Trinity Continuum: Anima Tabletop Roleplaying Game
Created by Onyx Path - Trinity Continuum: Anima
Pre-Order Trinity Continuum: Anima, the latest setting sourcebook for the Trinity Continuum tabletop roleplaying game.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Anima in Action Update
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Dec 11, 2021 at 03:07:32 PM
Hello Continuum Community,
Three weeks ago (can you believe it's been three weeks already?!), we looked at some videos of Trinity Continuum: Anima in action. This was at the start of the campaign, and just as we've progressed through our previews and Stretch Goals, those Actual Play campaigns have also progressed. So, let's check in again and see where they're at.
STORYPATH SHOWCASE
Onyx Path's Storypath Showcase series is built to introduce new and interested players to one of their Storypath system games with 3-4 episodes showcasing character creation and first steps (in a Session 0 starting episode) and then an introductory scenario. Three weeks ago, the Session 0 introducing Anima was available, but now we've got two episodes of adventure to follow it up.
POLYHEDRON PLAYTEST
And if you're like me, you've been eager to watch more of Polyhedron Podcast's Anima Actual Play featuring Storyguide Eddy Webb since we shared those first three episodes! They've since played several more sessions and are exploring Cascade and Terra Surge...
But a new clip hints at something darker going on behind the scenes...
A warning from the Ghost Wolves indeed!
We're closing in on another Stretch Goal (very soon!), and are starting to pick up speed again as we work through our final week. Tomorrow I'll be reviewing the pledge levels and Add On options, and then we'll be getting the Storyguide section of the manuscript on Tuesday. Backers will be able to read the entire draft version before the campaign concludes and any pledges are processed - and you'll also have the link to the feedback form so you can share your thoughts with the developers as they tweak the game for it's final presentation.
So join in now if you haven't already, and please continue to spread the word as we count down to Thursday at 2:00 PM EST when this campaign concludes.
#TrinityContinuumAnima
Preview: Opponents and Allies
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 12:36:06 PM
Opponents and Allies
Within the world of Trinity Continuum: Anima, there are enemies and allies around every turn. Whether your character steps into the game world of Terra Surge or remains in the real world, they’re sure to encounter others who will either help or hinder their goals.
Both opponents and allies can be altered for the level of your party. Don’t hesitate to give opponents or allies less dice or reduced Enhancement, depending on the type of threat level you’d like to introduce. With that said, also make sure that there’s an explanation as to why the creature may be stronger or weaker. Having a story behind the creature’s strength or weakness will make your narrative that much more compelling for your players.
If you think of a creature that would suit your story but don’t find it present within the following pages, then feel free to create your own. Each region has a bit of description included to help inspire you to create monsters and allies of your own, and there are plenty of special abilities and statistics for you to use to customize your story.
With that said, always use opponents and allies with a purpose. How do they further the shared story, and how are you planning to use them to create a more compelling narrative? Consider how these individuals fit into your story and how the players will react to these characters. How will overcoming an opponent further the story you’re all telling together? A long-term opponent that weaves a web of lies and intrigue can be fun to overcome for some, but others may prefer a brutal opponent who uses their fists more than their words. Make sure to keep your players in mind when designing your opponents and allies, and how they interact with your story.
Cascade
Here we talk about the potential opponents and allies you can find in Cascade.
Assassin
Assassins are in high demand in the real world. After all, it’s not easy to get away with murder in broad daylight. Highly trained and skilled in the art of murder, assassins are often hired by companies and high-powered politicians to get rid of rivals or anyone who may threaten their interests.
Assassins have a variety of weapons that they can use, though are often skilled enough to blend into a crowd. They look like the girl next door, or the mild-mannered clerk that everyone overlooks. By blending in, they wind up getting away with something that would normally land them in prison.
Most people don’t have to worry about assassins. However, if someone learns something they shouldn’t know about, or becomes a “problem” for a person with few morals, then they may find themselves as a target of an assassination.
Primary Pool: 8 (murder in a wide variety of creative ways)
As the FSA works to build up a proper police force in Cascade, I-X Security provides a similar policing role. They are meant to protect everyone within the city, but some are known to prioritize first-class citizens over second-class citizens or non-citizens.
I-X has a wide variety of options, including heavy tactics (use the Mercenary for their stats), investigators (use the Spy for their stats), and OpNet security (use the OpTek Cyber Security for their stats). These are just your average, run-of-the-mill “beat cops,” working the streets of Cascade to keep them safe.
Thugs are hired muscle, meant to both intimidate and do the dirty work that their employers don’t want to. Thugs tend to be relatively easy to deal with since they’re not always skilled at their job, but they can still be a threat in large enough numbers.
Thugs also tend to have cyberware that enhances their brute strength, though not necessarily their dexterity and fine motor skills. With that said, it’s always best to get rid of thugs quickly rather than waiting around for reinforcements to show up.
Overall, thugs are relatively easy to deal with, though they’re often used as fodder in front of a more skilled opponent.
Primary Pool: 6 (beat shit up)
Secondary Pool: 4 (don’t get beat up)
Desperation Pool: 2
Enhancement: 0
Defense: 3
Health: 3
Edges: Bionic Limb (arm), Iron Grip, Wrist Daggers
Terra Surge Allies
While there are many opponents within Synestia, there are also important allies that your players may meet. These individuals may help them navigate the world while providing helpful advice or may even give a helping hand during combat.
Most of these allies are generated by Terra Surge Narrators. They’re often the main quest-givers in the world and play important parts in stories and plots in the MMO. However, there are also well-known gamers with high scores that your players may also encounter, and who may also help out if the need arises. With that in mind, this section is divided into NPCs to represent coded characters and gamer animas that your gamers can meet in Synestia
Unlike Antagonists in Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook, these NPCs are pared down to the basic dice rolls you need. Instead of having primary, secondary, and desperation pools, these NPCs only have pools for Initiative, Melee Attack, and Ranged Attack. Enhancement, Defense pool, and Health (HP) work the same way as other SGCs. Many will also have a special ability — treat it like an anomaly power. If you need to roll dice for another reason, use the Initiative pool. Mini-bosses and bosses have Hard Armor
Adventurer
Within Synestia, there are characters that gamers meet that factor into the main story, or just are there as companions and allies during their travels. Adventurers usually have highly developed personalities and are meant to help guide and entertain gamers within the world while also serving as plot hooks.
Adventurers come in all forms, but usually have distinctive outfits, customized backstories, and can sometimes even be mistaken for gamers. What makes them stand out, however, is the refusal to break character even for a moment. If a gamer mentions something from the real world, adventurers will pretend like they didn’t hear it, or will abruptly switch topics.
With their highly developed personalities and ability to convey emotion, adventurers also seem to have a higher capacity for showing anomalies. This means that it’s not unusual for an adventuring companion to suddenly disappear, only to be replaced by someone new.
Initiative: 3
Melee Attack: 4
Ranged Attack: 3
Enhancement: 1
Defense: 3
HP: 8
Heroic Strike: When striking an enemy for the first time, an Adventurers receives a +1 Enhancement to their attack (for a total of +2).
Noble
Whenever you enter a palace or castle, you’re sure to meet with a noble. This might be a series of courtiers, or the queen herself, always dressed to perfection. These NPCs are versed in courtly etiquette and behavior, and normally treat gamers as adventurers in service to the crown.
With that said, there is an unusual mechanic that nobles employ when gamers interact with them. If gamers are willing to play by the rules of court, then nobles become more friendly and open toward them. However, if gamers decide to misbehave or not act appropriately, then they may be blacklisted in the court and not treated as well.
Nobles are meant for gamers who are interested in social machinations and political intrigue. There are plotlines that revolve around poisoned courtiers and sleuthing out the culprit, as well as helping a noble reclaim his family holdings. Most gamers take on missions from nobles if they’re interested in earning extra currency or want a particular item that a noble has.
Initiative: 3
Melee Attack: 4
Ranged Attack: 2
Enhancement: 1
Defense: 3
HP: 5
Duelist: Nobles are known for their ability to duel. Whenever presented with a one-on-one fight, a Noble receives a +2 Enhancement to their Melee Attack (for a total of +3).
On Tuesday, we'll have the final manuscript section from our Kickstarter draft for Trinity Continuum: Anima. It contains the entirety of Chapter 10, the Opponents and Allies chapter. There's a TON more to check out. Like a big bestiary of Terra Surge creatures!
It'll also have information designed purely for the Storyguide, so if you're planning on being a player in an Anima game, know that it'll contain spoilers for the setting, so think carefully before digging in.
Please continue to spread the word. We're in our final week, so let's continue to add members to our guild and keep on grinding!
#TrinityContinuumAnima
#TCAnima
Backers-Only: TC Anima Manuscript Preview #4
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Dec 07, 2021 at 08:18:52 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Preview: Quests
over 2 years ago
– Sun, Dec 05, 2021 at 08:11:13 AM
Quests
Quests are structured elements of play that allow anima to experience the Narrator-provided story of Terra Surge and gain levels, items, or insight into the deeper game. Storyguides should use quests to drive the greater story, acting as the Narrators and introducing elements responding to player actions, dev design, Narrator fiat, and the like.
Unlike a storyline within the Trinity Continuum: Anima game itself, quests provide a vignette of story to add verisimilitude to Terra Surge and drive a story forward. The purpose of including a quest into a game session isn’t just to give the animas loot and levels. Instead, the Storyguide should use quests to peel the veneer off the MMO, giving the players insight into Synestia.
If the players just want to level their animas, there’s always grinding.
Structuring Quests
Quests follow a four-phase structure, each phase prompting a roll from the players as their animas go through the phases. These phases act as milestones toward achieving the goal of completing the quest and gaining the reward. Some phases may not require a roll, and Storyguides may wish to implement role play scenes in between rolls for different phases. Whenever players wish to undertake anything other than wandering through the game world, their animas are likely on one quest or another.
No matter what the quest is, it follows these four phases:
Phase 1: Obtain Quest. Animas interact with a quest giver or find an item that starts a quest. This phase may require social actions using Persuasion to interact with the quest giver, or the use of Arcana or Lore to find an item, but just as often this phase requires no rolls to accomplish. Characters choose their animas’ equipment loadout and determine if they want to activate any quest-long abilities or consumables during this phase. The character can change an equipment loadout in later phases but doing so costs 1 success.
Phase 2: Travel. Animas travel to the location of the quest. This may sometimes be a trivial element that requires no roll, or an element that requires fighting through monsters or traveling long distances by foot which requires resources and actions to accomplish.
Phase 3: Enact Quest. This is the meat of the quest, such as killing a monster or gathering a specific resource. This will always require the animas to take some kind of action, be it make an attack or solve a puzzle.
Phase 4: Turn in Quest. This phase can be non-existent with rewards handed out the moment the quest is enacted, or it could require returning to a specific quest giver and making some kind of social action. The quest reward always comes at this point.
While this is the basic structure for a quest, how this is enacted may differ depending on the kind of quest the animas are undertaking. An Escort Quest may wrap phases 2 and 3 into the same element and a gathering quest may combine phases 3 and 4.
The nature of Terra Surge’s Narrators means they will not throw impossible to accomplish quests at animas. While they may attempt to make the quest challenging, there is no true fail state. Instead, the Narrators attempt to build in consequences for actions.
Resolving Quests
Players roll at each phase of the quest against a Difficulty set by the Storyguide. Players work together, each taking one action and building successes to overcome the Difficulty. Each phase could also have a Complication built into it, representing the Narrators’ attempt to create consequences. The Complication is set to the phase, and it could be something that all the players can spend cumulative successes toward to buy off, or something each player must buy off individually, depending on the type of action.
The average Difficulty for any phase of a quest should be 1 base per anima participating, plus 1 per 20 full anima levels attempting the quest. For example, three animas of levels 15, 15, and 50 attempting a quest together will set each phase’s base Difficulty to 7 (three base, plus four for the 80 collective levels of the party). If someone leaves the group for whatever reason in the middle of the quest, the Difficulty should change to reflect this. The Narrators know how to compensate for the number of animas acting at any given time.
Types of Quests
Quests come in four main types and dictate the kinds of actions animas need to take to overcome and complete them.
Boss Quest: The quest focuses on killing a major NPC. These quests increase the Difficulty of phase 3 depending on how hard the killing the Boss is supposed to be. Failure to overcome the Difficulty results in all animas dying. These quests primarily use an anima’s Physical Attack, Magic Attack, Athletics and Block abilities.
Escort Quest: Escort quests focus on getting someone or something from point A to point B. Escort quests tend to focus more on phase 2 than others but can utilize both phase 2 and phase 3 to add Complications and create a failure point. Failure to overcome Difficulty results in loss of goods, the escort dying, or all the animas dying. These quests primarily use an anima’s Physical Attack, Magic Attack, Athletics, Block, Lore, Persuasion, and Stealth abilities.
Gather Quest: Gather quests encompass anything that requires the character to go out and collect multiples of something and return to a quest giver with it. These can entail gathering materials, items, or monster parts. These quests primarily use an anima’s Physical Attack, Magic Attack, Athletics, Arcana, and Lore abilities.
Fetch Quest: Fetch quests are different from gather quests only in that they entail a single item or person rather than multiples. This quest may be literally picking something up and bringing it back to a quest giver, or it could be initiated by an item found in Synestia and rewarded when returned to its owner. Fetch quests can also entail finding a person, usually combining phase 3 and 4 together as the person rewards the animas. These quests can use any of the anima’s Skills.
Quest Complications
Quest Complications allow the Storyguide to introduce hiccups in the game, or Narrator driven consequences for actions that don’t hinge on failure. Some quest phases are more likely to have Complications than others, but Complications can apply to any or all phases of the Quest. Complications should introduce a problem, wrinkle, or alternate effect that hinges on the animas’ actions within the game. Failure to succeed does not trigger the Complication, only taking the action does.
Most Complications apply universally to a phase, meaning all players can spend successes toward purchasing off the Complication’s rating. Complications may apply to a single character, meaning one anima must buy it off fully, but once it is paid off it doesn’t apply to anyone else. The quest may also have Field Complications which apply to all animas, each player needing to buy it off individually to prevent its effects.
Quest Complications can range from +1 to +5, depending on how likely the consequence is to occur and if the players are working on buying it off together. If a certain quest is bugged or hacked, waiting to jump into anyone whose anima dies, the players may each face a relatively high Complication of +3 to stave it off. If a Narrator is waiting to throw even more difficult monsters at an inept party, the whole group may have to collectively buy off a +5 Complication to prevent the extra monsters from showing up.
A single phase may have more than one Complication attached to it. Generally, each phase has one Field Complication and one individual Complication that each player must buy off (most commonly damage). Anima Aspects help them remove or deal with Complications, so keep in mind which Complications your players can easily deal with before stacking multiple Complications on a single phase. Some Complications come from the quest itself as the Narrators dial up the challenge rating, someone interfering with the animas, or simply having a misplaced ad show up in the middle of a fight for Glass Unlimited users.
The following are some example consequences for not buying off Quest Complications for the different phases. Use these examples when building your own encounters.
Phase 1:
+1, the quest giver offers a lesser reward to the animas; each player must overcome this Complication individually.
+3, an item has monsters following who attack when the animas set out adding +1 Difficulty to the next phase.
+5, the quest has been corrupted, hacked, or manipulated to be unreasonably hard.
Phase 2:
+1, the escort runs off and the characters must now find them.
+3, the animas wander through a rival character’s territory and will later have to deal with the upset.
+5, a monster interrupts the animas and attacks immediately, adding +1 Difficulty to the next phase or play through the combat.
Phase 3:
+1, a Narrator, dev, or some other force directly controls all NPCs in the scene.
+3, another set of animas have found the item first, the characters must negotiate for it or fight them. Add another roll to this phase.
+5, the Narrator decides the animas are bugged or hacked and resets the quest.
Quest Rewards
All quests come with rewards. Animas gain those rewards in phase 4, and invariably it comes in the form of experience, gold, or items. Experience is abstracted directly into levels for animas, meaning completing a quest often immediately grants the anima a level. Some quests may grant more than one level, depending on difficulty. To ensure in-game rewards are not too difficult to track, these are also abstracted.
Gold:Terra Surge’s economy is a robust system with value placed on items, crafting materials, in-game skins, vanity items, and more. While Terra Surge uses Lions, Tauri, and Gemini to denote the different monetary values, Anima abstracts it into single digit values as rewards or payment (such as “three gold”). Gold can be used to provide Enhancement on social actions such as bartering with merchants or dealing with other characters’ animas. When used for additional successes, the Enhancement goes away, and gold can be freely handed to other characters to forgo a roll when appropriate.
Materials: Crafting materials offer Enhancement to crafting actions. Like gold, once the Enhancement is spent on successes, it goes away, as the crafting material is used up. Some crafting materials might be necessary to even attempt a crafting action and is used in the action regardless of if it used for Enhancement or not.
Items: Items that come as quest rewards work the same way as crafted items. Quests might be a way for non-crafting focused characters to get better gear, or for characters to get items with better traits than what they can craft. Consult the found item randomizer for easily creating random item drops. Keep in mind that you don’t want to give items that are of so low value to the group that they would just sell them. If you roll a common item for a high-level group, consider just giving more crafting materials or gold instead.
Vanity Items: Vanity items range from special anima skins, mounts, and pets to stronghold upgrades and furniture. Having a vanity item grants a +1 Enhancement to social actions against other characters in appropriate situations. For example, having a special stronghold skin could grant the Enhancement during a party, but not while bartering with another anima’s player to buy an item.
Check back on Tuesday for the next manuscript section, which will have an expanded version of this preview and the complete text for Chapters 7 and 8! And let's continue to work hard on our own Quest - don't forget to invite others to join in, increasing the challenge but also expanding the rewards! Share this campaign in your social circles and on your social media and let's see if we can't turn it in for some prestige items!
#TrinityContinuumAnima
#TwoGamesInOne
TWO YÆRS OF ÆON
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Dec 04, 2021 at 07:33:43 AM
Hello Continuum Community,
I'm going to take a momentary break from dreaming about the future - one of the possible futures - of the Trinity Continuum in Anima for a moment to look back at December 4th from a few years ago.
Although it actually began a few decades before that.
The Æon setting actually has three birthdays - a trinity of releases, if you will.
The Trinity sci-fi RPG first released in 1997, though it was initially released under the name Æon and subsequently changed due to conflict concerns with MTV's animated Æon Flux TV show. Wow, remember that?
In 2004, Æon was born again as Trinity D20, one of the three connected "core" settings in a d20 revamp of the line. Once again presenting a timeline starting with Adventure!, building through Aberrant, and climaxing with Æon/Trinity, the line comprised three books - one for each era - and would have ended there if not for the seed of an idea planted in Ian A. A. Watson's imagination.
Nearly a decade ago, from the ashes of CCP/White Wolf's demise, Onyx Path was born. And with it, new fertile ground and an opportunity for Ian to help grow that seed into something more - an entire line of games exploring different eras and genres within a rough continuum rather that a strict continuity.
On December 4, 2019, after many years of work, the new Trinity Continuum: Æon setting was released. In my opinion, the third time's the charm with this one, and I've been really excited to see how Æon and the whole Trinity Continuum line has grown over these past two years... and will continue to grow with projects like Trinity Continuum: Anima and more.
In theory, Trinity Continuum: Æon is what could happen in the years after Aberrant and Anima. At least, in many versions of the Trinity Continuum, possibly including your own. If you'd like to explore the age of Æon within the Trinity Continuum, and want to help further fund our project at the same time, there are a few options in our Add On Menu for this campaign!
Like all Trinity Continuum games, the Trinity Continuum Core Rules are required to make full use of the systems and options presented in each setting sourcebook.
In Trinity Continuum: Æon, Humanity has begun settling on planets circling other suns. Teleporters and the new Leviathan jump ships can take anyone across the galaxy in a few hours, so the stars are at last within our reach. However, we have found dangers as well as wonders out there, and only by working together can we overcome them and take our place on the galactic stage.
The Trinity Continuum: Æon sourcebook PDF contains:
Details about both Earth and the worlds humanity has colonized in the early 22nd century
Rules for creating psion and proxy characters within the Trinity Continuum
Information about spacecraft, noetic biotech, and other technologies of the early 22nd century
Advice for playing Talents in Trinity Continuum: Æon
Advice for running different genres of science fiction in the Trinity Continuum
Trinity Continuum: Æon was just the first setting and genre sourcebook released to build on foundation established in the Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook. You can Add On Trinity Continuum: Aberrant and Trinity Continuum: Adventure! to your rewards for this campaign.
In addition, Onyx Path is currently building on the contemporary adventure setting from the Core Rules with Trinity Continuum: Assassins, now available for pre-order.
Building on the foundation of what's come before and planting seeds to grow into future projects, the Trinity Continuum continues to explore new genres and settings, and Anima is the next step in sharing these exciting ideas and interesting adventures within the Storypath system framework.
