Kevin's Watch

Can you imagine the various dark lords of fantasy getting together? Meeting each other, sharing schemes, griping about the heroes always spoiling their fun...

Anyone have any ideas on how these meetings would go? Or a favorite pairing of bad guys?

Mine would be Lord Foul meeting Rakoth Maugrim from the Fionavar books. I think they would see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. Foul would be especially interested in getting some insight from the Unraveller on...well...unravelling things (like the Arch of Time). Maybe they could strike a deal, because if Foul loaned Maugrim a Raver or two he would be able to destroy the heroes in the Fionavar world in short order.

Dark lords are very narcissistic with a tendency to use and discard. They're not big on keeping bargains. Knowing that, they would see the other dark lord as a rival or a nuisance. They would never believe the other dark lord would keep his word, because the other dark lord never would.

Can sorta see them competing though...

--A

Not what you're talking about but it did remind me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki6-BmrWgmE

Well, if the Dark Lords could only meet to talk, not personally invade each others' world (there is a barrier of some sort) they might be more likely to work together.

They wouldn't turn down a possible advantage against their world's heroes, right? Especially if they knew their rival Dark Lord couldn't interfere with their world.

In my own example, Maugrim could teach Foul how to undo the Arch of Time, or at least give him some clues to some new avenues of attack against it. In exchange, Foul sends Herem across the barrier to hench for Rakoth. Herem possesses, oh, let's say Kim Ford. Herem-Kim immediately uses the Warstone to compel the Crystal Dragon to destroy Paras Derval. While that happens she runs around murdering all the other heroes & generally wrecking Fionavar with her ring. By the time Paul Twiceborn or someone manages to kill her, the heroes would be a shambles.

Mutual benefit for both Dark Lords.

Alas, no. Once Foul had the Arch of Time info, he wouldn't bother sending Herem over. Foul would break the Arch, and the ravers would be undone with the rest of the world. Maugrim would get a big, pretty mirror with nothing on the other side.

Khaliban wrote:Dark lords are very narcissistic with a tendency to use and discard. They're not big on keeping bargains. Knowing that, they would see the other dark lord as a rival or a nuisance. They would never believe the other dark lord would keep his word, because the other dark lord never would.

This is pretty much my view as well. Dark lords tend to be convinced that they possess "the one word of truth" and are contemptuous of any other perspective on the fundamental nature of things. This contempt would extend to other dark lords' perspectives. All other beings must ultimately either submit to their hegemony or be eliminated.

DrPaul wrote:Dark lords tend to be convinced that they possess "the one word of truth" and are contemptuous of any other perspective on the fundamental nature of things. This contempt would extend to other dark lords' perspectives. All other beings must ultimately either submit to their hegemony or be eliminated.

Interesting...but they are surely not above seeing another DL as a tool? Perhaps a tool to be used and then discarded...but a tool nonetheless. I can see the DLs keeping bargains for a time for utility reasons.