- Pacing 1 - What can Pacing do for You?
- Pacing 2 - The Elements of Pace
- This post, Pacing 3 - The Three Act Structure and the Hero Cycle
- Pacing 4 - Eight Quick Techniques
- Pacing 5 - Example
In Pacing 1, I said why you need pacing. In Pacing 2, I defined the elements of pacing: scene types, agency, stakes, story scope, and unresolved tension. In Pacing 3, I'm going to look at the bigger picture to talk about pacing the entire story. If you pace the story correctly, it should maintain and increase in energy and excitement until the very end.
The Three Act Structure
Most western stories are structured around three acts.
The first act spends a lot of time on the introduction of the setting and characters. The audience (in this case, your players) is still getting to know the setting and characters. There are a lot of exposition scenes. It ends with a call to adventure (which the protagonists often refuse or misinterpret), and first act twist -- the event that commits the protagonists to the adventure. This is the first real threat scene, and it pulls at the PCs' motivations -- their character hooks and group premise. The stakes (other than general sorts of stakes related to characters and setting) aren't even in effect until the call to adventure. The stakes don't start to rise until the first act twist.
The second act is the majority of the action in the story. The rising action is where the protagonists make progress toward solving the story problem, coming up with a goal and plans to address it, then gathering resources to achieve their goal: knowledge, skills, allies, and equipment. The stakes rise in the second act. There are a lot of opportunity scenes, fewer exposition scenes, and more and more threat scenes. Tension builds as the protagonists uncover more and more problems -- more than they can resolve, leading to a growing pile of unresolved tension (hence the name "rising action"). The second act ends with the second act twist -- a major threat that ruins the protagonists' plans and shows that all of their preparation is not enough. The story problems are more insurmountable than they thought. Threat after threat arises after the twist, sapping all of their agency, creating what's called "the darkest hour." At this point, the protagonists are about to lose hope.
The third act starts with a revelation. The protagonists learn what they need to know or find what they need to have in order to resolve the story problem. They revise their goal and plan, and reach the climax of the story. At the climax, there's usually a big, high stakes opportunity scene where they risk it all to put their plan in place. The antagonists respond with a big, intense threat, but it opens up a new opportunity for the protagonists to land the knockout punch. The third act ends with wrap-up, where loose ends get tied up, and we see the protagonists return to the state they were in at the start of the first act, only changed by their experience. In RPGs, the third-act wrap-up is where the PCs are reminded of the adventure hooks and magic beans they picked up along the way -- their tie in to the next adventure.
The Hero's Journey
The hero's journey or hero cycle is a mythical version of the three act structure. The two progress in a similar way. I will use the three act structure to describe the hero's journey, so that you can think of both in the same frame of reference.
The hero starts off in the familiar world he knows, and the audience gets a feel for what that world is like. It creates a baseline for the changes that are about to happen. This is the first act introduction. The hero doesn't understand the call to adventure or refuses it. Problems mount, but the hero refuses to engage them, or doesn't see them. Then the hero acquires a spirit guide or supernatural aid. This is the thing that makes the hero special -- a magic sword, a wizard companion, a rogue AI, a prophecy, etc. The problems build, and with the aid of this new supernatural ally, the hero crosses the threshold, accepting the call to adventure and crossing into the unknown. This is the first act twist that helps the protagonists to see clearly that adventure calls.
This begins the second act. The rising action is expressed as tests, temptations, and trials. The hero also gathers resources, grows in skill, and learns about the mystery of the unknown. In the hero cycle, the hero recruits several helpers. In a classic hero cycle, the hero recruits the party in act 2. In a typical RPG, the hero is an entire party of protagonist PCs; so this is where the party gains NPC allies. The second act twist in the hero cycle is death (literal or symbolic), which takes the hero to the abyss (literal or symbolic), which is the same as the darkest hour of the three act structure.
From the abyss, the hero is reborn anew. This starts the third act. The hero goes through a transformation or turning point and acquires a talisman or elixir in the abyss, which the hero brings out to use against his foe. This is the revelation of the three act structure. From here, the hero vanquishes his foe, in the story's climax. Then the hero returns home to the familiar world for the wrap-up.
As it is depicted as a cycle, the hero departs and returns from the same place - the familiar world they know well. Their home.
Pacing the Three Act Structure
Now that you have the vocabulary to discuss pacing and a primer on the three act structure and hero's journey, let's go over how to use the elements of pace to create the three act structure and hero's journey in a tabletop RPG. This is a sure fire way to keep the players' interest in your campaign. It's a time-tested method for every session being more exciting than the last.
- Act 1
- Introduction: Mostly exposition, some opportunity scenes; only use low stakes threats for setting and character development, if at all.
- Call to Adventure: Exposition should be incomplete. The call may be vague or confusing. The need for adventure should start small and grow. Continue with mostly exposition, slowly building tension toward the first act twist. If you like the hero cycle, this is where you give them their supernatural aid. They don't know what it is yet or why they need it.
- First Act Twist: All of a sudden, raise the stakes with a high stakes threat that forces the PCs to form a plan. Select stakes that are personal to them, hooked into their character backgrounds. If you're using the hero cycle, the PCs' supernatural aid helps them survive the threat.
- Act 2
- Rising Action: Build tension by using a few opportunity scenes to address the story problem (one or more to gather resources, then one or more to advance their plan to achieve their story goal), followed by a threat scene to build tension, and an exposition scene to add more unresolved problems related to the main story problem. Repeat this process, slowly increasing the ratio of threats to opportunities.
- Gather Resources: This is part of the rising action. Make sure your allies are memorable and iconic. Make the PCs either love them, hate them, or laugh at them. This goes for factions, unique and important objects, and locations. Love, hate, or comic relief. This has the effect of bringing those people, places and things closer to the PCs' hearts, so that imperiling them later raises the stakes.
- Second Act Twist: Hit the PCs with threat after threat after threat, driving them into a reactive, defensive posture. Raise the stakes and give them some exposition to show that all that they have wrought is not sufficient to overcome the problem they thought they could overcome.
- Darkest Hour: Push them until they hit rock bottom. Take away all but one hit point. Drive their sanity stat to the breaking point. Kill off some of their allies, and send the rest into hiding. Break their magic sword or total the AV-4. Drive the stakes so high they seem impossible...
- Act 3
- Revelation: Give them brief exposition and a big, desperate opportunity. This is their second chance. This is their chance at rebirth. This is the magic elixir in the underworld (if you're using the hero cycle). They put everything into one last super-duper high stakes opportunity scene... and win! They're back in the game! This should empower the players, making them feel in control again.
- Climax: With their new resource, they attack the antagonist. Here's another big opportunity scene with moderate to high stakes. Follow it with a high-stakes threat that the PCs wallop, leaving the antagonist open for one final big opportunity scene -- the highest stakes of them all! Climax! Victory!
- Wrap-Up: Take all the loose ends, unresolved problems, potential plot hooks (magic beans), etc. and let some resurface in low-stakes threat or exposition scenes, leading the PCs to the next adventure. But let them go home, to the familiar world so that the familiar juxtaposes the intense world of the foregoing scenes. Give them their reward for vanquishing the foe and solving the adventure problem.
A Tool for your GM Kit
Here's a tool to help you put all this to use. Use this pacing planning sheet to help put scenes and events in a logical order that builds tension toward a climax. The three act structure and hero's journey are archetypal story structures. Using them will make your plot resonate with your players.
Up next, Pacing 4 - Eight Quick Techniques