Time warp:
A time travel fiasco playset
By jenn kaufer
Credits
Playset by Jenn Kaufer
Additional Ideas & Edits by Hughes 5
Boilerplate
The playset is an accessory for the Fiasco role-playing game by Bully
Pulpit Games.
This playset is copyright 2013 by Jenn Kaufer. Fiasco is copyright 2009 by
Jason Morningstar. All rights reserved.
For more information of about Fiasco or to download other playsets and
materials, visit www.bullypulpitgames.com
Important note
I anticipate there will be criticisms of this playset for a myriad of reasons,
but I’d like to take the chance to address a few here. First, this playset
involves a lot of history; you may not be familiar with every person,
place, object, or event listed. This playset was meant, in part, to meld my
love of gaming with my love of history and I hope that this playset can
serve as a way to make history fun for others! Don’t be intimidated! A
simple Wikipedia search can unveil a lot of interesting stuff!
Second, I tried my best to be as representative as possible by
including history from all corners of the world. Any gaps you
perceive are probably accurate and you have my sincerest
apologizes.
Finally, I imagine some of you will be concerned with the
mechanics of time travel. I invite you to let those concerns go.
This is meant to be a “soft” sci-fi playset in which the mechanics
are not at the forefront. Feel free to do whatever it is you like!
Time won’t break…at least I don’t think!
The Score
Setting in brief
Congratulations on your new position at the Agency. You were
chosen from a pool of highly qualified, world (and time) renowned
applicants to join the most advanced Time Maintenance and
Protection Agency in the known timeline. With seemingly endless
streams of resources and funding provided by NATO we are
equipped to not only preserve the rich beauty of all of human
history, but also protect it from chronoterrorists and other
nefarious entities bent on wreaking havoc throughout the ages. The
work you will be doing with us is invaluable, and we here at the
Agency make it our priority to ensure the safety and comfort of our
workers. Oh! And don’t worry, we just located the last bloke who
held your position back in the Cretaceous period, so we have a
perfect track record of employee survival; after a few years of
rehabilitation he’ll be right as rain! Chin up! There’s work to do!
Movie Night
Books: Timeline by Michael Crichton, Pastwatch by Orson Scott
Card
TV Shows: Doctor Who, Torchwood, Samurai Jack
Movies: Time Bandits, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Hot Tub
Time Machine, Primer, Ground Hog Day, Terminator, Back to the
Future, Looper
Other Games: Chrononauts by Looney Labs, Chrono Trigger by
Squaresoft
Relationships...
A Romance
a Cheating spouses
b Long-time crush & subject of affection
c Engaged
d Exes
e Star-crossed Lovers
f Friends with benefits
B Family
a Unrelated but close as blood
b The black sheep & the prodigal “son”
c Identical Twins
d Newlywed & In-law
e Cousins who grew apart
f Weird/Distant Relatives
C Crime & punishment
a Human Traffickers
b Treasure Thieves
c Drug Dealer & Addict
d Mole & Internal Affairs Investigator
e Assassin & Target
f Lackeys of a major criminal figure
D the past
a Betrayed by a mutual enemy
b Former protesters against the Agency
c Sole survivors of a lethal mission
d Rehabilitated chronoterrorist & parole officer
e Former war adversaries
f Mutual keepers of an ominous secret
E the agency
a Rogue Agent & Contact
b Leader of a field unit & New Recruit
c Colleagues from the Agency’s R&D Team
d Unpaid Interns
e Agents forced into desk work for a botched mission
f Special Operations Officers
F time
a Alternate versions of the same person
b Great-great-great grandparent & great-great-great grandchild
c Time Refugee & Case Worker
d Artificial Intelligence & Creator from a distant future
e Knows who murders them in the future & future murderer
f A time traveling vigilante & their side kick
...t hroughout time
Needs...
A To control ...
a …the agency
b ...your subordinates
c …a major political leader
d ...your drinking
e ...a religious institution
f ...ALL OF TIME & SPACE
B to stop
...
a ...a genius before they change the world
b ...a radical movement
c ...a wrongful execution
d ...a great historical villain
e ...yourselves
f ...yourselves, before you stop yourselves
C To destroy...
a ...a major social convention
b ...a great civilization
c ...your professional rival
d ...everyone who ever doubted you
e ...the reputation of an executive level officer
f ...ALL OF TIME & SPACE
D to get rich...
a ...in order to leave your current life behind
b ...fast, before it’s too late
c ...by hurting anyone who stands in your way
d ...by exploiting your knowledge of the future
e ...by embezzling money from the Agency
f ...by creating new historical events, and therefore new artifacts
E to sleep with...
a ...Cleopatra
b ...James Dean
c ...Wu Zetian
d ...Alexander the Great
e ...Queen Elizabeth I
f ...Genghis Khan
F To be the first...
a ...man/woman to the moon
b ...to invent a major technology
c ...to discover the “New World”
d ...to make First Contact
e ...to fire a shot in a major war
f ...to achieve immortality
...t hroughout time
Locations...
A war
a ...Prince Edward’s Crusade/The Ninth Crusade
b ...The Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression)
c ...World War II
d ...World War III
e ...The Napoleonic Wars
f ...The Mongol Expansions
B World wonders
a ...The Pyramids of Giza
b ...Stonehenge
c ...Taj Mahal
d ...Machu Picchu
e ...The Great Library
f ...Great Wall of China
C Assassinations
a ...John F. Kennedy (11/22/1963)
b ...Fidel Castro (11/22/1963)
c ...Archduke Franz Ferdinand (6/28/1914)
d ...Adolph Hitler (7/20/1944)
e ...Abraham Lincoln (4/14/1865)
f …Martin Luther King, Jr. (4/4/1968)
D Important buildings
a ...the Kremlin
b ...Oracle of Delphi
c ...The Forbidden City
d ...the United Nations
e ...the Grand Mosque/Masjid al-Haram
f ...Buckingham Palace
E the future
a ...New New New New York
b ...First Contact
c ...the First Human Space Colony
d ...the 3853World’s Fair
e ...the destruction of Earth
f ...the End of Time
F the agency
a ...Staff Lounge
b ...Research Labs
c ...Departure & Arrival Terminals
d ...Human Resources Office
e ...Staff Parking Garage
f ...Delivery & Shipments bay
...t hroughout time
Objects...
A shiny things
a ...the Hope Diamond
b ...Gadhafi’s Golden Gun
c ...King Tut’s Death Mask
d ...the Holy Grail
e ...Blackbeard’s Treasure
f ...the Golden Spike of the Transcontinental Railroad
B lost things
a ...the Gospel of Eve
b ...the Fountain of Youth
c ...Ark of the Covenant
d ...Shakespeare’s Love Labors Won
e ...Amelia Earhart & her plane
f ...a key to the city of Atlantis
C Pieces of intelligence
a ...the recipe for Greek Fire
b ...the Confederacy’s Battle Plans
c ...plans for a weapon of mass destruction
d ...Blueprints of Fort Knox
e ...A note from your future self
f ...the Zimmerman Telegraph
D famous works of art
a ...the first cave paintings
b ...a complete reel of the movie Metropolis
c ...the Mona Lisa
d ...Starry Night
e ...Statue of David
f ...the Terra Cotta Soldiers
E transportation
a ...the first Ford Model-T
b ...a new, experimental time machine
c ...Leonardo’s glider
d ...the Trans-Siberian railroad
e ...the Hindenburg
f ...the Lunar Lander
F things from the future
a ...the cure for cancer
b ...a farmer’s almanac (circa 2143 AD)
c ...3,000 year old space whiskey
d ...a cold fusion generator
e ...a copy of the Constitution of the Earth Federation
f ...teleportation technology
...t hroughout time
Insta Setup
Relationships
For three players...
The Agency: Unpaid Interns
The Past: Betrayed by a mutual enemy
Romance: Friends with benefits
For four players, add...
Time: Alternate versions of the same person
For five players, add...
The Agency: Colleagues from the Agency’s R&D Team
Needs
For three players...
To stop: a major historical villain
For four and five players, add...
To control: a religious institution
Objects
For three or four players...
Pieces of Intelligence: The recipe for Greek Fire
For five players, add...
Things from the Future: 3,000 year old space whiskey
Locations
For three, four, or five players...
Assassinations: Adolph Hitler (7/20/1944)
