Time Travel Campaign Ideas A week or so ago I asked if anyone had any ideas for time travel adventures. Most people replied in e-mail, and I am now summarising the ideas suggested. John S. Novak III (darknite@camelot.bradley.edu) suggested considering a hypothetical history of Eurasia during the time of the Mongols, based on the premises: "What if Genghis Khan did this?" and "What if they had discovered _that_!" He cited the recent discussion on this group, suggesting that some research could turn up some good campaign ideas. Dana Goldblat (bp494@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) suggested the following ideas: 1. Someone goes back in time and forces aliens off of Atlantis before they sink it. You have to go back and make sure Atlantis sinks on schedule. 2. Someone goes back and rescues the last pair of some extinct animal (dodos, wooly mammoths, etc.). You have to make sure the new animals don't get released back into the wild to change history. 3. Someone tries to prevent the assasination of some world leader (you choose one). You have to make sure they don't succeed. 4. Someone tries to prevent the invention of the time machine (or time travel method you use). This one is tough! 5. Someone gives some modern technology to an ancient scientist (telescope to Aristotle, steam engine to Leonardo da Vinci, electric light to Ben Franklin, atomic bomb to Marie Curie, etc.) You have to stop the scientist from revealing this knowledge too early. 6. Someone tries to save the life of some famous artist or scholar who died young. (Galois, Mozart, etc.) Other suggestions: read "Thus They Frustrate Charlemagne". (a short story by ?RA Lafferty. Brad Johnson (johnson@ebony.rtsg.mot.com) and Michael D. Sprague (Sprague.Wbst311@xerox.com) suggest finding old adventures published by Pacesetter for their TimeMaster game. Brandon Cope (A_COPEAB@CCSVAX.SFASU.EDU) suggested reading the "Time War" series by Simon Hawke. He mentions some of the plots, including: a renegade has gone back to King Richard's time to make sure he DOESN'T die in France (?), but comes back to rule England; a group must track down a 21st century Russian fast-attack sub that is being hidden in the past (it turns out in the late 1800's, and one of the characters is Jules Verne...). Sean Christopher Simmons (ss72+@andrew.cmu.edu) suggests: Try this one, people go back in time and try to kill Marx and Engle before they meet. (Be a real horror to the socialists and communists among your players :) Also, try something further back in time, like William the Conquerer. This would bollix up a lot of history. Also, maybe someone would like to kill Christ in his manger, or Mohammed, or Buddha, gack that'd be nasty. Mats Broman (mabr@sweden.hp.com) suggests: 1) Enemy goes back to 1815, assassinates the Duke of Wellington, just before the Battle of Waterloo. One of the players have to play the role of the Duke and refight the whole campaign/battle, with the help of the rest of the party. 2) Enemy goes back to 1936 to assassinate Josef Stalin, and thereby prevent a Russian intervention in WWII. The characters have 12 hours in which to stop the assassination. 3) Characters are sent back in time to prevent Adolf Hitler from being assassinated. Because if he is, a more sane leader might take over and actually win WWII. 4) Characters are brought back to the 12/13th century, where they are to help Richard the Lionheart to escape from his imprisonment in the dungeons of the Austrian Arch-Duke. They have 48 hours to do this or else Richard will be beheaded by the Duke, and Prince John will rule England. Doug Gibson (DOUG@abby.chem.ucla.edu) suggests: The Confederate courier that got lost on the morning of the first battle of Bull Run (causing much confusion on the confederate side) somehow got found. The Confederacy wins a much greater victory that day than happened historically, and as a result goes on to win the war. This causes all sorts of changes, as the USA will probably never become a superpower, etc. Send the PCs to neutralize the courier. Of course, since nobody knows (I think) what actualy happened to the courier, it'll be hard to figure out exactly what they need to do... trying to find him along the way might be disastrous. [I assume most of you realise he is talking about the American Civil War.] And finally, here are just a few ideas I have been working on. I only have a small number ready now, since I am developing these ideas to run as adventures in my own campaign. These were designed for the 'Timepiece' campaign setting given in GURPS Time Travel, but can easily be modified for other settings. Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on the 6th of February, 1840 by a British representative and fifty Maori chieftans. Britain formally proclaimd sovereignty over New Zealand and agreed to respect the land-ownership rights of the Maori, who placed themselves under the protection of the British government. New Zealand was made a dependency of New South Wales, until 1841. Waitangi is on the coast of the Bay of Islands, on the North Island of New Zealand, approximately 35.3 S, 174.1 E. Enemy agents have penetrated this time period in an effort to stop the signing of the treaty, thereby leading to persecution of the Maori and deep-seated resentment of the white settlers. They will attempt to do this by inciting mistrust of the whites in the Maori. They will steal, murder and be generally unpleasant, in the guise of Europeans. They will trespass on sacred ground. They hope to make the Maori angry enough to attack the whites, ending any chance for a peaceful negotiation. The PCs must stop this disruption and ensure that the treaty is signed. Pearl Harbour. Japan launched a surprise bombing attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on the 7th of December, 1941. The attack caused the USA to join the Second World War. The ensuing conflict saw the surrenders of the Axis in Europe and Japan in the Pacific. Timeline: 5 May, 1941: US government hopes to conciliate Japan and keep it out of the war by authorising renewal of a petroleum contract with Japan. 25 May: In French Indochina, Japan seizes over $10 000 000 in US goods destined for China. 29 May: US suspends exports from Philippines to Japan. 23 July: Japan occupies French Indochina. US suspends negotiations underway in Washington with the Japanese and freezes Japanese assets in the US. 2 Oct: US asks Japan to clarify intentions on withdrawal of troops from China and French Indochina. 26 Nov: US rejects Japanese explanation as offering no basis for peaceful settlement. Pearl Harbour strike fleet leaves Japan. 27 Nov: Japan signs five-year pact with Germany and Italy. 2 Dec: US President Roosevelt asks Japan for an explanation of heavy troop concentration in French Indochina. Yamamoto signals attack fleet to go ahead with the attack. 5 Dec: US believes the Japanese fleet is sailing south to Indochina. 6 Dec: Roosevelt appeals to Japanese Emperor for a peaceful solution. 7 Dec: Pearl Harbour bombed. Admiral Isamoto Yamamoto masterminded the attack. He was opposed to a war with the US, but saw that a crippling pre-emptive strike was the best way to ensure victory. He alone knew that Japan could not win a protracted war, and urged the attack over further movements in Indochina. Enemy agents penetrate this time to stop the attack on Pearl Harbour, thereby delaying US entry into the war and prolonging it. They can do this by either convincing Yamamoto not to attack, or by killing him. The PCs must make sure that Yamamoto's opinion is carried through, and that the attack on Pearl Harbour goes ahead. (NB. This scenario could prove unpleasant for any players with links to the real Pearl Harbour attack. I would advise against using this scenario in that case.) Giza. The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, during the Old Kingdom, saw the reign of Cheops from 2680-2657 BC. He organised construction of the Great Pyramid, using almost the entire male population of Egypt and impoverishing the country. Construction of the pyramid undoubtedly put a strain on the otherwise flourishing fields of science and mathematics. Halting its construction would free many thousands of people and allow the sciences to develop even further in this ancient civilisation. Enemy agents have been sent to make sure that the pyramid is built. They can appeal to Cheops' vanity and help him to coerce his people. The PCs must somehow prevent Cheops from beginning the project. David Mar. mar@physics.su.OZ.AU Astrophysics Department, University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia.