Rule 101: Never, ever say No one is going to save you now, because you're bound to get no-scoped by karma if you do, usually within seconds, if not less.
Hide / Show RepliesCurrent events have brought to mind the list should probably include "Based on a fleeting study of human history, any plan based on making my minions produce more children than my enemies will fail catastrophically". I'll leave this as a suggestion here because I'm sure someone will find it controversial.
okay I know it's normally bad practice to start trope discussion threads just to comment on something in the article without a "to do" aim of some sort... but #100 got me. I was cracking up for a solid 30 seconds after I read that and while I'm generally the funny guy, I don't normally crack up so easily...
Edited by macks2010 Christian, gamer, programmer, brony, and quadriplegic (paralyzed mid-thorax down). I am filled with determination...I think the SNL sketch being alluded to might actually be Midday with Bond Villains from Season 11 (1986) seen here: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/midday-w-jennifer-hicks/2868047?snl=1
Is there another sketch from 1988 that I'm unaware of?
Hey, fellow Overlords. Just wanted to let you guys know that me and a very talented friend of mine, Linker Luis, or working on a fun project regarding The Evil Overlord List. A series of illustrations depicting each of the rules in different fashions. Here are the examples we have so far: Rule 32, Rule 43 and Rule 210.
If you want to want an illustration of one of the rules to help add to the project, you can always commision him or donate to his Patreon.
Whomever has the authority can unlock the edit function long enough to insert the link to its Good Counterpart Things I Will Do If I Am Ever the Hero. Out of simple courtesy and all that.
Hide / Show RepliesI think #83 should be clarified to "If I'm eating dinner with the hero (or anyone else) ,put poison in his goblet, then have to leave the table for any reason, I will order new drinks for both of us instead of trying to decide whether or not to switch with him."
Typo in #98. Change "if circumstance have forced" to "if circumstance has forced" or "if circumstances have forced". Either one works.
Hide / Show RepliesEdit requests for locked pages go here. I've posted the second one for you, since "circumstances" is how it's written on the actual list, but we do not alter the wording of the text so the first one won't be done.
That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.@Shorin BJ, how about #83A: If I do decide to use a poison in the hero's drink, I shall make sure it is one that either doesn't affect me (e.g. kryptonite if you're not a Kryptonian) or one that I've rendered myself immune to (like the Iocaine Powder from The Princess Bride).
Don't think the rules should eschew things like the Evil Laugh , the villain should still be allowed to be a villain, just not a stupid one.
Edited by 107.146.20.165 Oh look I mispeled somethink. Hide / Show RepliesI couldn't agree more. Tropes like Evil Laugh and Ominous Opera Cape are staples of villainy, and we should be finding ways to make them practical instead of eliminating them completely. (for example, I have decided that if I was an Evil Overlord, I would wear a cape that is easy to take off, in order to avoid Cape Snag.)
"Humans and robots living together in harmony and equality. That was my ultimate wish."Hmm... has someone been watching The Incredibles lately...? -_^
My advice on capes: velcro attachments. Not only does it avoid Cape Snag, like you said, but if you line the cape with contact poison (that you've made yourself immune to, naturally) or explosives rigged to explode when the cape is ripped off and taken more than a couple of yards/meters away from you. After all, who says villain fashion can't also be practical?
I've always felt that #4 should read: "Shooting is _never_ too good for my enemies. Neither is stabbing, poisoning, drawing and quartering, and _especially_ nuking them from orbit."
After all, if this very wiki can point out that there's No Kill Like Overkill... {evil laugh}
I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X.
First of all fashion changes, so what was true yesteryear will not be true the next. Secondly, what is Generation X?
Hide / Show RepliesIt's the generation that followed the Baby Boomers. It's also the generation before the current one, Generation Y.
As an example of what the author intended: look at Mirror Universe!Spock from Star Trek: The Original Series versus Mark Rein-Hagen (creator of Vampire: The Masquerade and Gen-X member). Goatees became strangely popular with members of my generation for some reason... (Although, I grew one myself partly because I thought Leonard Nimoy looked really cool in one when he played the Evil Spock... I guess TV Tropes isn't the only thing that will ruin your life... -_^)
I would like to add a change to rule 84: Subsequently I will not post a homosexual outside of a man's cell or a lesbian outside of a girl's cell.
- 81 played straight and then subverted in the following example: https://youtu.be/yFxjUin8bCo?t=86
No additions...
Just noting that this list seems to assume two things:
- Infinite funds.
- Not actually being evil by any definition.
To put it simply, many entries on the list rely heavily on having enough spare cash to personally fund all sorts of niceties and luxuries for minions, hired help, heroes and the general public... These sorts of things are generally traits that preclude being an Evil Overlord of any sort.
Even where the rules aren't actively suggesting doing the non-evil thing, they tend to err on the side of spending for the hell of it rather than prudence or practicality.
And that one about investing in urban renewal... Why not just burn the ghetto down? ¬_¬
"Do what thou wilst shalt be the whole of the law." ~ Aleister Crowley Hide / Show RepliesI agree. It seems to me that if an overlord followed all the points on this list, he wouldn't be evil anymore. See also the headscratchers page.
Just don't cross right into just being Affably Affable
Oh look I mispeled somethink.- 21 - I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror
You are aware Nazi uniforms were designed by Hugo Boss?
For #12, wasn't Van Von Hunter referencing Groucho Marx in Duck Soup?
In #13, I think "cremated" should link to Kill It With Fire, rather than being included in the link for the rest of the sentence.
A bit of Black Comedy came to mind in regards to #16:
I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."
- The Hero: What's that?Evil Overlord: If I shoot you, you will die! *Boom, Headshot!*
Anyone else think that 99 is woefully out of date in this age of USB memory pens and other Flash-based devices, which also keep on increasing in size over time?
I have one that wasn't on the list. If you lose to the protagonist and he spares you take his generosity. Don't be an idiot and try to shoot him in the back because that hardly ever works in the end. Even if you do kill him his buddy who is also there will normally kill you in retaliation.
Hide / Show RepliesI also have the following additions that are vital to the safety of an evil overlord:
> All uniforms will be embellished with a picture of the wearer on the front so poorly organised heroes cant just slip into one and impersonate staff. Similarly, no evil lair should contain an empty set of knights armour or other easy disguise like a statue someone can pose next to.
> All laser-based security systems will form entire walls of lasers rather than seemingly randomly assorted lines at various angles
> All blast/security doors will drop instantly rather than lower gradually allowing for cool power-slide escapes
> Items of importance will not be kept directly below maintenance or ventilation shafts in the ceiling. Equally, weight sensors below these artefacts are pointless wastes of money. I'll just keep it on me at all times. If the hero gets it I'm as good as dead anyway!
> CCTV cameras that are suddenly disconnected, appear to have been placed on a loop or have some kind of picture hanging in front of the lens are all high-priority issues! Dedicated patrols will check for these every half an hour - and if a member of this patrol fails to check in every half hour a red alert is raised. Also, no moving cameras, if you need to watch a large area, just install a second camera!
> I will appoint a member of staff to act as leader under my instruction while I dress as one of the henchmen to avoid being targeted
> No prisoners will ever be left tied to a chair, dangling above a death hazard or restrained in the blast zone of an explosive/natural disaster. I will also make a point of never leaving them because I have "More important things to deal with" and leaving them with my henchmen/second in command
> Myself and henchmen will always make a point of duct taping the entire body of a prisoner rather than just their hands, feet and mouth because hey! duct tape isn't all that expensive...
I believe rule 4 (which was once Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?) is not the correct trope anymore. Just Shoot Him is a trope about using a gun in situations that it usually isn't considered fair to do so. Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him? is about the scenario where a bad guy has the hero in his grasp and often chooses not to shoot him, which the rule is clearly a reference to. I recommend that we get that changed back.
I think number 43 could be better. use the opportunity to give info on a fake plan
Edited by captainsandwichAnd then there's #49. I would think that putting a Want Ad in the paper would not only be un-lord-like but potentially dangerous. A Want Ad can be read by anyone, including a hero, sidekick, or other goody-good who happens to recognize the object in question. In other words, putting the ad out may just draw attention to it if someone is familiar enough with it. If I were an Evil Overlord, and I knew the artifact in question wasn't empathic or otherwise sentient (and therefore able to take control or otherwise influence anyone who approaches it), instead of sending an army or posting an ad, I'd simply delegate the job to a professional thief, either currently in my employ or having been hired for an appropriate amount of money—although in either case I would of course lie about my reasons for obtaining it (sometimes, having a reputation for greed helps) but doing it this way has the greatest odds of being doing quietly, so that no one dangerous to me even becomes aware that I desire it until I have already secured it, and perhaps not even then.
I have to wonder if #31 would really be that effective. Even the surly and world-weary could be inspired by a person of extraordinary charisma or the right circumstance. If I had to implement #31, I would make sure the inns were run by married couples…shallow married couples, preferably a loving husband with a bossy wife. Shallow so they can't see beyond their current walk in life (IOW, the wife will only be interested in keeping the inn running), the bossy wife is more than neutral but an active demotivator (and since she's married would be a lot harder to charm) while the husband would never turn on her. I think these are the kind most likely to make people just spend the night and leave (quickly or quietly) in the morning.
"I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman footsoldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set."
Though as it happens, the Nazis did hire a talented fashion designer, and it only got them so far. But at least he wasn't just imitating the last evil empire...
"I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve."
I think we have a bit of a problem on the list. Point 40 is showing up as a YMMV. We should probably find a way to fix that.
Hide / Show RepliesIt needs to be fixed. Someone get a higher-up to fix it please. I'd contact one myself, but I don't have a grasp on how everything works quite yet, despite being a troper for a year. I wouldn't know who's in the right position or how to go about contacting them.
Edited by CloudflierI found a typo, but the page is locked so I can't fix it:
Number 40 doesn't have a number, just a red bullet point
I'm making a book series. I won't tell you much, but the Bad guy in charge of the bad guy (Implied to be Homer Simson, but in the story he is a Complete Monster) in charge of the bad guy (A Mad Scientist who kills the gods of space and time and turned their powers into Mooks) in charge of the Bid Bad, is Adolf Hitler. HE will follow this list
Edited by Sol900037. If my trusted lieutenant tells me my Legions of Terror are losing a battle, I will believe him. After all, he's my trusted lieutenant.
It's currently tropeless, but I think The Consigliere applies.
- 100: "Finally, to keep my subjects permanently locked in a mindless trance, I will provide each of them with free unlimited Internet access."
part "free unlimited Internet access." is linked to TV Tropes Will... for a 2nd time. How about we make the list a bit more sinister and change the link to "Does This Remind You of Anything??"?
Edited by XFileThe problem with #47 is that it is often implemented by means of attempted genocide, causing Genocide Backfire and Nice Job Breaking It, Herod.
Also, #50 would be very hard to implement today.
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die.""After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out." - usually it is to get recognised as a rightful ruler - i.e. PR move. It cannot be done in a "quiet civil ceremony" as the whole point is the PR.
Hide / Show RepliesI think the point is that having a lavish ceremony weeks later while also trying to finish your evil plan is bad planning, because when the hero inevitably shows up, you're going to be too distracted to stop him. There's always time for the P.R. after you've finished the death ray, killed the heroes, and married the princess.
(cough) Not that I'm an evil Overlord or anything.
Edited by Rebochan
Rule 50.A If possible by virtualisation allows to separate and/or isolate the physical hardware and 'portrayed' OS, utilizing a slightly dated version of populair brand
With the exception of Screen & Keyboard(&mouse), the only other accessible a standard removable storage device
If unauthorised personnel tries to use 'conventional' hacking attack using the disk, the contents of Disk gets archived into a raw dump file, whilest the attack itself cause BSOD
Depending on the type of station, and/or the frequency & duration of the attacks, these will trip a (Silent/Base-wide) Alarm, allowing to adjust the response accordingly
However, its still remains operable for loyal & capable henchmen, carrying a similair storage devices, that contains seperate miniature storage that contains random stuff.
Its the actual disk itself that triggers a prompt for the User to reveal the actual OS. Depending the station importance, the prompt itself gets delayed whilest Henchmen enters random keys for obfuscation by observers, altough specific sequence can accelerated this.
Prompt itself contains a dynamic puzzle, otherwise mimicking the virtual OS appearance. When solved the actual OS gets unlocked, the unlocking process is takes 10-20 sec.