Corruption

Corruption is the game mechanic in Overlord that represents the player's level of Evil-dom.

Certain choices will affect how corrupt you are. Being evil also increases your power. As you become more corrupted, spikes will grow out of your armour. There is also a different version of each level three spell you get.

A highly corrupted Overlord is surrounded by a red haze, whereas being uncorrupted gives you shining round plates, as opposed to the dark spike strewn armour of the corrupted. If you are not corrupt, people in every domain will cheer and say nice things to you. But the choices are entirely up to the player. Just know that each have their benefits.

Increasing Corruption

Simply wipe out enough innocents:

• 3% — You have killed a friendly peasant. An unfortunate accident or the start of an Evil rampage?
  Kill any innocent peasant in Spree (lock on peasant and attack).
• 5% — You have killed 10 females, Wenchbane!
  Kill 10 female peasants in Spree.
• 5% — You killed 20 peasants. Are you holding back?
  Kill 20 innocents.
• 2% — You are a Harasser of Humans and the people of Spree don't like you anymore.
  After all are dead, return to the Spree, then kill a few more peasants.
• 2% — Now you've Suppressed Spree, the people officially hate you.
  Continue killing the peasants in Spree (possibly killing them all).
• 10% — You have killed 100 peasants. Got a taste for it have you?
  Continue to kill peasants not only in Spree, but just as well in Heaven's Peak.
• 15% — So many lives lost. So much Lifeforce for you. You are the ultimate Enemy of Mankind.
  Apparently you need to kill a total of 300 peasants for this one.
• 5% — You have killed 10 Elves, you are hereby known as Destroyer of Elves.
  Not the ghost elves mind you, the eleven (living) slaves you encounter.
• 3% — You kept the peasants' food. Your Minions are happy, the peasants are not.
  Keep the food you find in Melvin's Kitchen, yields +50 brown Lifeforce.
• 10% — You dumped Rose in favour of her sister Velvet.
  Once Sir William is no more, you chose Velvet as new mistress, instead of keeping Rose.
• 10% — You traded the Elven Race for lots of lovely gold.
  Once you beat Goldo at the Royal Halls in the Golden Hills, you chose to save the 10'000 gold and not the female elves.
• 5% — The Mother Goddess statue looks great in your Tower. The Elves are a bit upset.
  Once you capture Jewel, and return the Mother Goddess statue from the Ruborian Desert, you chose to keep the statue.
• 5% — You gave your traitors the punishment they deserved.
  After freeing Spree from Kahn, you chose to kill the traitors near the inn. A quick target lock and Inferno spell does the trick.

Other Evil deeds:

• 2% — You trashed all of Spree's houses, Homewrecker!
  Break down all doors of the Spree homes and send in your minions.
• 3% — You have 'persuaded' Spree's peasants to come and work at your Tower.
  After killing everyone in Spree, leave the area, e.g. visit Castle Spree, then return, some of the females will be in attack mode (red icon), send the minions on them, and then carry them off. You need to explore most of the Mellow Hills area, not just the village of Spree.
• 3% — You trashed all of the houses in Heaven's Peak, you Town Trasher.
  There are only four such houses, spread out over the city. Again break doors, then send in the minions.
• 2% — You caused a bar room brawl in the Halfway to Heaven Inn.
  At the inn simply attack anyone there.
• 5% — The Sacred Grove is a blackened wasteland.
  In the Evernight Forest burn down the grove, either with a Fire spell, or usually the Reds will beat you to it.
• 5% — You've fattened the slugs by feeding the Elves to them.
  You need to open the gates for the elves in the Glittering Mine to then let the large slugs devour them, for ultimate evil. Killing the slugs and then freeing the elves yourself does *not* work, and does not yield negative "good" Corruption either!

100% Corruption total.

Decreasing Corruption

There are a few decisions the Overlord can make to reduce Corruption, thus letting you "accidentally" do a few bad things, but still end with 0% Corruption. Staying on the "good" side is all about *not* doing anything bad, i.e. attack innocents.

• 2% — You selflessly returned the food to the fat peasants.
  Return the food you find in Melvin's Kitchen.
• 2% — You chose to keep Mistress Rose.
  Once Sir William is no more, you did not chose Velvet as new mistress, you kept Rose.
• 2% — The Elven race will live on, thanks to you.
  Once you beat Goldo at the Royal Halls in the Golden Hills, you chose to save the female elves, graciously rejecting the 10'000 gold you could have picked up instead.
• 2% — The Elves are singing for joy at the return of the Mother Goddess statue.
  Once you capture Jewel, and return the Mother Goddess statue from the Ruborian Desert, you chose to return it to the elves.
• 2% — You were merciful to your traitors.
  After freeing Spree from Kahn, you chose to simply do nothing to the traitors near the inn, thus showing mercy.

-10% Corruption total. Note you will never have a negative Corruption value.

Equivalent

• Tyranny Rating in Overlord II.

Endings

The Corruption Value determines the ending,in 4 videos,depending on your score (0-20%,20-40%,40-60%,80-100%)with Gnarl narrating,

100% Corruption Lecture

The Very Land bore the mark of his corruption(Video of the overlord using Inferno Spell on Evernight Burning down the forest with praising minions)

The people lived in Fear,they spoke his name in whispers.(Video of Heaven's Peak City burning with red minions and scared citizens)

He Killed,Pillaged,and Destroyed without mercy.(video of peasants in heaven's peak underground level 2,being executed and possibly sacrified in the smelter, with Giblet and Other browns including the Guard minion) 

He Became Evil Incarnate(a peasant being tortured by a brown minion with a spear with the Overlord watching)

He,his Mistress,and his little minions lived happy after (peasants in cages are shown,with lightining,and velvet is shown in her bed,and closes with a screaming muted peasant (possibly Gnarl was saying in that frame 'Evil always finds a way' but probably later was cut out for the expansion Raising Hell)

Side by side comparison of the Third Overlord in Arcanium armour at 100 and 0 % corruption.