The story

Once upon a time...

The collective term for all events happening to our characters in an adventure franchise. It consists of the beginning, journey, climax, and resolution.

Beginning
Where it all starts. We meet the Hero, their ally, the Villain, and miscellaneous other characters. This is where we're also introduced to the Conflict of the story. Most times, we aren't aware of what caused it, how to fix it, or what will happen if it is (un)resolved. We only know that it's bad and the Hero and their party must stop it.

Journey
This is when the Hero and friends make off and start to put an end to the Villain and/or the conflict. Everything between the introductions and the climax happens here. We're told more about characters' backgrounds, the conflict, and the world our heroes journey in.

Early Journey
At this stage of the story, the Hero knows very little about the Unknown Realm and often makes mistakes. Their teammates might know more about the Unknown Realm and may even specialize in having knowledge about it. If they don't have anything yet, our heroes get their first weapons or powers during this stage that aren't too strong, but still have their merit. This might also be the fist and last time that they change weapons or powers and will keep them to the end of the journey.

Mid Journey
This is the part of the story in which the Hero is more familiar with the world around them and doesn't screw up as much. They've defeated some enemies along the way and are getting better at journeying with their party. Some conflict, such as a death or huge failure, will likely set the party back.

Late Journey
The Hero and their friends are much better at traversing the lands than they've ever been before. We as the audience know much about the world around the heroes as well. Some characters like the Mentor would've made an appearance by now.

Climax
When the Hero has finally arrives at the Go Away doormat of the Villain's lair, this is where we have just about all useful pieces of information we need to know about everything in the story. This is where an epic line or dramatic speech would best fit.

Resolution
When everything's been said and done, the end game's results finally are shown to us.

The Hero Wins
If the Hero is the one to be victorious after the Big Fight (by far the most common ending to a story), we get these endings.
 * Happy Ending
 * Alt Happy Ending
 * Sudden Corruption, Hero Malfunction
 * Great Going, Hero

The Villain Wins
If the Villain is the one to be victorious, we get these endings.
 * Unhappy Ending
 * Alt Unhappy Ending
 * The Hero Gets Bussed

Alternate Endings
These are different endings for when neither the Hero nor Villain wins or when the story doesn't really end.
 * All Just A...
 * Dream
 * Dream In A Dream
 * Dream In A Nightmare
 * Lie
 * Story
 * Everybody's A Loser
 * Everyone Dies Anyway
 * Third One Wins
 * To Be Continued

Adventure Story Formats
Different genres that have adventures set in them have different formats that might only work or make sense in their own contexts.