Prime Time Hero

Prime Time Hero

Introduction

Prime Time Hero is a solo tabletop RPG adventure set in the 1980s of network television, where every problem can be solved before the last commercial break, and somebody has to solve it.

This minimalist Solo Role Playing Game is designed to play like the action-adventure shows of the decade: MacGyver, Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., The A-Team. You are the hero of your own series. Somebody needs help, the people who should give it won’t, and you have a car, a skill, and a code you don’t break.

Every episode is a new case. One week it’s a developer leaning on a fishing village in Hawaii; the next it’s a forged Monet at a Monte Carlo auction. You get through it on wits and charm, and with your fists when those run out.

Prime Time Hero follows the following design principles:

1. Portable: to play you will need a few common (six-sided) dice and writing materials. Anything else is optional and not essential.
2. Rules-Light: the game relies on a few rules and only one solving mechanic, easy to learn and eventually to memorize.
3. Tag-based: characters and situations are defined only by qualitative descriptors and no quantitative characteristics.
4. Emergent & Open-Ended: there are no pre-written stories; every session generates its own narrative through choices and oracle answers.

With a focus on quick resolutions, Prime Time Hero throws you headfirst into the heart of the action. Your character will be defined by thematic tags, like “Reformed Con Artist”, “Retired Cat Burglar”, or “Jury-Rigging Genius”.

What is a Role Playing Game (RPG)?

In a role-playing game, you play a character. The choices you make determine what happens to them and to the world around them. You are not reading a story someone else wrote; you are building it as you play. Your character has a goal, abilities, and a world to move through. What happens next is not predetermined.

Traditional role-playing games are played with a group and a Game Master who prepares the world and referees what happens. Prime Time Hero removes both requirements. You play alone. The Oracle, a simple dice mechanic, replaces the Game Master’s unpredictability. You are player and storyteller both.

What is a Solo RPG?

In a solo RPG a single player takes on the role of one or more characters while also managing some elements of the game world. Unlike a gamebook (such as the Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and Tunnels & Trolls series) a solo RPG is not a form of interactive, forked narrative in which outcomes are pre-determined and limited by the author’s choices.

Through the interaction of player, oracle, tools, and prompts, the character’s actions will build an emergent narrative within whose boundaries anything can be attempted, without predetermined limits.

Playing Safely

You control what happens. Prime Time Hero lets you explore any story, but you also set the limits. One rule covers it: if a scene makes you uncomfortable, change it. Rewind, reframe, or stop entirely. The game is a tool for telling stories you want to tell; nothing here requires you to push through something that doesn’t feel right.

Minimum Requirements

To play Prime Time Hero you will need:

• 4 six-sided dice (also known as d6s): two pairs of different colors
• Paper and writing tools: at least a sheet of scrap paper and a pencil, but index cards or sticky notes are a fine addition
• Character sheet: you may use the provided sheet at the back or a simple index card.

Optional but useful:

• Notebook: Prime Time Hero is not a solo journaling game, you can easily play it in the “theater of mind”. But keeping track of characters, locations, and ongoing storylines helps keep things consistent across sessions.

The 1980s Action-Adventure World

The world of Prime Time Hero is a heightened version of the 1980s, where:

• Technology is cutting-edge but analog: Computers have green screens, phones are car-mounted, and every gadget has blinking lights
• Heroes have codes of honor: Violence is a last resort and innocent people come first. The good guys are supposed to win; the Oracle decides what it costs them
• Locations are exotic but accessible: From Hawaiian beaches to Swiss ski lodges, adventure is always one flight away
• Problems are personal: Every case involves helping regular people against corrupt officials, greedy corporations, or international criminals
• Style matters: Fast cars, designer suits, and perfectly feathered hair are essential tools of the trade
• Everything is slightly over-the-top: Explosions are bigger, stunts are crazier, and one-liners are snappier

Playable Themes

• Heists, cons, and corporate espionage. Boardrooms hide more crimes than back alleys, and sometimes the only way to beat a thief is to out-plan them.
• International intrigue. Embassies, borders, and Cold War leftovers: every exotic location has someone watching it.
• Small-town corruption. One crooked sheriff or greedy developer, and a town that needs someone from outside to stand up for it.
• The little guy against the machine. Polluters, slumlords, and frauds who assume nobody will fight back.
• Personal vendettas. Old partners, old enemies, family secrets; the past always finds the hero’s address.
• Fame and its price. Studios, stadiums, and celebrity scandals, where the cameras are part of the danger.

Timeline

The series runs through a heightened 1980s. These are the headlines the hero’s world grew out of; each episode takes place wherever in the decade you set it.

• 1980: The Iran hostage crisis fills every newscast. The public starts wanting heroes who get things done without waiting on Washington.
• 1981: MTV goes on the air. Image becomes a language, and everyone from senators to smugglers learns to speak it.
• 1982: The Falklands War puts a French anti-ship missile on every front page. Arms dealers get the best advertising of the decade for free.
• 1983: The Strategic Defense Initiative is announced. Every defense contractor wants a slice of the “Star Wars” budget, and some will steal to get it.
• 1984: Personal computers land on ordinary office desks, and ordinary offices learn they can be broken into over a phone line.
• 1985: French agents sink the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor. Governments, it turns out, will bomb activists too.
• 1986: Chernobyl burns and the Iran-Contra affair breaks. Secrets are leaking from both sides of the Iron Curtain.
• 1987: Black Monday wipes out fortunes in a single day. Some of the people who lost everything want someone to blame; some of the people who didn’t knew it was coming.
• 1988: A bomb brings down a passenger jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. Airport security becomes everybody’s problem, and every customs line becomes a place where a cover can fail.
• 1989: The Berlin Wall falls. A generation of spies is suddenly out of work, and their skills are for sale.

Characters

In the world of Prime Time Hero, you are the name in the opening credits. You have a past the pilot episode only hinted at, a ride everyone recognizes, and a line you won’t cross no matter who is paying.

Everything is a Character

In Prime Time Hero Non-Playing Characters (NPCs), Foes, Organizations, Monsters, and even relevant objects like vehicles are characters too!

Your Protagonist is described by some fixed traits:

• Name: The name should be iconic and consistent with the tone and setting of the story.
• Concept: A concise description of the character’s profession, background, and abilities. The best are adjective-noun pairings, like “Rogue CIA Agent” or “Hawaiian Private Eye”.
• Skills (x2): Abilities not necessarily character-specific but not characteristics common to all. “Smart” is not a skill, “Jury-Rigging Genius” is.
• Frailty: Something that could potentially get in the way of the character, either physically, mentally, or socially.
• Gear (x2): Particular equipment supplied to the character in coherence with the setting. Everyday items are taken for granted and do not fall under this trait.
• Goal: The long-term objective.
• Motive: What drives the pursuit of the goal.
• Nemesis: A person or organization that hinders the protagonist. Optional at character creation; it can emerge directly from play, and may or may not be the direct antagonist of the story.
• Luck: The measure of a character’s ability to avoid ill fortune or an inauspicious outcome. It applies only in Conflicts and resets fully when each conflict begins and ends. Luck starts and caps at 6.

These traits are described by tags, descriptive words or phrases that can identify anything in the game world. Even the details of the environment in which the action moves and conditions (physical or mental) of the characters are tags.

They are qualitative representations. They are not quantitative measures.

When a tag is relevant to a situation it may grant Advantage or Disadvantage on an oracle roll. A tag can be real and present without bearing on the current situation; relevance is the test, not presence.

Relationships

When a connection with an NPC has been tested, strained, or deepened through play, that relationship earns a tag, such as Trusted Informant, Sworn Enemy, or Uneasy Ally. Relationship tags function like any other: when they bear directly on the situation, they grant Advantage or Disadvantage. They are earned in the fiction, not assigned at creation.

When to Promote a Tag to a Character

If an element matters once, keep it as plain tags. If it keeps showing up or pushes back against the Protagonist, give it a character sheet and play it by the same rules.

Character Traits

You can use these traits to create a character on the fly, mix them, or just use them as inspiration.

Concepts

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Rogue CIA Agent	Hawaiian Private Eye	Freelance Problem Solver	International Courier	Vintage Car Restorer	Environmental Activist
2	Former Special Forces	Tech Entrepreneur	Investigative Reporter	Resort Security Chief	Treasure Hunter	Corporate Whistleblower
3	Retired Cat Burglar	Yacht Captain	Museum Curator	Hotel Detective	Stunt Pilot	Fashion Photographer
4	Government Fixer	Beach Bum Philosopher	Scientific Consultant	Island Tour Guide	Race Car Driver	Documentary Filmmaker
5	International Playboy	Marine Biologist	Art Recovery Expert	Wilderness Guide	Disgraced Network Anchor	Cultural Attaché
6	Reformed Con Artist	Ex-Navy Chopper Pilot	Archaeological Advisor	Reckless Mountaineer	Classic Rock Roadie	Diplomatic Security

Skills

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Jury-Rigging Genius	Silver Tongue	Photographic Memory	Helicopter Pilot	Lockpicking Master	Martial Arts Expert
2	Computer Whiz	Master of Disguise	Explosives Expert	Deep Sea Diver	Getaway Driver	Language Savant
3	Wilderness Survival	Social Chameleon	Electronics Hacker	Yacht Navigation	Acrobatic Prowess	Cultural Insider
4	Kitchen Chemist	Shadowing Unseen	Motorcycle Stunts	Bluffing Past Security	Art Authentication	Network of Contacts
5	Tactical Planning	Wine Connoisseur	Safe Cracker	Sky Diving	Field Medic	Psychological Profiling
6	Engineering Savvy	Casino Gambling	Mountaineering	Grease Monkey	Knows Every Loophole	Reads Dead Languages

Frailties

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Wanted by CIA	Gambling Problem	Haunted by Past	Too Trusting	Afraid of Heights	Claustrophobic
2	Can’t Swim	Terrible Liar	Chronic Back Pain	Code of Honor	Fashion Obsessed	Technophobic
3	Can’t Resist a Dare	Overly Curious	Former Addiction	Protective of Innocents	Seasick	Owes the Agency a Favor
4	Incurable Flirt	Owes the Mob	Guilt Complex	Won’t Kill	Colorblind	Impulsive
5	Afraid of Dogs	Poor Money Manager	Chronic Insomniac	Stubborn Pride	Old Flame in Every Port	Recognizable Face
6	Bad Temper	Constantly Late	Superstitious	Too Competitive	Afraid of Flying	Workaholic

Gear

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Talking Sports Car	Swiss Army Knife	Designer Sunglasses	Encrypted Radio	Vintage Motorcycle	Luggable Computer
2	Helicopter	Scuba Gear	Tuxedo Collection	Car Phone	Yacht	Telephoto Camera
3	Lockpick Set	Hang Glider	Chemical Lab Kit	Saxophone	Off-Road Vehicle	Art Forgery Tools
4	Speedboat	Climbing Gear	Briefcase Tape Recorder	Ham Radio	Private Jet	Surveillance Van
5	Duct Tape and Paperclips	Disguise Kit	Platinum Charge Card	Night Vision	Vintage Wardrobe	Wristwatch Communicator
6	Hidden Safe House	Throwing Stars	Houseboat at the Marina	Mobile Laboratory	Classic Corvette	International Passports

Names

Female Names

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Jessica	Laura	Kelly	Dana	Sabrina	Pamela
2	Tracy	Jennifer	Gina	Valerie	Toni	Rhonda
3	Christine	Maddie	Angela	Bonnie	Lisa	Stephanie
4	Carmen	Lupe	Nadia	Mei-Ling	Simone	Ilsa
5	Erica	Dominique	Sasha	Fiona	Yolanda	Gabrielle
6	Kimberly	Teri	Shelley	Rita	Marisol	Leilani

Male Names

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Michael	Thomas	Rick	Jack	Frank	Dennis
2	Gary	Steve	Tony	Brett	Lance	Chuck
3	Ray	Vince	Danny	Murphy	Cody	Russ
4	Ricardo	Kenji	Dimitri	Marco	Kalani	Andre
5	Hans	Rafael	Sergei	Nigel	Etienne	Jamal
6	Clay	Duncan	Harley	Reed	Wesley	Boone

Surnames

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Sterling	Blackwood	Carmichael	DuBois	Kincaid	Fontaine
2	Harrington	Delgado	Kellerman	Lancaster	Malone	Quinlan
3	Nakamura	O’Brien	Pemberton	Ravencroft	Santangelo	Thornton
4	Kahale	Valentino	Whitmore	Brannigan	Castellano	Dunbar
5	Yamamoto	Zimmerman	Beaumont	Crawford	Hollister	Reyes
6	Everhart	Fitzgerald	Grimaldi	Hawthorne	McCready	Petrakis

Nicknames

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Ace	Blade	Cowboy	Doc	Dutch	Flash
2	Ghost	Hawk	Hollywood	Ice	Jinx	Kid
3	Lucky	Mad Dog	Maverick	Preacher	Ringo	Rocket
4	Saint	Shadow	Slick	Sparky	Tex	Tiger
5	Viper	Wheels	Whiz	Boomer	Bulldog	Chief
6	Duke	Scooter	Sundance	Rebel	Hotshot	Smiley

Rules

Prime Time Hero is a minimalist Solo Role Playing Game designed to be played with only one character (the Protagonist). You’ll guide them through the story that will unravel during the game, asking closed questions to an Oracle which will help you overturn your expectations.

Every now and then you will be surprised with an unexpected twist!

Framing a Scene

Before asking the Oracle anything, establish the scene’s conditions. Answer three questions:

• Where is the Protagonist, and what does that place feel like right now?
• Who is present, or likely to become present?
• What is the Protagonist’s goal for this scene?

Use what the fiction has established. If something is genuinely uncertain, ask the Oracle one framing question before the scene begins. A framing question must be about a fictional condition (what is already true about the situation), not about what will happen. Once all three are answered, the scene is open.

Closing a Scene

A scene ends when one of the following is true:

• The Protagonist’s immediate goal has been resolved: achieved or definitively failed.
• The goal has been blocked: circumstances have made it impossible to pursue further here.
• The Protagonist abandons the goal and commits to a different course of action.

When any of these conditions is met, stop asking Oracle questions. Note the outcome, then roll the Scene Transition. If none feel clearly met, ask: “Has this scene run its course?” A Yes of any kind closes it. A No means there is still something here worth pursuing.

Consulting the Oracle

When you need to test the narrative, you’ll ask a closed question (answerable with Yes or No) to the Oracle. Roll 1 Chance Die and 1 Risk Die of different colors, then follow these two steps.

• Step 1: Compare the Dice
  • Chance Die higher → Yes
  • Risk Die higher → No
  • Both equal → Yes, but… (+1 Twist Counter). Stop here; Step 2 does not apply to equal rolls.
• Step 2: Check for Modifiers (only when the dice are not equal)
  • Both dice ≤ 3 → add but…
  • Both dice ≥ 4 → add and…

Result	Outcome
Chance > Risk	Yes
Chance > Risk, both ≤ 3	Yes, but…
Chance > Risk, both ≥ 4	Yes, and…
Risk > Chance	No
Risk > Chance, both ≤ 3	No, but…
Risk > Chance, both ≥ 4	No, and…
Both equal	Yes, but… (+1 Twist Counter)

Answer	Outcome
Yes, and…	You get what you want, and something extra.
Yes…	You get what you want.
Yes, but…	You get what you want, but at a cost.
No, but…	You don’t get what you want, but it’s not a total loss.
No…	You don’t get what you were after.
No, and…	You don’t get what you want, and things get worse.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Tags, conditions, and circumstances can grant Advantage or Disadvantage.

• Advantage → Roll 2 Chance Dice, keep the highest.
• Disadvantage → Roll 2 Risk Dice, keep the highest.
• Read the result from the kept die only. A discarded die counts for nothing: equal dice and the but…/and… bands are checked after discarding.
• Never roll more than 2 Chance or 2 Risk Dice. Multiple tags of the same kind don’t stack further; opposing tags cancel out.

Twist Counter

The Twist Counter tracks rising tension in the narrative. At the beginning it is set to 0. Every time doubles are rolled, the answer is “Yes, but…” and you add 1 to the Counter. When the Counter reaches 3, the answer is still “Yes, but…”, a Twist happens as well, and the Counter resets to 0.

Roll 2d6 and consult the following Twist Table to determine what kind of twist happens.

D6	Subject	Action
1	A third party	Appears
2	The Protagonist	Alters the location
3	An encounter	Helps the Protagonist
4	A physical event	Hinders the Protagonist
5	An emotional event	Changes the goal
6	An object	Ends the scene

Interpret the two-word sentence in the context of the current scene. Before rolling, read the fiction: if the scene has been building pressure, the Twist lands hard and disruptively. If things have been relatively clean, it’s a shift, not a collapse.

Dead Ends

When a lead goes cold or a line of inquiry stops producing anything to act on, do not keep asking questions about the closed path. Instead, ask the Oracle: “Does something or someone point toward a new way forward?”

• Yes (any) → Introduce a new element pointing forward.
• No, but… → Path closed, but the Protagonist understands why.
• No / No, and… → Pull back to the overall goal; start a new scene from a different angle.

Improvised Gadgets

The genre runs on heroes who build the way out from whatever is lying around. When your hero needs to improvise:

1. Say what the gadget must do and what it is made of. If it is uncertain whether the materials are here, ask one framing question first: “Is there a … in this room?”
2. Ask the Oracle whether the improvisation works. A relevant Skill (Jury-Rigging Genius, Kitchen Chemist) grants Advantage; working under fire or with the wrong parts imposes Disadvantage.
3. Write the gadget as a tag (Microwave EMP, Fire-Extinguisher Slick). It is Gear for this scene only, and it grants Advantage when it bears on a roll.

Read the answer into the gadget itself. On Yes, but… it works once and then dies, or works and leaves something behind. On No, but… the parts are spent and the hero has learned what would work. A gadget that should outlive the scene becomes a real Gear trait at the end of the episode (see When the story ends).

Examples: a microwave turned into a short-range EMP, compressed air and PVC pipe made into a pneumatic launcher, a car stereo retuned as a radio jammer. Roll on Gadget Inspiration when you need a spark.

Vehicle Chases

Vehicle chases are Conflicts, resolved with any of the methods under Conflicts below. A vehicle is a character too, so give the important ones a sheet of their own.

• With Harm & Luck, the Luck in play belongs to the drivers, not the vehicles. The vehicle supplies tags; the person behind the wheel takes the damage.
• The vehicle’s tags (Turbo-Charged, Bulletproof Glass, Handles Like a Boat) grant Advantage or Disadvantage when they bear on the maneuver.
• The road gets a vote: traffic, weather, and terrain are tags of the scene, and can impose Disadvantage when they stand between the hero and the getaway.
• Spectacular crashes and narrow escapes are encouraged.
• A vehicle that loses a chase can come out of it with a damage tag that persists until it’s repaired (see Status Track, below).

The Episode Structure

An episode can follow the classic TV structure. It isn’t a script: the Oracle still decides what happens. It tells you what kind of scene to frame next when you’re not sure.

1. Cold Open: One short scene that sets the tone and the hook, often mid-action (see Cold Open Scenarios).
2. Title Sequence: Not a scene. Name the episode (see Episode Titles) and take a moment to appreciate your hero’s style.
3. Act I: The problem and the key NPCs come into view. Act I ends when the hero knows what the case is: open a Case Track.
4. Act II: Investigation, complications, and the first real setback. Act II ends when the Case Track has one empty box left. Close that scene on a cliffhanger (see Cliffhanger Moments); the first scene of Act III answers it.
5. Act III: The plan comes together and the final confrontation (see Climax Settings). It ends when the Case Track fills, or when the villain’s own countdown track fills first.
6. Epilogue: A brief denouement showing the aftermath (see Epilogue Outcomes), then turn to When the story ends.

The acts read off the Case Track, so the structure needs no new bookkeeping. Acts only move forward: an erased box makes the case harder, not the episode shorter. If a Yes, and… jumps the track from two boxes to full, the case cracks wide open: play the confrontation as one scene and narrate it from that result, without a further roll. Scene Transition rolls still apply between scenes. A Quiet Scene in Act II is where the hero regroups; a Meanwhile in Act I is the villain’s establishing shot.

Conflicts

A Conflict is any situation in which opponents clash, attacking, defending, or wearing each other down in order to win, not only combat, but also competitive situations such as contests, duels, verbal confrontations, and vehicle chases.

Conflicts can be resolved in different ways:

1. Ask a single closed question. The Oracle’s answer determines the outcome of the conflict.
2. Ask a series of closed questions to resolve current single actions.
3. Use the rules of Harm & Luck below.

Note that the Twist Counter does not apply to Harm & Luck. It is used regularly if the Conflict is handled with closed questions.

If the conflict is resolved by applying damage to the Luck trait, roll the dice to determine whether the protagonist causes damage to the opponent or suffers damage due to counterattack or failed defense. The rolls are player facing only.

The damage reduces the Luck of the target. A conflict ends when one side reaches 0 Luck, withdraws, or the opposition dissolves. Withdrawing is always allowed, and it is never free: breaking off before 0 Luck costs something; the fiction sets the price. When Luck runs out, the character has lost the conflict. The final outcome depends on the context: capture, injury, retreat, whatever fits the narrative.

Oracle Result	Luck Damage
Yes, and…	Deal 3 damage to opponent
Yes…	Deal 2 damage to opponent
Yes, but…	Deal 1 damage to opponent
No, but…	Take 1 damage from opponent
No…	Take 2 damage from opponent
No, and…	Take 3 damage from opponent

Status Track (optional)

The Status Track gives lasting consequences a structured form. It does not replace Luck: Luck operates within a single conflict and resets at the end, while the Status Track records consequences that persist between conflicts, scene after scene.

When a defeat or setback should accumulate over time rather than resolve immediately, open a Status Track: a row of three boxes of escalating narrative pressure. Each time the Protagonist’s Luck reaches 0 in a conflict and the defeat leaves a lasting mark, fill the next empty box and assign the matching tag. One box per defeat, not per hit taken.

Box	Physical	Social	Psychological
1	Hurt	Rattled	Unsettled
2	Injured	On the Back Foot	Shaken
3	Overcome	Humiliated	Broken

These are examples, not a fixed list. The active tag is always the most recently filled box: Hurt becomes Injured when the second box fills, not both at once, and it can impose Disadvantage when relevant. When the third box fills, the character is overcome; the story decides what that means.

Recovery: a consequence tag clears when the fiction supports it: rest, treatment, a quiet scene, or a scene framed around recovery. Clearing the current tag frees that box and restores the previous tag as active. Recovery needs a narrative justification, not just the passing of time.

Vehicles: an important vehicle keeps its own Physical track, reskinned as Dented, Smoking, Totaled. Repairs, not rest, clear it.

Case Tracks

Some cases are too complex to resolve in a single scene. When building toward a breakthrough will take sustained effort across multiple Acts or episodes, open a Case Track: a row of four empty boxes.

Once per scene, if advancing the case was the Protagonist’s stated purpose when the scene was framed, update the track based on the oracle result that resolved the scene’s main action.

Oracle Result	Progress
Yes, and…	Mark 2 boxes
Yes / Yes, but…	Mark 1 box
No, but…	No change
No / No, and…	Erase 1 box

When all four boxes are filled, the case resolves. No final roll. A track can also run in reverse to represent a mounting threat or a villain’s plan coming to fruition.

Leverage (optional)

When the Oracle answers Yes, and…, you may bank that result as Leverage instead of narrating the bonus immediately. Hold only one Leverage at a time. It expires when its fictional basis no longer applies or when a Twist occurs.

Spend Leverage to:

• Add Advantage to a future Oracle roll on the same pursuit (only if you don’t already have Advantage).
• Convert a No or No, and… into No, but….

Scene Transition

At the end of the current scene, roll 1d6 and consult the following table:

D6	Next Scene
1-3	Dramatic scene
4-5	Quiet Scene
6	Meanwhile…

• A dramatic scene does not break the tension of the previous scene but carries it further forward, introducing further obstacles or difficulties.
• During a quiet scene there is time to take a breath, to heal, to make plans for the next steps and to deepen relationships.
• A meanwhile scene is procedural, not atmospheric. Follow both steps: (1) Cut to whoever holds power over the situation (the villain, the client, the agency) and ask what they do next; update their tags to reflect their action. (2) Ask the Oracle: “Does an ally or wildcard act independently?” On a Yes of any kind, pick the NPC most affected by recent events and interpret their action through their current tags and goal. On a No, they hold.

Open-Ended Question or Get Inspired

To answer an Open-Ended question, roll once on each of the Inspiration Tables, 2d6 for row and column (roll at least a verb and a noun, adjectives are optional). Read the result back into the existing fiction as a lens, not an instruction to invent something new from scratch.

When the story ends

At the end of the adventure you may add another trait to the character related to how the story just ended: a new Skill, Gear, Frailty, or even a new Nemesis. You can also modify an existing trait to better represent an enhanced expertise.

Then update The Living World:

• For each NPC or faction who played a meaningful role: update or assign a relationship tag; note what they want now; note whether they are gone, transformed, or still in play.
• For each Location that featured in the episode: update its tags to reflect what happened there; note whether it remains accessible or relevant.
• For each unresolved Event: note what pressure it continues to exert on the world.

The world doesn’t reset between sessions. Neither should your records of it.

Advanced Play Options

Series Campaign Rules

If you want to play Prime Time Hero as an ongoing series rather than one-shots, consider these additions:

Recurring Characters: Keep a stable of allies, contacts, and enemies who can appear across multiple episodes. Your helicopter pilot, your government contact, your reliable informant - they become part of your show’s “cast.”

Story Arcs: Plant seeds in early episodes that bloom into major storylines later. Maybe that corrupt businessman you exposed has a brother seeking revenge, or that experimental technology you destroyed was just a prototype.

Character Development: Growth happens at the end of each episode, as described in When the story ends: one new trait, or one existing trait rewritten. Across a season those changes add up. Good series-level changes include a new Skill learned on a case, Gear upgraded after a close call, a contact from a past episode earning a relationship tag, a new Nemesis made by the hero’s own actions, or a Frailty rewritten once an episode was really about facing it.

Reputation: As your hero becomes famous (or infamous), that fame can become a tag earned in play: Local Legend, Front-Page Face, Known to Interpol. Like any tag, it only matters when it’s relevant: Advantage when someone respects or fears the name, Disadvantage when the hero needs to go unnoticed, and a plot driver when enemies target the hero specifically.

Supporting Cast

Prime Time Hero is played with one Protagonist, but plenty of 1980s shows were team shows. You can capture that without changing the rules:

Team Format: The Protagonist leads a crew of specialists (the face, the tech expert, the driver, the muscle) in the mold of The A-Team. Teammates are NPCs with their own character sheets; when a teammate’s tags fit the job at hand, they can grant Advantage on the Protagonist’s roll.

Rival Format: A rival investigator works the same case from a different angle. Give them a sheet and cut to them in Meanwhile scenes; sometimes they’re a step ahead.

Guest Star Format: A recurring ally who has earned a character sheet can headline an episode of their own, with the regular Protagonist appearing as an NPC.

Difficulty Variants

Pulp Hero Mode: The hero survives what nobody should. Give them a standing tag, Pulp Hero, that grants Advantage when a stunt or a fight calls on larger-than-life nerve, the same way any other tag works, not a blanket bonus on every roll. When the hero’s Luck reaches 0, the defeat is a capture, a setback, or an escape at a cost, never a death.

Gritty Mode: The world is darker and more dangerous. Resolve every serious conflict with Harm & Luck, and use the Status Track as a core rule. Consequence tags clear only in a scene framed around recovery; a Quiet Scene alone isn’t enough.

Gadget Show Mode: For a series built around a talking car, a black helicopter, or a lab on wheels. One piece of the hero’s Gear is a character with a full sheet, its own Skills and Frailty, and a Goal that may not match the hero’s. Its tags work like any others, and so does its Frailty: the more the episode leans on the machine, the more often the machine is the problem.

Random Episode Generators

To open an episode at random, roll on Cold Open Scenarios; to name it, roll on Episode Titles. Both are D66 tables in Adventure Tables. For the case itself, roll on Case Generator.

Setting Variations

Tropical Paradise: Focus on island locations, resorts, and maritime adventures. Think Magnum P.I. with beach settings, yacht clubs, and helicopter tours.

Urban Jungle: City-based adventures with corporate espionage, high-tech crime, and metropolitan sophistication. Think Miami Vice meets Knight Rider.

International Intrigue: Globe-trotting adventures with diplomatic immunity, embassy parties, and exotic locations. Think James Bond on a network television budget.

Small Town Secrets: Rural or small-town setting where everyone knows everyone, and somebody always knows a little too much. Think Murder, She Wrote with a car chase in the second act.

Exploring the World

Every series has a home base, and every few episodes the network pays for a location shoot. A case that starts in a Honolulu bar can end in a Monaco penthouse or a jungle temple in Thailand. Travel is a scene like any other: frame it only when the trip itself can go wrong.

Preparation

• Define Your Destination: Choose a specific location based on your current case, or roll on the Location tables for inspiration. Consider how this location ties into your investigation or mission.
• Choose Your Mode of Travel: Your character likely has access to various vehicles - sports cars, helicopters, speedboats, or even private jets. Consider your resources and the urgency of the situation.
• Make Contacts: Every location has local contacts, informants, and allies. Consider who might help you in this new place.

The Journey

A. Luxury Travel

• Arriving in Style: First-class flights and five-star hotels are where the hero meets people. Ask the Oracle whether the trip turned up a useful acquaintance; on a Yes, add them as an NPC.
• The Expense Account: When the bill matters, ask the Oracle whether the budget covers it. On a No, the hero has to cut corners, call in a favor, or find somewhere less comfortable to stay.

B. Covert Travel

• Cover Identity: When traveling under a false name, ask the Oracle whether the cover holds. Relevant Skills and Gear (a Master of Disguise, a set of International Passports) grant Advantage.
• Border Crossing: Customs, border guards, and hostile governments are obstacles like any other: frame a scene and use the tags that apply.

C. Emergency Travel

• Finding a Ride: When the hero needs to get somewhere fast, ask the Oracle whether suitable transport is available. A Network of Contacts, or the right vehicle in their Gear, grants Advantage.
• Pursuit: If someone tries to follow or stop the hero, it becomes a Vehicle Chase.

Reaching Your Destination

Upon reaching your destination, the location should feel like it jumped out of a 1980s travel brochure or spy thriller. Roll on location tables for specific details, or use the Oracle to determine what kind of scene awaits you.

1980s Locations

Four kinds of place cover most episodes. Pick one as the series’ home base and treat the others as guest locations.

Tropical Paradises

Locations like Hawaii, the Caribbean, or the French Riviera offer beach resorts, yacht clubs, and coral reefs hiding underwater secrets. Expect corrupt resort developers, international arms dealers, and mysterious archaeological sites.

International Cities

From London’s fog-shrouded streets to Tokyo’s neon-lit districts, major cities provide corporate headquarters, embassy parties, and underground criminal organizations. Fashion shows, art auctions, and diplomatic receptions serve as backdrops for espionage.

Remote Wilderness

Mountain lodges, desert research stations, and jungle expeditions offer isolation and danger. These locations often hide secret facilities, crashed aircraft, or ancient treasures that various parties want to control.

American Hotspots

Miami’s art deco hotels, Los Angeles’ entertainment industry, and New York’s financial district provide domestic adventure opportunities with international scope.

Factions

The Meridian Corporation (MER)

• Concept: Respectable Multinational Conglomerate
• Skills: Buying Senators by the Dozen, Burying Bad News Under Good Press
• Frailty: Terrified of the Quarterly Report
• Gear: A Fleet of Corporate Jets, Lawyers on Retainer in Forty Countries
• Goal: Own the contracts that will build the next decade
• Motive: Growth is the only number the board understands
• Nemesis: Anyone with a camera and a copy of the second set of books

Meridian makes everything: microwave ovens, satellite parts, fertilizer, guidance chips. Its logo is on the stadium, the hospital wing, and the evening news sponsor slot. The hero meets Meridian through a polite man in a gray suit who explains that the problem has already been handled, and through the people the handling left behind.

The Phoenix Syndicate (PHX)

• Concept: Freelance Spy Network
• Skills: Selling Secrets to Both Sides, A Face for Every Passport
• Frailty: Nobody Trusts Anybody, Including the Bosses
• Gear: Safe Houses in Every Capital, A Library of Blackmail Files
• Goal: Become the market every intelligence service has to buy from
• Motive: Its founders were thrown away by their own agencies and want the bill paid
• Nemesis: The old services that trained them and want them buried

Former case officers from East and West, retired early and not by choice. They run heists for hire, move defectors in either direction, and auction what they steal. A Phoenix job always looks like something else: a burglary that is really a wiretap, a kidnapping that is really a recruitment.

The Prometheus Institute (PRO)

• Concept: Prestigious Private Think Tank
• Skills: Breakthroughs Ten Years Ahead, Government Contracts With No Paper Trail
• Frailty: Its Scientists Want Credit, Not Silence
• Gear: A Research Campus Behind Three Fences, Projects With Code Names
• Goal: Deliver the technology that wins the Cold War
• Motive: Knowledge first, ethics review later
• Nemesis: The researcher who quit and kept copies

Nobel laureates, a lovely campus in the hills, and a basement floor that doesn’t appear on the fire plan. Prometheus is where the mind-control rumor, the stolen prototype, and the missing scientist all lead. Most of its staff believe the work is clean; that belief is the Institute’s best security.

The Golden Triangle Cartel (GTC)

• Concept: Transpacific Smuggling Empire
• Skills: Moving Anything Through Any Port, Officials Bought at Every Border
• Frailty: Three Families, One Throne
• Gear: Cigarette Boats Faster Than the Coast Guard, Front Companies in Import-Export
• Goal: Own the routes from the Mekong to Miami
• Motive: Wealth, and the respect wealth buys back home
• Nemesis: A DEA agent who has made this personal

The Cartel’s money runs through restaurants, travel agencies, and a very successful string of car dealerships. Its violence is rare and loud, because it is meant to be heard. The hero usually meets it sideways: a witness who won’t talk, a marina where the fast boats are never for rent.

The Aurelian Society (AUR)

• Concept: Patriotic Cultural Foundation
• Skills: Friends in Every Newsroom, Donors Who Never Ask Questions
• Frailty: True Believers Who Can’t Keep Quiet
• Gear: Summer Camps With Firing Ranges, A Weekly Broadcast Hour
• Goal: Put friendly strongmen in charge of unstable countries
• Motive: Order, as the Society defines it
• Nemesis: The free press

Black-tie dinners, scholarships, and a youth program with very good uniforms. The Society funds coups through charity accounts and calls it defending civilization. Its members are senators’ wives, retired generals, and one very rich man nobody photographs.

The Aegis Group (AEG)

• Concept: Elite Private Security Firm
• Skills: Special Forces Training, Equipment the Army Can’t Afford Yet
• Frailty: Loyal to the Contract, Not the Client
• Gear: An Airfield Nobody Inspects, A Roster of Men Officially Dead
• Goal: Be the army anyone can rent
• Motive: Professional pride, and the money that comes with it
• Nemesis: A former member who knows where the bodies are

Aegis guards oil rigs, embassies, and executives. It also does the jobs the clients can deny. Its operators are polite, punctual, and very hard to hurt. When an Aegis team turns up in an episode, somebody with money has decided the problem can’t wait.

Diplomatic Relationship Matrix

The six factions don’t operate in isolation. Money, favors, and old grudges connect them in ways that rarely make the papers. Use this table to decide how one faction reacts when another’s business intrudes on a scene: Hostile factions sabotage each other on sight, Tense ones needle and undercut, Cold ones keep a wary distance, Neutral ones simply don’t interact, Cordial ones do business when it suits them, Friendly ones extend real courtesy, and Allied ones cover for each other without being asked. Factions appear by their initials; read across the row of the faction that reacts.

	MER	PHX	PRO	GTC	AUR	AEG
MER	-	Cold	Allied	Neutral	Tense	Allied
PHX	Cold	-	Neutral	Hostile	Cordial	Tense
PRO	Allied	Neutral	-	Neutral	Cold	Cordial
GTC	Neutral	Hostile	Neutral	-	Cordial	Tense
AUR	Tense	Cordial	Cold	Cordial	-	Allied
AEG	Allied	Tense	Cordial	Tense	Allied	-

• Meridian Corporation ↔︎ Prometheus Institute (Allied): Meridian’s black budget quietly funds Prometheus research that never appears on a shareholder report. Threaten one and the other moves to protect it.
• Meridian Corporation ↔︎ Aegis Group (Allied): Aegis provides the muscle Meridian’s board can deny ever hiring.
• Phoenix Syndicate ↔︎ Golden Triangle Cartel (Hostile): two criminal networks fighting over the same smuggling routes and the same buyers. A case that touches one almost always drags in the other.
• Aurelian Society ↔︎ Aegis Group (Allied): the Society’s private militias are Aegis contractors with a political banner draped over the uniform.
• Meridian Corporation ↔︎ Aurelian Society (Tense): both want influence over the same governments, but the Society’s ideological purity keeps clashing with Meridian’s purely transactional approach to power.
• Prometheus Institute ↔︎ Aurelian Society (Cold): the Society has tried more than once to co-opt Prometheus’s research for propaganda purposes; the Institute wants nothing to do with it, and says so as little as possible.

Foes

11. Corporate Executive

• Concept: Smiling Corporate Raider
• Skills: Hostile Takeovers, Making Problems Disappear by Phone
• Frailty: Can’t Stand to Lose in Public
• Gear: Personal Bodyguards, A Swiss Numbered Account
• Goal: Swallow the company that turned him down
• Motive: He was told no once, in 1971, and remembers the date
• Nemesis: The founder’s daughter who still owns twelve percent

12. International Arms Dealer

• Concept: Charming Merchant of Death
• Skills: Knows Every Weapon by Sound, Sells to Both Sides Before Lunch
• Frailty: Collects Beautiful Things and Shows Them Off
• Gear: Demonstration Crates, A Diplomatic Passport From a Country He Bought
• Goal: Close the sale before the ceasefire is signed
• Motive: Wars end; customers don’t
• Nemesis: The journalist who photographed him shaking hands with both generals

13. Corrupt Government Official

• Concept: Crooked Deputy Minister
• Skills: Losing Paperwork on Purpose, Calling in the Police as a Favor
• Frailty: Panics When the Story Reaches the Press
• Gear: A Government Car With Flags, A Drawer of Favors Owed
• Goal: Survive the next election with the money intact
• Motive: He started honest, and that is why he’s so afraid
• Nemesis: The incorruptible auditor transferred in last month

14. Rogue Intelligence Agent

• Concept: Burned Former Case Officer
• Skills: Tradecraft Older Than the Hero, Turning Assets Against Their Handlers
• Frailty: Still Loyal to a Country That Doesn’t Exist Anymore
• Gear: A Suitcase of Passports, A Safe-Deposit Box in Vienna
• Goal: Sell the agency’s secrets to the highest bidder
• Motive: They left him to die in a border town in 1979
• Nemesis: The partner who signed the order

15. Mad Scientist

• Concept: Brilliant Discredited Researcher
• Skills: Building the Impossible in a Garage, Lecturing While Holding a Gun
• Frailty: Needs the World to Admit He Was Right
• Gear: A Prototype That Mostly Works, A Lab Hidden Under a Respectable Address
• Goal: Prove the theory in front of witnesses
• Motive: The academy laughed him out of the room
• Nemesis: The rival who took the Nobel

16. Crime Boss Enforcer

• Concept: Quiet Professional Heavy
• Skills: Menacing Silence, Bare-Knuckle Brawling
• Frailty: Does Exactly What He’s Told, Nothing More
• Gear: A Brass-Knuckled Fist, A Black Sedan With a Big Trunk
• Goal: Bring the boss what the boss asked for
• Motive: The boss paid for his mother’s operation
• Nemesis: The one cop who keeps bringing him in

21. High-Tech Hacker

• Concept: Reclusive Teenage Phone Phreak
• Skills: Getting Into Any Mainframe, Making a Payphone Do Anything
• Frailty: Hasn’t Left the Basement in Three Weeks
• Gear: An Acoustic Coupler Modem, A Whistle That Plays 2600 Hertz
• Goal: Break the system nobody has ever broken
• Motive: To prove the grown-ups wrong
• Nemesis: The phone company’s security investigator

22. Exotic Assassin

• Concept: Elegant International Killer
• Skills: Arriving Unseen, Killing With Whatever Is on the Table
• Frailty: Must Look the Target in the Eye
• Gear: A Poison Ring, A Wardrobe for Every Climate
• Goal: Fulfill the contract in the agreed manner
• Motive: A perfect record is the only reputation that counts
• Nemesis: The bodyguard who survived the last attempt

23. Corrupt Police Detective

• Concept: Dirty Homicide Detective
• Skills: Knows Where Every Case File Is Kept, Has a Snitch on Every Corner
• Frailty: In Deep With the Bookies
• Gear: A Badge That Opens Doors, A Throwaway Gun
• Goal: Close the case before anyone reads it twice
• Motive: He owes money to people who don’t send reminders
• Nemesis: The rookie partner who is starting to notice

24. Drug Cartel Lieutenant

• Concept: Flashy Rising Trafficker
• Skills: Running the Street Corners, Drive-By Ambush
• Frailty: Hot-Tempered and Proud of It
• Gear: A Fleet of Pastel Sports Cars, A Crew Loyal Until the Money Stops
• Goal: Take the boss’s chair before thirty
• Motive: Respect, and a house his mother can’t believe
• Nemesis: The vice cop who grew up on the same block

25. Industrial Saboteur

• Concept: Bitter Plant Engineer
• Skills: Making an Accident Look Like Bad Luck, Knowing Where Every Valve Is
• Frailty: Leaves His Signature in Every Job
• Gear: A Master Key to the Plant, A Briefcase of Timers
• Goal: Shut down the competitor’s new line on opening day
• Motive: Twenty years of patents with somebody else’s name on them
• Nemesis: The safety inspector who keeps asking questions

26. International Terrorist

• Concept: Media-Savvy Bomber
• Skills: Building Bombs From Hardware Store Parts, Speaking to Cameras
• Frailty: Can’t Resist Claiming Credit
• Gear: A Rented Van, A Safe House With a Printing Press
• Goal: Force the government to broadcast his demands
• Motive: A cause he stopped questioning years ago
• Nemesis: The counter-terror officer who once knew him as a student

31. Cult Leader

• Concept: Charismatic Self-Made Prophet
• Skills: Reading a Stranger’s Wounds in Five Minutes, Sermons That Feel Like Love
• Frailty: Believes His Own Revelations
• Gear: A Compound in the Desert, Followers Who Would Die for Him
• Goal: Gather his flock before the date he has foretold
• Motive: He needs to be adored, and called it a calling
• Nemesis: The family who came to take their daughter home

32. Casino Owner

• Concept: Velvet-Gloved Gambling Kingpin
• Skills: Laundering Money Through the Cage, Hospitality With a Hook
• Frailty: Can’t Walk Away From a Bet
• Gear: A Pit Boss for Every Table, A Penthouse With a View of the Strip
• Goal: Keep the license and the skim
• Motive: The thrill of the house edge
• Nemesis: The gaming commissioner who can’t be comped

33. Art Forger

• Concept: Master Counterfeiter
• Skills: Painting in Any Master’s Hand, Aging a Canvas Overnight
• Frailty: Signs Every Fake Somewhere Hidden
• Gear: A Studio Above a Gallery, A Cabinet of Period Pigments
• Goal: Hang a fake in the Louvre, and have it praised
• Motive: The critics called his own work derivative
• Nemesis: The authenticator who spotted his brushwork once

34. Mercenary Commander

• Concept: Hard-Bitten Soldier of Fortune
• Skills: Small-Unit Tactics, Holding Men Together Under Fire
• Frailty: His Word Is Good, Which Makes Him Predictable
• Gear: A Company of Veterans, A Cargo Plane With No Markings
• Goal: Finish the contract and get his men out
• Motive: Money, and the only family he has left
• Nemesis: The officer who left his unit behind in Angola

35. Corporate Spy

• Concept: Polished Industrial Spy
• Skills: Getting Hired Anywhere in a Week, Copying a Blueprint in Ninety Seconds
• Frailty: Has Started Believing Her Own Cover
• Gear: A Miniature Camera, A Résumé That Checks Out
• Goal: Deliver the prototype plans to the client by Friday
• Motive: The fee will buy her a way out of the game
• Nemesis: The security chief who once slept with her cover

36. Environmental Radical

• Concept: Eco-Saboteur Turned Bomber
• Skills: Living in the Wilderness for Months, Spiking Trees and Pipelines
• Frailty: Can’t Admit the Last Explosion Hurt Someone
• Gear: Hidden Camps, Explosives Bought From the Wrong People
• Goal: Stop the dam before it floods the valley
• Motive: The valley was his family’s land
• Nemesis: The activists who still believe in peaceful protest

41. Kidnapper

• Concept: Meticulous Professional Abductor
• Skills: Planning the Snatch to the Minute, Keeping a Hostage Calm
• Frailty: Overconfident Once the Money Is Moving
• Gear: A Network of Rented Safe Houses, A Voice Scrambler
• Goal: Collect the ransom without being seen
• Motive: Easy money, done professionally
• Nemesis: The FBI negotiator who has studied every one of his calls

42. Black Market Dealer

• Concept: Friendly Neighborhood Fence
• Skills: Valuing Anything at a Glance, Knowing Who Wants What
• Frailty: Sells Out Anyone for a Better Price
• Gear: A Warehouse of Contraband, A Pawnshop Front
• Goal: Stay the middleman everyone needs
• Motive: He likes being owed
• Nemesis: The customs agent who has his photograph on the wall

43. Diamond Smuggler

• Concept: Glamorous Gem Courier
• Skills: Gemology, Getting Through Customs With a Smile
• Frailty: Can’t Resist a Beautiful Stone
• Gear: A Hollow Heel, Papers From Three Mining Companies
• Goal: Move the uncut stones before they’re reported stolen
• Motive: The life she’s always pretended to have
• Nemesis: The insurance investigator who tracks her across continents

44. Hired Goons

• Concept: Muscle Paid by the Hour
• Skills: Outnumbering Anyone, Kicking in Doors
• Frailty: Run the Moment the Boss Goes Down
• Gear: Matching Windbreakers, A Van With No Plates
• Goal: Earn the bonus for bringing the hero in
• Motive: The rent is due
• Nemesis: Whoever is paying more tomorrow

45. Archaeological Thief

• Concept: Dashing Artifact Looter
• Skills: Reading Dead Scripts, Finding the Tomb Everyone Missed
• Frailty: Wants Recognition More Than Money
• Gear: A Forged Excavation Permit, A Collector Waiting in Geneva
• Goal: Take the relic before the official dig opens
• Motive: The academy refused his doctorate
• Nemesis: The site’s local guardian, who knows the old ways

46. Energy Baron

• Concept: Swaggering Oil Tycoon
• Skills: Cornering a Market, Making a Governor Call Back
• Frailty: Brags About Deals Before They’re Done
• Gear: A Private Rig, A Ranch With Its Own Airstrip
• Goal: Control the region’s supply before the new field is announced
• Motive: His father lost everything in the crash of ’82
• Nemesis: The geologist whose survey he buried

51. Communications Interceptor

• Concept: Obsessive Signals Operative
• Skills: Listening to Every Call in the City, Breaking Codes by Hand
• Frailty: Can’t Stop Listening, Even to Allies
• Gear: A Van Full of Receivers, A Wall of Reel-to-Reel Recorders
• Goal: Hold the one recording everyone needs
• Motive: Knowledge is the only power he trusts
• Nemesis: The target who learned to talk in code

52. Space Technology Thief

• Concept: Disgraced Aerospace Engineer
• Skills: Rocket Science, Talking His Way Onto Any Launch Site
• Frailty: Dreams Too Big to Hide
• Gear: Stolen Satellite Blueprints, A Private Launch Pad in the Jungle
• Goal: Put his own satellite in orbit
• Motive: He was fired before the shuttle flew
• Nemesis: The NASA flight director who signed his dismissal

53. Financial Manipulator

• Concept: Wall Street Wunderkind
• Skills: Insider Trading, Moving a Market With a Rumor
• Frailty: Can’t Stop Winning, Even When He Should
• Gear: A Trading Floor Terminal, Offshore Accounts in the Caymans
• Goal: Make his fortune before the next crash
• Motive: He grew up watching his father lose everything
• Nemesis: The SEC investigator with a long memory

54. Media Mogul

• Concept: Silver-Haired Newspaper Baron
• Skills: Making or Breaking a Career in One Headline, Owning the Airwaves
• Frailty: Ego Larger Than His Holdings
• Gear: A National Network, A Private Yacht for Senators
• Goal: Decide the next presidential race
• Motive: He believes the public is a child to be guided
• Nemesis: The young reporter he fired for telling the truth

55. Transportation Kingpin

• Concept: Union-Busting Freight Boss
• Skills: Controlling the Docks, Scheduling Anything Through Any Port
• Frailty: Needs to Control Every Detail
• Gear: A Fleet of Trucks, A Harbor Crane Crew on the Payroll
• Goal: Keep the trucks moving and the questions stopped
• Motive: Control is the only safety he knows
• Nemesis: The dockworkers who are starting to organize

56. Pharmaceutical Criminal

• Concept: Ambitious Drug Company Chemist
• Skills: Chemistry, Faking Clinical Data
• Frailty: Ignores What the Pills Do to People
• Gear: A Factory Line, A Doctor on the Payroll
• Goal: Get the drug approved before the next trial results
• Motive: The bonus, and the vice presidency after it
• Nemesis: The test subject who survived and wants answers

61. Real Estate Manipulator

• Concept: Crooked Land Developer
• Skills: Zoning Board Friends, Making Holdouts Change Their Minds
• Frailty: Can’t Leave a Single Lot Unbought
• Gear: Bulldozers on Standby, A Model of the Future Skyline
• Goal: Clear the neighborhood before the permit hearing
• Motive: He wants his name on a tower
• Nemesis: The old woman who won’t sell

62. Hollywood Fixer

• Concept: Studio Damage-Control Man
• Skills: Making Scandals Vanish, Knowing Every Star’s Secret
• Frailty: Enjoys the Power a Little Too Much
• Gear: A Studio Lot Pass, A Safe Full of Photographs
• Goal: Protect the studio’s biggest star at any cost
• Motive: He likes being the man they call at 3 a.m.
• Nemesis: The tabloid photographer who never sleeps

63. The Ticking Bomb

• Concept: Device Built to Be Found Too Late
• Skills: Counting Down Without Mercy, Hiding in Plain Sight
• Frailty: Every Wire Leads Somewhere: It Can Be Defused
• Gear: A Digital Display, A Tamper Switch

Not a character with a will, but it plays like one. Its Skills impose Disadvantage on anyone working against the clock; its Frailty is how it is beaten. Pair it with a reversed Case Track: when the track fills, it goes off.

64. Televangelist

• Concept: Silver-Tongued Televangelist
• Skills: Tearful Sermons, Creative Accounting
• Frailty: Believes Own Lies
• Gear: A Satellite Broadcast Studio, A Prayer-Line Phone Bank
• Goal: Build a broadcast ministry
• Motive: Adoration and wealth
• Nemesis: The tax auditor who has seen the ledgers

65. Sports Fixer

• Concept: Smooth-Talking Fixer
• Skills: Knowing Every Athlete’s Debts, Moving Bets Across Three States
• Frailty: Addicted to the Action
• Gear: A Bookie Network, A Locker-Room Attendant on the Payroll
• Goal: Fix the championship without leaving a trace
• Motive: He hasn’t paid for a meal in ten years
• Nemesis: The league investigator who used to play

66. The Hurricane

• Concept: Category Four Storm
• Skills: Flooding the Low Roads, Cutting Every Phone Line
• Frailty: Has an Eye: an Hour of Calm in the Middle
• Gear: Wind That Tears Roofs Off, A Storm Surge

Not a character with a will, but it plays like one. Use its tags as Disadvantage for anything done outdoors, and its Frailty as the window in which the impossible becomes merely dangerous.

Adventure Tables

Case Generator

D66	Case Hook
11	A wealthy heiress receives death threats typed on a stolen embassy typewriter, days before her wedding
12	Corporate executives are being assassinated by a sniper using military-surplus night-vision gear
13	A defense scientist vanishes from a secure facility the night before a classified demonstration
14	Priceless artifacts are vanishing from museums, replaced overnight with flawless forgeries
15	A diplomat’s daughter is kidnapped during a peace summit, ransom demanded in gold bullion
16	Environmental activists are being framed for a bombing they didn’t plan
21	A tech startup’s prototype microchip is sabotaged the week before its televised unveiling
22	Surplus military weapons are turning up in criminal hands through a leak in the supply chain
23	A celebrity chef discovers poison in a shipment meant for their flagship restaurant
24	Archaeological dig sites are being dynamited the night before their findings go public
25	A pharmaceutical company is burying test results a week before a new drug hits pharmacy shelves
26	A string of international art auctions is laundering cartel money through inflated bids
31	A private space program’s rockets keep exploding on the pad, and sabotage is the leading theory
32	A luxury cruise liner is hijacked by a crew posing as its own entertainment staff
33	A fashion designer’s Paris debut is threatened by a blackmailer with photographs from their past
34	An underground fighting ring is using kidnapped tourists as unwilling contestants
35	A casino owner is rigging the tables through dealers wired for sound
36	Temple relics are vanishing from three countries in a single month, the thefts too clean for coincidence
41	A real estate mogul is strong-arming an entire block of holdouts off their land
42	Championship athletes are turning up drugged before the biggest events of the season
43	A media mogul’s late-night broadcasts are hiding subliminal messages in the static
44	A shipment meant for famine relief is diverted and sold on the black market
45	A university is quietly selling diplomas to clients who’ve never set foot on campus
46	Ancient burial sites are stripped bare overnight, the artifacts already halfway to a buyer
51	A busy transportation hub is being used to smuggle people, not just cargo
52	A promising solar energy project is sabotaged the week its funding is finalized
53	A children’s charity gala turns out to be a laundering front for something far worse
54	A professional league’s championship game has been fixed by a betting syndicate
55	A major bank’s computer system has been breached, and the intruder is still inside
56	A health spa’s “miracle treatments” are covering up illegal medical experiments
61	A popular resort town is quietly recruiting tourists into a criminal network
62	A publishing house is printing propaganda disguised as investigative journalism
63	A string of sold-out concerts is being used to move contraband through the crowd
64	A modeling agency’s overseas “opportunities” are a front for trafficking
65	An insurance company is staging disasters to collect on policies it wrote itself
66	A dating service’s client files are being used to blackmail its wealthiest members

Location Generator

D66	Location
11	A Caribbean resort with a bunker hidden beneath the tennis courts
12	A glass-tower corporate headquarters with a research floor that isn’t on the directory
13	An abandoned Cold War listening post repurposed as a criminal hideout
14	A private island with archaeological ruins the owner won’t let anyone photograph
15	A glamorous casino running its books through a back room nobody official has seen
16	An international airport with a smuggling route through the baggage carousel
21	A mountain ski lodge fronting an arms deal in the boiler room
22	An offshore research platform running experiments no permit covers
23	A luxury yacht that never seems to actually dock anywhere
24	An art museum quietly swapping originals for forgeries after hours
25	An embassy running an intelligence operation its own ambassador doesn’t know about
26	A television studio broadcasting more than the evening news
31	A shopping mall with a black market running out of the service corridors
32	A university campus with a lab wing that isn’t on any campus map
33	A private hospital wing performing treatments no board would approve
34	A fashion show whose runway lighting hides a dead drop
35	A stadium with games rigged by whoever controls the scoreboard operator
36	A monastery holding relics that were supposed to have been returned years ago
41	An oil rig with a safe room no maintenance log accounts for
42	A safari park moving more than animals across its border checkpoint
43	A space center guarding satellite blueprints someone’s already sold
44	A vineyard’s cellar concealing a chemical lab behind the oldest barrels
45	An amusement park with a surveillance room hidden inside the fun house
46	A mining operation burying more than tailings in its back pit
51	A cruise liner where the crew answer to someone other than the captain
52	A race track laundering money through the betting windows
53	A botanical garden’s greenhouse growing something not in the catalog
54	An observatory whose dish points at more than the stars
55	An aquarium moving contraband through its water intake system
56	A concert hall wired for more than acoustics
61	A beach resort’s tour desk running more than excursions
62	An antique shop that’s never once sold anything to a walk-in customer
63	A health club distributing more than protein shakes in the locker room
64	A library’s rare book room holding files that were never meant to be public
65	A marina where the fastest boats never seem to be for rent
66	A warehouse district where three different operations share the same loading dock

NPC Generator

D66	NPC Type and Motivation
11	A corrupt businessman leveraging a hostile takeover to eliminate a rival
12	A former case officer selling Cold War secrets out of pure spite
13	A desperate parent following a ransom note’s instructions to the letter
14	An idealistic reporter one source away from breaking a career-making story
15	An ambitious governor willing to kill for a shot at the nomination
16	A lonely widower millionaire being fleeced by a “financial advisor”
21	A skilled forger churning out passports for anyone with cash
22	A reformed con artist trying to make amends for a decade of grifts
23	A brilliant researcher whose breakthrough was stolen by a rival lab
24	A jet-setting playboy sinking deeper into debt at every casino on the circuit
25	A hotel heiress who hired the hero and is hiding why she really needs protection
26	A talent agent building a career on talent that isn’t his to exploit
31	A defense contractor moving surplus weapons through a shell company
32	An environmental activist framed for a bombing after getting too close to the truth
33	A gallery owner moving masterpieces that were never legally for sale
34	A pharmaceutical researcher sitting on data that would end a bestselling drug
35	A retired stunt driver who owes the hero a favor and hates being reminded of it
36	An ambassador’s spouse feeding secrets to a foreign handler
41	A Silicon Valley wunderkind who lifted a rival’s prototype wholesale
42	A fashion designer being blackmailed over a scandal from before the fame
43	An archaeologist quietly selling finds to a private collector before they’re catalogued
44	A tenured professor running human trials no ethics board ever approved
45	A rookie cop who idolizes the hero and keeps turning up at the wrong moment
46	A nervous accountant who wants to talk, but only somewhere very public
51	A client’s jealous ex-partner, with a story nobody has thought to ask for
52	A shipping executive running narcotics through a legitimate freight line
53	A fisherman whose boat saw something the Coast Guard says never happened
54	A network anchor slipping propaganda into the evening broadcast
55	A claims investigator covering up the very fraud they were hired to expose
56	A resort operator exploiting the fishing village whose land it sits on
61	A bank vice president laundering cash through a chain of shell accounts
62	An oil executive burying the results of an environmental disaster
63	A defense engineer selling satellite blueprints to the highest bidder
64	A food conglomerate executive tainting a competitor’s product line
65	A widow who knows exactly what her late husband was mixed up in
66	A small-town sheriff: honest, outgunned, and out of patience

Complication Generator

D66	Complication
11	Your cover identity doesn’t hold up to a phone call the concierge makes
12	The person you’re trying to save refuses to leave without an heirloom
13	Your contact was turned before the meeting even started
14	The local police captain is on the villain’s payroll
15	Your gadget shorts out at the exact wrong moment
16	An innocent bystander wanders into the middle of the confrontation
21	A sudden storm cuts off every road out of town
22	Your car dies on a stretch of highway with no phone booth in sight
23	Your radio goes to static the second you need backup
24	A trusted ally sells you out for a payoff
25	Your nemesis shows up uninvited to complicate an already bad night
26	The one piece of evidence that mattered burns in a very convenient fire
31	You’re framed for a crime with your fingerprints already on file
32	The deadline moves up by twelve hours without warning
33	A second car full of reinforcements pulls up behind the first
34	Your safe house address turns up in the wrong hands
35	A key witness clams up the moment the cameras start rolling
36	The person you rescued last week wants nothing more to do with you
41	Your investigation lands on the front page before you’re ready
42	A government suit orders you to stand down, effective immediately
43	The operation runs three times deeper than the case file suggested
44	Someone starts leaning on the people closest to you
45	The evidence trail leads somewhere you didn’t want it to go
46	The place is guarded twice as heavily as the intel promised
51	A planted story in tomorrow’s paper torches your reputation
52	A flood, a fire, or a blackout throws the rescue plan into chaos
53	The target slips out through a route nobody scouted
54	Your accounts are frozen by someone with friends at the bank
55	A rival investigator starts working your case a step ahead of you
56	The one piece of gear you need is sitting in enemy hands
61	Your extraction plan is compromised by someone on the inside
62	The target is moved to a location twice as secure
63	The border checkpoint closes without explanation, hours before you need it open
64	Your backup gets there five minutes after it would have mattered
65	The evidence you risked everything to collect turns out to be planted
66	A diplomatic incident threatens to shut the whole operation down

Vehicle Encounter

D66	Vehicle Encounter
11	A rush-hour chase down Sunset Boulevard, one lane over from a runaway bus
12	A helicopter pursuit through a mountain pass barely wide enough for one rotor
13	A speedboat chase through the Venetian canals, gondoliers diving for cover
14	A motorcycle pursuit straight through a Marrakesh market, awnings and all
15	A sports car duel along the Pacific Coast Highway, one bad turn from the ocean
16	A jeep chase down a jungle logging road that ends at a washed-out bridge
21	A dogfight between two crop dusters over a sugarcane plantation
22	A fistfight on the roof of a subway car as it pulls out of the station
23	A cable car stalled halfway up the mountain, with a sniper in the next car
24	A hovercraft pursuit across the Everglades, alligators optional
25	A jet ski chase between moored yachts in the middle of a regatta
26	A limousine boxed in by two black sedans on embassy row
31	A stolen tank rolling out of a decommissioned army base, and only the hero in its way
32	An ultralight chase low over a tropical island, both pilots flying mostly on nerve
33	An armored car barreling down the freeway with the hero clinging to the back doors
34	A racing yacht pursuit straight into the teeth of a gale
35	A dune buggy chase across the sand toward a smuggler’s airstrip
36	A hang glider escape from a mountaintop fortress, searchlights sweeping the sky
41	A wrecking ball swung into the path of the villain’s getaway car
42	A jet boat pursuit down a river that turns into rapids around the next bend
43	A vintage car rally where one of the entrants is carrying a bomb
44	A snowmobile chase across a frozen lake that’s starting to crack
45	A tourist on a parasail caught between two speedboats
46	A hot air balloon drifting over the border with the hero and a defector aboard
51	A fire engine commandeered to chase a truck full of stolen explosives
52	A cigarette boat run from Bimini to the Keys, with the Coast Guard closing in
53	An ATV chase through the wreckage of a closed-down amusement park
54	A seaplane taking off from a lagoon under rifle fire from the shore
55	An iceboat race across a frozen lake, with one competitor playing for keeps
56	A gondola lift sabotaged at the midpoint, with the hero in the wrong car
61	A garbage truck used as a battering ram against a warehouse gate
62	A Mississippi paddle wheeler turned into a floating battlefield
63	A go-kart chase through a shopping mall after closing time
64	A gyrocopter escape from the roof of corporate headquarters
65	A monster truck rally covering a stolen goods exchange in the pits
66	A luxury RV converted into a rolling fortress, heading for the state line

Gadget Inspiration

D66	Improvised Gadget
11	A microwave oven, gutted and rewired into a short-range EMP
12	A car stereo retuned to jam every radio on the block
13	An air compressor and a length of PVC pipe, turned into a pneumatic launcher
14	A camera flash unit rigged to blind whoever opens the door
15	A disco fog machine, borrowed for instant cover
16	A junkyard electromagnet that yanks the gun out of a guard’s hand
21	A fire extinguisher emptied across the floor into a slick, foamy barrier
22	An elevator cable and a belt buckle, turned into a zip line
23	A kitchen timer wired up as a delayed trigger
24	A garden hose taped to a scuba regulator, making a snorkel long enough to reach the surface
25	A shaving mirror bouncing sunlight into a sniper’s scope
26	Refrigerator coils rigged to ice over a doorway
31	A PA system feedback loop loud enough to drop a room full of guards
32	A car jack wedging a closing blast door open
33	A vacuum cleaner run in reverse to inflate a life raft
34	A rooftop TV antenna boosting a walkie-talkie’s range across the city
35	An air conditioning duct pumping out smoke to fake a fire alarm
36	A home gym’s pulleys and cables rigged to lift something far too heavy
41	A washing machine drum used as a shield
42	A smoke screen cooked up from a half-remembered chemistry class and the contents of a pool shed
43	A garage door opener reprogrammed to trigger the villain’s own device
44	An aquarium pump siphoning the fuel out of the getaway car
45	A photocopier and a steady hand, producing a passable security badge
46	An intercom system rewired so the hero can listen to every room in the building
51	A sprinkler system turned into a way to wash knockout gas out of the air
52	A treadmill belt pulled free and used to slide a heavy crate across the floor
53	A kitchen blender full of something the hero warns everyone not to try at home
54	A slide projector throwing the hero’s silhouette on the far wall as a decoy
55	A dishwasher’s pump turned into a high-pressure water cannon
56	A coffee maker’s timer switch used to start something at exactly 3 a.m.
61	A leaf blower clearing tear gas out of a hallway
62	Hot tub jets repurposed to push a diver through a flooded tunnel
63	A mechanic’s creeper used to slide under a closing security door
64	A string of Christmas lights wired into an electrified tripwire
65	A barbecue grill’s propane tank, a lighter, and a very quick exit
66	Ceiling fan blades bolted to a lawnmower engine, for one very short flight

Cold Open Scenarios

D66	Cold Open
11	A motorcycle chase through narrow alleys ends with the hero airborne over a fruit cart
12	An explosion rips through a yacht’s upper deck in the middle of a cocktail party
13	A figure in a tuxedo scales the embassy wall with a grappling hook and a bottle of champagne
14	A helicopter chases a stolen sports car across a neon-lit skyline
15	A sports car comes through the front window of a jewelry store, backwards
16	A scuba diver surfaces in a hotel swimming pool holding a waterproof briefcase
21	A sniper’s crosshairs settle on a penthouse window where a toast is being made
22	A hang glider lands on a corporate rooftop just as the CEO’s helicopter touches down
23	A limousine is ambushed in the pickup lane at the international airport
24	A secret lab in the Alps goes up in a fireball, and one figure walks out of the smoke
25	A speedboat tears through a marina full of yachts with a pursuer close behind
26	An elevator drops twenty floors with the hero inside, then jolts to a stop
31	A private jet makes an emergency landing on a two-lane desert highway
32	A cave dive turns up the conning tower of a submarine that shouldn’t be there
33	A high-stakes poker game ends when the dealer pulls a gun
34	Armed men on skis chase the hero down a slope as an avalanche breaks above them
35	A Grand Prix practice lap turns into a shootout in the pit lane
36	A museum gala goes dark, and when the lights come back the centerpiece is gone
41	The lights go out at a diplomatic reception, and a shot rings out in the dark
42	Two men fight on a construction crane forty stories above downtown
43	A meeting in a wine cellar ends when someone smells gas
44	A vintage car rally covers an arms deal at the halfway checkpoint
45	An astronomer spots something on the radar screen that’s no meteor
46	A beach resort evacuates ahead of a hurricane, and one guest refuses to leave
51	Masked men walk into a board meeting and take the whole room hostage
52	A foot chase through a subway tunnel, a maintenance train bearing down
53	A rooftop pursuit across tenement buildings, each gap wider than the last
54	A harbor warehouse fire exposes crates that aren’t what the manifest says
55	A cable car full of tourists is seized halfway up the mountain
56	A model runs off the runway mid-show, straight past the hero, two bodyguards in pursuit
61	A helicopter assault hits a penthouse meeting through the windows
62	A bridge collapses with the hero, and the only copy of the evidence, still on it
63	Hijackers take over an airport control tower at the busiest hour of the day
64	A dinner guest collapses at a mansion party, and the host calmly keeps serving
65	Alarms sound at a chemical plant upriver from a sleeping city
66	An embassy extraction goes wrong, and the hero’s contact is left behind

Episode Titles

D66	Episode Title
11	“The Monaco Connection”
12	“Dead Drop Dangerous”
13	“Swiss Account Murder”
14	“The Malibu Conspiracy”
15	“Code Name: Paradise”
16	“The Istanbul Express”
21	“Diamonds Are Deadly”
22	“Nobody Dies in Paradise”
23	“Caribbean Death Trap”
24	“The Tokyo Protocol”
25	“Murder at 30,000 Feet”
26	“The Berlin Gambit”
31	“Silent Partners”
32	“The Riviera Deception”
33	“Tropical Storm Warning”
34	“The London Underground”
35	“Golden Gate Conspiracy”
36	“Hot Wheels, Cold Cash”
41	“Midnight in Miami”
42	“The Vatican Papers”
43	“Hawaiian Heat Wave”
44	“Somebody’s Watching”
45	“Double Cross at Dawn”
46	“Smoke and Mirrors”
51	“Arctic Ice Conspiracy”
52	“Kiss the Witness Goodbye”
53	“Silicon Valley Secrets”
54	“One Last Favor”
55	“Cancun Cover-Up”
56	“The Vienna Vendetta”
61	“Brazilian Burnout”
62	“The Geneva Convention”
63	“Thai Triangle Trouble”
64	“The Barcelona Betrayal”
65	“Dead Air”
66	“The Ultimate Deception”

Cliffhanger Moments

D66	Cliffhanger
11	The hero is locked in a sealed tank as seawater pours in
12	The bomb’s red display hits thirty seconds, and there are two wires left
13	The hero’s trusted partner steps out of the shadows, gun raised
14	The brakes are gone, and the road ends at a cliff
15	A file reveals the hero’s own past was invented by the Agency
16	A dart in the neck, and the room starts to blur
21	The elevator cable snaps with the hero still inside
22	A virus in the defense computer starts a launch countdown nobody can stop
23	The hero’s love interest takes a phone call in fluent Russian
24	The plane’s last engine coughs and dies over shark-infested water
25	The charges in the foundation start ticking, and the doors are chained shut
26	The villain offers a choice: the hostage or the escape plane, not both
31	The parachute doesn’t open
32	A containment door fails in the lab, and the alarms start screaming
33	The hero wakes strapped to a chair beneath a machine built to erase memories
34	The speedboat engine dies in the middle of a storm, miles from shore
35	A tape starts playing the hero’s own voice confessing to something terrible
36	The nemesis, supposed to be dead, walks through the door smiling
41	The floor drops away into a pit beneath the villain’s study
42	The radio goes dead just as the hero calls for backup
43	The only evidence that clears an innocent is burning in the fireplace
44	The fuel gauge hits empty halfway through the chase
45	Photographs arrive that will end an ally’s career unless the hero backs off
46	The submarine starts an emergency dive with the hero still aboard
51	The hero’s gun jams with three armed men closing in
52	The ice starts cracking under the hero’s feet
53	A needle of truth serum, and the hero starts talking
54	The freezer door slams shut, and the thermostat starts dropping
55	A child wanders into the line of fire
56	The hero’s air line is cut, fifty feet under the facility
61	An earthquake hits in the middle of the ransom handoff
62	The hero’s face appears on live television, cover blown
63	The rope starts fraying halfway down the cliff
64	The villain reveals the bomb is wired to the hero’s own pulse
65	The villain’s escape triggers an avalanche heading straight for the lodge
66	The hero wakes in a strange room with no memory of the last two days

Plot Twist Generator

D66	Plot Twist
11	The victim who hired the hero is the mastermind behind it all
12	The hero’s government contact has been reporting to the other side
13	The stolen technology never worked; someone is selling a fake
14	The nemesis turns out to be the hero’s presumed-dead parent
15	The rescue mission was a trap from the very first phone call
16	The innocent bystander is an undercover agent working the same case
21	The real crime was committed by the hero’s closest ally
22	The hero has been drugged for days without realizing it
23	The criminal organization is a government black operation
24	The hero’s lost love is alive and working for the enemy
25	Every piece of evidence the hero collected was planted to be found
26	The hero’s mechanic has been sabotaging the car for a price
31	The whole case is a loyalty test set by the hero’s own agency
32	The hero’s memories of an old mission were put there by someone else
33	The villain’s plan succeeds, and now the hero has to deal with the aftermath
34	The case is one small piece of a much bigger conspiracy
35	The missing person staged their own disappearance
36	The hero’s backup team has been replaced by impostors
41	The assassination target is the hero
42	Solving the case will expose something the hero did years ago
43	The culprit is the hero’s double, surgically made to match
44	The mission briefing was fiction from start to finish
45	The person the hero came to rescue doesn’t want to be rescued
46	The extraction point is already in enemy hands
51	The villain’s death was faked to throw off the pursuit
52	The hero’s radio has been broadcasting every word to the villain
53	The stolen item was stolen from someone else first, years ago, by the ‘victim’
54	Someone has been committing crimes under the hero’s name
55	Two villains are working the same angle, and they hate each other more than the hero
56	The whole town is a staged set, built to fool the hero
61	The criminal is breaking the law to protect innocent people
62	The hero’s equipment was built to fail at the crucial moment
63	The culprit is a member of the hero’s own family
64	The villain is a fan of the hero and staged the whole case to meet them
65	The person being rescued has already escaped, and is now the one doing the hunting
66	The hero’s own team has been working against them all along

Climax Settings

D66	Climax Location
11	The deck of a luxury yacht in a violent storm at sea
12	A revolving restaurant at the top of a skyscraper, still turning
13	A research station on the rim of an active volcano
14	A missile silo with the launch countdown already running
15	An oil platform with the drilling floor on fire
16	A space shuttle cargo bay in low orbit
21	The roof of a freight train crossing a mountain trestle
22	An undersea research station losing pressure one bulkhead at a time
23	A collapsing mine shaft with the air running out
24	An aircraft hangar in a thunderstorm, lightning hammering the tin roof
25	A carnival funhouse rigged with real traps
26	An ice hotel melting from sabotage, one wall at a time
31	A casino vault in the middle of a robbery
32	A television studio during a live national broadcast
33	An opera house chandelier, high above a full audience
34	A packed stadium during the championship game
35	A cruise ship engine room in heavy seas
36	A cathedral bell tower during a society wedding
41	A chemical plant with a tank leaking something green
42	An airport runway with a crippled airliner coming in to land
43	A roller coaster at full speed, with the villain in the front car
44	A hotel ballroom in the middle of a diplomatic reception
45	The arm of a construction crane high above the city
46	A submarine torpedo room during a crash dive
51	An observatory dome opening onto a meteor shower
52	A wine cellar during an earthquake, bottles bursting on every rack
53	An ice rink during the hockey final
54	An art gallery during an exclusive auction
55	A lighthouse tower in the middle of a hurricane
56	A rail yard switching tower at rush hour
61	A hospital operating theater with surgery underway
62	A radio telescope dish in the middle of a transmission
63	A glass conservatory filling with chemical fumes
64	A racetrack during the final laps
65	A clock tower mechanism room as midnight strikes
66	A penthouse pool party, forty floors up

Epilogue Outcomes

D66	Episode Resolution
11	A government official pins a medal on the hero, then quietly asks a favor
12	A sunset on the beach with the person the hero rescued
13	The hero drives off into the neon night as the theme music swells
14	The villain is led away in handcuffs, swearing revenge
15	The hero relaxes on a beach with a tropical drink, until the phone rings
16	A newspaper headline celebrates the hero and spells their name wrong
21	A grateful client sends a gift far too expensive to accept
22	The villain falls into their own trap
23	The hero’s car gets a slow-motion reveal in the morning light
24	The people the hero protected go back to their ordinary lives
25	The hero walks away from an explosion without looking back
26	The government covers up the whole incident, hero included
31	The mayor hands the hero a key to the city
32	A romantic dinner is interrupted by a call about the next case
33	The hero’s name starts turning up in foreign newspapers
34	A grateful family makes the hero an honorary member
35	The hero parks the exotic vehicle under a tarp until next time
36	Without its leader, the villain’s organization falls apart
41	A hidden note from someone the hero helped says thank you
42	Evidence everyone thought destroyed turns up in a safe-deposit box
43	The hero’s example inspires a whole town to stand up for itself
44	A secret government agency offers the hero a job
45	The nemesis sends a grudging note of respect
46	A peace agreement gets signed because of what the hero uncovered
51	A wealthy client leaves the hero something in their will
52	The villain, released years later, opens a soup kitchen
53	The hero’s improvised gadget turns up in a mail-order catalog
54	A university the hero saved awards them an honorary degree
55	A missing person comes home to a family that never stopped waiting
56	The hero’s vehicle comes back from the shop with a few new features
61	A charity foundation is set up in the hero’s name
62	A foreign government grants the hero a standing welcome
63	A former enemy calls to say they owe the hero one
64	An international incident never happens, and nobody knows why
65	A grateful corporation offers the hero an expense account with no ceiling
66	The hero heads for the horizon, already on the way to the next adventure

Evidence Types

D66	Evidence Discovered
11	A floppy disk labeled in someone else’s handwriting, full of financial records
12	A Polaroid catching two people together who claim they’ve never met
13	A handwritten note in a foreign language, coordinates circled twice
14	Chemical residue on a crate marked as “agricultural supplies”
15	A cassette that was recording when it shouldn’t have been
16	A wine glass with a print that doesn’t match anyone at the table
21	Tire tracks from a car too expensive for this neighborhood
22	A scrap of designer fabric snagged on a chain-link fence
23	A radio frequency that keeps turning up on the same dial setting
24	An account number traced through three shell companies to one island bank
25	A key that doesn’t fit any lock anyone will admit to owning
26	A blood sample with chemical markers no hospital lab can place
31	An airline ticket stub for a flight that was never on the manifest
32	A hotel registration under a name that’s spelled wrong on purpose
33	A shipping manifest listing cargo that doesn’t match the crate weight
34	A phone number scrawled on a matchbook that traces to a dead line
35	Security footage with three seconds spliced clean out of the middle
36	A partial fingerprint lifted from a glass, matched to a file that was supposed to be sealed
41	A coded message buried in a newspaper’s classified section
42	An ammunition casing from a weapon that isn’t sold on this continent
43	Medical records for a patient who checked in under a name that isn’t theirs
44	An authentication certificate that proves the “original” is a fake
45	A geological survey with a page conspicuously missing
46	An excavation report that undercounts everything actually found on site
51	An insurance policy naming a beneficiary nobody’s ever heard of
52	An employment record for a company with no listed address
53	A visa with entry stamps for a border that was closed that week
54	Lab results proving a “clean” water supply is anything but
55	A service record with a mission redacted so heavily it’s mostly black ink
56	A university transcript for classes that were never on the syllabus
61	A customs declaration that lists a container’s contents as machine parts
62	A prescription bottle for a drug that isn’t approved for sale here
63	A property deed transferred the same week the owner went missing
64	A shortwave radio set tuned to a frequency nobody’s supposed to use
65	A formula scrawled on a napkin, half-burned before anyone could stop it
66	A stack of photographs meant for one person’s eyes only

Information Sources

D66	Who Has the Information You Need
11	The bartender who’s poured drinks for every player in this town for a decade
12	The cab driver whose backseat has heard every deal in the city
13	The hotel concierge who can get a table, a passport, or a name
14	The retired case officer who swore he was done, and almost means it
15	The designer who dresses everyone worth knowing at the gala
16	The card dealer trained to notice a tell before the player does
21	The yacht club commodore who’s watched every boat in the marina for years
22	The gallery owner who knows exactly which “private collector” isn’t real
23	The professor whose obscure specialty just became very relevant
24	The diplomatic courier one indiscreet drink away from talking
25	The mechanic who services cars for people who never ask about the bill
26	The personal trainer who hears more in the gym than any confessional
31	The antique dealer who’s moved more than one piece that wasn’t for sale
32	The charter pilot who’s flown to airstrips that aren’t on any map
33	The jeweler who can tell a stone’s origin, and its owner’s story, on sight
34	The restaurant owner who seats every deal at the same corner table
35	The night guard who’s noticed the same face pass through the exhibit twice
36	The travel agent who books itineraries that don’t add up
41	The photographer whose contact sheet has one frame too many
42	The archivist who still has the microfiche nobody thought to burn
43	The bank manager who flagged a transfer and then got told to forget it
44	The doorman who’s seen every late-night visitor this building’s ever had
45	The florist whose delivery van has a standing order for a very quiet address
46	The accountant who’s cooked the books for one client too many
51	The executive assistant who types every memo before it’s supposed to exist
52	The caddy who’s overheard more deals than any boardroom
53	The masseur at the spa who hears everything and repeats nothing, for a price
54	The chauffeur who’s driven half the city somewhere they shouldn’t have gone
55	The switchboard operator who logs every call whether she’s told to or not
56	The office cleaner who empties wastebaskets nobody thought to shred
61	The translator brought in for one meeting too sensitive to trust to anyone else
62	The claims investigator who found the fraud and got told to bury it
63	The customs officer who’s seen the same crate pass through under three names
64	The real estate agent who’s sold three properties to the same shell company
65	The systems technician who still has the access codes nobody revoked
66	The old associate looking for one clean job to make up for the others

Red Herrings

D66	False Lead or Misdirection
11	A parolee with a record who’s actually gone straight
12	A dry cleaner’s back room that looks a lot more suspicious than it is
13	A false name adopted for reasons that have nothing to do with this case
14	A matchbook planted at the scene to point the finger elsewhere
15	A decoy shipment moving in plain sight to cover the real one
16	A crime scene staged just convincingly enough to fool a first look
21	A double agent feeding the hero exactly what they want to hear
22	A perfectly innocent late-night meeting that looks like anything but
23	A legal transaction dressed up to look like a payoff
24	A lookalike in the same trench coat, at the same hotel, on the same night
25	A witness who just happened to be standing in the wrong doorway
26	Forged paperwork built to sink someone who had nothing to do with it
31	A rival outfit taking the blame for a job it never pulled
32	A faulty gauge throwing every reading off by exactly the wrong amount
33	A witness whose memory of the getaway car keeps changing
34	A second building on the same street mistaken for the real address
35	A blackmail victim acting suspicious for a reason that isn’t the case at hand
36	A government operation that was never meant to be seen, let alone understood
41	A false-flag job built specifically to frame someone else for it
42	A cleaning crew with keys to a place they have no idea is criminal
43	A conversation overheard through a wall, missing everything that gave it context
44	A cash withdrawal that looks like a payoff and is actually rent
45	An alibi that falls apart on paper, and holds up perfectly once the time zones are sorted
46	A face changed just enough by a surgeon’s scalpel to throw off an old contact
51	A courier forced into carrying something they never asked to carry
52	A legal but rotten deal that reads exactly like an illegal one
53	A gesture that means one thing here and something else entirely back home
54	A shopkeeper whose brother happens to run with the wrong crowd
55	A car accident staged just clean enough to bury a trail
56	A confession signed under pressure that doesn’t match a single fact on record
61	A courier who has no idea what they’re actually carrying
62	A real emergency that just happens to look exactly like a cover story
63	A witness who’s certain about the wrong car’s make and color
64	A collector whose harmless hobby looks a lot like tradecraft from the outside
65	Forged papers that are almost, but not quite, good enough
66	A patsy set up so well they start to believe it themselves

Breakthrough Moments

D66	How the Case Breaks Open
11	The villain lets a name slip that only the real culprit would know
12	A phone booth conversation runs three sentences too long
13	A lab report ties two “unrelated” cases to the same chemical signature
14	Surveillance film catches a face nobody expected in that room
15	A paper trail through three shell companies lands on the mastermind’s desk
16	A former partner decides loyalty isn’t worth what it used to be
21	A pattern emerges once three separate incidents get pinned to the same corkboard
22	A garbled radio transmission names the next target, if you know how to listen
23	A fingerprint on file links a suspect to a scene nobody connected before
24	A stolen ledger opens a door nobody thought could be opened
25	A frightened witness finally decides silence isn’t safer anymore
26	Two cases that never should have touched turn out to share a client
31	Digging into the villain’s past turns up a grudge that explains everything
32	A hidden camera catches the one meeting that was never supposed to exist
33	An appraiser’s authentication proves the “masterpiece” is a fake
34	A chemical signature under the microscope matches a very specific source
35	A face across a crowded room turns out to be an old score, unsettled
36	A rescued hostage remembers more than their captors think they do
41	The villain lets slip exactly where the evidence is hidden
42	Following the money through three shell corporations lands on the truth
43	An accent, a phrase, a turn of speech: something narrows down where the villain learned to talk
44	A weakness surfaces, the kind that comes from watching someone closely enough
45	A pattern in the schedule reveals exactly when the villain is most exposed
46	A personal diary, left behind in a moment of carelessness, says too much
51	A member of the organization walks in ready to trade everything for immunity
52	A detail dismissed three scenes ago turns out to be the whole answer
53	A cover story collapses the moment someone checks a single date
54	The real motive surfaces, and it’s smaller and sadder than anyone expected
55	A single piece of physical evidence puts the villain at the scene, no argument left
56	A meeting gets infiltrated clean, and everything said in that room becomes leverage
61	A piece of the villain’s own technology gets turned against them
62	A local case turns out to be one thread in something much larger
63	A desperate move to silence a witness backfires spectacularly
64	Stolen plans reveal exactly what happens next, and when
65	The villain’s past victims find each other, and their stories finally line up
66	The case that seemed solved turns out to have been the wrong case all along

Investigation Obstacles

D66	What Blocks Your Progress
11	The one witness who saw everything is too frightened to say a word
12	The evidence locker catches fire the night before the hearing
13	A city official who owes the wrong people a favor blocks the paper trail
14	A threat lands on someone the hero actually cares about
15	A planted rumor sends the whole investigation down the wrong street
16	Clearance that should have been a formality gets pulled without explanation
21	The one building that matters gets sealed off for an “emergency” that feels staged
22	The key suspect boards a flight to a country with no extradition treaty
23	A break-in leaves the file room stripped bare
24	A frame job puts the hero’s own name on the case file
25	The only witness speaks a dialect nobody in a hundred miles can translate
26	A court order arrives, and it isn’t on the hero’s side
31	A storm closes every road out before anyone can act on what they’ve learned
32	Customs confiscates every piece of gear at the worst possible checkpoint
33	A staged crisis pulls every available resource in the wrong direction
34	The informant who had the answer turns up dead an hour before the meeting
35	Every phone line the hero uses is already being listened to
36	A diplomatic passport makes an untouchable suspect exactly that
41	A “contamination scare” shuts the one lab that could run the test
42	A velvet rope and a badge keep the hero three feet from where they need to be
43	The one person with real answers has vanished into witness protection
44	A payoff turns a reliable contact cold overnight
45	A cut brake line turns a routine drive into the obstacle itself
46	A manufactured emergency across town pulls attention from the real crime
51	The evidence that matters most sits behind a clearance nobody will grant
52	Frozen accounts turn a simple expense into a real problem
53	Someone’s been using the hero’s name to commit crimes of their own
54	A leak to the press turns a quiet investigation into a circus
55	An old mistake resurfaces at the worst possible moment
56	A border slams shut over a political crisis that has nothing to do with the case
61	A rival investigator with a badge and no patience starts asking the same questions
62	Someone on the inside has been feeding the other side every move
63	This one has gotten personal, and it’s starting to show
64	The clock runs out before all the pieces are actually in place
65	The hero’s own methods land them on the wrong side of the law
66	The whole operation goes quiet the moment it senses it’s being watched

Witness Types

D66	Witness Character and Situation
11	An elderly neighbor who saw everything through a lace curtain, and won’t admit it
12	A child who knows exactly what happened and no way to say it out loud
13	The villain’s own spouse, ready to talk in exchange for a plane ticket out
14	A night guard who looked the other way for a fee he now regrets
15	A tourist whose vacation photos accidentally caught the whole thing
16	A rival journalist sitting on the same story, unwilling to share a byline
21	A former employee fired the week before everything went wrong
22	A tow-truck driver who hauled away a car that was never reported stolen
23	A maid who cleaned up after something she was told not to ask about
24	A mechanic who’s serviced the getaway car three times this month
25	An accountant who found the second set of books and can’t sleep since
26	An ER nurse who patched up a gunshot wound and filed no report
31	A lifeguard who saw it all from the tower, and was told it was a drowning
32	A ham radio operator who picked up a transmission he wasn’t meant to hear
33	A construction foreman who built a room that isn’t on the blueprints
34	A flight attendant who served the suspect on a flight he says he never took
35	A bank teller who processed a transfer that made her hands shake
36	An appraiser who authenticated a piece she’s now certain was stolen
41	A programmer who wrote code for a client who never explained what it was for
42	A caterer who’s served drinks at meetings that ended in raised voices
43	A nun who heard a confession she can’t repeat and can’t forget
44	A jeweler who recognized a stone he sold years ago under a different name
45	A paperboy whose route passes the house at 5:30 every morning
46	A drive-in projectionist who saw more through the booth window than on the screen
51	A hospital orderly who moved a patient the records say was never admitted
52	A telephone repairman who was up the pole outside when it happened
53	A surfer who watched the boat go out with three people and come back with two
54	A street musician on the same corner every night, who noticed the same car every night
55	A garbage collector who found something in a dumpster and kept it
56	A dog walker with a fixed route and a very good memory for faces
61	A museum guide who’s noticed the same “tourist” circling the same case for days
62	A clerk who stamped a passport she’s fairly sure wasn’t genuine
63	A photo lab technician who developed a roll of film he can’t stop thinking about
64	A schoolteacher whose student mentioned something she can’t un-hear
65	A retired cop who’s kept a case file the department closed too fast
66	A shopkeeper who’s watched the same men meet in his back room for months

Chase Complications

D66	Chase Complication
11	A construction site forces a detour through a maze of scaffolding
12	The drawbridge starts rising just as both cars reach it
13	Rush hour turns the freeway into an obstacle course
14	Road work squeezes the highway down to a single lane of cones
15	A thunderstorm drops visibility to a few car lengths
16	A police roadblock forces both cars down a side street
21	The fuel light comes on with ten miles still to go
22	A tire blows out on a high-speed turn
23	The radio fills with static just when the hero needs directions
24	A school zone, and a crossing guard stepping into the road
25	The last ferry is already pulling away from the dock
26	A plane taxiing across the runway the hero is using as a road
31	A motorcycle gang joins the chase, and nobody knows whose side they’re on
32	A tour bus stalls on a narrow mountain road
33	The drawbridge jams halfway up
34	An ice storm turns the road into a skating rink
35	A parade blocks the only street out of town
36	A harbor crane swings its load across the pursuit path
41	A herd of cattle wanders onto a rural highway
42	The railroad crossing gate comes down with no train in sight, and then the train appears
43	A street fair packs the road with pedestrians
44	A jackknifed fuel truck blocks every lane of the freeway
45	Fog rolls in off the ocean and swallows the coast road
46	The engine starts making a noise that means it won’t last
51	Bystanders force the hero to choose between speed and safety
52	Fire trucks racing to an unrelated emergency cut across the intersection
53	A flash flood has washed out the road ahead
54	The chase crosses into a restricted military zone
55	The setting sun blinds the hero on a westbound straightaway
56	An illegal street race is already using the road
61	The harbor master raises every bridge at once
62	Runway construction forces the plane onto a taxiway
63	A carnival parade with floats the size of houses
64	An industrial accident closes the main road under a chemical cloud
65	The engine overheats, steam pouring out from under the hood
66	A crash up ahead: the hero can keep chasing or stop to pull someone out

Combat Environments

D66	Combat Location
11	A yacht deck in a storm, the rail the only thing between the fight and the sea
12	A casino floor, between rows of clanging slot machines
13	An art museum, where every missed punch lands on something priceless
14	A hotel kitchen full of knives, open flames, and boiling stockpots
15	A construction site with a bulldozer nobody’s driving
16	An airport apron, jet engines spooling up on every side
21	A shopping mall on the busiest Saturday before Christmas
22	An observatory, fighting around the base of a giant telescope
23	A wine cellar, a hundred years of vintages within arm’s reach
24	An automatic car wash, spinning brushes and all
25	An ice rink during hockey practice, where nobody has steady footing
26	An aquarium’s glass tunnel, sharks circling overhead
31	A greenhouse full of exotic plants, some of them poisonous
32	A radio station during a live broadcast, every grunt going out on the air
33	A penthouse pool deck with glass walls on three sides
34	A factory assembly line that won’t stop moving
35	A nightclub full of strobe lights and music too loud to shout over
36	A submarine engine room hissing with steam
41	A ski lodge great room, the fireplace roaring
42	A carnival hall of mirrors, where nobody can tell who’s real
43	A hospital operating theater with a patient still on the table
44	The pit lane of a race in progress
45	A television studio during a live taping, the audience applauding at all the wrong moments
46	A chemistry lab full of unlabeled glassware
51	The inside of a clock tower, between turning gears
52	A subway platform at rush hour
53	The cargo hold of a plane in flight
54	A mine shaft held up by rotten beams
55	The stage of an opera house mid-performance
56	An oil platform deck, the sea churning far below
61	A mission control room during a launch
62	An archaeological dig, fighting over something that mustn’t be broken
63	An elevator shaft, between two moving cars
64	A jewelry store crisscrossed by alarm lasers
65	A martial arts tournament in front of a paying crowd
66	A revolving restaurant with a view of the whole city

Escape Routes

D66	Escape Method
11	A motorcycle through alleys too narrow for the pursuing car
12	A speedboat out through the marina channels
13	A helicopter lifting off the rooftop pad as the stairwell door bursts open
14	A zip line strung between two office towers
15	The maintenance tunnels under the building
16	A hot air balloon cut loose from a festival in the park
21	A jet ski out across the harbor
22	A parasail launched off a coastal cliff
23	A cable car across a mountain valley
24	A subway tunnel, walking the maintenance catwalk
25	The storm drains under the city streets
26	A shipping container on a freighter about to sail
31	A hang glider off the building’s roof
32	Straight down a black-diamond ski run
33	A rubber raft down the river rapids
34	The arm of a construction crane, swung across to the next building
35	An underground parking garage with six exits
36	The service elevator down to the loading dock
41	The ventilation ducts, one crawlspace at a time
42	A zigzag down a fire escape
43	A gondola lift over the ski resort
44	The roof of a theme park monorail
45	The roof of a moving subway train
46	A slide down a frozen waterfall
51	A parachute jump from a cargo plane
52	A bungee cord off a suspension bridge
53	The water slide at the hotel pool complex
54	An old coal chute in an abandoned mine
55	The laundry chute in a luxury hotel
56	A plane ditched in the harbor, and a long swim to shore
61	A siege catapult at a castle converted into a resort
62	A rocket sled on a desert test range
63	A toboggan run through the forest
64	An underground river through a limestone cave
65	A factory conveyor belt out to the loading bay
66	An ejector seat from a plane that isn’t going to land

Stunt Opportunities

D66	Spectacular Stunt Moment
11	Leaping from one moving truck to another on the freeway
12	Swinging across a gorge on a rope
13	Sliding under a security door a second before it seals
14	Diving through a plate-glass window and rolling to a stop unhurt
15	Riding the roof of a subway train as it enters a tunnel
16	Pole-vaulting over an electrified fence
21	Jumping a motorcycle across the gap of an opening drawbridge
22	Leaping from an exploding building to a helicopter’s landing skid
23	Skiing off a cliff edge and landing on the slope below
24	Swinging from a chandelier across a crowded ballroom
25	Sliding down a grand banister into a room full of guards
26	Jumping from a crane hook onto a rooftop
31	Diving through a waterfall into a hidden cave
32	Leaping from a galloping horse onto a moving train
33	Parachuting onto the deck of a moving yacht
34	Going hand over hand along a power line
35	Jumping between elevator cars in a shaft
36	Leaping from a low-flying plane onto a mountainside snowfield
41	Riding an avalanche down the mountain on skis
42	Jumping from a speedboat onto a seaplane’s float as it takes off
43	Leaping a gap between rooftops that shouldn’t be leapable
44	Swinging from a crane’s hook into an open window
45	Running through a fireball and coming out the other side
46	Jumping from a hotel balcony into the pool five stories down
51	A motorcycle jump through a ring of fire
52	A leap from a hovering helicopter onto an oil rig
53	Jumping between gondola cars over a canyon
54	Bailing out of a race car at full speed
55	Swinging across a river on a hanging vine
56	Launching off a building’s roof with a hang glider strapped on
61	Climbing from one airborne plane to another
62	Hopping across a lava field on cooling rocks
63	Jumping from a sinking yacht to a rescue helicopter’s ladder
64	Swinging from a flagpole into an embassy window
65	Leaping between drifting ice floes
66	Hanging from the landing gear of a plane as it takes off

Environmental Hazards

D66	Natural or Artificial Danger
11	A flash flood roaring down a dry desert canyon
12	An avalanche set off by the villain’s explosives
13	A tropical storm with hurricane-force winds
14	A volcano waking up, lava cutting off the road
15	An earthquake bringing the building down
16	A forest fire racing up the hillside
21	A toxic gas leak in a chemical plant
22	A radiation leak in a research lab
23	A chemical spill spreading a deadly fog over the valley
24	An electrical storm over a field full of metal towers
25	Quicksand on a jungle trail
26	A blizzard with zero visibility
31	A landslide burying the mountain road
32	A tidal wave heading for the coast
33	A sandstorm sweeping across the desert
34	An ice storm turning every surface to glass
35	A mudslide after three days of rain
36	A sinkhole opening in the middle of a city street
41	A geyser field where the ground itself is too hot to cross
42	Runoff from a chemical plant turning the rain acidic
43	Methane building up in a sealed tunnel
44	A solar flare scrambling every radio and computer
45	A magnetic storm sending compasses spinning
46	Smog trapped over the city by a temperature inversion
51	A whirlpool in a narrow strait
52	A rockfall inside a mountain tunnel
53	Arctic permafrost giving way underfoot
54	A dust devil ripping across an open airstrip
55	A flash freeze glazing a mountain pass with ice
56	A waterspout spinning across the bay
61	Ground fog so thick the hero can’t see their own feet
62	Hail the size of golf balls
63	Lightning striking a fuel depot
64	A tornado touching down on the edge of town
65	A glacier calving into the fjord and sending a wave down the channel
66	Burning meteor fragments raining across the desert

Last-Minute Saves

D66	How Hero Snatches Victory
11	The improvised gadget works exactly once, exactly when it’s needed
12	The villain’s own trap snaps shut on the villain
13	An ally arrives with reinforcements, just in time
14	An obscure fact from the hero’s past turns out to be the key
15	The weather turns in the hero’s favor
16	The hero finds the villain’s weak spot and hits it
21	The hero’s reputation convinces a henchman to switch sides
22	Evidence planted an act ago finally turns up where it’s needed
23	A modification to the hero’s vehicle pays off at the last second
24	A bystander steps in to help when nobody expected it
25	The hero’s refusal to compromise inspires someone else to act
26	A glitch in the villain’s system works in the hero’s favor
31	The hero’s crazy plan works against all odds
32	The villain’s arrogance leads to one fatal mistake
33	The hero’s stamina outlasts the villain’s
34	A detail everyone ignored turns out to decide everything
35	The hero’s network of contacts comes through all at once
36	Nature itself intervenes: a wave, a gust, a falling tree
41	The hero’s sacrifice gets everyone else moving
42	The villain’s own people turn on their leader
43	The hero reads the villain perfectly
44	Broken equipment starts working again at the last possible moment
45	A split-second idea turns a defeat into a victory
46	The villain’s plan has one flaw, and the hero finds it
51	The hero’s charm wins over the people pointing guns
52	Perfect timing: the hero is exactly where they need to be
53	Something the hero packed “just in case” turns out to be exactly the thing
54	The villain’s attachment to someone becomes their undoing
55	The hero trusts someone, and the trust pays off
56	A small improvisation sets off a chain reaction
61	The hero knows the building better than the people who own it
62	The villain underestimates the hero one time too many
63	The hero’s stand brings a whole crowd over to their side
64	An ally everyone thought dead walks back in
65	The hero’s name alone makes someone stand down
66	The hero takes a leap of faith, and lands it

Social Events

D66	Gathering Where Information Can Be Found
11	An embassy reception with more attachés than actual diplomats
12	A charity gala where the wine costs more than the donations raised
13	An art auction with three bidders who never once look at the paintings
14	A fashion show where the real business happens backstage, not on the runway
15	A private wine tasting at a vineyard that never seems to sell to the public
16	A dinner celebrating a merger that half the room is furious about
21	A museum opening where the guest list matters more than the exhibit
22	A university fundraiser stacked with names that don’t fit an academic budget
23	A hospital charity ball thrown by a donor who’s never set foot in the ward
24	An opera premiere where the real drama is in the boxes, not on stage
25	A country club tournament where the real game happens on the nineteenth hole
26	A yacht club regatta with boats too expensive to actually race hard
31	A film festival premiere crawling with people who never watch the movies
32	A casino’s grand opening, comped tables and all
33	A hotel’s reopening party, complete with a ribbon nobody important actually cuts
34	A restaurant anniversary dinner where the owner knows everyone’s usual order and secret
35	A political fundraiser with a suggested donation nobody actually suggests
36	A business conference’s cocktail hour, where the real deals get made after the panels end
41	A scientific symposium reception with more corporate sponsors than scientists
42	An archaeological society dinner arguing over a find that isn’t officially public yet
43	A private viewing for antique dealers who all recognize each other’s tells
44	A jewelry exhibition preview with a security detail bigger than the guest list
45	A concert intermission where half the lobby is doing business, not talking music
46	A dance competition’s social hour, all small talk and bigger stakes
51	A wedding reception for a family that never invites strangers, and somehow just did
52	A graduation reception where every proud parent seems to know each other already
53	A retirement party for an official who knows exactly where every body is buried
54	A birthday party thrown for a celebrity who barely shows up to their own event
55	An anniversary dinner at a restaurant that’s never once taken a walk-in
56	A book launch for an author whose publisher seems awfully nervous tonight
61	A tennis tournament’s sponsor dinner, all handshakes and quiet leverage
62	A horse racing season opener where the real betting happens off the books
63	A sailing competition’s awards ceremony, trophies and tension in equal measure
64	An aviation show’s VIP reception, hangar doors open and guard down
65	A trade conference’s evening mixer, name tags and loose tongues
66	A peace summit reception where the toasts are warmer than the actual talks

Cover Identities

D66	Who You Pretend to Be
11	A wealthy collector shopping for a new acquisition
12	A consultant flown in from the head office to “review the numbers”
13	A documentary crew of one, camera bag and all
14	A late addition to an archaeological expedition roster
15	A researcher presenting at a conference that runs one day too long
16	A junior attaché from an embassy nobody bothers to double-check
21	A banker with an accent that suggests offshore, not local
22	A photographer with a press pass for a magazine that’s technically real
23	An expert brought in to evaluate a private wine collection
24	An insurance adjuster here to assess a very convenient claim
25	A journalist chasing a tech story that’s suddenly very relevant
26	A visiting professor on sabbatical, notebook always in hand
31	A developer scouting the property for “future opportunities”
32	A security consultant hired to find the very holes being exploited
33	A courier with a package that absolutely cannot wait
34	A philanthropist evaluating where the next donation should go
35	An agent here to sign a client nobody’s heard of yet
36	A talent scout with a business card and nothing to back it up
41	A dealer here to appraise a collection someone’s eager to sell fast
42	A scientist conducting a study that conveniently requires full access
43	A travel writer here to review the place, notebook and all
44	A cultural attaché promoting an exchange program that doesn’t quite exist
45	An advisor managing a portfolio that’s suddenly gotten very interesting
46	A technical writer documenting a process no one else wants documented
51	A trade representative here to discuss a shipment
52	A location scout here to consider the resort for a production
53	A planner here to walk through the venue for a very important wedding
54	A trainer hired for a client who happens to be exactly the right target
55	A broker here to show a very particular yacht to a very particular buyer
56	A charter pilot on standby for a client who hasn’t shown yet
61	An appraiser here to evaluate a stone that’s suddenly changed hands
62	A salesperson demonstrating equipment nobody in the room actually ordered
63	A technician here to inspect a security system that’s about to fail on cue
64	A consultant here to “upgrade” a system that’s about to be compromised
65	A coordinator here to review the shipping logs, clipboard in hand
66	An assistant to someone important enough that nobody asks questions

Conversation Hooks

D66	What Gets People Talking
11	Drop the name of someone you both supposedly know
12	Admire the watch, the ring, the thing they clearly want noticed
13	Ask where that accent is from, and how long they’ve been away
14	Bring up a place you both happen to have been
15	Ask for the one recommendation only a local would know
16	Compliment the one thing they’re actually proud of
21	Bring up the news story that’s clearly been on their mind all night
22	Ask about the trip they just got back from, or the one they’re planning
23	Say something sharp about the venue, and see if they agree
24	Float an investment that’s just vague enough to sound real
25	Ask their opinion on tonight’s real topic of conversation
26	Mention a problem they’d be perfectly positioned to fix
31	Compliment their taste, and watch how they take it
32	Ask how they know the host
33	Bring up a hobby you happen to share, or claim to
34	Comment on the weather, and see where the small talk goes from there
35	Ask how they got into their line of work
36	Mention a mutual friend who spoke very highly of them
41	Ask for advice on a business matter you don’t actually need help with
42	Point out a detail of the building only someone paying attention would notice
43	Bring up a recent shake-up in their industry
44	Ask a question that’s a little too personal, and gauge the reaction
45	Congratulate them on something they didn’t expect anyone to know about
46	Ask what’s next on their calendar
51	Ask what causes actually matter to them
52	Comment on the food, the drink, whatever’s in reach
53	Bring up a recent purchase everyone’s clearly been talking about
54	Ask where they went to school
55	Mention a security concern, and watch who tenses up
56	Bring up a sport or pastime you both claim to follow
61	Ask their honest opinion of tonight’s venue
62	Comment on a piece of jewelry that’s clearly not costume
63	Ask what’s new in their corner of the business
64	Ask about their plans for the holiday everyone’s talking about
65	Mention a shared connection to an organization, real or invented
66	Ask what they really think about tonight’s controversy

Social Complications

D66	When Charm and Diplomacy Fail
11	A detail in the cover story doesn’t line up with something the room already knows
12	A face from an old job crosses the room, and recognition dawns slowly
13	The credentials look perfect until someone actually calls the number on file
14	A slip of the tongue lets something classified out into casual conversation
15	A cultural misstep lands badly with exactly the wrong person
16	The accent slips for half a syllable, and someone was listening closely
21	A supposed expert corners you to test the expertise you’re claiming
22	A guard runs a face through the files, and the match comes back live
23	The charming conversation partner turns out to work for the other side
24	A hidden earpiece crackles at the exact wrong moment, in front of the wrong person
25	Someone clocks the same face circling the same hallway twice
26	The cover identity says one thing; the behavior underneath keeps saying another
31	An innocent question lands somewhere the cover story can’t reach
32	A security scan finds exactly the piece of gear that shouldn’t be there
33	Someone calls out the wrong name across a crowded room, loud enough to turn heads
34	Someone starts asking pointed questions about where the money’s actually coming from
35	A language slip makes the cover story sound rehearsed instead of real
36	The physical condition doesn’t match the story: too fit, too scarred, too something
41	Someone quietly makes a call to check the references being name-dropped
42	The knowledge on display is a little too specific to be a coincidence
43	Security footage from an hour ago puts the wrong face in the wrong place
44	The timing of an arrival is a beat too convenient for anyone paying attention
45	Someone notices the questions have stopped being small talk
46	An unexpected, pointed test threatens to blow the whole cover in one stroke
51	A face from an old contact turns up in the last place expected
52	The gear on hand doesn’t match the story being told about why it’s needed
53	Someone clocks the way a body moves when it’s been trained to fight
54	Two versions of the same story don’t quite match once compared
55	A routine security check turns up documentation that doesn’t hold up
56	A reaction to bad news is a beat too calm for someone with the claimed background
61	The way a room gets read gives away training no cover story explains
62	Knowing the building’s layout too well raises exactly the wrong question
63	A stray comment lets slip a level of combat experience that doesn’t fit the resume
64	A piece of equipment traces straight back to a source it shouldn’t
65	Someone recognizes the car, the watch, the gear, something that doesn’t belong to the cover
66	A single small mistake is enough to trigger a full security sweep

Blackmail Material

D66	What People Want to Hide
11	A secret affair caught on a hidden Polaroid camera
12	Embezzled charity funds funneled through a shell company’s telex account
13	A cocaine habit paid for with laundered casino chips
14	A six-figure gambling debt owed to a Miami loan shark
15	A diploma from a university that never existed, framed on the office wall
16	A falsified service record, complete with forged medals
21	A silent partnership with a known cartel financier
22	A Swiss numbered account funding a shadow real estate empire
23	Stolen research published under their own name at a televised symposium
24	Bribes paid to a zoning board, tracked on carbon-copy receipts
25	Corporate secrets sold to a rival on a stolen floppy disk
26	Toxic waste dumped upriver, buried in a redacted filing
31	A botched surgery covered up with a forged malpractice settlement
32	A forged masterpiece hanging in a museum’s featured wing
33	Insider trading tipped off by a golf-course conversation
34	Safety inspections skipped to make a shipping deadline, three dead
35	A stolen identity built from a dead infant’s birth certificate
36	A defection across the Iron Curtain, buried by the Agency
41	Grant money spent on a beach house instead of the lab
42	A dig site looted, its artifacts sold to a private overseas collector
43	Human trials run without consent at an offshore clinic
44	A merger pushed through on cooked books and a rigged appraisal
45	A seat at an Ivy League school bought with a six-figure “gift”
46	A defense contract awarded after a briefcase changed hands
51	A rare manuscript quietly lifted from a university archive
52	A colleague’s breakthrough claimed at a televised press conference
53	A witness paid off in cash and a one-way ticket out of the country
54	A medical license bought under a dead doctor’s name
55	Elderly investors’ life savings funneled into a fake bond fund
56	An adoption record rewritten to erase an inconvenient birth mother
61	A historic site bulldozed the week before its landmark hearing
62	An insurance claim padded by faking storm damage
63	State secrets sold to a foreign attaché over a five-star dinner
64	A rival’s patent lifted from an unlocked filing cabinet
65	Antiquities smuggled out in a diplomatic pouch
66	A new identity built after a staged car explosion on a coastal highway

Alliance Opportunities

D66	Potential Temporary Partners
11	A reformed grifter trying to make up for a decade of cons
12	A government agent working the same case from the other side of it
13	A journalist with a source too dangerous to run without backup
14	A washed-up special forces veteran itching for one more job
15	A local detective fighting corruption in a department that hates her for it
16	A corporate whistleblower who needs protection more than praise
21	A rival agency’s operative who shares an enemy, for now
22	A victim’s relative who won’t stop until someone pays
23	An old enemy who owes a debt they’d rather settle than carry
24	A local fixer who knows every back road and who to bribe on it
25	A hacker running a personal vendetta against the same network
26	An undercover operative from an allied service, working the same target
31	An art expert who wants the stolen piece back more than any reward
32	A doctor treating the fallout, one patient at a time
33	A pilot or captain with a vehicle and a reason to help
34	A communications specialist who’s already tapped the right line
35	An auditor following the money with a bloodhound’s patience
36	An activist who’s been building a case against the same company for years
41	A researcher whose obscure specialty just became essential
42	A security guard with inside access and a grudge against management
43	A defector from the very organization being investigated
44	An aid worker with local contacts that took years to build
45	A lawyer who knows exactly which jurisdiction to exploit
46	An engineer with equipment nobody else in the room has
51	A local fixture with social ties everywhere that matters
52	A charter pilot who’s flown into worse places for less reason
53	A boat captain who knows every inlet the coast guard doesn’t
54	A mountain guide who’s crossed this terrain a hundred times
55	A linguist who can make sense of the one document that matters
56	An archaeologist who knows this site better than the people who dug it
61	A diplomat willing to bend a rule or two for the right reason
62	An executive with resources to spare and a reason to spend them
63	A celebrity whose name opens doors nobody else can
64	A community leader whose word carries more weight than any badge
65	An informant with underworld ties and a price that isn’t always money
66	A defector trading everything they know for a way out

High-Tech Threats

D66	1980s-Style Technological Dangers
11	A laser grid guarding the vault, invisible without smoke
12	A computer virus eating the evidence files one by one
13	A spy satellite tracking the hero’s car from orbit
14	An electronic lock system that seals every door at once
15	Security robots patrolling the corridors on a fixed schedule
16	A radio jammer blanking every frequency in the building
21	A heat-seeking missile launcher aimed at the only road out
22	A ventilation system programmed to release toxic gas
23	Microphones in every room, feeding a bank of reel-to-reel recorders
24	Factory robots reprogrammed to attack anyone on the floor
25	A satellite weapon accurate enough to hit a single rooftop
26	A computer that can take over a car’s electronics
31	Voting machines rigged to shift the results by a few points
32	An automated trading program quietly stealing millions
33	A computer worm spreading from one mainframe to the next
34	A building lockdown that traps everyone inside with the villain
35	Radar-guided missiles covering the island airstrip
36	A hijacked building computer running the elevators, lights, and doors
41	A bank transfer program moving funds faster than anyone can freeze them
42	An automated security system authorized to use lethal force
43	A computer simulation that predicts the hero’s next move
44	A signal hidden in the late-night movie, said to control minds
45	A satellite dish intercepting every phone call in the region
46	A hacked traffic control system turning every light red
51	A computer that rewrites people’s records, and their identities with them
52	An automated factory turning out weapons with no one on the payroll
53	A computer program that spots the pattern in the hero’s movements
54	Bugs hidden in household appliances, the toaster included
55	A satellite navigation system feeding false positions to a ship
56	A computer that can black out the city’s power grid on command
61	An electronic warfare van blinding a military base
62	An automated stock program triggering a market crash
63	A weather modification program seeding storms over a target
64	A radio transmitter that can reach into a pacemaker from across the street
65	A hijacked communications satellite rerouting broadcasts worldwide
66	A defense computer that has started making its own decisions

Communication Methods

D66	How Information Travels
11	Coded personal ads in the Sunday newspaper classifieds
12	A dead drop in a payphone booth’s coin return slot
13	A shortwave numbers station broadcasting at 0300 hours
14	A voice-scrambled call from a car phone with a foot-long antenna
15	An encrypted message left on a computer bulletin board
16	A fax transmission routed through a hotel business center
21	A carrier pigeon released from a rooftop dovecote
22	CB radio chatter on an unlisted trucker’s channel
23	A microfiche slide hidden inside a hollowed-out paperback
24	A message relayed during a scheduled car phone call on the coastal highway
25	A telex printout delivered by a courier in a trench coat
26	Morse code flashed from a lighthouse at low tide
31	A coded graffiti tag under a specific overpass
32	A cassette mixtape whose track order spells out a location
33	A flower order with a florist who knows the code
34	A dog-eared paperback, folded open to a chapter number
35	A song request phoned in to a late-night radio DJ
36	A photograph negative with a message burned into the film
41	A cassette left in an answering machine’s outgoing tray
42	A floppy disk swapped hand to hand at a video arcade
43	A tailored jacket’s lining stitched with a hidden note
44	A pizza delivery order with a coded topping list
45	A postcard in invisible ink, developed under a hotel lamp
46	A gallery opening’s guest list arranged to signal a meeting
51	A ball game’s radio broadcast with a coded play-by-play
52	A weather report’s temperature readings standing in for numbers
53	A magazine classified ad with a symbol only the recipient recognizes
54	A department store window display rearranged overnight
55	A library due-date stamp indicating a drop time
56	A restaurant reservation booked under a name that isn’t anyone’s
61	A parking garage ticket stub with numbers circled in pen
62	A hotel room service order specifying an impossible combination
63	A theater ticket bought for a show that’s already sold out
64	A gym locker combination changed to spell a message
65	A church bulletin’s hymn numbers standing in for coordinates
66	A lecture hall booked under a false class name

Surveillance Systems

D66	What’s Watching You
11	An analog CCTV camera feeding a bank of black-and-white monitors
12	A motion-triggered floodlight wired to a silent alarm
13	An infrared scope tracking body heat down a hotel corridor
14	Pressure-sensitive floor tiles wired to a guard’s console
15	An invisible laser tripwire strung across a vault’s access hall
16	A parabolic microphone aimed from a van across the street
21	A hidden reel-to-reel recorder splicing the phone line
22	A camera disguised inside a potted plant, triggered by motion
23	A shortwave scanner sweeping known criminal frequencies
24	Seismic sensors buried beneath a garden path
25	A trained dog sniffing luggage for explosive residue
26	A biometric palm reader guarding a research wing
31	A Cold War-era spy satellite repositioned over the coastline
32	A mainframe cross-referencing behavior patterns on punch cards
33	A wiretap recording every call onto a reel of magnetic tape
34	A postal inspector steaming open suspicious mail
35	A carbon-copy imprint machine logging every credit card purchase
36	A hotel switchboard operator paid to report certain guests
41	An airport X-ray conveyor scanning every checked bag
42	A border checkpoint verifying stamps under a black light
43	A bank teller flagging withdrawals over a certain threshold
44	A rental car’s odometer cross-checked against claimed mileage
45	A maître d’ keeping a private ledger of who dines with whom
46	A hospital admissions clerk on a criminal payroll
51	A university registrar tipped to report a certain student’s schedule
52	A background-check firm with a mole inside city hall
53	An insurance adjuster paid to flag a particular claim
54	A utility company noting unusual spikes in a building’s power draw
55	A postal carrier reporting which addresses receive foreign mail
56	An airline gate agent alerted to a specific passenger manifest
61	A hotel operator logging every long-distance call from a room
62	A pit boss watching a table through a one-way mirror
63	A mall security guard tracking the same face on three cameras
64	A parking attendant noting license plates in a leather ledger
65	A harbor master’s logbook of every boat that ties up after dark
66	A country club’s membership secretary flagging an unfamiliar guest

Weather & Environment

D66	Atmospheric Conditions
11	A tropical squall knocking out the resort’s satellite dish mid-broadcast
12	Fog rolling off the harbor thick enough to swallow headlights
13	A hurricane bearing down as the last flight out taxis for the runway
14	Desert heat shimmering off the hood of a car with a dead radiator
15	A blizzard burying the mountain road an hour after the pass closes
16	A heat wave so long the whole city has stopped pretending to work
21	A Santa Ana wind making everyone short-tempered and every spark dangerous
22	Cold drizzle that never quite becomes rain, all night long
23	Thin mountain air making every exertion twice as hard
24	Humidity thick enough to fog camera lenses and eyeglasses alike
25	A sudden cold snap freezing a marina’s fuel lines solid
26	Crosswinds forcing a small plane to abort its landing twice
31	A perfect blue afternoon, too bright to read a dashboard in
32	A drought cracking the earth around a reservoir’s exposed dam wall
33	Monsoon rains washing out the only bridge back to town
34	Heat lightning silhouetting the villain’s compound on the ridge
35	Sea fog rolling in just as the speedboat clears the breakwater
36	A full moon bright enough to drive without headlights
41	Wildfire smoke turning the afternoon sky the color of rust
42	A king tide swallowing the only road off the island
43	Volcanic ash grounding every flight for two hundred miles
44	Smog so thick the skyline is gone by noon
45	A sudden pressure drop that has every old-timer predicting trouble
46	Crosswinds strong enough to peel a billboard off its frame
51	The trade winds dying to a dead calm, every sail in the harbor going slack
52	Morning mist lying in the valley like milk, hiding the road
53	Rain on a tin roof loud enough to cover a gunshot
54	A sticky tropical night when nobody can sleep and everyone is outside
55	The first snow of the year, and every footprint a confession
56	A red sunset over the water that tourists photograph and pilots hate
61	Steam rising off the streets after a summer storm
62	A desert wind carrying fine grit into every engine and every lens
63	A week of overcast so heavy the station’s solar panels have gone dead
64	Spring thaw turning the dirt roads into mud that swallows tires
65	Bitter cold that kills car batteries overnight
66	An eclipse darkening the afternoon over the whole coast

Cultural Details

D66	Local Flavor for International Locations
11	A saint’s day parade shutting down the only road to the airport
12	No one at the ministry speaks English after the translator cancels
13	Every shop closes for the afternoon prayer, no exceptions
14	A photograph taken at the wrong shrine draws a hard stare and a warning
15	Street food that turns out to be hotter than advertised, and worse timing
16	A brass band drowning out every attempt at a quiet conversation
21	The only currency exchange window closes at noon sharp, cash only
22	A wedding party expects every stranger to join the toast
23	Centuries-old stone walls make a rooftop approach the only option
24	A seating chart that reveals who actually holds power in the room
25	The town’s one working telex line, shared by the whole district
26	A handwoven basket hiding a shortwave radio in plain sight
31	A dialect thick enough that the phrasebook is useless
32	A twelve-hour time difference throwing off every rendezvous
33	A local superstition about the number on the hotel room door
34	A festival procession providing the perfect cover, and the perfect crowd
35	Direct questions read as an insult; everything goes through a go-between
36	An election rally clogging the streets the client swore would be quiet
41	A spice market’s smoke and noise masking every tail
42	A three-day hospitality custom that makes an early exit unthinkable
43	A guest house that only rents rooms to married couples
44	A border dispute making yesterday’s map today’s fiction
45	A folk remedy the local doctor swears by, over any modern treatment
46	A national holiday that closes every bank and ministry for three days
51	A monsoon season that reroutes every scheduled flight
52	A trade guild that still settles disputes without police involvement
53	An heirloom nobody will explain the significance of
54	A one-room schoolhouse where everyone already knows everyone’s business
55	A traveling theater troupe that’s really a cover for something else
56	A traditional dress code that makes a hidden holster impossible to conceal
61	A border town where three currencies and two languages trade hands hourly
62	A wedding custom that requires the groom’s family to vanish for a night
63	A funeral procession that stops all traffic for an hour
64	A local football match drawing away every off-duty policeman
65	A hunting season that puts armed men in the hills for a week
66	A harvest festival that doubles the town’s population overnight

Period Details

D66	Specific 1980s Atmosphere Elements
11	Neon signs reflecting in rain-slicked streets
12	Synthesizer music pumping from a car stereo
13	A mirror on a nightclub table, and a rolled-up hundred-dollar bill
14	A personal computer with a green phosphor screen and a floppy drive
15	A VHS tape of surveillance footage, labeled as an aerobics class
16	A car phone with a coiled cord and an antenna on the trunk
21	A witness who can’t hear the question over their Walkman
22	A video arcade used as neutral ground for a meet
23	A shopping mall fountain used as a dead drop
24	An answering machine blinking with one new message
25	A cable news bulletin breaking the story before the hero is ready
26	A CD player impressing everyone at the party
31	A calculator watch with an alarm set for the handoff
32	A Polaroid developing in someone’s hand, slowly revealing a face
33	A Rubik’s Cube used to pass a coded message
34	MTV playing silently on every TV in the bar
35	An aerobics video playing in a rich widow’s living room
36	A microwave oven that everyone’s still a little afraid of
41	A camcorder that happened to record the crime
42	An electronic organizer holding every contact the villain has
43	A LaserDisc player in a millionaire’s screening room
44	A cordless phone that picks up the neighbors’ calls
45	A home video game console keeping the night guard busy
46	A boom box on a shoulder, loud enough to cover a break-in
51	A suspect in a Members Only jacket
52	Feathered hair that doesn’t move, even on a speedboat
53	A corporate raider in a power suit and red suspenders
54	Tracksuits worn to a business meeting
55	Designer jeans with a label everyone can read from across the room
56	Aviator sunglasses worn day and night, indoors and out
61	Shoulder pads wide enough to block a doorway
62	Parachute pants on the kid who saw everything
63	A leather jacket with the sleeves pushed up
64	Neon clothing that makes quiet surveillance impossible
65	High-top sneakers as a status symbol
66	Hair so big it takes an hour and a can of spray

Inspiration Tables

Verbs

Verbs	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Infiltrate	Chase	Sabotage	Rescue	Expose	Escape
2	Bribe	Bluff	Hack	Defend	Smuggle	Ambush
3	Negotiate	Wiretap	Decode	Kidnap	Frame	Double-Cross
4	Improvise	Intercept	Disable	Recover	Impersonate	Outrun
5	Seduce	Tail	Detonate	Swap	Blackmail	Betray
6	Gamble	Crash	Hide	Promise	Warn	Celebrate

Adjectives

Adjectives	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Neon	Chrome	Sun-Bleached	Tropical	Analog	Classified
2	Glamorous	Two-Faced	Bulletproof	Rented	Borrowed	Counterfeit
3	Nervous	Smug	Jealous	Desperate	Rival	Abandoned
4	Floating	Underwater	Midnight	Offshore	Diplomatic	Televised
5	Overdue	Stolen	Rigged	Explosive	Wired	Coded
6	Sealed	Retired	Grateful	Vengeful	Last-Minute	Cold War

Nouns

Nouns	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Briefcase	Prototype	Microfilm	Floppy Disk	Formula	Passport
2	Sports Car	Yacht	Helicopter	Casino Chip	Ledger	Cassette
3	Satellite	Diamond	Painting	Will	Contract	Payphone
4	Witness	Hostage	Twin	Old Flame	Partner	Informant
5	Bodyguard	Heiress	Defector	Senator	Bomb	Safe
6	Key	Map	Photograph	Telex	Mask	Trophy

Appendix: Inspirational Media

Television Series

• MacGyver (1985-1992): the model for every improvised gadget in this book
• Knight Rider (1982-1986): a hero, a car with opinions, and a foundation that sends them where they’re needed
• Magnum P.I. (1980-1988): Hawaii, a borrowed Ferrari, and a past in Vietnam that keeps coming back
• The A-Team (1983-1987): fugitive specialists who help the little guy; the Team Format in one show
• Miami Vice (1984-1990): pastel suits, cigarette boats, and the darker end of the decade
• Airwolf (1984-1987): a stolen super-helicopter and the agency that wants it back
• Remington Steele (1982-1987): a detective agency built on an invented boss and a lot of charm
• Hart to Hart (1979-1984): rich amateurs, glamorous parties, and murder at every one

Films

• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): set-piece action and a hero who makes it up as he goes
• Romancing the Stone (1984): jungle chases, a treasure, and a mismatched pair
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984): an outsider bluffing his way through the rich side of town
• A View to a Kill (1985): a Bond villain with a microchip monopoly and a plan for Silicon Valley
• Lethal Weapon (1987): partnership and action with personal stakes
• Die Hard (1988): one building, one hero, and every tool in reach
• To Catch a Thief (1955): a retired cat burglar on the Riviera, for style
• Charade (1963): romance, betrayals, and a twist in every act

Books

• Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald: a salvage consultant working out of a Florida houseboat
• LaBrava (1983) by Elmore Leonard: a former Secret Service agent in Miami Beach, and a con aimed at an old movie star
• Modesty Blaise series by Peter O’Donnell: an ex-crime boss and her partner on freelance jobs for British intelligence
• The Saint series by Leslie Charteris: the gentleman adventurer who robs the robbers
• Doc Savage series by Kenneth Robeson (house name, mostly Lester Dent): the pulp ancestor of the gadget hero

Music

• Mike Post and Pete Carpenter: the theme music behind a good part of the decade’s prime-time action schedule
• Jan Hammer: the synthesizer sound of Miami Vice
• Harold Faltermeyer: Axel F and the electronic action score
• Giorgio Moroder: neon, pulse, and the sound of the night drive
• Kenny Loggins, Survivor, Berlin: the soundtrack rock for the montage and the final chase

Quick Start Guide

Creating Your Prime Time Hero

1. Choose or roll for a Name using the name tables
2. Select a Concept that captures your character’s essence (like “Rogue CIA Agent” or “Hawaiian Private Eye”)
3. Pick two Skills that make you special (like “Jury-Rigging Genius” or “Master of Disguise”)
4. Choose one Frailty that creates interesting complications
5. Select two pieces of Gear that define your style (like “Talking Sports Car” or “Swiss Army Knife”)
6. Define your Goal (what you’re trying to achieve long-term)
7. Establish your Motive (why you pursue this goal)
8. Create or leave blank your Nemesis (they can emerge during play)
9. Set Luck to 6

Your First Case

1. Roll on the Case Generator or create your own hook
2. Play the Cold Open: frame one short scene from the Cold Open Scenarios table
3. Name the episode with the Episode Titles table
4. Act I: find out who needs help and why, then open a Case Track
5. Act II: work the case one scene at a time; ask the Oracle whenever the outcome is uncertain
6. Act III: when the track has one box left, end the scene on a cliffhanger and go for the confrontation
7. Epilogue: wrap up, add or rewrite one trait, and update the Living World

Essential Rules Summary

• Oracle Rolls: 1 Chance Die vs 1 Risk Die; Chance higher is Yes, Risk higher is No; both low adds but…, both high adds and…
• Advantage/Disadvantage: Roll a second Chance or Risk Die and keep the highest; never more than two of a kind; opposing tags cancel out
• Twists: Equal dice read as Yes, but… and add 1 to the Twist Counter; at 3 a Twist occurs and the Counter resets
• Conflicts: A single question, a series of questions, or Harm & Luck; Luck resets to 6 after every conflict
• Case Tracks: Four boxes for cases too big for one scene; the acts of an episode follow the track
• Improvised Gadgets: Describe your invention, ask the Oracle if it works, write it as a one-scene Gear tag

License

Prime Time Hero

© 2026 Roberto Bisceglie

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.