TEXT: Perilous
  Intersections
  a solo rpg engine
  by Rory Bracebuckle
  version 1
  inspired by the great pioneers of solo gamers, especially Tom 
  Pigeon and John Fiore
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 1
  Perilous Intersections by Rory Bracebuckle is licensed 
  under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 
  License
  
  Contents
  .......................................................................
  What’s It All About?
  3
  ..........................................................................
  What Does It Do?	
  4
  ..........................................................................................
  Seeding	
  5
  .....................................................................
  Idea Generators	
  5
  .......................................................................................
  PC Goals	
  6
  ..........................................................................
  Begins the Drama	
  8
  ............................................................................
  The Four Phases	
  9
  ...................................................................
  Something Amiss	
  9
  ...............................................................
  Rears Its Ugly Head	
  9
  ..............................................................
  The Final Boss Fight	
  9
  .........................................................
  Fightback Scene	
  10
  ...........................................................
  Last Ditch Effort	
  10
  ............................................................
  The Showdown	
  11
  ......................................................................
  The Aftermath	
  11
  .....................................................................
  Event Interpretation	
  12
  .......................................................................
  The Big Questions	
  14
  ................................................................
  Time Is of the Essence	
  16
  ................................................................................
  Story Probes	
  17
  ......................................
  Not All Answers Are Correct Ones	
  18
  ......................................................
  Asking Other Questions	
  19
  ................................................................................
  Danger Level	
  20
  ..................................................
  Additional Notes on Opposition	
  22
  ......................................................................................
  Graphing	
  23
  .............................................................................................
  Dials		
  24
  ....................................................................................
  Worksheet	
  27
  ............................................................
  Example: The King’s Man
  28
  ...................................................................................
  	
  Setup	
  28
  .................................................................
  	
  Something Amiss	
  29
  .............................................................
  	
  Rears Its Ugly Head	
  32
  ............................................................
  	
  The Final Boss Fight	
  35
  ......................................................................
  	
  The Aftermath	
  35
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 2
  
  What’s It All About?
  Perilous Intersections is a lightweight engine to power your solitaire 
  roleplaying game adventures. It works by directing you to answer the Big 
  Questions that brings a hero into conﬂict with a setting’s threat. It keeps 
  some measure of surprise while the emergent plot provides resistance to 
  the protagonist’s motivations. It works best with characters that have 
  strong motivations and are action-driven. It can work in tandem with any 
  existing RPG system, and is interactive, responding to the PC’s efforts to 
  counter the main antagonist, making her choices matter.
  At the heart of this solo engine are intersections. An intersection is a 
  particular method of interpretation whereby one runs a random idea 
  prompt through a ﬁlter. This ﬁlter always provides a “push” on the PC’s 
  goals and motivations, and sometimes against her directly. It is similar to 
  some novelists’ plot tools, in which unexpected story events cause a 
  deﬂection of the protagonist’s chosen course. Thinking of any adventure 
  like a line (or the oft disparaged “railroading” technique in traditional 
  tabletop roleplaying games), this will cause the course to change, creating 
  lots of twists and turns in the plot structure. It can (and often will) cause 
  some serious shifts in the PC’s perspective as things are revealed not to 
  be what they ﬁrst seemed.
  Perilous Intersections also has a timing mechanism that brings urgency to 
  the scenario and demands resolution. Like any similar solo engine (Mythic 
  GM Emulator, the 9Q’s, and many other great indie games), it relies heavily 
  upon proper interpretation of random prompts and cues. Largely intended 
  as a solo engine, it can be used in a group setting, giving a collaborative 
  approach to a GM-full multi-player structure, similar to the Mythic GM 
  Emulator.
  Largely, this engine provides a method for scene framing with mechanics 
  for allowing and removing the solitaire player’s narrative control, and for 
  making his choices meaningful.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 3
  
  What Does It Do?
  As said before, Perilous Intersections is largely a scene framing structure. 
  However, it’s loose. What it should do is allow a bit of a back and forth 
  between the player and the mechanics. Certain actions and rolls will make 
  the PC’s actions, choices, and inquiries matter, and actually grant the 
  player some measure of narrative license. When these actions fail or go 
  awry, the system will “push back” against the player’s initial desires.
  Many solo engines or GM-replacement systems provide charts for the 
  players to consult or roll against so that it feels like someone else giving 
  you creative input. Perilous Intersections not vastly different. With 
  previously published systems, many players have debated how much of 
  the impetus comes from the solo engine versus what the player had in 
  mind from the beginning. Ofttimes, relying more on the engine to 
  determine things may produce more threads that may wander too far from 
  their original path, or produce results do not seem logical, or even wander 
  into territory in which the player has no interest to follow. In Perilous 
  Intersections, the player is given the license to provide narrative detail, and 
  the system may prompt that at times from the player. When things do not 
  go to the PC’s liking, Perilous Intersections will demand an interpretation 
  of the idea that is as counter to the ﬁrst thing that came into the player’s 
  head. However, by and large, the player is free to toy with themes and 
  aspects of play that he ﬁnds interesting.
  Perilous Intersections will also provide a framework for dynamic action and 
  scenes that will push with greater acceleration, and, in the end, produce 
  an improvised but complete plot line with logical motivations by NPCs.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 4
  
  Seeding
  First of all, using any idea generator (see below), draw ﬁve to nine words, 
  images, icons, or phrases. The number of ideas you choose will impact the 
  length and difﬁculty of your scenario. You will do nothing with them just 
  yet. Look at them and let them stew in your head. If you know you want to 
  include a few special items, you can seed a few of those without the need 
  to randomly draw. Some examples of pre-determined seeds might be, “I 
  want my adventure to be about fur-clad ice giants and crystal balls”, “I like 
  WWI biplanes and giant gorillas”, or “oases and mirages are cool!”. Even 
  pre-existing backstory elements that you’d like to see come to play can 
  work. Create at least half of your ideas from random input. We’ll call these 
  idea elements Seeds.
  Why list them all now? Perilous Intersections is not strictly all about 
  random prompts to generate scenes. A good part of the system is built 
  around player choices. Having a pre-determined list allows you to pick 
  choice ones. Using intersections, it still will not result in scene setups that 
  might ﬁrst come to mind. Running the prompt through the intersection 
  ﬁlter, the result will still not be identical to a player’s ﬁrst inkling.
  Idea Generators
  Here are a few idea generators worth checking out. Most idea generators 
  will be icons, pictures, words, or even a combination. Even having a 
  dictionary present and ﬁnding a random word or deﬁnition can be 
  meaningful.
  1.
  Rory’s Story Cubes
  2.
  The Event Meaning generator in Word Mill’s Mythic GM Emulator
  3.
  The word and image creator on Idea Generator
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 5
  
  PC Goals
  Second, your hero needs something to do. If you are good coming up with 
  ideas, go ahead and state a simple sentence of what your character’s 
  current task/goal/or motivation is. This thing will most likely be scaled to a 
  single adventure; however, it might be more grand. Examples could be, 
  “James has been tasked by the Postmaster General with resolving the 
  postal strike in Jackson Hole” or “Fabian the Bold seeks to undermine his 
  nemesis, the Archduke Xavier Ribaldi”.
  If you’re like me, sometimes you need some ideas to get the ball rolling. 
  Here’s a generic mission builder to help you fashion a reason for being 
  proactive:
  1.
  Draw two or three new things with your idea generator (not to be 
  confused with those you drew for your Seeds).
  2.
  Infer an intersection between these elements and come up with a 
  problem that might put the two elements at odds with each other — 
  a problem about which the protagonist would be concerned. For 
  example, if the image of an apple and a tree is drawn, perhaps there 
  is a shortage of carts in the village to drive produce from the 
  orchards to the market.
  3.
  Next, pick or roll a d6 to answer what the character’s role is:
  ◦
  Support — the character’s role is secondary to other major 
  players
  ◦
  Escort — the character must accompany the main means of 
  achieving the objective for protection (or social company, or 
  whatever)
  ◦
  Seek and Destroy — something needs to be eliminated from 
  the game world
  ◦
  Rescue/Recover — classic damsel in distress kind of stuff
  ◦
  Reconnaissance — spy missions!
  ◦
  Intercept — someone or something is going to cause trouble 
  somewhere where it shouldn’t; make sure it doesn’t happen
  4.
  If needed, determine if the character’s stance is aggressive/active or 
  defensive/reactive.
  5.
  Put it all together to determine your character’s raison d’être.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 6
  
  This reason need not be an epic quest (although it could be!), but rather 
  something that’s demanding the protagonist’s immediate attention. When 
  you’re ﬁnished, try to write a complete sentence that answers the Who, 
  What, Where, Why, and How of the PC’s plot line.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 7
  
  Begins the Drama
  Play general proceeds like this. As long as there is enough reason to start 
  a ﬁrst scene (or proceeding scene), frame it. Choose an appropriate scenic 
  stage for the action to begin. It may even be the subject of some 
  commonplace or mundane thing. Scene setups may always be initiated 
  with a statement of intent by the PC. What does she intend to 
  accomplish?
  During each scene, pick one of your Seeds to create an intersection. An 
  intersection is an idea, obstacle, or goal that is counter to one’s own — or 
  even against oneself. During each scene, answer the following question:
  How might the idea intersect with the character’s current action or 
  goal and cause her course to deﬂect, demanding a response or 
  course correction?
  After you have entered the Rears Its Ugly Head phase (see phases below), 
  rephrase the question:
  How might the idea intersect with the character directly and cause 
  her a signiﬁcant, and even personal complication, perhaps even 
  bringing the potential for great physical, social, or emotional harm?
  Your main goal that will drive the adventure is to ask and answer (and 
  sometimes avoid), if possible, the Big Questions. Whether the scene 
  results in answering one of these Big Questions or not, a Seed will always 
  provide a push against either the PC’s motivation or to harm her directly.
  This aspect of scene framing may take some practice to get into the swing 
  of it. If an intersection interpretation doesn’t have enough oomph to it, you 
  may ﬁnd that it is not providing enough push to see a signiﬁcant change. 
  Plot twists are automatically introduced this way. A PC’s attitudes, 
  motivation, or perspective should have some sort of change, otherwise the 
  interpretation is too watery. Don’t be afraid to get a little dirty in the 
  process of pushing. If the interpretation results only in some sort of barrier 
  that the PC must hurdle and continue on with her plan, this too is not in 
  the spirit of an intersection (although it may lean more this way after Rears 
  Its Ugly Head). This is not a random encounter generator!
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 8
  
  The Four Phases
  Each of the following four phases are deﬁned by the Big Questions that 
  lead to the ﬁnal resolution of the adventure.
  Something Amiss
  This is the ﬁrst stage of the adventure, where things begin to cause the PC 
  to deviate from her course and strongly insinuate that something is wrong 
  — something that has the potential to obstruct her goals. In terms of the 
  Big Questions, once two of these have been answered, the protagonist is 
  no longer in the Something Amiss phase. Throughout the events and 
  scenes taking place during this phase, the antagonist — whoever that may 
  be — will not yet have the PC fully on his radar. Likewise, the hero will 
  probably not know who or what the enemy is yet (although there will be 
  hints) or what that enemy may be trying to accomplish.
  Rears Its Ugly Head
  This second stage comes about once two of the Big Questions have been 
  answered. Here’s where we’re cooking with ﬁre! Whereas during previous 
  scenes, events counter to the protagonist’s begin to derail her, here 
  obstacles come full on. Instead of an intersection, we have full-on 
  collisions. The enemy is, or soon will be known, and pivotal now to 
  completing his diabolical plan is eliminating any threats to that plan, which 
  will likely mean the PC. Events during this phase will have the hero 
  featured near to equal in the enemy’s perspective alongside his other goal. 
  Simply put, the PC must be eliminated. It’s okay if some of these scenes 
  provide a major obstacle for the PC, but there still should be some aspect 
  of plot deﬂection in them. For example, a band of heroes meeting a tribe 
  of angry Orlargs who wants to destroy the heroes is okay, but a band of 
  Orlargs who happen to have the princess hostage is better.
  The Final Boss Fight
  I don’t really mean a literal ﬁnal boss ﬁght — anything logical could 
  happen. If the recently revealed plot looks like a takedown of the postal 
  service center by a ex-employee seeking revenge through legal means, 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 9
  
  then the ﬁnal confrontation might be an extended court battle. Whatever 
  best frames the ﬁnal showdown against the antagonist, go with that idea. 
  In most rpg game sessions, players will actually seek or be pushed into a 
  violent life-or-death conﬂict. That’s ﬁne too.
  In any case, once the Big Questions are answered, it should signal the ﬁnal 
  showdown in the next scene. The player can delay this, however, if it helps 
  him to balance the situation to the PC’s favor.
  If there are any Seeds remaining after the scene in which the last of the Big 
  Questions are resolved, the PC can try to ﬁll a couple of requirements to 
  take more action before a conﬂict. These include:
  1.
  A Fightback Scene
  2.
  A Last Ditch Effort
  Fightback Scene
  If a character wants to tip the odds back to her favor (thus reducing the 
  Danger Level, or DL, or gain some other ﬁctional advantage), she can 
  initiate a Fightback Scene. As long as there are unused Seeds remaining, 
  the player can insert one Fightback Scene for each remaining Seed. But 
  be careful! At this point, failure means the odds tip back the other way.
  At this point of the adventure, for example, knowing that disgraced postal 
  ofﬁcer Wayans plans to blow open several scandals, James frantically 
  seeks some dirt on him in time to submit evidence to the DA. However, 
  James fails to ﬁnd any, and as a result the Danger Level increases — 
  perhaps former ofﬁcer Wayans’s legal team ﬁnds out what James was up 
  to and is able to adjust their strategy to level charges directly against him!
  Last Ditch Effort
  The second way to delay a ﬁnal showdown is a Last Ditch Effort. If no 
  Seeds remain, a delay of one scene can take place. Draw a new idea and 
  make an intersection aimed directly at the PC. Resolve the scene. 
  However it turns out, whether a change in the DL takes place or not, a 
  strong consequence related to delay comes to being. This consequence is 
  irrevocable. If after that, if it does not make narrative sense or it is 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 10
  
  impossible for the showdown to occur, then the full extent of the 
  antagonist’s plot as revealed by the Big Questions comes to bear. In 
  essence, the PC loses.
  The Showdown
  Eventually, when the ﬁnal showdown scene takes place, roll a d6 modiﬁed 
  by the current DL. On a 5+, 1-2 of the Big Questions will be altered. If this 
  happens, draw two new Seeds for each of the Big Questions targeted by 
  amendment. Now, form a problematic intersection that suggests a 
  shocking twist to the selected Big Questions, always making things more 
  complicated and giving tough choices to the protagonist.
  Here’s where Darth Vader reveals that he’s Luke’s father, where the Dread 
  Pirate Roberts turns out to be Buttercup’s long lost love. Remember that 
  anytime the PC establishes a fact from a precious scene’s questions, that 
  particular Big Question is off limits for amendment at this stage. If a 
  question to which a reliable answer has been previously provided is 
  randomly selected in this phase, then “Good detective work, James!” You 
  may then nullify that particular twist.
  Resolve the showdown given the context of info given so far, the setting, 
  and the opposition suggested by the DL. Needless to say, the setup must 
  be done in such away that to ignore it will result in disaster. The result 
  cannot be a stalemate. The scene plays out for good or ill.
  The Aftermath
  Some players like a scene or two to tie up loose ends or have a proper 
  denouement. You don’t need rules for this, just summarize in a sentence or 
  two what happens at the conclusion of the adventure. Try to imagine what 
  changes in your setting, and the attitude or well-being of its inhabitants. If 
  you want some uncertainty at the end, draw an additional idea or two. 
  State a simple sentence of what you expect from the aftermath of the 
  adventure. Then create an intersection using the new ideas to deﬂect your 
  expected conclusion off course.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 11
  
  Event Interpretation
  When you need to know what happens to the PC in a scene, you always 
  start by interpreting one of your Seeds as an event within the context of 
  what has happened, the PC’s current goal, and the phase of the adventure 
  during which she ﬁnds herself. This event need not be of earth-shaking 
  importance (although it may be!). It also may not be the result of a 
  contemporaneous event. It may take the form of overhearing a piece of 
  gossip, a ﬂashback scene that suddenly becomes relevant, or a here-and-
  now threat that immediately changes the vector of action from this point 
  forward.
  To give context, the amount of danger (the target numbers faced by the 
  PC, the NPC level, obstacle difﬁculty, or what have you in your RPG 
  system of choice) for this event will be at or less than the current Danger 
  Level, or DL (see below). Every intersection event will be framed by a 
  number of contexts. Roll or choose whether its focus is a:
  1.
  Confrontation
  2.
  Competition
  3.
  Revelation
  The target may be the PC herself, an innocent bystander, or a political 
  faction depending on the greater context and phase of play. Use a 
  combination if needed. Whatever makes logical sense is fair game. 
  However the event is framed, it will be expressed by pushing on the 
  character’s action or goal for the scene, or confronting her directly if you 
  are beyond the Something Amiss phase.
  For example, if James is ﬂying to Jackson Hole to meet the administrative 
  head of the postal service there, and the seed, “belittle authority” is mixed 
  with a confrontation with the protagonist, this manifests with a juicy scene 
  complication: James lands and picks up his rental car. He notices he’s 
  tailed from the airport by a thorny looking member of a biker gang. When 
  he pulls up to his motel, the biker dude intimidates him under threat of pain 
  to leave town.
  This event would make more sense during The Opposition Rears Its Ugly 
  Head phase. If it’s during the Something Amiss phase, this might rather be 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 12
  
  that he has a chance meeting with the mean biker guy on the way to the 
  ofﬁce administrator rendezvous, and the biker guy doesn’t yet know that 
  James is interested in the same thing.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 13
  
  The Big Questions
  At the end of the scene, James’s player must try to answer one of the Big 
  Questions if he can, even if it’s a tenuous or unproven theory (which can 
  be disproven later, as we shall see). In the example above, he has a pretty 
  good answer for a How, guessing that someone is paying low-level street 
  toughs to blackmail and threaten townsfolk. This may change, or even get 
  elaborated on, in future scenes, but for now, that’s an elevation in the DL.
  From this point, more scenes will follow that may answer one of the Big 
  Questions:
  •
  Who? all events point to a person, or better yet an afﬁliation, be it an 
  organization or group. In the initial stages, this question should not 
  be answered speciﬁcally or conclusively.
  •
  What? this is about what the nameless antagonist is doing. This 
  action also should be cryptic enough that a Who and Why are not 
  immediately knowable. Ofttimes the What is about the end-result of 
  the action. Take over the city, or destroy the elven resistance can be 
  good What’s.
  •
  When? this is an optional one. However, sometimes the need to 
  answer this will be an obvious one. When the serial killer will strike 
  again may be the last piece of a puzzle.
  •
  How? this is interchangeable with and often encountered earlier than 
  a What. Separated from the more clearly macro prospective What, a 
  How can tell us about the action in the here-and-now, the clues, 
  without the context of a What. Masked men escaping CIA 
  headquarters under ﬁre, or an ambush on the elvish outpost could all 
  be good How’s.
  •
  Where? like When, above, this is an optional one. However, in 
  adventure games about exploration, this will be a featured question 
  you may want to include. If it’s about ﬁnding a treasure, Where might 
  be one of the last ones. You might need to discover a Where in order 
  to bring the ﬁght to the enemy or to undermine his potency.
  •
  Why? this is the big one. The true motivation of the antagonist will 
  usually be the last reveal of the adventure, and not until just before 
  the big boss ﬁght.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 14
  
  Each scene may establish at least some partial context for one of these. 
  Let the protagonists be proactive when trying to set scenes that begin to 
  answer these questions. He can always try to accomplish goals or actions. 
  In the process, he may also be learning the answers to the Big Questions. 
  When all questions are largely answered, you will be able to see the entire 
  plot revealed. The particular deﬂections caused by intersections or 
  collisions during the adventure thus far will lend context to that plot.
  ______ (Who?) tries to ______ (How?) which will ______ (What?) because of 
  ______ (Why?).
  When the plot is ﬁnally revealed with Why, being the last piece of the 
  puzzle (note that the PC might ﬁgure this one out on his/her own without 
  further events leading him there), it must be in direct conﬂict to, or in 
  competition with, the PC’s own motivation or goal. It will interpose itself 
  with the protagonist dangerously, and often personally.
  Thanks to intersections, scenes will naturally intensify after the ﬁrst one 
  during the Something Amiss stage. If there are clear things the protagonist 
  can do or paths she may tread, then that scene can come into play. In our 
  example, maybe James needs to break into the records ofﬁce by night to 
  look for evidence of tampered surveillance footage. Then, another 
  intersection event can take place as described above. Each new 
  intersection takes into context all that has happened so far. If the PC has 
  no idea what actions to take, the scene event will exert itself of its own 
  volition without her prompt. In such a case, it will provide a stronger push, 
  elevating the danger to her directly, or those she cares about (even if she is 
  not yet in Rears Its Ugly Head phase).
  How you interpret these events in terms of scene framing is up to you. If 
  you want to roll whether an event happens before, during, or after a 
  character’s intended scene action, do so. If logic dictates that the event 
  would be revealed as the result of the character’s action, then do it that 
  way. There are no rules, as interpreting Seeds within a given context may 
  require some ﬂexibility and is a bit of an art. Your own decision making 
  power will be important not to get stuck. However, do try to make these 
  interpretations complicate the PC’s life, pushing her into difﬁcult decisions 
  and situations.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 15
  
  Time Is of the Essence
  As the Seeds begin to tick off, things will accelerate. The Big Questions 
  will begin to answer themselves. To make this so, there cannot be more 
  unanswered questions than there are ideas remaining. If this condition 
  occurs, answers will begin to make themselves known despite a 
  character’s actions. Shocking facts may be revealed to the PC through 
  word of mouth, a premonition, accidental view of surveillance tape, or the 
  like — or any way that makes sense and accelerates the process. If so, 
  their intersections with the protagonist will hit them even harder, and push 
  the hero into life-or-death situations — tangled complications that have the 
  potential for great volatility. You may also use personal attributes or 
  relationships to make the danger much closer to home.
  What? Now the biker gang has my sister hostage?
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 16
  
  Story Probes
  Since the PC is free to start scene setups and the solo player is free to 
  pick from the desired Seeds at will, it will be necessary at some point to 
  determine the answer to some yes or no questions to clarify what the PC 
  learns. There is a mechanism for this.
  During scenes, the PC may proactively probe theories, gather intelligence, 
  make preparations, or even conduct missions to directly harm their 
  opponents. After resolving obstacles in the scene suggested by 
  intersections (or immediately if the context makes more sense), the player 
  may ask one Story Probe to test a theory or determine a fact.
  In this case, roll 1d6, and modify by the current value of the DL. If the 
  result is 5+, the answer is Yes. Frame questions in a way as to present 
  dangerous or inconvenient answers. A question may not be asked until the 
  ﬁctional positioning at hand allows for it to be asked. In other words, there 
  has to be a reason the PC is learning this — James has broken into the 
  surveillance room, Han Solo discovers that the control room is empty and 
  reinforcements are en route.
  Once a Yes answer has been provided, that establishes an absolute FACT 
  that cannot be amended, even during the Final Boss Fight (see above). A 
  result of No means one of two things:
  1.
  The PC found a dead end, or;
  2.
  The PC learns something
  You can freely choose which condition occurs based on logic or you may 
  randomly choose. Sometimes a dead end will make sense so not to 
  outright disprove what you guess it may be. Sometimes, however, it will 
  make sense that a PC must learn something. The thing they thought was 
  not true; that’s ﬁne. But if they stand to learn something, draw one new 
  random idea and draw an intersection between it and your question. The 
  result cannot be another substitute for the thing you asked in the ﬁrst 
  place. Rather, it must present some complication and represent as much 
  of an opposite to the thing you were seeking that you can logically 
  interpret. This, however, will not necessarily provide an absolute FACT like 
  a ‘Yes’ answer will. It also must provide enough “bump” to push the PC’s 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 17
  
  direction into a new area, much like interpreting an intersection during a 
  scene setup.
  A Story Probe question must be fashioned in a speciﬁc way. Asking a Who 
  is bad form. Asking, “Is the banished Lord Orpheo in attendance in court?” 
  is absolutely apropos. Never directly ask the answer to one of the Big 
  Questions. Note that getting an absolute FACT does not necessary make 
  one of the Big Questions immune to amendment later — it may, but it will 
  depend on what you discover. It’s just off limits to amendment during the 
  Final Boss Fight. This is your chance to be creative and assert a little 
  narrative into the story. There’s no need to roll on tables or pick a random 
  encounter…phrasing the question creatively is all you need.
  Why only one Story Probe?
  Sometimes it may make sense for a whole bunch of things to be 
  discovered during a given situation. However, in movies and books, the 
  drama has to be paced in such a way to build our interest and keep us 
  guessing. Try to interpret all Story Probes given that only one thing can be 
  discovered. Players may make a stretch and try to connect a few details 
  together to come up with a theory that may answer a detail or sketch 
  regarding more than one of the Big Questions, but that’s from deduction, 
  rather than from how the Story Probe is answered.
  Not All Answers Are Correct Ones
  Big Questions answered through deduction or hunches — or in other 
  words, those ﬁlled in without testing with an actual Story Probe — can, 
  and probably will change throughout an adventure as more details are 
  made clear. Details can and will be changed along the way through 
  shocking twists. As mentioned above, a Story Probe is a player’s way of 
  exercising more narrative control. You may ﬁnd yourself revising your Big 
  Questions as play proves or disproves previously established details.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 18
  
  Asking Other Questions
  What about other story details? Is there a mechanism for determining 
  other things?
  In short, no. Sure, if you are imagination-challenged during a pinch, or 
  want help deciding on environmental details, it’s okay to ask some open 
  questions. Feel free to draw some random idea prompts and interpret 
  them. These will be different than intersections which ﬁlter through a more 
  exacting process that pushes and tugs at the plot line. Try not to do this, 
  as it can be tempting to “discover” some things that will change the 
  direction of play or break the rules. Such open questions should only 
  provide a little narrative color. If it determines any sort of complication or 
  boon, that is going beyond what detail questions should do. Try to infer as 
  much detail from a scene’s intersection as possible. Feel free to simply 
  make up stuff that supports your setup interpretation. If you need more, 
  make up more. Season with little details to taste.
  What will absolutely work ﬁne as a substitute in this regard is to engage 
  with your RPG system of choice. Like the Mythic GM Emulator, and the 
  9Qs, this solo engine is a “bolt-on” type that works in tandem with a 
  conventional roleplaying game. Currently, there are many popular 
  narrative-driven systems out there, including Fate, Dungeon World, and so 
  forth. Many of these will introduce twists along the way through their 
  mechanics. This is completely ﬁne and designed to work with Perilous 
  Intersections. In general, scene framing will be a loose affair with a high 
  degree of interpretational control. There is no need to strong-arm anything 
  into a predetermined plot structure. Therefore, the RPG system you have 
  chosen for your session can and will create opportunities and situations 
  that may change the course of your original scene setup, providing 
  complications as PC’s fail at difﬁcult obstacles — and, of course, provide 
  some surprising answers to questions you may have along the way.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 19
  
  Danger Level
  The Danger Level, or DL, is a form of measurement that represents the 
  ability for a threat to harm the PC. The DL also represents the scale of any 
  resistance, obstacle, or NPC opponent value in terms of rank with respect 
  to the PC’s own (as qualiﬁed by your chosen RPG’s system). It is system 
  agnostic. Interpret this level in terms of enemy stats and obstacle target 
  numbers as you see ﬁt.
  Difﬁculty Level (DL)
  Character’s Position Is
  Opposition Scale/Story 
  Question Modiﬁer
  Advantaged
  -1
  At Odds
  0
  Disadvantaged
  +1
  Overwhelmed by 
  Opposition
  +2
  During a session, a player tracks the escalation or devaluation of this level 
  depending on the context of a scene’s resolution. The level can only do 
  three things — it can go up by one degree, stay the same, or go down, 
  provided there is still room on the scale to make the proposed change. If 
  multiple criteria are met to change the level, weight them all, canceling out 
  criterion in opposition until you are left with one choice. Despite how many 
  criterion are met to lead one to change the level, one step in a direction is 
  the maximum degree of change.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 20
  
  The DL goes down when:
  •
  The PC successfully takes proactive steps to thwart the antagonist 
  or his plans (defeat his minions, or plant an obstacle, for example)
  •
  For each unreliable of the Big Questions that gets clariﬁed by the PC 
  to become a fact
  The DL goes up when:
  •
  The PC fails to thwart the antagonist or his plans during a Fightback 
  Scene (see The Big Boss Fight above)
  •
  The PC suffers a setback
  •
  For each of the Big Questions that gets answered (but not when an 
  already existing answer is altered)
  A setback is deﬁned by a signiﬁcant failure in a scene as dictated by your 
  RPG of choice. Examples include the PC failing to defend herself and 
  getting pummeled by a whole tribe of orcs, giving up crucial info to the big 
  bad’s minions during an interrogation, or ending up tipping her hand in an 
  important social conﬂict, or the like.
  For example, James discovers that the HDR on the video surveillance 
  system has been smashed. He snaps some pictures and dusts for prints, 
  getting a few good clues. At the same time, he answers two of the Big 
  Questions — How? and Who? (one by deduction, and one through the 
  player’s Story Probe). That’s one in favor of the DL going down, and two 
  against the DL going down. Canceling out one in favor, and one against, it 
  still leaves the DL going up one level. If only one of the Big Questions got 
  answered, then the DL would stay put where it was at the start of the 
  scene.
  The new DL always takes effect at the beginning of setting the next scene.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 21
  
  Additional Notes on Opposition
  Remember that every scene should have a push back against whatever 
  action the character is doing. It may be passive or active. The DL will 
  always give context to the amount of danger the PC faces. The idea may 
  give context to its form or manifestation. If a Seed is interpreted for some 
  other driving purpose within a scene, you may also logically choose an 
  obstacle that is consistent with what happened so far without tying it 
  directly to the Seed. For example, if Harold the Destroyer’s player uses his 
  Seed to determine that the Jewel of Nicaelus is no longer in the temple 
  when he arrives, he need not use that same Seed to determine what 
  obstacle he faces. Instead, it may just be logical that he has to deal with a 
  stubborn templar to get answers out of him (and thus facilitating a Story 
  Probe if his intimidation attempt is successful).
  To interpret the scale of challenge, establish a baseline relevant to your 
  RPG system. Based on the character’s position:
  •
  Advantaged means the character should have more than enough 
  resources to counter the scene obstacle or threat.
  •
  At Odds means she’s evenly matched.
  •
  Disadvantaged means her resources will most deﬁnitely be taxed.
  •
  Overwhelmed by Opposition means she will face at least two to one 
  odds (if that results in serious opposition in your chosen RPG 
  system).
  The DL can never go above Overwhelmed by Opposition (+2) or below 
  Advantaged (-1). The DL also modiﬁes the roll made for Story Probes and 
  twists in the Final Boss Fight.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 22
  
  Graphing
  One issue many solo-goers have with their sessions is ﬁnding a 
  convenient way to document the progress of their sessions. Here is an 
  optional suggestion for creating a visual guide and concise summary. 
  Using graph paper, create a box labeled on two dimensions — a 
  numbered list of scenes along one side (you will often know approximately 
  how many scenes will be in a game by the number of Seeds you draw), 
  and the different grades of the DL along the opposite axis. Starting with 
  “At Odds” at scene one, trace a line from point to point as scenes unfold. 
  Make a quick, concise note at each scene point to summarize the action 
  within, with short phrases of 2-3 words each. This simply gives a quick 
  overall picture of the action and points of most or least dramatic tension.
  At the bottom of the page, keep a place to mark the Big Questions to see 
  the plot revealed. Use pencil, or at least leave space for amending, as the 
  Big Questions will likely go through some changes. Lastly, make a list off 
  to the side of your Seeds and tick them off as scenes progress.
  A sample worksheet is provided in the end of these rules.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 23
  
  Dials
  Perilous Intersections is a general framework with enough latitude for the 
  player to make on-the-spot decisions. There’s plenty of room to tinker with 
  it. You can also play with dials to adjust for different styles of adventures 
  and genres. Generally this will be done by designing a good raison d’être, 
  Seeding and adding structure to the Big Questions. Just like Seeding, in 
  which you can preload issues you’d like to see in your game, you can 
  absolutely begin with some of the Big Questions already answered. You 
  can also jump around, re-order, or eliminate parts of the three stages 
  (Something Amiss, The Opposition Rears Its Ugly Head, The Final Boss 
  Fight, The Aftermath).
  Want a murder mystery? No problem! Questions will be answered in the 
  following order:
  1.
  How? (The scene of the grisly crime and its clues)
  2.
  What? (A pattern of murders presents itself)
  3.
  Why? (The motive or motives are deduced)
  4.
  Who? (Enough evidence to confront the main suspect)
  Want an adventure about space marines? Seed some weird sounding 
  aggressive alien species, answer Who in advance, and eliminate Why.
  What about a US Marshals manhunt? Start with an answered Who and 
  end with Where last.
  Some stories are only going to have need for one or two Big Questions 
  total. If that’s the case, pick the one and give the same question a few 
  phases so that its answer really is drawn out over four parts. Perhaps an 
  evil overlord threatens the kingdom. The only unanswered questions the 
  player might have in mind are How and Where the big confrontation will 
  happen. Where seems like the ﬁnal one to be asked, while How might be 
  split into three parts that details how reconnaissance reveals troop 
  movements, court scenes reveal traitors in our midst, and so forth.
  Four Big Questions to trigger the Final Boss Fight is the default with two of 
  the questions being optional. It’s ﬁne, of course, to expand that number to 
  all six, or split some of the questions up. In doing so, you will also have to 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 24
  
  make a decision about where the four stages of play fall within the line of 
  questioning.
  Back to our manhunt example, maybe Where is really the only relevant 
  thing for your purposes (you don’t feel like delving into any depth of 
  determining motives). Instead, you want to triangulate the location and 
  direction your fugitive has been. Really that’s a How (how he’s getting 
  around), and three stages of Where as the protagonist tracks sightings. 
  Basically, you’re answering the one question three times. If that’s too long, 
  eliminate one of the multiples.
  Some adventures are already going to be about facing off against a known 
  enemy. The protagonist’s and antagonist’s goals of competition (each 
  wanting to harm the other) are already known. In this case, feel free to 
  eliminate the number of Big Questions to whatever will answer the bare 
  essentials in order to facilitate a ﬁnal showdown, thereby expediting an 
  otherwise needless buildup. A Something Amiss stage just might not make 
  sense. The two sides are trying to affect each other from the get go…
  Rears Its Ugly Head stage makes sense from the very beginning. At other 
  times, the standard start-up with Danger Level set at Advantageous (-1) 
  may not be appropriate. Feel free to change that too.
  Likewise, the reason for the number of starting Seeds is not just to direct 
  pacing, but to adjust the challenge level of the adventure. The fewer Seeds 
  there are, the the quicker the increase of difﬁculty your protagonist will 
  encounter. The PC will have much less time to counter the threat, and 
  when the showdown occurs, the chances are high that the opposition will 
  be more than she can handle. The Big Questions will start to get answered 
  with or without the PC’s involvement, precipitating in a dynamic, dramatic, 
  upward curve. With more Seeds, the PC will be able to take a bit more 
  time seeing patterns, and intrigue can build more organically. The PC can 
  also take actions to lessen the potential threat. Without the need to answer 
  the Big Questions so quickly, the unfolding of the plot can feel more 
  natural. The Big Questions will also change throughout play, bringing in 
  unexpected twists.
  Imposing an order to your Big Questions will probably have the greatest 
  impact to the overall difﬁculty of your scenario. Sometimes a speciﬁc order 
  will rule out certain logical discoveries, or limit what a character can do. 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 25
  
  This may box the PC into an uncomfortable corner, perhaps even elevating 
  the drama as she discovers dead ends and failure.
  In essence, bend these guidelines to your will. If something doesn’t make 
  sense in the context of your adventure, then throw it out! You can always 
  reevaluate the situation as you’re going along in your adventure. If it makes 
  sense to jump forward into some future phase, or answer one of the Big 
  Questions on the spot because it’s the only logical explanation, then do 
  so! If the twists demanded by the Final Big Boss Fight are too hard to 
  interpret, then discard them!
  Your experience should be personal. These are guidelines, and away to 
  introduce some uncertainty into your solo adventures. You may never play 
  the same way twice. With practice, you will understand which elements 
  need to change for the type of solitaire adventure for which you are 
  aiming.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 26
  
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 27
  Perilous Intersections — Adventure Worksheet
  PC(s):
  Motivation/Mission:
  Danger Level
  Scene Summaries
  Overwhelming Odds (+2)
  Disadvantaged (+1)
  At Odds (0)
  Advantaged (-1)
  1�
  2�
  3�
  4�
  5�
  6�
  7�
  8�
  9�
  10
  scenes
  The Phases
  ! Something Amiss: less than 2 “Big Questions” answered; intersections attack PCʼs motivation
  ! Rears Its Ugly Head: 2 or more “Big Questions” answered; intersections attack PC
  ! The Final Boss Fight: ﬁnal “Big Question” answered — showdown
  " If Seeds remain, initiate Fightback Scene to delay showdown; lower DL, or elevate if fail
  " If no Seeds remain, initiate a single Last Ditch Effort scene; failure means plot comes to 
  bear
  " Showdown scene; roll d6 + DL — on 5+, modify 1-2 Big Questions not established as fact
  ! Aftermath: the ﬁnal denouement
  Story Probes
  One detailed narrative question per scene. May 
  not directly ask one of the “Big Questions”. 
  Question must lead to a complication.
  Roll d6 + DL modiﬁer. On 5+ question leads to a 
  Yes FACT. On a No:
  ! a dead end or,
  ! an opposing fact (draw 2 ideas and intersect)
  Seeds
  Big Questions
  (Mark facts with “F”)
  
  Example: The King’s Man
  Setup
  For the adventure setup, we’re doing this off the cuff, so the player is not 
  giving any speciﬁc structure to the number or format of the Big Questions. 
  They will come as they come. He’s also free to change his mind about 
  these considerations mid-session.
  Hero
  Bron the Swift
  The King’s man, a personal friend. A renowned hunter who is tracking the 
  outlaws who kidnapped the princess.
  Seeds (6)
  The player starts with 6, all random. Using Mythic event meaning 
  generator, he gets:
  •
  Triumph Hope
  •
  Passion Stalemate
  •
  Change Prison
  •
  Refuse Power
  •
  Spy Elements
  •
  Bestow Friendship
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 28
  
  Something Amiss
  One
  Danger Level: Advantageous (-1)
  Scene Setup: Bron seeks to follow the outlaws’ trail.
  Seeds:
  •
  Triumph Hope
  •
  Passion Stalemate
  •
  Change Prison
  •
  Refuse Power
  •
  Spy Elements
  •
  Bestow Friendship
  Not having any idea about what Seed to use yet, the player draws 
  randomly from the list — Change Prison.
  He might think this suggests a trap of some sort. However, that doesn’t 
  really suggest a good intersection, or something that would cause a 
  course correction. The leader of the gang leaving behind a couple of thugs 
  would make sense. However, we’re to nudge the character’s goal a bit.
  Instead, we get this (a revelation): Bron sees tracks break into two. Praying 
  on luck, he follows one set which leads to Netherhall, the King’s largest 
  dungeon full of the worst elements of the realm. When arriving on the 
  scene, chaos ensues. A prison break not only threatens the good folk of 
  the realm, but confuses any further tracking attempts.
  Desperate, Bron spies an outlaw and clips him with an arrow, 
  incapacitating him.
  Now, we roll a Story Probe. Bron wants to know the identity (Who?) of the 
  outlaw leader and where he’s taken the princess. That’s two questions. 
  Our player only gets to ask one (generally any plot will only spell out these 
  Big Questions a little at a time — it’s up to the player to come up with a 
  plausible reason). He asks, “Is the leader the king’s nephew, Hamus, who 
  wanted to wed the princess in the past?” See how the player asked that? 
  The question had some speciﬁc narrative detail, which is one of the 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 29
  
  player’s means of exerting some story details. Permission to ask this made 
  sense through the ﬁction; he incapacitated an outlaw, who has a good 
  chance of knowing this detail.
  Bron’s player only gets to roll a day with a -1 because of his position on 
  the Danger Level (Advantageous). Luck is not on his side, since he rolls a 
  1. It’s either a dead end (perhaps in handling the thug too hard, the man 
  dies before he can answer), or a piece of not-so-reliable intel. He chooses 
  the latter and draws a new idea — “Change Vehicle”, trying to draw an 
  intersection that will bump his ﬁrst idea (Hamus) into a new trajectory. 
  Instead, Bron’s player assumes that this means Hamus’s former conﬁdant, 
  Boris, an illegitimate son of a princeling who is rather thuggish — he is the 
  captor of the princess and leading the thugs. Whether he’s doing this for 
  himself, or whether Hamus and him are in cahoots again can’t be known 
  for certain here. Nonetheless, we have a tentative Who.
  Boris was wise enough not to let his goons know where he was taking the 
  princess — that’s a plausible reason Bron doesn’t get to ask a second 
  Story Probe. On top of that, the new situation threatens to allow the 
  perpetrator to get away amid the confusion. So, we close and move onto 
  the next scene.
  Big Questions Answered:
  •
  Who? Boris (unreliable)
  Two
  Danger Level: At Odds (±0)
  Scene Setup: Bron goes to ﬁnd the castellan of Netherhall and warn him 
  of the King’s daughter and the real threat
  Seeds:
  •
  Triumph Hope
  •
  Passion Stalemate
  •
  Change Prison
  •
  Refuse Power
  •
  Spy Elements
  •
  Bestow Friendship
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 30
  
  Refuse Power sounds interesting, and Bron’s player can see how this is 
  relevant here. Since he has the license, as a player, to choose himself, he 
  could easily go with something that might help him divert his course back 
  where he wants, like Triumph Hope, but he prefers the intriguing route.
  Putting this together, we get a Competing scene where Pierre, the 
  castellan, who also happens to be the King’s brother-in-law, doesn’t want 
  idiots bumbling around on his turf. Not only does he have to control the 
  situation, it’s his niece’s life at stake. He doesn’t know Bron, and doesn’t 
  trust her life to him. He orders Bron to stay out of the way while he and his 
  men go on the hunt, even though Bron was doing the King a personal 
  solid. Without social or rank skills to help out, Bron voices his protest, but 
  can do nothing.
  Now, for the Probe: not being in any position to get anything from Pierre, 
  Bron only inquires of the steward of the castle, asking, “Did these 
  prisoners have a connection with Boris?” His position on the DL doesn’t 
  grant a modiﬁer to his roll, but get’s lucky — he rolls a 5. Even without a 
  modiﬁer anything above a 5 works, so that’s a Yes.
  Turns out that, in fact, many of the outlaws imprisoned at Netherhall were 
  bannermen of Boris, and many seemed ready as if prepared for the prison 
  break.
  Bron begins to piece together the plot — it appears Boris may be planning 
  to challenge the throne. With the princess as bride, and old alliances 
  reforged — he may have a chance to topple the King. Whether it’s truly 
  Boris, or Hamus, Bron can only take the outlaw’s word he questioned with 
  a grain of salt. However, he has enough for a How.
  Big Questions Answered:
  •
  Who? Boris (unreliable)
  •
  How? By reforging old alliances — rivals of the king — and taking 
  the princess as bride
  Now that two Big Questions are answered, that moves us into the Rears Its 
  Ugly Head phase. This is sort of a setback for the character, and a 
  question has been answered. Either way, that’s one step more dangerous.
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 31
  
  Rears Its Ugly Head
  Three
  Danger Level: Disadvantageous (+1)
  Scene Setup: Bron decides to sort out who is really behind the thing. He 
  plans to go directly to Boris’s lands to see what he can ﬁnd out
  Seeds:
  •
  Triumph Hope
  •
  Passion Stalemate
  •
  Change Prison
  •
  Refuse Power
  •
  Spy Elements
  •
  Bestow Friendship
  Here, Bron’s player picks Bestow Friendship, which he hopes can 
  strategically give him an edge in the story. He wants to reduce the 
  potential Danger Level, so he has hopes that he will be able to survive a 
  ﬁnal confrontation and stem the threat. Since we’re in the next phase, the 
  intersection becomes a collision — attacking Bron or his interests more 
  directly.
  Thinking about it, Bron’s player feels that the hero has been caught and is 
  given an ultimatum: join us, or die! He imagines some real badasses (some 
  of the worst dregs from Netherhall and evil men who can’t abide the 
  stench of the king or anyone who supports him). As soon as Bron steps on 
  Boris’s land, the mounted riders come out of the woodwork. He’s 
  outmanned and they press him hard.
  Failing a check to disguise himself as a no-good outlaw, the riders see 
  through the sham. They offer for him to join them against the king. Here, 
  Bron sees it as on opportunity to work from within. As a spy, he can get 
  close to Boris (or Hamus if he’s still behind it). At least, he might get close 
  to the princess and help her escape. He fools them, and they take him on 
  to Castle Borislav.
  For his Probe, Bron’s player asks, “Is Hamus there consorting with Boris?” 
  With a +1 to his roll, the player is more assertive that he will ﬁnd an 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 32
  
  afﬁrmative. Rolling a 4, that’s a Yes. He’s there. Bron saw him and 
  overheard some conversation. That’s an inconvenient answer in many 
  ways — Bron will have to tell the King that his nephew, who the King 
  adores, is a traitor. This will get complicated quickly. Getting this info, Bron 
  has scored a success. He’s in close to the conspirators, and he’s avoided 
  answering two more Big Questions, but effectively made the two he knows 
  off limits to twists later. However, from now on forward, events will 
  precipitate quickly. He’ll have to work very pro-actively and boldly to 
  prevent further escalation of the DL. The player is also under no duress to 
  get more questions answered as he still has three Seeds left. This is why 
  he went to clarify an unreliable question, rather answer a new one.
  Big Questions Answered:
  •
  Who? Hamus, backed by Boris (now an absolute)
  •
  How? By reforging old alliances — rivals of the king — and taking 
  the princess as bride
  Four
  Danger Level: At Odds (±0)
  Scene Setup: Bron tries to ﬁnd where they are keeping the princess and 
  escape with her
  Seeds:
  •
  Triumph Hope
  •
  Passion Stalemate
  •
  Change Prison
  •
  Refuse Power
  •
  Spy Elements
  •
  Bestow Friendship
  Passion Stalemate shows that, after quickly ﬁnding the princess’s tower 
  room (it’s always a tower room, right?), Bron bursts in like Luke Skywalker 
  and says, “I’m here to rescue you!” To which, he surprisingly learns that 
  she is in on the deal, loves Hamus, hates her Father, and calls the guards. 
  Ouch!
  Now comes a big chase scene as guards pursue Bron through hallways. 
  Due to the current DL, he’s able, at least, to avoid them and somehow 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 33
  
  escapes into the woods. The jig is up! Boris and Hamus know all about the 
  spy in the works and have marked Bron. This also answers some Big 
  Questions. Who gets a bit more detailed, and it seems we for sure know 
  (as if we didn’t already) that What is all about about toppling King Henri-
  Alexandre. Bron’s player didn’t ask that as a Probe, but it’s staring out at 
  him. Why is also there too, because they all hate the King for something…
  it’s a bit vague, but there’s context for that.
  That means, for his Probe, Bron can try to get a ﬁrmer answer on one of 
  those questions. With everything answered, to some degree (Where 
  doesn’t really seem important…if it was, we would know at least where the 
  conspirators are now too), and two Seeds left over, Bron can try some 
  Fightback Scenes to work the DL down. It doesn’t matter that everything 
  got answered this scene — the DL can only inch its way up or down one 
  step at a time. Next scene will be elevated again to Disadvantaged. 
  However, if successful, Bron can try two more scenes to lower that to 
  some level that he can defeat the plot.
  Probe: “Are they seeking revenge for the past because Henri-Alexandre 
  was abusive to Hamus and Charlotte when they were young?” A 5 means 
  that’s a Yes. That’s not going to be an easy sell to the king. Yet, Bron is 
  loyal — although tainted now by this new and messy truth.
  Big Questions Answered:
  •
  Who? Hamus, backed by Boris (absolute)
  •
  What? Topple the king (unreliable)
  •
  How? By reforging old alliances — rivals of the king — and taking 
  the princess as bride (absolute)
  •
  Why? Revenge for past abuses (absolute)
  Five
  During the next scene (a Fightback Scene), Bron goes to the king to tell 
  him the troubles and try to get him to muster an army to defeat Hamus 
  and his minions. Using Triumph Hope, the king is adamant that his 
  daughter would never harbor any such feelings against him. However, he 
  slumps into a ﬁt of depression and issues no decree of action. Bron is 
  unable to affect the morose monarch and instead goes to Hansel, his 
  steward. Bron convinces him that defeat will be nigh if nothing is done. It’s 
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 34
  
  still a success according to the RPG rules his player is using, and drives 
  the DL back to At Odds.
  Bron’s player cannot think of another thing for a sixth scene to help even 
  the odds. To do so would only risk elevating the risk again. He also doesn’t 
  ﬁnd that Bron is in the ﬁctional position to be able to ask another probe.
  The Final Boss Fight
  Six
  The showdown takes place! Here’s the place where there’s a chance for a 
  slight twist — on a 5 or greater, modiﬁed by the DL, any unreliable Big 
  Questions can have intersections imposed on them. In this case, a roll of 4 
  is too low (we’re At Odds here, so no modiﬁer). The Big Questions stand 
  as they are. If it had been a 5+, Bron’s player would randomly select one or 
  two of the Big Questions that might have new intersections drawn against 
  them to create a twist. In this case, What is the only question that wasn’t 
  ﬁrmed down by Bron’s work during the adventure.
  In any case, in the ﬁnal scene, Bron leads the King’s forces in his stead as 
  Boris’s army sets out to meet them. It’s a harrowing battle, Boris is slain, 
  but Hamus and the princess escape together. All this was determined 
  through the RPG his player was using.
  The Aftermath
  Using perhaps some new random ideas, Bron’s player establishes that the 
  King becomes even darker and unﬁt for rule. News of struggles in ﬁefs 
  neighboring Hamus’s lands reaches Kingshall. Although Henri-Alexandre’s 
  supporters try to keep the King’s state of mind quiet, knowledge of that 
  gets out and the people start calling for change. A revolution has started!
  Bron is in a predicament weighing his own friendship against the needs of 
  the kingdom. And a wild topsy-turvy ride that was!
  Perilous Intersections, v. 1.0 (September, 2014)�
  page 35
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Solo/2. GM Emulators & Generic Solo Rules/Perilous Intersections.pdf