D&D General The Mysterious Isle & Eye of Xxiphu - Time Travel Query

[AnotherGuy]

Wait.

Did the two PCs that didn't go through the portal change the events the original party went through? If so, you have a time paradox on your hands (to be resolved in whatever fashion makes the most sense). If not, then the people who were sent back in time ten days wouldn't be able to meet up again until after that happens.

Party gets mission from Seer in Waterdeep, they use young bronze dragons to fly to island.
Massive stuff happens on island and party is thrown back 10 days via a tear in reality (portal) and land in the Seer's office in Waterdeep.
Portal is being held open by Seer, she can keep it open roughly for 12 hours. Time passes as normal in Waterdeep however the timeline at the island is frozen. Essentially party can do 12 hours worth of stuff in Waterdeep without any time passing on the island.

Using @el-remmen's description
A1 and B1, after resting, stepped through the portal returning to the original timeline. C1 and D1 waited 10 days, until A2, B2, C2 and D2 show up who use dragons to fly to the island. C1 and D1 follow 1-2 hours after them, not wishing to bump into "themselves" (A2-D2).

I'm asking can C1 and D1 (without knowing) find A2 and B2 when they, A2 and B2, presumably step through the portal?

To be clear - they don't meet perfectly as they step out the portal. They have to find them on the island the place is a massively controlled maze by its owner and the possessor of mcGuffin. I'm assuming they missed A1 and B1....so my idea is neither group knows whom they've met. The players have assumed they've successfully met up.

EDIT - It's a little like the movie Coherence - if you've seen it. Multiple copies of themselves now exist.

 

[AnotherGuy]

If I am understanding this correctly, each PC now has two versions of themselves, so finding doubles to replace the two who may die makes sense to me, but I am confused by the order of events.

So if we have four PCs, (let's call them A1, B1, C1, & D1), all four go back in time a week to before they originally left Waterdeep. PCs A1 & B1 go back through the portal to the original timeline. PCs C1 & D2 follow their younger selves (let's call them A2, B2, C2, D2) to the island.

Now you said that C1 & D1 meet up again with A1 & B1, but my question is, what happened to A2, B2, C2, and D2? Did they go through the portal becoming Team 1 in the process?

It makes more sense if C1 & D1 end up with A2 and B2 somehow, and if the latter two die then A1 & B1 could be found as prisoners since they were the ones tackling things on their own for. . . how long?

See, I am also confused about the amount of time it takes to get to the island, because it makes it seem like A1 & B1 along with Team 2 instantaneously get there from your description. In other words, does Team 2 and C1 and D1 arrive at the island at the same time as A1 and B2 do through the portal, or do they leave from Waterdeep after a Ten-Day and thus A1 and B2 are on the island by themselves for the amount of time it takes to travel there (in addition to the ten-day distance already between them)?

That's my bad.

They traveled to the island via dragons.
Stuff happens on the island which magically tears a fabric in reality (portal) and throws them back 10 days. They have 12 hours available in waterdeep before this portal closes. Using the portal transports them back to the island which has not lost ANY time since the tear in the fabric of reality.

C1 and D1 follow 1-2 hours after A2-D2 travel to the island on dragonback, in the hopes of finding A1 and B1 who used the portal. I'm asking is it possible they meet up with A2 and B2 instead? Anything perhaps that I'm missing from this possible time paradox?
Hope I've made things clearer.

 

[MerricB]

That's my bad.

They traveled to the island via dragons.
Stuff happens on the island which magically tears a fabric in reality (portal) and throws them back 10 days. They have 12 hours available in waterdeep before this portal closes. Using the portal transports them back to the island which has not lost ANY time since the tear in the fabric of reality.

C1 and D1 follow 1-2 hours after A2-D2 travel to the island on dragonback, in the hopes of finding A1 and B1 who used the portal. I'm asking is it possible they meet up with A2 and B2 instead? Anything perhaps that I'm missing from this possible time paradox?
Hope I've made things clearer.

Everything about the situation is VERY unstable. It's what happens when you put a mind flayer artefact into the mix.

The island by this time is basically in a time storm, so it's entirely unreliable what happens when you get there and try to enter.

For those wondering, the adventure was meant to be 8 hours, but a change in DDAL policy during development meant it had to be split into two. So what happened when you play it out of order?

My answer: Time travel shenanigans!

Cheers,
Merric

 

[AnotherGuy]

Everything about the situation is VERY unstable. It's what happens when you put a mind flayer artefact into the mix.

The island by this time is basically in a time storm, so it's entirely unreliable what happens when you get there and try to enter.

For those wondering, the adventure was meant to be 8 hours, but a change in DDAL policy during development meant it had to be split into two. So what happened when you play it out of order?

My answer: Time travel shenanigans!

Yeah, that is what I'm aiming for time travel shenanigans (that kind of make sense) and to surprise my players.
The last battle is quite enjoyable, with all those moving pieces and of course it being an aerial combat.

 

[MerricB]

Yeah, that is what I'm aiming for time travel shenanigans (that kind of make sense) and to surprise my players.
The last battle is quite enjoyable, with all those moving pieces and of course it being an aerial combat.

It relies a lot on the DM, of course. (But hey, Tier 4!)

Once when running it, the Big Bad reflected the first spell the party cast back on them. (author power) That led to an interesting combat!

My players have always enjoyed being on dragonback.

Cheers,
Merric

 

[FarBeyondC]

Party gets mission from Seer in Waterdeep, they use young bronze dragons to fly to island.
Massive stuff happens on island and party is thrown back 10 days via a tear in reality (portal) and land in the Seer's office in Waterdeep.
Portal is being held open by Seer, she can keep it open roughly for 12 hours. Time passes as normal in Waterdeep however the timeline at the island is frozen. Essentially party can do 12 hours worth of stuff in Waterdeep without any time passing on the island.

Using @el-remmen's description
A1 and B1, after resting, stepped through the portal returning to the original timeline. C1 and D1 waited 10 days, until A2, B2, C2 and D2 show up who use dragons to fly to the island. C1 and D1 follow 1-2 hours after them, not wishing to bump into "themselves" (A2-D2).

I'm asking can C1 and D1 (without knowing) find A2 and B2 when they, A2 and B2, presumably step through the portal?

To be clear - they don't meet perfectly as they step out the portal. They have to find them on the island the place is a massively controlled maze by its owner and the possessor of mcGuffin. I'm assuming they missed A1 and B1....so my idea is neither group knows whom they've met. The players have assumed they've successfully met up.

EDIT - It's a little like the movie Coherence - if you've seen it. Multiple copies of themselves now exist.

No.

The description above is making a situation appear to exist that actually doesn't.

Try this:

Party gets mission from Seer in Waterdeep, they use young bronze dragons to fly to island.
Massive stuff happens on island and party is thrown back 10 days via a tear in reality (portal) and land in the Seer's office in Waterdeep.
Portal is being held open by Seer, she can keep it open roughly for 12 hours. Time passes as normal in Waterdeep however the timeline at the island is frozen. Essentially party can do 12 hours worth of stuff in Waterdeep without any time passing on the island.

The party (A1,B1,C1,D1) are now all back in time ten days. As they now exist at the same time as their original selves (who have not yet experienced the events above), I will be rename them to A2, B2, C2, and D2.

A2 and B2, after resting, steps through the portal, returning to the original timeline immediately after the point A1-D1 were sent back. C2 and D2 waited ten days, until the original party (A1-D1) shows up and does their thing. C2 and D2 follows 1-2 hours behind A1-D1, not wishing to bump into them.

Assuming C2 and D2 stay an hour or two behind A1-D1, finding A2 and B2 will depend on what A2 and B2 decided to do in the hour or two after they arrived back on the island and realized C2 and D2 weren't with them.