The Darkness Civilization

--Description-- Creatures of the Darkness Civilization are living nightmares that rely on secrecy and subterfuge. They are very calm, cunning and deceitful. Additionally, they like to keep hidden in the shadows, and a dark spirit always holds something back.

At home in deep subterranean cave systems and anywhere in the darkness, they are the ‘bump in the night’. They are the creepy crawlies, ever patient and always using the shadows to their advantage. Obscuring their maneuvers and strategy, the Darkness Civilization tends to be sneaky and deceptive – choosing the right moment to pop out and scare / attack / greet their enemies. Their great nemesis of course is the Light Civilization whom they view arrogant and controlling – ever ready to illuminate their secretive ways.

The Darkness Civilization has a certain spooky, creepy side with its undead, demons and especially ‘the masks.’ Many Creatures of Darkness always wear masks, which keeps others guessing about who or what is beneath. The ‘unpredictable’ side of darkness (and what may come out of it) is intriguing. On a deeper level, dark things are neither all bad nor all good – and darkness offers many lessons useful not only to dueling but to life.

The primary colors of the Darkness Civilization are purple and black. These can represent the sneakier aspects of this Civilization, such as plotting, planning, hoarding (as opposed to their toxic waste, poison and so on). The look is frequently “cobbled together,” stitched or otherwise misshapen. Armor and weaponry are always macabre, but cool!

The Darkness Civilization is also heavily polluted, filled with sludge and ooze which the Tarborgs are born from, as well as a massive amount of miscellaneous junk and scrap.

-- List of Races --

• Dark Lord: Dark Lords make up the governing class and the most powerful race of the Darkness Civilization. This race practice secret arts, including genetic engineering, and has achieved something close to immortality. The Dark Lords are responsible for the creations of the Chimeras, Evil Toys, and Shadow Champions. Dark Lords control the territory's energy resources and the cures for disease--enjoying total power over the welfare of other races. In return, they demand unconditional dedication and absolute obedience.

• Shadow Champion: Shadow Champions are the most powerful warriors in the Darkness civilization. Scarce in number, they are a race created by Dark Lords using their most advanced secret technology. Each Shadow Champion is unique and has specialized abilities according to the creature.

• Evil Toy: Evil Toys are artificial creatures manipulated by the Dark Lords as disposable weapons. They have disagreeable natures, and revel in the opportunity to create chaos and mayhem. Many Evil Toys have strings like a marionette, but no operator is required. Their haphazard appearance is the result of numerous self-repairs, done with unskilled needlework.

• Chimera: Chimeras are one by-product of the Dark Lord's bionic experiments. They are deformed creatures, a complex amalgam of many beings, with wildlife as the prototype. Chimeras protect themselves with fangs, poison, or protruding bones. Any special abilities vary naturally from creature to creature depending on their ancestry. Chimeras are the most populous among Darkness creatures.

• Terror Dragon: Similar to Chimeras, Terror Dragons are made various parts of deceased Dragons from other civilizations but reanimated, with the help of Dark Lords, from giant amounts of Darkness mana. Their inky smoke causes serious damage to light creatures and technology.

• Zombie: Zombies are the most populous inhabitants of the Darkness Civilization. Long ago, their ancestors sought to attain immortality by infecting themselves with special strains of viruses but were unsuccessful. Zombies' bodies are made up of mostly decomposed flesh. Protruding bones act as armor to protect them from their enemies. It is not unusual for injured enemies to be infected by the viruses and turn into Zombies themselves.

• Specter: Specters exist as spirits in the Darkness Civilization. Long ago they attempted unsuccessfully to gain eternal life by abandoning their bodies. They now appear as a translucent fog, forming a blurry, three-dimensional image. The life force of a Specter is sustained by the power of a Dark Lord. In return for sustaining a Specter's life force, a Dark Lord demands absolute obedience.

• Dread Mask: Dread Masks are a race made from the skulls of creatures that sought life after death. All bone and no flesh, these skulls have been regenerated with a magical poison gas. Dread Masks come in all shapes and sizes and have an arsenal including sharp teeth, "Psycho-Wave" attacks, and the "Stare of Darkness."

• Tarborg: Tarborgs are souls born from the sludge and ooze found in the polluted land of the Darkness Civilization. They exist in a half-liquid format, covered in sludge, picking up garbage as they move through the environment. Tarborgs are known to attack their enemies with refuse, absorb them, or subdue them with poisonous mists and liquids.

• Rot Worm: Rot Worms resemble gigantic caterpillars with an enormous mouth. Rot Worms are commonly found in the many cemeteries scattered about the Darkness Civilization. They vary in size based on the graveyard where they hatched. The smallest are only a few feet long. The biggest... well, the Darkness civilization has some very, very big graveyards.

• Brain Jacker: Brain Jackers resemble spiders, with a flabby abdominal cavity. They have no measurable intelligence, but survive by manipulating the dead. Clinging to the head of a dead creature, a Brain Jacker will stick its legs into the brain and tap into the dead creature's nervous system, thus enabling the Brain Jacker to control the body at will and use it for protection, hunting, and movement.

• Mimic: Adventurers often seek riches hidden in treasure chests. All Mimics resemble treasure chests. They lie undisturbed until something attempts to open or move them. They will then attack and magically seal its prey inside. So watch out for a treasure chest which seeks adventurers!