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Rashek should have read Peter's Evil Overlord List. Edit: Not our Peter. Some other Peter. At least... I think so. *GASP!* New conspiracy theory! For those of you who haven't read it, why? Read it. Read it now. http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html And now I will be listing the rules that the Lord Ruler broke. Feel free to join in if I missed any. 6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them. 12. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation. 22. No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field [shardpool] bigger than my head. 24. I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" ["God cannot be killed! God cannot be overthrown!"] (After that, death is usually instantaneous.) 29. I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion. 36. I will not imprison members of the same party in the same cell block, let alone the same cell. If they are important prisoners, I will keep the only key to the cell door on my person instead of handing out copies to every bottom-rung guard in the prison. 74. When I create a multimedia presentation of my plan designed so that my five-year-old advisor can easily understand the details [or my old rival's journal that documents my origin story], I will not label the disk "Project Overlord" and leave it lying on top of my desk. 98. If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution. 132. Before appointing someone as my trusted lieutenant, I will conduct a thorough background investigation and security clearance. 137. Before spending available funds on giant gargoyles, gothic arches, or other cosmetically intimidating pieces of architecture, I will see if there are any valid military expenditures that could use the extra budget. 151. I will not set myself up as a god. That perilous position is reserved for my trusted lieutenant. 158. I will exchange the labels on my folder of top-secret plans and my folder of family recipes. Imagine the hero's surprise when he decodes the stolen plans and finds instructions for Grandma's [Alendi's] Potato Salad. 170. I will be an equal-opportunity despot and make sure that terror and oppression is distributed fairly, not just against one particular group that will form the core of a rebellion. 186. I will not devise any scheme in which Part A consists of tricking the hero into unwittingly helping me and Part B consists of laughing at him then leaving him to his own devices. [Oops, that was Ruin.] 187. I will not hold lavish banquets in the middle of a famine. The good PR among the guests doesn't make up for the bad PR among the masses. 188. I will funnel some of my ill-gotten gains into urban renewal projects. Although slums add a quaint and picturesque quality to any city, they too often contain unexpected allies for heroes. 208. Members of my Legion of Terror will attend seminars on Sensitivity Training. It's good public relations for them to be kind and courteous to the general population when not actively engaged in sowing chaos and destruction. 220. Whatever my one vulnerability is, I will fake a different one. For example, ordering all mirrors removed from the palace, screaming and flinching whenever someone accidentally holds up a mirror, etc. In the climax when the hero whips out a mirror and thrusts it at my face, my reaction will be "Hmm...I think I need a shave."