Exchange of Realities

Progeny. When you think about them, don’t you just start thinking about the advantages? They’re nice and malleable, perfect for shaping yourself a chief lieutenant or even a successor. They make nice low-cost minions while they’re still learning, and when they’re too young to do that you can use their existence and proximity to you to break the brains of the heroes and stun them with moral dilemmas. And of course, you brought them into this world and you can take them out.

But it can be difficult to raise up a child in the way she should go. If you’re not careful, you have romances with protagonists, times when your parenting style just clashes too much with how they work, the occasional discovery that you’ve killed their pet/friend/other parent for reasons that were perfectly in line for you but you know how kids are, and next thing you know they’re turning good on you.

So how do you make sure the kids turn out right?

First off, make sure they respect you. And no, this isn’t necessarily the kind of respect that comes from knowing perfectly well that you have a death ray and they don’t. What you’re looking for is more “knowledge that they might find useful, qualities they can look up to”. Loyalty, preferably to the point of personal attachment. If they don’t hate you, they’re less likely to plot to kill you. If they respect or even like you, there’s a higher chance they won’t be able to go through with it. And this can (if with more difficulty) even half-work on one who falls to the light; if you’ve demonstrated that you have things that could be repurposed to a good use (break your artistic heart, I know), then they’re likelier to want to reform you.

Try not to spoil them too badly. Sure, they’ll like you if you give them every little thing they want, but any overlord worth her salt knows how to reach out and take what she wants rather than just whining for it. Spoiled, cosseted brats make terrible successors; they don’t stand up well in a fight, often think they can solve everything by throwing minions at it (which, granted, is usually true, but most of the time one needs to think about risk-benefit analyses and the tactics behind cannon fodder approaches), and at some point get the idea that their silly little wants should take precedence over your Grand Plan. This sort of thinking should be nipped in the bud; make sure the kid’s used to working for what she wants and has her priorities on straight.

Be careful of sibling rivalry. Playing favorites may be a good way to get the kids competing with each other, but if you don’t bestow your approval approximately evenly, or at least make it look like you would if the unfavorite would just try a little harder, it may lead to the unfavorite giving up on you and rebelling. Guess where that goes.

And last but not least, be very careful not to underestimate your children. Even the dumb as a rock ones tend to be lucky, and if you’ve raised a kid to be a genius, nine times out of ten she’s going to surpass your expectations. If there’s something you need to hide from the kid, or if you and she are in conflict, assume she is more competent than she has demonstrated herself to be and plan for that.

Evil progeny are a valuable but risky resource. Know how to make sure they’re on your side.

Learn more from the Generic Villain, or just ask a question.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS