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{{trope}}
Frequently characters, especially [[The Hero|heroic]] [[Main Character
One way of doing this try to make the enemy think that the enemy is outnumbered or surrounded, by pretending that there are people on your side which in fact do not exist. The most basic way to do this is to lie to the enemy. For example, the hero might say "I have snipers covering the back door" when they are in fact all alone.
The hero might also call out false commands to non-existent groups. For example, a two man team might loudly call out command likes "First platoon, cover my flank!" Even more sophisticated methods might involve creating simulation or illusion of backup. If the hero is under
{{examples|Examples }}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Usopp from ''[[
== [[
* In ''[[The Open Door]],'' Lars, a demon of New Chaos, is accidentally transported to a plane full of devils. However, the devils are ''terrified'' of Chaos Demons, and Lars uses this trope as well as the fear they have to keep them from killing him, and signing a binding contract with them, saying that Chaos will not invade their home. Once he's not in danger of getting attacked, he reveals that, despite what he insinuated, he's lost, cut off from his people, and has ''no'' idea how he got to this plane to begin with. But because the devils are [[Lawful Evil]], and they signed a contract with him preventing them from attacking him, it leads to epic-level facepalms and groaning from the devils at how easily they were tricked.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Maverick (
* In ''[[Ladyhawke]]'', Philippe the Mouse ([[Matthew Broderick]]) is hearing noises in the woods. He tries to fool his potential attackers by talking to two imaginary friends, saying things like, "You'd better draw your sword, Pierre!" and, "Ah, Louis, you brought your crossbow!" He also uses different voices to make it sound like they are there.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Sending flag signals to non-existent ships is a tactic used several times by [[Horatio Hornblower]] and [[Aubrey-Maturin|Captain Aubrey]] to convince opposing ships to either give up or maneuver to try to avoid the non-existent ships in such a way as to put them at a disadvantage.
* Subverted in the ''[[
* In the Lone Islands section of ''[[The Voyage of the Dawn Treader]]'', Prince Caspian does this, ordering his crew to send signals "to all the other ships we haven't got but which it might be well that Gumpas thinks we have."
* In ''[[Beau Geste]]'', the initial assault on a fort is beaten off, but after each new attack, there are fewer defenders. Markoff props up the corpses at their posts to make it look as if there are still plenty of soldiers left.
* [[Keith Laumer]]'s ''The Glory Game''
** Most of the Terran space fleet has left Earth to check out a collection of Hukk ships in another area of space. Commodore Dalton figures out that the ships are a lure and the Hukk are planning a sneak attack to capture the Lunar fortifications. When the Hukk fleet appears near Earth, he bluffs its commander into surrendering by telling them that the rest of the Terran fleet is only minutes away.
** Later on, when a single Hull ship lands on a frontier planet Dalton sets up energy rifles on hills surrounding the ship, After disabling the ship, he tricks the crew into surrendering by making them think they're surrounded by troops. Another character calls Dalton's ploy "the Fort Zinderneuf
* [[
* Several groups in various ''[[Redwall]]'' books use this trick, usually successfully. Of course, it helps that the bluffer is usually ''[[One-Man Army|worth]]'' [[Badass Crew|that many]].
* In ''[[Harry Potter and
== [[Live
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Villain:''' I find that hard to believe.
'''Max:''' Would you believe six?
'''Villain:''' I don't think so.
'''Max:''' How about two cops in a rowboat? }}
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica
* In the ''[[
* There's an episode of ''[[Time Trax]]'' where Darien gets captured by the villain of the week, and Selma makes it sound like the house is surrounded by the police.
* In an episode of ''[[Psych]]'', "Truer Lies," Shawn and a
* From the second season premiere of ''[[Chuck]]'': "My name is Charles Carmichael. I'm a CIA agent, and this is my trap. I don't think you gentlemen recognize the gravity of the predicament you're in. Your call to the Buy More? Yeah, we traced that. Your compound is currently surrounded by 23 infantry troopers, 16 snipers, seven heavy gunners, four demolitions experts and enough ammunition to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger. You're outmatched and you're outgunned. Those pea-shooters you're holding might as well be sharp sticks and strong language...
==
* Swedish
* [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]]: Used by Gideon when going into battle against the Midianites. With only 300 men (God made Gideon send the rest home), they snuck up to the camp, then each of them broke a clay jar to reveal a torch, shouted, and blew horns to make the sleeping Midianites think they were only the torch-bearers of a much larger army. The Midianites got so freaked out they started killing each other as they tried to escape.▼
==
▲* [[
▲* Swedish standup comedian Jan Bylund talks about how, even though he's an adult now, he's afraid of going down into the basement at his parents' house, because he's still convinced that there is a witch living under the stairs. He goes on to say that when he was younger and his mom asked him to go down there to get something, he used to talk in several different voices so that the witch would think he wasn't alone, and also pretend that they had a big, scary dog with them.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Basic ''[[Dungeons
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[Looney Tunes]]: In
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Combat Tropes]]
[[Category:The Oldest Tricks in The Book]]
[[Category:Truth and Lies]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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