History Main / BackupBluff

* After G is captured by a militia in ''NCISLosAngeles'', the rest of the team use enough radio signals and gunfire to pretend like the entire militia is surrounded by a sizable military force. The militia leaders aren't quite buying it, until a couple of F-22's buzz the clearing (thanks to Hettie calling in a favor from the Air Force).

* Basic ''DungeonsAndDragons'' module B2 ''The Keep on the Borderlands''. The DM is advised to have monsters have a few of of them out of sight shout and make noise as if there were many more coming, to hopefully scare the adventurers away.

* When Glenn from ''{{The Walking Dead}}'' is interrogated by [[spoiler:Merle]] in season 3, he tells him that there are a lot more of them he thinks, and Glenn lists people that have died as well as those still alive in the group. This would have worked, had Glenn not mentioned [[spoiler:Andrea]]...

* In episode 20 ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito does one of these towards the commander of the Salamander army, stating that he's a Spriggan-Undine ambassador, and that attacking him and the Cait-Sith and Slyph meeting would be tantamount to having four races declaring war on the Salamander. The commander doesn't buy it, but challenges Kirito to a duel anyway. [[spoiler: After Kirito defeats him, one of his men tells the commander that he saw Kirito the other day with an Undine. Said man was the guy Kirito spared after he saved Leafa during their first encounter in episode 17. The Salamander army then leaves peacefully.]]

* ''Film/{{Maverick}}'': When Maverick confronts the fake Indian bandits, he tells them they're surrounded. To back this up he tells Marshall Cooper and Annabelle (who are out of sight) to whistle and clap, thus making it look like he has more supporters than he does.

* When Glenn from ''The Walking Dead'' is interrogated by [[spoiler:Merle]] in season 3, he tells him that there are a lot more of them he thinks - listing people that have died as well as those still alive in the group. This would have worked, had Glenn not mentioned [[spoiler:Andrea]]...

* The [[http:ghostarmy.org/ Ghost Army]] used this trick for the Allies in World War II many times, with inflatable tanks, sound-effects records of warships and submarines played through loudspeakers, fake radio chatter referring to nonexistent troops, and having the same battalion march several times through town wearing the uniforms of different armies (pretending to be French, then American, then British soldiers) etc.

Frequently characters, especially [[TheHero heroic]] {{Main Character}}s, find themselves going up against an opponent which outnumbers them or otherwise has a tactical advantage. Whether the character is a {{Badass}} or completely incapable, they know that in this instance, they don't have enough of a chance in a straight-up fight, so they try to gain an advantage by out-thinking their opponent.

One way of doing this try to make the enemy think that the enemy is outnumbered or surrounded, by pretending that there are people on your side which in fact do not exist. The most basic way to do this is to lie to the enemy. For example, the hero might say "I have snipers covering the back door" when they are in fact all alone.

The hero might also call out false commands to non-existent groups. For example, a two man team might loudly call out command likes "First platoon, cover my flank!" Even more sophisticated methods might involve creating simulation or illusion of backup. If the hero is under seige, he might use these methods to convince the besiegers that they have [[TheCavalry reinforcements on the way]], when in fact there are none.

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!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* Usopp from ''Manga/OnePiece'' does this all the time, but since it's usually BlatantLies, half the time they see right through him.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* In ''{{Ladyhawke}}'', Philippe the Mouse (MatthewBroderick) is hearing noises in the woods. He tries to fool his potential attackers by talking to two imaginary friends, saying things like, "You'd better draw your sword, Pierre!" and, "Ah, Louis, you brought your crossbow!" He also uses different voices to make it sound like they are there.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Sending flag signals to non-existent ships is a tactic used several times by HoratioHornblower and [[{{Aubrey-Maturin}} Captain Aubrey]] to convince opposing ships to either give up or maneuver to try to avoid the non-existent ships in such a way as to put them at a disadvantage.
* Subverted in the ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/SoulMusic''. Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion. When the D'regs charge and kill most of the defenders, Death sets their corpses up to fire back. When the D'regs charge (knowing the trick), the corpses shoot the D'regs when Death gives the order to fire.
* In the Lone Islands section of ''TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', Prince Caspian does this, ordering his crew to send signals "to all the other ships we haven't got but which it might be well that Gumpas thinks we have."
* In ''BeauGeste'', the initial assault on a fort is beaten off, but after each new attack, there are fewer defenders. Markoff props up the corpses at their posts to make it look as if there are still plenty of soldiers left.
* Creator/KeithLaumer's ''The Glory Game''
** Most of the Terran space fleet has left Earth to check out a collection of Hukk ships in another area of space. Commodore Dalton figures out that the ships are a lure and the Hukk are planning a sneak attack to capture the Lunar fortifications. When the Hukk fleet appears near Earth, he bluffs its commander into surrendering by telling them that the rest of the Terran fleet is only minutes away.
** Later on, when a single Hull ship lands on a frontier planet Dalton sets up energy rifles on hills surrounding the ship, After disabling the ship, he tricks the crew into surrendering by making them think they're surrounded by troops. Another character calls Dalton's ploy "the Fort Zinderneuf

* Several groups in various ''{{Redwall}}'' books use this trick, usually successfully. Of course, it helps that the bluffer is usually ''[[OneManArmy worth]]'' [[BadassCrew that many]].

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* ''[[Series/BattlestarGalacticaClassic Battlestar Galactica]]'': In the original series episode ''Saga Of A Star World'', Starbuck and Apollo bluff a Cylon [[TheBattlestar Base Star]] into a severe tactical misstep by discussing over the radio whether or not they should bring ''all'' of their Viper squadrons with them to attack the ship (when in fact, they only have a single squadron at their disposal, and that squadron is already occupied providing cover to the evacuation of the Colonials from the surface of Carillon).

* There's an episode of ''TimeTrax'' where Darien gets captured by the villain of the week, and Selma makes it sound like the house is surrounded by the police.

[[AC:Religion and Mythology]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* Basic ''DungeonsAndDragons'' module B2 ''The Keep on the Borderlands''. The DM is advised to have monsters have a few of of them out of sight shout and make noise as if there were many more coming, to hopefully scare the adventurers away.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* LooneyTunes: In "Bugs and Thugs", Bugs Bunny is confronting several armed gangsters, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSNTjX_g9a4 fakes a police siren and the sound of cops calling out to each other.]]

* KeithLaumer's ''The Glory Game''

* Literature/TheBible: Used by Gideon when going into battle against the Midianites. With only 300 men (God made Gideon send the rest home, because He's a big show-off), they snuck up to the camp, then each of them broke a clay jar to reveal a torch, shouted, and blew horns to make the sleeping Midianites think they were only the torch-bearers of a much larger army. The Midianites got so freaked out they started killing each other as they tried to escape.

* ArtemisFowl does this to Minerva in ''The Time Paradox'' by hacking into the security cameras and simulating armed forces, including a tank.

* ''GetSmart'': Maxwell Smart keeps trying this tactic, and failing.

Frequently characters, especially [[TheHero heroic]] {{Main Character}}s, find themselves going up against an opponent which outnumbers them or otherwise has an tactical advantage. Whether the character is a {{Badass}} or completely incapable, they know that in this instance, they don't have enough of a chance in a straight-up fight, so they try to gain an advantage by out-thinking their opponent.

* Subverted in the ''Discworld'' novel ''SoulMusic''. Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion. When the D'regs charge and kill most of the defenders, Death sets their corpses up to fire back. When the D'regs charge (knowing the trick), the corpses shoot the D'regs when Death gives the order to fire.

* Usopp from ''OnePiece'' does this all the time, but since it's usually BlatantLies, half the time they see right through him.

* ''{{Maverick}}'' - When Maverick confronts the fake Indian bandits, he tells them they're surrounded. To back this up he tells Marshall Cooper and Annabelle (who are out of sight) to whistle and clap, thus making it look like he has more supporters than he does.

* From the second season premiere of {{Chuck}}: "My name is Charles Carmichael. I'm a CIA agent, and this is my trap. I don't think you gentlemen recognize the gravity of the predicament you're in. Your call to the Buy More? Yeah, we traced that. Your compound is currently surrounded by 23 infantry troopers, 16 snipers, seven heavy gunners, four demolitions experts and enough ammunition to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger. You're outmatched and you're outgunned. Those pea-shooters you're holding might as well be sharp sticks and strong language....Of course you don't see anyone. What do you think we are, the FBI? The only thing you're going to see is a muzzle flash and an e-ticket straight to hell." To further sell this bluff, Chuck calls up Morgan and asks him about their Call of Duty map, where all of the figures in the quote come from, and gets Morgan to repeat all of those figures to the baddie of the week.

* TheBible: Used by Gideon when going into battle against the Midianites. With only 300 men (God made Gideon send the rest home, because He's a big show-off), they snuck up to the camp, then each of them broke a clay jar to reveal a torch, shouted, and blew horns to make the sleeping Midianites think they were only the torch-bearers of a much larger army. The Midianites got so freaked out they started killing each other as they tried to escape.

Frequently characters, especially [[TheHero heroic]] {{Main Character}}s, find themselves going up against an opponent which outnumbers them or otherwise has an tactical advantage. Whether the character is a {{Badass}} or not very combat capable, they know that they don't have enough of a chance in a straight-up fight, so they try to gain an advantage by out-thinking their opponent. One way of doing this try to make the enemy think that the enemy is outnumbered or surrounded, by pretending that there are people on your side which in fact do not exist. The most basic way to do this is to lie to the enemy. For example, the hero might say "I have snipers covering the back door, so don't try to get out that way" when the hero is in fact all alone. The hero might also call out false commands to non-existent groups. For example, a two man team might loudly call out command likes "First platoon, cover my flank!" Even more sophisticated methods might involve creating simulation or illusion of backup. If the hero is under seige, he might use these methods to convince the besiegers that they have [[TheCavalry reinforcements on the way]], when in fact there is none.

* ''BattlestarGalactica'': In the original series episode ''Saga Of A Star World'', Starbuck and Apollo bluff a Cylon [[TheBattlestar Base Star]] into a severe tactical misstep by discussing over the radio whether or not they should bring ''all'' of their Viper squadrons with them to attack the ship (when in fact, they only have a single squadron at their disposal, and that squadron is already occupied providing cover to the evacuation of the Colonials from the surface of Carillon).