**Previous Chapter: [[1b. Stakes]]** <hr> As discussed in [[1b. Stakes]], a set of stakes is a statement about the story that two or more characters disagree about. However, a character is not always a living, thinking person. For example, consider the following sets of stakes: > The mindless zombie lurched from the grave and devoured the adventurer's brains. > The bubbling lava flowed down the mountainside, burning the village below. > The wall stood boldly in the traveler's path. The traveler could go no farther. Each of these—the zombie, the lava, and even the wall—has a purpose in the story, and therefore a kind of intent: * The zombie's purpose is to eat brains. * The lava's purpose is to burn buildings. * The wall's purpose is to block people. If the traveler insisted that they bypassed the wall, the wall—determined to obstruct them—would insist otherwise. As such, *any entity in the story*, whether sentient, humanoid, or otherwise, can be a character in the story, and therefore a participant in a dispute over stakes. <hr> **Next Chapter: [[1d. Adversaries]]**