History Main / LordBritishPostulate

* In ''VideoGame/EndlessSky'' it's not only about killing the SufficientlyAdvancedAliens, which can simply be done [[SpamAttack with an ungodly large fleet]] of warships, but capturing their ships is even harder as it involves actual [[BoardingParty boarding combat]]. The strongest ships obtainable this way are the Quarg with their PurposelyOverpowered Intrusion Countermeasures preventing you from doing so, but the hardest ship to actually capture is unarguably the [[spoiler:Korath]] [[ColonyShip World-Ship]] with the highest crew number in the game, so high that it becomes a GameBreaker and because of this is not intended to be obtainable in regular play. That didn't stop players from taking their chances at nabbing one, which even in an optimal case scenario and with a [[MinMaxing min-maxed]] ship is a nigh-impossible LuckBasedMission, and even if you succeed you have to get both ships, now severely undercrewed and extremely difficult to pilot, out of the hostile area, which in the current version can't be done without angering important factions. The entire task is so hard that there are [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/404410/discussions/0/1458455461472994602/ entire forum threads]] dedicated to just it, and so far only a few successful cases have been reported.

* Once you get to Fort Joy in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', you encounter Bishop Alexandar, Magister Dallis, and Dallis' two pets interrogating another magister before killing her. You're obviously not supposed to be able to kill any of the four, as they're level eight and you're level one or two at this point. However, clever players have found ways to kill three of the four (Dallis can't be actually be killed by any method at this point due to a scripted sequence [[spoiler:in which she transforms into a dragon and flies to safety]], and in the Definitive Edition, neither can Bishop Alexander.) On the ship you start out on, quickly grab a deathfog crate or barrel from the bow room before the Kraken destroys all of them, then drop it on top of Alexandar when you reach him. As deathfog is an instant kill on the living regardless of level or stats, this will kill him and Dallis' pets, though, as noted, will leave Dallis alive. However, even if she were killable at this point, this wouldn't work anyway since [[spoiler:she's actually undead, making her immune to deathfog.]] Dropping an extremely heavy object on their heads, or abusing invisibility to prevent anyone from attacking you while dealing chip damage, will also work, though the latter usually takes an extremely long time.

* Once you get to Fort Joy in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', you encounter Bishop Alexandar, Magister Dallis, and Dallis' two pets interrogating another magister before killing her. You're obviously not supposed to be able to kill any of the four, as they're level eight and you're level one or two at this point. However, clever players have found a way to kill three of the four (Dallis can't be killed with this method for plot reasons). On the ship you start out on, quickly grab a deathfog crate or barrel from the bow room before the Kraken destroys all of them, then drop it on top of Alexandar when you reach him. As deathfog is an instant kill on the living regardless of level or stats, this will kill him and Dallis' pets, though, as noted, will leave Dallis alive.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': Cuccos and dogs can't be killed with the sword, attacking the former enough causes a whole flock of Cuccos to start swarming Link (as is the norm in Zelda games), and attacking the latter triggers a counterattack. Use the Fire Rod or Magic Powder, however, and not only can you kill them, but an active Cucco swarm will ''stop''. (There's loyalty for you!) A mild case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness -- this was only the second game in the series to feature Cuccos, and in all later games killing them is completely impossible.

** A novel called ''Literature/StarTheTrekKobayashiMaru'' had ''Enterprise'' crew members tell stories of how they dealt with the scenario. Kirk's story revealed that he actually went up against the no-win scenario ''multiple'' times in fruitless attempts to beat it. He eventually decided that since [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the computer was cheating]] to make the scenarios unbeatable, it was only fair for him to cheat back. So he reprogrammed the scenario to make his opponents recognize him as TheDreaded, allowing him to beat his opponents merely through the reputation he hoped to build in the future. [[RefugeInAudacity The sheer audacity of the move was what allowed him to get away with it]].

** A novel called ''Literature/StarTrekKobayashiMaru'' had ''Enterprise'' crew members tell stories of how they dealt with the scenario. Kirk's story revealed that he actually went up against the no-win scenario ''multiple'' times in fruitless attempts to beat it. He eventually decided that since [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the computer was cheating]] to make the scenarios unbeatable, it was only fair for him to cheat back. So he reprogrammed the scenario to make his opponents recognize him as TheDreaded, allowing him to beat his opponents merely through the reputation he hoped to build in the future. [[RefugeInAudacity The sheer audacity of the move was what allowed him to get away with it]].

** A novel called ''Kobayashi Maru'' had ''Enterprise'' crew members tell stories of how they dealt with the scenario. Kirk's story revealed that he actually went up against the no-win scenario ''multiple'' times in fruitless attempts to beat it. He eventually decided that since [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the computer was cheating]] to make the scenarios unbeatable, it was only fair for him to cheat back. So he reprogrammed the scenario to make his opponents recognize him as TheDreaded, allowing him to beat his opponents merely through the reputation he hoped to build in the future. [[RefugeInAudacity The sheer audacity of the move was what allowed him to get away with it]].

* If you try and push through the miasma in ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', you'll eventually come face to face with the final boss, who is there to force you to turn back. However, even at that early stage he can be killed, and the game actually acknowledges you succeeded [[spoiler: by giving you the bad ending]].

* One of the oldest canons of the Wiki/SCPFoundation is the long-running and often-disastrous attempt to kill [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-682 SCP-682]], an immortal hostile entity. These attempts have extended to the use of some of the most dangerous [=SCPs=] in containment. So far, only few stories manage to kill it. Notable are [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/revised-entry one that has 173 (the original SCP) multiply]], another is [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/kill-682 drunk driving]]. Additionally, their guidelines on how to kill PhysicalGod {{Reality Warper}}s involves a bit of this. They might be able to erase you from existence itself with a thought, but they're still limited by human intelligence - the trick is to come up with ways of killing them that they won't see coming, mostly involving sniping them through the head from over a mile away.

* ''VideoGame/MedianXL'' is a ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' mod that features invulnerable trap-like monsters that kill you instantly when you get near, but don't move. This being ''[[KillEmAll Diablo]]'', you can imagine how well that went. Players also figured out ways to kill monsters that are immune to all elements, monsters that cannot even be ''targeted'' (tip: damage reflection) and even monsters that cannot be targeted ''and'' are immune to all damage ''and'' do not have any attack that would trigger damage reflection. There are even four different ways to do so: resurrect monsters with "burn" damage which bypasses resistances and attacks hit points directly; find the item that summons instakill reanimates on your side when you kill enemies; find the item that summons a certain boss whose [[DecapitatedArmy death animation is coded to autokill nearby monsters]] on your side and let it "expire"; or use a bugged passive in combination with Open Wounds to cause the monster to take physical damage despite being immune to it.

*** Under normal circumstances, [[BigBad Mehrunes Dagon]], when he appears at the end of the main quest, is impossible to kill; hitting him with weapons will only stagger him. However, you can use [[LethalJokeWeapon Wabbajack]] on him. It won't trigger {{Involuntary Transformation}}s on him, but will remove his invulnerability. He has no death animation, though, so when he dies, he just melts into a weird lump of Dagon-colored goop. Similarly, you can hit him with an exploitative custom spell or a game-breakingly powerful weapon to achieve the same effect. In either case, "killing" him does nothing to change the game's ending.

*** This also applies to Pathfinder. It conspicuously picked up an immunity to polymorph effects, so you couldn't use those spells to remove the immortality from its statblock. Not that that stopped players. Paizo inadvertently provided a backdoor with Baleful Shadow Transmutation.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' the final boss [[spoiler:Shub-Niggurath]] is a PuzzleBoss you are ''meant'' to kill by TeleFrag by entering a certain teleporter at the right time. However, she is not immune to the player's weapons and initially had only 40000 health, which, while being too much to make shooting her to death practical, meant it was not impossible to do if you used cheats to get more ammo and/or QuadDamage and were really persistent. As she didn't have any "death state" programmed in, killing her this way would cause the game to crash. This was eventually fixed with a patch that made it so her health keeps resetting to 40000, making her unkillable by weapon damage.
* In ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', it is possible to kill Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler himself by noclipping away from the final boss fight to a normally inaccessible part of the level where the cutscene plays, as it is done in-engine, and placing a timed dynamite charge set to detonate at just the right time. LudicrousGibs [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjuy8u95yrw ensue.]] You can also attempt this with the observing scientist at the end of the Time Gate mod. However in this case it will [[GameBreakingBug cause the game to crash]].
* The Jedi Heroes in the first ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront'' game were invulnerable to normal weapons; they would deflect blasters and simply get knocked down by splash damage. It is possible to kill them by using grenades or heavy weapons to knock them into environmental hazards: off the edge of Cloud City, into the Sarlacc pit, or into the Carbonite Freezing chamber. It is also possible to kill them by landing aircraft on them or ramming them at a fast enough speed with a speeder bike. An even easier method is to get them between a few turrets firing at the right rate. The flinch effect will keep them immobilized long enough for you to take them out. Sadly, they'd just respawn like Agents in ''The Matrix''. You could also do this by using a vehicle to push said Jedi off the playable area; though this will kill you eventually, it'll also kill the Jedi, which will (for whatever reason) not damage your vehicle whatsoever. This works great with the Republic and Empire's tank, which has noticeable projections on the sides that can completely trap the Jedi in front of it.

* In the Cthulhu-based boardgame ''TabletopGame/ArkhamHorror'', it is possible to have to fight and win fights against the EldritchAbomination the players picked at the start of the game, including [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Cthulhu himself]]. The exception is [[PrimordialChaos Azathoth]]. While other bosses have unique, nasty attacks, Azathoth's attack description is simply this: "The end is here! Azathoth [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroys the world]]." Furthermore, on the off chance that players could overcome the -∞ penalty to attacks against him and defeat him before he destroys the world, he has the additional special ability that the players lose the game when he awakens.

* The titular ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' were made to defeat impossible and unkillable threats. Even top gods and rulers of all Creation has not only stats, but notes for GM, how the world will be changed after their death.
* ''Furry Pirates'' (the name is [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals all you]] [[{{Pirate}} need to know about it]]) sticks to mostly historical accuracy, and wisely does not give stats to royalty. However, it ''does'' include stats for famous pirates so you can fight them...and a number of civilians. Decided to kill [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Mather Cotton Mather]]? You can!
* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'':

** The ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame'' gives some stats for Death, but notes that these only really apply when he's "acting human", and even then he can be disassembled but not killed. When [[ChessWithDeath challenged to a contest]], regardless of its form, his skill level is 15 if "[[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality narrative logic]]" requires a meaningful chance of failure, or 20 if it doesn't (although he can ''choose'' to lose). The book also notes the speculation in ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' that he can be killed with his own scythe or sword, but neither confirms or denies it, simply pointing out that getting the weapons in the first place is far from easy.
* Dragons in ''TabletopGame/IronKingdoms'' which are closer to EldritchAbomination have such insanely high stats and powers that most parties wouldn't last a turn in a fight. However they still can be defeated (but not killed, only another dragon can [[KilledOffForReal kill one off for real]].)
* The older ''TabletopGame/MiddleEarthRolePlaying'' gave statistics for Sauron in the ''Necromancer of Dol Guldur'' supplement. He's immensely powerful at 240th level (for comparison, Nazgul are 20th level in the original book or 40th in the supplements and Gandalf et al are 60th level), but since ''TabletopGame/MiddleEarthRolePlaying'' has open ended rolls and instant-death criticals, even the lowliest hero could get lucky and kill him with a lucky combination of 96-100 attack rolls and a decent critical hit, assuming they could get into combat with him in the first place.
* In ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', the most powerful characters are considered to be "PLX", meaning that their power level is as high as they want it to be. Most of them don't even have stats, just a block reading "PLX", with the assumption being that they can do basically anything. Due to lacking combat stats, they can't be defeated except by plot mechanics. However, a few have a statblock where one or more of their power rankings is listed as "X" (meaning, again, it's as high as they want it to be), and these guys can be defeated -- though it's still very, very difficult, especially if the "X" is listed under "[[SwissArmySuperpower Variable.]]"
* In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' clarified that their Tarrasque was unkillable, period, even with wishes and instant death spells. It will always regen the damage eventually. Of course, making it someone else's problem is not out of the question. Even then, it's still killable. Its immortality is listed as an ability in its stat block, so with the right spell[[note]]Baleful Shadow Transmutation[[/note]], it's entirely possible to remove it, rendering the beast mortal. That's more a bug than a feature, but by the rules as written it does work.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' this trope is the dividing line between demigods and true deities -- demigods (like DemonLordsAndArchdevils) have stats and can be killed by sufficiently powerful characters, while true deities have no stats and are basically untouchable to the players. Where the trope really comes into play is with the Great Old Ones (like Cthulhu). They're treated as demigods, and thus have stats and can be killed. However, in the spirit of their [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos source material]], this death is supposed to be temporary -- they all have varying abilities that allow them to eventually return. Unfortunately, as with the Tarrasque above, this immortality is an ability in their stat block, meaning the same ability-removing effects can render them permanently dead, ultimately confirming the Postulate.

** The module "Harlequin" refuses to stat the title elf, and explicitly calls this out as the reason. (Great Dragons, meanwhile, avoid the Postulate not by not having stats, but by having a mechanic in their stats that allows them to say TheBattleDidntCount, to appear dead but actually survive, and then destroy the PC party via manipulation from a place of complete safety.)

** One of the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' developers used to recount an incident when a fan described how his party had set off a briefcase nuke the moment they met Harlequin, thereby sacrificing themselves to [[BeyondTheImpossible kill the unkillable]]. Their GM had let it work because "there was no way even Harlequin would be walking around with a custom anti-nuke protection spell." The developer responded that he would have ruled that knowing humanity the way he did and being the kind of guy he was, Harlequin would have dropped everything to [[CrazyPrepared create an anti-nuke protection spell about 10 min after the first test in 1945 and would not have let it lapse since then]].

* In ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'', it's stated that it's impossible to effectively fight or even oppose an Ascended Archetype unless you have another one on your side. However, the most powerful Archetype of all, the Comte De Saint-Germain, ''does'' have stats -- in three versions. In one of these he's ridiculously powerful, but in another he's a baffled regular guy and could be potentially killed. Of course, since his role as Archetype of Karmic Reincarnation is to install the rules of Ascension in every newly created universe, killing him could have very complicated consequences.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': In older editions, Celestine the living saint had an ability which means that she can never be killed -- rather, if you do, she would get back up. Players found multiple ways to kill her permanently using specific rules phrasing. In 7th edition, Celestine can be revived only once per game. [[note]]The means players came up with included using Old Zogwort, vortex weapons, Sweeping Advance, Shokk Attack Gun or Deep Striking mishaps. Most of those rules specifically say that the affected model cannot survive by any means. [[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'', it is possible to kill Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler himself by noclipping away from the final boss fight to a normally inaccessible part of the level where the cutscene plays, as it is done in-engine, and placing a timed dynamite charge set to detonate at just the right time. LudicrousGibs [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjuy8u95yrw ensue.]]
** You can also attempt this with the observing scientist at the end of the Time Gate mod. However in this case it will [[GameBreakingBug cause the game to crash]].
* The Jedi Heroes in the first ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront'' game were invulnerable to normal weapons; they would deflect blasters and simply get knocked down by splash damage. It is possible to kill them by using grenades or heavy weapons to knock them into environmental hazards: off the edge of Cloud City, into the Sarlacc pit, or into the Carbonite Freezing chamber. It is also possible to kill them by landing aircraft on them or ramming them at a fast enough speed with a speeder bike.
** An even easier method is to get them between a few turrets firing at the right rate. The flinch effect will keep them immobilized long enough for you to take them out. Sadly, they'd just respawn like Agents in ''The Matrix''.
** You could also do this by using a vehicle to push said Jedi off the playable area; though this will kill you eventually, it'll also kill the Jedi, which will (for whatever reason) not damage your vehicle whatsoever. This works great with the Republic and Empire's tank, which has noticeable projections on the sides that can completely trap the Jedi in front of it.

* The proto-MORPG ''[=AberMUD=]'' featured a dragon which had 4x the hit points possible for a level capped player, and did approximately the same damage per round as the best weapon in the game. It was, however, able to be killed in one hit if you had a specific unique (as in, one copy in the entire game world at a time) weapon equipped. Naturally, a few people took this as not [[PuzzleBoss a puzzle to be solved]] but a challenge.
** It also had a unicorn with 4x the hit points of the dragon. This wasn't even in the game proper; it was intended as a GM's "pet", but the mechanics allowed players in certain circumstances to attempt to summon any NPC in the game. Players who thought the dragon wasn't enough of a challenge would have a go at the unicorn. If superbly equipped, it ''was'' possible to win this fight, though the odds weren't terribly good. Later [=GMs=] learned from this and, if they bothered to create a pet, created one that was either weak enough not to be worth killing for bragging rights, or with hundreds of times as many HP as players and attacks strong enough to [[strike:kill]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill obliterate]] level-capped players with a single hit.
* In ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'', Justiciar in Canada is positioned dangerously close to a pair of explosive barrels which respawn. So long as no one's Nemesis minions show up to draw him into combat (and thus full heal him when he returns to his default position), a persistent player can kill him with the explosive damage from the barrels.

** And while we're on the subject, Verant had to make characters used in GM events untargetable specifically ''because'' of this problem.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', which tries very hard to make towns a safe zone where ''you'' can't die, by never placing enemies there, making FallingDamage never kill you outside combat, and not giving any suicide abilities. However, if you get a poison debuff from a high-level enemy and ''quickly'' warp to town and switch to a low-level class, you can indeed die in a town. A handful of players make it their personal RunningGag to spend the majority of their time online dead in front of major town fixtures.

* ''[[VideoGame/PuzzlePirates Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates]]'' has El Pollo Diablo, the black ship that appears if players attack ships weaker than themselves too often. It can't be shot, and it's crewed by (noq) 150 skeletons, but it has been defeated multiple times, each matched by a severe upgrade by the developers...
** ...Except the one time they accidentally botched the ship to be crewed by just 8 skeletons.
** Further, the hardest defeat so far, 100 skeletons versus a full Grand Frigate of top players, had one of the {{Game Master}}s fighting on the Black Ship, for full Lord British Postulate goodness, no less!
* In the MMORPG ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'', one update introduced a new enemy, the Vyrewatch. Vyrewatch read your mind to avoid hits, and so were essentially invincible despite having a combat level. And then some player with a lot of patience went to the trouble of getting one to attack him while friends re-stocked him with rings of recoil (which reflect a small amount of your enemy's damage back to them) and massive amounts of food. Eventually the Vyrewatch died, with no death animation or drops, since the developers hadn't expected somebody to actually kill them. Later updates have introduced special weapons capable of hitting Vyrewatch, removing their invincibility.

* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' features one of these in the Issue #9 mission “The Pachinko Model.” Here, one of the later goals involves retrieving a randomly-placed key from the third floor of the FNF offices -- all while avoiding Sachiko, the ghost of a former FNF member. This is intended as a stealth mission: after retrieving the key, Sachiko bursts in, forcing the player to either hide behind a screen until she leaves or just sneak away... but naturally, some players are tempted to try tackling her in combat. Unfortunately, Sachiko has more hit points and attack power than most of the enemies in Kaidan and this quickly ends in a CurbStompBattle; monsters as tough as Sachiko generally require players to team up against them, but “The Pachinko Model” is a strictly single-player instance -– forcing you to play the mission as intended.
** Since players engaged and killed her from time to time anyway, developers later buffed her hp and shields into the stratospere, making her way tougher than local {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, and buffed her attack power to OneHitKill levels.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' had a rumour/legend that the [[http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Hermit Hermit]] NPC was killable, via some sort of trickery. As a browser-based not-so-multiplayer role-playing game, he had no stats and no way to be encountered as an enemy. He's said to 'drop' most non-obtainable (or even nonexistent) items in the game. As of July 2015, he can be fought, but he has not been (nor should be) killed.

* Lord British, of course, from the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series, who just happens to be one of Richard Garriott's two in-game {{Author Avatar}}s. The postulate itself stems from [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140811220739/http://www.gamestooge.com/2009/01/02/feature-the-day-lord-british-died/ a time]] during the ''VideoGame/UltimaOnline'' beta test where, following a crash, Lord British' invulnerability flag was unknowingly turned off, and a player killed him with a hastily-stolen firefield spell on the spur of the moment during a public gathering. The guards moved in, the players fought back, and the whole thing turned into an in-game riot.
** A special pair of leggings were introduced to [[http://www.uoguide.com/Royal_Leggings_of_Embers "commemorate" the event]].
** There was an event during the early weeks of ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' that was about killing General British. Well, clones of him, actually; there were dozens of them.
* Most [=NPCs=] in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are actually killable to players of the opposing faction, including racial leaders such as Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore, and the like. However, most [=NPCs=] in the neutral city of Shattrath ''should'' be invulnerable, as combat from players is forbidden there... unless, of course, one pulls an enemy from ''outside'' of the city ''into'' it and lets them run loose on the population. The main NPC of the city, a massive naaru named A'dal, was killed in this way several times until it was buffed to nigh-unkillable levels. It seems that the original A'dal had very little HP. Even more uncanny is that after death, it just keeps hanging there despite being considered a corpse by game mechanics; naaru don't even have a death animation!
** It's still possible to kill A'dal with a quest mob that becomes immune to everything at 50% health (you need a quest item to kill him). It just takes a very very very long time. In theory, it would also be possible to kite said mob to A'dal, then kite him away, effectively kiting A'dal itself (and every guard in the city). There is a rumor of this being done, but there are no videos to back it up.

** And before him, The Neather in the original ''King Dugan's Dungeon''. If you kill him anywhere other than his final appearance, the game pops up a dialog box apologizing for the developer not allowing for every way he could be killed, and warning he won't die because "the story must go on".

* In ''Videogame/AgeOfMythology'': The Titans expansion, one level has you scrambling to revive a giant Guardian statue in Egypt, because an equally giant Titan (Cerberus) is coming who is designed such that killing him should only be realistically possible using this guardian, due to his massive damage and hp. However, using vast number of priests, who gain damage bonuses towards creatures of Myth, it is quite possible to kill him without awakening the guardian, though he does tend to kill a lot of them before he goes down.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun: Firestorm'' has the super-charged veinhole monster from a GDI mission, which will die when you fire long enough on it. "Long enough" being a ''long'' time.

** Speaking of Archimonde, he's meant to be unkillable, as he's strong enough to massacre almost anything in his way and {{No Sell}}s everything you can throw at him via Spell Immunity and Divine armor. But like Cenarius he still takes ScratchDamage from attacks, so [[https://youtu.be/s9opu7egcRQ?t=13m40s that didn't stop players from killing him anyway]]. This leads to a very strange end-of-level cutscene where Archimonde is absent and a couple of buildings spontaneously implode.

* ''VideoGame/MedianXL'' is a ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' mod that features invulnerable trap-like monsters that kill you instantly when you get near, but don't move. This being ''[[KillEmAll Diablo]]'', you can imagine how well that went.
** Not only that, but players figured out ways to kill monsters that are immune to all elements, monsters that cannot even be ''targeted'' (tip: damage reflection) and even monsters that cannot be targeted ''and'' are immune to all damage ''and'' do not have any attack that would trigger damage reflection. There are even four different ways to do so: resurrect monsters with "burn" damage which bypasses resistances and attacks hit points directly; find the item that summons instakill reanimates on your side when you kill enemies; find the item that summons a certain boss whose [[DecapitatedArmy death animation is coded to autokill nearby monsters]] on your side and let it "expire"; or use a bugged passive in combination with Open Wounds to cause the monster to take physical damage despite being immune to it.
* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' has another example of this. characters are everywhere across the castle - Running the hospital, the shops, even the portal that takes you to the storyline maps. Now, you can't attack them in the castle.... or can you? (Here's a hint: You can.) All you have to do is call an assembly. If one of the characters shows up, you can happily beat the tar out of them. Then when you get back to the castle, you'll find a little gravestone where they were. Wait a minute.... you just killed the demon running the Hospital... how are you supposed to heal? Just save, reset, and they'll be back in their spots again.

** In ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'', at one point in the main story you face off against Zetta's nemesis Alexander, who is level 1000, which you'll have no chance to beat if you''re only leveled appropriately for the previous fights. However, Salome joins at level 1200 as a neutral party and almost certainly kicks his ass. However, with some dedicated power leveling/grinding/NewGamePlus, you can either beat them both, or assist Alex in winning over Salome and then beat him. This triggers a new fight where Zetta wants revenge on Alex for killing Salome (yes, even if his team killed her). Winning leads to a NonstandardGameOver and a NewGamePlus where Alex is now part of your army.
*** From the same game - The titular Tome himself. The game's primary gimmick is that Zetta is a CosmicKeystone that affects everything on the map if interacted with. Healing spells, buffs, debuffs, even inflicted damage...all bounces off of him and sticks to ''everything''. Here's the thing: You get stronger as you make your way through the game; the Tome does not. It's completely possible to reach a point that you can actively damage and even ''destroy'' Zetta. (His HP doesn't recover between fights, either) But, this forces a Game Over even if one of your units is ''somehow'' still standing.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'', your weapons are taken away from you in Bowerstone, which is merely cosmetic because you can't beat anyone to death there, either (naturally, that's where the game puts all the [[HideYourChildren children]]). Unfortunately for the people of Bowerstone, the game is only nerfing ''your'' damage, and if you can bring in and subsequently protect a mercenary or two, you can murder your way across town all you like!
** In addition, you can always pick a fight with the guards and navigate the town in a way that gets the townsfolk killed by friendly fire.
** And also, one of the simplest mods to make for Fable is one that lets you keep your weapons in Bowerstone, with predictable results.

** This works because the game is one of the few where 9999 is not the actual damage cap, merely the maximium that is displayed to the player. As a result, damage that exceeds it is still dealt, allowing a player to effectively deal his total health in a single turn.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', you have the Guardian, which is supposed to be invincible and act as BorderPatrol, blocking entry into Vector at a couple points in the game. It can be defeated due to the Echo Screen/Joker Doom glitch (which allows you to instantly win any battle.) As expected with this trope, the game acts as if you lose. The glitch was fixed in the GBA port.
** Although there is another glitch you can use to defeat it (and nearly every other enemy in the game), albeit it's a bit trickier. Cast confuse on one of your own party members, and, before the spell takes effect, have that party member use a smoke bomb. They will get confused first, then use the bomb, throwing it at the enemy rather than the party, thus making the enemy 'escape' and winning the battle. You don't get a bestiary entry for beating enemies this way, though.

** In the last level, you will meet the [[http://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Riders Riders]], three immortal beings who, when killed, will always rise from the dead again. There are only two known ways to dispose of them permanently: kill them, and fill the level entirely with monsters so they have nowhere to reappear, or turn them into green slime. Neither is considered a bug (in fact, [[DevelopersForesight there's a special message for the former]]), although most players consider them much more of a hassle than simply finishing the game.
*** It's also possible to level-drain two of the three until they become weak enough to enslave with Charm Monster -- ''now'' you're playing with power!
*** In earlier versions, it was possible to [[SealedEvilInACan tin Death]], removing him from the game permanently. Eating the contents of the tin was instantly fatal.

* In most of of the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' single-player [=RPGs=], Lord British is not invulnerable -- just very, very, ''very'' tough, with limited invulnerability to all but certain weapons. In later installments the developers caved to player's persistence in finding ways to kill him, and started adding easter-egg murder methods on purpose.
** [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080315012814/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=181917 This article]] details all of the ways that Lord British can be killed in the ''Ultima'' series.
** His "death" in ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'', where the player can drop a plaque on his head, was [[RealitySubtext based on a real-life incident]] where Garriott was injured by a falling metal bar at the Origin offices.

** In ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld 2'', it is possible, though extremely difficult, to kill [=NPCs=] by pushing them into water if there is a body of it available. This can be used to best effect against Dorstag, whom you are supposed to obtain a quest item from through combat or other difficult means. Though most of his plunderable inventory disappears beneath the water with him, the quest item actually stays on the surface for you to pick up. You can kill virtually all [=NPCs=] by attacking them too, but drowning them avoids retribution.
*** Both ''Underworld'' games also have the secret spell Armageddon, which kills everyone when it is cast.
*** The exceptions are the inhabitants of Castle British in ''Underworld 2'', including Lord British. They have unlimited health, there isn't any water available, and high-level spells like Armageddon don't work in Britannia because of the blackrock gem encasing the castle.

* In ''VideoGame/EndlessSky'' it's not just about killing the SufficientlyAdvancedAliens, which can simply be done [[SpamAttack with an ungodly large fleet]] of warships, but capturing their ships is even harder as it involves actual [[BoardingParty boarding combat]]. The strongest ships obtainable this way are the Quarg with their PurposelyOverpowered Intrusion Countermeasures preventing you from doing so, but the hardest ship to actually capture is unarguably the [[spoiler:Korath]] [[ColonyShip World-Ship]] with the highest crew number in the game, so high that it becomes a GameBreaker and because of this is not intended to be obtainable in regular play. That didn't stop players from taking their chances at nabbing one, which even in an optimal case scenario and with a [[MinMaxing min-maxed]] ship is a nigh-impossible LuckBasedMission, and even if you succeed you have to get both ships, now severely undercrewed and extremely difficult to pilot, out of the hostile area, which in the current version can't be done without angering important factions. The entire task is so hard that there are [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/404410/discussions/0/1458455461472994602/ entire forum threads]] dedicated to just it, and so far only a few successful cases have been reported.

* Killing Da Vinci in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' is possible by having the guards hit him. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=U9t8KRG1CS8#t=165s Poor Leo]].

* ''Videogame/DwarfFortress'' players will do their best to kill ''anything'', [[spoiler:and have even gone so far as to survive [[DugTooDeep digging too deep]] by [[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=65024.0 colonizing hell]]]]. This is meant to be impossible, as it's called the "endgame" in the source code. Other examples include draining an entire ocean to [[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=45269.0 trap walruses]], digging out [[{{Unobtanium}} undiggable stone]], and, in a previous version, [[spoiler:causing the extinction of demons and [[MundaneUtility using the portal into hell]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu as a garbage chute]]]].

* Cap'n Hector from the ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'' games was an NPC who would remind players to register (pay for) the shareware game. After the 30 day trial period ended, the Cap'n would start warping in to attack your starship every chance she got, usually resulting in a very quick death. However, while Hector was invincible to conventional attack, it was possible to kill or disable her with splash damage in the original game.
** Similarly, all the developers appear as customized ships in EV Nova that have a small chance of appearing in any system. Two of them are invincible, with no weapon being capable of damaging them. However, the death explosion of ships dealt damage that was not prevented by their invulnerability. For most ships, this damage was minuscule and the explosion was tiny. However, the massive Leviathan freighters exploded across half the screen for high damage and could be used to kill these two [=NPCs=].
* ''Videogame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' developer Scott Cawthon originally thought that [[HarderThanHard 4/20]] mode (when you use [[LevelEditor Custom Night]] to set all the animatronics' AI to the absolute highest it can go) was impossible to defeat. However, a player called [=BigBug=] beat it, demonstrating that it was possible if one was incredibly skilled, [[TheDeterminator insanely persistent]], and very, very lucky. Since then, 26 others have gone on to beat it and post their runs online. Scott has acknowledged this by programming in a reward: [[BraggingRightsReward A third star on your loading screen]].
** It happened again with ''VideoGame/UltimateCustomNight'' and its '''50'''/20 mode, which Scott confidently claimed to be unbeatable. He was proven wrong within 2 weeks of the game's launch. The first person to manage it was Rhemery, who took nearly ''[[TheDeterminator 12 hours]]'' to make it to 6 AM.

* One of the missions of [[DarkIsNotEvil Necropolis]] scenario in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V: Tribes of the East'' features a fortified Orc town with a '''huge''' army[[labelnote:*]]and "huge" means "at least several hundred cyclops, and according number of other creatures"[[/labelnote]]. This army never leaves the town, and the game specifically warns you that you don't have to and shouldn't attack it. However, it is possible to destroy it, by prudent use of Dark magic (specifically, [[UnstoppableRage Berserk]] and [[MindControlDevice Puppet Master]] spells).

* Sandbox Game ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' allows players to kill the neutral/friendly NPC characters in their village under some circumstances. The Clothier drops his red hat when you take him out, and the Guide can be directly killed if [[spoiler:you equip the Guide Voodoo Doll and attack him, or if you dunk the Voodoo Doll in the lava in the Netherworld]]. [[CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption You HAVE to kill him by the latter method to spawn a certain boss that must be beaten to progress to Hard Mode]]. The other [=NPCs=] can't be harmed by the player directly without the Rotten Eggs from Halloween, but they can be killed by monsters, land mines, traps, or lava.

* In ''Film/{{Star Trek II|The Wrath Of Khan}}'', the Kobayashi Maru scenario (the original trope namer for the UnwinnableTrainingSimulation) is designed as a HopelessBossFight for cadets, more as a psychiatric evaluation than a tactical scenario. It involves trying to rescue a stranded ship in Klingon space (later in-universe iterations change the "enemy" race as society changes; a similar scenario depicted in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' uses Romulans). Captain Kirk relates the story that, as a cadet, he hacked the program to make it winnable, and received a commendation for original thinking in the process rather than being reprimanded.

** This is not quite borne out by the game, though. The way FATE runs, any character with a skill level of 6 or higher ''literally cannot'' fail an action governed by that skill for any reason other than GM fiat, and most heavyweight supernaturals have skills in the double-digits. Their power level is literally referred to as "plot device", and the stat blocks are more intended to indicate their power relative to each other rather than the players.

** The Tarrasque is designed to be the most powerful monster in the world - it's huge, it's strong, it regenerates any damage quickly, and it can't be permanently killed outside of a ''wish'' spell when it is at a negative hit point total. However, it can't fly, has no ranged attacks, and possesses no magic, making it easy pickings for any decent mid-to-high level group or monsters like dragons (which are, generally speaking, the most powerful monsters in the game due to their spellcasting abilities, ranged attacks, and ability to fly).

*** Back in AD&D, someone wrote into ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' saying they'd killed Elminster and what effect would this have on the Realms? However, they'd misunderstood one of the spells they used, so the creators simply replied by explaining why they ''hadn't'' killed Elminster, what had probably happend instead (El had realised what they were attempting and was in a prankish mood) and exactly how much trouble they were in (El had realised what they were attempting and was in a prankish mood). They added that killing Elminster was a lot harder than it looked; they'd attempted it themselves in ''Literature/TheAvatarSeries'', and it hadn't stuck then either.

** In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' this trope is the dividing line between demigods and true deities -- demigods (like DemonLordsAndArchdevils) have stats and can be killed by sufficiently powerful characters, while true deities have no stats and are basically untouchable to the players. Where the trope really comes into play is with the Great Old Ones (like Cthulhu). They're treated as demigods, and thus have stats and can be killed. However, in the spirit of their [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos source material]], this death is supposed to be temporary -- they all have varying abilities that allow them to eventually return. Unfortunately, as with the Tarrasque above, this immortality is an ability in their stat block, meaning the same ability-removing effects can render them permanently dead, ultimately confirming the Postulate.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pendragon}}''
** Pendragon's combat system works on a basic d20 to hit. You have a skill, roll under it and you hit and between you and your opponent, the highest hit wins. Roll your skill exactly and you critical; A critical is better than a hit so it's possible to defeat someone of higher skill in a pass of arms with a critical even if their skill is higher and they roll a higher hit. When your skill reaches 21 you critical on both 20 and 1; 22 is 20, 1, and 2. Lancelot has a 40 skill with all weapons; he always hits and he always crits. Yet it is possible to beat him in a pass at arms and even in an entire fight (as happens once in the entire Morte d'Arthur). If you always crit higher than Lancelot's crit, you can damage him through his usually-amazing armor, his usually-present protection from God, and his slightly-superhuman hit points until he falls. Galahad is another story. Under Galahad, it reads, "Galahad wins."
* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' being ''Rifts'', when it added "Pantheons of the Megaverse", the first thing many players tried to do was take on Odin, Ra, Marduk, or whoever was handy. But the book also described beings far more powerful with lines as succinct as "tick them off and it's time to roll up new characters." No stats or names were provided, but presumably the writers were referring to capital-G God and distinguishing Him from those wannabes on Olympus. (It also suggested that {{Game Master}}s didn't include Him in the campaign, since constant divine intervention makes the game kind of boring.)
** Full character stats for such in-universe celebrities as Erin Tarn and Emperor Prosek are presumably included in the game just so players can take a stab at offing them; named characters ''without'' stats are actually a minority.
* ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'' has one of its most infamous villains, Captain Reis, on the cover. He has stats. He's also nearly impossible to hit... with a sword. However, he doesn't wear armor and you can't block bullets. Shoot him and throw in all your drama dice and you can put a hole in his skull.
** [[spoiler:Except anyone who picks up his scythe and uses it [[GrandTheftMe gradually turns into Reis, his legend too powerful to be killed by mere death.]] ]]

** As a small corollary, though, the book does note that if you've actually gotten powerful enough that an Archetype sees you as a threat, then you probably ''do'' have another one on your side - whether you meant to or not - because there aren't many people that powerful and Archetypes are constantly squabbling. Since being individually involved between two bickering Archetypes makes you UnluckilyLucky dialed up to 11 until they both get bored, even managing to attack meaningfully can become a serious feat. As for the Comte, if he thinks you're likely to become powerful enough to threaten him, he's probably already visited you to recruit you to his side - voluntarily or otherwise.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''
** In older editions, Celestine the living saint had an ability which means that she can never be killed -- rather, if you do, she would get back up. Players found multiple ways to kill her permanently using specific rules phrasing. In 7th edition, Celestine can be revived only once per game. [[note]]The means players came up with included using Old Zogwort, vortex weapons, Sweeping Advance, Shokk Attack Gun or Deep Striking mishaps. Most of those rules specifically say that the affected model cannot survive by any means. [[/note]]

* One of the oldest canons of the Wiki/SCPFoundation is the long-running and often-disastrous attempt to kill [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-682 SCP-682]], an immortal hostile entity. These attempts have extended to the use of some of the most dangerous [=SCPs=] in containment. So far, only few stories manage to kill it. Notable are [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/revised-entry one that has 173 (the original SCP) multiply]], another is [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/kill-682 drunk driving]].
** Additionally, their guidelines on how to kill PhysicalGod {{Reality Warper}}s involves a bit of this. They might be able to erase you from existence itself with a thought, but they're still limited by human intelligence - the trick is to come up with ways of killing them that they won't see coming, mostly involving sniping them through the head from over a mile away.

* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' has Charon, the guide who takes you to the Moon Palace, who is actually just a common enemy called a Robin Foot locked into a position where he cannot attack the player. He can't be hit with weapons, but magic can kill or [[BalefulPolymorph transform]] poor Charon. Additionally, the final boss is ''supposed'' to only be damaged under very specific circumstances ([[spoiler:having the hero hold the Mana Sword and having both of his sidekicks cast Mana Magic on him]]), but his defenses are not impenetrable to normal weapons when charged to sufficient levels.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'':
** The leader of criminal gang The Felt is named Lord English, after a particular spin put on a cue ball in pool. Creator Andrew Hussie hadn't even ''heard'' about Lord British until later and, when he was informed about similarity between the names, decided to make the Lord British Postulate apply to Lord English, mentioning in a character's narration that he can only be killed by exploiting "numerous bugs and glitches in spacetime." This particular {{Retcon}} surprisingly fits very well within the TimeTravel-related powers that the rest of The Felt possess.

** This is Vriska's attitude towards [[ImplacableMan Bec Noir]] [[spoiler:the OmnicidalManiac created when [[PhysicalGod Becquerel]] prototyped himself, inadvertently giving the Kids version of Jack Noir (who had already gone insane) a massive power boost]]. Specifically she wants to be the one to personally kill him (despite how ungodly powerful he is) to [[{{Munchkin}} "win" the game]]. [[spoiler:Naturally it turns out that she ''massively'' underestimated his abilities and Terezi is forced to kill Vriska to keep her from leading Bec Noir to their hiding spot (which, in an alternate timeline, caused the deaths of all the Trolls).]]

** ''Conquest'' features another similar encounter with Takumi on a survival map. Defeating him is ''entirely'' optional, and it's pretty clear that you really should just hold your ground. However, a player ''can'' run over to Takumi and kill him. If they're incredibly audacious with Camilla and rush him before turn seven, [[DevelopersForesight then Takumi won't use the dragon vein on you.]]

** Several additional characters in [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU the fourth]] [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate and fifth games]] can be hurt [[ImmuneToFlinching but not flinched or knocked back]] during their Final Smash, namely Lucario, Charizard, and Little Mac (who transform into Mega Lucario, Mega Charizard X, and Giga Mac, respectively).

** In ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'', the only way to kill the {{Superboss}} Pig King Statue is supposed to be with either a lucky shot of [[OneHitKill PK Flash]], or use the [[HPToOne New Year's Eve Bomb]]. He has ''100 million HP'' otherwise, and regularly hits you for more HP than you probably have. It's just not possible to beat him conventionally without cheat codes, if only because, at the end of the day, long after you've run out of [[{{Mana}} PP]] and healing items, he still has ''99,000,000 HP left to go''. It's a numbers game and his are just far, ''far'', '''far''' superior to yours. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oNvzRrTthA That hasn't stopped people from trying, though.]]