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Rule of Three: Difference between revisions
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Following on from the oral tradition, speech-writers have learnt the 'Rule of Three' - listen to a political speech- the points come in threes, from 'Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer' to Tony Blair declaring 'Education, education, education'.
The rule of three is also used widely in comedy. Many popular jokes are based on three [[Stock Character|Stock Characters]] (e.g. Priest, Imam, Rabbi), all in the same situation. The first two react normally, the third does something ridiculous (but stereotypically in character). In Britain, ''Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman'' jokes denigrate either the Irishman as stupid or the Scotsman as a tightwad, while the Englishman is usually the [[Straight Man]] of the gag (Unless it's being told by the Scots or Irish. When an American tells it, Englishmen are stuffed shirts.) This is why most Americans have [[Britain Is Only London|never heard of Wales]]. Another (geeky) variant is the engineer/physicist/mathematician series of jokes, however, these are virtually never considered offensive, largely because the stereotypes are often jokingly accepted by the members of those three groups. (e.g. The engineer is overly practical, the physicist makes large assumptions, and the mathematician comes up with [[
A more popular variation on the rule is to repeat the same joke or concept three times, but put a twist on the third one that makes it funny again. One version of this is [[The Triple]], wherein a character lists three items - the first two logical and serious, and the [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|third applying a twist or joke]]. For example, a character might say [[Ignore the Disability|to a bald person]], "Can I get you anything? Cup of coffee? Doughnut? Toupee?" (From ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]''.)
Alternatively, the twist can come during the second iteration (such as [[Chekhov's Skill]]) [[Subverted Trope|failing the first time it's used]] only to return to its original form on the third pass; this version tends to accompany [[This Index Will Be Important Later|Chekhov's tropes]].
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[[Sub Trope|Sub Tropes]] include [[Three Wishes]], [[These Questions Three]], [[Third Times the Charm]], [[Trilogy Creep]], [[On Three]], [[Counting to Three]], and [[The Three Certainties in Life]].
See also [[Conflict|Basic Conflicts]] and other plot devices which often come in [[Numerological Motif|Threes or Sevens]], and [[Three Rules of Three]], a wiki guideline. Not to be confused with [[Four Is Death|Four]], unless you're counting [[Four
Related to other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three rules of three] [[In Name Only|in number only]] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumvirate in politics].
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Not to be confused with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds rule of thirds].
{{examples
== Advertising ==
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*** Director Irvin Kirschner, in the DVD commentary, says Vader is too upset that the Falcon escapes, despite the Imperials sabotaging the hyperdrive, that he merely forgets to kill a minion. Accordingly, Piett and the other officers were right to be afraid as he stormed off the bridge.
** The Millenium Falcon trying to jump into hyperspace. First they're being pursued by a Star Destroyer away from Hoth; Han attempts to jump into hyperspace but nothing happens. Then, after leaving the asteroid field and having supposedly repaired the hyperdrive, they try again and again it fails. Later, with Lando now at the controls, and with the hyperdrive supposedly fixed by Lando's mechanics, they try for the THIRD time and it still fails to go into light speed because the Empire had deactivated it! The twist is that [[R 2 D 2]] fixes it in time for their escape.
** C-3PO spelling out [[Million
* The climactic battle in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' cuts between three different sets of action and location: the forest battle, the space battle and the duel between Luke and Vader in the Emperor's throne room.
* In ''[[Attack of the Clones]]'' Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme are held captive in the Geonosian arena and separately has to fight three different beasts, an Acklay, a Reek and a Nexu.
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*** Possibly, although ''[[The Hunting of the Snark]]'' has been a recurring motif throughout sci-fi; for instance, the [[Alien (Film)|Nostromo]] was originally going to be called the "Snark".
* The absurdist holy book ''[http://www.principiadiscordia.com/ Principia Discordia]'' is based on a Rule of ''Five'', which bleeds over into such works of Discordian fiction as ''[[Illuminatus]]!''
* The alien race (dubbed the Ramans) that created the gargantuan space object in ''[[Rendezvous With Rama]]'' by [[Arthur C. Clarke (Creator)]] apparently do everything in threes -- triple motifs litter it. (It is implied they had three hands, and presumably also three legs). The last line of the novel uses this for a stinger. Years later, this fact served as a handy [[Sequel Hook]] for Clarke when he decided to let Gentry Lee write follow-ups.
* “Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects ''vast'' and ''cool'' and ''unsympathetic'', regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.” (H G Wells 1898 War of the Worlds, opening paragraph). “How beautifully underplayed is that adjective ‘unsympathetic’.” (Brian Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree p. 152).
* ''[[Stardust (Literature)|Stardust]]'': The King of Stormhold has three remaining sons. Also subverts the youngest brother convention by making him pure evil, and the oldest a caring and decent man. The middle brother is a useless sex maniac. The youngest son is also the Seventh Son.
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{{quote| '''Vaughn:''' Hey. What's up, man? Hi, Bro.}}
** This is then [[Lampshaded]] by the study group, who start to count his greetings on their fingers whenever they see him.
* ''[[
{{quote| '''Freddie''': "My mom thinks I'll choke on pills so she pounds them with a mallet and puts them in my fruit sauce."<br />
'''Spencer''': "Fruit sauce?"<br />
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* The Trinity Killer in ''[[Dexter]]'' Season 4. 3 sets of kills spanning 30 years.
* This was actually very prominent in [[The Sopranos]]. Junior superstitiously believes that it applies to real life, going so far as to hope that his old friend dies of cancer because . . . two of his friends have died of cancer already, and if a third meets the same fate, he'll be off the hook. Obviously cancer only targets three people of a given generation, right? It also plays into fan theories regarding the finale. Virtually every detail of the final scene evokes the number 3: there are 3 Sopranos at the table, there are 3 pictures on the wall, Meadow is able to successfully parallel park on her 3rd attempt. This brings Junior's "these things happen in 3s" theory to mind, suggesting that Tony really does die at the end to complete the trio that started with Bobby and Sil.
* [[Double Subverted]] with [[Adult Swim]]. In 2009, they aired ''[[The Room (Film)|The Room]]'' for [[April Fools' Day]]. In 2010 and 2011 they did this again. Surely they're doing something different for 2012, right? Uh oh, their airing that movie aga--THEY BROUGHT BACK ''[[Toonami|TOONAMI]]''??? [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|AWESOME!!]]
* Lampshaded in ''[[
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** One NPC adopts this principle and runs with it clear off the field. Calling himself "Rule of Three," he's an information broker who requires things in sets of three as his payment, and gives three true answers to any question. As a second character is known to associate with another of the three cosmic principles, it's suspected a third is out there somewhere as well, because... well, [[Rule of Three]].
* In the Living Greyhawk campaign, a magic item spoke three prophesies of destruction that the players could attempt to prevent.
** Almost subverted in the fact that the original editor was only going to let the item speak twice, because the Big Bad had already received the first prophesy. But, then a change in editors mandated that [[Viewers
* White Wolf's Storyteller/Storytelling systems use the [[Rule of Three]] extensively: three sets of three attributes, usually physical (strength, dexterity, stamina), social (charisma, manipulation, appearance), and mental (intelligence, wits, perception), and three kinds of abilities (talents, skills and knowledges). The rest can vary depending of the individual games, but the [[Rule of Three]] is also prominent in several:
** In the ''[[New World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|New World of Darkness]]'' the three attribute groups are divided in another way, each with three traits in it like the main groups; power (strength, intelligence, and presence), finesse (dexterity, wits, manipulation), and resistance (stamina, resolve, composure).
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*** ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Tabletop Game)|Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' introduced the cosmology detailed below, and also gives players three major traits that determine their werewolf character's place in the Garou Nation and what Gifts they can learn: tribe, auspice, and breed. Werewolves, and most other shapeshifters, have three breeds.
*** Over the course of the various editions of the various games, a somewhat unified and coherent cosmology emerged, with three major entities or forces: the destructive Wyrm, the creative Wyld, and the stabilizing Weaver, none of which are inherently evil (all in all, it's similar to the hinduist Trimurti). They play a major role in ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Tabletop Game)|Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' (where they first appeared) and ''[[Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|Mage: The Ascension]]'' (the Tradition mages that players usually roleplay are, in a way, balancing the three against three kinds of extremists). Supplements that delved into the deeper aspects of the Triat (the common name used for the trinity of Wyrm, Weaver, and Wyld) would reveal that each of the three has three more specific aspects. The most well-known are the aspects of the Wyrm known as the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Eater-of-Souls, the Beast-of-War, and the Defiler]].
** The ''[[Trinity Universe (Tabletop Game)|Trinity Universe]]'' setting. Three games: [[Two
** ''[[Exalted (Tabletop Game)|Exalted]]'', while using almost the same system as the ''Old World of Darkness'', subverts expectations by running its setting on the number five instead. Indeed, that the Lunar Exalted use the [[Rule of Three]] anyway makes them stick out incongruously, though that is justified: they ''used'' to have five castes and so forth, but their long exposure to the Wyld ([[Primordial Chaos|unshapable chaos]] [[Reality Is Out to Lunch|outside Creation]]) has thrown them out of whack.
* ''[[Magic the Gathering (Tabletop Game)|Magic the Gathering]]'' blocks are released in three sets. Furthermore, Wizards of the Coast have their own "rule of three" - the first set establishes core concepts and mechanics, the second set develops them further, and the third introduces some new twist. For example, the third set of the artifact-based block ''Mirrodin'' presented effects that produced or used all five colors of mana, the third set of the legendary-based block ''Kamigawa'' gave the Epic spells and rewarded large hand sizes, and the third set of the land-based block ''Zendikar'' introduced the massive and colorless Eldrazi.
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== Video Games ==
* MANY video games (especially [[Platform Game|Platform Games]] and [[Shoot
** Some platformers have it to where you must strike the enemy three times to finish the boss battle.
** There's also the very common three-hit combo attack.
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** Not only just Triforce, the Zelda games are littered with Three's: There are [[The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|three Sacred Stones, three magical spells, three elemental arrows]], [[The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Video Game)|three Provinces covered in twilight, three Fused Shadows to collect]], [[The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass (Video Game)|three fairies to save, and three metals from which the Phantom Sword is formed]], in addition to everything else listed.
** Several bosses will go down after three sets of attacks from Link. [[The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|King Dodongo]], for instance, goes down after three bombs.
** Link begins every game with 3 hearts.<ref>Except for ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'', where he starts with six; and ''[[Zelda II the Adventure of Link (Video Game)|Zelda II the Adventure of Link]]'', where his rectangle-based meter starts with four.</ref>
** [[The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask (Video Game)|Three days to save Termina]]. Each temple also had three boss fights: one to obtain the Hero's Bow or elemental arrow (of which there are three), one to obtain the Boss Key, and one to free the giant and end whatever curse had invaded the land.
** The ''[[The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games]]'' were supposed to be three (the third game would have featured Farore), but the link system between three games was too complicated to implement, [[Dummied Out|so...]]
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** There's also the achievement, but it doesn't appear on subsequent playthroughs, making it three.
* ''[[Shatterhand (Video Game)|Shatterhand]]'' requires three alpha/beta powerups to activate the robot companions.
* In the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion to ''[[The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind (Video Game)|The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind]]'', you have to kill spriggans three times before they stay dead. Thankfully they don't retain this [[Healing Factor]] in ''[[Oblivion]]'' or ''[[Skyrim]]''. [[It Got Worse|Instead]], in ''Oblivion'' they ''[[
* ''[[Jet Force Gemini]]'': Three playable characters, each of them visits three planets and, in the third of them, they face a boss. They then go to Mizar's Palace for a first-time confrontation against the [[Big Bad]]. Afterwards, the trope is averted for the most part.
* In ''[[Black and White]]'', the Sailors' Quest involves the aforementioned sailors asking for three things by song: Wood, grain, and meat.
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* ''[[Triquetra Cats]]'' features three sisters taking up the mantle and war that their deceased mother was unable to finish.
* From ''[[A Miracle of Science]]'': Benjamin mentions that he spends much of his rare days off listening to classical music; he gives Bach, Prokofiev, and ''[[The Beatles]]'' as examples. (The webcomic's artist expounds on the Rule in his [http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos084.html commentary].
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'', [http://girlgeniuscomic.livejournal.com/74654.html the third time] Zola needs to be rescued when Agatha wants to talk to Gil, Agatha rescues her.
** Also Jagers only get 3 tries to steal Old Man Death's hat.
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== Web Original ==
* The [[Youtube Poop]] video ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgRUTAlu1-A Meet the Artillery]'' by electricthecheese does this by having an overly-long-gag of [[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Heavy Weapons Guy]] saying "GUN." After a while, there is a long, unedited period, and at the most unexpected moment, the Heavy makes a loud, virus-sounding noise and one of the [[Care Bears]] inexplicably pops in. Also, the Engineer introduces himself several times, and then the Heavy and Sniper introduce themselves as engineers as well.
* Used straight, then lampshaded in ''[[Life in A Game]]''. When Lollerskates assumes his [[Clipped
* [[Red vs. Blue]]'s "Son of a bitch!" running gag is usually done in threes, occasionally twisted with Spanish-speaking robot Lopez's "Madre de dios," subtitled as "Son of a bitch!"
** Also, when Simmons and Grif are facing down the tank in Season 1:
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== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', the Cutie Mark Crusaders consist of three different types of ponies. Scootaloo is a pegasus, Applebloom is an earth pony, and Sweetie Belle is a unicorn. Their names are three syllables each, as well.
* In one ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' short, a clown runs by in the background three times. After the third and final time near the end of the cartoon, Babs dryly explains he's "a [[Running Gag]]".
** The plot of the episode is about Buster's quest to revive a joke he's driven into the ground (represented by a clown in a grave...morbid). The joke has this trope too: "A duck, a rabbit, and a pig go to a restaurant..."<ref>"...which hand do they use to eat their soup? Neither! They used a soup spoon!"</ref>
* In ''[[Transformers Armada]]'', there are three legendarily strong weapons formed by the combination of three Mini-Cons apiece... Caused partly by the [[Merchandise
** Also, the Mini-Cons added a third unique group of transformers alongside the Autobots and Decepticons - as witness their unique emblem.
* ''Triple Threat - Rail Racer!'' And the original Triple-Changers came in sets of 3, and the Unicron Trilogy (and Headmasters) tended to have 3-kid sidekick teams. Transformers is _mostly_ based around the number 2, though.
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