Game Design Pattern: Time Action!!!

In my continued attempts to do weird spacetime stuff with TTRPGs (The Art of Chrono War, Multi-Dimensional Hex Crawl), here's a system neutral Game Design Pattern for running conflicts with time mechanics.

These are currently untested. Might be better for fast or rules-light games, encounters with specific goals, or where there is some imposed limit on the number of Rounds (could just be a baked-in hard limit and not context specific); since individual Actions and entire Timelines may be overwritten, the pace of the conflict might be slower, all else being equal.

The idea was partially inspired by Source Control Management (Git specifically), if you know you know, but you don't need to know.

Again, totally untested, so if you catch any obvious issues with the design pattern, please let me know. I haven't run a game in a while but I'll try to incorporate this next time I run something and see how it goes.

Terminology

Basic overview of the game design pattern.

Turn: A single character's continuous Actions.

Round: Cycle of every characters' Turn, or reset after a new Timeline is created by a Time Action.

Action: General term for anything a character can do on their Turn.

Time Action: An Action of any kind that is taken backwards in time to alter a previous Turn within the Round, and that may create a new Timeline (and therefore resetting the Round).

Timeline: Linear sequence of Actions or Turns encompassing a Round. Whenever a new Timeline is created, the Round resets starting from the next Turn.

Stash Action: A special kind of Time Action, forfeiting a Turn to react to or interrupt other Actions.

Merge Action: Use a Stashed Action to react out of Turn order immediately after another Action.

Rebase Action: Use a Stashed Action to interrupt a Time Action, resolving prior to the Time Action.

Time Action Game Design Pattern

Explanation of the mechanics laid out in detail.

Time Actions

• Time Actions resolve using whatever mechanic would normally be involved for that Action. 
  
  
• They can only go back as far as the current Round.
  
  
• -X penalty on the Action for each Turn backwards.
• e.g. -1 to reset the Timeline from the previous character's Turn, -2 for two Turns back, etc.
• -X penalty is a relative term for whatever makes sense for the chosen system.
• Or, cost +X Time Action points, if you want to use a meta currency to limit Time Actions.
  
  

• If the Time Action is successful, the character may choose to accept the new Timeline and reset the Round, or revert to the original Timeline.
• If reverting to original Timeline, they are in effect forfeiting their turn, but gain +1 to their next Action or receiving a Time Action point if taking that approach.
• If accepting the new Timeline, they gain a +X bonus on their next non-Time Action where X is the number of Turns erased by the new Timeline.
  
  

• If the Time Action failed against an opposing character, the opposing character may choose to accept the new Timeline.

Stash/Merge/Rebase Actions

• Stash Action: Choose a kind of Action (e.g. running, fighting, hiding, etc.). 
• Forfeit your Turn.
• Stashed Actions may be used to Merge or Rebase.
  
  
• Merge Actions use Stashed Actions to react to another Action out of Turn with +1.
• Can react to other Merge Actions, resolving in the order they were made, each subsequent Merge Action receiving an additional +1.
• Can react to Time Actions, but not resolving until the beginning of the new Timeline, and are lost if the original Timeline is preserved.
• Can react to Rebase Actions, but only after all active Rebase Actions are resolved (otherwise it would get way too messy...).
  
  
• Rebase Actions use Stashed Actions to interrupt Actions with +1.
• Can interrupt other Rebase Actions, receiving an additional +1 for each number of Actions being interrupted.
• If a Rebase Action is successfully interrupted by another Rebase Action, it is lost.
• Can interrupt Time Actions, preserving the original Timeline or creating a different new Timeline based on how the Rebase Action alters the original Timeline.
• Can interrupt Merge Actions.

Flow of Time Action!!!

The Game Design Pattern explanation above is a better reference, but given that this is all about time, I thought it might be easier to understand at first if presented linearly.

Each sequence of continuous Actions or Turns over the course of a Round comprises a Timeline. While new Timelines reset the Round (prohibiting Time Actions further back), the character Turn order proceeds as normal.

Time Actions allow characters to create a new Timeline branching off of any Action within the Round, taking a -X Penalty (whatever that means within the system) for each Turn backwards they're attempting to erase in the Timeline.

This could alternatively use a points system to buy Time Actions rather than inducing a penalty. Or Time Actions could be tied to a specific stat or unique resolution mechanic, but I prefer the idea to just tie it to the Action itself, or a points system.

If the Time Action is successful, the character may choose to accept the new Timeline, reset the Round, and gain +X to their next (non-Time) Action, where X is the number of Turns erased by the new Timeline.

Attempting a Time Action from further back in the Timeline, where more Turns would be negated, involves a greater penalty or cost. However, if successful, it can not only turn the tides after a particularly bad Round, but can also provide a proportionately large benefit on the next (non-Time) Action.

So there's a risk/reward system involved that also reflects the natural advantage one might imagine having by successfully rewriting the Timeline in their favor.

Or, they revert to the original Timeline (in effect forfeiting their turn, but gaining +1 to their next Action or receiving a Time Action point if taking that approach).

If the Time Action failed against an opposing character, they also may choose to accept the new Timeline.

For systems with degrees of success especially, or where unexpected complications might arise, the option to reject a new Timeline, or to accept a new Timeline as the opposition even if it erases your previous Action, may be a beneficial decision.