BTRC - TimeLords

This is the first edition of the TimeLords game. I also have the later version and will save a post and put the image of that at the end of this one. TimeLords is a setting and a system at the same time. I have not had a chance to play it and again it is because of it being by BTRC that I own it. Below is some information about it from rpggeek.com.

As a setting:

Timelords begins at the End of Time. A doomed race, known as "The Designers", gifted in both psionics and sciences set about escaping their fate as the inevitable end of the universe encroached. Eventually, they discover time travel, and use this knowledge to move their entire solar system backwards in time to when the universe is about 15 billion years old. The actual Designers have never been seen by humans. After attempting to create powerful new life forms, they created "Lucifer", a sentient being that led the destruction of the Designer race and caused the dispersion of Designer technology across the universe.

The pinnacle of their achievements was the "Matrix", a small time-travel device, the size and shape of a 20-sided die, weighing about 3 pounds. The Matrix could be used for personal time travel, as an energy source, and other things only hinted at by the rule books. It is one of these Matrix devices that the players of the game find to begin their adventure.


As a system:

TimeLords is a gaming system from Greg Porter of BTRC (Blacksburg Tactical Research Center) used in the three games TimeLords (1st and 2nd edition), SpaceTime and WarpWorld. There are minor updates to the rules system between the two editions of TimeLords. SpaceTime uses the equivalent of TimeLords 1st edition rules and WarpWorld the rules of TimeLords 2nd edition.

The system is generic (although geared to human-sized humanoid players), very "down to earth" and tries to correct several flaws in the contemporary RPG systems (for example the "killed by rabbit bite in the foot due to 1HP left"-problem with HP-based games). The result is a rules system that covers most situations, although the rules are quite brief, and that has the standpoint that "combat is deadly", that is wounds have their effect (not only loosing HP, but also reduces ability until healed) and all wounds are potentially deadly (even minor wounds left unattended).

All of the games and supplements in the series share the same trait, they are extremely condensed. There are lots of rules in a relatively few pages, covering every aspect of the game. For most of the time supplements have very little detailed information, leaving the GameMaster to fill in the blanks, and instead focuses on supplying new and interesting concepts. Instead of offering complete listings of, for example vehicles, the rule books gives a few types of vehicles and leaves it up to the interested party to create their own, while still offering a framework to do so.

Players of Millenium's End from Chameleon Eclectic will find similarities in the feel of the TimeLords rules system.


The second promised image....