Aeon / Trinity RPG


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Seeing as to how I started researching every generic(or not) SCIFI rpg system I couldn't leave this one out.
So what do people think in regards to this White Wolf effort?


@stroVal wrote:

Seeing as to how I started researching every generic(or not) SCIFI rpg system I couldn't leave this one out.

So what do people think in regards to this White Wolf effort?

I hated reading it until I realized that the backstory was artificially hopeful because the earth was now controlled by secret psychic police, whose major job is to locate other burgeoning psychics to they could put them through a process of indoctrination and subduing their powers.

From there it was a short leap to the thinking that "uncontrolled" psychic = aberrants, although supposedly aberrants control small and large nuclear forces rather than quantum mechanics.

The system itself seemed good. Only got to play one game, though. It was sort of a proto-new WoD style system. I liked that the character sheet was landscape rather than portrait orientation. I loved the art direction and the biotech feel of the equipment.

Dark Archive

I loved the game, and wrote some fan-stuff for it.

It was designed in such a way that you could play almost any sort of sci-fi-ish game you wanted, with mech-combat (using bioVARGs in the border conflicts in the southern US), or cyberpunk, or alien 'bughunt' (on Khantz Lu Ge, or even in the midwest), etc., etc. Shining cities in Asia, or even the undersea cities of the Carribean, or Luna itself, for the more hopeful 'reach for the stars' sort of storyline, etc.

The psionics, IMO, were probably one of the weaker developments, at first, although the Trinity Player's Guide updated them and added a 'freeform Psi' option that made the use of psi much more flexible and fun.

Each of the six Orders specialized in a specific psychic Aptitude,
but that was not a limitation, as most of the orders engaged in 'horse-trading' and swapping latents between themselves in exchange for the option of having their recruits awakened into proficiency in the psi talents of other orders (so you could have a telepath working for the Aesculapian healers, or an electrokinetic working for the mercenary unit Legion). The only order that didn't hand off recruits was the shapeshifting Norca, but that certainly was no prohibition against playing a Biokinetic who wasn't currently a member of that organization, since a few had been allowed to leave, under special circumstances. (As with anything, a good backstory can provide an exception!)

Europe and the US had suffered greatly in the 'Aberrant War' of the previous century, and the new economic powerhouses were Brazil, China (and some other Asian nations) and the United African Nations, which makes for a very different sci-fi setting than the usually Amero-centric or Euro-centric default setting (although both the US and the EU have their own Orders, and neither of them were push-overs or bit players on the international stage, with the Electrokinetics in particular being economic / financial power-players).

It's easier to sort of play Aeon/Trinity in a vacuum. Trying to reconcile the differences in theme and tone and powerscale with Aberrant or Adventure! (also really, really awesome settings and fun games) can just lead to headaches (much like trying to make Vampires and Werewolves and Mages work in the same party, when they each have their own special niche and style, and kind of stomp all over each other's themes if put in the same place).

If the game has one big weakness (other than the occasionally klunky rule), it's that the setting and the six Orders, each from a different nation, each with a different philosophy, and eacn with a different psychic Aptitude, won't magically work well together if the GM doesn't lay out in advance what sort of campaign he's got in mind, or else he might end up with someone who wanted to wear a bio-mech-battlesuit with a rocket launcher and a 'plasma blade,' and someone else who planned to be a psychic detective in a Blade-Runner-esque Noirpunk style.


Thank you, the setting seems interesting and you could even go for an Asimov style psychic force.

Question 1: In case somebody wanted; can the psion elements be dropped?
Question 2:How are the mechanics themselves? Are the rules good enough to support a totally different SCIFI back-story?


@stroVal wrote:


Are the rules good enough to support a totally different SCIFI back-story?

you both sort of mentioned something on this but I need more :)

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's too bad chances are we will never see a new edition or a contonuity of the old edition anytime soon.

Dark Archive

@stroVal wrote:
Question 1: In case somebody wanted; can the psion elements be dropped?

Absolutely. It's got rules for skills and equipment that make for a fine sci-fi game without any need for the psi abilities.

Indeed, as I mentioned above, the Psi rules are actually a bit of a weak spot, pre-Player's Guide, and it was something of a theme-fail for the various appropriately sci-fi-ish bits of weaponry and technology to so strongly outclass the actual Psi stuff (so that even a telekinetic Legionnaire is going to get a lot more use out of his body armor and energy weapon, than he is out of his TK).

Even upgraded using the Player's Guide options, the energy weapons, and particularly the bioVARGs (mini-mechs), tend to outclass any directly damaging psionic attacks, such as offensive uses of pyrokinesis and cryokinesis.

Certain things are built into their setting assumptions, but you can house-rule them away easily enough. For example, psionics were introduced to humanity through alien technology, and psions are most able to make use of alien-derived biotechnology, that bonds with their altered biology symbiotically. To use this technology in a setting without Psions, or with a different 'origin' for psychic powers, the rules for psychically attuning this alien biotech could just be flat out ignored, and the biotech either redefined as hardtech, or just completely ignore any psionic aspect to the biotech items introduced (within limits, some are explicitly psi-based, and would likely just be either refluffed to work off of biochemical / physical properties, or dropped completely).

Quote:
Question 2: How are the mechanics themselves? Are the rules good enough to support a totally different SCIFI back-story?

If you've every played a Vampire (Werewolf, Mage, Wraith, Changeling, Hunter, etc., etc. game, or even Exalted), it uses a slightly tweaked version of the Storyteller d10 rules that they use for their other games (indeed, some of the 'tweaking' they did, ended up being ported over when the Vampire game was updated overall).

White Wolf already uses modified versions of ST/d10 for supernatural modern horror, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. games, so it's flexible enough for that sort of thing, although even fans of White Wolf will often admit that it's not the *best* system in the world in some respects.


@ Set - thank you for you succinct and detailed answer.Yes I am familiar with the Storyteller system(though not recent updates) and I remember I was surprised by its flexibility/cinema factor.

@memorax- Thats a pitty with a lot of systems :(

One final question: If one were to purchase it,which version would you recommend? As of now there is a collectors box-set named Aeon, floating on some sites(made in 1990)


Like Set, I think the system and the setting are awesome, and the flexibility of the game is one of it's greatest strengths. You can easily tailor it to any kind of sci-fi game you want.

As for the mechanics, it's really a matter of taste and whether you like White Wolf's style or not.

I agree that psionics, and the type-casting of some of the orders can be a bit of a pain to deal with at times, but nothing that can't be tweaked by any decent Storyteller.

Dark Archive

The earliest printing was called Aeon, but, at the time, there was some question as to whether or not it would be a legal issue with the show Aeon Flux, so they stuck a sticker on the remaining 1st printing that said 'Trinity,' and then the later printings actually said Trinity.

I don't know about the Collector's set, but anything, whether it says Aeon or Trinity, is going to have the same rules information. Just get whatever is reasonably priced.

The only 'trap' to watch out for is that you don't accidentally get the relatively-recently-released d20 Trinity conversion, which I've not seen, and have no idea what it's like ruleswise.


Set wrote:

The earliest printing was called Aeon, but, at the time, there was some question as to whether or not it would be a legal issue with the show Aeon Flux, so they stuck a sticker on the remaining 1st printing that said 'Trinity,' and then the later printings actually said Trinity.

I don't know about the Collector's set, but anything, whether it says Aeon or Trinity, is going to have the same rules information. Just get whatever is reasonably priced.

The only 'trap' to watch out for is that you don't accidentally get the relatively-recently-released d20 Trinity conversion, which I've not seen, and have no idea what it's like ruleswise.

Thanks once again.

One of the editions I found earlier:

Aeon


JaceDK wrote:

Like Set, I think the system and the setting are awesome, and the flexibility of the game is one of it's greatest strengths. You can easily tailor it to any kind of sci-fi game you want.

As for the mechanics, it's really a matter of taste and whether you like White Wolf's style or not.

I agree that psionics, and the type-casting of some of the orders can be a bit of a pain to deal with at times, but nothing that can't be tweaked by any decent Storyteller.

Thank you.I think I will check it out

Liberty's Edge

Everything you need can be found here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=2

I've also become interested in starting a Trinity Campaign. Here's a link to their main Forum site and the campaign post I'm thinking of starting.
http://www.rpg-post.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/264433/Thought_Fugitives_Adve nture.html#Post264433


Tikon2000 wrote:

Everything you need can be found here:

http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=2

I've also become interested in starting a Trinity Campaign. Here's a link to their main Forum site and the campaign post I'm thinking of starting.
http://www.rpg-post.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/264433/Thought_Fugitives_Adve nture.html#Post264433

Neat...Cheers!


Downloaded and sent the QS to the party.
We will try it first and then see if we get the rest of the books.
I have a suspicion this will do nicely as Mass Effect; the RPG...


@stroVal wrote:
Tikon2000 wrote:

Everything you need can be found here:

http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=2

I've also become interested in starting a Trinity Campaign. Here's a link to their main Forum site and the campaign post I'm thinking of starting.
http://www.rpg-post.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/264433/Thought_Fugitives_Adve nture.html#Post264433

Neat...Cheers!

Downloaded and sent the QS to the party.

We will try it first and then see if we get the rest of the books.
I have a suspicion this will do nicely as Mass Effect; the RPG...


@stroVal wrote:


I have a suspicion this will do nicely as Mass Effect; the RPG...

Honestly, for a Mass Effect RPG, I'd go with Traveller. At the end of the day, Trinity is Storyteller, and, while there are a lot of things that Storyteller does well, I wouldn't put those things in line with what I think ME takes on.

EDIT: Actually, I'd probably go with D20 Gamma World. Not a great system for Gamma World; damn fine for other SF, and (since you're on the Paizo boards) probably a system that people are used to.


J.S. wrote:
@stroVal wrote:


I have a suspicion this will do nicely as Mass Effect; the RPG...

Honestly, for a Mass Effect RPG, I'd go with Traveller. At the end of the day, Trinity is Storyteller, and, while there are a lot of things that Storyteller does well, I wouldn't put those things in line with what I think ME takes on.

EDIT: Actually, I'd probably go with D20 Gamma World. Not a great system for Gamma World; damn fine for other SF, and (since you're on the Paizo boards) probably a system that people are used to.

Haven't played Traveller yet, I will give it a go.

With Gamma World: I was never into the old version; and I don't see me getting into the new one either(maybe if someone else GMed)

But I will have to respectfully disagree that any d20 game can run something as complex as a space opera world sufficiently, maybe a fantasycraft scifi if they ever make one or Starsiege*.At least in regards to what I personally expect a space opera system to do,but obviously each to his own :)

* I am not mentioning the very well made saga star wars rpg because I think it only fits the star wars universe


@JS- You know I just realized you mentioned Traveller(and how it would be a good fit for ME) in my other thread about Starblazers and Cortex.
Now I must really get a copy to test :)


Man, I can't even remember what I've written.

D20 Gamma World isn't like any of the other Gamma Worlds, and for the reasons why it's kinda crappy for a Gamma World, it's damn crafty for a lot of the other purposes. D20 in general leaves a lot to be desired, but combat (with, say, a good firearm supplement) is something its good with. So if its a relatively action-based SF game, it works well. Storyteller is pretty meh on action.

Some of it depends on what you're specifically talking about needing when it comes to space opera.


J.S. wrote:

Man, I can't even remember what I've written.

D20 Gamma World isn't like any of the other Gamma Worlds, and for the reasons why it's kinda crappy for a Gamma World, it's damn crafty for a lot of the other purposes. D20 in general leaves a lot to be desired, but combat (with, say, a good firearm supplement) is something its good with. So if its a relatively action-based SF game, it works well. Storyteller is pretty meh on action.

Some of it depends on what you're specifically talking about needing when it comes to space opera.

I don't know; d20 always seemed to me very boring when it came to battle.

Obviously in the end of the day we found ways around it(its up to your imagination after all)
But it always felt like the Rule-set didn't lend a helping hand in this matter,if you know what I mean.

I need to be able to have the rules allow what I am planning to do in battle instead of having to chose between a few options..

Also - and this is very important- I need to be able to result battle fast but in a way that its not monotonous every time.

V6 does this well,I thought vampire masquerade did this well; if a bit on the anime side(the few times I've played) GURPS does this well and best of all Blue Planet did this very well(condemned to obscurity I'm afraid)

Dark Archive

@stroVal wrote:
GURPS does this well and best of all Blue Planet did this very well (condemned to obscurity I'm afraid)

Wow, I own that game, and bought it primarily to read, since I'm a big fan of richly-developed alien ecosystems, but never really took a hard look at the rules system to see if it was playable...


Set wrote:
@stroVal wrote:
GURPS does this well and best of all Blue Planet did this very well (condemned to obscurity I'm afraid)

Wow, I own that game, and bought it primarily to read, since I'm a big fan of richly-developed alien ecosystems, but never really took a hard look at the rules system to see if it was playable...

The only hardcore scifi rpg out there(made by students of natural sciences etc)

I read the system it was the best I'd seen(probably still is) but I never managed to sell it to players*(damned fantasy ;p)

*apart from that first session to test it


Trinity uses the version of Storyteller rules that ought to be universal, basically. And it's a fantastic setting both in terms of how interesting it is as well as how rich and compelling it is. I would love to run or play a game of this.
I'm also a huge fan of Aberrant, which I really think is the only super-hero setting I know of that has some concept of the societal impact of people with super powers.

I don't think there is another game I would rather play than one of these two, in all honesty.

Scarab Sages

I have some of the PDFs and on (electronic) paper, it looks fantastic. I'm a fan of "kitchen sink" type settings and this is one of the only non-generic games that actually hits most of the items on my sci-fi kitchen sink checklist.

Liberty's Edge

I do loves me som Trinity. And I discovered during a one-shot evening of silliness many years ago that it makes an almost perfect Star Wars system right out of the box.


I miss that game a lot. Played an almost 2 year game of it. Used to have a website for it all, but it's long since dead.

Still have one of the IC logs however, as a word document.


Did they ever write novels for it? Like for Vampire?


Don't think they did.


Xabulba wrote:
Don't think they did.

yeah I couldnt find anything..a pity


I know there is a website you can pick up the unpublished Order books for Norca and the Ministry. I just don't remember what it's called, I'll post back when I can remember.

Dark Archive

Xabulba wrote:
I know there is a website you can pick up the unpublished Order books for Norca and the Ministry. I just don't remember what it's called, I'll post back when I can remember.

Asia Ascendent is here. (free for the taking, thanks Bruce!)

Norca was published as a PDF, so you have to pay for that one. Terra Verde is here.

I'm not a fan of PDFs, in general, and Terra Verde was the first that I ever bought, because I am such a huge Trinity goob (also Aberrant, and very much Adventure!).

Kicking and screaming, I will be dragged into the future...

Edit: Oh gosh, so depressing, the first twenty links in my Trinity/Aberrant/Adventure! favorites are all dead! I will miss EonOnline and N!Prime!


Did they make Trinity dice like the ones they made for vampire?

I'm in the mood to buy scifi dice!


And my Aeon Rpg / Trinity Limited Edition
was dispatched today B)


found these.
But I hope theres more cause they look ugly


@stroVal wrote:

And my Aeon Rpg / Trinity Limited Edition

was dispatched today B)

Is that the original spiral bound version with the tab locking vinyl cover?

Dark Archive

@stroVal wrote:

Did they make Trinity dice like the ones they made for vampire?

I'm in the mood to buy scifi dice!

They are indeed hideous. I'm such a Trinity goob that I have multiple copies of Battleground, but gosh, those dice are uuuuugly!


Xabulba wrote:
@stroVal wrote:

And my Aeon Rpg / Trinity Limited Edition

was dispatched today B)
Is that the original spiral bound version with the tab locking vinyl cover?

I thought so at first but then the detail says hardcover...that wasnt hardcover was it?


Set wrote:
@stroVal wrote:

Did they make Trinity dice like the ones they made for vampire?

I'm in the mood to buy scifi dice!

They are indeed hideous. I'm such a Trinity goob that I have multiple copies of Battleground, but gosh, those dice are uuuuugly!

The dark ages dice are more scifi looking(and beautiful) than these...why White Wolf? Why?


@stroVal wrote:
Set wrote:
@stroVal wrote:

Did they make Trinity dice like the ones they made for vampire?

I'm in the mood to buy scifi dice!

They are indeed hideous. I'm such a Trinity goob that I have multiple copies of Battleground, but gosh, those dice are uuuuugly!

The dark ages dice are more scifi looking(and beautiful) than these...why White Wolf? Why?

IIRC they were released right around the time White Wolf collapsed in on it's self. Maybe WW's financial woes contributed to the ugliness.


'' financial woes contributed to the ugliness''

well that rings true in a lot of human cases..so why not dice ?
;p


Playing the Necromancer yet again for this thread;

Seeing as to how my appetite for Aeon was never satisfied (the book was lost and never arrived, Royal Mail failed me yet again)

I would like to ask the gurus here:

Should I re-order one of the old rulebooks or
wait for the remakes/reboot by Onyx Path?

Cheers

The Exchange

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

It's going to be until 2014 or later before Onyx Path gets Trinity out. I have a set of the Exalted Dice, my friend has the Trinity Set. They're okay.


TheLoneCleric wrote:
It's going to be until 2014 or later before Onyx Path gets Trinity out. I have a set of the Exalted Dice, my friend has the Trinity Set. They're okay.

Got the 90s Limited edition(the one I originaly ordered I presume) as a gift.

Can't wait for it to arrive :)


Hey, everyone. I'm developing the new edition of the Trinity Continuum games for Onyx Path. I'm happy to answer questions if you've got 'em, although it's still early, so questions I can answer about the new editions are few and far between.


IanWatson wrote:
Hey, everyone. I'm developing the new edition of the Trinity Continuum games for Onyx Path. I'm happy to answer questions if you've got 'em, although it's still early, so questions I can answer about the new editions are few and far between.

Hi,

I appreciate you popping up here for any info at all :)

I guess the first question on my mind is, if this is going to be a reboot or more of a polish-up(like the Revised Blue Planet rpg)?


A little of both.

The setting will still be recognizably itself: if you played Aeon/Trinity before, the new one will still be familiar. But we're changing a lot of details, and we're not assuming the original version in our continuity.

So, Orgotek might not be a megacorp anymore. Doyen might not be behind everything. Maybe the teleporters got purged instead of the quantakinetics.

Not giving away any details on changes yet, but we're not changing things just for the sake of being different: we're making changes we feel either create a better setting/story, or further serve to reinforce the key themes of the game lines.

The Exchange

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

What about mono-powers per psi? Will that be a thing? Are you keeping to the 3 trees of psi powers per type?


TheLoneCleric wrote:
What about mono-powers per psi? Will that be a thing? Are you keeping to the 3 trees of psi powers per type?

I see..will some of the more free-from rules from 'Players Guide' resurface?

Thank you for your time once again


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Sorry for slow responses, everyone. I don't see a way to get the board to notify me when there's a new response, and Paizo isn't one of my usual haunts.

TheLoneCleric wrote:
What about mono-powers per psi? Will that be a thing? Are you keeping to the 3 trees of psi powers per type?

Mono-powers per psi? Do you mean will psions still be limited to a single Aptitude. Yes. Psions will be.

We're still planning that Aptitudes are separated into three Modes, but they may not be the same ones you remember.

@stroVal wrote:
I see..will some of the more free-from rules from 'Players Guide' resurface?

Those rules, while very flexible, were overly complicated and burdensome. I'd like to find a happy middle ground: flexible but easy.

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