'''Basic Trope''': They were supposed to all have been killed off, but [[LastOfHisKind one got away]].
* '''Straight''': [[TheCaligula Emperor Gluteus Maximus III]] has been ruling quite happily over TheEmpire of AncientGrome, but one day, his high priest comes to him with news that a powerful leader from [[ThrowawayCountry Tropestan]] will overthrow him. Gluteus orders all people from Tropestan to be killed; but, Bob manages to survive... and [[BestServedCold fulfills the prophecy later]].
* '''Exaggerated''': Emperor Gluteus Maximus III has Tropestan carpet-bombed, reducing the entire nation to scorched earth; then, it turns out that an entire RagtagBunchOfMisfits survived the destruction, and [[SelfFulfillingProphecy the Emperor has given them all a reason to be]] ''[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge very]]'' [[CameBackWithAVengeance angry with him]].
* '''Downplayed''': Emperor Gluteus Maximus wages war on Tropestan, and many people die, but the prophesied leader is already en route to another region...
* '''Justified''':
** There's very often at least one GuileHero who manages to save ''someone'' in these instances... and then LaserGuidedKarma takes care of the rest.
** It turns out that killing off an entire people group is difficult, as there are always at least some survivors.
** Gluteus' regime had been dealing with LaResistance for quite some time when he gets around to enacting genocide on Tropestan, and when they catch wind of what he plans to do, they act quickly to ensure at least a few survivors remain.
* '''Inverted''':
** Emperor Gluteus Maximus III sends his armies to kill everyone in Tropestan, but they only manage to kill a single Tropestani and all the others escape.
** Gluteus [[AFatherToHisMen treated everyone in Tropestan like his children]], but then everyone except Bob [[TheFarmerAndTheViper turned their blades on Gluteus]].
** Gluteus hears a prophecy that someone from Tropestan will one day overthrow him, and does his best to keep it on track until the last minute. After all, without that prophecy in play, the next usurper could come from anywhere.
* '''Subverted''':
** Gluteus is sure his armies have destroyed everyone...
** Gluteus intentionally left some alive, including Bob, to further his plans and potentially even manipulate in the future...
* '''Double Subverted''':
** ...but he didn't account for a trader who was away at the time of the siege, or a small child who remained well-hidden... or even his favorite wife.
** ...but he didn't actually think they would survive as long as they did or kill him in the end.
* '''Parodied''': The survivor is TropeyTheWonderDog, and TheDogBitesBack... [[VisualPun literally]].
* '''Zig Zagged''': Nobody survived the massacre. However that is only the beginning of the problems as they rise again to destroy Gluteus. Except they're defeated due to proper anti-undead measures. However word gets out what Gluteus did and an uprising forms to destroy him. However he crushes it. But it turns out that the last Tropestan was in stasis. He awakens and regroups the scattered rebels to destroy Gluteus once and for all.
* '''Averted''':
** [[EverybodysDeadDave There were no survivors in Tropestan.]]
** Emperor Gluteus Maximus III conducts a "standard" war on Tropestan, not a genocide.
* '''Enforced''': RuleOfDrama
* '''Lampshaded''': "I thought I killed all of you!"
* '''Invoked''':
** Bob's mother hides him in the wilderness.
** The leaders of Tropestan originally sent the priest to Gluteus to intentionally causing a Genocide Backfire that would end Gluteus' rule.
* '''Exploited''': ???
* '''Defied''':
** Emperor Gluteus Maximus III decides that killing thousands of innocent people is wrong... not to mention a big loss in terms of their taxes and tribute, and may lead to a SelfFulfillingProphecy, so he figures that if one of the Tropestanis ''does'' stage a coup or something, he'll deal with those individuals then, but isn't going to destroy an entire nation.
** The soldiers double and triple check every single last one of the huts and houses in Tropestan, the wilderness areas surrounding it, etc, to be sure that no one survives.
** Gluteus looks for a less barbaric way to foil the prophecy. He comes up with the idea to redraw borders and rename territories so that Tropestan no longer officially exists, in the hopes that this will mean no one can come from Tropestan to overthrow him, because there's no longer a Tropestan to come from.
* '''Discussed''': "Oh my God, did you hear about what Emperor Gluteus Maximus III did to Tropestan?" "Yeah... they said there were no survivors, but maybe a few got away." "Like in the movies?"
* '''Conversed''': ???
* '''Deconstructed''':
** The person(s) whose people were all killed off may very well want revenge, even if Gluteus Maximus III is no longer alive.
** Alternatively: The prophecy was invented as part of an EvilPlan by the EvilChancellor in order to both kill off the hated Tropestanians and remove the obstacle in his way to power [[KarmaHoudini in a way that no one would suspect him]].
* '''Reconstructed''':
** Gluteus Minimus (his son) has ascended the throne, and [[SinsOfOurFathers feels horrible about what his father did]]. So he makes a formal apology, and enacts laws that ensure that those who ''did'' survive are treated better in the future.
** Of course, their revenge will also affect the chancellor's ambitions.
* '''Implied''': Years after an undescribed conflict between Bob's people and Gluteus' empire has ended, taking place so long ago it's regarded as just a distant memory, Bob himself carries scorn for the current emperor, but it's not immediately apparent why.
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Now go back to GenocideBackfire, and pray to CrystalDragonJesus that there's no one left.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???
%%* '''Played For Drama''': ???