The Overlord

The Overlord is the title for the dark and powerful beings who rule territories of the world.

They are usually savage and brutal warriors who can summon and control entire armies of minions from the Netherworld through a special Gauntlet, and have the power of magic at their fingertips.

Position & Capabilities:

There can only be one Overlord, the being who Gnarl and the minions call "master". If there were multiple beings who wanted to be the Overlord, then they would have to decide among themselves, peacefully or otherwise, who would gain the position.

There have been people in the same position before the title of Overlord was used, since Gnarl points out that four Overlords have fallen before the Third Overlord.

Gnarl and the Minions

"The Evil that men do is nothing compared to the Evil that we do." — Gnarl's Musings

Gnarl and the minions are the Overlord's loyal servants of Evil that do anything he commands.

History:

Little is known to be true about the history of the Overlord position beyond several basic facts.

First is that there have most likely been at least six Overlords and only the most recent four have gone by the title of Overlord alone. Specifically the title of the "very" first Overlord as mentioned by Gnarl is unknown and the second was referred to as the Black Baron, who was also an uncle of the Overlord known as the First Overlord.

It would appear that, while it isn't required, there is some preference towards blood relatives of previous Overlords when the matter of succession arises. Specifically, we know that the Black Baron was an uncle of the First Overlord, the Third Overlord fathered the Fourth Overlord, and the Second Overlord (possessing the body of the Wizard) was grandfather of the Fourth, since one of his daughters was the Overlad's mother. The only wrenches in this system are the Netherghuls, four candidates competing for the title with no currently-known connections with any past Overlords. It also seems that, while the Overlords seen thus far were males, females can claim the position, as two of the Netherghuls are women.

Lastly, the Overlord and the minions appear to share a symbiotic relationship throughout all of the history of the position. The Overlord collects life force which is used to create more minions and if an Overlord falls, the minions retreat either to the most recent Overlord's seat of power in the mortal world or to the Netherworld. This could imply that minions can't collect life force themselves and a deal with an Overlord is a necessity, but at this point, there is not enough information to draw a solid conclusion.

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Known Overlords

Four Overlords have been known to exist.

Note: The First and Second Overlords could possibly be the same Overlord.

The Black Baron (†)

Main Article: The Black Baron (†) (Predecessor of Lord Gromgard) Deceased

First Overlord (†)

Main Article: First Overlord (†) (Overlord: Dark Legend) Deceased (?)

Second Overlord (†)

Main Article: Second Overlord (†) (Predecessor of the Third Overlord, killed by his successor)

Third Overlord

Main Article: Third Overlord (Overlord and Overlord: Raising Hell) Currently M.I.A in the Infernal Abyss

Fourth Overlord (†)

Main Article: Fourth Overlord (Overlord II) Currently M.I.A. (presumed dead)

Netherghuls

Main Article: Netherghul (Overlord: Fellowship of Evil) Current Overlord Candidates

See also

• Mistress

Trivia

• It's implied that an Overlord died in an Abyss once, as Gnarl says in Raising Hell when you're in the Infernal Abyss; "Best not to get cut into pieces, it's a pain bringing an Overlord back," or something along those lines.
• The numbering may not truly be accurate as there could be more between them but its the order of the ones shown so far. As during Gnarl’s epilogue of the first game's DLC, he mentions how many ways the masters of Evil have died, which is implying there could have been many Overlords.
• Interestingly, each of the Overlords in the series seem to represent a form of evil in fiction:
  • The First Overlord (and his uncle, The Black Baron) represent evil as necessary in order to keep the people safe (like the people of Meadowsweet Town, who wished for the Black Baron to come back to keep them safe, even though they knew they'd be enslaved.)
  • The Second Overlord represents a more manipulative and philosophical variant of evil, with the Second Overlord manipulating many of the events in the first Overlord game in order to bring forth his return. He also notably compares Good and Evil as that of two sides of the same coin, an argument for why he was able to corrupt and turn the Seven Heroes from good to evil.
  • The Third Overlord represents more the choice between good and evil, with the Third having the choice to either embrace his role after his resurrection as the new Overlord and lord of Evil, or reject it and become the hero he was before his death, once again.
  • The Fourth Overlord represents the different alignments of evil, with each of the three endings of Overlord 2 depicting the Fourth as either a tyrant (Lawful Evil), a force of destruction (Chaotic Evil) or a master of all evil (Neutral Evil).
  • The Netherghuls represent Evil in a more... odd situation, namely Evil in more of a heroic role. This is demonstrated as after the Netherghuls defeat Sparkle and put and end to the Shining Justice and the threat of the Golden, instead of the people of the world fearing the four champions of Evil, the people instead view them favorably and even look up to them.