History Main / Overlord

** ''VideoGame/OverlordFellowshipOfEvil'':

* LightNovel/OverLord2012: A light novel series about a salaryman who was transported into another world as his mmo character.

** ''OverlordDarkLegend'': A {{Wii}} prequel focused upon Lord Gromgard.
** ''OverlordMinions'': A spinoff for the NintendoDS.

* LightNovel/{{Overlord 2012}}: A light novel series about a salaryman who was transported into another world as his mmo character.

* LightNovel/{{Overlord}}: A light novel series about a salaryman who was transported into another world as his mmo character.

* LightNovel/Overlord: A light novel series about a salaryman who was transported into another world as his mmo character

* ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'': A series a video games starring {{Evil Overlord}}s as the player characters.

** ''OverlordMinions'': A spinoff for the Nintendo DS.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}: A series a video games starring {{Evil Overlord}}s as the player characters.

[[redirect:VideoGame/{{Overlord}}]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Overlord.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:As you can see, being [[EvilOverlord Overlord]] to such a band of minions requires a kind and gentle touch.]]

->''Evil always finds a way...''
-->--'''Gnarl'''

Once again, it's time to put on your ([[NiceHat evil-looking]] and [[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]]) villain-hat... as might be suggested from the title, ''Overlord'' is a game that lets you step into the flower-stomping, minion-kicking, heavily-armored shoes of an EvilOverlord. With such a premise, it can hardly come as a surprise that the game uses or subverts half the entries in the EvilTropes index...

Basically, you've just been awakened from your dark slumber by a handful of loyal minions, and find - to your chagrin - that when your predecessor fell to a group of do-gooder 'heroes', they ransacked your Dark Tower, stole most of the magic objects, emptied the armory AND treasury, and generally made a mess of things. Well, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get up to some serious evil! Rebuild your Dark Tower, recruit a fresh army of suicidally-loyal Minions, regain your magical powers, forge new equipment imbued with the lifeforce of mortals, terrorize the peasantry, slay the heroes that thus inconvenienced you, and [[TakeOverTheWorld CONQUER THE WORLD]]!

Written by Rhianna Pratchett, daughter of TerryPratchett.

Due to the game's playstyle, it's seen as a DarkerAndEdgier Medieval {{Pikmin}}, though they don't [[FandomRivalry clash]] as much as you would think.

Games in the series include:

* ''{{Overlord}}'': The Overlord goes after the heroes that defeated his predecessor, who have each since been corrupted by one of the SevenDeadlySins.
** ''[[OverlordRaisingHell Overlord: Raising Hell]]'': An Expansion Pack to the first game, [[HellGate portals to Hell]] have opened up all over the land and there's only one thing to do: [[LikeABadassOutOfHell march in and take over!]] And you get to personally torment the heroes you previously sent there, as well!
* ''OverlordII'': Follows the son of the first game's Overlord. The Glorious Empire is on the march in its quest to stomp out everything magical - pfft, like an Overlord is gonna let that happen.
* ''[[OverlordDarkLegend Overlord: Dark Legend]]'': A Wii prequel centered upon teenager Lord Gromgard (pictured above), a previous Overlord in a Fairy Tale setting.
* ''[[OverlordMinions Overlord: Minions]]'': A spinoff for the Nintendo DS. A cult called the Kindred is trying to raise the Dragon Kin so they can rule the world. Obviously, the Overlord won't stand for any competition, so he sends a squad of Elite Minions to stop them.

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!!The entire Overlord Series contains examples of:

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Oberon Greenhaze actually ''begs'' for you to kill him so the tree will die.]]
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Tower Heart, the magical orb that powers the Dark Tower.
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: A recurring theme in the games is that Evil Always Finds A Way and that there will always be someone to fulfill the position of Overlord.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: being an EvilOverlord, you can easily tap into this. Although your horde of EvilMinions is your main weapon, you are much tougher and stronger than any one of them, and once you get access to the best gear, you become able to handle small armies singlehandedly as you are the Overlord!
** Averted in ''Overlord: Minions'' where you don't partake in the fighting.
*** Also mildly averted, though, by the fact that you'll really need your best armor and weapons to do that. Without it, the overlord is actually fairly weak. The first two thirds of the game are about letting your minions do all the job by themselves, while avoiding direct confrontation. Reversed with a fully imbued set of armor and weapons, as it become more interesting to do all the work by yourself, which is both faster and less difficult, especially considering that the final armor upgrades transform you in a MightyGlacier with a HealingFactor and an [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One]] [[{{BFS}} Sword]]/[[AnAxeToGrind Axe]]/[[DropTheHammer Mace]].
* {{Badass}}: Just look at any of the presently-revealed overlords and just say with a straight face that none are badass.
** The one that serves as the protagonist of the first game. The reason being is that [[spoiler: if you take advantage of a certain GameBreaker, he can [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome destroy a giant war machine piloted by the Dwarven hero without any help from his minions]]]]
* {{Backstab}}: The Green's special attack is to jump upon an enemy's back and stab 'em until they die.
* BigBad: The entire series is based around the premise of being one of these. Each of the games also has a major villain.
* BlackKnight: In the first game, your armor gets blacker the closer you get to [[{{KarmaMeter}} 100% corruption]], with SpikesOfDoom sprouting from your skin, you're more a KnightInShiningArmor at lower corruption levels.
* CaptainErsatz: The overlord looks a LOT like Sauron. The similarity varies depending on your choice in helmet and armor, but with the right variations (and the Mace Of Doom, of course) you're basically his Equally Evil Twin.
** The whole idea of the game series. The game contains more hints at LordOfTheRings, like the name of the village, Spree (Bree), and an inn with a Kicking Mule hang-out (Prancing Pony).
** The Overlord of the second game carries more than a few passing similarities to [[{{WorldOfWarcraft}} The Lich King]].
* CardCarryingVillain: And how. Mostly, Gnarl carries the card for you (since you are a [[HeroicMime Villainous Mime]]) and takes great pleasure in expanding on the 'evilness' of things.
* CatchPhrase: Gnarl's catchphrase is "Evil always finds a way."
* ColonelBogeyMarch: The minions will sometime whistle this.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The minions.
* CoupDeGraceCutScene
* CrapsackWorld: This is the default state of the Overlord's world. The conceit is that an efficient evil Overlord is likely preferrable to well-intentioned (or not so well-intentioned) incompetent rulers.
* DarkFantasy: A parody of it.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The game teeters back and forth on this option. Some games present options for being a good guy with scary armor while Overlord 2 has you merrily massacring hippies while slaughtering stadium crowds. The sequel suggests that darkness is somewhat necessary for when LightIsNotGood, however.
* DieChairDie: One way to leave yourself a crumb trail is to smash everything to crumbs. You know you've already been down a passage when the furniture is splintered, feast tables are empty, and the minions have pissed on the carpet.
* DuelingGames: Basically the EvilCounterpart of ''{{Pikmin}}''.
* EvilChancellor: Gnarl serves you in this regard. Fortunately, you're evil too. [[spoiler: Not that that stops him from betraying you the moment your predecessor turns up, though this is depicted as merely a duty and encourages you to defeat the Old Overlord so that he can rejoin you.]]
** The ending of Overlord II [[spoiler: implies that Gnarl may be planning to pull an EvilerThanThou and backstab the Overlord.]]
* EvillyAffable: Gnarl.
* EvilMinions: Of the Laughable type.
* EvilOverlord: [[CaptainObvious Well]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin duh]].
* EvilRedhead: Both Overlords have a thing for redheads. The last mistress in Overlord II, the Dark Fay, is likely an intentional play on this trope. However Rose and Kelda, the main mistresses are generally non-evil and support the Overlords for their own reason (Rose because she thinks he'll bring order and Kelda because she's a VictoriousChildhoodFriend).
* EvilSoundsDeep: Although the Overlord doesn't talk, he does grunt and growl occasionally. That's some deep-sounding grunts.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Where you park your armour after a hard days' smiting and pillaging. The Dark Tower of the first game changes tone drastically depending on where the Overlord's Karma Meter. By the second game the original Tower's been obliterated, with your new Tower being located in [[AHellOfATime the Netherworld.]]
* EvilVersusEvil: Pretty much the premise of all the games. Overlord provided the top-of-the-page quote for that article. Save for the [[HeroAntagonist Elves]], it's all you fight.
** And even then the Elves in this game are useless emos/hippies.
* TheExtremistWasRight: A possible justification for the Overlord's quest for world domination.
* FailedASpotCheck: The elves in the temple call themselves "watchers", even as they fail to notice thieves sneaking in ''right'' behind them.
* FallenHero: A staggering portion of the [=NPCs=]..
* FighterMageThief: The minions types are melee bashers, fireballers, sneaks, and revivers.
* FlunkyBoss: If you were a boss, this is what you'd be. As for actual bosses; [[spoiler:Oberon, Sir William, Khan, the Wizard, and the Forgotten God. Especially Khan - good luck trying to beat him with multiple beholders spitting out enemies and insta-killing you if you accidentally get run over by one. The Spider Queen and the Devourer in the sequel also count. The Devourer periodically summons just about every non-boss enemy in the game.]]
* GenreBusting
* GlassCannon: The Reds and Greens, who have less health but are pretty deadly when used right.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The Overlord. Interestingly, in Dark Legend and Overlord II the respective candidates have glowing eyes even before they become full-fledged Overlords, though the Overlad is justified since he is actually a FetusTerrible. Gromgard is apparently just destined for evil.
** Seeing how the Overlad skin seems to be blue, it might be a mutation.
** It's also worth noticing that the minions also have glowing eyes, though their glow is not strong enough to make their pupils invisible.
* InterfaceScrew: The first game took hits in reviews over poor responsiveness and awkward camera tracking. The second game boasted smoother controls, but still retained wonky camera, incomprehensibly capricious sweep controls, and negative criticism.
* JustifiedTutorial: You can rest assured that every time you acquire a new Minion type (and Mount in the sequel) you'll be pitted against a series of puzzles and enemies that require you to master the abilities of that exact Minion type. The series is pretty good at setting up the tutorials without breaking the flow, for example in Overlord II an ambush by a squad of soldiers proves the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your new tamed wolves' ability to break enemy formations.
* KarmaMeter: Odd though it may seem. It basically measures PragmaticVillainy vs. StupidEvil.
** After a few reveals, the karma meter in the first game becomes AntiVillain Vs. AxCrazy. The sequel doesn't give you a choice between allegiance, you're evil regardless, your karmic choices come down to MindControl or AxCrazy again.
* KarmicDeath: According to WordOfGod, all Overlords end up in the Abyss one way or another. That's not so bad for [[spoiler: the canonical NobleDemon protagonist of the first game since he's also its new ''[[LikeABadassOutOfHell ruler]]''.]]
** This can lead to [[spoiler:KarmaHoudini, what with an Overlord now ruling the Abyss, it's unlikely he's going to play by the rules that would've screwed him over had he went there naturally.]]
** Considering the aformentioned, it probably won't suck all that much for [[spoiler: His son, either, considering the aformentioned canonical NobleDemon behavior, he'll most likely cut his own flesh and blood some slack.]]
* LargeHam: For a decrepit old minion, Gnarl indulges in quite a bit of this.
* LaughablyEvil: The entertainingly destructive antics of the Minions, coupled with their tendency to stick just about anything on their head.
** Which is lampshaded by Gnarl in the second game, "I remember my days as a young minion. Oh the things I used to put on my head."
* LightIsNotGood: A running theme alongside DarkIsNotEvil.
* LegacyCharacter: The title of Overlord has been passed around by several individuals. So far, at least four characters have been the overlord, three of which were playable.
* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: The potential queens fall into this. In the second game, the first two mistresses fall into TomboyAndGirlyGirl - but also serve as a collective "Light Feminine" to the third.
* {{Mana}}, ManaMeter
* MascotMook: the Minions
* TheMedic: The Blues. They are the most fragile Minion and rather useless in battle. They make up for it by being able to revive dead Minions and by being able to swim. They also have the most magical nature out of all of the minions; in the first game, there are some enemies that only Blues can attack, and in the sequel, they're the only way to clear away the glowing blue magical fallout; any other minion trying to touch it gets warped into an even-more-homicidal Mutant Minion and turns aggressive towards you.
* MightyGlacier: The Overlord himself. He never hurries; his running speed is a stately trot at best, but he carries really big weapons and hits really hard.
** Note that the Overlord is really only slow compared to his minions, who are quite happy to scramble along as fast as their little legs can carry them in order to get to the thing that needs smashing, bashing, or killing.
* TheMinionMaster: Also the Overlord.
* MookMaker: They tend to pop up from time to time; Halfling huts spit out halflings until you send in minions to wreck the place, and Beholders summon enemies until you take them down. On your side, any Minion Pit you can reach in combat functions as an effective Mook Maker as long as you have lifeforce to fuel it.
* {{Mooks}} - For once, they're on your side. [[WeHaveReserves Dispensable, cheap]], and [[ZergRush with strength in numbers.]]
* NecessarilyEvil: Another running theme in the games.
* NiceHat: Besides your own spiky helmet and Quaver's jester hat, the minions in general are fond of strapping random stuff to their heads, be it actual hats and helmets to flowers, pumpkins, and dead rats. In Overlord 2, some bosses will drop special minion hats, as well.
* NoGearLevel: An original variation, since the minions are the Overlord's weapons. This is expanded on in ''Overlord II'', when the Overlord has to recover each minion individually after a shipwreck.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: The Minions are fairly standard goblin-like critters - some of which are immune to fire, poison, drowning, and have natural affinity with various beasts.
* OurElvesAreBetter: Subverted in that while the Elves are usually less evil (being at the worst {{Jerkass}}es) and are the closest thing to {{Hero Antagonist}}s that the Overlord has, they are still generally ineffectual and just as dumb as anyone else. For the record, they're whiny emos in the first game and hippies in the second.
* PlayingWithFire: The Reds enjoy it way too much.
** PyroManiac: If you use your fireball spells to set scenery on fire in the first game, all of your minions get way too excited about it.
* PokeThePoodle: Several such pastimes are provided that don't even nudge the KarmaMeter, such as slaughtering sheep and stomping sunflowers.
* PortalNetwork
* RapePillageAndBurn
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld - The Minions, surprisingly enough. According to the developer's faq, no one knows how old minions get because no minion has ever died of natural causes. Gnarl, in particular, is by his own account old enough to remember what the long-extinct dragons were really like, and Giblet has served at least three different Overlords.
* RedRightHand: the spikey helmet that leaves your face as a mass of shadows with pinpricks of light for eyes, pretty much SCREAMS 'villain' from the moment you boot up the game. Not that you need the hint.
* RewardingVandalism: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since your character is an EvilOverlord.
* ShouldersOfDoom: you grow spikes in many places as you get eviler, but your shoulders are where they get REALLY big.
* ShoutOut: In Raising hell:
--> Gnarl: Oh great, a [[{{Labyrinth}} Labyrinth. Sire, if you see any goblins or rosy-cheeked maiden, just ignore them, if there's singing, kill them all.]]
* ScrewYouElves: Elves are generally a race of either idiots or jerkasses who continually get shafted throughout the series, either by the Overlord's antagonists or the Overlord himself if he so wishes.
* SilentProtagonist: the Overlord never speaks, which actually raises his intimidation factor considerably during cutscenes. Compare the Wizard possessed by your predecessor in the first game who never shuts up.
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: The Fourth Overlord, for the The Third. [[spoiler: Despite him not technically being dead, the fact that Rose discovers she's pregnant with the Overlad after his father ends up permanently trapped in the Dark Abyss means it qualifies.]]
* SorcerousOverlord: depends on how you want to play the character in combat though you look mostly like the warrior type and rule over your kingdom like a sorceror.
* SquishyWizard: Generally the Blues and specifically the Wizard, whose health drops like an anvil if you can just get past his magical shielding.
* StopHelpingMe: Repeating yourself doesn't make you any clearer, Gnarl.
* StupidEvil: The minions. Especially the Brown variety. See them grinning and laughing like a PsychopathicManChild whenever they're causing destruction. They'll do just about anything ForTheEvulz.
---> Gnarl: There's nothing a minion likes more than breaking things. ...Well, except killing things.
* SurroundedByIdiots: your Minions are loyal to the point of willingly embracing death at your merest whim. They're also dumber than a sack of particularly dull hammers. Ah well, you can't have it all...
** Kelda in two has this opinion of the citizens of her hometown, to her, the minions are actually an improvement because "They can at least think and act at the same time."
* TakeOverTheWorld: your main goal.
* TinTyrant
* {{Troperiffic}}: Look at these pages!
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: You get more and more titles the more heroes you kill, hives you obtain, and missions you complete.
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Used quite literally in Overlord 2 with Kelda, the only citizen of Nordberg who doesn't end up dead or magically enslaved. Although she does end up with some competition for the Overlord's affections... But [[HeroesWantRedheads Villains Want Redheads]] (as well as her being the only one that actually cares for the Witch-boy), of course, so who wouldn't pick Kelda?
** Plus, she provides the [[DoubleEntendre best mount]].
* VillainBasedFranchise: Evil always finds a sequel hook, sire.
* VillainousHarlequin: Quaver, though he is suggested to be NotSoHarmless in the first game. He's little more than your singing ButtMonkey in the sequel.
** Actually, the jester in the first game is a different minion. Quaver was newly promoted to the position after he lost his eye to the [[HumanPopsicle iceberg the Overlad found himself stuck in.]]
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: But without the hardware. Gnarl, and sometimes one or more mistresses, can communicate with the Overlord over any range through the Tower Heart.
** Gnarl uses the IsThisThingOn line as he fires up the spell in the first game.
* WeHaveReserves: Your typical attitude to the Minions. Dark Legend has you throttle minions to turn them into suicide bombers, but subverted in II where you can resurrect fallen ones that you've taken a liking to.
** ...or sacrifice them to regenerate your life.
* ZergRush: Really, there are few situations you can't solve just by employing more minions. For those, [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer you have to find the right way to employ them.]]
** [[TheAllSolvingHammer ...or just employ even more minions.]]

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!!The original ''Overlord'' game has examples of the following tropes:

* AdiposeRex: King Melvin has managed to become a spherical body.
* AmnesiacDissonance: [[spoiler: your character is actually one of the heroes that slew the previous Overlord, but got left for dead by his comrades, and lost his memory.]]
* AnAxeToGrind: Your first weapon is a battleaxe, rather than a sword or mace.
* {{Anti Villain}}: the main character of the first Overlord game, especially if you follow the "Less Evil" path. Given that he turns out [[spoiler: to have been the Eighth Hero and the one who destroyed the previous Overlord by a HeroicSacrifice]], his actions in the game could be seen as a willingness to use evil to fight evil, turning the resources of the Dark Tower against the Fallen Heroes, which would technically make him an {{Anti Hero}}. It's mainly the fact that he doesn't give up his position and control over the Minion Horde after he defeats all of the Seven that slots him into {{Anti Villain}}.
* BarBrawl: You can earn corruption points for starting one in Heaven's Peak in the first game.
* TheBerserker: Khan, the Fallen Hero of Wrath.
* BigBad: The Wizard [[spoiler: Who is possessed by the previous Overlord.]]
* BlackKnight: your armor starts out metal-colored, but as your Corruption-level rises, it gradually darkens. With maxed-out corruption, you ARE a BlackKnight. And yes, the armor and helmet are permanent fixtures.
* BloodlessCarnage: Every death is clean and EverythingFades. In cutscenes centered on a death, the vanquished simply glow with red light.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: [[spoiler: The Jester is a textbook case. In the main game he starts worshipping the Wizard within seconds of his arrival, then he conspires to free the Forgotten God in the expansion.]]
* TheDragon: In the first game, [[spoiler: the playable Overlord serves as the unwitting Dragon to the Old Overlord.]]
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: in the Evernight Abyss, you can find a mold for the 'Mace Of Doom'. Your adviser cheerfully comments that he hasn't seen an 'Of Doom' weapon in years, before explaining its powers.
* ElvesVsDwarves: following your previous 'fall', and prior to your awakening, the Dwarves attacked the elven forest of Evernight out of sheer greed, nearly annihilating the entire elven race, and taking the last survivors as slaves.
* EnemyWithin: [[spoiler: The Wizard was possessed by the evil spirit of your predecessor, and was slowly taken over by him. By the time you face him, The Wizard is long gone, and the True Overlord basically just wears his body 'till he can find something better.]]
* EnslavedElves: The homeland of the elves is a haunted forest littered with ruins, and the elven populace has been dragged off to slave for the dwarves. It's possible to free the elves, or ensure their extinction.
* [[EvilCounterpart (Even More) Evil Counterpart]]: [[spoiler:The Wizard, the Overlord you're technically usurping]] gets his own brand of Minions, darker and meaner than your own. Being attacked by hostile Blues is kinda sad, though.
* EvilerThanThou: The Wizard tries to pull this at the end, but of course, since YOU'RE the player character, you win anyway.
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: One of the consorts.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Melvin in the first game, who is even implied to [[ImAHumanitarian have a taste for humans]]
** Note that in his particular case this isn't actually cannibalism, since he is a halfling.
* FaceHeelTurn: All of the heroes who defeated the original Evil Overlord. Including [[spoiler: yourself]].
* FallenHero: Worth special note, as an very unusual example of [[spoiler:an TomatoSurprise, with you being one of the original heroes who lost his memory. Also see AmnesiacDissonance.]]
* FatBastard: "Melvin ain't so small now! Squish food! Eat food!"
* FearMySquad: In the beginning at least, a full Minion squad is ''much'' more deadly than the Overlord himself.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Um, when you barge in on that succubus cult, [[ButYouScrewOneGoat why is there a sheep in there?]]
* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler:The Wizard got GTM'd by the previous overlord.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: Jewel doesn't actually ''need'' to steal things; she just can't stand other people having them.
* HeavySleeper: Oberon, the Hero of Sloth.
* HostileShowTakeover: [[spoiler:The climax has the Wizard steal the Overlord's title, tower, spells, Minions, Gnarl, and finally the ''main theme music''. Granted, they all technically belonged to him from the beginning, but finder's keepers.]]
* HulkSpeak: Kahn the Warrior drops into this whenever he gets angry. Which is most of the time, since he's an embodiment of the Sin of Wrath. His accent makes it sound absolutely ridiculous, but given the tone of the rest of this game, that's probably intentional.
* IKEAErotica: of the visual kind, up to the point where the scene with Rose suggests your tower is merely shaking from a headache or something. The implications were there, but the visuals didn't carry it - and the orgasmic 'pincer maneuver' was unadulterated {{Narm}}.
** Then again, with Rose being the stuck-up, stiff as a board mistress that she was, that was probably the joke.
*** Compare her sister, who just says it's time to get you out of your armor. Rose spends the whole time ''going over spreadsheets''.
**** Yes, but what kind of ''spreadsheets''.
*** On the other hand she ends up pregnant in the expansion pack...
* JabbaTableManners: Melvin's eating habits [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust even ]]''[[EvenEvilHasStandards your minions]]'', who are pretty crude themselves.
* KarmaMeter: depending on your choices, your Overlord can range from [[AntiVillain Benevolent Tyrant]] to Incarnation Of Pure Hatred. Overlord II ranges from Domination to [[OmnicidalManiac Destruction]].
* KarmaHoudini: The Jester gets away scot-free for betraying the Overlord twice. Although considering that he's replaced in the sequel, he may have gotten his comeuppance offscreen.
* KickTheDog: if you want to achieve 100% Corruption, you'll have to kick a LOT of dogs.
** Committing an entire race to extinction for a bag of gold? Done. Wrecking every house in the peaceful farming village? Check. Killing hundreds and hundreds of innocent civilians? On it. Stealing the uber-holy Statue of the Mother-Goddess from the Tombs of the Elvish Warriors just 'cuz it'd look good in your foyer? Been there, done that.
* LadyMacbeth: both of the possible Mistresses fit the trope, each in their own way.
* LesCollaborateurs: when Kahn takes over the first village you conquered, most of the peasants switch sides in a hurry. Mostly because the dude is twice your size, and you're big to begin with. Once you've beaten back the invading forces, it's up to you what to do with them...
* LetsPlay: The FreelanceAstronauts did a pretty good LP of this. They abused the soundbites a little too much...
* [[NoCanonForTheWicked No Canon For The Really Wicked]]: The Overlord canonically chooses Rose and spares the lives of the Elven Race. It seems you did not take the corrupt route.
** Or at least not 100% corruption. You can get up to 80% without contradicting the sequel.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler: used verbatim by your former 'comrades' during a flashback, after you fell off a cliff.]]
* NobleDemon: An uncorrupted Overlord might actually qualify in the first game, with all the former heroes corrupted by one of the SevenDeadlySins.
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Dwarves are basically angry beards on legs. Angry, ''beer-soaked'' beards on legs.
* OurElvesAreBetter: No they're not. They return in the second game as a bunch of hippies trying to protect the magical beasts from the Empire.
* PaleSkinnedBrunette: pretty much describes Velvet, the eviler choice in Mistresses.
* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: The Dungeon, which can create any enemy you've slain at least one of[[hottip:*:Except for Sandworms, Magma Giants and Beholders, since you can only beat those using GeoEffects.]]. You can't actually get experience there, since Overlord has no experience mechanic, but fighting beetle mobs there is an excellent way to grind for Lifeforce.
** Also, a series of places, including Understreets 2, The Brewery and Ruborian Desert that become great sources of Minion Equipment when cleared.
* SealedEvilInACan: could describe you, prior to your awakening at the start of the game. [[spoiler: Or so it would seem...]]
* SevenDeadlySins: each of the 7 Fallen Heroes represents corruption by one of the Seven Sins.
** In order, shall we?
** {{Gluttony}}: Melvin
** {{Sloth}}: Oberon
** {{Lust}}: William
** {{Greed}}: Goldo
** {{Envy}}: Jewel
** {{Wrath}}: Kahn
** {{Pride}}: [[spoiler: The wizard/old overlord, and the player character with 100% corruption]].
* ShoutOut: To Diablo, possibly. The plot is extremely similar to that of Diablo II, only with a different protagonist. The weapon and armor names are also reminiscent of the series.
** There is quite a bit of references to JRRTolkien in the game. The developers didn't even try to hide the fact that the halflings' home village is based on [[LordOfTheRings the Shire]], and with the human town next door being called Spree, it gets even more obvious.
** The Dark Tower bears more than a passing resemblance to Orthanc.
** And also (humorously enough) to {{StarTrek}}, what with the Wrath of Kahn...
* SlaveToPR: If you choose to go down the 0% corruption route. Inverted with 100% corruption, in that all your choices have to be evil ones to get there (slave to Evil PR?). Ironically, it's a lot easier to redeem prior evil choices with good ones than it is the other way around.
* SpeakingSimlish: The halflings and dwarves (although that might actually be {{Angrish}}).
* SpikesOfVillainy: you actually grow more and bigger spikes as you do evil things, as does your Dark Tower.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To DungeonKeeper.
* TragicHero: All of the villains to some extent [[spoiler: except the Wizard]], but [[spoiler: Oberon]] really fits this trope. Unlike the rest, he still tries to act for a good cause, but commits evil because he's not entirely in control of himself. He is also the only one to realize how his selfishness has destroyed him, while the others revel in their fatal flaws. This makes him the only antagonist that is [[SympatheticPOV portrayed sympathetically]].
* TrainingDummy: The Jester.
* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler: Having a Mistress doesn't just help you decorate your Dark Tower in various stylish ways... she'll also help you by upgrading your Minions, thus making you stronger, and towards the end whichever Mistress you chose will save your life when the one you scorned helps The Wizard ambush you and drain all your powers.]]
* {{Unicorn}}: you kill one that is eating a dwarf as you first see it.
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Your minions can pick up the things of whatever they kill, but you can't. Justified in that you, as an Evil Overlord, deserve better than old steal-me-downs.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can kick your court jester in the face. Repeatedly. Oh so therapeutic.
** VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Try this on any of the tower females, mistresses or servants [[{{ArmorPiercingSlap}} though...]]
* VillainProtagonist: That would be YOU. Maybe not so much of the former, but still...
* WelcomeBackTraitor: Humorously inverted by Gnarl who, [[spoiler: in the act of betraying you, calmly states that he'll gladly take you back if you beat the old Overlord]].
* WholeCostumeReference: Guess what the Overlords' armor is based on. But [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope for legal reasons]], you can't say it out loud.
* XanatosGambit: The Wizard and your predecessor, [[spoiler: who are one and the same have pulled off a truly impressive gambit.]]
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: The Overlords preferred method of expanding his Dark Realm is to roll in, find whoever is in charge, and kill them stone dead. [[spoiler: This is also how he became the Overlord in the first place.]]
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** The whole idea of the game series. The game contains more hints at Lotr, like the name of the village, Spree (Bree), and an inn wtih a kicking mule hang-out (prancing pony)

* CardCarryingVillain: and how. Mostly, Gnarl carries the card for you (since you are a [[HeroicMime Villainous Mime]]) and takes great pleasure in expanding on the 'evilness' of things.

** The whole idea of the game series. The game contains more hints at Lotr, like the name of the village, Spree (Bree), and an inn wtih a kicking mule hang-out (prancing pony)

* CardCarryingVillain: and how. Mostly, Gnarl carries the card for you (since you are a [[HeroicMime Villainous Mime]]) and takes great pleasure in expanding on the 'evilness' of things.

* IKEAErotica: of the visual kind, up to the point where the scene with Rose suggests your tower is merely shaking from a headache or something. The implications were there, but the visuals didn't carry it - and the orgasmic 'pincer maneuver' was unadultered {{Narm}}.

* EvilRedhead: Both Overlords have a thing for redheads. The last mistress in Overlord II, the Dark Fay, is likely an intentional play on this trope. However Rose and Kelda, the main mistresses are generally non-evil (Rose is LawfulNeutral while Kelda is TrueNeutral) and support the Overlords for their own reason (Rose because she thinks he'll bring order and Kelda because she's a VictoriousChildhoodFriend).

* RapePillageAndBurn: Mostly what you do when you decide to go ChaoticEvil.

** Then again, with Rose being the stuck-up, stiff as a board, lawful evil mistress that she was, that was probably the joke.

* KarmaMeter: depending on your choices, your Overlord can range from [[AntiVillain Benevolent Tyrant]] to Incarnation Of Pure Hatred. Overlord II ranges from [[LawfulEvil Domination]] to [[OmnicidalManiac Destruction]].

* LawfulEvil: Gnarl, who tries to steer you towards this, stating that randomly killing peasants isn't really conductive to long-term plans of world domination though he does enjoy evil [[ForTheEvulz for the sake of evil]]. He also uses EvenEvilHasStandards when commenting on the poor hygiene of the Green Minions, even if that's not actually a use of the trope.

Due to the game's playstyle, it's seen as a DarkerAndEdgier Midevil {{Pikmin}}, though they don't [[FandomRivalry clash]] as much as you would think.

* WarringWithoutWeapons: An original variation, since the minions are the Overlord's weapons. This is expanded on in ''Overlord II'', when the Overlord has to recover each minion individually after a shipwreck.

* UnusableEnemyEquipment: your minions can pick up the things of whatever they kill, but you can't. Justified in that you, as an Evil Overlord, deserve better than old steal-me-downs.

* InterfaceScrew: The first game took hits in reviews over poor responsiveness and awkward camera tracking. The second game boasted smoother controls, but still retained wonky camera, incomprehensibly capricious sweep controls, and negative criticism.

** [[spoiler: Gluttony: Save Spree's food or take it for yourself. Sloth: Be lazy and burn down the sacred grove to get past the unicorns, or wade into it and kill them manually. Lust: Take the more appealing Velvet with you and scorn Rose, or stay faithful to Rose. Greed: Take Goldo's gold, or save the elf women. Envy: Take the mother goddess statue (which is useless, save for a few achievements) or return it to the elves. Wrath: Kill the villagers of Spree for betraying you to Khan, or forgive them. Pride: Ultimately, the way you make your name as the ruling Overlord in the epilogue; either by undoing the damage your predecessor did and ruling a prosperous kingdom with a fair (but still evil) hand, or show you're even more evil than him by burning the land, killing and torturing the populace.]]

* EnslavedElves: The homeland of the elves is a haunted forest littered with ruins, and the elven populace has been dragged off to slave for the dwarves. It's possible to free the elves, or ensure their extinction.

* ShoutOut: To Diablo, possibly. The plot is extremely similar to that of Diablo II, only with a [[{{Understatement}} slightly different]] protagonist. The weapon and armor names are also reminiscent of the series.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: being an EvilOverlord, you can easily tap into this. Although your horde of EvilMinions is your main weapon, you are much tougher and stronger than any one of them, and once you get access to the best gear, you become able to handle small armies singlehandedly. Because you are the OVERLORD!

* {{Badass}}: Just LOOK at any of the presently-revealed overlords and just say with a straight face that none are badass.
** [[YourMileageMayVary Arguably]] the one that serves as the protagonist of the first game is the most badass. The reason being is that [[spoiler: if you take advantage of a certain GameBreaker, he can [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome DESTROY A GIANT WAR MACHINE PILOTED BY THE DWARVEN HERO WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM HIS MINIONS!]]]]

** They don't even pretend the halflings aren't hobbits.
** That was the whole idea of the game series. The game contains more hints at Lotr, like the name of the village, Spree (Bree), and an inn wtih a kicking mule hang-out (prancing pony)

* CardCarryingVillain: and HOW. Mostly, Gnarl carries the card for you (since you are a [[HeroicMime Villainous Mime]]) and takes great pleasure in expanding on the 'evilness' of things.

** Wait? [[AcceptableTargets How is killing Hippies evil?]]

* FallenHero: A staggering portion of the [=NPCs=].
** Arguably, the point of the games is to show that the Overlords are necessary for when heroes (inevitably) fall and someone has to clean up the mess.

** Ooh! Ooh! Is it's the [[WarCraft Lich]] [[KilledMidSentence K- IGGGGGAH!]]
*** Wrong, it's [[LordOfTheRings Sau-]] [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH]]