I had this idea for a couple of years now for a setting to create a world of mixed genre and time eras where the fantastical and supernatural are the dominate race and humans are the second class citizen. Take the Legacy of Kain video game universe and expand it.
Basically I want to have all the fantasy and horror races, mostly the Horror creatures have unique origin rather than them being a disease, alien origin, demonic/spirit possession or birth defect. Does anyone have good ideas or suggestion on any unique origin for the vampires, werwolves, fae, dragons and other popular creatures?
The main races I want in setting other humans are as followed: Vampires, Werecreatures, Fae, Undead, Dragonfolk, Amphibian-folk (instead of just merfolk) and 2 more race which i have not decide on. Thanks
Humans might have a gift others don't have - maybe it is faith or dedication? Just like the other races have a gift others don't have.
Origin of Vampires: Vampires could be kinda like Elves with a twist. (And really, Elf and Vampire fan fiction is probably not that different, except for the blood lust of Vampires.) They come from a far away land, a land shrouded in darkness most of the time. They are dying, in some way - they can't have children anymore, and they have only a small chance to create a new Vampire by "spawning" from others whose blood they drink from.
Werecreatures: In some ways, they started as some kind of "awakened" animal - capable of thought and speech. They were pretty civilized, but they found their animal shape insufficient when they learned what humans could achieve with their hands. So some of them performed a ritual to make them more human. Unfortunately, this had an unexpected side effect - while they became more human most of the time, assuming the desired shapes, their animal side "rebelled" and can take them over for a short time. Some individuals retain some controls, but others become raging monsters - or fearful, panicking creatures, since not only hunters were awakened as such. Werecreatures have been expelled from their former lands, as the other awakened animals couldn't bear to live with them - on one hand, raging lunatics, on the other hand, untrustworthy humans?
Fae: Fae come from the same land as the awakened animals and were-creatures. They are said to be immortal. While their often fragile bodies can be crushed, they return after a while to their former self... Except... It is hard to pin down a Faes self. They are shifty, moody - in one moment they are happy and friendly, in the next they are angry and claw out your eyes. In one moment they tell you their most important secret, in the next they betray you and stab you in the back. Some say their immortality is not true - instead, a fae dies and instantly a new fae is born, and the real truth is, that fae don't exist at all - instead, they are just fluctuation of nothingness, and to compensate, they have to switch between their moods and opinions so that overall, there presence has no effect. Others say that faes are not reborn, but just displaced. The idea of rebirth certainly has some merit - nobody ever saw fey children, and fae often show an intense sense of curiosity, as if they saw everything for their first time. But if that would be true, shouldn't the fae themselves know and tell us?
Undead: A nation that was infested with a terrible plague. People died, no cure was to be found, and prayers were left unanswered - except the one to the Goddess of Death. She offered the nation a chance to survive, more even, immortality of sorts, provided they would serve her. Desperately, the leaders and priests of the nation agreed, and the dead awakened. When a member of the nation died of the disease, he would turn into an undead, too, and eventually everyone became a undead. The Godess of Death has only one goal - to gain control of all the world, if necessary by killing all of the people and turning them into undead, too. But she missed that not everyone was strictly bound to the deal - there have always been those that opposed the current leadership, and so even now there are rebels among them, trying to stop the plans, end her control, or warn others.
Dragonfolk: (Dragonfolk means humanoid, aka Dragonborn; or true dragons. I assume the former). Dragons start small. They actually hail from a reptiloid species that already shares some trait with them. The species has learned the secret of turning into a great creature with wings and flaming breath, but only years of training, complentation and ritual workins can turn a Dragonfolk into a true dragon. They use this time to gain knowledge and riches. Not every Dragonfolk ever gets to become a Dragon, though - some lack the dedication, and some just die prematurely - and some are killed by envious Dragons before they can perform their final transformation.
Amphibian Folk: Still humanoid thinking? If not, think about "Squidfolk". Squids that learn to walk the lands just as well as swimming. Could make a good Cthulhu/Horror idea, or one of your extra races.
If that's not it - They do come from continental waters, something like the Mediterranean - it is not as deep as a true ocean, it is sweet water, and the coast is never far. They build cities underwater as well as on beaches and isles.
Humans: Humans are a species known for mostly one thing - infinite diversification with infinite dedication. Unlike a species like the Dragonfolk, the do not focus on a singular goal - each human has a different focus. But they dedicate to that with an incredible depth, and learn to become true masters in whatever they have dedicated themselves too. As such, Humans benefit a lot from their communities that support each other and ensure that the diverse talents can grow together. While the Vampire metabolism might make them strong and faster than a typical human, a dedicated human can excel them. While Dragonfolk might excel at arcana mysteries, their focus is still shared with attaining wealth, so that a dedicated human mage - or a greedy human - can exceed a Dragonfolk even in this core area.
