Character Elements, Thematic Sequences

questions
#1

When exploring themes, can character elements be freely distributed when writing thematically-encoded sequences, or should I only use those which are respectively underneath the theme? This question is mainly directed toward archetypes, where some character elements may not show up until Act 2. I’d like these characters to be present within Act 1.

How flexible is Dramatica when using character elements for character interaction and plot progression? From what I remember, archetype characters cannot dip into the roles/elements of others.

Thanks for helping me out!

#2

You’re talking about the functions of the OS characters in the Overall Story, right?

If so, there’s almost total flexibility. The only hard rule is to avoid putting a dynamic pair of elements on the same player, e.g. don’t have one character represent both Pursuit and Avoid.

Ok, one other hard rule - don’t double dip on elements, i.e. don’t have two characters play tug-o-war with one element (but you can have multiple players collectively embody an element, like how Fischer’s army of mind-guards all play the antagonist in Inception)

The themes, issues, and elements of the OS Throughline as presented in the PSR are a different beast, they are faced by all the characters in the Overall Story as a group. One common perspective. But OS functions (ala the archetypes) you can divvy up and parse out pretty much as you please.

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