History Main / ButtDialingMordor

* In ''VideoGame/MarioParty 3'', you can buy a Bowser Phone from Koopa Kid's item shops that instantly calls him to [[PoisonMushroom deliver misery]]. When you dial him, he asks who is calling. You can lie and say whoever you want. [[PressXToDie You can also be honest.]] The final option is [[TemptingFate "Who do you think?"]], which yields a random result. Woe unto you if you choose the last option and Bowser guesses correctly. Unless [[OutsideTheBoxTactic you have zero coins, in which case Bowser will give you money instead.]] It would still be a better move to just specify yourself in that case though.

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', there is a computer in the Gecko power plant that you can use to contact the Enclave, the game's BigBad organisation. You have an option of insulting the soldier you're talking to in a number of ways, and if you do, they will send a squadron of PowerArmor-wearing soldiers after you...except the encounter was cut. There are mods that restore it, and when (not if) you encounter them, you'd better either have a high Speech skill or a set of power armor for yourself.

See SchmuckBait, NiceJobBreakingItHero and MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds. TemptingFate often preceeds this, while OhCrap is a common reaction.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dungeonmans}}: Blasphemous Tirade, using the BlackSpeech of the Purpleonians, draws their attention when you use it. The skill description warns you, "[[purple:Do not make a habit of this...]]" and actually using it inflicts an ominous "On Notice" status effect for several hundred turns. Using it again before the effect expires will summon two Ancient King Purpleonians, and doing this repeatedly will cause them to increase in power. [[spoiler:Eventually you draw enough attention to burn out the star forge, and you are explicitly warned never to use the skill again. If you disobey this final warning, the Academy will be destroyed.]]

* Psionically ascended empires in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' can reach into [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the Shroud]] every ten years to receive random temporary (de)buffs (or nothing at all). One of these events has your psykers accidentally come across the minds of the ruling conclave of a nearby [[HigherTechSpecies Fallen Empire]]. If you decide to try and invade their minds, you can potentially gain access to a random piece of top-tier technology, but there's also a good chance that the guys notice the intrusion and slap you with a hefty relationship drop that may result in a HopelessWar for your empire. The game allows you to hang up on Mordor at any time, though, so anything bad that happens is entirely your own fault.
* ''VideoGame/TargetEarth:'' Later in the game, Rex is given a communicator that can listen and broadcast on Chron communications. He forgets the broadcast part, and his loud exclamation of surprise when it starts tuning in to enemy messages alerts them he's listening, and allows for TheDragon Rance to start directly addressing Rex.

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', there is a computer in the Gecko power plant that you can use to contact the Enclave, the game's BigBad organisation. You have an option of insulting the soldier you're talking to in a number of ways, and if you do, they will send a squadron of PowerArmor-wearing soldiers after you. You ''will'' encounter them later in a special encounter, and unless you're high level by that point, or unless you have a high enough Speech skill, it's not going to be pretty.

* It's treated as a gag, but a comment made by Salem in ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'' implies that she once accidentally contacted [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] while attempting to speak with [[spoiler:Lusamine]]. An unusual example in that Salem is ''also'' evil.

A character, through recklessness or bad luck, ends up unintentionally using some form of long-range communication in a manner that contacts an evil entity. Typically this results in serious negative consequences, ranging from MindRape and PokeInTheThirdEye to DemonicPossession. The means of communication through which {{Mordor}} is contacted may be magical, such as a MagicMirror or CrystalBall, technological, or some form of PsychicPowers. This trope may be a result of a character finding out [[WhatDoesThisButtonDo what that button does]] by pressing it. Alternatively, TheKlutz may cause this by tripping over the ArtifactOfDoom or dropping something on the BigRedButton. Sometimes, they need only SpeakOfTheDevil to get it on the line.

** Pippin tries to use the Palantír and unintentionally ends up getting face time with Sauron himself. Sauron stole one of the Palantíri long ago, so anyone who tries to use one of the others risks an audience with Sauron if his attention happens to be on his Palantír at the time (and it always is) -- although ''Unfinished Tales'' makes this more a matter of chance by explaining that contact can only happen if the user is facing the direction of the other Palantír. Denethor, Steward of Gondor and Boromir's father, has been using the Palantír at Minas Tirith for years, and Sauron has used this to whittle away at his mind. This isn't explained in the movie, making it look like his madness stems solely from grief over Boromir's death.
** ''The Fellowship Of The Ring''. Frodo sits on the hill Amon Hen while wearing the One Ring, which allows him to see vast distances. Unfortunately he looks at Mordor, which allows Sauron to detect him and start searching for him. Luckily Frodo gets a telepathic warning from Gandalf (who's supposedly dead at the time) and takes off the Ring just before Sauron reaches him. In [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing the film]], Sauron looks directly at Frodo and tells him he can't hide from him.

See SchmuckBait, NiceJobBreakingItHero and MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds. TemptingFate often preceeds this, while OhCrap and WhatAnIdiot are common reactions.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Inverted in ''Godfellas'', where Bender, after floating in space for days, encounters a galaxy beeping to itself in binary code. Attempting to communicate reveals that the galaxy is actually ''{{God}}''. [[MindScrew Or similar]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The Cutie Mark Crusaders have a quick fight in front of a mysterious statue during the Season Two Premier episode. Naturally, the statue is the [[SealedEvilInACan can]] for [[MadGod Discord]], and (being an implied EmotionEater), [[NiceJobBreakingItHero a little bit of random derision in his proximity was all he needed to escape]]...

* Some people have expressed concerns about the radio transmissions our civilization has been sending out into space over the past century or so, saying they could inadvertently attract the attention of powerful and hostile/indifferent aliens. Deliberate transmissions (such as the Arecibo Message) and physical artifacts (such as the pulsar maps on the Voyager spacecraft) have also caused worry. This often ignores the fact that it's going to be tens of thousands of years before any physical craft in existence passes near anything of note and radio signals will attenuate to virtual nothingness after only a few dozen light years. Moreover, over the last several decades, the signal strength of our regular transmissions has ''decreased'', as we have moved away from a few powerful transmitters to many less powerful ones.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': In ''Telephonies'', the Gangreen Gang trick the mayor into leaving his office and subsequently abuse the hotline phone, siccing the girls on Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and (most lethally) [[{{Satan}} Him]] for shits and giggles, despite none of them [[NotMeThisTime doing anything evil that particular day]]. Once the three villains figure out who's really to blame, [[DoNotTauntCthulhu the results are predictable]]. A rare case where the butt-dialer intended to make the call ''and'' knew the entity on the other end was dangerous and supernatural, but simply ''[[TooDumbToLive didn't consider the consequences]]''.

* In ''VideoGame/MarioParty 3'', you can buy a Bowser Phone from Koopa Kid's item shops that instantly calls him to [[PoisonMushroom deliver misery]]. When you dial him, he asks who is calling. You can lie and say whoever you want. [[PressXToDie You can also be honest.]] The final option is [[TemptingFate "Who do you think?"]], which yields a random result. Woe unto you if you choose the last option and Bowser guesses correctly. Unless[[OutsideTheBoxTactic you have zero coins, in which case Bowser will give you money instead.]] It would still be a better move to just specify yourself in that case though.

* In ''VideoGame/MarioParty 3'', you can buy a Bowser Phone from Koopa Kid's item shops that instantly calls him to [[PoisonMushroom deliver misery]]. When you dial him, he asks who is calling. You can lie and say whoever you want. [[PressXToDie You can also be honest.]] The final option is [[TemptingFate "Who do you think?"]], which yields a random result. Woe unto you if you choose the last option and Bowser guesses correctly.
** Unless of course [[OutsideTheBoxTactic you have zero coins, in which case Bowser will give you money instead.]] It would still be a better move to just specify yourself in that case though.

* On an intersection between "Real Life" and "Religion and Mythology" lie people who actually do believe that [[NotHyperbole yes]], doing something that's not Christian enough for them is literally this trope for real. What counts as "not Christian enough" could be yoga, rock music, fantasy fiction, tabletop [=RPGs=], Eastern martial arts, vegetarianism... Yep, whenever you hear about MoralGuardians railing about these sorts of stuff, chances are at least some of them are motivated by a literal belief in this trope in action.

* In the various ''Warhammer'' properties (''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}, ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', et al), this is a constant danger for any wizard or psyker -- All magic is drawn from a hellish immaterial realm ruled by {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, and any careless power use can draw the attention of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemons]] and other nasty creatures out to kill, possess or make costly bargains with the hapless caster.

* In the various ''Warhammer'' roleplaying games (''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'', ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'', et al), suffering a MagicMisfire has the potential to summon hostile [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemons]] or afflict the caster with traumatizing visions of the Realm of Chaos.