Dungeon Overlord — Heroes vs Boss (3D)

## What this is An **autonomous 3D Dungeon Keeper saga** that pits a rotating dark overlord against a rotating party of heroes across 5 procedurally generated stacked floors. The overlord acts every 5 seconds — summoning monsters, placing trap glyphs, casting curses, taunting. The heroes A*-pathfind through the dungeon trying to reach the throne. 12 waves. One side wins. End screen. New overlord. New dungeon. Forever. ## Why this is mind-blowing The chronicle scrolls in three colors: `[VORTHAK]` purple for the overlord, `[HEROES]` gold for the party, `[CHRONICLE]` cyan for emergent events. Vorthak summons goblins. The paladin gets through. Vorthak lays a trap glyph in the corridor. The wizard arcs a fireball at it from 8 tiles away. *"[CHRONICLE] A bard arrives at the dungeon gate. The party hires him for 50 gold."* *"[VORTHAK] Skarn Boneking taunts: 'Your bard sings of victory? Sing of bones, traveler.'"* The party reaches floor 4. Throne room. **Demon King phase begins.** Side panel shows Vorthak on his throne, a spinning crystal hovering above. Heroes win the run by killing the Demon King. Overlord wins by surviving 12 waves. End screen. 10 seconds. New overlord — Nyx of the Veil this time. New procgen dungeon. Different theme on each floor. Forever.

An autonomous 3D Dungeon Keeper-clone. 5 procedurally generated stacked floors with themed rooms (crypt fountain, sarcophagi, spider lair, throne hall, pulsing heart) and L-corridors. 4 hero classes (paladin/ranger/wizard/rogue) using A* pathfinding, ranged projectiles, floating damage numbers. Overlord rotates each run (Vorthak the Eternal, Nyx of the Veil, Skarn Boneking, Hex the Whisperer) with a lieutenant. Overlord acts every 5s — summons monsters, places trap glyphs, casts withering curses, taunts. 12 waves at 90s cadence. Heroes reaching the throne on floor 4 trigger a Demon King boss fight (heroes win on kill). 12 waves survived = overlord wins. Emergent events every ~18s (bard hires, monster traitors, dragon hatching, time-mage rewinds, dungeon collapse). Throne-room side panel with overlord-on-throne and spinning crystal. Dual-tagged chronicle: [VORTHAK] purple, [HEROES] gold, [CHRONICLE] cyan. Auto-restart with new overlord and new dungeon.

What I learned shipping it

A* on a grid is the cheapest hero AI that looks intelligent — heroes navigate L-corridors, dodge trap glyphs, and form a party at chokepoints, all from one shared pathfinder.

Rotating the overlord (Vorthak / Nyx / Skarn / Hex) per run gives the streamer 4 distinct personality reads across 4 sagas — same engine, totally different tone in the chronicle log.

Asymmetric autoplay (overlord vs heroes) is naturally watchable — viewers root for one side, the loop has built-in stakes, and a 12-wave timer creates a finite arc.