History Main / KlingonPromotion

In an organization with a ranked hierarchal structure, you can get a promotion by showing aptitude for the work, impressing senior ranked individuals, fulfilling certain criteria, having a place open up due to retirement, resignation or death and probably kissing a lot of ass. On the other hand you can get a KlingonPromotion, which means that if you kill a superior (or they die by some other means), you gain their rank or a rank that the result of this death leaves open. Then the cutthroat competition for a promotion becomes a lot more literal.

This is a sister trope to YouKillItYouBoughtIt. However in that one you kill someone, purposefully or accidentally and gain something of theirs. That could be a physical object or something more metaphysical like a role in life or a {{curse}} and you don’t need to have a system that puts the character in a position to get the job. This requirement of a rank to get into for a KlingonPromotion means it will show up in connection to different sorts of organisations.

For instance, the KlingonPromotion will turn up in organisations that favour ruthlessness and the heavy dominance of a leader. Hence the trope name referring to the Klingons of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', who are often portrayed as accepting assassination of a superior (with varying justification) as a legitimate option for career advancement. You’ll get it in royal or noble lines of succession where individuals can obsess over the fact that if only 72 people would die in a very short period they could become King.

* In one ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2344822/2/Destinys_Pawn_Leviathan fanfic]], Saul Karath isolates Carth from the rest of the crew after the initial "interrogation" and casually re-extends his [[WeCanRuleTogether offer to make Carth his right-hand man in the Sith Fleet]]. He knows full well Carth wants him dead, and tries to sweeten the deal with the offer of a KlingonPromotion.

* In the Merlin cycle of Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series, Merlin's mother "arranges" to have everyone whose place in the line of succession was closer than Merlin's end up dead so she could become [[TheManBehindTheMan shadow ruler.]] Not a direct example, but definitely in the spirit of the KlingonPromotion. [[spoiler:Of course, by the time Merlin becomes King of Chaos, he's no longer under her control.]]

** In the TNG episode "A Matter Of Honor," where Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship in an officer exchange program, the subject of KlingonPromotion comes up; it's the accepted way to remove a captain who is unsuitable for command.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}: [[spoiler: Felix Gaeta, believing Adama has been derelict in his duties by becoming too close to the rebel Cylons, leads a mutiny to give himself a KlingonPromotion. It doesn't end well for poor Mr. Gaeta, and he ends up in front of a firing squad.]]
** Well, arguably it was more [[spoiler: Zarak]] who was going for the KlingonPromotion. [[spoiler: Gaeta]] was just trying to keep everybody safe (and actually [[StrawmanHasAPoint had a point]]).

* In ''MakaiKingdom'', KlingonPromotion also seems to be the standard method of Overlord succession in the {{Nippon Ichi}}verse. Even humans who kill a strong enough Demon Overlord (or enough) will become one. And if a Demon Overlord were to kill enough other Demon Overlords; they would become [[EldritchAbomination something... else.]]

* Played with interestingly in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', of all games, where the revelation of the KlingonPromotion is a major part of the development of the Church of Yevon. The first time we see [[DarkMessiah Seymour]], he has just taken over his late father Jyscal's position of Maester (roughly equivalent to some sort of sub-Pope) in the Church of Yevon. At that time in the game this can seem a bit odd, since at that point Yevon is apparently a SaintlyChurch dedicated to stopping [[RandomEncounter fiends]] and [[EldritchAbomination Sin]], while havng the son take his father's place smacks of nepotism. Because Seymour is established as having already been a high level church official, however, a player can gloss over this without suspecting the true corruption at the heart of Yevon. Several hours later in the game, it is revealed that Seymour killed his father discreetly in order to get said position, cementing his status as a viable villain and adding to a strong impression that the Church of Yevon is actually a CorruptChurch. (It was [[WeHaveReserves Operation Mi'ihen]] that started said impression.) Some time yet later in the game (it varies, depending on how much LevelGrinding the player had to do to defeat [[ThatOneBoss Evrae]]), it is revealed that not only did Seymour kill his father for his position, but that all but one of his peers, (''including the Pope-equivalent and de facto ruler of the world''), were aware of his actions and condoned them as a way for Seymour to become a Maester, thus proving that it really is KlingonPromotion at its finest and sending the Church of Yevon straight into ReligionOfEvil territory.

** Almost all Islamic states in the Middle Ages arranged their inheritance of throne by KlingonPromotion principle. They admired the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem on how smoothly there the crown passed from the dead to living, without the country collapsing into anarchy and civil war.
*** Averted by the Medieval French slogan ''King is dead; long live the King'', implying that the old King had already nominated his legitimate successor, thus preventing the KlingonPromotion from occurring.

* Dingane, (half-brother of [[TheGoodKing Shaka]]) became the second king of the Zulu Empire after conspiring with another half-brother (Mhlangano) and a member of a rival tribe (Mbopa of the [=InDuna=]) in 1828. Then [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder he murdered Mhlangano, assumed the throne, and ordered all of Shaka's supporters and his royal kin executed.]]

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* According to Sir George Fraser's ''The Golden Bough'' there was a shrine in Italy that decided the title to the priesthood by this method. According to the writer this was an adaptation of a Pre-classical Greek HumanSacrifice ritual, though "anthropological" methods in Fraser's time were less than scientific, so his interpretation should be viewed warily.

*** Druids worked similarly in AD&D. There were only a limited number of a druids of higher rank in the world at any given time; to advance past a certain level, you would have to seek out and kill a higher ranking druid. The highest rank - the Great Druid, of which there is only one - usually abdicated his position after some years rather than being killed by another druid. Presumably once you get to that position, you see the writing on the wall.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'''s episode "Holoship" had this; the eponymous vessel had a full complement, and the only way for Rimmer to join is "dead man's boots" by defeating another crew member in intellectual combat.

** In another ''Voyager'' episode, a Kazon boy wishes to become a man by killing Chakotay. He fails. He then explains that killing a person is the rite of passage for the Kazon. Apparently, killing a clansman is also acceptable in some cases. At the end fo the episode, instead of killing Chakotay (who hopes that the Doctor can make him better), he turns the weapon onto his maj (clan leader). Before the maj's NumberTwo can execute him, the boy swears loyalty to him as the new maj. After a few seconds, the new maj accepts.

* The main plotline for the Ealing Studios dark comedy "KindHeartsAndCoronets", where Louis Mazzini, the illegitimate grandson of Lord D'Ascoyne, systematically murders his way through the family to become the sole heir to the D'Ascoyne estate.

* The Children of the Light in the Wheel of Time have a ritualized dueling ceremony entitled "trial by the light," in which the loser's rank and property are forefit to the winner. Galad uses this in conjunction with surviving a military EverybodysDeadDave shortly beforehand to skip virtually the entire command structure and go from an unspecified junior rank straight to Lord Captain Commander.

* In the Unseen University of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', killing a higher ranking wizard was the preferred means of promotion (via the "Dead Man's Pointy Shoes" rule). The catch being, however, that wizards aren't allowed to turn magic against one another, forcing them to resort to more practical means making daily UU living for high-ranking wizards an exercise in forensics. This came to an end, however, when Mustrum Ridcully became Archchancellor and proved [[MadeOfIron nigh unkillable]]; and Wizards being creatures of laziness, soon came to realize a less competitive work environment is rather enjoyable. Added to this, now the senior faculty are all settled and long standing members, they've probably realized in the old days each one of them would be a target for an up and comer; it is in their best interests to act as a group now.

* The ''Film/{{Eragon}}'' movie had Durza do this to a group of Urgals. After they fail to capture Eragon at Daret, he kills the leader, then turns to a random Urgal. He then says "Congratulations! You've just been promoted!"

* The English "War of the Roses" was basically a series of these (although several of them were by proxy the intent is the same) with a couple of natural deaths thrown in for extra chaos factor. The eventual winner (Henry Tudor -- [[NamesTheSame no not that]] [[TheTudors Henry Tudor]]) actually picked his crown up out of the mud after it fell of the severed head of his predecessor, Richard III.

!!Examples:

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* Disney's ''Aladdin'': The third movie features the Forty Thieves (as in [[Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves "Ali Baba and ..."]]) and Aladdin causes the death of one in self-defense. He's sure the others are about to butcher him when they say it can only mean one thing. The One Thing is that he's now a member, unless someone kills ''him'', which ''they'll'' be more than happy to do if he doesn't measure up. (If that's not bad enough, the former holder of his position is NotQuiteDead, and wants it back. That can only happen one way.)

[[folder:Other]]
* An old joke uses this (or rather, [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope our expectation of it]]]]):
-->An explorer in the deepest Amazon suddenly finds himself surrounded by what appears to be a [[CannibalTribe bloodthirsty group of cannibals]]. Upon surveying the situation, he says quietly to himself, "Oh God, I'm screwed."\\
There is a ray of light from the sky above and [[{{God}} a voice]] booms out: "No, you are NOT screwed. Pick up that stone at your feet and bash in the head of the chief standing in front of you."\\
So the explorer picks up the stone and proceeds to bash the life out of the chief. He stands above the lifeless body, breathing heavily and surrounded by 100 cannibals with a look of shock on their faces.\\
The voice booms out again: "NOW you're screwed."
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* Invoked in DianeDuane's ''StarTrek'' novel ''Doctor's Orders'', in which a Klingon starship shows up after Kirk inexplicably vanishes on an alien planet. Not wanting to explain this to an enemy, [=McCoy=] (who Kirk put in charge just before he went missing) instead claims to have killed him in a duel and taken command.

* In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this is how Dorothy Gale becomes the Witch of the East. She's accidentally killed the old one, and is given her silver slippers. She then goes inside her house to change clothes, what she's wearing having been damaged in the tornado. In Oz, witches, and only witches, wear white, usually trimmed with the color of whatever area of Oz is under their jurisdiction. The East's color is blue. Dorothy changes into a white and blue dress and the silver slippers, not knowing that, as soon as she steps out of the house, she's taken over the job of the woman she just accidentally killed.

* In ''Maledicte'', by Lane Robbins, Maledicte's lover systematically kills [[spoiler:or tricks Maledicte into killing]] everyone between himself and the crown, so he can take the title for himself. [[spoiler:this is also part of his scheme to totally screw with Maledicte, since he's now the man Maledicte must kill to complete her quest.]]

* Sand tiger sharks. They are live-born, and only one or two actually make it out into the world (even though several are inside of the mother.) They fight and kill each other '''''[[NightmareFuel inside the freaking womb]]''''', leaving only a survivor or two.

* Another cute Roman example- If you successfully prosecuted a Roman Senator in court, you obtained their rank. Cicero only sued people who were of higher rank than him (He was mostly a Defence Counsel) so he could take their ranks and move up the Senate Hierarchy list- which determined your right to stand for certain offices or obtain the floor of the Senate in a debate.
* Technically happened to Prince Dipendra, perpetrator of the 2001 {{Nepal}} royal massacre -- after murdering his father (the King), his mother (the Queen), and several relatives, he shot himself -- as he lay in a coma in hospital, he was technichally King of Nepal. He died after a three-day reign.
** Leaving someone who had been very far down on the succession, who had never expected to be king or trained for it, as the next heir. He was so incompetent that Nepal became a Republic.