h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When designing your evil lair, have the architect include large quantities of explosives arranged near the windows for effect and linked to a single trigger which the hero can find seconds before you have planned to defeat him.

As the Krylma Leader would say, an Evil Lair is worth loads of bonus style points, and including a means for destroying your own base good in a cosmic sense. However, the Krylma Leader and I agree that neither an evil base nor a self-destruct mechanism within it are truly necessary.

Take one of literatures greatest adversaries, Iago from Shakespeare's Othello. He didn't have much base to speak of. And he certainly didn't have a complicated device that a hero could use to derail his plan. And yet he is a villain, through and through. Sauron, meanwhile, had a Lair (Mordor) and a Self Destruct Button (the volcano/ring combination), but they weren't specifically tied to each other.

Having said that, though, the Evil Lair is a true style unto itself. Like a cat, it really chooses its villain rather than being chosen by a pet owner. You have to make an Evil Lair your own, but you also have to let the evil base be its own thing. Sure, it can be an egotistical celebration of how awesome you are...and let's face it, you're pretty awesome...but don't expect it to be a perfect fit if it's all about you. There'll be a drafty corridor, or a trap door that doesn't go where it's supposed to, or possibly a rogue AI on one of the computers. These things happen if you don't treat your base well.

I'm Afgnaap5, and along with The Krylma Leader, we approve this message.