And now we go into our Fourth week of five, another 50 rules for either maintaining your evil empire or not making your villain’s overthrow trite and predictable. Enjoy these but note them – if I see one of them in a book of your’s, I’ll hash you in a review. You’ve been warned.

101. I will not set myself up as a god. That perilous position is reserved for my trusted lieutenant.
102. I will instruct my fashion designer that when it comes to accessorizing, second-chance body armor goes well with every outfit.
103. My Legions of Terror will be an equal-opportunity employer. Conversely, when it is prophesied that no man can defeat me, I will keep in mind the increasing number of non-traditional gender roles.
104. I will instruct my Legions of Terror in proper search techniques. In particular, if they are searching for escapees and someone shouts, “Quick! They went that way!”, they must first ascertain the identity of this helpful informant before dashing off in hot pursuit.
105. If I know of any heroes in the land, I will not under any circumstance kill their mentors, teachers, and/or best friends.
106. If I have the hero and his party trapped, I will not wait until my Superweapon charges to finish them off if more conventional means are available.
107. Whenever plans are drawn up that include a time-table, I’ll post-date the completion 3 days after it’s actually scheduled to occur and not worry too much if they get stolen.
108. 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 Potato Salad.
109. If I burst into rebel headquarters and find it deserted except for an odd, blinking device, I will not walk up and investigate; I’ll run like hell.
110. Before being accepted into my Legions of Terror, potential recruits will have to pass peripheral vision and hearing tests, and be able to recognize the sound of a pebble thrown to distract them.
111. I will occasionally vary my daily routine and not live my life in a rut. For example, I will not always take a swig of wine or ring a giant gong before finishing off my enemy.
112. If I steal something very important to the hero, I will not put it on public display.
113. When planning an expedition, I will choose a route for my forces that does not go through thick, leafy terrain conveniently located near the rebel camp.
114. I will hire one hopelessly stupid and incompetent lieutenant, but make sure that he is full of misinformation when I send him to capture the hero.
115. As an equal-opportunity employer, I will have several hearing-impaired body-guards. That way if I wish to speak confidentially with someone, I’ll just turn my back so the guards can’t read my lips instead of sending all of them out of the room.
116. If the rebels manage to trick me, I will make a note of what they did so that I do not keep falling for the same trick over and over again.
117. If I am recruiting to find someone to run my computer systems, and my choice is between the brilliant programmer who’s head of the world’s largest international technology conglomerate and an obnoxious 15-year-old dork who’s trying to impress his dream girl, I’ll take the brat and let the hero get stuck with the genius.
118. I will plan in advance what to do with each of my enemies if they are captured. That way, I will never have to order someone to be tied up while I decide his fate.
119. If I have massive computer systems, I will take at least as many precautions as a small business and include things such as virus-scans and firewalls.
120. 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.
121. I will not locate a base in a volcano, cave, or any other location where it would be ridiculously easy to bypass security by rappelling down from above.
122. I will allow guards to operate under a flexible work schedule. That way if one is feeling sleepy, he can call for a replacement, punch out, take a nap, and come back refreshed and alert to finish out his shift.
123. Although it would provide amusement, I will not confess to the hero’s rival that I was the one who committed the heinous act for which he blames the hero.
124. If I am dangling over a precipice and the hero reaches his hand down to me, I will not attempt to pull him down with me. I will allow him to rescue me, thank him properly, then return to the safety of my fortress and order his execution.
125. I will have my fortress exorcized regularly. Although ghosts in the dungeon provide an appropriate atmosphere, they tend to provide valuable information once placated.
126. I will add indelible dye to the moat. It won’t stop anyone from swimming across, but even dim-witted guards should be able to figure out when someone has entered in this fashion.
127. If a scientist with a beautiful and unmarried daughter refuses to work for me, I will not hold her hostage. Instead, I will offer to pay for her future wedding and her children’s college tuition.
128. If I have the hero cornered and am about to finish him off and he says “Look out behind you!!” I will not laugh and say “You don’t expect me to fall for that old trick, do you?” Instead I will take a step to the side and half turn. That way I can still keep my weapon trained on the hero, I can scan the area behind me, and if anything was heading for me it will now be heading for him.
129. I will not outsource core functions.
130. If I ever build a device to transfer the hero’s energy into me, I will make sure it cannot operate in reverse.
131. I will decree that all hay be shipped in tightly-packed bales. Any wagonload of loose hay attempting to pass through a checkpoint will be set on fire.
132. I will not hold any sort of public celebration within my castle walls. Any event open to members of the public will be held down the road in the festival pavilion.
133. Before using any device which transfers energy directly into my body, I will install a surge suppressor.
134. I will hire a drama coach. The hero will think it must be a case of mistaken identity when confronted by my Minnesota accent (if everyone sounds American) or my Cornwall accent (if everyone sounds British).
135. If I capture an enemy known for escaping via ingenious and fantastic little gadgets, I will order a full cavity search and confiscate all personal items before throwing him in my dungeon.
136. 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.
137. 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.
138. 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.
139. I will never tell the hero “Yes I was the one who did it, but you’ll never be able to prove it to that incompetent old fool.” Chances are, that incompetent old fool is standing behind the curtain.
140. If my mad scientist/wizard tells me he has almost perfected my Superweapon but it still needs more testing, I will wait for him to complete the tests. No one ever conquered the world using a beta version.
141. I will not appoint a relative to my staff of advisors. Not only is nepotism the cause of most breakdowns in policy, but it also causes trouble with the EEOC.
142. If I appoint someone as my consort, I will not subsequently inform her that she is being replaced by a younger, more attractive woman.
143. If I am using the hero’s girlfriend as a hostage and am holding her at the point of imminent death when confronting the hero, I will focus on her and not him. He won’t try anything with his true love held hostage. On the other hand, the fact that she has been weak, slow-witted, naive and generally useless up to this point has no bearing on her actions at the moment of dramatic climax.
144. I will make several ludicrously erroneous maps to secret passages in my fortress and hire travelers to entrust them to aged hermits.
145. I will not use hostages as bait in a trap. Unless you’re going to use them for negotiation or as human shields, there’s no point in taking them.
146. I will hire an expert marksman to stand by the entrance to my fortress. His job will be to shoot anyone who rides up to challenge me.
147. I will explain to my Legions of Terror that guns are ranged weapons and swords are not. Anyone who attempts to throw a sword at the hero or club him with a gun will be summarily executed.
148. I will remember that any vulnerabilities I have are to be revealed strictly on a need-to-know basis. I will also remember that no one needs to know.
149. I will not make alliances with those more powerful than myself. Such a person would only double-cross me in my moment of glory. I will make alliances with those less powerful than myself. I will then double-cross them in their moment of glory.
150. During times of peace, my Legions of Terror will not be permitted to lie around drinking mead and eating roast boar. Instead they will be required to obey my dietician and my aerobics instructor.
151.  

The last set is available here, for those who haven’t suffered enough!

>>>MASON, HERO OF EARLY RETYREMENT, HAD SOME VULNERABILITIES. BUT HE CERTAINLY DIDN’T BROADCAST THEM AND USED THEM AS POWERS LATER. FIND OUT HOW!<<<