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I realised I had spent quite a bit of time talking about timeline anomalies and Protector teams without ever explaining who the Time Line Protectors actually are.
The short answer is that they investigate timeline anomalies.
The longer answer is that they occupy a rather unusual role.
Many games involving time travel cast the player characters as explorers, soldiers or adventurers. Their objective is often to survive the mission, complete an assignment or prevent history from changing.
Time Line Protectors sometimes do those things as well but that is not why they exist.
Their first responsibility is to understand what has happened.
Investigators Before Anything Else
Every mission begins with a question.
Something in history no longer makes sense.
Perhaps an important historical figure died decades earlier than they should have. Perhaps an event occurred in the wrong place or at the wrong time. Sometimes the historical record itself begins to contradict what should have happened.
Before deciding what to do, the Protectors first have to determine what changed and why.
That means gathering evidence, speaking with witnesses, comparing historical records and piecing together events that no longer fit together.
Only once they understand the anomaly can they decide how best to respond.
More Than Time Travellers
Although A.R.C.H. involves travelling through time, I have never really thought of the Protectors as time tourists.
They are not sent into history simply to observe famous events or meet well-known historical figures.
Every deployment has a purpose.
The team is there because something has gone wrong, and someone needs to establish exactly what happened.
In many ways, they have more in common with investigators than explorers.
From Investigation to Action
One of the ideas that interested me while developing A.R.C.H. was that understanding an anomaly is only one part of a Protector’s role.
The investigation tells the team what has happened. What follows depends on the circumstances of the mission.
Working as a Team
Historical investigations demand a wide range of skills and no single person is likely to possess all of them.
That is why Protector teams are organised around complementary specialisations. Some members excel at gathering evidence, others at dealing with people, technology or dangerous situations. Each brings a different perspective to the investigation.
Together, they are better equipped to understand an anomaly than any individual working alone.
Looking Ahead
Looking back, I think that is what has always appealed to me about the Time Line Protectors.
They are not defined by the fact that they travel through time.
They are defined by the questions they ask, the evidence they uncover and the decisions they ultimately have to make.
For me, that has always been the heart of A.R.C.H.
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