AQWorlds
Beleen
| Wednesday, January 8, 2025
It’s 2025, and y’all are already blowing our minds with your creativity! That being said, you have to check out Zenshin's creation, The Fallen Fortress of Sepulchure on the Artix Server. It is soooo much more than just a house – it’s an actual experience! With inspiration taken from the infamous Great Tomb of Nazarick in the anime “Overlord,” this house brings dungeon-like exploration to AQWorlds. Every room in the house is meticulously designed, incorporating monsters, traps, and stories that unfold as you explore its dark halls. Whether it’s the terrifying Body of Despair or the elusive Throne Room, this house offers all players a deeply immersive adventure!
The Fallen Fortress of Sepulchure started as a tribute to Overlord, specifically the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Zenshin, a huge fan of the series, wanted to recreate the dungeon-like atmosphere of the anime, filled with powerful monsters and relentless NPCs. Every area in the fortress has its own backstory and purpose, creating a living world where visitors can feel the tension of wandering through a dangerous and mysterious place.
Seriously… have you ever seen a place like this before?!
Each room has been customized to enhance the feeling of dread and mystery. Zenshin cleverly uses house items to hide the usual game aesthetics, like arrows and NPC interaction bubbles, to create an anime-like atmosphere. The result is an amaaaaazing environment that feels more like an art piece than a house!
I’m going to let Zenshin take it from here and tell the tale of each and every room…
Description: This area is the entry to the castle.
Commentary: This area in the house is nothing special. I just put some items that I think would be best as guards outside. Still, these guards will put anyone into despair just facing them.
Description: An area full of monsters that will rip any intruder that enters the area into shreds.
Commentary: This room is one of the rooms that is difficult to put some non-guard/guest house items on, evident by that unnatural placement of that stone on the pavement.
Description: After defeating Lascivia, Zenshin copied its soul and turned it into a Room Guardian.
Commentary: One thing I love about this room is the Ebil Corp Jack Sprat Guard that looks like the Death Knights in Overlord. I originally wanted to put a bunch of them for each side, but placements looked unnatural so I decided to just put 3 on each side.
Description: An area of infinite space that will trap anyone for eternity and will have to face the Titans guarding the area.
Commentary: This is one of the trap rooms I mentioned above. I didn't like the separation of customizers in this house so I decided to transform them into trap rooms.
Description: A beautiful room with a gorgeous guardian. This room can continuously spawn Overdriven Energy Elementals.
Commentary: This room is incomplete and will definitely undergo some changes in the future.
Description: A room that insta-kills any living things. Any living intruders who enter this area will have their blood sucked dry by the guardians and blood butterflies. This is also a room with infinite space.
Commentary: The second trap room. I love the idea of putting trap rooms in my house. Of course, The Great Tomb of Nazarick also has traps inside.
Description: The place where Zenshin's subordinates train to level up and acquire new class skill or racial skill.
Commentary: This is one of the areas in the house that I don't want to change very much from its original design.
Description: A room full of gold. A decoy room for greedy intruders.
Commentary: The easiest room for me since I didn't have to think very much for the placements of the gold items. Also, I could've used Dragons as guard to follow those fiction tropes of Dragons guarding treasures; I went with guards with no hands anyway so they don't accidentally use the infinity gauntlet 😏.
Description: The Final line of defense against intruders before the Throne Room and reach the players.
Commentary: My 2nd fav room and 2nd most difficult room to make. The inspiration of my house is what made this room difficult. I wanted this room of the house to be the 8th room and I will not have it in any other room — this was on my mind when I built the Throne Room, which is the room next to it. It was difficult for me to look for items to cover the statue of Sepulchure and the undead guards because I've used all my pillar items. I wanted to place the monsters in a way that looks natural to go with the background.
The 8th room is my version of the 8th floor of Nazarick — that's why I bothered numbering the rooms. The monsters residing on the 8th floor of Nazarick are one of Overlord's biggest mysteries. The 8th floor is the strongest and final line of defense of Nazarick, the monsters on that floor are said to be able to rival and beat the strongest NPC created by the guild Ainz Ooal Gown. And that is why I made sure the monsters I put in this room scream POWERFUL.
Description: The Players' Area.
Commentary: My fav room and most difficult room to design. Just like the 8th room, this is the room that I don't want to have in any other room. The room it resides in is the perfect place. The throne room in Nazarick is on the Final Floor, so I also want my throne room in the Final hidden room. It's the perfect place after the Treasury and 8th floor.
What made this room difficult to make is how it won't allow me to place the items the way I want. There were so many trials and errors, I didn't even want to touch one part of the design after finishing it. A great example is how I couldn't put 3 midnight pillars close together side by side without glitching. Every time I move some items, it moves on its own, so I was only able to place 2 midnight pillars together.
And although this room is my favorite room, this room is not complete yet. I'm planning to remove the two Sky Obelisk items and replace them with better pillar items in the future. I really hope they turn Dark Marble Column in the Floor Item shop into stackable.
As you can *clearly* see, The Fallen Fortress of Sepulchure is a masterclass in house design, blending Overlord-inspired lore with intricate dungeon mechanics. Each room tells its own story, from the despair-filled halls to the final line of defense before the Throne Room. Zenshin’s dedication to detail is evident in every corner of the fortress (and commentary, too!), creating an unforgettable experience for players and visitors alike. It’s crazy to think that this house is STILL evolving, and yet it stands as a shining example of how creative AQW houses can be. And ofc how creative our amazing players are :)
Head on over to the Artix server and be sure to visit this incredible fortress at /house Zenshin —just be prepared for the insanity that hides inside!
Battle on!
Beleen, Zenshin, and the AQW team
PS: Think your house can top this? Prove it by submitting your housing creation here or on Discord!
