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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5022437" data-attributes="member: 4937">This structure only applies if the story begins with the hero already a hero.  This is not true of every story.  Often the story begins with the hero being somewhat ordinary, but with great potential.  In this case, the story begins with a scene establishing the likeability of the hero and the justness of his cause.  By the end of Act 1 the protagonist we have grown to like faces some great loss, and the middle period of the story is about the protagonist's quest to become a hero so that they can avenge themselves and (if they are not an anti-hero) save the day/world/universe in doing so.This is the structure of movies like Star Wars, Conan, Rocky, Kickboxer, and to some extent The Chronicles of the Dragonlance (which begins in defeat), The Hobbit (which begins with Bilbo acting foolishly in a series of misadventures), etc.  Often, but not necessarily, in such stories there is a wise teacher or mentor that helps the hero unlock their potential - Mr. Miyagi, Gandalf, Mikey, etc.The protagonist doesn't always begin the story as the hero, and in D&D the story never begins with the PC's as heroes unless you 'skip part of the story' by starting at a higher level.</blockquote>