Well, I was talking to Cameron and I told him about this idea I had for a battle. Well, as green-blooded as I am on this server, I didn't really want to put this forward myself, but he suggested I give it a shot, so here we go.
My idea was a Throwback to old trannsylvanian/scottish/irish mythos, involving Vampires, Ghouls, Dullahans, Nuckalavees, etc. With a more traditional view taken to them.
Vampires -- Ancient, undead creatures, born of another vampire drinking of a virgin of the opposite sex in the moonlight. Vampires gain power through the blood, as the blood is the currency of the soul. The more entities they drain of blood, the more familiars they gain in the shape of their victims, so long as they do not become ghouls or vampires. The greatest of vampires, count Dracula, was reported to have thousands of familiars, making him almost invincible, as each familiar is essentially another life that the vampire has. One must end each life before the Vampire can finally be slain. So long as the Familiars are contained within the vampire, that is. When the familiars are called out from the vampire's form, the castle is essentially emptied, leaving the king alone to be slain. Each familiar held within the body is another life, each without, a vicious minion. Vampires possess a frightening ability to transform themselves into black demon dogs, bats and other similar creatures of the night. They are a dominant creature of the Transylvanian mythos, along with werewolves and ghouls.
Ghouls -- The victims of Vampires who are not completely drained of blood, ghouls remain alive, but altered. They crave living flesh, finding all dead meat to be tasteless and mute. And each living creature they devour, they assimilate into their life, prolonging their lifespan and putting their traits and forms into their repertoire. When need be, Ghouls can call upon the traits of the creatures they have devoured, or even transform completely into one of them. For instance, a ghoul who has eaten a lizard can call upon their camouflage, or wall scaling ability, or can simply turn completely into a Lizard.
Dullahans -- Headless horsemen. Warriors, men and women, who are cursed into a job of reaping souls and a neverending unlife. Dullahans carry a weapon of their choice and a whip, as well as their head, usually in their hand or on their belt.. They ride undead horses, and bear a deathly appearance, their armor made of blackened metal or bone. The dullahan's whip is actually a human corpse's spine, and the wagons they sometimes use are made of similarly funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewn pall). When the dullahan stops riding, it is where a person is due to die. The dullahan calls out their name, at which point they immediately perish. This is known as the Death Knell, a blasphemous curse native to the Dullahan.
A dullahan's weakness, however, is Gold. Gold is the bane of their existence, and even a gold pin can drive away the deathless riders. Gold blades, though normally useless, drive through the dullahan's armour like butter, rending them limb from limb and finally bringing them death.
Nuckalavees -- A creature from Northern folklore, the Nuckelavee is the most horrible of all the Scottish elves. He lives mainly in the sea, but was also held responsible for ruined crops, epidemics, and drought. His breath could wilt the crops and sicken the livestock.
He resembles a centaur whose legs are part fin; he has an enormous gaping mouth and a single giant eye, which burns with a red flame. The most gruesome detail of his appearance is the fact that he has no skin. Black blood courses through yellow veins, and the pale sinews and powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass. The Nuckelavee has an aversion to running water, and those who are chased by him have only to cross a stream to be rid of him. Some reports claim that he is simply a very large head on two small arms, with all of the other characteristics mentioned above.
Another phobia that the Nuckelavee suffers from is the burning of seaweed to create kelp. Enraged, he starts on a wild rampage of plague, killing cattle and many other creatures, and bringing bad crops. At this time, the only person to stop him is The Mither o'the Sea, another ancient God-like being of Orkney mythology.
And a number of other creatures I would pull from these mythos and possibly a few others, like Norse, Greek, etc, as well as normal humans who hunt supernaturals, vampire hunters, inquisitors, paladins, etc. Though the four above will probably be the most prevalent.
The plot of the battle is basically that of a holy crusade, with 'tamed' vampires, ghouls, dullahans, etc, fighting alongside human crusaders and vampire hunters, to defeat the dark, evil denizens of these disturbing mythos, and their greatest leaders, such as Dracula, Fenrir, etc.
Not all of the creatures I bring in would likely be evil, I'd most likely add some of the more good natured faeries and the like.
Poll