I'm wanting to include an evolution system for my story, but with the amount of information on demons with the research that I've done, still feels lacking. I can't really find anything about ranks of demons, all I'm finding is specific names and such. I spent an entire day devoted to researching. 
I've started my demons at imps, seemed pretty basic and a good place to start their life at, but I'm unsure of where to go from there. I also want there to be like seven paths that diverge at some point to be more focused on the seven deadly sins and what they specialize in (actually I want to do eight, because I want there to be a hidden apathy path for the main antagonist to end up going down). So at some point in this evolution there needs to be a part that forks into different things depending on skill sets, past deeds, and personality disposition. 

• So like lust would specialize in mind arts, like charming or illusions


• Pride in knocking their opponent down a peg, probably really showy moves or magics


• Wrath would be like full on attack, like aggressiveness to the max


• Sloth would be like a lazy magic kind of deal, probably a slow moving magic or attack that difficult to defend against


• Gluttony would be a specialization that focuses on devouring an opponent's moves and probably has a good defence


• Envy would be either like elemental magic or attacks like the flames of jealousy or the ice of envy kind of thing


• Greed is specialized in stealing moves or something, low defense probably


• And finally apathy would be a field of like dark magic, like something that negates other magics and makes people lose their fighting spirit
  

I want at least three to four low levels of demons that can't really do anything specific, but once they reach that new point, they can start wielding low level specialized abilities. And at least four to six mid levels for the demons, and maybe one or two top levels that are like super strong. And then a final top level that only one demon can obtain, like being satan. Ya feel like that's a good distribution of ranks?
The problem is that I have the start and the eventual goal, I'm just not sure where to go from there. Does anyone care to help or provide their two cents? I'm open to any suggestions or just information that I can build off of. 
Thank you!

Demons are kind of hard to write for in my experience. There isn't really a cohesive mythology to draw on. If you want names for higher evolution above imp you could draw on Islamic myth - use djinn, foliot, afreet, marid - since those things are all roughly equivalent to 'demons'. Most western demons have specific names which make them not great for generic creatures. Otherwise you might just use you know... imp > greater imp> imp king ... or something.

One of my favorite bits of webfiction is called "The Lazy King" - translated web novel I think - and it just has demons that are just generic humans unless otherwise specified and are distinguished by what "sin" they are associated with. It also has a bunch of interesting powersets for each sin - you could check it out if you want.

'sinkingship' pid='828259' dateline='1507106290' Wrote: Demons are kind of hard to write for in my experience. There isn't really a cohesive mythology to draw on. If you want names for higher evolution above imp you could draw on Islamic myth - use djinn, foliot, afreet, marid - since those things are all roughly equivalent to 'demons'. Most western demons have specific names which make them not great for generic creatures. Otherwise you might just use you know... imp > greater imp> imp king ... or something.

One of my favorite bits of webfiction is called "The Lazy King" - translated web novel I think - and it just has demons that are just generic humans unless otherwise specified and are distinguished by what "sin" they are associated with. It also has a bunch of interesting powersets for each sin - you could check it out if you want.

I'm using demons exactly because there's no one, cohesive mythology on them, makes it so I can just throw everything to the wind and be like, "that's just how I'm doing it, you don't got enough to say this isn't how it's done." Also means I don't got to stick to any specific details besides the obvious. But this seems to be a double edged sword for exactly the reasons you've brought up. 

I'm thinking that in the end it will have to be something like imp > great imp > ??? > great ??? >>>> Demon King (aka Satan) lol. I just need some generic demon types and the orders of powerful they're in. I'd hate to put something in one order for some knowledgeable reader to go, "Hey, you've got this one type way~ too high on the food chain, it goes like seven steps below." Because then I look like a lazy fool who didn't do enough research.  [th_096_K.gif]

The things I got inspiration from are The Lazy King, The Devil's Evolution Catalog, Demon Girl ~Tale of a Lax Demon~ (super good btw, you should check it out), Goblin Kingdom, I'm a Spider, so What?, Reincarnated as a Dragon's Egg, and (of course) Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken. So clearly you've seen where some of my inspiration has come from with lazy king. I've got lots of little bits of various things planned out already, little ideas hatched from just about everything I've read recently, including the ones above.

Thanks for your input, it means a lot! [th_059_.gif]

Well, I think you should make your own classification. You made your research, so I think you can come up with a good system with just what you have written.

If you want my two cents, I would lay down first the rules over the conditions for evolution.
Is it karma based? Like eat to become a glutton?
Is it experience based? Like kill ten lesser gluttons to become a lesser glutton.
Is it steal based? Eat a lesser glutton to absorb it's abilities and become a lesser glutton?

Is hybridation possible? Like having ten levels in gluttony and fifty in pride?

How evolution works?
The demon enter a cocoon and is vulnerable? A demon erupt into light and change mid battle? Is it a grottesque biological cancer like eruption that change the shape of the demon? Do arms eyes and other appendeges grow or shrink?

How do ranks work? Is it easy for other to tell the rank at a glance? Or you have to fight to tell?

Do higher level demon have natural control over lesser one of the same class?

I think there is not a right way to do it. There are many, mayby try picking one and see it you like it, change elements you don't like until you come up with a version that you look at and say: "I like this system!"

Hey, I've been wanting something like this, except in my story I was thinking it less like evolution paths and more like factions. Unfortunately, like you, I couldn't find enough demons that fit the respective bills to make it work.
Only a few I can think of:
Lust - succubi, incubi
Pride: maybe vampires?
greed: shadow demons (thieves?)
envy: face stealers, mirror demons, doppelgangers?
wrath: hellhounds... can't really think of anything
gluttony: heaps of stories around gluttony, but never really anything relating to a specific race. Create some race of disgusting white lumpy creatures?

Perhaps using the Gremlins idea. Mogwai, which is an obscure chinese demon which eats after midnight and turns into a gremlin. From there the monsters are easily mutated through chemicals.
Remember that demons are creatures of pure energy and can only be truly killed in their home universe and can only be banished when on the material plane.
You can also treat demons as a virus, using a host as an incubator (possession) and the demon mutating based on the host.