The following information is for use with the Unbidden roleplaying game and is copyright 2004 Politically Incorrect Games. All rights reserved.

Thousands of years ago, demons found doorways to our world — a cradle of humanity that now provides its fiendish guests with nourishment and debauched distraction. Collectively known as The Darkness, these inter-dimensional horrors stalk the quiet alleyways and still-hunt the darkest recesses of our world in search of innocent victims to corrupt, tempt and ultimately drive mad. Why they toy with mankind no one knows, but by entering into our world they threaten to shatter reality as we know it, casting humanity into an age of shadow and eternal psychosis.

In 1467, a Loremaster named Alphonse de Spina began to categorize the many different types of demons in a treatise he titled Species of Demons. In that treatise, Spina classified nine species of demonic entities, as Unbidden knew them to exist in that era. They include Demons who assail the saintly and instigate witchcraft, Familiars who assist witches, Fates who alter destiny, Incubi who stimulate lust and perversion, Hordes who bring about war, Nightmares who disturb sleep and Poltergeists who cause mischief. Since that time, the list has grown, and it is now nearly impossible to account for every single demonic entity that has since poured into this world via gateways. And while de Spina’s works have proven to be invaluable to Unbidden throughout the Secret War, it has failed to answer the one burning question that has haunted the thoughts of Loremasters since the first became acquainted with the Truth: What brought The Darkness to the world?

Divergent Ideologies
The most popular belief among the Unbidden asserts that The Darkness came into this world in 3300 BCE, when Mayan sorcerer-priests mistakenly unlocked gateways leading from a demonic realm to Earth. Realizing the far-reaching implications of what they had done, the sorcerer-priests entered into a struggle with the Darkness. Unfortunately, it eventually lead to their deaths, and so (as the legend goes) the Mayan gods imbued mundane humans with mystical powers while also imparting upon them a responsibility to the Earth and its heavens. If this creation legend is to be believed, then according to the Mayan Tzolkin Calendar, the Earth will be destroyed by The Darkness on December 21, 2012.

Another belief, taken from the Popol Vuh (the Mayan bible) alleges that the principle death gods of the underworld — Hun Came and Vucub Came — were summoned to the surface world by twin brothers named Hun and Vucub Hunahpu, who were playing ball with Hun’s two sons. The ball court was on Earth, but also led to the underworld. Hun and Vucub Came, became enraged with the noise the ball game was causing and summoned all the gods and demons of the underworld together to assault the Earth and its people.

Whatever the case, agents of The Darkness are subtle, deceitful, powerful and wicked. They possess the power to tempt, afflict and victimize humans. They can and do pervert anything, twisting truths just slightly to throw mankind further off the path of righteousness and directly into their hands. This is made easy by the fact that men and women have exploitable weaknesses, which The Darkness uses to lure its victims back into behavior that keeps them dead inside. To accomplish this, agents of The Darkness will use whatever means they have to try and turn people from that which they so desperately cling.

Honor Among The Wicked
In the Unbidden core rulebook, Chapter 5 discusses, at length, the motivations and characteristics of the demons that comprise The Darkness. The following information delves a bit further into the interplay between the various demonic species and their subculture.

The demons that comprise The Darkness have no concrete hierarchy and thus have no clear indication as to how powerful each one is with respect to others of their kind and those outside their respective species. This is further compounded by the fact that demons, in general, have no wish to openly display their might toward one another for fear of losing face should they be defeated by another demon. Additionally, each demon typically works independently of its peers, which prevents them from organizing a unified front. All that being said, the interaction between agents of The Darkness is engaged on a very different and sometimes alien level.

Demonic Dialogue
Close observation has shown that agents of The Darkness do communicate with each other occasionally, but only if forced to work together, either through circumstance or to ensure their individual survival. Demons may also be forced to interact should one or more become embroiled in a turf war (see below). When such an interaction occurs, the demons involved will first attempt to size up the other, while also trying to push its opponent into making a declaration of subservience and obedience through threats and intimidation. Baring that demons may then resort to utilizing human agents or Screamers. Again, it’s rare for two or more demons to engage in physical combat. When conflict does occur, it is quite possible that these battles over turf can continue over long periods of time (sometimes centuries!) until one finally gives in and moves onward.

Behind the Shadows
A turf war is essentially a battle for control over territorial reality and occurs when one demon intrudes upon another’s dominion, spreading its own influence upon the manufactured reality imposed upon mortals by the original architect. Since neither demon is convinced of its ability — in relation to his opponent’s — to alter the other’s reality via overt power, they clash until enough has been changed through the mechanics of contention that one demon’s truth is actually…true. This forces the defeated to allow the ascendancy of the dominant demon.

As an example, suppose a Nightmare has been haunting the dreams of a small, inner city neighborhood and has been doing so, comfortably, for several years, feeding off the consequent grief and petulance of those living in the community. Then, without any forewarning a Fiend moves into the area and begins terrorizing those same residents, imposing its own influence while subsequently forcing down the Nightmare’s control. Fearing that the Fiend is threatening its power base and source of nourishment, the Nightmare will establish dialogue with the interloper and the two will begin a test of wills. This involves threats, intimidation and coercion as both opponents endeavor to force the other to recognize its dominance and sovereignty over the territory and human chattel. Should that fail, both demons will engage in what amounts to divisional reality espionage and sabotage. The Fiend might call upon a Screamer pack to set up shop within the area and begin terrorizing the residents so that it may feed upon the resultant proclivities that “rightfully” belong to the Nightmare. In reprisal, the Nightmare may gather its own Screamer pack to force the opposition out, or perhaps it will enlist the aid of human agents who have been granted with the ability to wield Dark Sorcery.

This will continue until either the Fiend or the Nightmare acquiesces to its opponent and moves on. At no time will either demon enlist the aid of Unbidden. In fact, they will take great pains to hide this private shadow war from knowledge lest Unbidden in the area learn of the contention and use it to their own advantage.

Evil Never Learns
If anything can be gleaned from the above information, it’s that demons are truly alien entities, who simply do not behave along logical lines of human conviction and reason. They can be simultaneously submissive to a dominant adversary and aggressive and arrogant to inferiors. They are certainly suspicious of their peers and rightfully assume that each one is in constant competition with others. Fortunately for the Unbidden, this distrust among the demon species is a boon, for it’s all too common for agents of The Darkness to squander vast quantities of time, effort and resources in ensuring their survival at the hands of a rival demon. These battles occupy otherwise brilliant strategic minds in ways that do not especially further the causes of The Darkness.