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[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners / Every triangle has three sides / No more, no less / You don't have to guess / When it's three, you can see / It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
to:
[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners / corners\\
Every triangle has threesides / sides\\
No more, noless / less\\
You don't have toguess / guess\\
When it's three, you cansee / see\\
It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
Every triangle has three
No more, no
You don't have to
When it's three, you can
It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
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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 Führer' to Tony Blair declaring 'Education, education, education' [[note]]Saying that, Sir Tony may or may not have been aware that he was channelling none other than Vladimir Ilyich Lenin whose famous mantra ran 'Study, study, study.'[[/note]] . In persuasive or educational speaking, it also is a foundational concept: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em; Tell 'em; Tell 'em what you told 'em" [[note]]Formally: An Introduction and Precis; the Body of the speech, the Summary.[[/note]]
to:
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 Führer' to Tony Blair declaring 'Education, education, education' education.' [[note]]Saying that, Sir Tony may or may not have been aware that he was channelling channeling none other than Vladimir Ilyich Lenin whose famous mantra ran 'Study, study, study.'[[/note]] . '[[/note]] In persuasive or educational speaking, it also is a foundational concept: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em; Tell 'em; Tell 'em what you told 'em" 'em." [[note]]Formally: An Introduction and Precis; the Body of the speech, the Summary.[[/note]]
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Three is the smallest number required to create and then diverge from a pattern, so it's especially common in storytelling.[[YoungestChildWins The third of three siblings succeeds after their older siblings each failed.]] The protagonist is given [[TheThreeTrials three tests]] and receives the prize after the third. It's fairly unusual to find a folktale that does ''not'' incorporate the Rule of Three in some form.
to:
Three is the smallest number required to create and then diverge from a pattern, so it's especially common in storytelling. [[YoungestChildWins The third of three siblings succeeds after their older siblings each failed.]] The protagonist is given [[TheThreeTrials three tests]] and receives the prize after the third. It's fairly unusual to find a folktale that does ''not'' incorporate the Rule of Three in some form.
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* ''WebVideo/DragonballAbridged'':
** In Episode 18 this exchange took place three times when another character says something with potential sexual connotations to Gohan.
--->'''Gohan''': I need an adult...\\
'''Other character''': I ''am'' an adult.
** While fighting against Freeza during Season 2, Vegeta keeps on sprouting the exact same speech about having become a Super Saiyan over and over again much to Freeza's annoyance. The third time he gives it (this time not referring to himself, but to Goku), Freeza kills him.
** Goku manages to get Freeza to respond to his Super Saiyan transformation with "what" three times in a row.
--->'''Goku:''' [[SuppressedRage I'm going to break you.]]\\
'''Freeza:''' What?!\\
''([[{{Fingore}} Goku crushes his hand]])''\\
'''Freeza:''' AAGH!\\
'''Goku:''' [[IdiotHero Like a Kit-Kat bar.]]\\
'''Freeza:''' [[FlatWhat ...What?]]\\
''([[PunchedAcrossTheRoom Goku punches him across the landscape]])''\\
'''Freeza:''' ''[[BigWhat WHAT?!]]''
** Their spoof of ''Broly'' had this line.
--->'''Vegeta''': First of all, I demand more towers. ''Second'', I demand more towels. And third, [[{{Subversion}} I demand more trowels]]. The brickwork in this place is a shitshow.
** In Episode 18 this exchange took place three times when another character says something with potential sexual connotations to Gohan.
--->'''Gohan''': I need an adult...\\
'''Other character''': I ''am'' an adult.
** While fighting against Freeza during Season 2, Vegeta keeps on sprouting the exact same speech about having become a Super Saiyan over and over again much to Freeza's annoyance. The third time he gives it (this time not referring to himself, but to Goku), Freeza kills him.
** Goku manages to get Freeza to respond to his Super Saiyan transformation with "what" three times in a row.
--->'''Goku:''' [[SuppressedRage I'm going to break you.]]\\
'''Freeza:''' What?!\\
''([[{{Fingore}} Goku crushes his hand]])''\\
'''Freeza:''' AAGH!\\
'''Goku:''' [[IdiotHero Like a Kit-Kat bar.]]\\
'''Freeza:''' [[FlatWhat ...What?]]\\
''([[PunchedAcrossTheRoom Goku punches him across the landscape]])''\\
'''Freeza:''' ''[[BigWhat WHAT?!]]''
** Their spoof of ''Broly'' had this line.
--->'''Vegeta''': First of all, I demand more towers. ''Second'', I demand more towels. And third, [[{{Subversion}} I demand more trowels]]. The brickwork in this place is a shitshow.
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* In [[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/ Otimusya - Hokuto no Ken]], phrases beginning with "Wow, Ken" appear 3 times in the article.
-->True to the Hokuto no Ken lore, Kenshiro has plenty of enigmatic ways of dispatching his foes.\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokutonoken9.gif A single high-kick sends the goons hurtling through the stratosphere.]]\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - you are strong!'''\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokuto8.gif One punch can burrow a hole through a man's chest - such is the strength of Hokuto Shinken.]]\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - you are amazing!'''\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokutonoken10.gif And if Ken succumbs to his foes, he flails through the air kicking like a baby.]]\\
\\
... oh.\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - that was pretty shitty!'''
-->True to the Hokuto no Ken lore, Kenshiro has plenty of enigmatic ways of dispatching his foes.\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokutonoken9.gif A single high-kick sends the goons hurtling through the stratosphere.]]\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - you are strong!'''\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokuto8.gif One punch can burrow a hole through a man's chest - such is the strength of Hokuto Shinken.]]\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - you are amazing!'''\\
\\
[[http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/gw/otimusya/hokutonoken/hokutonoken10.gif And if Ken succumbs to his foes, he flails through the air kicking like a baby.]]\\
\\
... oh.\\
\\
'''Wow, Ken - that was pretty shitty!'''
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* RuleOfThree/WebOriginal
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[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In the [[http://www.19nocturneboulevard.net/ 19 Nocturne Boulevard]] episode ''Sword Kvetch'', Cael must face the evil wizard's three challenges. Why? Tradition!
* ''Podcast/RandomAssault'' follows a three-segment podcast.
[[/folder]]
* In the [[http://www.19nocturneboulevard.net/ 19 Nocturne Boulevard]] episode ''Sword Kvetch'', Cael must face the evil wizard's three challenges. Why? Tradition!
* ''Podcast/RandomAssault'' follows a three-segment podcast.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Web Animation]]
* The ''YouTubePoop'' video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgRUTAlu1-A Meet the Artillery]]'' by electricthecheese does this by having an overly-long-gag of [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 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 Franchise/CareBears inexplicably pops in. Also, the Engineer introduces himself several times, and then the Heavy and Sniper introduce themselves as engineers as well.
* A common joke in YouTubePoop videos involves repeating a line three times, with some sort of effect applied for the third time (an example as seen in [[https://youtu.be/OaVBWjEPpT0?t=542 this]] ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' [=YTP=]). It plays on the viewer's expectations by making them believe that the scene occurs a certain way and gives them time to become comfortable with it, before surprising them with a twist.
* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'''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:
-->'''Simmons:''' Alright, let's run on three.
-->'''Grif:''' Wait, ON three, or one-two-three-THEN go?
-->'''Simmons:''' ON three, it's always faster to go on three! Okay ready, one. . .
-->*Grif starts running*
-->'''Simmons:''' two. . . three! * turns around, sees Grif already far away* Oh, you backstabbing cockbite.
* Played straight in Creator/HarryPartridge's ''Stephen the Lesbian''.
--> "[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext All hail Stephen, king of the Lesbians]]!"\\
"All hail Stephen, king of the Lesbians!"\\
"All hail Creator/StephenKing! *{{Beat}}* Of the Lesbians!"\\
"[[FlatWhat What-?]]"
* In ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'', Yahtzee subverts this in his review of ''VideoGame/JustCause''. He uses the title as a joke the first two times, where on the third he simply comments "how should I know?"
* From the ''YouTubePoop'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQn-z3eVgno Skellington's Revenge]]:
--> '''[[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Sally]]''': ''(after Jack says her vision of Christmas disaster is splendid and asks her to make him some crack)'' No! You're being an ass!
--> '''Mayor''': ''(after Jack kicks him out for saying conquering Christmas is a bad idea)'' Ugh...You're being an ass!
--> '''Jack''': [[spoiler: ''(after realizing {{Satan}} is just using him to take over Halloween)'' [[HeelRealization How could I be such an ass?]] ]]
* ''WebAnimation/Plan3'': In ''The Chinese Food Curse'', it's established that victims of said curse have to pass the Fate Lord's three challenges in order to lift it.
* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'':
** There have been three episodes having [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]] and ComicBook/{{Superman}} fight each other. [[spoiler:In all three episodes, the Man of Steel defeats the Super Saiyan.]]
** Played with, but ultimately subverts it, when it comes to the three episodes featuring [[Franchise/SonictheHedgehog Shadow the Hedgehog.]] In all three of his fights (against [[Franchise/DragonBall Vegeta]], [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Mewtwo]] and [[Anime/KillLaKill Ryūko Matoi]] in that order). the fight ends right after Shadow's opponent attempts a finishing blow while uttering "sayonara.", referencing the quote used when Shadow is assumed dead at the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. [[spoiler: In his first two episodes, the attempted finishers go through and kill Shadow, but when Ryūko tries it, it doesn't end well for her, which is where the subversion comes into play.]]
[[/folder]]
* The ''YouTubePoop'' video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgRUTAlu1-A Meet the Artillery]]'' by electricthecheese does this by having an overly-long-gag of [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 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 Franchise/CareBears inexplicably pops in. Also, the Engineer introduces himself several times, and then the Heavy and Sniper introduce themselves as engineers as well.
* A common joke in YouTubePoop videos involves repeating a line three times, with some sort of effect applied for the third time (an example as seen in [[https://youtu.be/OaVBWjEPpT0?t=542 this]] ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' [=YTP=]). It plays on the viewer's expectations by making them believe that the scene occurs a certain way and gives them time to become comfortable with it, before surprising them with a twist.
* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'''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:
-->'''Simmons:''' Alright, let's run on three.
-->'''Grif:''' Wait, ON three, or one-two-three-THEN go?
-->'''Simmons:''' ON three, it's always faster to go on three! Okay ready, one. . .
-->*Grif starts running*
-->'''Simmons:''' two. . . three! * turns around, sees Grif already far away* Oh, you backstabbing cockbite.
* Played straight in Creator/HarryPartridge's ''Stephen the Lesbian''.
--> "[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext All hail Stephen, king of the Lesbians]]!"\\
"All hail Stephen, king of the Lesbians!"\\
"All hail Creator/StephenKing! *{{Beat}}* Of the Lesbians!"\\
"[[FlatWhat What-?]]"
* In ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'', Yahtzee subverts this in his review of ''VideoGame/JustCause''. He uses the title as a joke the first two times, where on the third he simply comments "how should I know?"
* From the ''YouTubePoop'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQn-z3eVgno Skellington's Revenge]]:
--> '''[[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Sally]]''': ''(after Jack says her vision of Christmas disaster is splendid and asks her to make him some crack)'' No! You're being an ass!
--> '''Mayor''': ''(after Jack kicks him out for saying conquering Christmas is a bad idea)'' Ugh...You're being an ass!
--> '''Jack''': [[spoiler: ''(after realizing {{Satan}} is just using him to take over Halloween)'' [[HeelRealization How could I be such an ass?]] ]]
* ''WebAnimation/Plan3'': In ''The Chinese Food Curse'', it's established that victims of said curse have to pass the Fate Lord's three challenges in order to lift it.
* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'':
** There have been three episodes having [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]] and ComicBook/{{Superman}} fight each other. [[spoiler:In all three episodes, the Man of Steel defeats the Super Saiyan.]]
** Played with, but ultimately subverts it, when it comes to the three episodes featuring [[Franchise/SonictheHedgehog Shadow the Hedgehog.]] In all three of his fights (against [[Franchise/DragonBall Vegeta]], [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Mewtwo]] and [[Anime/KillLaKill Ryūko Matoi]] in that order). the fight ends right after Shadow's opponent attempts a finishing blow while uttering "sayonara.", referencing the quote used when Shadow is assumed dead at the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. [[spoiler: In his first two episodes, the attempted finishers go through and kill Shadow, but when Ryūko tries it, it doesn't end well for her, which is where the subversion comes into play.]]
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Websites]]
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in Episode 4 of [[Website/{{Cracked}} Cracked TV]] (5 Things You Shouldn't Be Able to Buy on eBay):
--> Tic-Tacs! Bag of Dice! Some...third thing!
* There are generally three known exceptions to Website/ThisVeryWiki's rule against authors adding stuff to or otherwise editing their own YMMV pages:
** They may move misplaced examples from the main page to the YMMV page.
** They may remove any entry that is factually untrue.
** They may add input from other parties, if the other parties consent or else are unable to edit the YMMV page in question for whatever reason. This one is in more of a gray area than the other two, though.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Used straight, then lampshaded in ''WebVideo/LifeInAGame''. When Lollerskates assumes his [[ClippedWingAngel final form]] during his [[http://www.lifeinagame.com/pages/episode62.html Final Showdown]] with the heroes, all it takes is three shots to his [[AttackItsWeakPoint incredibly obvious weakpoint]] to finish him, which [[Franchise/{{HALO}} the Master Chief]] calls him out on after his defeat. Then he teabags him.
* Hewy in ''WebVideo/HewysAnimatedMovieReviews'' reviews ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' for the third episode of his third season.
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFQ1SWa9GQg CrapShots #168]], James pokes a clown three times. The first two times get the same reaction, while the third, while similar is unexpected.
* In ''Robotic Bartenders! (Cruise Day 1)'' by [[WebVideo/MatthewSantoro Matt Santoro]], Matt asks Nadine what they should cheer to. She says "a successful first day" and a "tomorrow of epic awesomeness". He says that they should cheer to exactly 1 more thing, so they cheer to living life.
* In "WHAT KILLS YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER - Respawn Man (Part 2/4)" by ''LetsPlay/SantoroGaming'', Matt plays the video game ''Respawn Man'', and only has to jump twice to complete a level, but jumps three times for good luck.
* ''WebVideo/BuzzfeedUnsolved'' discusses the usage of this trope in episodes centering around demons, since the RuleOfThree is allegedly significant in mocking the Holy Trinity. Ryan mentions when spending the night at the Sallie House, that at 3:00 am he's going to be quiet for 3 minutes to see if any demonic activity happens at that specific time. When they go to a demonic bridge, Ryan mentions that according to lore, if you knock on it three times, the demon that haunts it will throw you off. They try it: [[AntiClimax nothing happens]].
* In ''WebVideo/JonTron'''s review of ''VideoGame/{{Nightshade}}'', after being tricked by the game three times, he gives a modification of the phrase "Fool me once" to make it three times:
-->''Fool me once, I'm mad. Fool me twice, how could you. Fool me three times, you're officially that guy, okay, you know the one. The one who goes to the bar and is like "This suit is, uh, officially it's a Giorgio Armani, ech, my dad knows him". FUCK YOU! '''I AIIIIIIN'T HAVIN' THAT SHIT!'''''
* ''WebVideo/AnalystBroniesReact'': When reacting to ''Equestria Girls Friendship Games'':
** Keyframe is not happy that Twilight only walked through two doors that made {{lens flare}}.
--->'''Keyframe:''' My rule of three is not satisfied.
** WebVideo/CellSpex has three things she wants from ''Friendship Games'':
--->One, I wanna see human Cadence and Shining Armor. Number two, I wanna see Sunset revert back to her demon form. Number three, I need to see Human Twilight shun Flash Sentry! Bonus 50 points if she calls him a stalker!
* In the Scanline episode on director's cuts, WebVideo/{{Hbomberguy}} talks about directors who have released new versions of movies that were actively worse than the originals. The first time, an image of Creator/GeorgeLucas that is fading in is bluntly replaced with Creator/FrancisFordCoppola so Hbomb can talk about the director's cut of ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. The second time, an image of George Lucas that is fading in is revealed to show him sitting next to Creator/StevenSpielberg so Hbomb can talk about edits to ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. The third time, after Hbomb squirms for a bit...
-->'''Hbomb:''' It's time to talk about [[Creator/FedericoFellini Federico Felli]] - FINE, GEORGE LUCAS!
[[/folder]]
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in Episode 4 of [[Website/{{Cracked}} Cracked TV]] (5 Things You Shouldn't Be Able to Buy on eBay):
--> Tic-Tacs! Bag of Dice! Some...third thing!
* There are generally three known exceptions to Website/ThisVeryWiki's rule against authors adding stuff to or otherwise editing their own YMMV pages:
** They may move misplaced examples from the main page to the YMMV page.
** They may remove any entry that is factually untrue.
** They may add input from other parties, if the other parties consent or else are unable to edit the YMMV page in question for whatever reason. This one is in more of a gray area than the other two, though.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Used straight, then lampshaded in ''WebVideo/LifeInAGame''. When Lollerskates assumes his [[ClippedWingAngel final form]] during his [[http://www.lifeinagame.com/pages/episode62.html Final Showdown]] with the heroes, all it takes is three shots to his [[AttackItsWeakPoint incredibly obvious weakpoint]] to finish him, which [[Franchise/{{HALO}} the Master Chief]] calls him out on after his defeat. Then he teabags him.
* Hewy in ''WebVideo/HewysAnimatedMovieReviews'' reviews ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' for the third episode of his third season.
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFQ1SWa9GQg CrapShots #168]], James pokes a clown three times. The first two times get the same reaction, while the third, while similar is unexpected.
* In ''Robotic Bartenders! (Cruise Day 1)'' by [[WebVideo/MatthewSantoro Matt Santoro]], Matt asks Nadine what they should cheer to. She says "a successful first day" and a "tomorrow of epic awesomeness". He says that they should cheer to exactly 1 more thing, so they cheer to living life.
* In "WHAT KILLS YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER - Respawn Man (Part 2/4)" by ''LetsPlay/SantoroGaming'', Matt plays the video game ''Respawn Man'', and only has to jump twice to complete a level, but jumps three times for good luck.
* ''WebVideo/BuzzfeedUnsolved'' discusses the usage of this trope in episodes centering around demons, since the RuleOfThree is allegedly significant in mocking the Holy Trinity. Ryan mentions when spending the night at the Sallie House, that at 3:00 am he's going to be quiet for 3 minutes to see if any demonic activity happens at that specific time. When they go to a demonic bridge, Ryan mentions that according to lore, if you knock on it three times, the demon that haunts it will throw you off. They try it: [[AntiClimax nothing happens]].
* In ''WebVideo/JonTron'''s review of ''VideoGame/{{Nightshade}}'', after being tricked by the game three times, he gives a modification of the phrase "Fool me once" to make it three times:
-->''Fool me once, I'm mad. Fool me twice, how could you. Fool me three times, you're officially that guy, okay, you know the one. The one who goes to the bar and is like "This suit is, uh, officially it's a Giorgio Armani, ech, my dad knows him". FUCK YOU! '''I AIIIIIIN'T HAVIN' THAT SHIT!'''''
* ''WebVideo/AnalystBroniesReact'': When reacting to ''Equestria Girls Friendship Games'':
** Keyframe is not happy that Twilight only walked through two doors that made {{lens flare}}.
--->'''Keyframe:''' My rule of three is not satisfied.
** WebVideo/CellSpex has three things she wants from ''Friendship Games'':
--->One, I wanna see human Cadence and Shining Armor. Number two, I wanna see Sunset revert back to her demon form. Number three, I need to see Human Twilight shun Flash Sentry! Bonus 50 points if she calls him a stalker!
* In the Scanline episode on director's cuts, WebVideo/{{Hbomberguy}} talks about directors who have released new versions of movies that were actively worse than the originals. The first time, an image of Creator/GeorgeLucas that is fading in is bluntly replaced with Creator/FrancisFordCoppola so Hbomb can talk about the director's cut of ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. The second time, an image of George Lucas that is fading in is revealed to show him sitting next to Creator/StevenSpielberg so Hbomb can talk about edits to ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. The third time, after Hbomb squirms for a bit...
-->'''Hbomb:''' It's time to talk about [[Creator/FedericoFellini Federico Felli]] - FINE, GEORGE LUCAS!
[[/folder]]
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Moved subpages to the main page.
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* RuleOfThree/MythologyAndReligion
* RuleOfThree/TabletopGames
* RuleOfThree/{{Theatre}}
* RuleOfThree/TabletopGames
* RuleOfThree/{{Theatre}}
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* RuleOfThree/{{Webcomics}}
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[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* Shows up all the time in religion:
** UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} does this so much that 333 is used by people being ostentatiously Christian:
*** Literature/TheBible: Three days pass between Jesus dying and returning to Earth. In fact, whenever a number is mentioned in the Bible, it's usually 3, 7, 12, or 40.
*** "Jesus answered (Peter), Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice". -- ''John'' 13:38. And then, after his resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, extracting from Peter a promise to continue his work three times before he leaves him alone. This is often regarded as a symbolic reversal of Peter's thrice-denial of Jesus before his death. Also cf. the Fight Club example in the Film subpage.
*** The three Christian virtues: Faith, Hope, Love/Charity (Charity refers to ''agape'' or selfless love, as opposed to Eros as self-gratifying and/or sexual love).
*** Also, although the only reference to this event in the Gospels states that UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} was placed "in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn", Nativity plays tend to show two innkeepers telling Mary and Joseph to go elsewhere because all the rooms are taken -- before a third also says that there are no rooms, but that Mary and Joseph may use the stable, since Mary is pregnant.
*** The Gospel of Matthew, the only one that mentions the Wise Men or Magi, doesn't specifically state that there were three of them, only that they came "from the East". The gospel does mention that they presented Jesus with three symbolic gifts; gold (signifying Christ the King), frankincense (representing Jesus' divinity) and myrrh (an embalming incense, indicating that Jesus would die to save God's people).
*** When Jesus fasted in the desert, he was tempted three times by the Devil; 1) Turn the stones into bread, 2) Throw yourself from this cliff and let God save you, and 3) swear loyalty to me and the kingdoms of the world will be yours.
*** The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first sometimes is represented by an eye set in a triangle. (Although there are also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism nontrinitarian]] Christians).
*** The ''Kyrie'': Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy upon us.
** Examples from the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament:
*** The three sons of Adam and Eve: Cain, Abel, and Seth.
*** The three sons of Noah: Shem, Yaphet, and Ham.
*** The three patriarchs, also mentioned in the formula: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
*** The three kings of the united Israelite kingdom: Saul, David, and Solomon.
*** Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
* UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} has the "rule of 3" also known as the Three-fold law, meaning (depending on who you ask) that everything you send out into the world either returns to you thrice as strong in consequence, or comes back to you on the astral, mental and physical planes. Furthermore, when casting a Sacred Circle in Wicca, the typical procedure is to walk around the circle three times and say the incantation three times. (In some practices anyway.)
* This pops up occasionally in UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}}, though generally not as centrally as in Wicca:
** The world is sustained by worship, study and deeds of lovingkindness. Also known as love of Hashem, love of Torah, and love for your fellow human being.
** These temper judgment's severe decree: prayer, repentance and charity.
** In UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}}, the [[WorldTree Tree of Life]] has 3 pillars: The pillar of rigor, the pillar of mercy, the pillar of balance.
* Some religions divide reality into Heaven, Earth and Hell.
** For the Norse, the universe was divided into nine (thrice three) worlds on three levels: the upper level had Alfheim (elves), Asgard (war gods and those who died in battle), and Vanaheim (fertility gods). The middle level has Midgard (humans), Jotunheim (giants) and Svartalfheim (dark elves/dwarfes), The [[HailfirePeaks bottom level]] has Helheim (those who died of disease), Nifleheim (land of ice and fog) and Muspell (fire demons).
** There are a lot more examples in Norse mythology, mayby since as mentioned above thrice three is nine which is the holy ArcNumber of Norse Mythology:
*** The third generation of Gods created the world, those are three (Odin, Vili, and Ve).
*** Three gods created humans: Odin, Hönir, and Lodur (Loki).
*** There are three norns: Skuld (Debt/Should, perhaps best understood as Future), Urd (Fate), and Verdandi (Happening, perhaps Present).
*** Yggdrasil has three roots.
*** Thor has three children: Thrud, Magni & Modi
*** Loki has three children with Angerboda: Hel, Fenrir & Jörmungandr.
*** The Fimbulwinter will last for three winters without summer in between.
*** The wolf Fenrir was bound by three fetters: Loeding, Drómi, and Gleipnir.
*** In the poem Völuspá, the description of Garmr's howl is repeated thrice.
*** Freyr anf Freyja has three magical items each.
*** Three of Odin's sons shall live after Ragnarök: Vidar [[spoiler: Baldur & Hödr]].
** UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} recognizes three heavens/kingdoms of glory after the Final Judgement: The Celestial Kingdom (itself divided into three kingdoms), the Terrestrial Kingdom, and the Telestial Kingdom.
* Subverted in [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology Lakota mythology]]: Three is the number of imperfection, while four, far from its [[FourIsDeath other implications]], is the number of perfection.
* UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}: Three gunas (modes) of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance.
** ''Literature/BhagavadGita'': Lust, Anger and Greed -- three gates to hell. Also gross, subtle and spiritual existence.
** Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva: The creator, the preserver and the destroyer. Shiva has three eyes and you'd better hope and pray that this third eye remains closed.
** There have been three times three avatars of Vishnu. The most well known are the last three - Rama, Krishna and Buddha.
* In one of the variants of the Myth/ArthurianLegend, Arthur has to ask whomever is present at the time (usually Bedivere) three times to return his sword to the Lady of the Lake.
* In Myth/ClassicalMythology:
** The rites of the three-formed witch goddess Hecate usually involve three. This can be seen especially in the practices of Medea, the wife of Jason of the Argonauts.
** The three major estates of the Cosmos are also divided into 3 equal parts, The Sky, The Sea, and The Underworld. These are in turn shared among the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.
** There are also Three Fates, Clotho Lakhesis, and Artepos, three Furies/Kindly Ones, Alecto, Megeara and Tisiphone, Three grey sisters, and three gorgon sisters.
* The trope shows up three different times in the story of [[https://tamingthewolf.com/saint-francis-and-the-wolf/ Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio]]: (1) Three attempts are made to deal with the wolf--the first by shepherds, the second by guards, and the third by Francis. (2) Three shepherds are killed by the wolf--the first shepherd, then his brother, and then their father. (3) The mayor sends his three best guards to try to kill the wolf; the first two are killed but the third escapes.
[[/folder]]
* Shows up all the time in religion:
** UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} does this so much that 333 is used by people being ostentatiously Christian:
*** Literature/TheBible: Three days pass between Jesus dying and returning to Earth. In fact, whenever a number is mentioned in the Bible, it's usually 3, 7, 12, or 40.
*** "Jesus answered (Peter), Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice". -- ''John'' 13:38. And then, after his resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, extracting from Peter a promise to continue his work three times before he leaves him alone. This is often regarded as a symbolic reversal of Peter's thrice-denial of Jesus before his death. Also cf. the Fight Club example in the Film subpage.
*** The three Christian virtues: Faith, Hope, Love/Charity (Charity refers to ''agape'' or selfless love, as opposed to Eros as self-gratifying and/or sexual love).
*** Also, although the only reference to this event in the Gospels states that UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} was placed "in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn", Nativity plays tend to show two innkeepers telling Mary and Joseph to go elsewhere because all the rooms are taken -- before a third also says that there are no rooms, but that Mary and Joseph may use the stable, since Mary is pregnant.
*** The Gospel of Matthew, the only one that mentions the Wise Men or Magi, doesn't specifically state that there were three of them, only that they came "from the East". The gospel does mention that they presented Jesus with three symbolic gifts; gold (signifying Christ the King), frankincense (representing Jesus' divinity) and myrrh (an embalming incense, indicating that Jesus would die to save God's people).
*** When Jesus fasted in the desert, he was tempted three times by the Devil; 1) Turn the stones into bread, 2) Throw yourself from this cliff and let God save you, and 3) swear loyalty to me and the kingdoms of the world will be yours.
*** The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first sometimes is represented by an eye set in a triangle. (Although there are also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism nontrinitarian]] Christians).
*** The ''Kyrie'': Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy upon us.
** Examples from the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament:
*** The three sons of Adam and Eve: Cain, Abel, and Seth.
*** The three sons of Noah: Shem, Yaphet, and Ham.
*** The three patriarchs, also mentioned in the formula: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
*** The three kings of the united Israelite kingdom: Saul, David, and Solomon.
*** Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
* UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} has the "rule of 3" also known as the Three-fold law, meaning (depending on who you ask) that everything you send out into the world either returns to you thrice as strong in consequence, or comes back to you on the astral, mental and physical planes. Furthermore, when casting a Sacred Circle in Wicca, the typical procedure is to walk around the circle three times and say the incantation three times. (In some practices anyway.)
* This pops up occasionally in UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}}, though generally not as centrally as in Wicca:
** The world is sustained by worship, study and deeds of lovingkindness. Also known as love of Hashem, love of Torah, and love for your fellow human being.
** These temper judgment's severe decree: prayer, repentance and charity.
** In UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}}, the [[WorldTree Tree of Life]] has 3 pillars: The pillar of rigor, the pillar of mercy, the pillar of balance.
* Some religions divide reality into Heaven, Earth and Hell.
** For the Norse, the universe was divided into nine (thrice three) worlds on three levels: the upper level had Alfheim (elves), Asgard (war gods and those who died in battle), and Vanaheim (fertility gods). The middle level has Midgard (humans), Jotunheim (giants) and Svartalfheim (dark elves/dwarfes), The [[HailfirePeaks bottom level]] has Helheim (those who died of disease), Nifleheim (land of ice and fog) and Muspell (fire demons).
** There are a lot more examples in Norse mythology, mayby since as mentioned above thrice three is nine which is the holy ArcNumber of Norse Mythology:
*** The third generation of Gods created the world, those are three (Odin, Vili, and Ve).
*** Three gods created humans: Odin, Hönir, and Lodur (Loki).
*** There are three norns: Skuld (Debt/Should, perhaps best understood as Future), Urd (Fate), and Verdandi (Happening, perhaps Present).
*** Yggdrasil has three roots.
*** Thor has three children: Thrud, Magni & Modi
*** Loki has three children with Angerboda: Hel, Fenrir & Jörmungandr.
*** The Fimbulwinter will last for three winters without summer in between.
*** The wolf Fenrir was bound by three fetters: Loeding, Drómi, and Gleipnir.
*** In the poem Völuspá, the description of Garmr's howl is repeated thrice.
*** Freyr anf Freyja has three magical items each.
*** Three of Odin's sons shall live after Ragnarök: Vidar [[spoiler: Baldur & Hödr]].
** UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} recognizes three heavens/kingdoms of glory after the Final Judgement: The Celestial Kingdom (itself divided into three kingdoms), the Terrestrial Kingdom, and the Telestial Kingdom.
* Subverted in [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology Lakota mythology]]: Three is the number of imperfection, while four, far from its [[FourIsDeath other implications]], is the number of perfection.
* UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}: Three gunas (modes) of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance.
** ''Literature/BhagavadGita'': Lust, Anger and Greed -- three gates to hell. Also gross, subtle and spiritual existence.
** Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva: The creator, the preserver and the destroyer. Shiva has three eyes and you'd better hope and pray that this third eye remains closed.
** There have been three times three avatars of Vishnu. The most well known are the last three - Rama, Krishna and Buddha.
* In one of the variants of the Myth/ArthurianLegend, Arthur has to ask whomever is present at the time (usually Bedivere) three times to return his sword to the Lady of the Lake.
* In Myth/ClassicalMythology:
** The rites of the three-formed witch goddess Hecate usually involve three. This can be seen especially in the practices of Medea, the wife of Jason of the Argonauts.
** The three major estates of the Cosmos are also divided into 3 equal parts, The Sky, The Sea, and The Underworld. These are in turn shared among the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.
** There are also Three Fates, Clotho Lakhesis, and Artepos, three Furies/Kindly Ones, Alecto, Megeara and Tisiphone, Three grey sisters, and three gorgon sisters.
* The trope shows up three different times in the story of [[https://tamingthewolf.com/saint-francis-and-the-wolf/ Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio]]: (1) Three attempts are made to deal with the wolf--the first by shepherds, the second by guards, and the third by Francis. (2) Three shepherds are killed by the wolf--the first shepherd, then his brother, and then their father. (3) The mayor sends his three best guards to try to kill the wolf; the first two are killed but the third escapes.
[[/folder]]
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'' -- especially in its third edition (it's now into its fifth) is fond of using the (more or less completely alliterative) triad for titles. Notable examples include ''Tempel, Türme und Tavernen'' (temples, towers and taverns) and ''Kirchen, Kulte, Ordenskrieger'' (churches, cults, templars). Over time, it grated on the editors' nerves, and they promised to stop using them for the fourth edition. They maintained it for a while but ultimately succumbed to temptation, though, as titles such as ''Söldner, Skalden, Steppenelfen'' (soldiers, skalds, prairie elves), ''Granden, Gaukler und Gelehrte'' (nobles, buskers and scholars) or ''Krieger, Krämer und Kultisten'' (warriors, merchants and cultists) prove.
* ''TabletopGame/DogsInTheVineyard'' is geared for groups of about three [=PCs=], and Three In Authority is one of the most powerful rituals against demons (a two-PC group can pull it off with help from the NPC town elder).
* In ''Dungeon'', a board game published by TSR and developed by, among others, Gary Gygax, to open a door, you have to roll for it three times. After the third time, you can just go through.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' for special defences: Fortitude, Reflex, Will.
** The physical stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution. The mental stats: Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.
** The alignments: Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic, and Good, Neutral, Evil. Put together into the alignment spectrum and there are nine options.
* Rather than using it as a trope, the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting ''Planescape'' and its video game spinoff ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' explicitly mention the Rule Of Three in-story as a principle with cosmic validity. (''Everything'' involves the number 3 somehow. There are even three cosmic principles.) Since the world(s) of Planescape are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve shaped by belief]], it's not impossible that that's true. If enough people believe it's nonsense, it won't be...
** There are enough {{Flat Earth Atheist}}s like Morte to disbelieve it, yet the rule persists for the reason that Morte gives, that minds have a tendency to create patterns. This tendency is perhaps stronger than belief, which is why the rule can be widely debunked yet the evidence of it still appears.
** 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 ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' campaign, a magic item spoke three prophesies of destruction that the players could attempt to prevent.
* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'':
** The setting the three Realms, Corporeal, Ethereal and Celestial, which each have a type of Force associated with them. There are also three main types of supernatural beings, angels, demons, and ethereals.
** Pachadim demons are obliged to respect humans who can overcome their fears. If they attempt to prey on a human's fears and fail three times in a row, they can never trouble that human again without acquiring dissonance.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' 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.
** The "One for Three" cycle of cards from the first core sets that cost one mana of it's color's mana type. Grating the caster 3 of something related to the color (Damage, Life, or most famously, card draw).
** The "charm" cycle. One card does one of three things.
** Effects are often printed in three-card "vertical cycles": a common card with a weak version of an effect, an uncommon card with a stronger version and a rare card with the strongest version. For example, the Apocalypse expansion included [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=26806 Bloodfire Dwarf]] at common, [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=28806 Bloodfire Kavu]] at uncommon and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=28807 Bloodfire Colossus]] at rare.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' 3rd Edition supplement ''Magic in the Shadows''. If a free spirit's [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]] is spoken three times in succession, the spirit [[SpeakOfTheDevil has to appear before the speaker]].
* Invoked in ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies''. Threes tend to come up a lot in its PostModernMagic, especially in ritual magic. [[ArcNumber 333]] in particular has great mystical significance [[spoiler: because it's the number of seats in the Invisible Clergy, the ascended mortals/gods that personify humanity]].
* 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 knowledge). The rest can vary depending of the individual games, but the Rule Of Three is also prominent in several:
** In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' 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).
*** The demo for ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' has Blue Jenny, who [[spoiler: if her real name is spoken in her presence three times, her Keeper will be summoned. Hence the reason for her getting the motley's help retrieving what's actually her diary]].
*** In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', mage tradition dictates that a mage owes three favours to any mage who acquires their soul stone (a piece of their soul distilled into physical form for power).
** In ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'':
*** In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', each Clan has three favored Disciplines its members can learn more easily, and drinking the blood of one vampire three times, on three different nights, gives this vampire power over the drinker. Also, vampires have three virtues to fight their three different flavors of frenzy.
*** In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'', the Resonance of a mage's magick is defined by three types of specific resonances: Dynamic, Entropic, and Static. This is linked to the cosmology of the Old World of Darkness (see below). Relatedly, they face three kinds of main foes: the Technocrats (linked to Stasis), the Nephandi (liked to Entropy) and the Marauders (linked to Dynamism).
*** In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', changelings can be of three general ages: childlings, wilders, and grumps. And since the setting is about mythos and fairytales, there are MANY occurrences of the Rule Of Three.
*** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' 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 ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' (where they first appeared) and ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' (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 [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Eater-of-Souls, the Beast-of-War, and the Defiler]].
** Their ''TabletopGame/{{Trinity Universe|WhiteWolf}}'' setting. Three games: [[TwoFistedTales Adventure!]], [[SuperHero Aberrant]], and [[AfterTheEnd Aeon]] (later renamed [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope Trinity]]). Three "classes" of character: paramorphs (or [[BadassNormal Daredevils]]), eximorphs (or [[SuperHero Stalwarts]]) and psychomorphs (or [[PsychicPowers Mesmerists]]). The actual mechanics show the same divisions as other Storyteller systems. Each stat doesn't have three skills though. But oh well.
** ''TabletopGame/{{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 ([[PrimordialChaos unshapable chaos]] [[RealityIsOutToLunch outside Creation]]) has thrown them out of whack.
[[/folder]]
* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'' -- especially in its third edition (it's now into its fifth) is fond of using the (more or less completely alliterative) triad for titles. Notable examples include ''Tempel, Türme und Tavernen'' (temples, towers and taverns) and ''Kirchen, Kulte, Ordenskrieger'' (churches, cults, templars). Over time, it grated on the editors' nerves, and they promised to stop using them for the fourth edition. They maintained it for a while but ultimately succumbed to temptation, though, as titles such as ''Söldner, Skalden, Steppenelfen'' (soldiers, skalds, prairie elves), ''Granden, Gaukler und Gelehrte'' (nobles, buskers and scholars) or ''Krieger, Krämer und Kultisten'' (warriors, merchants and cultists) prove.
* ''TabletopGame/DogsInTheVineyard'' is geared for groups of about three [=PCs=], and Three In Authority is one of the most powerful rituals against demons (a two-PC group can pull it off with help from the NPC town elder).
* In ''Dungeon'', a board game published by TSR and developed by, among others, Gary Gygax, to open a door, you have to roll for it three times. After the third time, you can just go through.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' for special defences: Fortitude, Reflex, Will.
** The physical stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution. The mental stats: Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.
** The alignments: Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic, and Good, Neutral, Evil. Put together into the alignment spectrum and there are nine options.
* Rather than using it as a trope, the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting ''Planescape'' and its video game spinoff ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' explicitly mention the Rule Of Three in-story as a principle with cosmic validity. (''Everything'' involves the number 3 somehow. There are even three cosmic principles.) Since the world(s) of Planescape are [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve shaped by belief]], it's not impossible that that's true. If enough people believe it's nonsense, it won't be...
** There are enough {{Flat Earth Atheist}}s like Morte to disbelieve it, yet the rule persists for the reason that Morte gives, that minds have a tendency to create patterns. This tendency is perhaps stronger than belief, which is why the rule can be widely debunked yet the evidence of it still appears.
** 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 ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' campaign, a magic item spoke three prophesies of destruction that the players could attempt to prevent.
* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'':
** The setting the three Realms, Corporeal, Ethereal and Celestial, which each have a type of Force associated with them. There are also three main types of supernatural beings, angels, demons, and ethereals.
** Pachadim demons are obliged to respect humans who can overcome their fears. If they attempt to prey on a human's fears and fail three times in a row, they can never trouble that human again without acquiring dissonance.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' 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.
** The "One for Three" cycle of cards from the first core sets that cost one mana of it's color's mana type. Grating the caster 3 of something related to the color (Damage, Life, or most famously, card draw).
** The "charm" cycle. One card does one of three things.
** Effects are often printed in three-card "vertical cycles": a common card with a weak version of an effect, an uncommon card with a stronger version and a rare card with the strongest version. For example, the Apocalypse expansion included [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=26806 Bloodfire Dwarf]] at common, [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=28806 Bloodfire Kavu]] at uncommon and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=28807 Bloodfire Colossus]] at rare.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' 3rd Edition supplement ''Magic in the Shadows''. If a free spirit's [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]] is spoken three times in succession, the spirit [[SpeakOfTheDevil has to appear before the speaker]].
* Invoked in ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies''. Threes tend to come up a lot in its PostModernMagic, especially in ritual magic. [[ArcNumber 333]] in particular has great mystical significance [[spoiler: because it's the number of seats in the Invisible Clergy, the ascended mortals/gods that personify humanity]].
* 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 knowledge). The rest can vary depending of the individual games, but the Rule Of Three is also prominent in several:
** In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' 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).
*** The demo for ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' has Blue Jenny, who [[spoiler: if her real name is spoken in her presence three times, her Keeper will be summoned. Hence the reason for her getting the motley's help retrieving what's actually her diary]].
*** In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', mage tradition dictates that a mage owes three favours to any mage who acquires their soul stone (a piece of their soul distilled into physical form for power).
** In ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'':
*** In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', each Clan has three favored Disciplines its members can learn more easily, and drinking the blood of one vampire three times, on three different nights, gives this vampire power over the drinker. Also, vampires have three virtues to fight their three different flavors of frenzy.
*** In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'', the Resonance of a mage's magick is defined by three types of specific resonances: Dynamic, Entropic, and Static. This is linked to the cosmology of the Old World of Darkness (see below). Relatedly, they face three kinds of main foes: the Technocrats (linked to Stasis), the Nephandi (liked to Entropy) and the Marauders (linked to Dynamism).
*** In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', changelings can be of three general ages: childlings, wilders, and grumps. And since the setting is about mythos and fairytales, there are MANY occurrences of the Rule Of Three.
*** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' 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 ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' (where they first appeared) and ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' (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 [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Eater-of-Souls, the Beast-of-War, and the Defiler]].
** Their ''TabletopGame/{{Trinity Universe|WhiteWolf}}'' setting. Three games: [[TwoFistedTales Adventure!]], [[SuperHero Aberrant]], and [[AfterTheEnd Aeon]] (later renamed [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope Trinity]]). Three "classes" of character: paramorphs (or [[BadassNormal Daredevils]]), eximorphs (or [[SuperHero Stalwarts]]) and psychomorphs (or [[PsychicPowers Mesmerists]]). The actual mechanics show the same divisions as other Storyteller systems. Each stat doesn't have three skills though. But oh well.
** ''TabletopGame/{{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 ([[PrimordialChaos unshapable chaos]] [[RealityIsOutToLunch outside Creation]]) has thrown them out of whack.
[[/folder]]
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Theatre]]
* In ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers'', after the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", Spaulding tries three times to give his welcoming address. The first two times, the chorus interrupts him with encores of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding". He interrupts his third attempt by singing it himself, then saying: "Well, somebody's got to do it."
* In the Creator/CirqueDuSoleil show ''Theatre/TheBeatlesLOVE'' a white VW bug appears several times. The third (or possibly [[FourIsDeath fourth]]) and final time [[spoiler: it smashes into a woman (who represents John Lennon's mother, who died in a car crash); the car bursts apart]].
* ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'': This trope is combined with DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The gratuitous repetition of a question or a gesture three or more times are shown in the play:
** PlayedForLaughs: At Act I Montfleury tries to say his lines four times, Cyrano orders him to disappear when Cyrano claps his hands the third time, the bore asks Cyrano three times if he has a protector. Lampshaded by Cyrano when he does not answer a third time:
--->'''Cyrano:''' ''[irritated]'' No, I have told you twice! Must I repeat?
** PlayedForDrama: At Act II, Cyrano asks Roxane three times what she would do if Christian is not as eloquent as he is fair; she answers two times that being fair, he has to be eloquent, and the third time she invokes DrivenToSuicide. At Act IV, Cyrano asks Roxane if she would love Christian, even if he would be ugly, three times. She answers yes every time.
* Erronius in ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' is told to walk seven times around the seven hills of Rome. The first two times he re-enters and walks sloooooowly across the stage as the rest of the cast watch silently. The third time he gets run over during a chase scene.
* In ''Theatre/TheGrannyAwards'', whenever Snoozy the dwarf falls asleep, the Fairy Godmother will appear and make the audience and the chorus shout "Wake up, Snoozy!" three times to wake him up and keep the show running, and tells them to yell the phrase even louder than the last until he finally wakes up.
* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', there are 3 duels in the musical, Laurens and Lee, [[spoiler:Philip and Eacker,]] and of course [[spoiler:Hamilton and Burr]].
* In ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', the Witch tells the Baker and his wife that they must bring her the items "before the chime of midnight in three days time" in order to break the spell.
* One of the musical themes in ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'', labeled "The Triple Chord," is three voicings of a B-flat major chord, each one repeated three times in a short-long-long pattern.
* ''Theatre/MaratSade'': Charlotte Corday comes to Marat's door three times. Lampshaded several times.
* ''Theatre/TheMikado'':
** Pooh-Bah gives a "toast with three times three" repeating the phrase "long life to you" three times. Most people who play the role ham the third time up even more than is called for in the script (which is quite a bit.)
** Also from ''The Mikado'':
--->"One little maid is a bride, Yum-Yum,\\
Two little maids in attendance come,\\
Three little maids is the total sum,\\
Three little maids from school."
* In ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'', the piano lesson scene begins with Amaryllis practicing the same passage three times, always ending on the same wrong note. Mrs. Paroo plays the right note for Amaryllis the first two times, and Marian enters to correct her third try.
* ''Theatre/PokemonLive'' has three trainers and three Pokemon [=MechaMew2=] defeats, and three girls Brock is interested in.
* From ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'': "Say something. Anything." "Test, one, two, three-- " "Anything but that."
%%* From ''Theatre/TheSorcerer'', the title character's counting scene.
* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespearean]] examples:
** In ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'', Marc Anthony speaks at Caesar's funeral:
--->You all did see that on the Lupercal\\
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,\\
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
** During this speech, he also says "Brutus is an honorable man" three times. A fourth time he just says, "And sure he is an honorable man", by which time he's in full SarcasmMode.
** Theatre/KingLear has three daughters to whom he intends to leave a third of his kingdom each. (However, he gets annoyed with the third one and ends up giving his kingdom to the other two).
** When [[spoiler:Mercutio]] is fatally stabbed in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', he curses the Montagues and Capulets thrice ("A plague on both your houses!") before dying, thus ensuring that the curse comes true.
** ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' has three caskets, of which the third chosen is successful.
** ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' alone contains too many examples to count, most coming from the three witches.
** [[Literature/{{Discworld}} And therefore]] also the amount Witches like to assemble in, 'cause two is just an argument.
* In ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', Todd teaches Mrs. Lovett a pound-three-times signal.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' [[spoiler: Onrac is destroyed because of Sarda and Black Mage three times.]]
-->''Where lightning can't strike thrice!''
* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', while Mayor Chuck Goodrich is in hiding and pretending to be dead, the doctor points out he could use this time to read ''Literature/InfiniteJest'', play ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', or "third thing that takes a long time".
-->'''Chuck:''' I do like third thing...
* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001105c With commentary explaining why two failures and a success make a good pattern.]] [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001113c And again here.]] In fact, if you keep reading the commentaries, Dave comes back to this a lot, counting how many repetitions of a given gag he uses. Also, three strips in a row of thought bubbles when carrying out a plan hatched by [[DumbassHasAPoint Bass]], all of which ended in them questioning the wisdom of taking tactical advice from the resident [[TheDitz ditz]]. Summarized version:
-->'''Protoman''': I suppose they're right, I can't take Mynd on my own...when did we start listening to Bass?\\
'''Roll''': Shame I never got to that relationship storyline...wait, when did we start listening to Bass? We're all going to die.\\
'''Bass''': [pause] I like ice cream. [Pause] When did they start listening to ''me''?
* The latter entries in ''Webcomic/BugMartini'' tend to have one panel of set-up, followed by three more panels, each with a mini joke within them. "[[http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/random-thoughts/ Random Thoughts]]" is a good example of this trope in action.
* Played with in [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1043.html this]] ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', in which the GenreSavvy [=DM=] is confused when a player states a list with only two items.
* ''Webcomic/{{Derelict}}'' The main character ponders them, related to survival: three minutes without air, three days without water, three months without food. Then she wonders if she got it right.[[note]]Not exactly: three weeks without food is the rule.[[/note]]
* In ''{{Webcomic/Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02283.htm Clippy realizes that when all three plans have failed, they were foiled.]]
* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[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.
** In the heart of Castle Heterodyne, there are three lights.
*** When Agatha first speaks to the Castle, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071012 the first light comes on.]]
*** When she proves her identity as a true Heterodyne, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080820 the second light comes on.]]
*** And when she restores power to the Castle (in yet another SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome) ... the '''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20121224 THIRD LIGHT!]]'''
** When Queen Albia suffers a PowerStrainBlackout after a battle against Clank!Lucrezia, Agatha offers to help three times before Albia accepts: "[[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20230807 You have said it thrice, it is enough.]]"
* ''Webcomic/TheHaresBride'', being an adaptation of a fairy tale, makes use of this:
** The hare gives his invitation three times before the girl goes with him.
** Three times, the hare beseeches: "Open the door! Open the door! The wedding guests are [something]!"
* From ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience'': Benjamin mentions that he spends much of his rare days off listening to classical music; he gives Bach, Prokofiev, and ''Music/TheBeatles'' as examples. (The webcomic's artist expounds on the Rule in his [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos084.html commentary]].
* ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' has this during the Problem Sleuth story. Three detectives, three dames, three gentlemen, three faces for DMK. Threes are everywhere in that story.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', there is [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0844.html this]] CutawayGag, then [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0853.html this one]] several strips later, to the exact same place. The pattern is subverted in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0855.html this]] third strip.
-->'''Roy:''' Huh. [[NoFourthWall I really felt like there was going to be a cutaway panel there.]]
* ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': The running gag of "DudeShesALesbian" is built on this. Having about 3 variations on the joke.
* There's a webcomic named ''[[http://www.drunkduck.com/Rule_Of_Three Rule of Three]]'' which centers around three female friends.
* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-42/ Madeline keeps cutting her head off, and the vampire puts it back on, getting seriously annoyed by the third.]]
* ''Webcomic/StatisticalFact'' often combines the rule of threes with statistics to spotlight a humorous anomaly. See [[http://statisticalfact.com/sf/sedentary-stalker/ this comic]] for an example.
* In ''Webcomic/StrongFemaleProtagonist'', [[GadgeteerGenius Paladin]] explains to Alison/Mega Girl [[AIIsACrapshoot the difficulty she had in creating a stable AI]]. On her first attempt, she tried to give it [[ForGreatJustice an innate sense of justice]]:
-->'''Alison''': How'd that turn out?\\
'''Paladin''': [[KnightTemplar Immediately tried to kill me]] and [[MurderousMalfunctioningMachine destroy everything in the lab]].\\
'''Alison''': Oh no!\\
'''Paladin''': Mark II was programmed with [[AllLovingHero a sense of empathy, understanding, and compassion]].\\
'''Alison''': And?\\
'''Paladin''': [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Immediately killed itself.]]\\
'''Alison''': Oof.\\
'''Paladin''': Then I tried [[FunPersonified humor]].\\
'''Alison''': And that worked?\\
'''Paladin''': No, [[SadClown it also killed itself]], but only because [[ExplosiveOverclocking I gave it a little too much processing power]].
* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00532.html Quentyn asks for each boon three times, and the fae lord grants it -- the third time is when it kicks into effect.]]
* In the TrainingMontage of ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' there are scenes of Rak and Amigochaz throwing spears at high frequency. The first time Amigochaz proves that he is on the same level as Rak, the second time Paracule just watches dumbfounded as he is left behind and the third time, in a thumbnail-sized addendum, you can see them still going at it at midnight.
* ''Webcomic/TriquetraCats'' features three sisters taking up the mantle and war that their deceased mother was unable to finish.
* Referred to by name in ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'', by Sam as an explanation for why he smacked their new ally three times: once for trying to attack him, once for not immediately joining his side, and once for talking with his mouth full.
[[/folder]]
* In ''Theatre/AnimalCrackers'', after the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", Spaulding tries three times to give his welcoming address. The first two times, the chorus interrupts him with encores of "Hooray for Captain Spaulding". He interrupts his third attempt by singing it himself, then saying: "Well, somebody's got to do it."
* In the Creator/CirqueDuSoleil show ''Theatre/TheBeatlesLOVE'' a white VW bug appears several times. The third (or possibly [[FourIsDeath fourth]]) and final time [[spoiler: it smashes into a woman (who represents John Lennon's mother, who died in a car crash); the car bursts apart]].
* ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'': This trope is combined with DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The gratuitous repetition of a question or a gesture three or more times are shown in the play:
** PlayedForLaughs: At Act I Montfleury tries to say his lines four times, Cyrano orders him to disappear when Cyrano claps his hands the third time, the bore asks Cyrano three times if he has a protector. Lampshaded by Cyrano when he does not answer a third time:
--->'''Cyrano:''' ''[irritated]'' No, I have told you twice! Must I repeat?
** PlayedForDrama: At Act II, Cyrano asks Roxane three times what she would do if Christian is not as eloquent as he is fair; she answers two times that being fair, he has to be eloquent, and the third time she invokes DrivenToSuicide. At Act IV, Cyrano asks Roxane if she would love Christian, even if he would be ugly, three times. She answers yes every time.
* Erronius in ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' is told to walk seven times around the seven hills of Rome. The first two times he re-enters and walks sloooooowly across the stage as the rest of the cast watch silently. The third time he gets run over during a chase scene.
* In ''Theatre/TheGrannyAwards'', whenever Snoozy the dwarf falls asleep, the Fairy Godmother will appear and make the audience and the chorus shout "Wake up, Snoozy!" three times to wake him up and keep the show running, and tells them to yell the phrase even louder than the last until he finally wakes up.
* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', there are 3 duels in the musical, Laurens and Lee, [[spoiler:Philip and Eacker,]] and of course [[spoiler:Hamilton and Burr]].
* In ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', the Witch tells the Baker and his wife that they must bring her the items "before the chime of midnight in three days time" in order to break the spell.
* One of the musical themes in ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'', labeled "The Triple Chord," is three voicings of a B-flat major chord, each one repeated three times in a short-long-long pattern.
* ''Theatre/MaratSade'': Charlotte Corday comes to Marat's door three times. Lampshaded several times.
* ''Theatre/TheMikado'':
** Pooh-Bah gives a "toast with three times three" repeating the phrase "long life to you" three times. Most people who play the role ham the third time up even more than is called for in the script (which is quite a bit.)
** Also from ''The Mikado'':
--->"One little maid is a bride, Yum-Yum,\\
Two little maids in attendance come,\\
Three little maids is the total sum,\\
Three little maids from school."
* In ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'', the piano lesson scene begins with Amaryllis practicing the same passage three times, always ending on the same wrong note. Mrs. Paroo plays the right note for Amaryllis the first two times, and Marian enters to correct her third try.
* ''Theatre/PokemonLive'' has three trainers and three Pokemon [=MechaMew2=] defeats, and three girls Brock is interested in.
* From ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'': "Say something. Anything." "Test, one, two, three-- " "Anything but that."
%%* From ''Theatre/TheSorcerer'', the title character's counting scene.
* [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespearean]] examples:
** In ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'', Marc Anthony speaks at Caesar's funeral:
--->You all did see that on the Lupercal\\
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,\\
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
** During this speech, he also says "Brutus is an honorable man" three times. A fourth time he just says, "And sure he is an honorable man", by which time he's in full SarcasmMode.
** Theatre/KingLear has three daughters to whom he intends to leave a third of his kingdom each. (However, he gets annoyed with the third one and ends up giving his kingdom to the other two).
** When [[spoiler:Mercutio]] is fatally stabbed in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', he curses the Montagues and Capulets thrice ("A plague on both your houses!") before dying, thus ensuring that the curse comes true.
** ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' has three caskets, of which the third chosen is successful.
** ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' alone contains too many examples to count, most coming from the three witches.
** [[Literature/{{Discworld}} And therefore]] also the amount Witches like to assemble in, 'cause two is just an argument.
* In ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', Todd teaches Mrs. Lovett a pound-three-times signal.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' [[spoiler: Onrac is destroyed because of Sarda and Black Mage three times.]]
-->''Where lightning can't strike thrice!''
* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', while Mayor Chuck Goodrich is in hiding and pretending to be dead, the doctor points out he could use this time to read ''Literature/InfiniteJest'', play ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', or "third thing that takes a long time".
-->'''Chuck:''' I do like third thing...
* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001105c With commentary explaining why two failures and a success make a good pattern.]] [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/001113c And again here.]] In fact, if you keep reading the commentaries, Dave comes back to this a lot, counting how many repetitions of a given gag he uses. Also, three strips in a row of thought bubbles when carrying out a plan hatched by [[DumbassHasAPoint Bass]], all of which ended in them questioning the wisdom of taking tactical advice from the resident [[TheDitz ditz]]. Summarized version:
-->'''Protoman''': I suppose they're right, I can't take Mynd on my own...when did we start listening to Bass?\\
'''Roll''': Shame I never got to that relationship storyline...wait, when did we start listening to Bass? We're all going to die.\\
'''Bass''': [pause] I like ice cream. [Pause] When did they start listening to ''me''?
* The latter entries in ''Webcomic/BugMartini'' tend to have one panel of set-up, followed by three more panels, each with a mini joke within them. "[[http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/random-thoughts/ Random Thoughts]]" is a good example of this trope in action.
* Played with in [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1043.html this]] ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', in which the GenreSavvy [=DM=] is confused when a player states a list with only two items.
* ''Webcomic/{{Derelict}}'' The main character ponders them, related to survival: three minutes without air, three days without water, three months without food. Then she wonders if she got it right.[[note]]Not exactly: three weeks without food is the rule.[[/note]]
* In ''{{Webcomic/Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02283.htm Clippy realizes that when all three plans have failed, they were foiled.]]
* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[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.
** In the heart of Castle Heterodyne, there are three lights.
*** When Agatha first speaks to the Castle, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071012 the first light comes on.]]
*** When she proves her identity as a true Heterodyne, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080820 the second light comes on.]]
*** And when she restores power to the Castle (in yet another SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome) ... the '''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20121224 THIRD LIGHT!]]'''
** When Queen Albia suffers a PowerStrainBlackout after a battle against Clank!Lucrezia, Agatha offers to help three times before Albia accepts: "[[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20230807 You have said it thrice, it is enough.]]"
* ''Webcomic/TheHaresBride'', being an adaptation of a fairy tale, makes use of this:
** The hare gives his invitation three times before the girl goes with him.
** Three times, the hare beseeches: "Open the door! Open the door! The wedding guests are [something]!"
* From ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience'': Benjamin mentions that he spends much of his rare days off listening to classical music; he gives Bach, Prokofiev, and ''Music/TheBeatles'' as examples. (The webcomic's artist expounds on the Rule in his [[http://project-apollo.net/mos/mos084.html commentary]].
* ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' has this during the Problem Sleuth story. Three detectives, three dames, three gentlemen, three faces for DMK. Threes are everywhere in that story.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', there is [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0844.html this]] CutawayGag, then [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0853.html this one]] several strips later, to the exact same place. The pattern is subverted in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0855.html this]] third strip.
-->'''Roy:''' Huh. [[NoFourthWall I really felt like there was going to be a cutaway panel there.]]
* ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': The running gag of "DudeShesALesbian" is built on this. Having about 3 variations on the joke.
* There's a webcomic named ''[[http://www.drunkduck.com/Rule_Of_Three Rule of Three]]'' which centers around three female friends.
* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-6-42/ Madeline keeps cutting her head off, and the vampire puts it back on, getting seriously annoyed by the third.]]
* ''Webcomic/StatisticalFact'' often combines the rule of threes with statistics to spotlight a humorous anomaly. See [[http://statisticalfact.com/sf/sedentary-stalker/ this comic]] for an example.
* In ''Webcomic/StrongFemaleProtagonist'', [[GadgeteerGenius Paladin]] explains to Alison/Mega Girl [[AIIsACrapshoot the difficulty she had in creating a stable AI]]. On her first attempt, she tried to give it [[ForGreatJustice an innate sense of justice]]:
-->'''Alison''': How'd that turn out?\\
'''Paladin''': [[KnightTemplar Immediately tried to kill me]] and [[MurderousMalfunctioningMachine destroy everything in the lab]].\\
'''Alison''': Oh no!\\
'''Paladin''': Mark II was programmed with [[AllLovingHero a sense of empathy, understanding, and compassion]].\\
'''Alison''': And?\\
'''Paladin''': [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Immediately killed itself.]]\\
'''Alison''': Oof.\\
'''Paladin''': Then I tried [[FunPersonified humor]].\\
'''Alison''': And that worked?\\
'''Paladin''': No, [[SadClown it also killed itself]], but only because [[ExplosiveOverclocking I gave it a little too much processing power]].
* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00532.html Quentyn asks for each boon three times, and the fae lord grants it -- the third time is when it kicks into effect.]]
* In the TrainingMontage of ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' there are scenes of Rak and Amigochaz throwing spears at high frequency. The first time Amigochaz proves that he is on the same level as Rak, the second time Paracule just watches dumbfounded as he is left behind and the third time, in a thumbnail-sized addendum, you can see them still going at it at midnight.
* ''Webcomic/TriquetraCats'' features three sisters taking up the mantle and war that their deceased mother was unable to finish.
* Referred to by name in ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'', by Sam as an explanation for why he smacked their new ally three times: once for trying to attack him, once for not immediately joining his side, and once for talking with his mouth full.
[[/folder]]
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* ''Fanfic/ARavenUnderTheStarlight'': The Trials of Fikutsu-shina, overseen by a spirit similar to the ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'' source material's Oracle, consist of three magic tests.
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** Taken to ridiculous levels in the 1998 crossover ''The Millenium Giants'' and its lead-ins: three emissaries from three god-like entities summon their deities, which Superman and the Justice League have to defeat in a 9-part crossover.
to:
** Taken to ridiculous levels in the 1998 crossover ''The Millenium Millennium Giants'' and its lead-ins: three emissaries from three god-like entities summon their deities, which Superman and the Justice League have to defeat in a 9-part crossover.
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** Taken to ridiculous levels in the 1998 crossover ''The Millenium Giants'' and its lead-ins: three emissaries from three god-like entities summon their deities, which Superman and the Justice League have to defeat in a 9-part crossover.
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* During the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness storyline in the late 1990s, three attempts were made to rescue Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon from her unwanted wedding to Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The first two, by Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/KenShamrock, failed; the third, by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, was successful.
to:
* During the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness storyline in the late 1990s, three attempts were made to rescue Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon from her unwanted wedding to Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The first two, by Wrestling/BigShow by Wrestling/KenShamrock and Wrestling/KenShamrock, Wrestling/BigShow, failed; the third, by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, was successful.
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* During the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness storyline in the late 1990s, three attempts were made to rescue Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon from her unwanted wedding to Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The first two, by Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/KenShamrock, failed; the third, by Wrestling/StonrColdSteveAustin, was successful.
to:
* During the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness storyline in the late 1990s, three attempts were made to rescue Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon from her unwanted wedding to Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The first two, by Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/KenShamrock, failed; the third, by Wrestling/StonrColdSteveAustin, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, was successful.
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* During the Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness storyline in the late 1990s, three attempts were made to rescue Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon from her unwanted wedding to Wrestling/TheUndertaker. The first two, by Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/KenShamrock, failed; the third, by Wrestling/StonrColdSteveAustin, was successful.
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** "ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroesBugsBunnySpecial": Bugs Bunny has three glowing special carrots which allow him to turn into Super-Bugs. He is forced to use them up through the story.
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* ''Fanfic/{{Dangerverse}}'': Triples seem to have significance in the Founder's magic.
** The Founder's Oath must be spoken three times to be binding.
** Wish magic is set in motion with a three-part invocation ("so I speak, so I intend, and so let it be done").
** Severus Snape is asked three times who could command him to forgive himself for his past sins.
** James and Lily return from the grave to visit Harry three times.
** The Founder's Oath must be spoken three times to be binding.
** Wish magic is set in motion with a three-part invocation ("so I speak, so I intend, and so let it be done").
** Severus Snape is asked three times who could command him to forgive himself for his past sins.
** James and Lily return from the grave to visit Harry three times.
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Adding an example.
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* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaMementoMori'': The first execution is outright named "Death Penalty Trinity" -- the blackened is thus subjected to three different traditional methods of execution one after another: first [[HangingAround the gallows]], then [[HighVoltageDeath the electric chair]], and finally [[OffWithHisHead the guillotine]].
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* ''Art/TheLastSupper'': The painting contains several notable appearances of the number three, perhaps reflecting the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
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* ''Art/MediciChapels'': The {{sculptures}} in the "New Sacristy" are grouped into three groups. Two for the tombs of the Medici brothers, with each brother being flanked by two {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s, and one solely composed of Christian saints --the Virgin Mary surrounded by the Medicis' two patron saints. However, this latter group comes with a twist because the Virgin Mary is holding an infant Jesus, which means that said group is made of four characters instead of three.
* ''Art/TheLastSupper'': Thepainting {{paintings}} contains several notable appearances of the number three, perhaps reflecting the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
* ''Art/TheLastSupper'': The
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** {{Lampshaded}} by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
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** {{Lampshaded}} {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
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-->[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrah_Fawcett Farrah Fawcett]] died and went to heaven. Saint Peter said "You were very good on Earth, so you have been granted one wish." Farrah thought for a bit and said "I wish for the safety of all children on Earth." Half an hour later, Music/MichaelJackson arrived in heaven.\\
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** The effect is heightened in Ghidorah's backstory one-shot in ''Fanfic/AbraxasEmptyFullness''. It's revealed there that the aliens who originally turned Ghidorah into its current form (before Ghidorah [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turned on and destroyed them]]) made it a three-headed creature using three specimens in mimicry or mockery of an alien text called the Ghee'haszhra, which states, "[t]hree times".
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* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': {{Lampshaded}} by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
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* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'':
** {{Lampshaded}} by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
** {{Lampshaded}} by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
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** There are also notably and precisely three Russian women [[spoiler:who've been [[MedicalRapeAndImpregnate forcibly impregnated]] with Ghidorah hybrids]], and they're all found together, all but gift-wrapped for the humans to find and bring back to civilization [[spoiler:as part of the plan for the hybrids]].
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* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': {{Lampshaded}} by the [[MultipleHeadCase three-headed]], godlike alien Titan [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] when contemplating its number of heads:
-->Three is sacred.
-->Three is sacred.
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unnecessary and confusing conclusion
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See also [[{{Conflict}} Basic Conflicts]] and other plot devices which often come in [[NumerologicalMotif 3s or 7s]], and Administrivia/ThreeRulesOfThree, a wiki guideline. Not to be confused with [[FourIsDeath 4]], unless you're counting [[FourElementEnsemble elements]], [[FourTemperamentEnsemble bodily fluids]], [[EliteFour elite badasses]], and other dimensions.[[note]][[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail 5 is right out,]] and so is [[RuleOfTwo two.]][[/note]]
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See also [[{{Conflict}} Basic Conflicts]] and other plot devices which often come in [[NumerologicalMotif 3s or 7s]], and Administrivia/ThreeRulesOfThree, a wiki guideline. Not to be confused with [[FourIsDeath 4]], unless you're counting [[FourElementEnsemble elements]], [[FourTemperamentEnsemble bodily fluids]], [[EliteFour elite badasses]], and other dimensions.[[note]][[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail 5 is right out,]] and so is [[RuleOfTwo two.]][[/note]]
guideline.
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[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners [soft return] Every triangle has three sides [soft return] No more, no less [soft return] You don't have to guess [soft return] When it's three, you can see [soft return] It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
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[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners [soft return] / Every triangle has three sides [soft return] / No more, no less [soft return] / You don't have to guess [soft return] / When it's three, you can see [soft return] / It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
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[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners\\
Every triangle has three sides\\
No more, no less\\
You don't have to guess\\
When it's three, you can see\\
It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
Every triangle has three sides\\
No more, no less\\
You don't have to guess\\
When it's three, you can see\\
It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
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[[caption-width-right:300: ''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners\\
corners [soft return] Every triangle has three sides\\
sides [soft return] No more, no less\\
less [soft return] You don't have to guess\\
guess [soft return] When it's three, you can see\\
see [soft return] It's a magic number... ♫]]'']]
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[[caption-width-right:300:''[[WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock ♫ Every triangle has three corners\\
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