Professional Arrogance

An interesting question of evil etiquette (no, it is not an oxymoron) has arisen lately.

How does one handle one's self in the undesirable position of being in the presence of a hero in a non-combat appropriate situation?

You would be surprised how often this happens. For example, quite often the hero and the Overlord are related or grew up together or otherwise were familiar with each other before this whole "evil" business started. What this invariably means is that there are going to be times when they cannot avoid each other, and cannot actively attempt to kill one another.

I grant you, these times are very rare and only effect Overlords who are not, in fact, Overlords at all - rather aspiring Overlords. Overlords who have successfully dominated the world rarely need to worry about social obligations.

But you as a minion do not have that luxury, and most aspiring Overlords don't either.

The first thing to remember, obviously enough, is not to start shooting (as tempting as it may be). This also applies to you Overlords out there.

Occasionally you will simply run into an opponent. If your Overlord is not present, you have a few decisions to make. For starters: Could you, in theory, take this enemy on in a fight?

If the answer is no, do whatever it takes to avoid fighting. Surrender, if you have to.

Or talk.

Obviously if you are in a public location with no hope of defeating the hero, fighting is not an acceptable answer. I recommend speaking with the respect of one working stiff to another. You are, as they say, off the clock. This may even be the correct time to learn important information about the hero through observation in a non-combat situation (something that, as a minion, you very rarely experience).

Alternately you could simply dodge behind the nearest tree, shelf, building or person and try to avoid eye contact. That works too.

~Headmistress Darke