Years ago, the Evil Overlord Listwent around the internet, listing off those things you should not do if you should ever become an evil overlord. Some examples:
3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.
6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
26. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber.
56. My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice
65. If I must have computer systems with publicly available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.
88. If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again.
95.My dungeon will have its own qualified medical staff complete with bodyguards. That way if a prisoner becomes sick and his cellmate tells the guard it's an emergency, the guard will fetch a trauma team instead of opening up the cell for a look.
What's fun is that this actually provides a basic framework for a project I almost did -- that is, archetypes of fantasy (including methods of magical delivery, source of magic, and three basic fantastical story lines). In fact, it's a really well written and documented list.
The list expanded to three list, and they now have this whole webpage to archetypes in TV and media.
It's probably the coolest thing I've read in a really really long time.
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