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I have a game where my players will encounter a ship with an omega 13 style device (galaxy quest reference). My version will be able to rewind time for everything but the ship. So if the ship goes into combat takes damage and then rewinds the damage is still there. Like wise everyone on the ship remembers what happened while everyone off the ship is reset.

Now for the complication I am trying to think through. What if someone is on the ship at the start point, gets off, and then the ship rewinds. Do they get rewound from where they were to back on the ship? Are they forever lost on a "branch" of timetravel?

Same thing with the inversion. Some one is off the ship, then boards it, then the ship rewinds. The copy on the ship would logically remain there, but what about the originally copy? Would it exist permanently creating two of the same creature? Would it exist only for the time delta until the rewound occurred (ie i'm my fighter at noon, i land inside the ship at 12:15, the ship rewinds at 12:20 back to noon so my old self would last for 20 minutes?)

My goal is to create something vaguely logical, can be consistently applied, and not go crazy dismantling or infinitely multiplying the party.

If the ship doesn't repair, then neither would the crew.

kamikazzijoe wrote:I have a game where my players will encounter a ship with an omega 13 style device (galaxy quest reference). My version will be able to rewind time for everything but the ship. So if the ship goes into combat takes damage and then rewinds the damage is still there. Like wise everyone on the ship remembers what happened while everyone off the ship is reset.

Now for the complication I am trying to think through. What if someone is on the ship at the start point, gets off, and then the ship rewinds. Do they get rewound from where they were to back on the ship? Are they forever lost on a "branch" of timetravel?

Since they weren't on the ship when time was re-wound, their personal timeline is reset and they appear back on the ship but with no memory of future events. To them, this is the "first" time they went through these actions and they might think everyone else is crazy. Also, if the ship damage doesn't get reset, to them the ship will have been "instantly" damaged, as well as the people who were on board.

kamikazzijoe wrote:Same thing with the inversion. Some one is off the ship, then boards it, then the ship rewinds. The copy on the ship would logically remain there, but what about the originally copy? Would it exist permanently creating two of the same creature? Would it exist only for the time delta until the rewound occurred (ie i'm my fighter at noon, i land inside the ship at 12:15, the ship rewinds at 12:20 back to noon so my old self would last for 20 minutes?)

I don't follow that logic. Instead, consider this: The person who was originally NOT on the ship but then boarded the ship and was included in the time reset, would find themselves in the place they were when they were not on the ship - BUT, they will have retained their memories. So if this is a villain/enemy, they will know what happened even though no-one else around them will.

kamikazzijoe wrote:My goal is to create something vaguely logical, can be consistently applied, and not go crazy dismantling or infinitely multiplying the party.

I believe what I posted in response to you maintains the logic you're looking for. I hope that works out.

Just don't include time travel in your game as the Vulcan Science Council has stated it is impossible!

glitstam's point about showing back up where they started is a good one. perfect example is Stargate SG1's Window of Opportunity episode. T'ealc and O'neil end up in a time loop (groundhogs day style) where events keep recurring, but they remember everything. even if they end the looped period on another world, they reappear back where they started the day each time.