History XanatosGambit / Literature

** Savvy readers have picked up Roose Bolton's odd military behavior in the first book, where he orders his forces (with his own troops in the rear) to aggressively charge Tywin's forces (which seems out of character for the cold-blooded Roose) and Tyrion notices that his archers seem to fire indiscriminately on any combatants in the fray. When asked about Roose's odd behavior, GRRM stated that Roose looked at the outcomes of obtaining a surprise victory over Tywin's forces (which would make Roose look good in Robb's eyes), or a defeat that resulted in most or all of the deaths to occur from Northern forces ''other'' than House Bolton's (also a win for Roose, as it weakens his rivals).

* ''Literature/TerokNor'' and Dukat's plans to annex Bajor. Manipulating the Bajorans into accepting closer ties with the Cardassians (achieved through whipping them into a paranoia about the Tzenkethi) is a sort of Xanatos Gambit, in that his "winning" does not truly depend on its success -- and this because Bajor is weakened either way. He fakes Tzenkethi attacks and manipulates communications to construct false accounts of Bajoran/Cardassian/Tzenkethi encounters in space. Finally, he hijacks a Tzenkethi marauder, using it to bomb Bajor before the Cardassian fleet "heroically" responds. The Bajorans end up rushing gratefully into the arms of their Cardassian "saviours". Even if the plan "failed" (and the Cardassians' duplicity revealed), Bajor would still have been crippled and vulnerable; the Cardassians were in a position to take over no matter what. The success of Dukat's Tzenkethi scheme only makes his ultimate plans unfold with less resistance, and with less Cardassian bloodshed. Indeed, even ''as'' the plan unfolds masterfully, Dukat reflects that Bajor was an easy target for outside forces.

* In ''Literature/TheVorGame'' by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold, the main antagonist, Commander Cavilo, defines this trope with "The key to strategy... is not to choose a path to victory, but to choose so that '''all''' paths lead to '''a''' victory.". She ruins it by trying to double-cross ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder everybody]]'', including all four sides of what was previously a promising MexicanStandoff, then ends up being OutGambitted by Gregor Vorbarra. The Emperor of Barrayar was well-taught in [[TheChessmaster chess]].

* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' in the first book. An instance where XanatosSpeedChess leads to a XanatosGambit. After abducting Holly he notices she has a tracker on her wrist so he does some quick soldering and gluing to place a small camera inside. His plan is to use the camera to lead any pursuers in the opposite direction and communicate with them without showing himself. If it works then great, but if it doesn't, it's still off Holly and all he loses is 'an advantage he never expected to have in the first place'.

* ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'':

* This is more or less Mike Stearns strategy in ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo''. By using their technology to ensure the dominance of the Swedish Empire, he ensures that anyone who can threaten them can do so only by adopting uptime technology, and that technology, in the long term, requires an complex support network that involves an educated populace. He's also sure to make clear how useful things like medical technology, communications technology, and widespread literacy are in military and political circles. The result being, even if their enemies can beat them militarily, they can only do so by adopting advanced science, technology, and widespread education.

* Literature/ArtemisFowl in the first book. An instance where XanatosSpeedChess leads to a XanatosGambit. After abducting Holly he notices she has a tracker on her wrist so he does some quick soldering and gluing to place a small camera inside. His plan is to use the camera to lead any pursuers in the opposite direction and communicate with them without showing himself. If it works then great, but if it doesn't, it's still off Holly and all he loses is 'an advantage he never expected to have in the first place'.

--> "He [Vimes] wondered what it was like in the Patrician's mind. All cold and shiny, he thought, all blued steel and icicles and little wheels clicking along like a huge clock. The kind of mind that would carefully consider its own downfall and turn it to advantage."

* After being somewhat of an IdiotHero throughout ''[[Literature/TheGreatGodsWar The Seventh Decimate]]'', Bifalt actually comes up with one of these in the end. [[spoiler: If he wins a duel to the death, Marrow has promised to give him ''The Seventh Decimate'', a book containing the secrets of AntiMagic, which he will then bring back to Belleger. If he loses and dies, Third Father will be honour-bound to obey his last wish, which is that he brings ''A Treatise on the Fabrication of Cannon Using Primitive Means'' back to Belleger. Since possessing either of those books will give Belleger an insurmountable tactical advantage against its ancestral enemy, the kingdom's future is assured as long as Marrow and Third Father both honour their word.]]

* ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' is a seven-book long one for Satan, the Incarnation of Evil, but the reader doesn't really learn that until books six and seven: Throughout the books, Satan has been trying to wrest power from God and neutralize a mortal named Luna, who is destined to cast a crucial vote that will prevent him from taking power. Book six reveals that [[spoiler: his reason for wanting power is to change the rules that define who is and isn't a sinner, [[NobleDemon so as to prevent people from being unfairly damned to hell.]]]] Book seven reveals that [[spoiler: Luna's crucial vote is to determine whether or not the current person serving as God (who is no longer doing his job) should be declared unfit for duty and replaced.]] If the vote succeeds, [[spoiler: Satan will be able to work with the new God to change the rules]]. If the vote fails, [[spoiler: the other Incarnations will have to hand over God's power to Satan in order to prevent an oncoming disaster, thus allowing him to unilaterally change the rules.]] Either way, he achieves his goal.
* In the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle''
** Galbatorix uses this to great effect. He makes a secret deal with the Urgals (who are responsible for the death of his dragon), and sends them to attack [[LaResistance the Varden]]. Either outcome suits his interests. Either the Urgals wipe out the Varden, and thus, the Urgals are weakened, or the Varden wipes out the Urgals, and thus, the Varden are weakened. In both cases, this allows him to step in and finish the job after the massive fight between the two. The only thing he didn't count on was the possibility of his lieutenant Durza, who was in command of the Urgals, being killed. When it happened, the Urgals turned tail and fled, leaving the Varden weakened, but still in fighting shape, and the Urgals desperate enough to make an alliance with the Varden, which later turned out badly for Galbatorix.

* The king in "Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger" decides to get rid of his daughter's unsuitable suitor by sending him to trial instead of summarily executing him. His trial system is a famous public DoorRoulette where one door conceals a lady and other contains a tiger: opening the lady's door means the defendant is innocent and marriage to her is his reward; opening the other means he's guilty and the tiger executes him. Either way, the man can no longer pursue the princess.
* In ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', [[spoiler:Hactar]] either counts on, or at least anticipates, the failure of his original plan to manipulate [[spoiler:the people of Krikkit into detonating the supernova bomb and destroying the universe]]. While describing his brilliant evil plan to Trillian and Arthur, he completes a gradual [[spoiler:replacement of Arthur's belongings]] that's been happening throughout the book by [[spoiler:planting a second, disguised bomb on him]], then manipulates the situation further so that, after they've destroyed him, the heroes proceed to [[TimeTravel go back in time]] several days, putting [[spoiler:Arthur in a position where he'll trigger the bomb by accident, not only destroying the universe but]] erasing their original victory. [[spoiler:Hactar even]] gloats for a split second when Trillian asks him how he feels about having failed [[spoiler:with Krikkit]] by whispering "''have'' I failed?", which goes unnoticed until later. The universe ends up being saved only by the craziest of blind luck: [[spoiler:Hactar hadn't foreseen Arthur learning how to fly, which turns out to be the one monkey wrench that breaks an otherwise unstoppable chain of events.]]
** The radio series adaption adds a small change: [[spoiler: Rather than Arthur's ability to fly, it's his ''in''ability to play cricket well that costs Hactar his victory.]]

* [[TheFaceless The Unseen]] EvilOverlord Arawn of Lloyd Alexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' pulls at least one of these (and [[TheChessmaster probably more]] than that) near the end of the series when he sends King Pryderi, his war leader, to dispatch Dallben, the greatest enchanter in Prydain. Arawn likely knew that Pryderi harbored traitorous intent towards him, and therefore manipulated the situation to his favor; If Pryderi succeeded, Arawn was rid of Dallben, and if he failed, he was rid of a future [[TheRival rival]]. Arawn won either way.

* [[MagnificentBastard Sauron]] pulls one of these against [[UnwittingPawn Ar-Pharazôn of Númenor]] in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. By goading Pharazôn into assembling the largest army in history and setting out to make war on [[CouncilOfAngels the Valar]], he sets up his defeat nicely by pitting him against opponents far beyond his league. In the unlikely event that Pharazôn actually wins, Sauron's still ahead, as the Valar are his enemies as well. Overall, things go very smoothly (sure, Sauron loses his physical body when Ilúvatar destroys not just the fleet, but the entire island of Númenor, but it was just an [[FightingAShadow avatar]], so Sauron's spirit survives and most of the Númenóreans die). Pity for him that not ''all'' the Númenóreans were dead...

* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy: Grand Admiral Thrawn generally relies on the BatmanGambit, and is a master of it, but uses this one once by launching a staggered attack against many New Republic worlds -- if they fail to send backup to the places he attacks, he captures planets without a fight; if they do send backup, they leave his true target undefended. A similar strategy is stated in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Isard's Revenge]]'', though this time it's a New Republic fleet forcing tough decisions on a splinter of the Empire.

** Nicodemus of is also good at this. In ''Literature/SmallFavor'', he kidnaps [[spoiler: Marcone, ostensibly to gain control of his criminal empire]]. Harry plays by the rules, treats it as a conflict between two recognized members of the supernatural community and brings in [[spoiler:the Archive]] to act as arbitrator, but that's what Nicodemus wanted all along so he could both [[spoiler:capture her [[PersonOfMassDestruction incredibly vast power]] and discredit Harry to his allies because he got Ivy into that mess.]] Harry offers Nicodemus custody of Fidelacchius in exchange for both of them, but when they are to make the exchange, Nicodemus shows Harry that he has been having them tortured to set off Harry's BerserkButton so he would [[spoiler:use Fidelacchius in anger, negating its holy powers enough for Nick to destroy it.]] Harry sees through it only because he's made that mistake once before. After the successful rescue, Nicodemus consoles himself that his minions who did most of the work were incompetents and/or suspected traitors anyway, so he doesn't mind that some of them were killed in the fight or [[spoiler:that Ivy now bears a grudge against them personally. ... Pity he made two mistakes. 1. His 'no-save' mind control on Harry is no longer valid, and 2. Harry knows how to kill him. Nicodemus is still alive, but it was a close thing]].

** A more specific example occurs in the fourth volume. The villains' aim is to have the White Queen destroy Pandemonium, a MileLongShip used for summoning. They go about this by using Pandemonium to summon the Queen, and calling in Kyousuke as well. If they can convince Kyousuke to join their side, then he can simply order the Queen to destroy the ship. If he doesn't agree, then they can simply hurt him, [[BerserkButton enraging the Queen]] and causing her to overload and destroy Pandemonium. The latter option doubles as a ThanatosGambit, since they'd certainly be killed by the Queen if they resorted to it.

* In ''Literature/TheVorGame'' by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold, the main antagonist, Commander Cavilo, defines this trope with "Don't choose a path that leads to victory, choose so that all paths lead to victory". She ruins it by trying to double-cross ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder everybody]]'', including all four sides of what was previously a promising MexicanStandoff, then ends up being OutGambitted by Gregor Vorbarra. The Emperor of Barrayar was well-taught in [[TheChessmaster chess]].

* The king in "Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger" decides to get rid of his daughter's unsuitable suitor by putting him on a trial by luck, the same sort which he has already been conducting as sadistic entertainment with the excuse that god will see to it that the accused will survive if he's innocent. The trial involves choosing one of two doors; one of them has a tiger behind it that will eat the man, the other an attractive woman who will marry him. In this particular case, the king will get rid of the man either way.

* The ants of ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'' use a multi-level gambit to defend their gates against [[spoiler:the Abyssal Legion]].

* The ants of ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'' use a multi-level gambit to defend their gates against [[spoiler:the Abyssal Legion]]. If the flood of twenty million litres of acid gets some of the enemy, great! If, however, their mages shield against it, that will distract them and make it harder for them to contest the ant mages who are attempting to drop the ceiling on them, filled with giant metal spikes amongst tons of rock. Or, the mages can keep focusing on the ceiling, while mundane soldiers pack together and rapidly carve trenches in the tunnel floor to divert the acid around themselves, letting it splash their armour but not wash them away. Except that it ''will'' dissolve away the thin stone covers holding back the swarms of centi-sludge monsters (under the control of their ant masters), and present them with a nice dense target. And if the centi-sludges manage to poison the enemy, that's great, but if they don't, well, their BlobMonster physiology means that killing them for good takes a lot of work, which means the soldiers will be distracted when the ants sortie. And, of course, the ants are using ranged attacks, so if they get someone, that's great, but if they don't, they're putting even more pressure on the mages to shield everyone, with the threat of the ceiling still over them, and then the mages have very little concentration to spare on unpicking Anthony's "gravity bomb" before it hits -- and that thing, if the spell isn't disrupted, ''will'' break shields and kill the target. But if they somehow do put their all into it and stop the bomb, they will at the very least have worn themselves out and struggle to keep up the fight that day -- which is also a win for the ants, because they breed thousands of new hatchlings every day, plus a dungeon wave is coming soon that the ants are better able to endure than their opponents are.

* The ants of ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'' use a multi-level gambit to defend their gates against [[spoiler:the Abyssal Legion]]. If the flood of twenty million litres of acid gets some of the enemy, great! If, however, their mages shield against it, that will distract them and make it harder for them to contest the ant mages who are attempting to drop the ceiling on them, filled with giant metal spikes. Or they can keep focusing on the ceiling, while mundane soldiers pack together and rapidly carve trenches in the tunnel floor to divert the acid around themselves, letting it splash their armour but not wash them away. Except that it ''will'' dissolve away the covers holding back the swarms of centi-sludge monsters. And if the centi-sludges manage to poison the enemy, that's great, but if they don't, well, their BlobMonster physiology means that killing them for good takes a lot of work, which means the soldiers will be distracted when the ants sortie. And, of course, the ants are using ranged attacks, so if they get someone, that's great, but if they don't, stalling is also a win, because they breed thousands of new ants every day, and a dungeon wave is coming soon that the ants are better able to endure than their opponents are. Oh, and this is when the ants are still fairly new to siege warfare.