Playing with Time

I love playing with time but incorporating it into a tabletop RPG can be like playing with fire. Adding leaps forward and backward in time to an action packed story complicates things. That said, time is cool enough to make the effort worth it. Time tends to play a role in everything in some way. It tends to make effects more powerful and sometimes corrupted, mythical creatures influence time by simply being, and spells can erase existence. I've also incorperated time effects into creatures, places, enchanted objects, and spells. The following are ideas:

Fae Environmental Effects

The presence of fae has been described as euphoric, out of time, enlivening– if beauty and majesty were a feeling that would be it. Like the presence of shadow, the effects of the fae also impact the emotions of living beings. This can manifest into many wonderful and also terrifying ways. The fae includes fae, magical creatures, and powerful objects that derive their power from primeval magic and to a lesser degree, sorcery.

Environmental Effects: Time slows; figments of light, colors, and shadows disappear and reappear at random. The environment glows and darkens, seemingly on a whim. The area is tied to the emotions of the fae source.

Time is out of sync in the presence of the fae. When a creature first enters the radius of effect roll a d6. A result of 1-3 means time passes slower relative to the outside world and a result of 4-6 means time passes more quickly. A 1 is half the rate, 2 a quarter, and 3 an eighth, while a 4 is twice the rate, 5 is four times the rate, and 6 is eight times the rate. Once within the area, creatures become distracted, unless they have a magical bonus to Perception checks.

Edmund Dulac

Creatures

Creatures immune to temporal effects: Undead, Outsiders, Planar Creatures. Idea being this can create some interesting situations. Like a spell that reverses time, changing everything but the undead creature standing in front of you or an undead creature enters into a scene where you and a fey creature are speaking, suddenly moving much faster than you (because time is passing slowly for you).

Objects
 

Ákos: Ákos in Keleti means white falcon. It is the staff of Aliz Eszes, the last remaining member of her family. Aliz was gifted Ákos in the Free City by her mentor and friend Ewart Bellamy, a wizard of some renown. This ashen white staff, tall and smooth has a large crystal imbedded at its topmost point. The staff houses a single extraordinary spell, Outside Time. Perhaps because of its nature Ákos also protects its owner from temporal effects.

Brass Sundial: This sundial fits in the palm of the hand. Intricate engravings round the handsome trinket; otherwise it does little more than tell the time with its shadow. But to those that can perceive weaves of magic, confounding enchantments form a labyrinth of protections. Solid as a block of steel, at noontime each day, applying moderate pressure to a circular engraving on its underside reveals a hidden compartment. What was there originally is anyone’s guess. Once closed, the contents of the compartment become completely hidden.

Tryphon’s Rings: Tryphon the Ancient is associated with time. Tryphon’s Rings is an orrery. Text describing its design exists in Elne’s Tower of Remembrance and copies buried in the Library of Halia. Though it’s only ever been described in text, Tryphon’s Rings is believed to have existed at some point. Altering the position of its rings moves time forwards and backwards.

Spells

Spell Dice determine the strength of a spell, how hard it is to resist, and how taxing it is on the spellcaster. Magic is a volatile energy that can produce unexpected results.

For each Power spent casting a spell, roll a Spell Die (d6). The resulting roll is the spell’s CR, which the target must exceed to resist. You may never roll more than 4 Spell Dice to cast a spell.



And each time you cast a spell and roll doubles it creates an unintended effect. Here are the time based effects:

Spell Dice and the Identical Dice Effect

Two 1s: Time warps around you, your position in the Initiative order drops by two. If you are already last, your position in the Initiative order increases by two instead (temporal effect).

Three 1s: Everything that’s happened this round is undone. Round restarts and characters reattempt their chosen actions (temporal effect).

Four 1s: The encounter restarts. Everything that’s happened this encounter is undone (temporal effect).

Distortion

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: 1 rnd/Spell Dice result
Check: Intuition

Affected target becomes unable to coherently perceive the passage of time and therefore the events that transpire around it. The target must make a check each round to perform its actions normally. If the target fails its check, it rolls one less d6 on all checks until its next turn, when it can once again attempt a check. If a target makes three failed checks in a row, it becomes nauseated for Spell Dice result minutes.

Lose Time

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: Permanent
Check: Intuition

The body of target living creature ages Spell Dice result years. The target ages 1 year per round. It cannot be healed except by a restorative spell or effect.
Partial Effect: If resisted, the target is fatigued.

Obliterate

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: Instantaneous
Check: Dexterity

This rare and dreaded spell not only destroys, but also erases from time. The target is bathed in white-hot fire. The target is dealt damage equal to the 3 highest Spell Dice. If the target is brought to 0 Life it immediately dies and its previous actions are undone. Its life is erased for 1 round, minute, hour, or day per Spell Dice result. A Spell Dice result of 1-9 is rounds, 10-15 is minutes, 16-20 is hours, and 21-24 is days. Undone actions include damage, spells cast, creatures killed, etc. as if they had never happened.
Partial Effect: If resisted, the target is dealt damage equal to the lowest Spell Die.

Outside Time

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: 1 min/Spell Dice result
Check: Intellect

The target is forced outside of time, sending it into the future 1 minute per Spell Dice result, unless it makes a successful check. From the perspective of the surrounding creatures, your target suddenly disappears. The affected target likewise perceives its surroundings and then the next instant, minutes into the future.
Partial Effect: If resisted, the target is sent into the future 1 round.

 Identical Dice Effect:

Two 1s: A flash of light blinds all creatures within 50 ft. (1 rnd).

Three 1s: You and the target are transported to a divine realm (the target is not dealt damage).

Four 1s: The environment flickers around you. Every creature within 50 ft. is transported to a divine realm for Spell Dice result rounds.

Rot

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: Instantaneous
Check: None

Cause rapid decay in organic materials. Destroy inanimate organic materials such as wood or vines as if aging the objects over centuries. You can destroy a Small inanimate thing with 2 Power, Medium with 3 Power, and Large with 4 Power.

Stasis

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: Permanent
Check: Intellect

Unless the target makes a successful check it is immediately frozen in place. Once its body becomes completely immobile it can no longer be influenced by the outside world as if sheathed in an impenetrable membrane. Weapons cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it, and even stone cannot crush it. The target is held in Stasis until you release it, the effect is dispelled, or a designated trigger is activated. You may set a trigger or amount of time, which frees the target as part of the spell.
Partial Effect: If resisted, the target is slowed. It can only perform 1 action, movement, or immediate action for 1 round.

Time Loop

Range: Personal
Duration: See text
Check: None

Once cast this spell creates an anchor. Once the duration of Time Loop is up, your mind returns to that moment when the anchor was formed (overwriting your previous self). You may choose a duration of rounds, minutes, hours, or days per Spell Dice result. Once returned you may alter events as they play out. You are in control of your own actions, but events transpire exactly as they did before, except for how you influence them. How you influence events may cause an entire encounter to change or it may change only slightly or you may find that the momentum of events ends with a familiar result. Once returned, the duration of the spell ends and the events play out without being able to go back and change them again. If you have a mental condition, such as nausea or even death by the time the duration is up, your addled or dead mind returns to the anchor point. Likewise, returning to an earlier point in time does not change the amount of Power you had and it does not revitalize you.

Wink

Range: 50 ft./Spell Dice
Duration: 1 rnd/Spell Dice result
Check: None

For moments at a time everything around the target seems to freeze, granting it an advantage during encounters. For the duration of the spell, its actions go first.
 

Edmund Dulac