Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Goblinoid Games Travels Back in Time!



Goblinoid Games has always taken inspiration from the spirit of the 70s and 80s, publishing retro games such as Starships & Spacemen, Labyrinth Lord, and Mutant Future. Now we are pleased to announce that Goblinoid Games has been recruited into the Time Corps and is traveling back in time to bring a new classic title into the family.

Goblinoid Games has purchased the rights to TIMEMASTER: Adventures in the 4th Dimension! Originally published by Pacesetter in 1984, TIMEMASTER was an innovative RPG for its time (pun intended), presenting one of the earliest percentile “chart-based” game systems and a heavily supported and playable game of time travel; a feat few have been able to repeat. TIMEMASTER never suffered from the commonly perceived problems of time travel games, as it set out a very playable premise based on a number of “laws” of time travel, and infinite universes. A referee can run highly accurate historical games if desired, or fudge the details since it is in the distant past of the setting or even in an alternate timeline.

Lurching into action, your battered chronoscooter crosses the void of time and space. Another lurch, and the vertigo fades. The countryside comes into view. Knights in armor battle, clanging sword against shield, and then someone blasts at your neck with a laser beam. Once again, all of Time is a mess, and as an agent of the Time Corps, you must set this world straight or die trying! Adventure to any place, any time, in this universe and beyond! The TimeMaster Roleplaying Game makes you master of the "Fourth Dimension", guiding you to the ultimate adventure in history, legend, and science fiction. fight cunning aliens and savage renegades who twist Time to their own purposes. Only skill and wit stand between the world you know and absolute chaos!

The current time in the game is in the 72nd Century, leaving a wide swath of time between (our) today and the future for the referee to design. History in your campaign could have taken various paths over such a vast time period. For example, characters could go back to the beginnings of interstellar travel, or the post-apocalyptic period following the blights and radioactive fallout of the third world war, if you envision your milieu following that timeline. The possibilities are quite literally endless.

Join the ranks of the Time Corps, and you can be the Master of Time!

The TIMEMASTER product line is currently available in electronic format, and in the coming months the line will be released via print on demand. Note: the electronic files currently available are identical to what has been offered previously. As the books become ready for POD the electronic files will be updated as well, and will be much higher quality. Anyone who purchases the current version will be able to download the upgrades later free of charge!

For people unfamiliar with this game or who just need to fill gaps in the product line, the entire electronic product line is being offered at 60% off the regular electronic price for a limited time! The product line currently includes the original rule set that included a rule book, sample adventure, and campaign guide in addition to 12 modules and an indispensable expansion book.

Over the next year we plan to support the TIMEMASTER product line in several ways, so watch for future announcements!

13 comments:

Tenkar said...

I owned (and might still, I'd have to look) all the Pacesetter RPGs - Timemaster, Chill, Space Ace (or was it Star Ace?) and the other one that promised a monetary reward.

Timemaster by far was the most playable, at least for my group. Fun times :)

Anthony said...

Congratulations. Now you need Chill and Top Secret/SI :D

Unknown said...

Very cool development!

Unknown said...

I still have my Timemaster box set, plus the Timetricks supplement. That's pretty cool.

spielmeister said...

Awesome! I missed this part of gaming history so I'm glad I can catch it in what's coming up.

Justin S. Davis said...

Snazzy!

(And add my voice to the Chill chorus.)

Mallius Vane said...

Missed this completely back in the day...looks pretty cool so I'm off to pick up the pdf and give it a look-see.

Pere Ubu said...

OH FRICKIN' SWEET. I can haz boxed set, plz?

Who's got the rights to Star Ace these days, BTW?

Nicolas Dessaux said...

Great! My neighbour had a TM box when we were teenagers, but we had no opportunity to play it actually.

Dan of Earth said...

Thanks for the comments all!

@Pere: Phil Reed of Ronin Arts owns Star Ace.

Matthew Slepin said...

So what are the adventures like? Heavily-plotted or no?

Needles said...

The adventures are pretty damn flexible & not as rail roady as some other time travel games I've played in!

Chad Thorson said...

This is great news! I've never played Timemaster but I'm a big fan of Chill! Is there a chance you might pick up Chill and Star Ace?