Build Episodes That Collide

An Episode needs a premise and a dramatic question, not a script. The question should be answerable through choices: Will the heir accept the deal? Can the returning lover tell the truth without destroying the family? Which friendship survives the competition?

Choose two or three Spotlight Characters, one active Event when useful, and the Secrets or Scandals most likely to matter. Write a Coming Collision by identifying incompatible things already true. Do not write the resolution.

During play, increment scene count after completed scenes. Increase Episode Pressure only when a scene changes neither the central question nor a thread tied to it. Pressure 2 intersects threads, 4 forces them together, and 5 enters Collision.

After the collision, do the bookkeeping once: update Heat, Relationships, Secret status, Leverage, Scandals, Groups, Events, standing, and Memories only where the fiction changed them. Then allow Fallout scenes.

Link Episodes by carrying their consequences forward as new premises. You do not need a fixed act structure; when characters change what they want, the season can change with them.