Sea Dogs of England
Clash of Kings

TimeMaster Modules

Review by Matt Costello

Pacesetter Ltd.
PO. Box 451, Delavan, WI 53115
Released: Fall, 1984
Catalog Nos. 3007 and 3006
Price: $6.00 each
Complexity: Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: None

If there a gem in Pacesetter's trio of new role-playing games, then surely it's Timemaster. Neither Star Ace nor Chill break new ground, but Timemaster meets a definite need, and meets it well.

Briefly, Timemaster is the role- playing game where time-travelling agents from the future try to prevent an alien race, the Demoreans, from altering the continuum, the strand of history as it should be. A Timemaster adventure typically features the Demoreans posing as historical personages with some nefarious plan to upset the historical applecart. The Time Corps agents, recruited from various time periods and brought to the future, have to stop them.

Two recent modules from Pacesetter show off the games theme and systems to best advantage. Sea Dogs of England sends the Time Corps agents back to Elizabethan England to save the Queen from an assassination attempt. Clash of Kings also has the agents going to the fabled isle to protect the endangered legend of Merlin and his protege, Arthur.

The cover art is acceptable, better in Sea Dogs but less appealing in Clash. Both modules feature well organized plot material, helpful maps, and a gaggle of pregenerated agents, ranging from John "It" Haskins, a wrestler, to Roxana, who served as a spearman to King Darius, circa 331 B.C. The modules are entertaining, well researched, and full of clever surprises.

But now let me warn off any prospective players. Continuum masters (CMs) may remain, but if you plan to play in either of these adventures, journey down to the last paragraph.

Now... can we talk? These adventures should be lots of fun, both to run and play. Take Sea Dogs of England, for example. Can you imagine the look on your players' faces as they sail with Sir Francis Drake to trap the Spanish Fleet at Cadiz only to see the US.S. Ethan Allen, a nuclear powered ICBM-launching submarine? And if they're lucky enough to kill the Demorean who attacks the Queen, a strip search will reveal a T-shirt from ZZ Tops' 1983 tour, albeit with an extra pair of arm holes for the quadrilimbed Demoreans.

Then there's my favorite touch. There is a Sir Toby Belch type of character named Harry Oldcastle who drifts in and out of the player characters' (PCs) lives. One time he's walking around with a pack of filter cigarettes (guess which brand) and talking about how wealthy he'll be with all his coupons ... just as soon as the American colonies are founded. Another time he attempts to run (ahem) a role-playing game in the most bizarre manner.

The PCs have to get all this anachronistic loot away from Harry, in addition to saving the Empire-to-be. And don't let the nuclear sub scare you. With a crew of sixteenth century Spanish sailors, its bark is worse than its bite.

Sea Dogs of England mixes just the right amount of humor, irony, and adventure. The one nuclear missile that is launched highlights the clever scheme of the module. Of course, the Demoreans would, it seems to me, have more direct ways to achieve their time-shifting goals, but then the game would be a lot less interesting.

My only criticism is the strict plot line of the modules. PCs really must conform to the pre-set plot with the GM directing their movements through the use of non- player characters (NPCs) like Harry Oldcastle. I would prefer an adventure that allows for a greater range of decision making. The people I play with can be pretty insistent about following their own path.

Clash of Kings, the second Timemaster module under review, offers a greater degree of freedom. This open- endedness could let the plot wander far afield, but experienced rote-players should have no problem.

Again, the writing and research are of a high order. As the adventure begins, the Demoreans have already begun tampering with Arthur's life at crucial points--Arthur's conception, the removal of the sword in the stone, and the battle of the two kings, Arthur and Mordred. it will take some quick-witted Time Corps agents to start undoing the damage of the Demorean intervention.

Fortunately, the scenario allows some skipping about with the chronoscooters, so that agents can try an earlier time setting if they goof Looping, returning to a time that a PC has already visited, still can trap a time traveller in an endless loop. Also, since Arthur is legend, the Time Corps can't provide a record of things as they should be. The agents themselves will have to determine what is to be history and what is to be myth.

Clash of Kings is mustrated with Aubrey Beardsley's classic work for Le Morte D'Arthur, and the drawings lend a stylish look to the book's interior.

Pacesetter has a good product in its Timemaster game and these modules make it even better. The background information and flavor are authentic, and the action is highly entertaining.

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