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Short answer: There are 256 element – 64 per class.
Longer answer: There are NOT unique 256 element labels. The English language is not precise enough to distinguish the difference between Pursue in the context of the Activity class, versus Pursue in the context of the Fixed Attitude, Situation, and Psychology classes. Therefore, we used the reduced (chess) set of 64 labels and let context imply the subtle differences.
Here is an explanation pulled from the middle of an FAQ on Dramatica.com:
The different patterns within each class are understandable when you look at how the Dramatica structural model is built. The bottom level is where the elements from which you build your Overall Story characters are found. Unlike the top three levels, however, each item does NOT have its own unique label (e.g. Pursuit and Consider). There is one set (or what we call a “chess set”) of 64 unique labels which cover all of the elements for a single Domain/Throughline. Dramatica consists of four Domains and the elements appear within each of these Domains. The DIFFERENCE between the elements of one Domain and another is the arrangement of the elements within the quads. Though a dynamic pair is never split (e.g. Pursuit and Avoidance), it will be paired with different dynamic pairs to make up each quad. The combination of the four elements within each quad is different from domain to domain. These combinations create slightly different contextual “flavors” for the elements which substitute for unique labels. Therefore, Pursuit in a Situation domain is subtly different than Pursuit in an Activity domain because of the shared elements of the quad in which it is found.
Source: http://dramatica.com/questions/how-do-the-character-elements-work-in-each-of-the-throughlines
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Speaking of context. How much (if any) should we consider the bigger pieces when drilling down into a storyform. I.E how much should they be considered together in a chain vs alone.
For example:
Overall Story Throughline: Physics (Activities)
Overall Story Concern: Obtaining
Overall Story Issue: Self-Interest vs. Morality
Overall Story Problem: Pursuit
Overall Story Solution: Avoid
Overall Story Symptom: Control
Overall Story Response: Uncontrolled
Should self interest primarily be consider in terms of obtaining something (losing something) via some sort of an activity?
Should pursuit be considered in terms of self interest? Not just pursuing in general but pursuing self interest to obtain something via an activity?
And also in case of lets say the symptom (focus) of control: would the characters think the problem is that people are trying to control self interest (or isn’t enough control) over the self interested activities of others to obtain things?
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So what are you waiting for? Let’s do it!
What’s the difference between Pursuit in context of a Situation vs Pursuit in context of an Activity?
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I think it’s up to the author really. This will be greatly affected by the intended genre/type of story that is being told(Thriller, Fantasy etc). And I think it will affect the kinds of characters and their interactions. Here’s what I mean. From my understanding, Universe is a State, Physics is a Process so if we look at the Types, we see The Past, Present, Progress, and The Future. Then Learning,Understanding, Doing and Obtaining for Physics domain. I think pursuit in relation to a Situation could be more of a Goal oriented thing. Dramatica is pretty holistic in its approach so we have to factor in the other throughlines’ appreciations and character resolve in the mix as well. For example pursuit in the case where the OS is Universe and the MC is Physics. The OS character with that element might be the protagonist or antagonist trying to achieve/retard achieving something to do with an External State. If the MC is the one with the Pursuit element, then he/she is the Hero and will engage is an External Process(Activity) e.g chasing, fighting, talking and so on to get to the “Situational” goal of the story. If the MC was in the Psychology Domain, he/she might be pursuing the goal that is with the realms of External State by a Manner of Thinking(Internal Process) and so pursuit in this context might be through a proper/warped way of thinking about the problem and it’ll show up in the character interactions. That’s the fun part. Whereas if the OS was in Physics,achieving the Goal will be an External process. Consequently with a MC domain of Universe/Mind. If the MC is in Mind, pursuit will be colored with What he/she “thinks” should be pursued or about what is being pursued (the External Process due to OS: Physics or their “engagement” with it). But if the MC is in Universe, his/her pursuit might be flavored with an External State, say a condition(maybe a disability) or issues with a Situation in their lives. It’s all up to the author at this point.
If there isn’t one (and Jim tells me there is in the latest version of the Dramatica software, which I can’t get working and have been working with support to resolve) I think it would be extremely helpful for there to be a dictionary of terms that doesn’t simply speak of each of them generally — but includes SOME explanation of what they might mean in each possible context, or how their utility might differ. I feel the Dramatica.com dictionary often speaks only as an element relates to the MC perspective, or maybe more generally without any particular context explained.
Obviously no one wants it to be so granular as to feel prescriptive, but I also personally don’t want to be interpreting terms entirely wrong and ultimately defeating the reason for their being placed where they are to begin with — ultimately failing to complete the argument.
While I think you can hint the meaning of a structural item by considering its position in the structure, I think a) it may not be necessary and b) may be potentially counter-productive.
a) Much meaning comes from proximity, in the same manner as putting words next to each other: black dog; angry dog; pursue true; chaos approach, etc. When we combine story points in the storyweaving process, the proximity and sequence implies meaning, so no hinting is necessary.
b) If you consider the Plot Sequence report (PSR), you’ll notice that Signposts (Types) often are compared to Issues (Variations) not typically related in the “at rest” (standard) Dramatica structural model. This is because the PSR provides a SUBJECTIVE view of the structure from within the story, as opposed to the OBJECTIVE view of the structure from outside of the story (god’s eye view). If you hint the objective view in your storyencoding, it may fight with the subject view of the story.
My recommendation is to NOT OVERTHINK the structure. Human psychology and the problem solving process are not digital processes that can be completely broken down into steps or explicit relationships. Half of the process is analog, which doesn’t fit neatly into little boxes (or quads). Do not forget your gut, your hunches, and your feelings. Do what logics right and/or feels right.
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Dramatica can be overwhelming because there is a lot to it. If you’re an expert, being deep is good, but if you are new to Dramatica it can be daunting and difficult.
I think it is best to approach Dramatica as you would any complicated task: begin with the basics and don’t move any deeper until you are comfortable. Here are the things I think are most important to understand first.
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The four throughlines (Overall Story, Main Character, Influence Character, and Relationship throughlines)
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Main Character Resolve: Change or Steadfast
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Main Character Approach: Do-er or Be-er
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Story Outcome: Success or Failure
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Story Judgment: Good or Bad
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Story Driver: Action or Decision
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Story Limit: Timelock or Optionlock
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The four domains: Situation, Activity, Fixed Attitude, Psychology (Manipulation)
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The concept of the Problem and Solution elements as the underlying source of conflict and drive
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The concept of the Symptom and Response elements as the apparent/alternate source of conflict and drive
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The four act structure, with the idea that each throughline has its own series of four signposts
If you limit yourself to understanding these concepts, starting at the top of the list and moving toward the bottom of the list, you’ll be well along to a great understanding of story and Dramatica.
The problem is, we writers tend to be curious folks, and when we know there is more we want to see it, even if it is detrimental to our ability to understand and use it in our writing. It’s up to you to limit Dramatica to a need to know basis. That will help getting so swamped.
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Pursuer and pursuee, duh. 
Interesting. Can you elaborate on that–especially how Pursuit in context of a Situation somehow refers to a pursuer without assuming Main Character perspective only? And can you do it for the other two Domains as well?
Would situation > pursuit (MC specifically) possibly work (in addition to being pursued as jassnip proposed) as “it’s your job to pursue”, as that’s a system that the MC is a part of and where the conflict lies is with the system. Being a part of a system of pursuit causing conflict. It has to be something about the universe, about the status quo or matter of circumstance inflicted upon a character for it to work in situation, yes?
As soon as I get Dramatica working I intend to use the gists to get a better feel for what the elements mean in context.
Well, there’s the pursuit of wisdom, and then there’s the pursuit of Richard Kimble.
Pursuing knowledge of the human mind vs pursuing a case against Donald Trump.
Pursuing the deep truths of your soul vs chasing your last high.
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Hi Jim, I think that maybe @jassnip was just joking?
But I was thinking about your original question myself and wondering if there is a satisfactory answer.
The only thing I could come up with was to kind of flavor the Element with the Concern. You could pretend we have words for these in English by concatenating (it helps if you pretend you’re speaking German):
- Dr. Kimble in the Fugitive is driven by Obtainingpursuit; while objectively everyone in the overall story is driven by Helpingpeoplesfutures.
- In Collateral, cab driver Max’s difficulties stem from Desiresavoidance, while objectively everyone in the overall story is driven by Obtainingprevention
- Neo’s personal problem is not the DisbeliefAboutWinning that everyone struggles with objectively, but rather, DisbeliefAboutWhatWillBe.
- Luke Skywalker needs to get over his constant Progresstesting, while overall they need to stop the Doingtesting (and embrace Doingtrust).
In a way, this is a cop-out answer, but it kinda feels right. I especially like the Matrix example! For some reason, it’s really clear that Neo’s personal skepticism issues are not about winning or attaining, but about the future.
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I was, indeed, as @mlucas suggests, teasing*.
However, without regard to the character function, a pursuer creates the sitch (for the pursued) by their activities (chasing). A pursuer is going to fall into Fixed attitude (must find x), while pursuee is going to fall into Manner of Thinking (how do I avoid).
So without, the chasing Activities of Samuel Gerard, Vincent, Agent Smith and Darth Vader no sitch develops for the pursuees that they have to avoid. The stories either don’t happen or would have to change dramatically.
Thinking with my fingers now, in say The Fugitive Dr. Kimball is pursuing THE TRUTH (through dogged (FA), Activities, ) about what happened to his wife, in doing so he creates a situation for Dr. Nichols in which he figures out how to frame Kimble
I can’t think of a pursuer who doesn’t end up in FA and Activities and Pursuee that doesn’t end up in MoT and Sitch.
If you take away the FA, they stop pursuing, and all other things collapse after that.
.
*see the tongue
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So I’m not sure if I’m doing this right, but I took a stab at it for fun as well. I tried to find the difference between Pursuit in Situation vs Activity by looking at all the quads as KTAD. When doing that, Pursuit in Situation would be Knowledge (Situation), Desire (Future), Ability (Delay), and Knowledge again (Pursuit). Pursuit in Activity is Ability (Activity), Desire (Obtaining), Ability again(Self Interest), and Knowledge (Pursuit).
To put compare side by side, that looks like this:
Situation …Activity
-Knowledge…-Ability
-Desire…-Desire
-Ability…-Ability
-Knowledge…-Knowledge
The only difference is that one Pursuit falls under Knowledge and one Pursuit falls under Ability. Would it be correct then to say that the difference is a Pursuit of Knowledge vs a Pursuit of Ability? And if so, would that mean that Pursuit in Situation would be a Pursuit of information, or theory, or some kind of study whereas Pursuit in Activity would be the pursuit of some kind of practical application, or some kind of practicing of an ability?
I have a feeling I’m over-(or under?)thinking it. Either way, I’m not sure what words would differentiate between pursuit of a theory vs pursuit of a practical nature.
Pursuit in Manipulation and Fixed Attitude would be:
Manipulation…Fixed Attitude
-Desire… -Thought
-Desire… -Desire
-Ability…-Knowledge
-Knowledge…-Ability
So going by what I said above, I suppose Pursuit in Manipulation would be a Pursuit of a Desire. But the “address” of Pursuit in Fixed Attitude has the bottom Ability and Knowledge switched from the other three. I’m not going to even begin to speculate on what that means.
If nothing else I feel the disparate answers from various users of different experience levels shows a need for a more clear explanation of what terms mean in context, or what method to use to answer that question and questions like it. I understand that the definitions shouldn’t be too specific so as to be limiting — but there should be some attempt to give a general sense when you look at the definition for “pursue” what it means in each context and why, or how a context modifies the understanding of the term. It can be vague, there can be caveats — but there must be something to go on.
@SeanLester, I feel like it’s actually not so important to have these definitions because you will naturally use them properly anyway, as long as you have a firm grasp of the sources of conflict in the throughline.
Say you have an MC Throughline of Activity, Obtaining, Self Interest, Pursuit. If you write a paragraph describing how each of those are sources of conflict for your MC, you’ll naturally use Pursuit in the correct context. (Especially if you go in order from top to bottom.)
Google for the Narrative First playground exercises if you want to sink your teeth into this kind of thing properly.