Space Empires Evil Ruler Handbook.

[Alneyan]

20: If I do need to ensure the safety of a given ship, I will make sure this give has several backups components. Therefore, a Star Destroyer will not have a single Self Destruct Device, but at least five of them to prevent the ship from falling in enemy hands.

21: Likewise, such a decision will to lessen the odds for the crew to disable the said devices, if they would rather surrender than die in the explosion resulting from the self-destruction.

22: If a trade partner has something of value for me, I will not declare war to get this thing. Instead, I will trade for it (by exchanging ships) and will afterwards destroy the ship I have just gifted to this partner. Therefore, I will get this technology to help my Empire in the war to come, without having to grant anything in exchange. (The meanest players may very well build a decoy ship instead, but I wouldn't advice doing so)

23: Contrary to the general belief among Evil Overlords, allies do have their use, as they will do the dirty work on my behalf. Building up distrust between my allies, or any other alliance, does work for the daring Overlord , as long as I make sure nobody fathoms my schemes.

24: Likewise, it is advised to make common cause with weaker Empires than my own, since stronger allies may very well have high demands and will do their best to keep my Empire in check. On the other hand, such an alliance would be a boon for a weak Empire, thus allowing me to exploit them in every possible way. I will remember to limit their own expansion however, as they might be too willing to turn their backs on me at the earliest opportunity.

25: As many of my colleagues have forgotten (even if only their graves are now a testimony of their mistake ; when a grave remains to tell about their rule), I will establish rules on the numbers of children a family is allowed to have on every single world. As soon as the population nears fifty million inhabitants, I will forbid all procreation, for otherwise I would not be able to evacuate this planet at once if an enemy was threatening it.

26: If I intend to capture an enemy world myself, I will make sure to glass a few other planets belonging to the same Empire. Indeed, my new thralls are eager to revolt, and so I need to convince them that their fate is much more enviable than the one of their brothers and sisters. Killing most of them would be the perfect remedy to put these thralls to good work, without having to fear riots or uprisings.

27: Nobility is not to be mixed with politics, and so I will not let emotion pervert wisdom. Therefore, if I have an asset at my disposal, I will use it even if it is said to be "unbalancing" and other such silliness. Moreover, I will not give my ships an inherent weakness to give my opponents the slightest chance of winning.

28: However, it doesn't excluse allowing the defeated Empires to live in peace once they have decided to surrender to my might. In fact, I must crush any leader daring to oppose my righteous rule, but I must also help him to get up once he has fallen to his kness. It will give me a better reputation, as my neighbours will realize I am to be trusted. At least, until I have the strength to destroy them all, and this time there will be no surrender, cease-fire or any kind of treaty. (It is to be noted that I will want to weaken an Empire willing to sue for peace before giving my assent to his request ; after all, he is likely to oppose me in the future, and I do not need to let him remain a threat)

[Aiken]

29. I would never send a message, like "My awesome armadas are moving to your system XXX to grind it into dust! You're doomed, muawahahaha!", to my enemy before general attack. Those good rulers are sometime sly enough to disturb the best evil plan, so I won't give them an additional chance.

[ May 24, 2004, 15:34: Message edited by: aiken ]

[Raging Deadstar]

Originally posted by aiken:
29. I would never send a message, like "My awesome armadas are moving to your system XXX to grind it into dust! You're doomed, muawahahaha!", to my enemy before general attack. Those good rulers are sometime sly enough to disturb the best evil plan, so I won't give them an additional chance.

30. For the sneakiest Evil overlords amongst you i would build a fleet of cheap 1 turn battle cruiser and amass them near a warp point. I would the send a message saying "My forces are preparing to wipe you out in the "xxx" system. We merely Await your demise!" Then upon when they attack said fleet and discover they were decoys i would send in my real nasty fleet

[Roanon]

Originally posted by aiken:
29. I would never send a message, like "My awesome armadas are moving to your system XXX to grind it into dust! You're doomed, muawahahaha!", to my enemy before general attack. Those good rulers are sometime sly enough to disturb the best evil plan, so I won't give them an additional chance.

Corollary: IF you send such a message, make sure your armada of doom is heading to system YYY, while his fleets are massing to defend XXX, where a cloaked sun destroyer should be waiting for his day of glory.

[Renegade 13]

31. While allies can be useful at times, always remember: If they show the slightest sign of weakness, wipe their putrid stench from the galaxy. After all, they were just waiting for the opportunity to do the same to you.

[Ed Kolis]

32. To prevent your enemies from discovering the location of your homeworld, put an innocuous looking "This storm appears to be opaque to most scanners" storm over it

Well it WOULD work, were scanners not so easy to research

[Atrocities]

Originally posted by minipol:
>>3. - Glassing a planet is the cheap alternative >>to landing troops.
Glass the planet with Napalm. Burning aliens make funny noises

LOL We have a 3 A