Time Council • 2018 rpg

The Time Council meets to adjudicate a conflict about (pick):
    [ ]  Inheritance and forbidden love in Merovingian France
    [ ]  Cold War espionage & nuclear escalation
    [ ]  Fame and disgrace during the colonization of Mars

Group yourselves into three named factions around a table. Elect a Facilitator. Each councilmember says exactly ten words about the event. Decide how the factions publicly disagree about the canonical timeline. Each faction also writes a facedown index card containing their secret timeline agenda.

Debate is by parliamentary procedure (motions can cut debate short, re-elect Facilitator, etc.), majority rule, in a workaday tone. Whenever a motion fails, the proposer calls a Scene from the timeline ("I would like to enter into the record this chronofootage..."), writes an index card for it, places it on the table in time order, casts other players from at least two factions, directs the scene ("cut", "freeze", "angrier", etc). Play as high drama. 

Facts established in the Scene stand, unless paradoxed by two-thirds majority and a new Scene from the alternate timeline, same characters & setup, overlaying the old Scene. 

When each player has set a Scene, reveal secret agendas. A faction prevailing publicly and secretly both is triumphant; either, satisfied; neither, discredited.