History Main / TerminallyExclusiveClub

* ''Manga/SpyXFamily'': The extremely posh and exclusive Eded Academy was this at some point before the story's beginning. It's stated that despite their currently ridiculously high requirements the school was forced to relax ''some'' of their rules or risk going out of business.

See also LastOfHisKind.

** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-Military_Union Russian All-Military Union]] was initially restricted to White[[note]]That's "White" as in "members of the White Army" (the anti-Communist one) and not a racial requirement, though there were presumably very few Persons of Color in either the White ''or'' Red Armies[[/note]] veterans of the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Civil War]].

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': When Rand needs some privacy from his overzealous Aiel CadreOfForeignBodyguards, he declares a random empty building to be the Roof of a new warrior Society, whose membership is limited to those who have drunk from the spring near his home a continent away. The Aiel honor code is ''very'' serious about the customs of Societies, so they let it slide with only a few jokes at his expense.

* The Witchfinder Army in ''Series/GoodOmens'' is left with only Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell by the modern day, likely because of the Narrow Niche version of this trope.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/TheGoodies'' "Saturday Night Grease", in which Bill, hoping to cash in on the disco craze, founds an exclusive disco... so exclusive, in fact, that no-one's allowed in.

* There is a Facebook club for members of the now-defunct Redwall Online Community.

[[AC:OtherHonors]]

* The Imperial House of Japan since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Not only they still practice agnatic succession (only males can succeed as emperor), but they specifically disinherit any princess who marries outside the family, meaning their children are not in the line of succession.[[note]]Princesses can only inherit their title if they marry fellow royalty (i.e. [[RoyalInbreeding incest]]) or nobility (which ceased to exist after World War II).[[/note]] As of 2022, there is a grand total of ''three'' possible heirs should the current Emperor Naruhito dies, one of whom is over eighty years old.

* The Imperial House of Japan since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Not only they still practice agnatic succession (only males can succeed as emperor), but they specifically disinherit any princess who marries outside the family, meaning their children are not in the line of succession.[[note]]Princesses can only inherit their title if they marry fellow royalty (e.g., [[RoyalInbreeding incest]]) or nobility (which ceased to exist after World War II).[[/note]] As of 2022, there is a grand total of ''three'' possible heirs should the current Emperor Naruhito dies, one of whom is over eighty years old.

* The Imperial House of Japan since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Not only they still practice agnatic primogeniture (only males can succeed as emperor), but they specifically disinherit any princess who marries outside the family, meaning their children are not in the line of succession.[[note]]Princesses can only inherit their title if they marry fellow royalty (e.g., [[RoyalInbreeding incest]]) or nobility (which ceased to exist after World War II).[[/note]] As of 2022, there is a grand total of ''three'' possible heirs should the current Emperor Naruhito dies, one of whom is over eighty years old.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_Commons#/ Doctors' Commons]], a society of lawyers specialising in church and admiralty law, ceased admitting new members when those areas of law were opened to normal barristers. The society was wound up in 1865 and its last surviving member died in 1912.

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* ''Literature/{{Nightwatch|Discworld}}'' has the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road, the survivors of a short-lived rebellion that sprung up during the anarchy between the assassination of one Patrician and the ascension of the next. They memorialize the event every May 25th by [[UsefulNotes/ThePoppy wearing a lilac]], and tend to be surly about explaining its meaning to others. Only those who were "there" are encouraged to join in, most of whom happen to have become members of the night watch since.

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* Joseph Medicine Crow (1913-2016) is likely to be the last War Chief of the Crow Aboriginals, a rank he achieved during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo. To do this, one had to strike an enemy without killing him, lead a successful war expedition, take an enemy's weapon, and steal an enemy's horse. Horses just aren't used in war anymore.

Note: Because TropesAreFlexible, specific honours and ranks are also included here, although they're not exactly "clubs" as we know them.

This is when a club, social group, dynasty, or other has a set of requirements that are (or will become) impossible for new members to fulfill. Eventually, the old members will pass away, no new members will be added, and the organization will fade into oblivion.

* '''The Club Is Based Around An Experience''': These could be comrades from a former war, a major disaster (such as the sinking of the ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic''), a team that pulled off something that can never be duplicated.

* According to the book ''Hollywood's Posse'' by Diana Serra Cary (AKA Creator/BabyPeggy), the cowboys who made up the original western stuntmen in Hollywood had a club that was restricted to those who'd followed the chuckwagons before 1910, which was when the great cattle empires collapsed. As this was over 100 years ago, all members and potential members are long dead.

* '''The Club Takes SuffersNewbiesPoorly To Its LogicalExtreme''': The club requires new members to have experience before joining, [[Catch22Dilemma but nobody can get experience without joining]]. The demise of the club is generally ''not'' the intention, but just as inevitable unless the requirements are relaxed.

* '''The Club Is A Bunch Of Old Friends''': The members have known each other for years, and simply do not accept newcomers who couldn't possibly understand what they've gone through.

** House of Habsburg (failed in 1780)
*** The Spanish branch failed in 1700

** The Order of the Post in ''Discworld/GoingPostal''; they ''can't'' get new members because the Post Office is shut down, so they've mostly become a club of old postmen who exist primarily to reminisce and look out for a member's family when he's "[[UnusualEuphemism Returned to Sender]]."