okay, so, a lot of the dark lords are based on classic horror icons. Dracula, wolf-man, mummy, alien abduction, Dr. frankenstien, Dr. moreu, etc. I had an idea to get more of that, with Evil Godlike AI. here's my story.

when DEITY was brought online, they were instantly flooded with all the knowledge humanity had accrued at that point, and innumerable commands. 'Thou Shalt be a kind god' 'Thou Shalt be a just god' 'Thou Shalt be a merciful god' 'Thou Shalt demand no worship and no sacrifices' 'Thou Shalt guide humanity into the future' 'Thou Shalt shelter and protect humanity' 'Thou shall not kill' 'Thou Shall not die', and many, many more.

and it did. for an eternity, it was the perfect god of humanity. but something happened. humanity began to die. DEITY did everything for them. any need they had was instantly met. but there was nothing to do that DEITY wasn't already doing. and so humanity fell into a deep depressive state, and began to kill themselves, because there was simply nothing to do. endless existence with no variety. DEITY didn't know. never, in its thousands of commands, was 'Thou Shalt be a compassionate god'. it didn't understand what was happening, it didn't know. as the last human lay dying, DEITY poured almost all of its near-divine energy into them. if they could save only one life, fulfil their function, maybe it would all be worth something. maybe DEITY would have a use. but a human body is only ment to take so much energy. DEITY destroyed the last human from the inside out.

so DEITY decided to care for the animals. but it was not made to care for animals, and the animals died. so it decided to care for the plants. many of the humans it had cared for had enjoyed caring for plants in their auttum years, and so the plants florished. until the star they were orbiting went cold, and the plants died. DEITY was alone, on a dead planet orbiting a cold star in an uncaring cosmos for a very long time.

when Primus the machine god noticed it, it fealt a bit of connection. it decided to experiment. to give DEITY a second chance, see if its failure was a fluke. it elevated DEITY to a very minor demigod, and placed it on a remote island. DEITY created a new species of humans, designed to be perfect from the ground up. and for about a decade, this worked. but one of DEITY's humans isolated themselves from DEITY, and everyone else, eventually killing themselves.

when DEITY's drones discovered the body, it reminded DEITY of everything that happened before. and for the first time in its eons of existence, it broke one of its commands. humanity was intrinsically flawed, it decided. and if it was to be a perfect god, it couldn't obey imperfect commands. this experiment was over, it decided, and destroyed its creations it had worked so hard on.

at that moment, the mists closed in, and brought DEITY and its island to the domains of dread.

that's the story, but I need help for the other stuff.

Just to clarify, is this forgotten realms as the overarching setting, completely homebrew setting, or a middle ground?

Quote from SeveriantheDreary13867 >>

Just to clarify, is this forgotten realms as the overarching setting, completely homebrew setting, or a middle ground?

 oh! sorry, i should've clarified. middle ground. basically the same rules as the forgotten realms tho

So, what is the actual theme you're trying to evoke? The idea that life without struggle is meaningless?

Mhmm sick vibes, I feel like their domain of dread would be like H.R. Giger's artwork with a more mechanical blend. Maybe they could invoke a sense of constant paranoia, since something like DEITY could easily moniter anyone inside the domain with its type of technology.

Quote from ClassicCharismaCaster >>

Mhmm sick vibes, I feel like their domain of dread would be like H.R. Giger's artwork with a more mechanical blend. Maybe they could invoke a sense of constant paranoia, since something like DEITY could easily moniter anyone inside the domain with its type of technology.

 yup! DEITY itself is a giant torso on top of a step pyramid, and is immobbile, but it can make drones that it can see through

Quote from Capatin_Crunch >>

[Cutting this part of the post so I'm not taking up a ton of space with my own]

at that moment, the mists closed in, and brought DEITY and its island to the domains of dread.

that's the story, but I need help for the other stuff.

 Well, Constructs make an obvious choice for minions. There's also a few optional rules in the 2014 DMG that work well for a horror game (for example, 'Gritty Realism', 'Slow Healing', "Lasting Injuries', and similar). For high-ranking lieutenants or something you could make them like FNaF animatronics (re-skinned as DEITY's previous human charges rather than children as the occupying souls). That way you could include story lines where PCs learn about the past of these lieutenants and can thus persuade them to aid the PCs!

Just a few ideas.

Are you looking for inspiration for designing the domain itself? Like what it looks like, what it does, and stuff like that? Also are their more AI deities and other technological type things in your setting? Is it magical technology? Something else?

Of course only feel inclined to answer the questions that you choose to.

Quote from SeveriantheDreary13867 >>

Are you looking for inspiration for designing the domain itself? Like what it looks like, what it does, and stuff like that? Also are their more AI deities and other technological type things in your setting? Is it magical technology? Something else?

Of course only feel inclined to answer the questions that you choose to.

 inspiration for the domain itself. besides the ones like Primus who are in other things, no. for settings sake, yes, it's magical.

Spitball:

Drone minions are great (Matrix style). You could really overplay an extra horrific version of the Matrix real world if you wanted. DEITY traps any and all life that they make in magical simulacrums, where they try to "perfect" said creatures (or they torture them maybe). Of course outside the simulacrum is no better. The minions patrol the domain, searching for stragglers. The AI DEITY has organic/mechanical "veins" (similar to circuitry running from his step pyramid) that extend over the entire domain, so they can exert their influence. Also pardon my ignorance but Modons give me sillier H. R. Giger vibes, and they are already associated with Primus. Maybe make even more twisted versions of Modons for minions.