts—mutated and halfway human—are left at the forest's edge. |
| 4 | Every night, one townsperson melts. |
| 5 | Fiends have infiltrated a community by wearing the corpses of the deceased. |
| 6 | Fleshy catacombs open beneath a town. |
| 7 | A neighborhood is filled with derelict houses composed entirely of mimics. |
| 8 | The corpse of a monstrous leviathan has washed ashore, entrails still moving. |
| 9 | A virulent infestation uses the townsfolk as incubators for giant insects. |
| 10 | Something is stealing the tongues of the city guards. |
Adventure Settings
Body horror can occur anywhere, from mundane settings to unsettling locales. Choose from or roll on the Body Horror Settings table to inspire locations for your adventures.
Body Horror Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A vine-covered, ostensibly abandoned prison or asylum. |
| 2 | The cavernous gut of a dead behemoth. |
| 3 | A sprawling university, older than the town surrounding it. |
| 4 | A city of red muscle, with bleeding eyes embedded in hair-strangled buildings. |
| 5 | A forest of burnt pines draped in gore. |
| 6 | A derelict laboratory with old experiments floating in containment tubes. |
| 7 | A slaughterhouse, larger than it appears on the outside and full of victims. |
| 8 | A suddenly empty mortuary. |
| 9 | An old church sitting astride a warren of ancient tunnels. |
| 10 | A vibrant garden sprouting from a mound of putrid corpses. |
Body Horror Monsters
Any monster might become the focus of a body horror plot. Know what your players anticipate so you can distort those expectations. A poised elf revealed to be a husk puppeted by sapient worms can prove as frightening as any eldritch horror. The Body Horror Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Body Horror Monsters
Cosmic Horror
Cosmic horror revolves around the fear of personal insignificance. The genre, inspired by stories of the Cthulhu Mythos, is predicated on the idea of entities so vast and so genuinely beyond our comprehension that we can't fathom their simplest motivations. To see them is to become lost in their magnitude and the evidence that we have never and could never matter to the cosmos at large. Examples include Annihilation and Stalker.
Cosmic Horror Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with cosmic horror themes:
- Fear the Unknown. Be vague. Cosmic horror emerges through imagination and the indescribable, not through details.
- Iconography. Cults, forbidden books, and strange symbols form the cornerstones of cosmic horror.
- Inscrutable Forces. Cosmic horror is about alien forces driven by motivations humans can't understand. There is no good or evil, no law or chaos.
- Marginalization Isn't Horror. The genre has a history of framing marginalized demographics as monstrous and stigmatizing mental illness. Avoid those tropes.
- Remove the Familiar. Cosmic horror makes characters feel gradually unmoored from reality.
Cosmic Horror Villains
Despite the genre's grand magnitude, villains of cosmic horror are still often individual beings. Godlike terrors and inscrutable forces might pull the strings with their unknowable goals, but the antagonists the characters face are concrete, fallible people.
Villain Identities
Cosmic horror villains often perpetrate horrors as they strive for outcomes they can't articulate. Choose from or roll on the Cosmic Horror Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Cosmic Horror Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A smiling minstrel whose music drives listeners to murder. |
| 2 | A priest obsessed with creating a shelter safe from the coming apocalypse. |
| 3 | A mayor who will do anything to ensure citizens finish a sacred transformation. |
| 4 | An astronomer broken and enraptured by what they saw in the stars. |
| 5 | A scientist striving to make their body the perfect host for an ageless being. |
| 6 | A coroner who believes the bodies they autopsy contain secret messages. |
| 7 | The head librarian of an ancient sect, who seeks secrets hidden within their peers. |
| 8 | A spoiled noble who intends to raise a cult to feed to residents of an alien dimension. |
| 9 | A researcher knowingly incubating a powerful entity within themself. |
| 10 | A hierophant seeking a doorway to an alien realm to bring about a new world. |
Villain Torments
Villains in this genre are endowed with unnatural powers stemming from their studies or granted by alien forces. Choose from or roll on the Cosmic Horror Torments table to determine what alien or psychological torment plagues the villain.
Cosmic Horror Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Is haunted by otherworldly masters that whisper from reflective surfaces. |
| 2 | Sees multiple dimensions at once. |
| 3 | Is transforming into a long-extinct being. |
| 4 | Screams messages from the far-flung future. |
| 5 | Absorbs the words out of books. |
| 6 | Drains any object they focus on of all but one portentous color. |
| 7 | Finds their body warped to match that of the last person they talked with. |
| 8 | Incubates an alien symbiote in their brain. |
| 9 | Sleepwalks, drawing the same symbol on every surface they come across. |
| 10 | Obsesses over music, shifting their form to embody whatever song they hear. |
Cosmic Horror Adventures
Adventures in cosmic horror realms are bleak, desperate affairs, where the best one can hope for is to survive relatively intact. There is no stopping the ultimate evil, but characters might aspire to seal it away temporarily.
Adventure Hooks
Cosmic horror adventures often deal with how alien forces might alter us, perverting our expectations and separating us from what makes us human. Choose from or roll on the Cosmic Horror Plots table to inspire your cosmic horror adventures.
Cosmic Horror Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A child has gone missing in the impossibly vast space beneath their bed. |
| 2 | Something drags a coastal town's inhabitants out in the night, garbs them in silver, and leads them to the surf to drown. |
| 3 | A wandering minstrel plays music that robs entire cities of sleep. |
| 4 | Local bakers have started making pies filled with a delicious, luminescent, alien, blue goo. |
| 5 | A sapient, unholy tome will do anything to reach a group of cultists. |
| 6 | The inheritors of an ancient sect are transforming into astral horrors. |
| 7 | Animals in the local forest have started going to a specific charred grove to die. |
| 8 | Colossal statues surrounding the city move only during dusk and dawn. |
| 9 | The characters must survive an evening in a sinking ancestral home. |
| 10 | A new wing in the academy's library has appeared, filled with blank books. |
Adventure Settings
Cosmic horror frequently takes place in settings that imply access to hidden knowledge or in unnatural, logic-defying dimensions far removed from reality. Choose from or roll on Cosmic Horror Settings table to inspire locations for your adventures.
Cosmic Horror Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A lavish manor devoid of people—save for staff who swear the lord is busy. |
| 2 | A narrow chapel in the woods, whose bell rings ceaselessly. |
| 3 | A hidden ward of a decrepit university. |
| 4 | A dimension of featureless white, broken up only by staring eyes. |
| 5 | The ninth basement beneath an otherwise normal family home. |
| 6 | A small inn in the mountains that smells perpetually of brine. |
| 7 | An ambulatory forest riddled with carvings of unblinking eyes. |
| 8 | A sewage system that predates its city. |
| 9 | A coastline slowly being consumed by an obsidian sea. |
| 10 | A decrepit lighthouse whose light flickers on at strange intervals. |
Cosmic Horror Monsters
Monsters in cosmic horror adventures are often strange beings that enact bizarre changes on their victims. The Cosmic Horror Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Cosmic Horror Monsters
Dark Fantasy
The dark fantasy genre features fantasy worlds where grim themes, nihilistic plots, or horrifying elements inform their stories. Any tale featuring both supernatural elements and horror themes might constitute dark fantasy, whether it's a fantasy story steeped in dread or an otherwise realistic world that features a supernatural terror. Examples include The Dark Tower and Pan's Labyrinth.
Dark Fantasy Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with dark fantasy themes:
- Evil Sometimes Triumphs. Good doesn't always win. Evil individuals with great power and unopposed schemes might prosper.
- Low Magic. Magic and magic items might be rarer or require a bargain or sacrifice to use.
- Morally Gray. The lines between good and evil are blurred. Choices involve deciding on the least bad outcome available.
- Nefarious Deeds. Corruption and suspicion flourish among organizations and individuals.
- Reluctant Heroes. Antiheroes are common—characters tainted by the world's evil or those who refuse to be considered heroes.
Dark Fantasy Villains
Sinister individuals leave their marks on dark fantasy domains, whether with oppressive architecture, unavoidable propaganda, or scars on an exploited environment.
Villain Identities
Villains occupy places of influence in dark fantasy domains. Choose from or roll on the Dark Fantasy Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Dark Fantasy Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A machine that believes it's a resurrected tyrant and seeks to rebuild its empire. |
| 2 | The leader of a subterranean people who plots to blot out the sun's searing light. |
| 3 | A high priest intent on shifting an entire nation into their god's realm. |
| 4 | A desperate general who unleashes otherworldly war machines. |
| 5 | A massive treant who has allied with raiders and seeks to fell every forest. |
| 6 | A sage who solves an endless war by preventing anyone from dying. |
| 7 | An eternal royal whose immortality relies on the blood of angels. |
| 8 | A criminal kingpin who burns opponents into psychoactive spirit dust. |
| 9 | An ancient dragon whose godlike magic drains the domain of life. |
| 10 | A god who killed all their peers and now rules the mortal realm. |
Villain Torments
In dark fantasy adventures, a villain's power is often rooted in the villain's own suffering. Choose from or roll on the Dark Fantasy Torments table to determine how this power tragically works against the villain.
Dark Fantasy Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Uncontrollably damages everything they care about. |
| 2 | Manufactures catastrophes to distract from their own ineptitude. |
| 3 | Is surrounded by power-hungry spies and saboteurs, fueling the villain's paranoia. |
| 4 | Seeks the pleasure of lost glories. |
| 5 | Is surrounded by sycophants whose constant praise makes every success feel hollow. |
| 6 | Is plagued by a cursed family legacy. |
| 7 | Is hounded by rivals and baseless mockery. |
| 8 | Must sacrifice those they love to maintain their facade of power. |
| 9 | Is praised by society for a deed they never truly accomplished. |
| 10 | Elicits excessive fear and reverence, resulting in their isolation. |
Dark Fantasy Adventures
Adventures in dark fantasy domains involve desperate or reluctant heroes resisting evil. Even in the grimmest settings, desperation and hope fan the flames of resistance.
Adventure Hooks
Plots in dark fantasy adventures range from street-level depravity to world-ruining conspiracies. Choose from or roll on the Dark Fantasy Plots table to inspire your dark fantasy adventures.
Dark Fantasy Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | A beholder-shaped statue has come to life and begun terrorizing the city. |
| 2 | A portal to a demonic realm has opened in the mouth of an innocent acolyte. |
| 3 | A sapient virus is turning the inhabitants of a village into shadows. |
| 4 | Giant spiders have declared war on all bipedal creatures. |
| 5 | A coven plans to use a volcano as a massive cauldron for a catastrophic spell. |
| 6 | The nation's beloved monarch was recently revealed to be a lich. |
| 7 | A malevolent phantom haunts the moon, raising corpses bathed in its light as undead. |
| 8 | A sentient weapon transforms its surroundings into a mockery of the war it last fought in. |
| 9 | A factory distills souls into a powerful wish-granting elixir. |
| 10 | An expanding labyrinth has just swallowed another neighborhood. |
Adventure Settings
Evil is entrenched in dark fantasy domains, reflected by their grandiose adventure locales. Choose from or roll on the Dark Fantasy Settings table to inspire locations for your adventures.
Dark Fantasy Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | The floating and fallen ruins of a magical megastructure. |
| 2 | A blood-soaked swamp. |
| 3 | A tower that pierces a magical ley line, draining its power. |
| 4 | A criminal consortium's lavish academy. |
| 5 | A forest where every tree grows from the body of a mummified hero. |
| 6 | An empire covered in the watchful religious symbols of an all-seeing deity. |
| 7 | A fortress with seven locked gates that seal off the underworld. |
| 8 | A country devastated by the fallout of weapons used in an age-old war. |
| 9 | A town threatened by an unstoppable, slowly encroaching infection. |
| 10 | A city adrift on a sea full of primeval predators. |
Dark Fantasy Monsters
Any monster can find a place in a dark fantasy plot. D&D's most iconic threats—such as dragons and beholders—are particularly appropriate to horror-tinged tales, as are any other supernatural foes. The Dark Fantasy Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Dark Fantasy Monsters
Folk Horror
Folk horror adventures involve traditions, beliefs, and perceptions that are passed down through generations and take terrifying twists. For those who ascribe to hidden traditions, sacrifices to strange gods or placations to lurking monsters are everyday events. For outsiders, though, these practices reveal the subjectivity of normalcy and societal truth. Examples include Midsommar and The Wicker Man.
Folk Horror Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with folk horror themes:
- Isolation Begets Weirdness. Strange and potentially dangerous traditions flourish in isolated or private communities.
- Perversion of Community. Communities in folk horror stories often are a grim mirror of an aspect of accepted society. They often dramatically use outsiders or purge nonbelievers.
- Relative Truth. Beliefs highlighted in folk horror stories might not be true.
- Secret Traditions. Community members typically hide their beliefs, perhaps by physically obscuring them or manipulating others in power.
- Strangeness in Specificity. Art, symbols, tools, celebrations, and other trappings of belief make a community's traditions more specific and eerie.
Folk Horror Villains
Antagonistic forces in folk horror usually are community leaders—paragons of the strange beliefs central to the horror's narrative. Outsiders might have a chance to adopt the community's ways, but otherwise locals consider them heretics or corrupting elements.
Villain Identities
Folk horror villains are manipulative, leading others to follow inscrutable traditions. Choose from or roll on the Folk Horror Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Folk Horror Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A secluded temple's high priest who needs to find the perfect sacrifice. |
| 2 | An erinyes that appears when youngsters speak a rhyme into a darkened mirror. |
| 3 | A night hag that dwells in the dreams of those who drink a special ergot tea. |
| 4 | A shape-shifter that takes on the appearance of the last person it fed on. |
| 5 | A wicker giant that animates during the new moon, punishing the unwary. |
| 6 | A mayor who behaves in archaic ways so villagers don't enrage an ancient ghost. |
| 7 | A treant who demands corpses to replace trees cleared by a town's construction. |
| 8 | A mysterious robed figure who wears a horned mask and leads a silent cult. |
| 9 | A bloodthirsty forest guardian that resembles a deer with two heads. |
| 10 | A shadow that appears only when individuals look away from the woods' tree line. |
Villain Torments
Folk horror villains have been consumed by the traditions or land they embody, causing them to fail in their duties or their rites to spin out of control. Choose from or roll on the Folk Horror Torments to determine how these twisted traditions torment the villain.
Folk Horror Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Knows the beliefs are false but keeps up the facade to maintain power. |
| 2 | Adheres to an ancient faith and desperately works to convert nonbelievers. |
| 3 | Seeks to transform their body into a vessel or gate for the subject of their belief. |
| 4 | Now appears as a bloodthirsty amalgamation of various forest creatures. |
| 5 | Uncontrollably utters prophecies. |
| 6 | Is haunted by judgmental ancestral spirits. |
| 7 | Can appear only at dawn and dusk. |
| 8 | Has partially melded into a hallowed tree. |
| 9 | Is being consumed by fungi. |
| 10 | Can no longer commune with their deity, driving them to ever bloodier sacrifices. |
Folk Horror Adventures
In folk horror tales, characters often discover that their beliefs aren't as universally held as they assumed—and provide no defense against those who reject those beliefs.
Adventure Hooks
Folk horror plots often involve outsiders to a group discovering unsettling practices or traditions. Choose from or roll on the Folk Horror Plots to inspire your folk horror adventures.
Folk Horror Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Anyone entering the city on horseback is imprisoned and sentenced to death. |
| 2 | A cult requests help summoning a demonic force to combat a greater evil. |
| 3 | The townspeople protect a violent hag, whom they call "grandmother." |
| 4 | After an estate party, the residents adopt the characters, refusing to let them leave. |
| 5 | The characters bear an uncanny resemblance to the founders of a secret village. |
| 6 | Townsfolk disappear for days before reappearing with missing memories. |
| 7 | Strangers hand out wax earplugs to protect others from "the choir." |
| 8 | Every night, parents let their children follow floating lights into the forest. |
| 9 | Villagers physically can't stop smiling. |
| 10 | Anyone who stays in the village overnight loses their shadow to the looming woods. |
Adventure Settings
Folk horror stories often take place in isolated or rural areas, but they could be set anywhere insular communities thrive or traditions stagnate. Choose from or roll on the Folk Horror Settings to inspire locations for your adventures.
Folk Horror Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A copse of dense, blackened woods. |
| 2 | A mansion built around a stone circle. |
| 3 | A field where paths grow in corridor-like patterns leading to a ruin at the center. |
| 4 | A telepathic collective that townsfolk join by ingesting a rare fungus. |
| 5 | A hag's hut that stands atop a growing hill of rotten sweets. |
| 6 | A glacier that residents never leave. |
| 7 | A cavern where the glowing bones of an otherworldly being jut from the walls. |
| 8 | A countryside with stretches of hayfields and colorful barns. |
| 9 | Rival villages engaged in an age-old war. |
| 10 | A deserted chapel that has been burned down and rebuilt a thousand times. |
Folk Horror Monsters
Eerie traditions and unnatural alliances with monsters fill folk horror tales. When certain behaviors have taken hold over generations, even the strangest practices and most dangerous beings might be accepted as part of society. The Folk Horror Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Folk Horror Monsters
Ghost Stories
Ghost stories number among the more psychologically elaborate genres of horror. Only by revealing tales of tragedy and past wrongs can heroes bring peace to forces that share their suffering with the living. Examples include The Woman in Black and The Haunting of Hill House.
Ghost Story Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains inspired by ghost stories:
- Mirror of Humanity. Ghosts are a way to examine the nature of the soul, mortality, and history.
- Naive Heroes. Heroes are purehearted or unsuspecting individuals whose resolve is shaken by the story's events. Look for ways to test heroes' psychology with your hauntings.
- Resolving a Haunt. Heroes need a way to put spirits to rest. Once you reveal the story, ensure the way to combat the haunting is clear.
- Specificity. Even the smallest details can reveal a haunting's story. A simple locket or portrait might contain clues that explain a haunting.
- Ties to the Living. Personal ties give ghost stories weight. Consider connecting the heroes to spirits in ways they won't predict, such as making a phantasmal villain a hero's ancestor.
Ghost Story Villains
In ghost stories, spirits often represent instruments of supernatural justice, causing those responsible for their deaths to suffer. Spirits also can represent grief and the need for closure.
Villain Identities
While the villains in ghost stories are often spirits or haunted places, they also could be the individuals who provoked a haunting to begin with. Choose from or roll on the Ghost Story Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Ghost Story Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A medium who gains power over spirits by feeding victims to them. |
| 2 | The spirit of a long-dead murderer who continues to kill in death. |
| 3 | A ghostly ancestor who refuses to relinquish control of their kin. |
| 4 | A priest who marks the unworthy for sacrifice to the cathedral's hungry spirits |
| 5 | A phantom rider who sweeps through the village, stealing away the living. |
| 6 | An unbound spirit that repeatedly manifests in victims' nightmares. |
| 7 | The capricious phantasm of an amoral accident victim who torments the living. |
| 8 | The spirit of a former tyrant who demands sacrifices from their old domain. |
| 9 | A ghost hunter who inflicts hauntings on clients—then charges to remove the spirits. |
| 10 | The spirit of an evil captain who lurks near their wrecked vessel, sabotaging passing ships. |
Villain Torments
Whether they're living monsters or ghosts, villains in ghost stories are the architects of their own tragedies. Choose from or roll on the Ghost Story Torments table to determine how the villain's past painfully manifests.
Ghost Story Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Can't touch anyone without stealing a precious memory. |
| 2 | Can temporarily release spirits from the villain's elaborate scars. |
| 3 | Is hounded by spirits that each represent an emotion the villain can no longer feel. |
| 4 | Drains the life from any animal they see. |
| 5 | Has lost the ability to feel physical sensation. |
| 6 | Can be seen only in reflective surfaces. |
| 7 | Is bound within a building; leaving would permanently destroy them. |
| 8 | Turns to ash in sunlight. |
| 9 | Can communicate only through music and writing. |
| 10 | Siphons the color from objects they possess. |
Ghost Story Adventures
Ghost story adventures deal with learning the story behind a haunting and ultimately resolving it. They benefit from preserving the mystery behind a spirit's motivations until the heroes discover the truth.
Adventure Hooks
Though the structure—learn about a haunting and resolve it—might seem straightforward, ghost story plots can explore philosophical issues like the burden of ancestry and the nature of the soul. Choose from or roll on the Ghost Story Plots table to inspire your ghost stories.
Ghost Story Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Murder victims linger as ghosts until someone solves their murders. |
| 2 | Bloody graffiti keeps appearing on the city's walls. |
| 3 | A stubborn miser must visit their haunted family home to put their family to rest. |
| 4 | A mob of angry spirits besieges the local temple on the winter solstice each year. |
| 5 | The adventurers must solve the murder of a ghost who can say only three words. |
| 6 | A ship—with the same name as a vessel lost at sea decades prior—arrives at port. |
| 7 | Rumors abound of a ritual allowing a living individual to trade places with the dead. |
| 8 | The ghosts of an actor's rivals haunt the local theater. |
| 9 | A noble accidentally broke a family urn, unleashing their cruel ancestral spirits. |
| 10 | Every full moon, spirits in a graveyard rise to seek vengeance for a mass crime. |
Adventure Settings
Ghost stories are intensely personal, and adventures within this genre take place in a setting dripping with tragic history. Choose from or roll on the Ghost Story Settings table to inspire locations for your adventures.
Ghost Story Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A decrepit mansion where, for years, nobles killed the staff to keep their secrets. |
| 2 | A graveyard city-state where all living residents are grave keepers. |
| 3 | An opulent yet abandoned library, filled with haunted artifacts. |
| 4 | The site of an ancient battle that permanently devastated the land. |
| 5 | A nation where the residents observe grueling rituals to appease the angry dead. |
| 6 | An expansive forest in which a cruel noble once hunted the poor for sport. |
| 7 | A ruined barn where dozens of remarkable animals lost their lives in a fire. |
| 8 | A picturesque cliff where visiting couples often mysteriously fall to their deaths. |
| 9 | An attic in which a hateful spirit has been sealed for decades. |
| 10 | A dilapidated lighthouse overlooking a black-sand beach. |
Ghost Story Monsters
Creatures that embody or serve as a response to past tragedies often feature in ghost stories. Don't limit yourself to incorporeal Undead when creating your own hauntings. The Ghost Story Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Ghost Story Monsters
Gothic Horror
Gothic horror deals with the terror within. It shatters the illusion of humanity by holding a mirror up to us and forcing us to examine what we truly are and what we pretend to be. In gothic horror, we—not some distant entity—are the architects of our destruction. Examples include Dracula and Frankenstein.
Gothic Horror Principles
Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with gothic horror themes:
- Brave Heroes. Gothic heroes are often virtuous, deeply passionate, or courageous. Adventures should test characters' beliefs and morality.
- Foreboding. Atmosphere and a sense of dread are key. Locations are often decrepit or foreboding.
- High Emotions. Gothic stories include intense, exaggerated emotions. Romances, rivalries, and life-changing events are common.
- Sacrifice. Sacrifices feature prominently in gothic stories. Give characters heart-wrenching choices.
- Unassuming, Unrepentant Villains. Gothic villains are unrepentantly evil, but this shouldn't be immediately obvious. Drop hints about your villain's awful secrets before revealing them fully.
Gothic Horror Villains
Though thoroughly wicked, villains in gothic horror tales act reserved or unassuming until they reveal their true nature. Any intriguing figure with a dark secret can serve as a gothic horror villain.
Villain Identities
Gothic villains are most effective when they are slowly revealed as shockingly cruel, immoral, or the antithesis of good. Choose from or roll on the Gothic Horror Villains table to inspire villains appropriate to this genre.
Gothic Horror Villains
| 1d10 | The Villain Is... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A reclusive noble who uses their vampiric reputation to terrorize their vassals. |
| 2 | A vain socialite who made a bargain with a fell power to retain their youth. |
| 3 | A scientist obsessed with creating the perfect poison, machine, or life-form. |
| 4 | A beloved magnate who abducts commoners to use in beauty rituals. |
| 5 | A celebrity who murders openly but uses their charm to avoid repercussions. |
| 6 | Someone who loves a monstrous creature and does anything to keep it safe. |
| 7 | A wealthy heir who manipulates the ambitious into committing terrible deeds. |
| 8 | A poisoner who seeks to manipulate history through targeted killings. |
| 9 | An artist who concocts terrible accidents to inspire their art. |
| 10 | A monster hunter who accuses those they consider sinful of being monsters. |
Villain Torments
Self-debasement and self-loathing lurk at the heart of gothic villains' evil, whether they indulge in vices or are consumed with misanthropy. Choose from or roll on the Gothic Horror Torments table to determine how temptation and dramatic emotions torment the villain.
Gothic Horror Torments
| 1d10 | The Villain... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inherited unlimited wealth, but all finery they wear turns into ash. |
| 2 | Endlessly cries tears of blood. |
| 3 | Is covered in tattoos, which magically update to illustrate all their sins. |
| 4 | Turns into a lead statue when the sun rises. |
| 5 | Is incomparably beautiful, but locals perceive them as a beast. |
| 6 | Sees evidence of their impending doom everywhere. |
| 7 | Extinguishes any light shone on them. |
| 8 | Can't taste food. |
| 9 | Curses anyone they dance with. |
| 10 | Craves company but is cursed to forever wear a mask and obscure their identity. |
Gothic Horror Adventures
The themes of gothic horror adventures center around shattering the lies we trick ourselves into believing. Ominous history, poetic tragedy, and supernatural forces are staples of gothic horror.
Adventure Hooks
The dichotomy between goodness and evil, reckonings for wicked deeds, and dire choices are strong themes in gothic horror plots. Choose from or roll on the Gothic Horror Plots table to inspire your gothic horror adventures.
Gothic Horror Plots
| 1d10 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | The city's rulers secretly are warring hags, wererats, and vampires. |
| 2 | A scientist, never seen and known only through their writing, has disappeared. |
| 3 | A repentant immortal requests help in losing centuries of painful memories. |
| 4 | A beloved social figure turns into a murderous living doll every night. |
| 5 | A pair of spirits brings unspeakable tragedy to any romantic couple in town. |
| 6 | A generational curse forces villagers to sacrifice themselves. |
| 7 | Every night, one random guest of an opulent inn chokes on their own blood. |
| 8 | A serial killer impales victims on a certain monument in a cruel mockery of art. |
| 9 | Terrible noises sound from a dilapidated mansion; those who visit are never seen again. |
| 10 | As the result of abhorrent experiments, blood-drained creatures roam the streets. |
Adventure Settings
Gothic horror settings have an underlying sinister air, and encounters often take place in forlorn structures where depravity runs rampant. Choose from or roll on the Gothic Horror Settings table to inspire locations for your adventures.
Gothic Horror Settings
| 1d10 | The Adventure Takes Place In... |
|---|---|
| 1 | A lavish garden that siphons life from visitors to maintain its beauty. |
| 2 | A ruined cathedral devoted to transforming a prophesied being. |
| 3 | A laboratory where preserved body parts carry the minds of their former owners. |
| 4 | A forest of eternal night where bloodthirsty creatures live in fragile peace. |
| 5 | A rectory where the stained glass windows hold the trapped souls of the pious. |
| 6 | A city where all who die are cast in plaster and used to adorn the streets. |
| 7 | An island where the inhabitants make sacrifices to avoid eerie transformations. |
| 8 | An artist's paradise where cruelties are elevated to terrible and beautiful art forms. |
| 9 | A castle in which visitors are transformed into objects or animals. |
| 10 | A ruined fortress haunted by a monstrous yet docile creature. |
Gothic Horror Monsters
Creatures imbued with tragedy or abominable origins work well in gothic horror adventures. The Gothic Horror Monsters table presents monsters particularly appropriate to such adventures. Unless otherwise noted, creatures in this table appear in the Monster Manual.
Gothic Horror Monsters
Disaster Horror
In disaster horror, the world has fallen to ruin or it's getting there fast. The unthinkable has happened, and society is collapsing. In these tales, you might replace a monster or villain with cascading catastrophes like those brought about by a meteorite strike or volcanic eruption. Regardless of a hero's power, the best-timed strike or the most powerful spell might not fix a city ruined by an earthquake or a world ravaged by plagues.
Disaster Horror Features
Consider the following principles when creating adventures with disaster horror themes:
- Nature of Disaster. The disasters in your horror adventures need not be natural. Magical disruptions, temporal shifts, and violent interplanar rifts might sow supernatural chaos. Wars and relentless monster hordes—including legions of zombies or demons—also can cause domain-changing ruin.
- Society's Downfall. In disaster horror, society breaks down. Inns are closed, healers are few or overtaxed, and anarchy rises as governments crumble.
- What It Takes to Survive. Scared innocents, opportunistic scavengers, and leaderless institutions (military or otherwise) seek to survive. The hopeless acts of others might prove more horrifying than the disaster.
Occult Detective Stories
Occult detective stories straddle the line between fantasy, mystery, and horror. For the occult detective, solving paranormal mysteries is part of the job. In these adventures, supernatural criminals or monsters pursue nefarious ends while the characters act as detectives: interpreting events, seeking patterns, deducing goals, and ultimately putting an end to the threat. Investigation and cleverness take center stage in these adventures, although—as in the noir stories that inspire the genre—there's plenty of room for action.
Occult Detective Story Features
Consider the following principles when creating adventures with occult detective themes:
- Lighter Frights. Occult detective adventures can be just as terrifying as other horror adventures but might be lighter in tone. Adventurers might encounter the results of horrific deeds rather than experiencing them firsthand and might face a foe only once they're prepared.
- Supernatural Twists. Consider how monsters, magic, or other supernatural forces might lend a thrilling twist to criminal enterprises. How will the characters catch an invisible assassin or a thief who pilfers extradimensional spaces?
- Threading Hints. Once you know the villain's mode of operation, consider how the villain might give themself away. Even if you're not sure, listen to the characters' plans and give them opportunities to feel brilliant in the course of their investigations.
Psychological Horror
Psychological horror stories create suspense by heightening or calling into question characters' states of mind, emotions, and perceptions. These tales often highlight the difference between what characters think and how they behave.
Psychological Horror Features
Consider the following principles when creating adventures with psychological horror themes:
- Fears as Metaphors. Common anxieties and fears can become metaphors for antagonists in psychological horror. Fear of judgment by one's peers might manifest as a jury of nothics, while fear of change could be represented by a medusa that petrifies those who threaten the status quo.
- Mental Illness Isn't Horror. Some classic psychological horror tales stigmatize mental illness. Avoid this trope in your adventures.
- Unreliable Information. Uncertainty and paranoia shape psychological horror stories. Characters might experience a deadly encounter only to wake up at the end, not having realized they were asleep. Before undermining characters' senses, identify what's driving these skewed perceptions and how characters might overcome them.
Slasher Horror
Slasher horror contends with relentless killers, which might be people or monsters. These adventures revel in grisly details, the suspense of an impending showdown with a powerful foe, and the fear that death waits right around the corner.
Slasher Horror Features
Consider the following principles when creating adventures with slasher horror themes:
- Solo Antagonist. Slasher horror stories typically include one major antagonist that threatens a group. This might be a particularly large or cunning beast, a murderer who terrorizes a neighborhood, a monster stalking a town, or a supernatural menace that spreads a signature cause of death.
- Targets. Consider who the villain's targets are and why the villain is preying on that group. Is it out of hunger or for revenge, or does the creature have a deep-seated need to kill?
- Violence and Infamy. Antagonists in slasher horror are often infamous, akin to urban legends, with numerous victims. Consider how the killer avoids capture and what makes the killer's actions warrant their infamy.