What would you like to see with time magic?

[thundershot]

Before you start pelting me with rotten fruit, this is the first project I've ever worked on, and I'm no sure how it's going to go, where it's going to show up, or when you'll be able to see it, but I would love to have some honest thoughts.

While it's a general consensus that time travel (Chronomancy, whatever you wish to call it) doesn't work well when in the hands of a PC, it doesn't mean you can't work around some of the particulars.

I would like to know what your thoughts are regarding how time magic should be handled, as well as any ideas for particular time spells, monsters, magic items, etc.

Also, what would you like to see in a "Chronomancer" (or any other suitable name) Prestige Class? What would be too powerful? What should definitely be there, and what shouldn't?

I'll collect the data and opinions from this thread, and see where it goes!

Thanks!
Chris Dickinson
chris@thundershot.net

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

Personally I wouldn't want to see one that had time travel abilities, but things like slowing down time, speeding it up and eventually stopping it. Things of that nature would make for a very interesting PrC...

Mike

 

[Psion]

While it's a general consensus that time travel (Chronomancy, whatever you wish to call it) doesn't work well when in the hands of a PC, it doesn't mean you can't work around some of the particulars.

I wouldn't stop there. I have seen it used as a plot device as well, and even there it raises questions and becomes problematic.

This may be entirely IMO, but I disdain and avoid any sort of time travel in my games, and any product that relies upon such contrivances.

 

[Left-handed Hummingbird]

Obviously, malleable time does work in some extent. Haste, Slow and Time Stop are examples of things that are easy to manage.

Also reversing age or extending durability of life and objects would not cause major problems.

Nor would an ability to view what had happened in the past or gain (not give) information from persons of the past do any harm.

Changing events in the past is very complicated without using some sort of parallel universe theory, though.

 

[thundershot]

I agree 100%. Time travelling spells are out of the question. You can't have a game where the players have some control over the DM. And it's messy... Now an artifact or something that's used as a time travel plot device, THAT is possible, but not what this thread should be about.

Continue!
Thanks!
Chris

 

[thundershot]

bump! man, this got buried overnight!

 

[MaxKaladin]

If you want to avoid the time-travel thing (which is probably for the best...), some good ideas are given above. I especially like the idea for looking at past events, getting info from past people, and reversing age on objects (I have visions of time mages who make fortunes by de-aging time worn treasure maps for adventurers ).

Other abilities that occur to me would be using spells/magic to get around time limitations. Perhaps a metamagic feat that allows one to cast a spell one round in the past, for instance. That shouldn't be too hard to keep track of in the game. That would be really handy for those last minute saves of folks who just got knocked down to -10 with a quick retroactive heal spell or featherfall in the past on the rock that knocked someone off the cliff, etc.

Another idea is magic used to get around the usual need for sleep by 'borrowing' sleep from the future allowing a mage on an adventure to rememorize spells quickly and without sleep at the cost of having to sleep an extra 8 hours the next day or something like that. Allow it to be done multiple times with the danger of doing it so much you begin to starve while 'sleeping it off'.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations,

I would like to see a well thought out tool-kit for time travel.

There are enough theories on time travel that a detailed look at them, their possibilies, problems, and effects on the game would be interesting.

FD

 

[thundershot]

I agree that time travel is fun, but it's also something that shouldn't be in the hands of PC's. By giving them that ability, it forces the DM to cater to the whims of the Players, and not what he/she has in mind for his/her own campaign.

With that said, I see nothing wrong with time travel adventures, so long as the DM has control of them. Perhaps the PC's have a powerful magic item or artifact that sends them through time at intervals, or after they perform a certain task. Yes, it requires a lot of work on the DM's part, but if he doesn't like it, he wouldn't be using it to begin with.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[wrabbit37]

Back in the days of second edition, a book came out about a new class: the Chronomancer. I picked it up and loved it, but I've since lost it (I think I lent it to one of the other players) and have been completely unable to find another copy.

The way they handled time-travel worked very well, even in the hands of a *RESPONSIBLE* player (I wouldn't trust that kind of power to just anyone). One of the big points of it was that, even though the player could jump through time, they could never exist in the same time twice. So while it was a very powerful ability, it proved to be very dangerous to use, because if ever you started to approach a time you already existed in, things started happening to mess with you and at the instant you already exist, you got sucked back out of time.

An example of how this worked well in play is in a mystery. The players knew that the culpret was going to end up attacking one of two locations, but they did not know which one. There were not enough players to split the group evenly, so what they decided to do instead was send the chronomage into the future and watch one of the locations. He discovered the culpret attack that night and then slipped back to the present and told the group which place to watch. Unfortunately for the chronomage, though, he was unable to do anything in the fight, since he had already been there. He had to sit that one out.

I know a bunch of people would jump down my throat, saying that the chronomage should have been able to do things, since he was already there the first time, but if he did not go back in time again to warn the players, then the players would not have been there, so he had to do that. He could have waited until after the fight and then gone back and told the players to have them there, but that's why I said so long as the player is responsible, I don't have a problem with chronomancy. It's a very abusable power, but if you trust your players to use it responsibly, then there's no problem with it.

Other things the chronomage could do, other than jumping through time, were using spells that would age people (higher level), a form of blink (where you actually shift your image to be a few seconds ahead or behind you making it harder to judge where you are), and an interesting way to heal, where you could shift a person's body back in time to a period before they got hurt and heal damage.

Just a few thoughts.
-Mike