The only sacrifice that must be made is that during the subjectively first trip through the overlap period, the players will know they are in a temporal switchback even though their characters may still be ignorant of the situation.
The technique is to play both legs of the switchback simultaneously. Each player must control the two editions of his character on each turn. This constitutes grandmaster level D&D playing and should not be attempted without several hundred hours experience at the board.
Some of the factors that make this technique so difficult are:
- The ignorance of the earlier edition characters about the overlap must be preserved until it is legitimately revealed to them within the game.
- Earlier edition characters must not permanently die since they must appear as later editions.
- The later edition characters usually have initiative because they are more familiar with the scene, but the earlier edition characters should move first so that later edition characters can "remember" their actions.
- DM: Early MM, the heavy blue monster charges downstream.
- MM player: Roll for initiative.
- DM: You have initiative.
- MM player: Early MM vaults one-handed over the low wall, holding Oblivious in defensive position 2.
- <other players make their early edition moves>
- DM: Later MM, a heavy gray monster has initiative. He vaults one-handed over the low wall, holding a double-edged sword in defensive position 2.
- MM player: Later MM prepares to block with Oblivious from offensive position 6.
- <other players make their later edition moves>
- <turn ends>