The protagonist performs a false self. Covers hidden princes, undercover infiltrators, false-name fugitives, double agents, assumed identities, and any story where the protagonist’s daily work is being someone they are not. 9 beats across 5 lanes including a dedicated Performance lane that tracks the mask’s integrity scene by scene.

Subgenres covered: Romantasy (ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, From Blood and Ash), assassin-falls-for-target stories, infiltrator narratives, court intrigue with hidden identity, fae bargain stories.

Includes:

• Story beats across 5 lanes
• Character archetypes (The Performer, The Audience, The Reader, The Truth-Bearer)
• Three Mask configurations: Imposed, Chosen, Inherited
• Location archetypes including the Off-Stage Sanctuary and the Performance Site

The magic system is the story. The protagonist masters explicit rules, climbs an explicit ladder, and pays explicit costs. Covers progression fantasy, cultivation, hard-magic systems, litRPG, and any story where the reader is promised that numbers go up and the system stays consistent. 9 beats from Old Floor to Next Floor, with progression tracked across 5 lanes.

Subgenres covered: Progression Fantasy (Mother of Learning, Mage Errant), LitRPG (Dungeon Crawler Carl, He Who Fights With Monsters, The Wandering Inn), Cultivation/Xianxia (Cradle, A Will Eternal), Cozy Progression (Beware of Chicken), hard-magic systems (Sanderson-style).

Includes:

• Story beats across 5 lanes with full progression-tier tracking
• Character archetypes (The Climber, The Mentor, The Ceiling Holder, The Tier Rival)
• Four Pivot Types: Gift, Theft, Sacrifice, Cost
• Cultivation, litRPG, and hard-magic variants

A group travels toward an objective. The geography is the antagonist. Covers epic quests, fellowship stories, road-as-trial narratives, and any story where the road itself reshapes the people walking it. 9 beats across 6 lanes including a dedicated Geography lane that treats terrain like a character.

Subgenres covered: Epic Quest (Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Eragon), War March (Black Company, Malazan, First Law, Powder Mage), Hunt Quest (Witcher, Lone Wolf and Cub), Rescue Quest (The Hobbit, Princess Bride), Vengeance Quest (Count of Monte Cristo, grimdark revenge arcs).

Includes:

• Story beats across 6 lanes
• Character archetypes (The Traveler, The Guide, The Burden-Bearer, The Returning One)
• Fellowship bond mechanics and the Fracture beat
• Three Return modes: Changed, Refused, Lost

The protagonist is in the political game. Covers court intrigue, succession wars, rebellion campaigns, civil wars, dynastic politics, and any story where the central conflict is over who governs and at what cost. 9 beats across 6 lanes including a dedicated Faction Map lane and an Information lane tracking what each player knows about the others.

Subgenres covered: Court Politics (A Song of Ice and Fire, The Goblin Emperor), Imperial Politics (The Poppy War, The Traitor Baru Cormorant), Civil War narratives, Succession dramas, Rebellion campaigns, dynastic fantasy.

Includes:

• Story beats across 6 lanes
• Character archetypes (The Player, The Rival, The Kingmaker, The Reluctant Heir, The Weaponized Asset)
• The Faction Map system with shifting loyalties tracked scene by scene
• Three Throne configurations: Climbing, Holding, Defending

A protagonist arrives in an unfamiliar world or role and must learn to survive in it. Covers portal fantasy, isekai, frontier settlement, second-life narratives, and any story where the protagonist’s old self is the obstacle to the new world. 8 beats across 5 lanes from Old World to Return or Refusal.

Subgenres covered: Portal Fantasy (Narnia, Stardust), Isekai (Mushoku Tensei, Re:Zero, Ascendance of a Bookworm), magic school arrivals (Name of the Wind, The Goblin Emperor), body-swap and reincarnation stories, frontier and second-life narratives.

Includes:

• Story beats across 5 lanes
• Character archetypes (The Arrival, The Native Guide, The Hostile Local, The Mirror)
• Three Crossing types: Chosen, Forced, Accidental
• Location archetypes including the First Foothold and the Threshold Site

A crew of specialists pulls off a specific operation. Covers heists, cons, infiltrations, sabotage runs, rescue missions, and any fantasy story where a team puts together a plan, executes it, and walks away with the score. 10 beats across 5 lanes with the True Plan Mechanic built into the structural DNA.

Subgenres covered: Heist Fantasy (The Lies of Locke Lamora, Six of Crows), magical infiltration stories, con and grift narratives, rescue operations, sabotage and frame-up jobs, reverse-heist plots.

Includes:

• Story beats across 5 lanes with full Visible Plan / True Plan tracking
• Character archetypes (The Planner, the Specialist roles, the Mark, the Wild Card, the Rival)
• The Apparent Total Loss and the Permanent Cost rule
• Three Crew Sizes: Small, Medium, Large Ensemble

The protagonist holds, discovers, or is the subject of a hidden truth whose surfacing would change the world. Covers hidden identity stories, hidden world truths, hidden conspiracies, and any story where the central pressure is concealment under threat. 9 beats across 5 lanes including a dedicated Forces of Containment lane and a Cost lane that tracks what carrying the secret takes from the protagonist.

Subgenres covered: Hidden Identity (Earthsea, parts of Mistborn, The Fifth Season), Hidden World Truth (Mistborn Era 1, Stormlight Archive), Hidden Conspiracy (The First Law, Locke Lamora), chosen-one-doesn’t-know-yet stories, forbidden bloodline fantasy, mage-hunt narratives.

Includes:

• Story beats across 5 lanes with full scene cards in every lane for every beat
• Character archetypes (The Carrier, The Inner Circle, The Hunter, The Subject’s Protector)
• Three Carrier Variants: Discovery, Carries, Subject
• The Decoy Secret Mechanic (layered reveals) and the Two-Step Reveal Principle
• The Honesty Contract and the Concealment Problem (writing a Carrier POV that knows what the reader does not, without cheating)