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'''Basic Trope''': An organization or state is ruled by the undead, for the undead, and of the undead.
* '''Straight''': [[TheMagnificent His Immortal Majesty]] [[SorcerousOverlord Emperor Evulz]] is a powerful {{Necromancer}} and ImmortalitySeeker who transformed himself into a {{Lich}} to escape death forever.
* '''Exaggerated''': But not only did Evulz go down this path; all of his advisors, his cabinet, his [[EvilChancellor chancellor]], his EvilMinions, and all of the [[MiddleManagementMook rank-and-file]] of [[TheEmpire the Empire of Evilus]] turned into liches, reigning over a true necropolis of the living dead.
* '''Downplayed''':
** As a matter of [[DeliberateValuesDissonance values and customs]], even though Evulz is deceased and has been such for decades or even centuries, people of Evilus still regard him and his long perished successors as a sort of [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence guardian spirit, having achieved apotheosis in death]], and that all living emperors are in fact subservient to dead emperors.
** [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport Emperor Evulz is]] ''[[DarkLordOnLifeSupport nearly]]'' [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport dead]], [[TheManBehindTheMan ruling his empire]] through {{Puppet King}}s, [[TheDragon delegates]], and {{Unwitting Pawn}}s.
* '''Justified''': Evilus is what it is because of taking the trope CantKillYouStillNeedYou to it's LogicalExtreme; because skilled workers and leaders are unlikely to flock over to {{Mordor}}, the state is forced to make the most out of what few surviving followers it has by prolonging their life expectancy by [[TheDarkArts means]] typically regarded as [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique dangerous]], or simply thought of as [[PowerAtAPrice requiring an moral and ethical investment that far outpaces any benefit that could be had]].
* '''Inverted''': A cabal of Necromancers rule over an [[NightOfTheLivingMooks army of the undead]].
* '''Subverted''': A [[TheSquad dispatch]] from the [[BadassArmy armed forces of]] [[TheRepublic Troperitania]] [[StormingTheCastle storms the palace]] of the Evilian capital, in which bunker of Emperor Evulz and his subjects is expected to be under. Thinking that the royals of Evilus are undead and therefore evil beings, they bring all sorts of [[HolyBurnsEvil holy objects and icons]] and HolyWater to destroy them. But then it turns out that the royals are actually ''alive'', and that the story of necromancy is a lie fabricated by the government of Evilus to hide the fact that [[ShadowDictator Evulz]] was DeadAllAlong (or never existed in the first place) and has been for hundreds of years.
* '''Double Subverted''': If only they just went ahead and thoroughly double-checked the corridors and floors of the imperial bunker, they would have found the cabal of liches that ''actually'' run the place.
* '''Parodied''':
** Woe betide the [[CannonFodder fools]] who have to invade Evilus, for their hypogeal rulers are too [=SpOoKY=] for thee!
** The Empire rules over, not just undead humans, but also [[NonHumanUndead undead animals]], undead plants, and even [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot ninja pirate]] '''''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie]]''''' [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot robots]].
** Emperor Evulz was found rotting in his throne. Apparently, he was killed some time ago, and no-one noticed because he was technically already dead. Of course, the people of Evilus [[IRejectYourReality rejected the reality of the situation]] and started revering the skeleton as their ''one true ruler''.
** The government of Evilus was reduced to the bare minimum required to run the nation. Not because of an external crisis or constrained budget, but because they just ''had'' to double down on that Necrocracy shtick. [[{{Pun}} A true]] SkeletonGovernment.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': Evilus is ruled jointly by the living and the undead.
* '''Averted''': Evilus is a regular empire of the living.
* '''Enforced''': ???
* '''Lampshaded''': ???
* '''Invoked''':
** Evulz is dismayed and displeased by the marshal of [[SketchySuccessor incompetent buffoons]] selected to take up his sword upon his senescence and ultimate passing by his chancellor (who he is starting to suspect is [[TheStarscream disloyal]]), and decides to become a lich until a suitable successor is prepared.
** Wisdom scales with age, and perhaps, [[StrongerWithAge so does physical power]], and so it follows that the wisest, most enlightened rulers would be immortals. And what other way to achieve immortality than through TheDarkArts?
* '''Exploited''': As the royals of Evilus are technically '[[MadeOfEvil evil]]' beings, then if one should deal with the Empire through [[StraightForTheCommander the decapitation of central command]], then [[HolyBurnsEvil holy items]] and [[GoodHurtsEvil entities]] are the logical solution.
* '''Defied''': Term limits are rabidly enforced in Evilus, preventing any [[EvilOverlord aspiring dictator]] from [[TyrantTakesTheHelm taking the helm]] ''forever''.
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Ruling is a [[DangerousWorkplace dangerous profession]] and even powerful and paranoid liches surrounded by ([[NotAMetaphor literally]]) [[UndyingLoyalty undyingly loyal]], [[ProfessionalButtkisser asskissing]] [[SycophanticServant servants]], [[YesMan yes-men]], and [[TheCreon trustworthy Creons]], typically have a suppressed life-expectancy due to [[KlingonPromotion artificial truncation of lifespan]]. And as such, sacrificing ones humanity for greater political power is [[AllForNothing ultimately reveals itself to be meaningless]].
** Or, ruling is [[LonelyAtTheTop mind-numbingly forlorn]] and [[TheChainsOfCommanding soul-crushing]], to the point where even the most determined lich wouldn't last more than a few decades of reigning before just ''[[DespairEventHorizon giving up]]''.
** Rule under immortal necromancers means that younger generations ultimately have no hope of ever becoming important figures within the political hierarchy of the Empire, for they will never eclipse the unending and growing wisdom of the undead elite and will never hope to outsmart them. Eventually, a sort of FantasticCasteSystem is established unwittingly, and the only hope that younger generations have is to flee to the countryside and set up their own nation-state, with the resulting [[MookDepletion drain of potential soldiers]], laborers, and scholars resulting in the eventually collapse of Evilus.
** Or, alternatively, the younger generations resort to [[KlingonPromotion assassination of members of the ruling class]], which cascades and finally culminates in a massive EnemyCivilWar which either results in [[StatusQuoIsGod the status quo being preserved]], the rebels reigning victorious [[AllForNothing only for the empire to collapse shortly afterward]] because [[VetinariJobSecurity they lack the wisdom to effectively administrate it]], the rebels being led by [[OpportunisticBastard vicious political opportunists]] who [[NotInThisForYourRevolution hardly care about their wishes]] and [[FullCircleRevolution institute a system far more tyrannical than the one already in place]], or the state falls into [[DownerEnding eternal darkness]], in which the [[CrapsackWorld ossuary once known as Evilus]] [[{{Mordor}} lives in the shadow of]] the [[DeathWorld chthonic nightmares of a dozen dead emperors]]. Perhaps ''forever''.
** When an EvilOverlord or TheCaligula is sworn into office, so too will their grotesque reign last for a protracted eternity.
** The standards of the past will live on so long as the liches live on. All the [[ValuesDissonance prejudices]], all the many-times discredited ideas of a forgotten time guide the future of the Empire of Evilus, and it's foremost leaders unwaveringly cling on to outdated ideals. The Empire may not move on, but Time will, as progress is it's prerogative. And so, when it comes time to react to a shift in the sociopolitical environment of the world, the Empire will remain stagnant.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** And so, an effective personal fighting force, a PraetorianGuard, is created for the undying emperor, to [[HeroicSacrifice pledge their very]] ''[[HeroicSacrifice existence]]'' [[HeroicSacrifice in the preservation of their master's life]]. Or '[[BuffySpeak unlife]]', if you will.
** Emperors decide to divvy-up and divide their executive powers and responsibilities delegating them to imperial bureaucracies, officers, and other officials, as well as reforming the autocracy of Evilus into a diarchy or oligarchy, to distribute stress among a larger portion of the government. Also, some one came up with the clever profession known as the '[[ThereAreNoTherapists psychotherapist]]'.
** As per the Defiance of this trope, term limits are enforced to prevent the tyranny of ancient liches. Also, rudimentary forms of direct democracy and [[ElectiveMonarchy elections]] are introduced so that the lower classes feel that there is a way to ascend the political hierarchy, without political assassinations and civil wars.
** Separation of power, as well as a system of checks and balances, are established with the aim of limiting the power of an immortal fascistic dictator, and allowing the courts (and perhaps the people too) to hold them accountable.
* '''Played For Drama''': [[ImmortalityImmorality To seek eternal life in this work is to sacrifice one's scruples and one's soul for a extended moment of splendor]]. The BlueBlood of Evilus [[AristocratsAreEvil are monsters]], and the [[DecadentCourt royal courts are decadent and immoral]] and could hardly care less for the suffering of the commonfolk.
* '''Played For Horror''': Since the undead [[EvilIsSterile cannot procreate]], the only way Evilus can sustain it's population is to meet neighboring countries with near [[FinalSolution genocidal violence]] and [[HumanResources resurrect all of the dead]] as pawns of the Empire, or to capture millions of [=PoWs=] as [[FateWorseThanDeath breeding stock]] for their PeopleFarms, to produce children who are culled at age [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen]] and turned into reverents.
----
Back to TheNecrocracy
----
%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%% * '''Implied''': ???
%% * '''Played for Laughs''': ???
%% * '''Played for Horror''': ???
* '''Straight''': [[TheMagnificent His Immortal Majesty]] [[SorcerousOverlord Emperor Evulz]] is a powerful {{Necromancer}} and ImmortalitySeeker who transformed himself into a {{Lich}} to escape death forever.
* '''Exaggerated''': But not only did Evulz go down this path; all of his advisors, his cabinet, his [[EvilChancellor chancellor]], his EvilMinions, and all of the [[MiddleManagementMook rank-and-file]] of [[TheEmpire the Empire of Evilus]] turned into liches, reigning over a true necropolis of the living dead.
* '''Downplayed''':
** As a matter of [[DeliberateValuesDissonance values and customs]], even though Evulz is deceased and has been such for decades or even centuries, people of Evilus still regard him and his long perished successors as a sort of [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence guardian spirit, having achieved apotheosis in death]], and that all living emperors are in fact subservient to dead emperors.
** [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport Emperor Evulz is]] ''[[DarkLordOnLifeSupport nearly]]'' [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport dead]], [[TheManBehindTheMan ruling his empire]] through {{Puppet King}}s, [[TheDragon delegates]], and {{Unwitting Pawn}}s.
* '''Justified''': Evilus is what it is because of taking the trope CantKillYouStillNeedYou to it's LogicalExtreme; because skilled workers and leaders are unlikely to flock over to {{Mordor}}, the state is forced to make the most out of what few surviving followers it has by prolonging their life expectancy by [[TheDarkArts means]] typically regarded as [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique dangerous]], or simply thought of as [[PowerAtAPrice requiring an moral and ethical investment that far outpaces any benefit that could be had]].
* '''Inverted''': A cabal of Necromancers rule over an [[NightOfTheLivingMooks army of the undead]].
* '''Subverted''': A [[TheSquad dispatch]] from the [[BadassArmy armed forces of]] [[TheRepublic Troperitania]] [[StormingTheCastle storms the palace]] of the Evilian capital, in which bunker of Emperor Evulz and his subjects is expected to be under. Thinking that the royals of Evilus are undead and therefore evil beings, they bring all sorts of [[HolyBurnsEvil holy objects and icons]] and HolyWater to destroy them. But then it turns out that the royals are actually ''alive'', and that the story of necromancy is a lie fabricated by the government of Evilus to hide the fact that [[ShadowDictator Evulz]] was DeadAllAlong (or never existed in the first place) and has been for hundreds of years.
* '''Double Subverted''': If only they just went ahead and thoroughly double-checked the corridors and floors of the imperial bunker, they would have found the cabal of liches that ''actually'' run the place.
* '''Parodied''':
** Woe betide the [[CannonFodder fools]] who have to invade Evilus, for their hypogeal rulers are too [=SpOoKY=] for thee!
** The Empire rules over, not just undead humans, but also [[NonHumanUndead undead animals]], undead plants, and even [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot ninja pirate]] '''''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie]]''''' [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot robots]].
** Emperor Evulz was found rotting in his throne. Apparently, he was killed some time ago, and no-one noticed because he was technically already dead. Of course, the people of Evilus [[IRejectYourReality rejected the reality of the situation]] and started revering the skeleton as their ''one true ruler''.
** The government of Evilus was reduced to the bare minimum required to run the nation. Not because of an external crisis or constrained budget, but because they just ''had'' to double down on that Necrocracy shtick. [[{{Pun}} A true]] SkeletonGovernment.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': Evilus is ruled jointly by the living and the undead.
* '''Averted''': Evilus is a regular empire of the living.
* '''Enforced''': ???
* '''Lampshaded''': ???
* '''Invoked''':
** Evulz is dismayed and displeased by the marshal of [[SketchySuccessor incompetent buffoons]] selected to take up his sword upon his senescence and ultimate passing by his chancellor (who he is starting to suspect is [[TheStarscream disloyal]]), and decides to become a lich until a suitable successor is prepared.
** Wisdom scales with age, and perhaps, [[StrongerWithAge so does physical power]], and so it follows that the wisest, most enlightened rulers would be immortals. And what other way to achieve immortality than through TheDarkArts?
* '''Exploited''': As the royals of Evilus are technically '[[MadeOfEvil evil]]' beings, then if one should deal with the Empire through [[StraightForTheCommander the decapitation of central command]], then [[HolyBurnsEvil holy items]] and [[GoodHurtsEvil entities]] are the logical solution.
* '''Defied''': Term limits are rabidly enforced in Evilus, preventing any [[EvilOverlord aspiring dictator]] from [[TyrantTakesTheHelm taking the helm]] ''forever''.
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Ruling is a [[DangerousWorkplace dangerous profession]] and even powerful and paranoid liches surrounded by ([[NotAMetaphor literally]]) [[UndyingLoyalty undyingly loyal]], [[ProfessionalButtkisser asskissing]] [[SycophanticServant servants]], [[YesMan yes-men]], and [[TheCreon trustworthy Creons]], typically have a suppressed life-expectancy due to [[KlingonPromotion artificial truncation of lifespan]]. And as such, sacrificing ones humanity for greater political power is [[AllForNothing ultimately reveals itself to be meaningless]].
** Or, ruling is [[LonelyAtTheTop mind-numbingly forlorn]] and [[TheChainsOfCommanding soul-crushing]], to the point where even the most determined lich wouldn't last more than a few decades of reigning before just ''[[DespairEventHorizon giving up]]''.
** Rule under immortal necromancers means that younger generations ultimately have no hope of ever becoming important figures within the political hierarchy of the Empire, for they will never eclipse the unending and growing wisdom of the undead elite and will never hope to outsmart them. Eventually, a sort of FantasticCasteSystem is established unwittingly, and the only hope that younger generations have is to flee to the countryside and set up their own nation-state, with the resulting [[MookDepletion drain of potential soldiers]], laborers, and scholars resulting in the eventually collapse of Evilus.
** Or, alternatively, the younger generations resort to [[KlingonPromotion assassination of members of the ruling class]], which cascades and finally culminates in a massive EnemyCivilWar which either results in [[StatusQuoIsGod the status quo being preserved]], the rebels reigning victorious [[AllForNothing only for the empire to collapse shortly afterward]] because [[VetinariJobSecurity they lack the wisdom to effectively administrate it]], the rebels being led by [[OpportunisticBastard vicious political opportunists]] who [[NotInThisForYourRevolution hardly care about their wishes]] and [[FullCircleRevolution institute a system far more tyrannical than the one already in place]], or the state falls into [[DownerEnding eternal darkness]], in which the [[CrapsackWorld ossuary once known as Evilus]] [[{{Mordor}} lives in the shadow of]] the [[DeathWorld chthonic nightmares of a dozen dead emperors]]. Perhaps ''forever''.
** When an EvilOverlord or TheCaligula is sworn into office, so too will their grotesque reign last for a protracted eternity.
** The standards of the past will live on so long as the liches live on. All the [[ValuesDissonance prejudices]], all the many-times discredited ideas of a forgotten time guide the future of the Empire of Evilus, and it's foremost leaders unwaveringly cling on to outdated ideals. The Empire may not move on, but Time will, as progress is it's prerogative. And so, when it comes time to react to a shift in the sociopolitical environment of the world, the Empire will remain stagnant.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** And so, an effective personal fighting force, a PraetorianGuard, is created for the undying emperor, to [[HeroicSacrifice pledge their very]] ''[[HeroicSacrifice existence]]'' [[HeroicSacrifice in the preservation of their master's life]]. Or '[[BuffySpeak unlife]]', if you will.
** Emperors decide to divvy-up and divide their executive powers and responsibilities delegating them to imperial bureaucracies, officers, and other officials, as well as reforming the autocracy of Evilus into a diarchy or oligarchy, to distribute stress among a larger portion of the government. Also, some one came up with the clever profession known as the '[[ThereAreNoTherapists psychotherapist]]'.
** As per the Defiance of this trope, term limits are enforced to prevent the tyranny of ancient liches. Also, rudimentary forms of direct democracy and [[ElectiveMonarchy elections]] are introduced so that the lower classes feel that there is a way to ascend the political hierarchy, without political assassinations and civil wars.
** Separation of power, as well as a system of checks and balances, are established with the aim of limiting the power of an immortal fascistic dictator, and allowing the courts (and perhaps the people too) to hold them accountable.
* '''Played For Drama''': [[ImmortalityImmorality To seek eternal life in this work is to sacrifice one's scruples and one's soul for a extended moment of splendor]]. The BlueBlood of Evilus [[AristocratsAreEvil are monsters]], and the [[DecadentCourt royal courts are decadent and immoral]] and could hardly care less for the suffering of the commonfolk.
* '''Played For Horror''': Since the undead [[EvilIsSterile cannot procreate]], the only way Evilus can sustain it's population is to meet neighboring countries with near [[FinalSolution genocidal violence]] and [[HumanResources resurrect all of the dead]] as pawns of the Empire, or to capture millions of [=PoWs=] as [[FateWorseThanDeath breeding stock]] for their PeopleFarms, to produce children who are culled at age [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen]] and turned into reverents.
----
Back to TheNecrocracy
----
%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%% * '''Implied''': ???
%% * '''Played for Laughs''': ???
%% * '''Played for Horror''': ???
