Time Killers was released this week as part of PocketQuest 2026. It’s a standalone game but, as always, if there’s an upswell of support or people want more missions, we are happy to oblige.
Samnple Play:
Target: 5. Alan Turing
The Mission: Ensure Alan Turing dies of cyanide poisoning on June 7, 1954, to prevent a computational explosion that destabilizes the timeline.
The Characters
Marco (The Infiltrator): Origin: 20th Century. Talent: Infiltrator (Reroll Influence or Stealth rolls when disguised).
Julius (The Assassin): Origin: Ancient World. Talent: Assassin (Reroll one failed die on a Violence roll in a controlled situation).
The Scene: Wilmslow, Cheshire. June 7, 1954.
Director: You materialize in a narrow garden path behind a row of quiet, red-brick houses. The air is damp with a recent English drizzle. The silence here is heavy, the kind of suburban stillness that makes every footstep sound like a gunshot. Your Executive Chronometers vibrate softly; the window of opportunity is closing. There are people out and about; someone is mowing a lawn, a woman is hanging out her laundry across the road.
Marco: I’m wearing a postman’s uniform provided by Deployment. I check my bag. “Julius, the ‘apple’ is ready. We just need to make sure he’s alone”.
Julius: I’m in the shadows of the hedge, dressed as a gardener. I don’t like this. There’s a neighbour hanging laundry three houses down. If she looks over, we’ll have to act more.
Director: As you speak, a bicycle bell rings. A telegram boy is pedaling down the street toward Turing’s front door. This wasn’t in the historical record.
Marco: “I’ll intercept.” I walk out with a practiced, bored slump. I’m going to try to convince the boy I’m a senior postman and I’ll take the delivery for him.
The Roll: Nerve (d8) + Influence (d6). The Result: d8 = 7 (1 Success), d6 = 1 (Complication).
Director: You get the telegram, and the boy whistles and pedals off. But the Complication: The neighbour hanging laundry saw the exchange. She’s now leaning over the fence, looking at you suspiciously. “New on the route, are you?”. Marco continues to RP with the neighbour.
Julius: While Marco is being “social,” I slip toward the back door. I’m using my OOP: Universal Lockpick to open the door without a roll. I need to get inside and ensure the cyanide solution is prepared without him being distracted.
Director: The lock clicks open with an unfamiliar, silent hum. You’re in. The house is painfully quiet. You see Alan in the dining room, sitting by a half-eaten meal. A bowl of cyanide solution sits on the side table. He looks… tired.
Julius: I don’t look at his face. I’m a tool of the Executive. I need to make sure he doesn’t decide to answer the door or leave for a walk. I use my Mind (d6) + Tradecraft (d8) to subtly stage the room so his focus remains on the task.
The Result: d6 = 5 (1 Success), d8 = 10 (2 Successes). Total: 3 Successes.
Director: With three successes, staging the room is a success. The curtains are drawn just enough. The stillness is opaque. And he hasn’t noticed you. You notice a letter he was about to write, a letter that might have sparked an early rescue. You move it.
Marco: (Outside) I tip my cap to the neighbor. “Just covering for Bill, ma’am. Nasty cough he’s got.”
Director: She grumbles and turns away. Inside, Julius, you watch from the shadows. Alan Turing picks up the apple. He dips it. The room feels like it’s holding its breath.
Julius: I stay until the end. If I leave too early, it’s a Paradox. I watch the greatest mind of the century flicker out to save a future he’ll never see.
Director: The Chronometers give one final, sharp pulse. Extraction initiated. The room begins to blur and stretch. Turing collapses to the ground, convulses and opens his eyes to see you, Julius. His face contorts into confusion before he lies still.
Marco: “Record restored,” I whisper to the empty street as the world collapses into the gray of the Executive’s timeline.
Post-Mission Extraction (Debrief)
Player (Julius): That felt heavy. Seeing the “apple” on the table really hit home.
Player (Marco): The “Moral Question” section of the rules wasn’t kidding. You really feel like an agent of stability rather than a hero.
Director: Good job, agents. History is stable. For now.