Overlord

The Overlord is a role taken by one of the players, and acts as the main antagonist for the hero players. 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

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. In order to purchase a level 3 card the Overlord must purchase three other cards of that class (in any combination of level 1 and 2 cards). The Overlord, unlike the heroes, is not limited in the choice of classes.

There are different classes of upgraded Overlord Cards:

Introduced in the base game:

• Basic
• Warlord
• Saboteur
• Magus

Introduced in Lair of the Wyrm:

• Punisher

Introduced in Labyrinth of Ruin:

• Basic II

Introduced in The Trollfens:

• Infector

Introduced in Shadow of Nerekhall:

• Shadowmancer

Introduced in Manor of Ravens:

• Enchanter
• Unkindness

Introduced in The Chains that Rust:

• Soulbinder

Classes which add Overlord cards from different expansions:

• Universal
• Overlord Reward

Warlord

Warlord class specializes in increasing the power of monsters or reinforcing them. This class consists entirely of Event type cards.

Magus

Magus specializes in casting magic spells to either harm heros or help monsters. This class consists entirely of Magic type cards.

Saboteur

Saboteur specializes in setting traps for the hero players. This class consists entirely of Trap type cards.

Punisher

Punisher class is introduced in the Lair of the Wyrm expansion, and specializes in making heroes pay for every inch they advance.

Infector

The Infector class is introduced in The Trollfens expansion, and allows the Overlord to utilize a special currency called infection tokens, which acumulate in the hero sheets and can be then discarded for a variety of effects, like for the adding of extra damage.

Shadowmancer

The Shadowmancer class is introduced in the Shadow of Nerekhall expansion, and allows the Overlord to force the heroes apart, potentially turning them against each other and forcing them to split up.

Enchanter

The Enchanter class is introduced in the Manor of Ravens expansion, giving the overlord the ability to enhance his or her monsters.

Unkindness

The Unkindness class is introduced in the Manor of Ravens expansion, providing the overlord with a Servant, the Raven Flock. The majority of cards found in the Unkindness class deck increases the abilities and power of the Raven Flock.

Soulbinder

The Soulbinder class is introduced in the The Chains that Rust expansion, providing the overlord with a second Servant, the Scourge. The majority of cards found in the Soulbinder class deck increases the abilities and power of the Scourge, as well as of the Raven Flock.