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Problems tend to come in five varieties, of which varieties 3, 4, and 5 qualify for this trope:
#:1. '''Known Knowns:''' There are the known dangers, these you deal with directly: My opponent has access to [[Frickin' Laser Beams|laser blasters]]—I need [[Deflector Shields]] before I attack.
#:2. '''Known Unknowns:''' These are the things strategists know they don't know, but they can prepare for the different possible outcomes: The enemy has his forces deployed elsewhere when you are [[Storming the Castle]], so you need a plan for what to do if these forces do not return in time (to take full advantage), and you need a plan for what to do if the enemy forces return early.
*:* Someone who is especially good at this kind is probably [[Crazy Prepared]].
#:3. '''Unknown Unknowns:''' Then there are the unknown unknowns, or even unknowable unknowns. These cannot be prepared for, planned for, or in any way anticipated. They are the bane of all well laid plans. This can often be a [[Genre Shift]], for example, and the character was in the dark because of [[The Masquerade]]. The mage being surprised by the space alien, for instance, or [[The Mafia]] [[Death Note|not expecting]] [[Psychic Powers]]. [[Deus Ex Machina|Acts of God]] and [[Outside Context Villain]]s tend to fit in here, unless characters are aware that they are a [[Cosmic Plaything]], and even then it's hard to know what you don't know, except that you don't know anything.
#:4. '''Unknown Knowns:''' It happens. Sometimes the plotter knows a given [[The Fool|person]], event, or variable is present... but doesn't see how it could ''[[Pride|possibly]]'' impact their foolproof plans and proceeds to [[Not Now, Kiddo|dismiss it]] or [[Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal|mistreat those "irrelevant" to his plot]], and otherwise ignore [[Sword of Damocles|the sword overhead]] [[Laser-Guided Karma|while whittling at the rope holding it there]].
*:* In [[Mystery Fiction]], these people are the suspects and facts that are quickly [[Beneath Suspicion|discarded in favor of the high profile suspects]]. However, add up all the background chatter and the motivations for why [[The Butler Did It|it was the butler]] becomes incredibly obvious.
*:* [[The Dog Bites Back]]
*:* [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]
#:5. '''False Assumptions:''' Even the most diabolical scheme can be doomed before it even starts if it's built on [[Poor Communication Kills|faulty information.]] That [[Futurama|ridiculously circuitous]] plan to steal the [[MacGuffin]] from the safe deposit box by sneaking into the bank disguised as security guards? The only thing [[The Hero]]'s grandfather hid there was some [[All That Glitters|old family memorabilia]]; the [[MacGuffin]] is hidden somewhere else entirely (if it even exists).
Any plotter claiming to have all five of these variables accounted for (and actually has a plot succeed) is very likely playing a [[Gambit Roulette]] and [[Deus Ex Machina|getting help from on high]] to do it.
== Fan FicWorks ==
* This tends to happen to heroes of [[Peggy Sue]] fanfics when the changes they make to the timeline come back to bite them in the ass. An excellent example of this occurs in ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]] and the Nightmares of Futures Past''; Harry rants to Dumbledore about his living conditions with the Dursleys at one point, and Dumbledore responds {{spoiler|by using memory charms on the Dursleys in an effort to improve the situation. When an unknown third party later removes the charms and Vernon ''remembers being charmed'', Harry's already-rocky relationship with the Dursleys turns downright venomous, culminating in a savage beating during the first year/second year summer break that leaves Harry in critical condition.}}
* {{spoiler|Tzeentch's failure to see the C'tan plans coming}} was what forced {{spoiler|the canon!40k gods}} to work together in ''[[Thousand Shinji]]''. Continues into ''[[The Open Door]]'', where newChaos forces occasionally find themselves facing things even the supposedly-omniscient {{spoiler|and inheritor of Tzeentcch's mantle}} Tzintchi fails to see coming and thus pay for it.
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