The Commandments

"Those who will not live by the law... SHALL DIE BY THE LAW!"

"The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these Fifteen— [drops one of the stone tablets] —Oy. ... Ten! Ten Commandments for all to obey!"

— Moses, History of the World Part I

The Commandments are a short list of simple rules that must be followed. It's a much simpler system than any rulebook, lawbook or manifesto. The most famous such list of commandments (at least in western culture) is the one known as The Ten Commandments, featured in Real Life Christianity as well as stories about the faith.^note It is widely believed that the Ten Commandments are also common to Judaism, but this is a misconception. In Hebrew, those verses are referred to as "the Ten Statements"; they are in fact made up of fourteen commandments, and are not even considered of particular importance. There are also differences between Christian denominations as to how those fourteen are grouped into ten. However, many other such lists pop up in various media, especially fantasy.

If a work has its own list, include the list on the example. (Unless the list is really long, but if it is then it's unlikely that the example truly belongs in this trope in the first place.)

No examples from Real Life religion or philosophy please. Not on the main page.

When rules are played for annoyance, that's Rule #1. When rules are played for alienation, that's Ape Shall Never Kill Ape. When a long series of Noodle Incidents result in somebody having a long list of commandments just for them, it is Things You Are Not Allowed to Do. Commandments specifically for robots fall under Laws of Robotics.

Contrast Single-Precept Religion.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• No Game No Life: All sixteen Exceeds (the sentient races of Disboard) are bound by ten inviolable Pledges set up by Tet, the God of Games, upon his/her ascent to being the One True God following the brutal war that destroyed most of the Old Dei (themselves one of the Exceeds, by virtue of Tet surviving). It was actually created by Riku Dora and his wife Schwi 6,000 years ago, with Tet as their own Old Deus created to help fulfill their wish of creating a peaceful world for the war-weary Exceeds.
  1. All bloodshed, war and pillaging is forbidden. (This includes any kind of violence or violation of rights, like physical injuries, rape or a slap.)
  2. All conflicts will be resolved through games.
  3. Each party involved in a game must bet something that both sides agree is of equal value. (The wagers can also be non-material, so long as both side agree to it being equivalent.)
  4. As long as it doesn't go against Pledge 3, the things that are wagered and the rules of the game will not be questioned.
  5. The challenged party has the right to decide the rules of the game. (This also includes the right to refrain from the game.)
  6. Any bets made in accordance with the Oaths must be upheld. (The laws of the universe will actively see to it.)
  7. Conflicts between groups will be conducted by designated representatives with absolute authority. (But that doesn't mean that two people can't compete as one, as Sora and Shiro shows.)
  8. Being caught cheating during a game is grounds for an instant loss. (Which Sora interprets as a deliberate loophole meant for smarter players to exploit.)
  9. In the name of God, the previous rules may never be changed.
  10. Everyone must have fun playing together!
• Bubblegum Crisis: Downplayed. As revealed in supplemental material, and occasionally referenced in the series, the Knight Sabers have 11 rules:
  1. Do not divulge any information concerning this organisation.
  2. Do not act upon a personal grudge.
  3. Do not act without the mutual consent of all members.
  4. Do not secede from this organisation.
  5. Members are personally responsible for any damage done to the organisation's equipment unless that damage was unavoidable.
  6. Do not divulge any information concerning our clients.
  7. Do not gather information on your own. The task of intelligence gathering is to be distributed evenly among all the members.
  8. Keep in contact with the other members regularly.
  9. The members do not know each other outside of this organization.
  10. Do not get involved with a man.
  11. The penalty for violating any of the ten regulations listed above is death.
  • It is worth noting that over the course of the series, almost all of the rules get broken, and rule 11 is never enforced. Ultimately, they seem to be ideals which have been rapidly modified in the face of reality.
  • Rule 1 is a tricky case - while several people know the identities of some or all of the members, nobody actually reveals anything.
  • Similarly, Priss has almost broken rule 2 several times, but the others always end up suppourting her grudges.
  • However, Priss has broken rules 3 and 4, and how her personal duel with Largo and his Hyperboomers (which resulted in the destruction of her hardsuit and motorslave) relates to rule 5 is also a scary thought.
  • Linna, on the other hand, breaks rule 10 regularly.
  • Everyone except Sylia has broken rule 8.
  • Rule 9 is flagrantly disregarded by all four members.
  • Rules 6 and 7 seem to have been followed, though (regarding 7, in OVA 1, Priss is doing what she's told... until she's chased by Boomers, then she's surviving).
• KonoSuba: The Axis cult, the religion that worships Aqua, chants their divine commandments during the finale of season 2. Even though they don't realize that Aqua really is their goddess in the flesh, it still powers her up enough to defeat the enemy. Of course, this being Aqua, her commandments are... odd.
  "The Axis Church can get things done. And because you can get things done, even if it doesn't go well, it's not your fault!"
  "It's society's fault that things don't work out!"
  "You can run away from unpleasant things! That doesn't mean you've lost! Because, as they say, 'Sometimes running away is winning'!"
  "The answer you come to after being in doubt is usually something you'll regret, no matter what you choose! If you're going to regret it anyway, do whatever is easiest for you in the moment!"
  "Do not fear growing old! Not even God knows whether you will be happy in the future, so you should, at least, be happy now!"
  "Eris pads her chest!"
• Death Parade: The arbiters have a set of three rules that dictate their existence, with an additional one being added at the end:
  1. Arbiters cannot quit making judgments, for that is the sole reason they exist.
  2. Arbiters cannot experience death, for that would bring them too close to being human.
  3. Arbiters cannot feel emotion, for they are merely dummies.
  4. Arbiters may not work hand in hand with life, for that will ruin them.

Comic Books

• Ultimate X Men: Magneto tattooed the "Ten Mutant Commandments" on his back.

Fan Works

• Absolute Trust: In the months prior to Aang's awakening, Alec comes up with six rules to govern how he uses his future knowledge, which are listed at the top of every chapter after 3:
  Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.
  Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.
  Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.
  Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.
  Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.
  Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.
• The whole point of The Official List of Unofficial Rules. It's played for laughs.
• The War of the Masters uses the original Ten Commandments as a starting point for a more comprehensive version of Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. They range from the serious—"thou shalt not commit murder" is interpreted as "do not kill without orders from your biological superiors"—to the not-so-serious—"remember the Sabbath and keep it holy" equates to "don't bother your superiors while they're sleeping except in a genuine emergency".
• Ma'at: From Chapter 2, "the prototypes of the forty-two principles of Ma'at" are seen and listed, then the archeologist from the future has thoughts about it:
  The academician's mind pulled a later version of the list from the collection of facts stored from her long studies, and wondered how much the ancient proscriptions had propagated across the historical landscape. ~Golden truths in a plain wrapping. I wonder if these are some of the roots of the Hebrew's Ten Commandments?~
• Queens of Mewni: Etheria the Knight created a Code of Conduct for the heirs of the Butterfly Kingdom to follow, and while there were varying degrees of success for following said code, only Etheria herself obeyed all ten rules. (Particularly, Rule 6, which forbade premarital sex, was broken a lot by subsequent heirs.)
  ''Aurora, for now, is doing well."

Films — Live-Action

• The iconic 1956 movie The Ten Commandments tells the story of Moses, featuring and focusing on (what Hollywood thinks are) the Ten Commandments of Judaism. It's actually a remake of a 1923 silent film, in which the Moses story was just a prologue to a then-modern story about two brothers, one of whom believes in the Ten Commandments and the other of whom considers them to be outdated.
• Fight Club has seven commandments. (They are counted as eight, but the second is just the first one repeated for emphasis):
  1. You do not talk about Fight Club.
  2. You do not talk about Fight Club.
  3. Someone yells stop, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.
  4. Only two guys to a fight.
  5. One fight at a time.
  6. No belts, no shirts, no shoes.
  7. Fights will go on as long as they have to.
  8. If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.
• I, Robot centrally features Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. This of course does not prevent a Zeroth Law Rebellion.
  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
• RoboCop has four Prime directives:
  1. Serve the public trust.
  2. Protect the innocent.
  3. Uphold the law.
  4. Never oppose an OCP officer.
• Zombieland gives us the Rules, as laid down by Columbus. There's almost 40, but they're very succinct (and we never get to hear them all). Examples include:
  1. Cardio
  2. Double tap
  3. Beware of bathrooms
  4. Always wear a seatbelt
  17. Don't be a hero.
  18. Limber up
  22. When in doubt, know your way out
  29. Check the back seat
• Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome:
  • Two men enter, one man leaves. It may be the only rule, but it is rigidly enforced.
  • The only other rule we hear of in Bartertown (where the titular Thunderdome can be found): "Bust a deal, face the wheel."
• Frank Martin's personal code from The Transporter series:
  Rule 1: The deal is the deal. The conditions of the deal will not be changed after it has been confirmed.
  Rule 2: No names.
  Rule 3: Never look in the package.
• Gremlins includes three rules that are critical for taking care of a mogwai. The last is most important, because breaking it transforms mogwai into gremlins.
  1. Don’t allow them near bright light.
  2. Don’t let them get wet.
  3. Don’t feed them after midnight.
  • Gremlins 2: The New Batch includes a scene where Audience Surrogates learn the rules and immediately start punching holes in them, particularly the last one, since “after midnight” is very ambiguous. At the end of the scene, a gremlin pops out and attacks the group, serving as a Take That, Audience!
• In Scream (1996), Randy lays out the rules to survive a horror movie:
  1. You can never have sex. (Though Sidney has sex with Billy and survives.)
  2. Never drink alcohol or do drugs. (Though Randy drinks beer and survives.)
  3. Never, under any circumstances, say, “I’ll be right back.”
  • Randy provides other lists of “rules” in the sequels, but they are more tropes than rules.
• Highlander ,and the series as well, rules that the immortals follow.
  1. All fights must be one on one
  2. An immortal may never interfere in a fight between two others
  3. No fights may occur on holy ground
  4. mortals shouldn’t learn about immortals if at all possible.
  • of course many immortals are prone to bending or breaking said rules if it suits them. Most will not break the holy ground rule, though.
• Karate a Muerte en Torremolinos: We only hear the third commandment of the Catholic Surfers: You will surf daily if you want to reach spirit peace.

Literature

• Animal Farm has the principles of Animalism, which are written on the side of the barn for all to see. The first principle was "All animals are equal". As their system slipped into totalitarianism and tyranny under Napoleon and his team of pigs, the principles got altered and removed until only a subversion of the first rule remained: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." The other six laws, in order of appearance:
  • Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
  • Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
  • No animal shall wear clothes.
  • No animal shall sleep in a bed.
    • After the pigs move into the old house and begin sleeping in the beds, it is amended with "with sheets".
  • No animal shall drink alcohol.
    • After the pigs become drunk on alcohol, it is amended with "in excess".
  • No animal shall kill another animal.
    • After the mass executions of political opponents, it is amended with "without reason".
  • All animals are equal.
    • But some animals are more equal than others.
• Christian Nation has the Fifty Blessings, which President Steve Jordan had put into law that supersedes the American Constitution — many of which are vague and unenforceable.
• The badgers in The Cold Moons have ancient laws known as "the Adamus". What these laws are is never properly discussed, but it's likely similar to the Ten Commandments.
• The Code of Dinotopia has ten commandments, plus one that was lost to time and natural erosion.
  1. Survival of all or none
  2. One raindrop raises the sea
  3. Weapons are enemies, even to their owners
  4. Give more, take less
  5. Others first, self last
  6. Observe, listen, and learn
  7. Do one thing at a time
  8. Sing every day
  9. Exercise imagination
  10. Eat to live, don't live to eat
  11. In the original book, an old sage suggests the damaged last commandment is "Don't pee in the bath." In the mini-series, this was changed to "Follow the Light."
  • A twelfth commandment can be found in the first letters of the listed eleven, "Sow good seed."
• Discworld
  • The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are:
    1. Silence.
    2. Books must be returned no later than the last date shown.
    3. Do not interfere with the nature of causality.
  • The disc's gods all have their own. It's mentioned that the gods who endure longest tend to be the ones with the easiest commandments to follow - Offler the Crocodile God, oldest god on the Disc, only has a tiny handful of them and they're mostly about not eating broccoli. Sweevo, god of cut timber, banned the practice of "panupunitoplasty" (a word he made up) just to mess with people. Meanwhile Nuggan, principal deity of Borogravia and also the god of Things In Correct Places On Desks, started with a simple list of commandments, but constantly adds to his list of Abominations so that his holy book is a three-ring binder. They got so extreme and nonsensical (crop rotation, shirts with six buttons, cheese, babies, the colour blue, jigsaw puzzles, etc.) that Borogravians began praying to their Duchess for succor, elevating her to quasi-deity status and effectively killing Nuggan, so that his last Abominations are likened to the echoes of a lunatic.
• The Dresden Files has Seven Laws of Magic. Violators will be killed.
  • Thou shalt not kill by use of magic. ^note Pretty self-explanatory, though primarily limited to humans. This even means indirect killing, such as pushing a man off a building with magically summoned wind. That said, if it was killing in self-defense, it might be excused with the person being put on parole.
  • Thou shalt not transform others. ^note No Forced Transformations, but one can transform one's own body.
  • Thou shalt not invade the mind of another. ^note No non-consensual Mind Probes, but telepathic communication and medical observations are fine if very close to the line.
  • Thou shalt not enthrall another. ^note No Mind Control, also the only one that applies to interactions with nonhumans.
  • Thou shalt not reach beyond the borders of life. ^note No necromancy or other messing with the forces of life and death when it comes to mortals. One can perform it on animals without breaking the law.
  • Thou shalt not swim against the Currents of Time. ^note Do not try to change the past through temporal manipulation, lest you create a paradox.
  • Thou shalt not seek beyond the Outer Gates. ^note Do not mess with the forces beyond this universe, referred to as Outsiders.
• The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: Eight of those. Well, 10 actually, but Mosey the pirate captain dropped two of the stone tablets as he walked down Mount Salsa.
• The Island of Doctor Moreau:
  • Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not Men?
  • Not to suck up Drink; that is the Law. Are we not Men?
  • Not to eat Fish or Flesh; that is the Law. Are we not Men?
  • Not to claw the Bark of Trees; that is the Law. Are we not Men?
  • Not to chase other Men; that is the Law. Are we not Men?
• Isaac Asimov's Robot Series: Created through the help of John W. Campbell, Dr Asimov wrote the Three Laws of Robotics, which became imitated by many other SF writers in works about Artificial Intelligence. Note that unlike other sets of commandments, these laws are hard-coded into the robots' artificial brains. Robots are designed with utilitarian values, deontology being incorporated at the second law level. This means that if a robot is near a runaway trolley which will run into and kill five people, but it can stop it by shoving a large person in the way, then it will kill one human to save five humans (but would much rather sacrifice itself to save those five people). Many simpler models will then break down because they were put into a position where they broke the first law. The most highly-advanced AI in Dr. Asimov's stories actually deduced a Zeroth law due to the details of the first law: A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. Still, robots capable of understanding this level of abstraction are rare, and even thinking about a method of circumventing the first law is liable to cause them to break down.
  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
• The Stormlight Archive: The Ideals of the Knights Radiant. The First Ideal was common to all orders, but the others varied.
• Michael Moorcock's book The Warhound And The Worlds Pain had the main character go through a valley in which the only law was steal nothing. Not as easy as it sounds, as it's then explained that pretty much any crime can be defined in terms of stealing: murder is the theft of life, lying is the theft of choice, etc.

Live-Action TV

• Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS has at least fifty-one rules for himself and his team as of the last episode of season 7. Gibbs' rules (as of Season 8 Episode 24). Yes there are a few doubles. Word of God explains the doubles of Rules 1, 2, and 3 are Golden Rules imparted on Gibbs by Franks. It was never said which belongs in Franks' set.
  The Unwritten rule: Do what you have to for family.
  1: Never screw (over) your partner.
  1: Never let suspects stay together.
  2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene.
  3: Don't believe what you're told. Double check.
  3: Never be unreachable.
  4: If you have a secret, the best thing is to keep it to yourself. The second-best is to tell one other person if you must. There is no third-best.
  5: You don't waste good.
  6: Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness.
  7: Always be specific when you lie.
  8: Never take anything for granted.
  9: Never go anywhere without a knife.
  10: Never get personally involved in a case.
  11: When the job is done, walk away.
  12: Never date a co-worker.
  13: Never, ever involve lawyers.
  15: Always work as a team.
  18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.
  22: Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation.
  23: Never mess with a Marine's coffee, if you want to live.
  27: Two ways to follow: First way they never notice you. Second way they only notice you.
  35: Always watch the watchers.
  38: Your case. Your lead.
  39: There is no such thing as a coincidence.
  40: If it seems like someone is out to get you, they are.
  44: First things first, hide the women and children.
  45: Clean up your own messes.
  51: Sometimes you're wrong (addendum to original rules, and written on the back of Rule 13).
• Monty Python's Flying Circus gives us the rules of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Walamaloo:
  • Rule One: No poofters.
  • Rule Two: No member of the faculty is to maltreat the Abos in any way at all if there's anybody watching.
  • Rule Three: No poofters.
  • Rule Four: This term, I don't want to catch anybody not drinking in their room after lights out.
  • Rule Five: No poofters.
  • Rule Six: There is no Rule Six.
  • Rule Seven: No poofters.
• The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Game" introduces us to Lefler's Laws, a list of reminders that Lt. Lefler wrote for herself anytime she learned anything important. She's written 102 of them, and a few of them come out during the episode as appropriate:
  • Law 1: You can only count on yourself.
  • Law 17: When all else fails, do it yourself.
  • Law 36: You gotta go with what works.
  • Law 91: Always watch your back.
  • At the end of the episode, Westley, who has developed a small romance with her, is preparing to return to the Academy, and offers this: "Law 103: A couple of light years can't keep good friends apart."
• On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Ferengi characters (especially Quark) would occasionally quote from "The Rules of Acquisition", found here. There are at least 285 official rules, apparently, and more unofficial rules. The first and most important Rule of Acquisition: Once you have their money, never give it back.

Music

• "Ten Crack Commandments" by The Notorious B.I.G.. In short:
  1. Don't say how much money you have on you.
  2. Keep your intentions to yourself.
  3. Don't trust anyone wholeheartedly.
  4. Never get high on your own supply.
  5. Don't sell crack where you live.
  6. Don't extend credit.
  7. Keep your business and your family separated.
  8. Don't keep a firearm on yourself.
  9. Stay away from the cops if you're not getting arrested.
  10. Don't take crack from someone else on consignment (selling on their behalf) if you're not already established.
• “New Rules” by Dua Lipa.
  1. Don’t pick up the phone. (You know he’s only calling cuz he’s drunk and alone.)
  2. Don’t let him in. (You’ll have to kick him out again.)
  3. Don’t be his friend. (You know you’ll only wake up in his bed in the morning. And if you’re under him, you ain’t getting over him.)
• The Moonglows' "The Ten Commandments of Love":
  1. Thou shalt never love another
  2. And stand by me all the while
  3. Take happiness with the heartaches
  4. And go through life wearing a smile
  5. Thou shalt always have faith in me, in everything I do or say
  6. Love me with all your heart and soul, until our life on earth is through
  7. Come to me when I am lonely
  8. Kiss me when you hold me tight
  9. Treat me sweet and gentle
  10. When we say goodnight

Pinballs

• Data East's RoboCop has the three Prime Directives from the movie, which must be completed to enable multiball.

Radio

• The Brewing Network at times refers to what they call "the brewer's code", which is "don't be a dick". Usually cited when a competition relies on the honor code (ie not checking the internet for answers) or talking about behavior and beer festivals and conferences.

Tabletop Games

• Geist: The Sin-Eaters has the Old Laws of the Dominions of the Underworld. Each Dominion has its own set of laws, such as "Take nothing, leave nothing," "Speak not to the shades" or "Bow before passing guardsmen." It's suggesting that Storytellers tempt the players into breaking them... but in-game, most Sin-Eaters are very reluctant to break them, as doing so draws the instant attention of the Kerberos that runs the Dominion.
• The original Vampire: The Masquerade had Traditions that vampires (Camarilla vampires, anyway) were required to follow.
  • The First Tradition: The Masquerade
    Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
  • The Second Tradition: The Domain
    Thy Domain is thy concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word in thy Domain.
  • The Third Tradition: The Progeny
    Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shalt be slain.
  • The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting
    Those thou create are thine own children. Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shalt command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.
  • The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality
    Honor one another's Domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shalt present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art Nothing.
  • The Sixth Tradition: Destruction
    Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of Destruction belongeth only to thine Elder. Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
• In the successor game Vampire: The Requiem, these Traditions are simplified down to three: Masquerade (pretty much the same as above), Progeny (same as above), and Amaranth ("Do not commit diablerie").
• Ars Magica. The Order of Hermes has a Code of Conduct which (among other things) forbids dealing with demons, endangering the Order, interfering with secular governments and spying on or killing other mages. It's the cornerstone of the Order's legal system and all members swear an oath to obey it, nominally on pain of death.
• Paladins in the Forgotten Realms follow many deities, each with a different portfolio, their orders and churches may emphasize different parts of the same god's agenda... you got the picture: an universal and strict code cannot exist. But the common guidelines (priorities and interpretations differ) are Paladin's Virtues from "Quentin's Monograph":
  An organized approach brings the most good for all.
  Laws exist to bring prosperity to those under them.
  Unjust laws must be overturned or changed in a reasonable and positive fashion.
  People rule; laws help.
  Cause the most good through the least harm.
  Protect the weak.
  Goodness is not a natural state, but must be fought for to be attained and maintained.
  Lead by example.
  Let your deeds speak your intentions.
  Goodness radiates from the heart.
  Give others your mercy, but keep your wits about you.
• Old World of Darkness:
  • Werewolf: The Apocalypse presents the Litany of the Garou Nation^note Aside from the 9th and 13th ones, the degree to which the letter and the spirit of these laws are kept tends to vary between tribes.
    Garou shall not mate with Garou.
    Combat the Wyrm wherever it dwells and wherever it breeds.
    Respect the territory of another.
    Accept an honorable surrender.
    Submit to those higher in station.
    The first share of the kill for the greatest in station.
    Ye shall not eat the flesh of humans.
    Respect those beneath ye — all are of Gaia.
    The Veil shall not be lifted.
    Do not suffer thy people to tend thy sickness.
    The leader may be challenged at any time during peace.
    The leader may not be challenged during wartime.
    Ye shall take no action that causes a Caern to be violated.
  • Werewolf: The Forsaken likewise has the Oath of the Moon, with precepts such as. "The Wolf Must Hunt," "The Herd Must Not Know", "The Low Honor the High; the High Honor the Low," "The People Do Not Murder the People," "Respect Your Prey," "The Uratha Shall Cleave to the Human," and "Do Not Eat the Flesh of Man or Wolf." Each tribe has a little sub-clause to this Oath, such as "Offer No Surrender You Would Not Accept" (the Blood Talons), "Pay Each Spirit in Kind" (the Bone Shadows), "Let No Sacred Place in Your Territory Be Violated" (the Hunters in Darkness), "Honor Your Territory in All Things" (the Iron Masters), and "Allow No One to Witness or Tend To Your Weakness" (the Storm Lords).
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Most religious organizations in the Old World follow a set of tenets from their Patron God. They're an especially serious matter for priests, who can lose access to their holy magic if they violate their god's will.

Theater

• "Ten Duel Commandments" from Hamilton, which takes inspiration from "Ten Crack Commandments" by the Notorious B.I.G. as rules for how to conduct an illegal act.
  1. Demand an apology from the other party for the grievances inflicted.
  2. Each side gets a close friend as their second.
  3. Have your seconds negotiate either a settlement or a time and place for a duel.
  4. Procure pistols and get a doctor on site, but make sure he doesn't actually witness the duel itself.
  5. Your duel should be in the early morning on high ground.
  6. Leave a note for loved ones before going.
  7. Confess your sins and prepare for the duel itself; leave no Unfinished Business.
  8. Seconds have one last chance to arrange a peaceful settlement.
  9. Prepare yourself with the necessary courage.
  10. TEN PACES, FIRE!!!

Video Games

• The Elder Scrolls:
  • The Nine Divines (Eight Aedra who sacrificed great amounts of their divine power to create Mundus, the mortal plane, and one Deity of Human Origin) are the primary entities worshiped throughout Tamriel. They each have their own commandment:
    1. Stendarr says: Be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel. Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy.
    2. Arkay says: Honor the earth, its creatures, and the spirits, living and dead. Guard and tend the bounties of the mortal world, and do not profane the spirits of the dead.
    3. Mara says: Live soberly and peacefully. Honor your parents, and preserve the peace and security of home and family.
    4. Zenithar says: Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Spend wisely, and you will be comfortable. Never steal, or you will be punished.
    5. Talos says: Be strong for war. Be bold against enemies and evil, and defend the people of Tamriel.
    6. Kynareth says: Use Nature's gifts wisely. Respect her power, and fear her fury.
    7. Dibella says: Open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love. Treasure the gifts of friendship. Seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love.
    8. Julianos says: Know the truth. Observe the law. When in doubt, seek wisdom from the wise.
    9. Akatosh says: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests.
    10. The Nine say: Above all else, be good to one another.
  • The Alessian Order, a rabidly anti-Elven religious sect which established a Theocracy in the 1st Era that wielded nearly as much power as the Emperor at its height, had a set known as the "Exclusionary Mandates," which ultimately all boil down to an argument that the the human interpretation of Akatosh is good, the elven interpretation of him is bad, and it's one's duty to purge the latter from the former. All of them are numbered "1" because the Order considered all of them equally important.
    The Exclusionary Mandates of Maruhkite Selection: All Are Equal
    1: That the Supreme Spirit Akatosh is of unitary essence, as proven by the monolinearity of Time.
    1: That Shezarr the missing sibling is Singularly Misplaced and therefore Doubly Venerated.
    1: That the protean substrate that informs all denial of (1) is the Aldmeri Taint.
    1: That the Prophet Most Simian demonstrated that monothought begets Proper-Life.
    1: That the purpose of Proper-Life is the Expungement of the Taint.
    1: That the Arc of Time provides the mortal theater for the Sacred Expungement.
    1: That Akatosh is Time is Proper-Life is Taint-Death.
  • The Dark Brotherhood, an illegal organization of assassins whose membership mostly takes a sadistic glee in killing and who practice a Religion of Evil, has a set known as the Five Tenets:
    Tenet 1: Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.
    Tenet 2: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.
    Tenet 3: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.
    Tenet 4: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.
    Tenet 5: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.
• The Phantom Thieves in Persona 5 set down only two rules to regulate themselves regarding their business of stealing people's hearts: Any potential target must be agreed on unanimously, and the Phantom Thieves must never kill their target, intentionally or otherwise.
• In Quest for Glory III, the city-state of Tarna was ruled by this simple code of law:
  Thou shalt harm none
  Thou shalt not use magic upon the streets of Tarna
  Thou shalt not take that which is not thine.
  Thou shalt behave with honor.
• In World of Warcraft Shadowlands, there is a Broker named Ve'nari who, while trapped in the Maw, has evaded capture and torment from its inhabitants and the Jailer himself for untold eons. Ve'nari lives by a strict set of rules to ensure her relative freedom and instructs the Player Character to follow them if they want her aid in subverting the Jailer's ambitions.
  Rule 1: Always have an escape plan. (She admits to the irony of this rule since she's still trapped in the Maw itself, if not a prisoner.)
  Rule 2: Keep a low profile. Don't draw the Jailer's attention to yourself.
  Rule 3: Trust is earned. If you want her trust and support, you have to work for it.
  Rule 4: Always keep a list of potential threats to your safety. Prioritize who or what is the larger threat, and plan to eliminate it.
  Rule 5: Be audacious, when the situation demands it.
  Rule 6: Implement new concealment measures regularly.
  Rule 7: Betrayal is inevitable, even from those close to you. Especially from those close to you.

Visual Novels

• Umineko: When They Cry uses a variation of Knox's Decalogue:
  1. It is forbidden for the culprit to be anyone not mentioned in the early part of the story.
  2. It is forbidden for supernatural agencies to be employed as a detective technique.
  3. It is forbidden for hidden passages to exist.
  4. It is forbidden for unknown drugs or hard-to-understand scientific devices to be used.
  5. (Not Included) ("No Asian characters must appear"... the story takes place in Japan...)
  6. It is forbidden for accident or intuition to be employed as a detective technique.
  7. It is forbidden for the detective to be the culprit.
  8. It is forbidden for the case to be resolved with clues that are not presented.
  9. It is permitted for observers to let their own conclusions and interpretations be heard.
  10. It is forbidden for a character to disguise themselves as another without any clues.
  • Van Dine's 20 rules were featured shortly in EP7, but only a few of them were used, as the gameboard probably doesn't follow those commandments.

Web Comics

• Captain Tagon (and other characters) in Schlock Mercenary often quote from "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries"
• Perfection Engine feature commandments of the Eidolon society as extra pages. In aiming for a literally perfect society, some of the commandments can get rather extreme.
  All Eidolons shall be equal in the eyes of the law. The King is not to be perceived as a higher power — only an aid by means to perfect our souls should we fall astray through the passage of time or the errors in managing our morality. Eidolons shall be punished and put under corrective care immediately should they fall too far astray from the greater goodness this society aims for with their inner negativity, or in extreme cases, outer expressions of negativity towards oneself or another.
• Tamberlane: The Edicts are... not pretty.
  The Ten Edicts Of Creature Kind

  That Which Is Human Shall Be Destroyed
  Abroad Shall Not Be Glorified
  Public Education Shall Strictly Adhere To Approved Curriculum
  Only Parliament Approved Technology Shall Be Utilized
  No Species Shall Consider Themselves Above Another
  No Creature Shall Knowingly Harm Another Creature
  Any Knowledge Of Edicts Being Broken Shall Be Reported
  Any Animal Harboring Human Thoughts Is Tainted
  A Tainted Animal Is Not A Creature
  A Tainted Animal Must Be Branded And Banished To Abroad

  These Edicts This Day And Hereafter Shall Govern All Creature Kind. These Edicts This Day And Hereafter Shall Be Held Above All Others. These Edicts This Day And Hereafter Shall Never Be Broken. That Each Council May, By Their Wisdom And Strength, Become a Beacon To Lead Us To A Brighter Future.

Web Original

• The Smosh video "A CULT BRAINWASHED ME!" revolves around a cult called "the Church of Religiotology" that worships a being called "Herman" who is really a thirteen-year old boy pretending to be God that the cult's founder, Com Truise, meet on an AOL chat forum. Herman gave Com three commandments to base the religion on:
  1. i'm reel
  2. every1 must b sexy n ware sky blue robes
  3. gay marrage is wrong, cuz it's icky, lol.
• The Kill Count: Has its own page.

Western Animation

• The Fairly OddParents! has the Da Rules, which are the rules fairies godparents and the children they are assigned to must follow. Da Rules are not always enforced consistently and often run on New Rules as the Plot Demands. In a few episodes Timmy manages to mess up so badly that a new rules is added to keep anybody from doing it again. Some of the more commonly cited rules include:
  • A godchild must keep the existence of their fairies a secret.
  • Fairy godparents can only be assigned to miserable children and must move to another child when they become an adult, stop being miserable, or breaks the previous rule.
  • Fairy magic cannot be directly used to win a nonmagical competition.
  • Fairy magic cannot be used to intentionally kill or cause harm to a human.
  • Fairy magic cannot create or interfere with true love.
  • A godchild cannot wish away another child's fairies.
• In the Futurama episode "Godfellas," a spaceborne Bender becomes host to a tiny civilization that worships him as a god. Leading to...
  Malachi: Behold! The One Commandment!
  GOD NEEDS BOOZE
  Bender: Make it a double!

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