Overlord
The Overlord is a role taken by one of the players, and acts as the main antagonist for the heroes. Each turn, the Overlord uses his or her own special abilities and activates any minions under his or her control, such as Zombies or Ettins, or ally lieutenants. Each quest included in the Second Edition Base Game provides victory conditions for both the player heroes and the player Overlord. The Overlord must often complete an objective, such as moving certain monsters to specific areas, or discover a certain item before the heroes. The Overlord utilizes special abilities presented in the deck of Overlord Cards.
Overlord Classes
There are three different classes of upgraded Overlord Cards in the base game - Warlord, Saboteur, and Magus - and one introduced in the Lair of the Wyrm expansion, Punisher. Within each class, there are three levels of cards available to the overlord player (such as "Warlord 1" or "Magus 3"). Level 1 cards cost one experience point, level 2 cards cost two experience points, and level 3 cards cost three experience points. In order for an Overlord to use a level 2 card, he or she must first currently have two Level 1 cards of that class in his or her deck. The Overlord, unlike the heroes, is not limited in the choice of classes.
Warlord
Magus
The Magus class features magical effects like Word of Pain and Unholy Ritual.
Saboteur
The Saboteur class provides traps like Explosive Runes and Web Trap.
Punisher
The Punisher class is introduced in the Lair of the Wyrm expansion, and specializes in making heroes pay for every inch they advance. With abilities like Trading Pains and Exploit Weakness, the Punisher class makes the hero players flinch with fear every time something seems to go their way.
Infector
The Infector class is introduced in The Trollfens, and allows the Overlord to spread diseases to the heroes.
Shadowmancer
The Shadowmancer class is introduced in Shadow of Nerekhall, and allows the Overlord to force the heroes apart, potentially turning them against each other and forcing them to split up.