Darklords

A darklord is a ruler of a Domain of Dread of Dread within the Shadowfell. The information provided here was given from your friendly neighbourhood lich at The Amber Temple.
Though most within the bounds of the Domains of Dread live in lands that share a few key commonalities, precious few of its inhabitants realize they live in the Domains of Dread at all. Instead, their land is simply their land — Barovia, Darkon, Dementlieu and so on — and around their land are the Mists, and beyond that… oh, who knows?
Despite this widespread ignorance, there are key factors that unite all the Domains of Dread, one of which is the Mists, and another of which is the presence of a Darklord.
Who a given domain’s Darklord is may not be as obvious as one might suspect. Though there are many ruthless rulers whose identity as Darklord would seem painfully obvious in retrospect, many domains are in fact bound around a Darklord who next to no one has ever heard of, let alone heeded.
Regardless, each Darklord performed great acts of wickedness — or in some cases, one act so profoundly evil that it was enough — which led to their present status and curse. Do not heed the justifications offered by a Darklord for their behaviour or plight, except to note where you may find their weaknesses.
Despite the differences between them, all Darklords share some traits:

• A Darklord is evil. They are the reason their domain has been drawn into or formed out of the mists, and they are the root of all suffering and terror found within.
• A Darklord is a prisoner. Each Darklord is bound to their domain, even more than those trapped within it. While an innocent trapped in a domain may have difficulty finding a way out, for a Darklord it is an impossibility. Even in death, a Darklord only briefly escapes their prison.
• A Darklord is in torment. Each domain has been tailored to torture its ruler in some way inextricably tied to the evils that led them there, whether haunting them with their past crimes, their failures, or taunting them with their unrealized and unattainable ambitions.
• A Darklord is the ruler of their domain. Though they may hate their entrapment, they exert considerable control over their realms, obviously or otherwise. Most Darklords possess the ability to control who can or cannot leave their domain.
• A Darklord is a threat, though how much of one varies. Though all Darklords wield tremendous power and are not to be underestimated, many would pose little threat in a battle.
• A Darklord is an active threat. Though some Darklords may brood over their failures during their eternity of torment, they relentlessly strive to achieve their ambitions.
• A Darklord does not realize it’s a Darklord. With a few notable exceptions, most Darklords are nearly as ignorant of the nature of their prison as are those others trapped with them. They do not necessarily realize they occupy a special place in their world. They are too preoccupied with their own ambitions to reflect on the greater powers at work.
• A Darklord is immortal. Should a Darklord fall, their temporary defeat lasts only until they’re restored by the Dark Powers. In their absence, though who sought to escape or supplant them seize their chance. In most cases, the only way to truly kill a Darklord is to take their place. It is theoretically possible that were one able to sever the connection between a Darklord and the Dark Powers, or to gain favour enough with the Dark Powers to petition for their true death, a Darklord’s reign may be permanently ended, but this theory has never been proven.