Timemaster As A Multigenre RPG System
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:59 am
When I first started playing Timemaster back in the '80s, I was of course initially drawn to the "historical investigation and correction" angle of the setting. Go back in time, figure out how history got screwed up, and fix the timeline so history progresses as it should. Kind of a Quantum Leap meets Voyagers meets Time Squad way of playing. As my group played through the many published modules, I began to see that Timemaster was more than just that. Since you could go anywhere and "anywhen," I saw that we could use Timemaster to emulate the settings in other popular RPGs:
Looking at the way the Timemaster setting is arranged and presented, you can see how easy it was for me to have my Time Corps PCs visit any genre imaginable. Granted, most adventures took place in T-0 where "history done went wrong," but they also found themselves dungeon delving, spying with James Bond, and trying to stop a steam-driving drill from rupturing the Land at the Center of the Earth. I humbly suggest you can do the same.
- Want to play Boot Hill? Travel back to the Old West from 1880-1900...
Gangbusters? Warp back to Chicago or New York in 1920-1940...
Bushido would require a trip to feudal Japan...
- The Soviets successfully invaded the U.S. in Parallel T-142.
A joint U.S.-Japan space mission placed a permanent base on the moon in 1983 in Parallel T-37.
Rome never fell in Parallel T-166.
And the Axis powers won WWII in Parallel T-75.
- M-1 is the Arthurian Parallel where the tales of King Arthur, Merlin, and the Round Table are historical fact. And Robin Hood may also be found within these lands.
M-6 is the Homeric Parallel where the Greek Gods exist and Homer's Odyssey and all of those other myths and legends happened.
M-82 is the Lovecraftian Parallel where the Old Ones lurk in wait and men are driven insane from reading forbidden tomes.
M-199 is the Steampunk Parallel where the works of Jules Verne are a matter of historical record.
M-644 is the Pulp Parallel where two-fisted Men of Mystery try to stop evil villains in a pseudo-1920's setting.
- R-259 is a magical parallel where powerful wizards war with each other.
R-555 is a land populated by intelligent talking dinosaurs.
R-1010 is populated solely by intelligent machines and no "living" creatures exist.
Looking at the way the Timemaster setting is arranged and presented, you can see how easy it was for me to have my Time Corps PCs visit any genre imaginable. Granted, most adventures took place in T-0 where "history done went wrong," but they also found themselves dungeon delving, spying with James Bond, and trying to stop a steam-driving drill from rupturing the Land at the Center of the Earth. I humbly suggest you can do the same.