Lore question

[Luxivus]

Could a person be an overlord if they are sufficiently evil and ambitious, but doesn't have the gauntlet and there are no existing overlords?

[Shadowcoaster]

I think so. In the earlier games not all of the overlords are related. And it seems in the newest one (shudder) there is a dwarf and elf overlord.

So your theory is the most probable i think. Of course whoever it is would have to have gnarls and the minions acceptance.

[The Inquisitor]

I think Overlords are actually demons of some kind, as in Overlord 2 you're the son of the previous Overlord. Not sure how FoE has explained it but I wouldn't really want to touch that with a barge pole, or unless there's Gabe-Sale.

But that said I'm sure that humans , or at least those with magical power could become a Pseudo-Overlord if not a full one. Just hope you don't end up like Emperor Solarius.

[Dezeroth]

I think pretty much anyone could become an overlord with sufficent evil, I think the overlord in part 2 was kinda different because the first one was raised from the dead by gnarl and was altered by the tower heart

[MassiveBallSack]

Yeah, I think the role of Overlord is simply earned:) Though it s probably easier if your father is an Overlord ey/

[Rick]

The halfling king Melvin was a sort of Overlord and he was just bulging with accumulated evil energy.

[The Mayonnaise Man]

Originally posted by SoulMan:

The halfling king Melvin was a sort of Overlord and he was just bulging with accumulated evil energy.

and chicken

and ham

and people

and other halflings

and sheep

and minions

and bread

and wine

and turkey

and goats

and pumpkins

and beer

and whatever slime was covering him

don't forget that one fish you see after he dies!

[Johann]

Even though the games don't give you much of an explanation, I'd like to think that Overlords aren't actually human beings but more demons/entities which are formed of pure concentrated evil. This entity would then posses a healthy host whether it is a human, dwarf or whatever. I'm basing this off from the fact that the playable Overlord in the first game was buried in a crypt long enough for your body to deteriorate yet not die as you're an Overlord and your body is more durable than a normal human, as well as you are about a head taller than every other humanoid in the game. Whether this is due to just being a tall man or the possession making you taller I wouldn't know, but lets go with the last one because it is far more exciting.

Whenever the Overlord does something exceptionally evil, it's overall corruption level will increase. We see this in the first game and in the second(I wouldn't know about FoE but I think it is best that we all forget that game ever existed) yet it is only in the first game where we can see a physical change in our anti-hero. I believe this is because of the nearby presence of the tower heart which acts as a crucial plot device to the first game and would probably only have some affect to an actual Overlord considering the two are made from pure evil energy.

We don't know all that much about the luminescent blue ball which we saved from the halflings infernal pumpkin growing habits, but we do know that this tower heart is an object of immense power. Probably the biggest show of its potential, apart from teleporting a 6 to 7 foot man clad in magical armour was when * the fat blue magical testicle was lobbed into the Empire City's Anti-Magic Wall.*

[SAFE ZONE] Getting back on track, I think that the tower heart was making the corruption level of the Overlord in the first game physical, with horns protruding from his armoured shoulders and causing that dark red haze to linger around him. It explains why we didn't see a physical appearance change with the second game as we didn't have a Tower Heart. From this I think we can safley conclude that the Overlord you play as in Overlord 1 will probably be the most evil Overlord we will get to witness as he unlike all others, has actually suffered a physical change in his appearance from being too evil.

So, could anyone be an Overlord as long as they are sufficiently evil and ambitious? Technically no, they would instead serve as just a mean person. When it comes to acquiring true evil, where you take on the immpression of something that looks like it was literally forged in the fires of hell, thats when you will have found a real Overlord. Everyone else is just like an inspired fan when compared to an actual Overlord.

Anyway, that was my two-cents on the matter. I know that about 90% of that will probably sound like rubbish to everyone but its what I like to think what Overlords actually might be. Again there are some plot holes with this statement such as how are you the Overlord in Dark Legend, if you are just a moody teenager and not a possessed demon and well you could make the argument that the minions are despereate for an Overlord and he was the closest thing to that. We know that without an Overlord the minions die as seen whenever you die in the game, all your minions explode into coloured jelly so the exception could be entirely possible. I know this is a bit late to this discussion but I thought why the hell not.

[Luxivus]

I like your point and have thought of it before as well, though not nearly in as much detail as you have provided. However, it states in the lore specifically that the very very "first" overlord, was the uncle of the "moody teenager" in Dark Legend. The moody teenager is only called the first Overlord simply because the information on his uncle is too ambiguous and non-existent. The second overlord was the one who possessed the wizard in the first game, and basically orchestrated everything. You, the player and third overlord, were one of the heroes that "slew" him, but fell to your death in the process.The Second Overlord flew away and possessed the wizard and waited until the time to strike was right, specifically ordering the Elder Minion(forget his name), to resurrect the hero and make him the second overlord. He did this so that the second overlord would cause all this evil and do all the dirty work for him, so that the Second Overlord could just step right back in and kill him, taking his place and living a life of evil luxury. The fourth overlord, who you play in the second game(not Raising Hell), is the literal son of the third overlord(the guy you played in the first game) from him knocking up one of the two mistresses you chose(Rose or the other chick). While it is certainly possible, and in fact I even encourage the idea, that evil has concentrated inside all the overlords, I do not believe that they themselves are demons, but rather, evil enough to command the powers of such an entity. If you look at the fourth overlord's skin, it's blue with tattoo's all over it. Since either of his mothers (rose or the other one) were fully human, it can be surmised that his father wasn't atleast COMPLETELY human, though he could still be part of a mortal race. The Fourth Overlord, known as Witch-boy because of his inherent magical abilities, has glowing eyes under his hood and helmet, something that humans do not naturally possess. Even his father had these glowing eyes. Ruborians, however, the assassin-like people from the desert in the first game, all had glowing eyes. It has been heavily hinted, though never confirmed, that the Fourth Overlord is of Ruborian descent. Ruborians are mortals, even if they do live somewhat longer than humans. They aren't Elves though, just a sub-type of humans. You could venture to say that Ruborians are humans with magical blood.

All of this however, is only about the origins of the overlord's and their relations to their races. There is probably some dark higher power that choose an especially evil person, probably holding a preference in those who have a continuous dynasty of evil-doers (like the Third and Second overlord).

[Gopher]

Maybe, Overlords are not demons or anything, the third overlord was a normal human before becoming an overlord. overlords are people that are evil and have control over the minions. In FoE the 4 playable characters are candidates for the spot of the overlord spot, but the third overlord became the new god of the infernal abyss and will return to reclaim the title of "overlord."
I think the reason why we see physical changes in the 3rd overlord is because the second overlord corrupted all of the heroes and when they died, the corruption essence goes into the tower heart whilst their soul goes to hell, the overlord's magic is somehow connected to the tower heart and so the overlord's physical appearance changes the more evil you become.
So to sum it up, yes anyone can become an overlord, as long as they go under the same procedure the 8th hero went through upon beoming the 3rd overlord.

[roofing9]

The person you play in "Overlord" is one fo the heroes that was left for dead. The evil overlord killed the mage and put his skin over himself. He used the fallen hero to do his dirty work. The hero does not know who he is. Til maybe later in the game. remember you can play him as a good overlord or as an evil overlord. That's up to you.