Intro

"Oh, this bread...honest to goodness bread..."  Samantha bit off another hunk of her pastrami sandwich.  "Do you know what they consider bread 500 years Down?"

John rolled his eyes.  "Sam, you hate camping.  What in the world gave you the idea of hitching a ride with a four to the middle ages?"

"It was the sword.  Dreda fruned that it was used in the Ottoman Civil War.  I had to spend an age learning Turkish and how to interact as a gayrimuslim, let alone a woman.  Thankfully, the local thespian corner were willing to help my...oh!  Coke!"  Samantha spans out then back in, chugging a litre of Coke covered in condensation.  "Sweet nectar of the gods.  Anyways, I've got it now.  Just need to send it to my junior."

"And your elder says to quiet down."  A head popped down the stairs that matched Samantha's only with wilder hair.  "And find someplace else to sleep.  This bed is mine."

Samantha pulled out her span book with a sigh, noted off the gemini.  "At least one good thing about Thrace - I didn't bump into myself."

"Bilmemek ayyp deoil, sormamak ayyp."  Her elder smirked.  "But further information is not available here."

*Not knowing is not shameful, not asking is.

Summary

What would you do, where would you go, if you could travel through time at will?

Continuum is a SciFi RPG about time travel.  A bit of a hidden gem, one doesn't see it in on many tables or gaming conventions, but it presents a very compelling format and interesting twist.  Instead of a single explorer or a "time police" format, Continuum describes a society based on time travellers living among us.

Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to spread some awareness of the game and (if interest exists) put together a game.  I'll be discussing the five Maxim's - the social conventions of the Continuum universe - and providing some details on gameplay.

Note that (unfortunately) the game is closed source, but (fortunately) Continuum's mechanics fairly simple at heart and doesn't require hefty knowledge of the rules.  The game focuses on problem solving and thinking about your actions in four dimensions.  If a game is run, I plan for players to not require the books and will provide assistance translating from action to mechanics.

Session one
 Maxim: Information is all.
 Info: How to travel in time and space (without a TARDIS)...

Session two
 Maxim: Respect your elders.
 Info: Time travel society (corners, frats, and your gemini)

Session three
 Maxim: Measure twice, cut once.
 Info: Basic game mechanics and character design

Session four
 Maxim: Invitation to dance.
 Info: Physical combat

Session five
 Maxim: Never fight for a lost cause.
 Info: Time combat

Throughout, if you have questions or interest, give a poke!

First in line!  And yes, I have the book.  :D

I'll put my name forward.  I have access to the rules, but I've never so much as cracked the cover.  Kind of picked it up on an impulse based on it's rarity, heh.

What kind of system is it?

Oak/Jack - Sounds good.  I'll keep you apprised.  :-)

pfarland - They rolled their own system.  Attributes are Body/Mind/Quick(speed) with ranks in skills (Drive, Stealth, etc) associated to different attributes.  Success is determined via a d10 roll - roll under your rank+attribute for success.  You gain experience each time you use a skill, so eventually, you become better.  Equipment/situations may apply a modifier.

As for spanning (ie travelling through time/space), that's more complicated.  Post coming shortly on that.

I think this sounds pretty interesting.  I would love to be involved.

I'd play.  Always interested in time travel, and always wanted to give Continuum a try.

What Time Is It?

I'd be interested in joining this Corner.

Wow - more interest than I had thought!

I'll have to start planning a game.  For now:

-Session one-
         Maxim: Information is all.
         Info: How to travel in time and space (without a TARDIS)...

"Oh man, my day job is getting boring.  Seriously, how long do I have to keep up this charade?"  Jonas kicked a can down the street.  "We're millionaires, Bill.  Why do I have to spend seven hours at a desk - more when my boss is a jerk?  Ugh."

"You know the drill, Jonas.  We go through the motions until we earn Span Two.  Put in your hours however you like though."

"Yeah...tried that.  My spanbook started to look more wonky than a truck driver's on pep pills.  More fricking paperwork.  I want some action.  Not handcramps."  A man grinned and punched Jonas' shoulder as he walked by.  "And what's up with this?  Same as that busboy at the cafe."

"At least the travel is nice.  Hit Woodstock last week.  Wouldn't believe what Janis Joplin did onstage...and offstage."  He smirked.  "Think those hopped up hippies would notice if I..."  Bill stopped mid sentence, mouth agape.   Eyes wide, he pointed across the street.  "You...you asked for action, man..."

JONAS MCCARTHY v. JIM HENSTON
MIDWEST CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
JUNE 20, 2012

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Session one
 Maxim: Information is all.
 Info: How to travel in time and space (without a TARDIS)...

Characters in Continuum travel through time and space via a method called "spanning."  How, you ask?  Sorry, such information cannot be provided to levelers (ie non time travellers) or lower ranked spanners (ie below span 3).  Spanners simply can will themselves to do so.  Span One's can travel up to a year either Up (forward in time) or Down (backward in time) before resting.  This may be done in one big span or several smaller ones.  They can also span levelly (ie teleport) up to a mile. As for weight, you can only span with 10lbs - not a whole lot!

Spanning under the influence, beyond your capabilities, or without having a good idea where you're going is generally a Bad Thing.  Ask your mentor for more information.  Increasing span gives exponential increases in power - Span Twos may go 10y/10m/100lbs, Span Threes 100y/100m/1000lb, and so on.

First Maxim: Information is all.

The universe is.  The history of the universe is static.  Spanners do not change history, they make history.  The restriction is that you cannot change what you know to have occurred.  Rome must fall, World War 2 must happen, Justin Beiber must sing.  This makes spanners a bit tight lipped at times - necessitating the phrase "Further information is not available here."  Providing too much information to a spanner about their yet (future) can tie their hands.  Imagine going into a grocery store with a list of exactly what you must buy - no more, no less.  Imagine your life being laid out this way.  Youch.

Spanners become "fragged" (or out of touch with the universe) when another spanner attempts to change history.  Sometimes this is a mistake by a loyal spanner not thinking through their actions.  Sometimes this is a direct attack by narcissists - spanners who attempt to warp the universe to their will.  The word attempt is critical here.  The universe is held together via overwhelming sentient force (ie spanner society).  If Jimmy tries to kill Hitler, this quickly frags a large number of spanners.  Jimmy suddenly has a few hundred spanners after him.  Jimmy has a short yet.