The Minions

"Stupidity truly is a bliss"--- Gnarl.

Minions are a race of small Gremlin (Imp or Goblin) creatures. They are The Overlord's loyal servants that are born from Lifeforce (which comes from any killed living thing). They are used by the Overlord to do everything; from fighting to ransacking homes and smashing containers (and anything else that looks breakable for that matter). There are four types of minions.

They aren't very smart, since Gnarl mentions that they have tiny brains and they are very 'honest' ,they seem to have a connection to the overlord's gauntlet.,they like to jump on sheep while hitting them on the head.

Their true origin is unknown,although is rumored that they originally came from the netherworld.

The Minion Tribes
The Minion race is split up into four types called Tribes.

Browns — the Fighters
"Browns are melee fighters. Their policy is bash first, jump up and down on the carcass later."
 * "Browns are toughest of all the Minions. They're never ones to shy away from a
 * fight. In fact it's quite difficult to get them to stop! Such is their dedication to the fight that Browns can also use many different objects as weapons." — GnarlBrown_Minion_Bomb2.jpg

Browns are the basic minions that you start out with and are subsequently the most versatile of all the minions. Brown minions are born fighters and will gather Minion Equipment that will help them in battle (such as swords and armour) as well as things that have no relevance in battle (like pumpkins to wear as hats or Melvin Underbelly's crown.) They can sustain the most damage and can hold their own in a fight. They can not go through water, fire, or toxic gas however, so whilst it is important to always have some with you, it is generally a good idea to have some of the other minion clans with you as well. Also they,unlike the other minion tribes, do not have tails.

In Overlord 1 they were able to, just like the Greens, jump on enemys if they attack them from behind or on large enemys. This renders them immune to attacks from that enemy, until they were shaken off or called back. However, in Overlord II they seem to have lost this ability.

Browns can be upgraded by Rose for free (if you choose her instead of Velvet). As of Overlord II, Browns can ride wolves, also known as "Good Wolfy", as mounts.

As of Overlord 2, they appear to have grown some manner of fur or it is simply Fur Armor they have.

Reds — the Archers

 * "Reds aren't particularly hardy, so you mustn't let enemies get too close to them, Sire. But use them in a horde, and that's a different story — a story full of flames and burning and screaming! Ahhh, it's good to have them back, maybe I can get a hot meal now!" — GnarlRed_Minion.jpg

Reds are weaker and less equip-able (they still do take equipment to equip themselves though) than their brown cousins. They have a ranged attack that can be very effective if used correctly. While this minion clan does not boast a large health pool, they possess the invaluable ability to pass through fire and absorb flames. If paired with stronger minions, like browns, the reds will provide fire support to their fellow minions,best used on humans,halflings,ruborian raiders and any other creature that fears fire. if you place enough reds,the enemy can catch on fire and do periodic fire damage that lasts unti death

Note: The Reds that can be considered full grown and more powerful than the weaker ones can be recognized by the big long ram-like horns,that they grow when they pick up head equipment.

Reds can be upgraded by Velvet for 5000 gold. In Overlord II, Reds acquire salamanders as mounts. Described as walking flame throwers, they are also able to roll into a ball when being swept. They call the salamanders "Good Thingy."

Greens — the Assassins

 * "What they lack in hygiene, they make up for in sneakiness."  - Gnarl


 * "Greens can do a great deal of damage if you attach them to an enemy's back. They aren't terribly hygienic I'm afraid. But they are good at sneaking up on things. Use them to guard an area, and they're practically invisible. As long as the enemies don't notice the smell!" —Green_Minion.jpg
 * Gnarl

Greens are slightly stronger than reds and are valued for their stealthiness, ability to pass through poison gas, and absorb poison clouds,they have poor hygiene as they have a foul smell of rotting flesh. They turn invisible to your enemies if posted at a guard marker, causing enemies to walk by without noticing them, until given the order to attack or when the enemy goes too close, which then the Greens attack automatically by jumping on/to their backs if possible. Greens can do more damage than browns but only if you can attach them to your opponents back (works best on large enemies)on Ovelord 2 they have lost their automatic back attach. They are also very quick as Gnarl commented, "We blinked and they were gone."

Greens can be upgraded by Velvet for 5000 gold. In Overlord II, Greens acquire spiders ( they call them "Good Spidey") as mounts that are able to climb webbed walls and strap on the enemy's back doing massive damage.

Blues — the Healers and Magic Masters

 * "The Blue Minions' minds appear to be on a different plane of existence half the time. When they do decide to join us on this one, their healing and magical-damage skills can be most useful. They can resurrect fallen Minions during battle, but Blues are quite fragile, so position them carefully." — GnarlBlue_Minion.jpg

These are the weakest of the Overlord's minions. However, they are the only Tribe that is able to swim where all other minions would drown ("in rather amusing ways", according to Gnarl). They can also revive dead minions (as long as they are in one piece). These are the only minions that will not attack an enemy without your order, but they also have the advantage of magic attacks allowing them to attack ethereal enemies, like wisps and ghosts. They can "auto-resurrect" if placed on a guard marker near the place of their fellow minion's death.

Blues can be upgraded by Rose for 5000 gold. Blues do not gain access to mounts in Overlord II, but they gain the ability to 'blink', which allows them to be swept past enemies unharmed. They are also the only minions that can get through the magical ooze that is found throughout the The Wastelands, or that has been produced from The Devourer.

Calling
Minions are called from Spawning Pits through Minion Gates. the strongest Minions will be spawned first.



Horde
Your horde is the group of minions that are currently with you. Your maximum horde size may be small and meagre when you start off, but it will increase in size with the acquisition of certain objects (or minion-imbued helmets).

Hives
Summoning a type of minion requires that minion's respective hive. In Overlord, Overlord II and Overlord: Dark Legend, you start off with only the brown minion hive.

For Overlord, see the Dark Tower Objects, and for Overlord II, see the Netherworld Objects for a list of hives and where to find them.

Sacrificing
Minions in Overlord will readily sacrifice themselves for their Overlord, such as in Mana Pits or Blood Pits to recover Health\Mana, or imbuing your weapons by forging to get weapons more powerful. When they sacrifice themselves, they do so in order of reverse-power, the ones with less equipment (the weaker ones), sacrifice themselves first.

In Overlord II minions are still used to forge weapons and armour. To sacrifice a minion, however, the Minion Spell is used to gain some Health.

Control
There are several ways to control the behaviour of your minions.
 * Send (left mouse button) — They will run in that direction and try to guess what you might have wanted them to do. E.g. pick up something or attack a creature.
 * Recall (right mouse button) — Minions sent out on a task need to be recalled to prevent them from getting hurt, e.g. from a powerful enemy or some mischievous ambush. Call back one or hold the button to recall all minions.
 * Sweep (left+right mouse button) — Actively control the movement of the horde, or the selected Tribe,useful to overwhelm quickly an enemy.
 * Guard Marker (Q-key) — Lets you group the currently active minions, locking them to a certain position. Reds go into fireball attack mode on a Guard Marker, Greens cloak, Blues auto-resurrect, and Browns just still there till an enemy reaches them. The Guard Marker allows for quite interesting tactical options, e.g. place Reds higher up (death from above), use Greens to attack any enemies walking nearby, keep the Blues close to the frontal attacking Browns, to resurrect fallen minions.

Names
In Overlord II, all minions have names, sometimes the same one.
 * Main Article: List of Minion Names

Equipment
All Minions can pick up and equip a large amount of items (however only Brown's Equipment will correspond to the equipment the pick up, all other minions will receive a unique type of equipment for their respective tribes such as 3 mounted blades,skulls,ear rings for greens, ram horns,metal gauntlet,and various pecies of armor for reds,and bone armor,potions for blues ), doing so increases their power. A newly born minion starts off at 100% power, unless the Overlord has upgraded them which gives them a higher percentage from spawn till death.
 * Main Article: Minion Equipment

Mounts
Introduced in Overlord II, is the ability for brown, red and green minions to ride mounts. Only blues do not have a mount:
 * {| style="font-size:11px;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" class="sorttable"

! class="unsortable" | Tribe ! class="unsortable" | Mount !bgcolor="#FFECCC" | !bgcolor="#FFCCCC" | !bgcolor="#CFFFCC" |
 * Wolves
 * Salamanders
 * Spiders
 * }

Mutated Minions
Minions (except blues) will become mutated if they catch the magical plague by walking through magical ooze in The Wastelands in Overlord II. When mutated, they grown in size and aggression and will attack their former Overlord and fellow minions. The only solution is killing them, after which they will drop a single life force of their own colour. Dead mutants will not appear in the Graveyard for resurrection.

There are a group of mutated minions guarding a spell catalyst in some ruins in the Wastelands, presumably these plagued minions are those who were left behind to guard the Dark Tower and have survived since the Great Cataclysm.

The Second Overlord's Minions
When the Second Overlord returned to retake his place as the Overlord from the Third Overlord. The Second Overlord's minions were different to the Third Overlord's minions, in appearance, fighting style, and voices. The Second Overlord's minions had markings on their bodies, that pertained to the same colour as their breed. They did not need to be next to their master to fight, and were more savage and less organized than the Third Overlord's minions. They also did not have the need for burrow holes to be spawned from, they would instead burrow out of the ground and readily attack whatever was closest. After the Second Overlord's defeat, they returned to their normal, loyal selves. Whether these minions were created by the Second Overlord or were minions changed by him is unknown.

Quotations
Overlord: Overlord II:
 * "Aaaaahh horsie wanna play!" — Visiting Evernight Forest minions see bloody unicorn.
 * "Greens smell! Greens smell! Poooooo!" — Browns first encounter the Greens again in Evernight Forest.
 * "Blues, swim like fishes!" — Other minions commenting on their still missing blue companions.
 * "Sheepies...sheepies! Oh, where sheepies?!?" — Minions asking the Mumblers at Heaven's Peak.
 * "Bad sheepie!" — Compromising situation for a sheep with the Order of Red Dawn, at Heaven's Peak.
 * "Naughty, Naughty! Those are minion's sheepies!"—Confronting a farmer during the attack on Spree.
 * "Hehehe, bye bye sheepies!" — If you catapult the sheep in the field in the Empire Harbour.



Trivia

 * There are no female minions, however females are not needed due to them being made from Lifeforce. But the minions can reproduce with human females(in Overlord end trailer without corruption, a brown can be seen with a woman and baby minions).
 * One of the "standard" helmet of the Browns resemble a helm of Goblin of Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring book adaptation by the film director Peter Jackson.
 * They are loosely based on the four elements Browns- Earth, Red- Fire, Green- Wind and Blue- Water

Behind the scenes
They are voiced by Marc Silk and Stephen Critchlow.