If I had to imagine demons I am sure of three things:
- I would never have demons with horns and red skin.
- If I have demons that does not mean I have to include angels, my definition and perception of demons is not strictly the divine judeo-christian one, but a demon who is a supernatural and often malevolent being, not just red demons with horns, but also Japanese yokai, Indian rakshasa, Islamic djinn, they are all considered demons.
A demon does not have to have anything in common with hell, there are ice demons, demons of the sea, demons of the mountains, demons of the forest, cave demons and so on.
- Demons do not have to be pure evil, they are not always chaotic evil, take for instance in islam, jinn (demons/genies) can be neutral and evil and some are rumored even to be good.
I sometimes physically imagine demons like a hybrid of Eredar from warcraft universe and orcs from Lord of the Rings.
Some people and religions view demons as denizens of hell, that they are monsters or abominations.
My demons are not otherworldy and they are not found in other dimensions, like orcs in Middle-Earth, they coexist in the same world as humans in my world.
Islam views demons differently and I like this perception, their demons are probably the most "human" demons in all of religions and mythology, the jinn (genies/demons) can eat and drink, they can be indifferent, neutral or evil, they can marry and they can die of old age like humans.
If I make a demon society, they would be inspired by orc society from LotR, but not with a evil overlord like Sauron, but instead empires, petty states and kingdoms with ambitious power-hungry warlords.
Instead of feudalism the demon society could have "iqta" system.
In summary, the two major questions:
- I need ideas what could they look like?
- I would base a demon society on a mix of LotR orc society and the jinn society. How could a demon society work without making them purely evil, "dehumanized", and with a society that shuns the presence of women like Tolkien depicts orcs?
How do I escape the trap of making a "race" that is always chaotic evil?
- I would never have demons with horns and red skin.
- If I have demons that does not mean I have to include angels, my definition and perception of demons is not strictly the divine judeo-christian one, but a demon who is a supernatural and often malevolent being, not just red demons with horns, but also Japanese yokai, Indian rakshasa, Islamic djinn, they are all considered demons.
A demon does not have to have anything in common with hell, there are ice demons, demons of the sea, demons of the mountains, demons of the forest, cave demons and so on.
- Demons do not have to be pure evil, they are not always chaotic evil, take for instance in islam, jinn (demons/genies) can be neutral and evil and some are rumored even to be good.
I sometimes physically imagine demons like a hybrid of Eredar from warcraft universe and orcs from Lord of the Rings.
Some people and religions view demons as denizens of hell, that they are monsters or abominations.
My demons are not otherworldy and they are not found in other dimensions, like orcs in Middle-Earth, they coexist in the same world as humans in my world.
Islam views demons differently and I like this perception, their demons are probably the most "human" demons in all of religions and mythology, the jinn (genies/demons) can eat and drink, they can be indifferent, neutral or evil, they can marry and they can die of old age like humans.
If I make a demon society, they would be inspired by orc society from LotR, but not with a evil overlord like Sauron, but instead empires, petty states and kingdoms with ambitious power-hungry warlords.
Instead of feudalism the demon society could have "iqta" system.
In summary, the two major questions:
- I need ideas what could they look like?
- I would base a demon society on a mix of LotR orc society and the jinn society. How could a demon society work without making them purely evil, "dehumanized", and with a society that shuns the presence of women like Tolkien depicts orcs?
How do I escape the trap of making a "race" that is always chaotic evil?
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