Brainstorming Darkroot Tower and Meenlocks
Darkroot Tower
Darkroot Overview: This was a creation by the First Rootlord to exploit the network of Necro-Trees he helped to plant.
First Rootlord: The First Rootlord was one of many Necromancers that seeked a pardon after a war instead of being executed for their Necromancy usage. He helped in a way or another to form the Necro-Trees. He soon found the potential of control and power the Necro-Trees could be used for, but was rejected by his colleagues just wanting to be pardoned and live their lives. He created the first Meenlocks and experimented on a lot of the dead and captured to perfect his army.
With his Meenlock minions and various other creations at his command, he tried to take over the greater Treeland, but was defeated, but they were wrong. He existed within the Darkroot itself, and simply 'possessed' one of the fallen heroes, coercing them to rebuild his forces and take over, with full plans to usurp this non-ally.
His fate is left to the new Rootlord, be it simply leaving and letting Drogan pick up where he left off, being dominated and forced to power part of Drogan's magic, forcing Drogan himself to power the Rootlord's Magic, or being outright destroyed, never to rise again.
His name could be Drogan Kooparthian.
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Meenlocks
Overview: Meenlocks are semi-sentient creatures bound to the First Rootlord. They were created from various monsters and/or races, bonded to the Darkroot and the Rootlord. They are fiercely loyal with little room for thought, with Dark Roots in their veins allowing themselves to interface with the Darkroot in all its forms.
Based off the Overlord 2007 Minions, Brown Battlers, Red firecasters, Green assassins, and Blue healers.
Battler Meenlock: The toughest meenlock type, probably derived from goblins or another tough beast. They happily charge into battle with whatever weapons they can find.
The Rootlord upgrades them by giving them more armor and weapons, either bought from the Greed Merchant or gathered on the battlefield, either through plundering armories or as trophies from defeated foes.
Fire Meenlock: A Meenlock that can control fire. It launches fireballs at its enemies and targets. The most destructive meenlock. Likely a baby Wyvern of some kind, or even a low-level fire demon from the abyss.
There is potentially a Fire Meenlock upgrade held by some Yetis. These Yetis use the fire meenlocks to power their efficient heating system.
Poison Meenlock: Probably an insectoid, a gnoll, a poison lizardling, or a horrific chimera of the above. This Meenlock focuses on hiding, poisoning, and ambushing the Rootlord's enemies.
Frog Meenlock (Meenlock idea): It is the blue healer of the Meenlocks. It has a long tongue it uses to manipulate objects out of reach, but especially to retrieve fallen meenlocks so it can revive them.
It is the most innately magical, helping to bolster the Rootlord's magical prowess.
However, this frog monster could also be a smaller species that opposes the Rootlord.
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Darkroot Game Mechanics
Gameplay Overview: The gameplay of how the Rootlord works.
[Mechanic] Soul Gauntlet: This allows the current Rootlord to absorb souls, whether ones recently released or potentially ripping them right out of weakened foes. While it is meant to keep the Rootlord healthy, it also allows them access to their magics and to summon their minions through.
[Mechanic] Lifeforce: The souls and ambient magic that reside and run all living beings. The different lifeforce shows certain traits. The Rootlord can use their soul gauntlet to absorb souls, sometimes right out of the beings, killing them in the process, to either heal themselves, power up, summon more Meenlocks, or safekeep for later.
[Mechanic] Command Souls: Souls of powerful leaders. Collecting them will increase the Rootlord's maximum minion count. Often taken from defeating minibosses.
[Mechanic] Life and Mana Leech: Using the Darkroot's necroroot powers, the Rootlord's weapons automatically steal life and mana from enemies struck with its weapons. It prioritizes health first, but there will be a setting to choose it to favor mana first.
Embrace of the Darkroot: It is a set of armor, specifically grown around the Rootlord. It keeps them alive by living in them, absorbing souls and magic. It often is subdermal, integrated into the current Rootlord.
Darkroot Origins
History of the Darkroot: It began mainly as a necromancer's attempt to redeem themselves. The necrotrees were planted to help revive the land, or at least show necromancy wasn't all evil. It was quickly planted in most graveyards, due to the magical gas it created that helped everything grow and flourish, it also got rid of dead bodies. Unexpectedly the various necrotrees grew to connect themselves, creating The Darkroot.
The Darkroot was an intentional creation, meant to link the necrotrees and allow what would be called a Rootlord to rule the land. It has a magical artifact and sort of soul to power it. It can access the memories of the dead and perfectly recreate their bodies, allowing for a sort of dungeon fighting.
A few necrotrees had been altered by the races.
The Necrotrees are derived from a large tree, eons old. This tree is the basis for the entire continent. They took samples, revived them, then saw their potential.
The Darkroot is a large, sentient tree being, dead but sleeping. It was attempting to recreate its own world, but it died here somehow. However, the Darkroot is a way to revive it, though probably nowhere near full power.
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Darkroot Areas
The Dungeons: The dungeons can recreate fallen foes due to having memories of the dead it has absorbed. The Darkroot functions as a library of sorts.
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