History Literature / APracticalGuideToEvil

* StaffOfAuthority: In Liesse-Become-Twilight, Catherine is offered an ancient sword of the Kings of Callow, but decides it's the wrong tool for her and chooses not to take it up. Instead she accepts a yew staff. The staff is later noted to be not quite an artefact, but too solid and responsive to her will to be mere wood.

* {{Necromancer}}: The roles of Black Knight and his chosen Squire tend to come with Name abilities that mimic necromancy to some degree -- undead steeds are a specialty. However, Masego would be among the first to point out that they are not true necromancers. He and his dad, Warlock, are. Well, it is just ''one'' of the many schools of magic they are well-versed in, at least.

* SimpleStaff: In Liesse-Become-Twilight, Catherine is offered an ancient sword of the Kings of Callow, but decides it's the wrong tool for her and chooses not to take it up. Instead she accepts a yew staff. The staff is later noted to be not quite an artefact, but too solid and responsive to her will to be mere wood.

*** Those that purposefully craft a reputation indicating enemies [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast should flee]] while they still have legs: Catherine Foundling the [[WarriorPrincess Black Queen]], Dead King the [[HiddenAgendaVillain Hidden Horror]], Hanno the [[GoodIsNotSoft Hatchetman]] of the Heavens, Marshall Juniper the [[ColonelKilgore Hellhound]], General Istrid [[FrontlineGeneral Knightsbane]].

* SimpleStaff: In Liesse-Become-Twilight, Catherine is offered an ancient sword of the Kings of Callow, but decides it's the wrong tool for her and chooses not to take it up. Instead she accepts a yew staff. The staff is later noted to be not quite an artefact, but still supernaturally solid and responsive to her will.

* SimpleStaff: In Liesse-Become-Twilight, Catherine is offered an ancient sword of the Kings of Callow, but decides it's the wrong tool for her and chooses not to take it up. Instead she accepts a yew staff. The staff is later noted to be not quite an artefact, but too solid and responsive to her will to be mere wood.

** The Woe got their group name after the Fae Queen of Summer said that they were destined to bring Woe. The group would [[spoiler:survive the battle, and (as unintended pawns of the Winter King) completely destroy the concept of the Summer Court from Arcadia]].

** "Justification Only Matters To The Just" becomes Catherine's, and a critical part of her RefusalOfTheCall.

** Notably, the villainous side does have to work significantly harder at this. Healing spells are not fire-and-forget like many other examples of it, so a significant knowledge of biology and biochemistry is necessary. The Heroes, on the other hand, do not have to learn as they can off-load the knowledge to the Gods Above if they use a miracle of Light (miracle being a term for any spell that comes pre-programmed by the gods, the caster only has to channel the Light into his target).

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Dwarves -- the Kingdom Under -- are the most powerful country on the continent of Calernia. Dwarves themselves are nearly five feet tall, very strong and tough, with leathery skin and owl-like eyes and, of course, beards. InUniverse, they are misliked and feared due to their belief that only dwarves can own property (everyone else merely borrowed it from a dwarf) and their consequently stealing everything that isn't bolted down, as well as them laying claim to every mineral under a certain depth. When someone else takes something that belongs to a dwarf, or mines too deeply, dwarves are not afraid to even sink cities in revenge.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons and Devils in this universe are separate but not opposed to each other. Devils are [[WeHaveReserves infinite in number]] and, while they start out weak and dumb, over time they can develop into more [[GiantMook formidable]] [[EliteMook varieties]]. They are known to devour human souls. Demons are EldritchAbomination scale threats that come in a few varieties, each of which involves weakening and contaminating the nature of reality.
* OurElvesAreDifferent: They consider every non-elf or non-hero to be scum, even shooting down birds that get close to their forest. They are certainly very powerful though, as a single elf can be expected to wipe out a company of soldiers.
* OurOrcsAreDifferent: Look like the Tolkien type, and are aligned with Evil, but have a NobleDemon side to them that gives them a Blizzard side.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Catherine is offered the chance to become [[spoiler:a Heroic Queen of Callow by an Angel and lead a Crusade to drive the Praesi out]]. She refuses and then [[spoiler:'''Takes''' the power she needs from the Angel]].
* ReligionIsMagic: Most magic is seemingly independent of religion [[note]]certain cultures insist that things work better when aligned with the Book of All-Things, but the Empire that is the best at sorcery is distinctly on the Evil side[[/note]], but miracles are reliant on it. This is necessary as miracles come pre-programmed by a higher entity (usually a god), and the user is merely channeling the power without any need of prerequisite knowledge.

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Slavery is a sore spot for Orcs, and generally despised outside of the MerchantCity of Mercantis, which frequently [[InsistentTerminology "employs" Indentured Servants]], and Stigya, a society built around their SlaveMook army.
* SmugSnake: Heiress, though most all Praes highborn qualify. Most are taught to scheme before they can even walk.

** The Orcs used to fall firmly on the [[ProudWarriorRace warrior]] side, but after Black showed them how ten humans fighting in formation could win against ten orkish champions, they tried their luck with Black and his Reforms. Now they make up a significant portion of the Legions of Terror.

* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Dead King wrote one, and scraps of copies can be found throughout the continent, with Praes having an all-but-complete copy in the Tower somewhere. It turns out to be [[spoiler:a case of ArtifactDomination. The knowledge within it infects the reader, allowing the Dead King to use a sliver of his soul to possess them. Making use of these people SoulJars from this is theorized to be the reason no Hero has managed to permanently kill the Dead King so far]].

* WaterSourceTampering: The terrifying thing about the “Still Waters” doomsday weapon is not that it [[spoiler:turns an entire city into [[EliteZombie frenzied zombies]]]]. It is that it infects them through a few alchemical potions poured into wells instead of some elaborate ritual.
* WeakButSkilled: Many amongst the Praesi acknowledge that Black is the weakest holder of the Name in recent memory--perhaps in all of history. Black freely admits that his predecessors to the Name "Black Knight" had a much stronger power set, who generally possess incredibly powerful dueling abilities to take down heroes one on one whilst his are centered more around enhancing armies. Outside of his Aspects, Amadeus can perform some necromancy and shadow manipulation--which Catherine notes uses less power than even her shadow platforms--but that does not stop him from being able to easily topple a fortress with said shadows. The fact that Amadeus has survived for decades and conquered Callow while his predecessors were generally killed in a failed invasion says a lot about how skilled Black is.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The Sovereign of Moonless Nights [[spoiler:Catherine]] becomes more melodramatic, more prone to monologues, and less rational and humane the more she throws her power around.

* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: Apparently [[spoiler:the Lone Swordsman's plan for the Battle of Liesse. He'll sacrifice his life to summon an angel of Contrition that will brainwash all the people in a radius of forty-nine miles into opposing Evil at all costs and thus become the core of a new Crusader army]].

** The Calamities are a pretty straightforward case of this, because together they end a centuries-old stalemate by conquering Callow, setting up the whole story. The Woe also grow into this, notably with most of them having some direct connection with the one whose spot they are taking.
** BigBad: The Black Knight is the undisputed leader of the Calamities. A [[TheChessmaster master strategist]] with an [[BadassArmy entire army]] at his disposal.
*** Catherine takes this spot for the Woe. While her mastery lies in different areas, Catherine is no less of a [[TheChessmaster master strategist]] than the Black Knight in her own way, and she also has an army at her disposal.
** TheDragon/[[TheLancer the Lancer]]: Ranger. Not [[CardCarryingVillain officially]] evil, she's also possibly the most dangerous Calamity in a fight, capable of [[spoiler:going toe-to-toe with a PhysicalGod]]. Romantically involved with Black and probably loyal only to him, rather than to [[TheEmpire the Empire]] or the notion of evil.
*** Hakram fits this mold best among the Woe, being Catherine's most trusted advisor, confidante, and closest friend who is explicitly called the second most influential figure in Callow by several characters after Catherine takes the throne. He is also the most loyal to Catherine among the Woe, at least until [[spoiler: he becomes the Warlord]]
** TheBrute: Captain. Although both Black and Ranger may be better fighters she's the largest and most imposing of the Calamities, with the [[DropTheHammer most direct fighting style]]. Also [[LargeAndInCharge leads]] some of the {{Mooks}} in battle. Doubles as the DarkChick or TheHeart, because she is the nicest Calamity and the moral and emotional centre of the group.
*** While not the largest or most imposing (that would be Hakram) Indrani fills this role among the Woe. The muscle of the group, Indrani is typically the first to get sent out when things need killing and the second-to-last for diplomacy. She is also arguably the strongest physical fighter of the Woe. She likes to affect being dumb or inattentive like the typical Brute although she's actually highly intelligent.
** EvilGenius: Warlock, as the spellcaster and [[MadScientist researcher]] of the group.
*** Masego has no trouble picking up his father's mantle for the Woe as their own spellcaster and resident genius.
** DarkChick: Assassin, who is always off on his own and never appears alongside his comrades. Could also be considered TheBrute for his crude humour and his bodycount, which is the highest of all the Calamities. Despite him being away most of the time, he's still an actual Calamity, unlike...
*** Vivienne is often the same SpannerInTheWorks for the Woe, oftentimes hidden until the very last minute to make a devastating effect. Also, she picks up the slack in the morality department of the Woe due to her nature as a Callowan and [[spoiler: former hero]]. Her connection to Assassin comes from [[spoiler: in an adversarial form, from the time when he threatened her from trying to subvert the Dread Empire.]]
** SixthRanger: Scribe. A very rare Evil example of the SixthRanger trope, Scribe is not considered a member of the Calamities, but she tags along and provides a massive spy network to the Black Knight. Also, she gets more "face time" than Assassin.
*** [[spoiler: Akua,]] [[spoiler:while her trust levels with the Woe vary wildly from member to member, and, while not a member of the Woe, oftentimes seems to be the closest one to them. Also notably, she is one of the few people to have directly beaten her predecessor, leaving Scribe and the Black Knight blind to as the true purpose of Liesse.]]

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: A reoccurring and often discussed concept is how people in positions of power have to do what is necessary, instead of what is good or in line with their personal desires. Praesi philosophy holds that a ruler and the person holding the position are two separate entities, and the ruler's needs must always come before the person's.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Subverted. Black Knight is intimidating, but his position within the hierarchy of the Empire is much more to do with his strategical and tactical mind and his charisma than personal power. Several of his subordinates are far more physically powerful than he is. William tends to play this straighter, as does Catherine, who later is the most powerful member of the Fifteenth Legion as well as the commander.

* SoldierVersusWarrior:

The premiere of Book 7 was also followed by an announcement for the author's next series, ''Literature/PaleLights'', which premiered August 26, 2022.

The premiere of Book 7 was also followed by an announcement for the author's next series, ''[[Literature/PaleLights]]'', which premiered August 26, 2022.

* SuperWeight: Admittedly, the existence of [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Named]] (who can vary in strength from "healthy human" to PhysicalGod) tends to complicate matters:
** Type 0: [[BadassBureaucrat Scribe]], [[{{Seers}} Augur]], [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Cordelia Hasenbach]], [[TheEngineer Pickler]], [[TheSocialExpert Aisha]], [[BadassUnintentional Abigail]], [[TheScrounger Ratface]].
** Type 1: [[PhantomThief Thief]], [[ClandestineChemist Concoctor]], [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Juniper]], [[MadBomber Robber]], [[OurOgresAreHungrier Hune]], [[TheBerserker Nauk]], [[FourStarBadass Klaus Pappenheim]], [[OfficerAndAGentleman Brandon Talbot]], [[LadyOfWar Rozala Malanza]], [[SkilledButNaive Razin Tanja]], [[GlorySeeker Aquiline Osena]].
** Type 2: Cat as TheSquire, [[BattleButler Adjutant]], [[TheBeautifulElite Heiress]], [[HeroAntagonist Lone Swordsman]], [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Hunter]], [[ImmortalAssassin Assassin]], [[TheBeastmaster Beastmaster]], [[WarriorPrince Exiled Prince]], [[WeakButSkilled Page]], [[MoreThanMindControl Malicia]].
** Type 3: [[spoiler:Cat as [[ThinkingUpPortals the Duchess of Moonless Nights]]]], [[ImprobableAimingSkills Archer, Silver Huntress]], [[TeenGenius Apprentice]], BlackKnight, [[ThePaladin White Knight]], [[SuperToughness Mirror Knight]], [[BoisterousBruiser Valiant Champion]], [[KnightInShiningArmor Kingfisher Prince]], [[PowerParasite Rogue Sorcerer]].
** Type 4: [[spoiler:Cat as [[SemiDivine First Under the Night]]]], [[ScienceWizard Hierophant]], [[SummonMagic Diabolist]], [[VillainOverride Tyrant]], [[EvilSorceror Warlock]], [[KillTheGod Captain]], [[LadyOfWar Ranger]], [[NatureHero Witch of the Woods]], [[MysteriousProtector Grey Pilgrim]], [[ImplausibleFencingPowers Saint of Swords]], [[TheOlderImmortal Rumena]], [[TheWildHunt Prince of Nightfall]].
** Type 5: [[spoiler:Cat as [[AGodIAmNot Queen of the Hunt]]]], [[TheNecrocracy Dead King]], [[PowerBornOfMadness Hierarch]], [[FaerieCourt King of Winter, Queen of Summer]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent Forever King, Sve Noc]] [[spoiler:upon apotheosis]], [[OurTitansAreDifferent Kreios Maker-of-Riddles]], and [[spoiler:[[PowersThatBe the Intercessor]], aka: the Wandering Bard]].
** Type 6: The Gods of [[GodOfGood Above]] and [[GodOfEvil Below]].

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Slavery is the BerserkButton for Orcs, and generally despised outside of the MerchantCity of Mercantis, which frequently [[InsistentTerminology "employs" Indentured Servants]], and Stigya, a society built around their SlaveMook army.

* AdventureFriendlyWorld: The plethora of cultures, wars, and monsters tend to make for this. For Named, people tend to give them positions of authority they would normally be considered too young or too inexperienced for otherwise, and the Gods ensure their lives are interesting as part of their wager over BlackAndWhiteMorality. Taken UpToEleven for Heroes due to fate and providence giving them so many advantages that what would normally be SuicidalOverconfidence simply is [[AvertedTrope not]].

** Hakram "the Deadhand" is no slouch in the "injury-schminjury" department, either. His nickname isn't just for decoration: when you willingly sustain injury to get what you want, you're hard. When you get necromantic prosthesis just so you can keep slugging? You are definitely determined. TurnedUpToEleven in Book 6, where he [[spoiler:loses an arm and a leg to a demon, then an impromptu surgery by Severance, both of which inflict permanent wounds. At the point where most villains and heroes would be content with retirement, he instead asks Masego for more magical prostheses and is trying his damnedest to get back to the field. As of Book 7, he seems to be on the verge of succeeding]].

** Evil factions fighting among themselves: the [[DecadentCourt court in Ater]] is a cesspool of violence, poison, and treachery, and the Drow take it UpToEleven: their entire empire has been in a relentless war, one Sigil (clan) of drow against the other, for ''millennia''.

* GrimUpNorth: The northern reaches of the continent of Calernia consist of the Chain of Hunger, a mountain range dominated by the [[TheUsualAdversaries horde-like evil species called Ratlings]], [[TheNecrocracy The Kingdom of the Dead]], a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin kingdom of undead ruled by an immortal Lich-King]] who [[UpToEleven also happens to rule over a hell]] [[note]]While there an infinite amount of hells, this is acknowledged in-universe to be a MomentOfAwesome[[/note]] [[UpToEleven and all the infernal legions that inhabited it]], and the Everdark, the domain of constantly warring drow tribes who follow something called [[ReligionOfEvil the Tenets of Night]].

* OurElvesAreDifferent: They take GoodIsNotNice UpToEleven, considering every non-elf or non-hero to be scum, even shooting down birds that get close to their forest. They are certainly very powerful though, as a single elf can be expected to wipe out a company of soldiers.

* GrimUpNorth: The northern reaches of the continent of Calernia consist of the Chain of Hunger, a mountain range dominated by the [[GoddamnOrks horde-like evil species called Ratlings]], [[TheNecrocracy The Kingdom of the Dead]], a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin kingdom of undead ruled by an immortal Lich-King]] who [[UpToEleven also happens to rule over a hell]] [[note]]While there an infinite amount of hells, this is acknowledged in-universe to be a MomentOfAwesome[[/note]] [[UpToEleven and all the infernal legions that inhabited it]], and the Everdark, the domain of constantly warring drow tribes who follow something called [[ReligionOfEvil the Tenets of Night]].

The series follows the exploits of [[YoungAdult 16-year-old]] Catherine Foundling, [[BastardUnderstudy The Squire]]. An orphan born a few years after her homeland, [[TheGoodKingdom The Kingdom of Callow]], was annexed by their perennial foe, [[TheEmpire The Dread Empire of Praes]], following a short and [[CurbStompBattle utterly devastating]] war of conquest, Catherine was raised at the Imperial House for Tragically Orphaned Girls. Though she resents the greed and corruption of the imperial governor of her home city, she is cynical about the prospects of rebellion, instead planning to join the Imperial Legions of Terror in order to improve the system from the inside. However, when she manages to impress the Empress' BlackKnight, she is offered a chance to join the ranks of the Named by taking the role of The Squire.

* CruelMercy: While all her followers were crucified, [[spoiler:Akua's SoulJar was sown into Catherine's Cloak so her talents could be used to benefit Callow, and she might develop some sense of morality, so that one day she can one day comprehend the sheer horror of what she did]]. [[spoiler:It might be working as of CharacterDevelopment in Book Five and Six]].

* BadassUnintentional: Abigail joined [[spoiler:The Army of Callow]] and immediately regretted it. A healthy dose of luck, improvised tactics, and an accidentally-acquired reputation for [[FrontlineGeneral fighting in the thick of things]] catapulted her up the ranks, making her the [[spoiler:first Callowan-born General in The Army of Callow]]. All while ''still'' contemplating desertion.

''[[https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/summary/ A Practical Guide to Evil]]'' (2015-present) is a YoungAdult ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids Allegedly]]) HeroicFantasy WebSerialNovel written by erraticerrata. The sixth book of the series was completed on January 1st, 2021, with the author announcing that he would be starting a seventh in March. A key element of the setting is that many HeroicFantasy tropes are enforced by the universe's laws.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:William, the Lone Swordsman]] is this.