The Slipshanking FAQ

The Continuum roleplaying game has been in existence for about five years now officially, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GMs, think a little bit. This Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page is designed to answer some of the commonly asked questions about one of the more complex Continuum game elements - Slipshanks and Slipshanking.

Slipshanking Frequently Asked Questions

I'm curious about something. The restriction on Slipshanking (it gives you frag until you actually fulfill that part of your Yet) is purely a game balance restriction, right?

Not really, no. See Continuum , page 55, "The Beer Crisis of William & Edward". The only "game convention" is that the frag hits the character the moment he or she enjoys the benefits of the Slipshank, but it's not inaccurate. Theoretically, the frag could hit later, or not at all, if the character is quick enough to fulfill what is essentially a near-miss Gemini. But if he or she enters Time (or even Physical) Combat shortly after the Slipshank, they're in danger of never fulfilling that part of their Yet, or even explaining what they've done - and he or she is _all_ to blame. 99.9% of Slipshanks would frag right away. Third Maxim.

Let's say you were trapped in an awkward situation and needed a certain object immediately. Normally, you'd slipshank it and take a point of frag, but what if there's another way. Instead, you span away, grab the item and span back a milisecond after you left so no one would notice the change (aside for a short "flash" when the person could see straight through you). By doing this, you get the object and avoid taking the frag. Is there are reason this couldn't work?

There are a couple reasons why this won't work, or why Slipshanking is useful. First of all, most spanners can't make such a precision span as little as a millisecond. At the most, spanners can appear within a second of a time they left. This makes the action obvious, and the target of attacks. Second, the Fourth Maxim. Spanning in front of people is not a good idea, as many spanners will lecture you about, among other things. Thirdly, in a Time Combat, where conserving Span is important and you are limited to Sweeps and defined actions, slipshanking is a great way to get items you need without spending Span or restricting your actions.

Why can't a character use Slipshanking to get the rest required to recharge one's Span? For that matter, what else can't one use Slipshanking for?

You can't Slipshank rest. Slipshank is for real, tangible objects only, outside one's body (unless you think you can convice Oolai the Inheritor to lend you his matter-transference medical device for your little Slipshank) otherwise you'd see/feel it appear, which means you aren't Slipshanking it, someone is reading your mind and using Oolai's little toy in violation of the Fourth Maxim.

You can't Slipshank information directly into your head.

You can't Slipshank ideals like Love or Justice. Just to be clear on this.

In addition, you cannot Slipshank imaginary objects like the Philosopher's Stone, leprechauns, or Aladdin's Lamp fully charged with the Robin Williams genie awaiting you inside. You can't Slipshank your enemy's soul into your Sailor Scout wand, or whatever it is they do. By the way, if trying to Slipshank an atom bomb, it only results in your finding a chilly note from your mentor's Exalted contact from the Aquarian Era, I'd say the GM is way, way within his rights.

Special thanks to Chris Adams, Dave Fooden, Barbara Manui, David Trimboli, and the folks on the Continuum Mailing List for their help in the compiling of this FAQ information.

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