Crossed Swords (Timemaster)

Crossed Swords is an adventure published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984 for the fantasy time-travel role-playing game Timemaster.

Cover art by Ben Otero, 1984

Plot summary

The Time Corps agents are sent back in time to investigate strange events involving the Three Musketeers. Like the novels of Alexandre Dumas, the players have to contend with the rival guards of Cardinal Richelieu as well as the political intrigue of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles.[1]

Publication history

The small game company Pacesetter was founded by former employees of TSR who had left the company because they felt that in terms of role-playing games, it was headed in the wrong direction.[2] One of Pacesetter's products was Timemaster, in which player characters are agents of the Time Corps, which is defending the timeline against attacks by an insidious enemy. The agents are sent to various important events in history, including fictional history.

The first adventure for Timemaster was Crossed Swords,[3] a 32-page book written by Carl Smith, with a cover by Ben Otero and illustrations by Jim Roslof and Stephen Sullivan.[1]

Reception

In the January 1985 edition of White Dwarf (Issue #61), Steve Norledge called this scenario "refreshingly light-hearted in feel and there are profuse opportunities for amusing role-playing." Norledge liked the potential for creative play, saying, "It is a scenario for role-playing - hardly a sterile dungeon crawl of the sort that some companies persist in putting out." He concluded by giving the scenario an average rating of 7 out of 10, commenting, "though this one does have its flaws it's a good start from a new company. Now if you'll excuse me I have a certain Cardinal Richelieu to deal with . . ."[3]

Other recognition

A copy of Crossed Swords is held in the collection of the Strong National Museum of Play (Object ID: 117.492).[2]

Other reviews
gollark: Your ship's AI stores the blueprints for all this highly advanced apiotechnology.
gollark: The technology is unusable outside of the furnaces because when you "research" things, you just confuse the AI of your crashed ship into giving you the ability to manufacture them, without ever actually understanding it.
gollark: Perhaps it electrolyzes water vapour. Perhaps it's able to fuse oxygen/nitrogen.
gollark: The power requirement it has is just to run the electromagnetic containment.
gollark: The power requirements might be prohibitive, but I suppose it could contain a fusion reactor too.

References
  1. Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 350. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
  2. "Game: Timemaster Crossed Swords". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  3. Norledge, Steve (January 1985). "Open Box". White Dwarf. Games Workshop (Issue 61): 8–9.
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