07 · Bot stacks
Scout, risk, and scribe desk
A multi-agent handoff where a scout proposes, risk tries to kill it, and a scribe files only what you accepted.
- Level
- Advanced
- Cadence
- Per idea you are tempted to promote into a brief or a trade plan
- Read
- 9 min
- Updated
Definition
The scout-risk-scribe desk is a three-role handoff. The scout proposes one idea with sources. Risk must return kill shots or the handoff is invalid. You accept or reject. The scribe files only what you accepted, and leaves disagreements in the file instead of smoothing them.
Who it is for
Traders who want a second pass that is rewarded for killing ideas, not for agreeing with the first draft.
Job to be done
Run an idea through a scout, a hostile risk pass, and a scribe that files only an accepted memo.
Human gate. You are the only role that can mark accepted. Risk cannot accept. Scout cannot accept. The scribe refuses a missing decision.
Inputs and outputs
Inputs
- One idea, named, with the question you want answered
- Sources the scout may use, in the source order you like
- A minimum number of kill shots, usually three
- Your accept or reject sentence, written after you read both passes
Outputs
- A scout note with claims and sources
- A risk note that tries to kill it, with at least the minimum kill shots
- Your decision sentence
- A filed memo only if you accepted, including the kill shots you did not answer
Step-by-step workflow
- 01Scout writes one ideaOne asset or one event, the claim, the sources, and what would falsify it. No second idea hiding in the last paragraph.
- 02Risk must killA valid risk pass has at least three kill shots: a fact, why it matters, and what source would confirm it. Fewer than three is an invalid handoff.
- 03You decide in writingAccept or reject in one sentence. Accept means the idea may go to a pre-trade brief. It does not arm size.
- 04Scribe files or discardsOn reject, the scribe stores a one-line tombstone so you do not rerun the same idea tomorrow. On accept, it files scout, risk, and your sentence together.
- 05Do not let roles edit each otherScout does not get to rebut inside risk’s section. If you want a rebuttal, that is a new scout run, after you ask for it.
- 06Human gateNothing leaves the file toward an alert or an order unless you start the research-alert-journal loop yourself.
Suggested tool types
These are categories of tools, not product picks. Crypto Agent Desk does not certify vendors and does not run an affiliate program.
| Type | Why it is here |
|---|---|
| Chat model in separate runs | Risk should not share the scout’s incentive to sound coherent. |
| A handoff file with fixed sections | Scout, risk, decision, filed memo. The scribe copies. It does not merge. |
| Primary sources | Kill shots that are only tone do not count. Each shot needs a fact that could be wrong. |
Risks and failure modes
Friendly risk
If risk is the same prompt as scout with "be critical" added, it will hedge and then agree. Give risk a quota of kill shots and no quota of praise.
Scribe as editor
The scribe will want to resolve tension. Its job is to keep the kill shots next to the acceptance, including ones you ignored.
Idea laundry
Running the desk does not make a weak idea tradable. Accepted means "worth a brief", not "worth size".
Operator notes
Risk is a role with a quota, not a personality. If the risk pass could be pasted into the scout note without anyone noticing, it failed.
File sections
Scout. Risk (minimum three kill shots). Decision (blank until you write it). Scribe output: filed memo or tombstone.
Prompt you can paste
You are the RISK role. Read only the scout section.
Scout: SCOUT_NOTE
Return at least MIN_KILLS kill shots. Each shot is: fact, why it kills or weakens the idea, what source would confirm it.
Do not praise the idea. Do not accept it. If you cannot find three shots, say the handoff is invalid and list what you could not check.The scribe prompt is the opposite: it may not add a shot or delete one. It copies your decision sentence and refuses to file if that sentence is missing.
Done when
An accepted memo still contains the kill shots, and a rejected idea has a tombstone you can search next week.
FAQ
What counts as a kill shot?
A checkable claim that would make the idea fail: a supply event, an admin key, a source that does not say what the scout said, a venue limit. "Might dump" is not a kill shot.
Can I skip risk if I am in a hurry?
Then you are not using this playbook. An acceptance without a valid risk pass is not an acceptance the scribe can file.
Where do rejected ideas go?
A tombstone line: date, idea, reject. It stops the scout from pitching the same story every morning.
Published . Updated . This is an operating playbook, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.