I am going to compare the items on the list with the actions of Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Thrawn Trilogy.
The Stormtroopers are still wearing their face-concealing helmets.1.My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.
Thrawn didn't kill Mara Jade after betraying her; he also didn't kill C'boath even after managing to contain him in a place where his powers didn't work. Killing Niles Ferrier instead of hiring him would have solved quite a few problems.4.Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
Thrawn gloated to Mara Jade and didn't kill her even after she tried to kill him.6.I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
Interrogate or imprison for that matter; I am counting both the Cloning Facility and the Chimaera as Thrawn's 'inner sanctum.10.I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.
C'boath, Mara Jade, and Talon Karrde.
Thrawn doesn't leave clues but he does leave many of his enemies alive and this comes back to bite him.11.I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.
If Thrawn had had one of these he might not have made so many mistakes.12.One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.
Thrawn listened to Pellaeon some of the time but not as often as he should have.17.When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.
Thrawn's Stormtroopers are still looking very much like Nazi stormtroopers.21.I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman footsoldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set.
Or employ an insane Jedi Master with mind-bending powers.22.No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.
The Wayland Garrison gets owned by the Heroes Of Endor, Mara Jade, a group of Noghri, and two groups of primitive savages.23.I will keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train my troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize my power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- my troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks.
To give Thrawn his due he does follow this rule as best he can, such as retreating after his defeat at Sluis Van.24.I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.)
Thrawn doesn't do this either.25.No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot.
Thrawn's entire plan hinged on his own genius and the cloning facility; After both were gone all Pellaeon could do was retreat. But Thrawn did at least make a clone of himself.27.I will never build only one of anything important. All important systems will have redundant control panels and power supplies. For the same reason I will always carry at least two fully loaded weapons at all times.
Niles Ferrier, cowardly thief extraordinaire; his bungling ended up creating the Smuggler's Alliance.30.All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.
Thrawn, even though he claims to be better than Vader, still uses Vaderite terror toward underlings on occasion.32.I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.
Thrawn does trust Pellaeon a great deal but still ignores advice that, if followed, might have made a difference; such as only sending one commando team to Coruscant instead of the two that Pellaeon suggested.37.If my trusted lieutenant tells me my Legions of Terror are losing a battle, I will believe him. After all, he's my trusted lieutenant.
Thrawn, even after getting suspicious of the Noghri, didn't expect that they would actually turn on him.38.If an enemy I have just killed has a younger sibling or offspring anywhere, I will find them and have them killed immediately, instead of waiting for them to grow up harboring feelings of vengeance towards me in my old age.
Thrawn is always leading his fleet into battle directly.39.If I absolutely must ride into battle, I will certainly not ride at the forefront of my Legions of Terror, nor will I seek out my opposite number among his army.
All of Thrawn's superweapons are either unreliable (C'boath) or have limited applications (the cloaking device). Neither are unstoppable though and Thrawn certainly isn't chivalrous or sporting. I'll give him this.40.I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve.
Thrawn doesn't hire bounty hunters, he hires smugglers but it's close enough and he does only hire them for money. But he screws this up with Niles Ferrier.44.I will only employ bounty hunters who work for money. Those who work for the pleasure of the hunt tend to do dumb things like even the odds to give the other guy a sporting chance.
To give Thrawn his credit, he does attempt to determine who was at fault in the tractor beam incident before assigning blame; and he is more understanding the second time around.45.I will make sure I have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what in my organization. For example, if my general screws up I will not draw my weapon, point it at him, say "And here is the price for failure," then suddenly turn and kill some random underling.
Thrawn's problem tended to be other way around.46.If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor.
Does C'boath count?48.I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge.
I'll give Thrawn a pass on this as he does have the Chimaera's computer shut down after realizing that Mara Jade is loose on the ship. It still doesn't stop her though.50.My main computers will have their own special operating system that will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh powerbooks.
C'boath again!54.I will not strike a bargain with a demonic being then attempt to double-cross it simply because I feel like being contrary.
The Noghri aren't either but they did draw a lot of attention. Also, C'boath!55.The deformed mutants and odd-ball psychotics will have their place in my Legions of Terror. However before I send them out on important covert missions that require tact and subtlety, I will first see if there is anyone else equally qualified who would attract less attention.
The Stormtroopers couldn't capture Luke Skywalker on the one planet in the galaxy where his powers don't work.56.My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.
I'll give Thrawn a pass on this due to his use of ysalamiri in conjunction with the Spaarti cylinders.57.Before employing any captured artifacts or machinery, I will carefully read the owner's manual.
Again, I'll give Thrawn a pass here.58.If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner.
Only half credit for this because Mara Jade was able to use the computer on the Chimaera before she was detected.65.If I must have computer systems with publically available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.
Thrawn does mostly follow this but still runs in to problems because of his repeated attempts to capture Luke and Leia for C'boath.78.I will not tell my Legions of Terror "And he must be taken alive!" The command will be "And try to take him alive if it is reasonably practical."
Thrawn wastes several Noghri teams before resorting to Imperial Intelligence commandos.80.If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress.
Thrawn's plans tend to be of the complex and complicated variety.85.I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button."
The Noghri.88.If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again.
Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade; Thrawn not only lets them live but he goes to considerable lengths to piss them both off. Naturally it doesn't end well.98.If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution.
Instead of actually cleaning up Honoghr, Thrawn just has to keep poisoning their world. This makes them ripe for plucking when the daughter of Darth Vader comes calling.100.Finally, to keep my subjects permanently locked in a mindless trance, I will provide each of them with free unlimited Internet access.
Instead of just killing Admiral Ackbar, Thrawn tries to have him framed and discredited. All it takes to reverse that is one bored slicer.102.I will not waste time making my enemy's death look like an accident -- I'm not accountable to anyone and my other enemies wouldn't believe it.
Again Thrawn leaves alive enemies that he could kill.103.I will make it clear that I do know the meaning of the word "mercy"; I simply choose not show them any.
Thrawn captures the Millennium Falcon and puts in storage just in time for Luke, Mara, and Talon Karrde to use it to escape.116.If I capture the hero's starship, I will keep it in the landing bay with the ramp down, only a few token guards on duty and a ton of explosives set to go off as soon as it clears the blast-range.
Luke, Mara, and Karrde all waltze around the Chimaera in stolen uniforms.130.All members of my Legions of Terror will have professionally tailored uniforms. If the hero knocks a soldier unconscious and steals the uniform, the poor fit will give him away.
Again, the Millennium Falcon is captured instead of vaporized.146.If my surveillance reports any un-manned or seemingly innocent ships found where they are not supposed to be, they will be immediately vaporized instead of brought in for salvage.
Well at least Thrawn manages to do this though he neglected to remove Rukh from the 'trusted' category.147.I will classify my lieutenants in three categories: untrusted, trusted, and completely trusted. Promotion to the third category will be awarded posthumously.
Thrawn tried to do something close to this with the Noghri; naturally it backfired.151.I will not set myself up as a god. That perilous position is reserved for my trusted lieutenant.
Thrawn apparently isn't wearing armor when he really needs it.152.I will instruct my fashion designer that when it comes to accessorizing, second-chance body armor goes well with every outfit.
Thrawn does learn from his mistakes, I'll give him this.166.If the rebels manage to trick me, I will make a note of what they did so that I do not keep falling for the same trick over and over again.
Thrawn does this to Mara Jade and it backfires. Badly.186.I will not devise any scheme in which Part A consists of tricking the hero into unwittingly helping me and Part B consists of laughing at him then leaving him to his own devices.
Thrawn would never have been killed if he'd just cleaned up Honoghr.188.I will funnel some of my ill-gotten gains into urban renewal projects. Although slums add a quaint and picturesque quality to any city, they too often contain unexpected allies for heroes.
Well at least Thrawn does this.198.I will remember that any vulnerabilities I have are to be revealed strictly on a need-to-know basis. I will also remember that no one needs to know.
Does C'boath count?199.I will not make alliances with those more powerful than myself. Such a person would only double-cross me in my moment of glory. I will make alliances with those less powerful than myself. I will then double-cross them in their moment of glory.
Not sure if C'boath has a mustache but he still qualifies: evil, sleazy, and a wizard.203.I will not employ an evil wizard if he has a sleazy mustache.
Well Thrawn does know when to fold, I'll give him this.216.If my Legions of Terror are defeated in a battle, I will quietly withdraw and regroup instead of launching a haphazard mission to assassinate the hero.
A staff of competent detectives might have found out the Skywalker secret. Maybe.226.I will have a staff of competent detectives handy. If I learn that someone in a certain village is plotting against me, I will have them find out who rather than wipe out the entire village in a preemptive strike.
Bilbringi.227.I will never bait a trap with genuine bait.
Thrawn just launches his plans one after the other.229.If I have several diabolical schemes to destroy the hero, I will set all of them in motion at once rather than wait for them to fail and launch them successively.
Are there any that I missed?
