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:
Are you Ready? Ready-Made Characters!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Dec 03, 2021 at 07:32:45 PM
Hello Cascade Continuum Community,
We're right smack in the middle of the "slow zone" - the middle weeks of any Kickstarter campaign where the daily numbers plateau a bit and there's a lull in between the first week hype and final week rush.
But that's not stopping us from completing another Quest! Because we've hit another Stretch Goal target!
ACHIEVED! -At $45,000 in Funding –Ready-Made Characters – An assortment of ready-to-play characters for use in the Cascade setting, along with their Terra Surge animas, will be released as a PDF supplement, providing examples and allowing players to jump right into the action! The Ready-Made Characters PDF will be added to the rewards list of all Kickstarter backers receiving the Trinity Continuum: Anima PDF.
And, given that we're still rolling along nicely, let's set up three more targets and see if we can't bring some - or all - of these home in the next few weeks!
At $46,000 in Funding – Digital Wallpaper – Dress up your computer monitor with some slick cyber-themed artwork from Trinity Continuum: Anima. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.
At $48,000 in Funding – Mobile Wallpaper – Take your Anima artwork on the go with this mobile-sized version of the Trinity Continuum: Anima artwork. This reward will be added to the rewards list for all backers.
At $50,000 in Funding – Anima Jumpstart – An introductory scenario for Trinity Continuum: Anima will be merged with the Ready-Made Characters and a basic rules overview to create a Trinity Continuum: Anima Jumpstart PDF. The Trinity Continuum: Anima Jumpstart will automatically be added to the rewards list of all Kickstarter backers receiving the Trinity Continuum: Anima PDF.
#TrinityContinuumAnima
Anima Paths
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Dec 02, 2021 at 08:35:34 AM
Hello Animaniacs,
The more we start to read about Terra Surge and the fantasy world of Synestia, the more my brain shifts to imagine playing a game focused more and more on that part of the game. Or, rather, playing a character playing a character within Terra Surge. Or something like that.
Today we've got a quick preview from Chapter 7, which covers Anima Creation.
When characters enter the game of Terra Surge, they take control of animas, who are the residents and heroes of Synestia. If this is the first time a new player logs into the game, it prompts her to make a new anima. She chooses the character’s Culture and Class as well as various aesthetics to apply to what will become her second skin. As soon as she finishes creating her anima, the Narrators throw her into a starting scenario based on an amalgamation of metadata collected from her Glass usage history. Characters can continue to play and level the same anima or play multiple animas through the same account.
Anima Card
Each anima a character plays has its own anima card in Trinity Continuum: Anima to represent what they can do while playing Terra Surge. The anima card contains the whole of the anima’s character and is used much like a character’s sheet. When playing the game, the only mechanics that matter are on the card of the anima the character has chosen to portray during the session. Unless the rules or Storyguide says that a character’s Trinity Continuum: Anima character sheet impacts the world of Terra Surge, it has no impact on the actions of the MMO.
Building an anima card is as simple as picking a Culture and Class. Once created, the anima gains levels which can be used to pick new abilities during game play. Animas have similar traits to a character, but the card is slimmed down to make it easier to deal with. They have Skills, Approaches, and Paths like a normal character. But each of these things work slightly differently than for a normal character. They have a different Skill list and condense Attributes into the three Approaches. Anima Paths define the aesthetics, their starting locations, and gives them access to a specific set of powers. They define all elements of a level 1 anima such as Skills, Approaches, and the anima’s starting Aspect.
Paths
Animas have Paths, just like characters in Anima. These Paths define the character’s background, Class and role, and any guilds she belongs to within Terra Surge. Paths for Animas dictate all the level 1 abilities for a character, including their starting Aspect.
Unlike character Paths, anima Paths are not rated. Culture and Class Paths do not come with access, but instead describe the character’s aesthetic and capabilities. She can use her Guild Path to access resources and assistance in game.
Culture Path: This is the character’s background and upbringing, and possibly the peoples she belongs to. It determines where the character appears in Synestia when first created and determines the character’s aesthetics as far as clothing and appearance. Animas can only have a single Culture Path. Culture Paths give the character 4 Skill dots and a special Aspect unique to that culture.
Class Path: The Anima’s Class Path is her most important Path. It determines her starting Approaches, grants her 6 Skill dots, 2 Enhancements, and her starting Aspect. Class Paths have three variations which sort a character into a role. When leveling the Anima, players can choose to gain Aspects in a progression based on her role, or to purchase Aspects out of type from her role.
Guild Path: This represents a social group the character has chosen for her anima. Guilds provide both aesthetic and social direction for the anima. Each Guild has a specific way that characters gain access, which allows them to call the Guild in to help with a situation. Working with other members of your Guild gives you +1 Enhancement on teamwork actions.
Culture Paths
Churovian
The Churovian culture is focused on a Vibrant mission. These Seaborn are technologically advanced beyond that of other people, making them excellent crafters. Many Churovians focus on exploration, either in pursuit of completing their ancient quest or simply delving the seas that make up their lands. This culture prizes scientific thinking and forward momentum, but also do not shirk their duty to protect the seas.
Skills: Crafting 2, Lore 1, Magic Attack 1
Aspect: Waterborn
Quell
The Quell are a warrior culture of insect-like people who came from the subterranean depths of Synestia’s core. They now make their homes in the mountains plotting against one another, jockeying for position among themselves. All the while they hope to find out what their purpose is, and where they came from while attempting to carve a place for themselves with the other cultures in Synestia.
Each Class has three Paths associated with it (sometimes called builds by Terra Surge players). These Paths represent each of the focuses an anima may take for their Class. They give the anima starting Approaches, HP, equipment, and additional Skills and Enhancements. Enhancements are listed in parenthesis next to the Skill.
Boundless
The Boundless are explorers by nature, embracing the thrill of adventure and discovery. They are consumed by wanderlust and prefer to be on the move, rather than to spend time indoors or studying. They come with a range of proficiencies, all useful while on the road. Their curiosity serves them in both tactical and scholarly pursuits, and they blend in well with any group, providing they like to travel. They act as scouts, spies, escorts, combat medics, and sometimes wandering merchants.
Boundless Medic
The Boundless medic is a trained combat medic. She provides first aid and support to her allies while moving through the battlefield.
Starting Equipment: Common weapon (Enhanced 2), Healing Potion
Aspect: First Aid
Boundless Skirmisher
Boundless skirmishers are scouts, front line fighters, and mobile support. They move all over the battlefield, keeping their distance from enemies while striking devastating blows.
Starting Equipment: Common weapon (Enhanced 1, Extended Range), Healing Potion
Aspect: Stealthy Strike
Boundless Spy
Boundless often act as infiltrators, merchants, and political actors. They excel in espionage and use their connection to The Winding Path to make incredible deals and disguises.
Starting Equipment: Common weapon (Enhanced 2), Healing Potion
Aspect: Power Broker
Guild Paths
Guild Paths are meta-Terra Surge construct. Characters choose a guild for her anima to join, which are populated by other animas as a social group. These groups come together over shared ways to play the game and real-world interests. The guild is a social construct and comes in many forms. A guild could be comprised of OpTek employees who play in their off hours, local friends, or strangers who have found friendship through Terra Surge. Their benefits are mostly used in Terra Surge, although guilds can give access to real-world assistance and information, such as Ghost Wolf packs using them to coordinate activities. Characters can have their animas all belong to the same guild, or each anima can belong to a different guild, but she can only access the guild for the anima she is logged into at a given time.
Each guild offers a social angle for the anima to interact in the game. The anima gains +1 Enhancement to Teamwork actions when questing or adventuring with her guildmates. Each guild offers a benefit called Call in the Guild, which allows the character to tap her guild to assist her with difficult game problems. What the guild can help with is determined by their focus. A character can also attempt to leverage her guild for real-world assistance but doing so can tax the guild or prevent them from being able to help for some time.
A character can use the Call in the Guild ability for a guild once per story without penalty. If she uses it a second time during the same story, she gains the Path Suspension Condition (Trinity Continuum Core, p. 41). If she attempts to use the Call in the Guild ability for a real-world issue, she gains the Guild Off-line Condition.
Exploration Guild
Characters join exploration guilds to experience the sweeping vistas and unlock every single hidden space, location, and storyline within Terra Surge. Guildmates work together to map the entire world of Synestia and catalog every nook and cranny. They are on the front lines when new material for the game comes out. Exploration guilds are filled with animas of all classes, and the members make balanced groups to explore in together. They share state of the game information with each other in real time, and nothing the Narrators do misses their attention.
Call in the Guild: You may choose one of the following benefits: Access a fast travel portal to a location your anima has never been before; Gain a pass-key into a rare or hard to access location; Gain access to an instance or weird Quest space the anima wouldn’t normally have access to.
Raid Guild
Raiding guilds don’t just keep up with the current Quests for Terra Surge, they excel at grinding to get the best loot, gear, and achievements. Many high-level animas join raid guilds to get support in dealing with end game content. Raid guilds protect their lower-level members and will show up for them to help them level and get them to the point where they can all raid together.
Call in the Guild: You may choose one of the following benefits: Gain a +3 Enhancement to a grinding action; Gain a rare or raid only loot drop without engaging with the Quest; Gain a guild assist with a boss fight. Guild members assisting with a boss fight lower the boss’s Defense by 3.
Well, there's a hint of what's involved in creating an anima within the world of Trinity Continuum: Anima, and how they may function within Terra Surge. This is a really interesting aspect of the game, and something that I'm only starting to get my head around as we get further into this campaign.
We're at the halfway mark of this 4-week campaign. With two weeks behind us and two more to go, there's still plenty of time to invite friends and other games to join our... guild, as it were. Please remember to spread the word in your social circles and on your social media. Let's help this game continue to grow and get others to login!
We'll look at some info on Quests in Terra Surge over the weekend, and we'll get the complete text for chapter 7 and 8 next Tuesday! Before the end of the campaign - in two more weeks! - we'll have the entire text for this book in our hands (or, on our screens). You'll be able to read the book before any pledges are collected or payments processed! That's a pretty good deal!
So, let's keep it rocking and start thinking about our animas!
#TrinityContinuumAnima
#TerraSurge
Backers-Only: TC Anima Manuscript Preview #3
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 03:39:14 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Listening In & Logging On...
over 2 years ago
– Sun, Nov 28, 2021 at 06:59:27 AM
Hello Cascade Continuum Community,
A couple of bits I want to share with you today. The first is a follow up to our talk of podcasts about Anima from 4 days ago. The TC Creative Team aren't just starting to talk about this project now, they've been sharing stories about the development and creation of this game for a while.
The weekly Onyx Pathcast has several episodes that touch on the Trinity Continuum, and Anima in particular.
I've noted before, I love listening to the team talk about their process and the work that went into the game, so these insights are always appreciated.
In Terra Surge, Fearless are those who have answered the call to protect the world as champions of the Harsh Lands. They are fierce fighters imbued with the might to wield a weapon for glory and battle.
TERRA SURGE
Why Do People Still Play Terra Surge?
Two things have kept Terra Surge the most popular game on Glass. First is the variety of playstyles, peoples, and places within the game. Want to be a human? No problem! Want to be a living doll, a tentacled sea person, or an insectoid survivor? Synestia has room for all those and more. The second thing is the Narrator AI system. It’s damn-near limitless. At first, the developers fed the Narrators as many libraries of fantasy novels and adventurous biographies they could, but eventually they just gave them full access to the net within a few parameters. Though Synestia has a fixed geography, there are always strange portals to unknown planes, new eldritch creatures, and yet-undiscovered islands and caves to populate, and the Narrators take anything as inspiration — or nightmare fuel.
Though Synestia’s trappings are always firmly fantasy, one player who lives for the thrill can find themselves in a horror movie, while one who simply wants to farm out in the countryside can do so unmolested. The main reason for its ongoing popularity is that the game becomes what the player wants it to be and doesn’t force people into certain playstyles. Though most people prefer the action-adventure fantasy game with its overarching plot, quite a few players enjoy their virtual lives as shopkeepers, clerks, assistants, and farmers, protected from the horrors of Synestia by brave adventurers and helpful guard NPCs.
— Arden Park, Glass Gaming Blog
Sigil for Humans in Terra Surge
Starting Terra Surge
The only times a player sees their anima as a 3D model outside of themselves, rather than as the skin they inhabit, is during the character creation process and on the selection screen, along with in any in-game reflective surfaces, of course. The first choice in the game is picking which of the six peoples an anima will represent:
Churovians are an aquatic people, made of uplifted fish, octopuses, and other ocean-dwelling creatures, who use strange technology.
Humans look like typical Earth humans, and they are arranged into large clans; they currently live in lands that cannot sustain them forever.
Kum Deri are large, bestial, and hardy desert dwellers who are covered in short fur and are resistant to poison. They are also excellent storytellers.
The Quell, an insectoid people, are subterranean dwellers who can control non-sapient creatures.
Sentients have mysterious, ghost-like abilities, and are a recent addition to Synestia. They appear as possessed or sentient dolls, mannequins, and stranger things.
Veer are feathered bird people who value scholarship and tend toward agility; they are excellent at leaping and can glide short distances.
Once a player selects their people, they get to customize their anima. Though some restrictions are in place regarding height and size (depending on the people), and basic features, everything else can be personalized. There are no restrictions based on gender, and all genders are playable. Skin color, eye color, hair, fur, voice, scars, makeup, basic clothing — right down to the fingernails, literally everything can be tweaked. After all, this is more than just a character on a screen; this is the player’s new body. It’s what they use to interact with other players, to fight and adventure and possibly even romance; it’s them, and they have to feel good walking around in their anima. Some players build for brawn, some for beauty, and some for both or neither, but if a player can imagine their character looking or sounding a certain way, their character probably can.
While the choice of peoples informs from whence the anima’s family came, it doesn’t inform their starting area, though it’s suggested new players start in their ancestral homeland for a truly immersive introduction into their anima’s culture. After customizing the anima, a map of Synestia pops up, with the people’s regions highlighted, along with any available starting areas.
Traditionally, the Kum Deri are from the northeastern deserts, the Veer live and learn among the ruins of a long-dead civilization on the southeast, and the Sentients came into existence a few years ago in the southwestern deadlands. Humans live in the south, stuck between the Sentients and the Veer — at seemingly futile war with both. The Quell originally broke the surface world in overwhelming numbers all over Synestia in an attempt to flee a subterranean enemy, and now they claim the previously uninhabited plateaus of the northwest as their homes. The Churovians have access to all the seas and oceans via underground tunnels and caverns; some are naturally occurring, and others they dug over decades.
The second major choice a player makes is their class. They can choose their class after or during anima customization. There are two main types of classes, but each includes multiple subclasses with even more options after that. Highlighting a class displays a short paragraph describing its concept, history, and basic abilities. It also includes a portion of text explaining the currently highlighted people’s perception of the class.
The first type of class is the Planars, people whose souls are infused with power from a different plane. Planar players may choose between the crafty and mobile boundless, the fierce and fiery fearless, or the life-givers and healers known as the muses. Those are the three currently playable planar classes out of nine which exist in the lore.
Non-planar classes have their own extraordinary skills or knowledge that allows them to match Planars’ power level. Channelers are students of the esoteric who can tap into the ether to manifest extremely powerful spells with unexpected results. Mages are expert thaumaturgists who can channel energy from any planes into powerful spells and attacks.
Entering Synestia
No two introductions to Synestia are alike. Once a player installs Terra Surge on their Glass and creates their character, the game’s Narrator AIs comb through the user’s personal history and generates an opening scene based on its assessment of that player’s personality from their net usage. If the user spends a lot of time on dating sites but isn’t in a relationship, a Narrator generates an NPC the player likely finds attractive, who then sends them on a quest. If it’s someone who reads old sword-and-sorcery novels or who is simply a thrill seeker, they’re thrown into an epic battle scene within seconds. The goal is to hook the player immediately with something familiar and get them used to the game’s basic mechanics. Terra Surge even knows how much they use Glass. A frequent user’s senses get engaged fully almost immediately, while someone new to the platform experiences a gentler tutorial segment.
After the initial scenes, and once the player is familiar with basic interactions, the Narrators assess all their choices and move on, procedurally generating the next encounter, a town to hang out with other players and NPCs, or the entrance to their stronghold. Some players have sunk years of their life into decorating, busking, or hosting virtual parties without ever slaying so much as a mouse, while others crave terrifying encounters with the most vicious monsters or webs of political machinations. Synestia truly offers something for every play style.
Narrators
To make sure Terra Surge never runs out of quest ideas, the developers chose not to create any. Instead, they gave scripting and narration duties to an advanced set of AIs called Narrators, which keeps track of everything happening. They create the profiles for everyone who logs on and tailor the experience based on reactions and in-game choices.
Love solo campaigns? No sweat. Only care about PvP? No problem, there’s a war going on somewhere. Live for difficult dungeons or raids? There are plenty of ruins to reclaim from ever-encroaching creatures. Ever wanted less fighting, more roleplay? Well, hey, those political intrigues, ethical discussions, religious marches, and mercantile venues won’t just resolve themselves! Want to take down the biggest baddies? Legends speak of a dangerous creature the next village over. Sick of monsters and epic quests getting in the way of your crafting and gathering? Don’t worry, that’s fine too. Each player gets whatever they want, with just a pinch of the rest to keep things from getting stale.
The Narrators
The AIs that run Terra Surge comprise four distinct artificial entities working at the speed of light to craft a cohesive story. The original programmers (primarily British and French) named them after popular authors, but none of them have any gender identity.
John conceives most of the typical MMORPG quests. If a monster requires slaying, a war is brewing, or brawn is needed, this AI makes it happen. That doesn’t mean its stories are basic; all the Narrators are coded to strive for compelling stories and engaging stakes. John is named after John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Jane’s input is probably the most important, as it focuses on social interactions. It monitors in-game events, listens to every conversation, and scripts interesting NPCs based on that information. Its goal is to trigger emotional roleplaying and deep social interaction, and it also sends players headfirst into political intrigues involving political factions, secret societies, or religious groups. It’s named after Jane Austen.
Victor oversees exploration, culture, loot, and crafts. Its primary task is to ensure players find something intriguing around every bend, whether a mysterious forest, an underground cave, a ghost town, or a teeming village. It generates plot hooks and areas of interests other Narrators use for their own quests. This means it also needs to spawn a lot of new content spontaneously, a never-before discovered civilization or city always has its own architecture or art style, which Victor will make up as it goes. Finally, this AI balances out loot drops and rewards. If John says a unique sword must be used to defeat an opponent, it doesn’t need to worry about what it actually does. Victor will make sure the sword makes sense within John’s story, but also the world’s power balance at large. It is named after Victor Hugo.
Mary handles the storylines and NPCs that focus on dark arcane secrets, void entities, the void itself, and death. Currently, the overarching plot hasn’t yet reached the point where major void entities are actively engaged with, or even aware of, Synestia. But there are plenty of players exploring death, the underworlds, and one-off horror scenarios to keep Mary busy. She also deals in shadowy organizations, death cults, and the cycle of reincarnation for all NPCs, both restless and itinerant. Rumors circulate that Mary is responsible for managing the Jahat, but why she would handle such a faction is unclear. It is named after Mary Shelley.
We'll find out more about entering this virtual world with the next manuscript drop, coming Tuesday. Backers will be able to read the entire draft manuscripts for Chapters 5 and 6 which deal with Glass and cyberwear, as well as how Synestia works and the history of the world within.
Later this week we'll start to dig into the Anima creation process and the game-within-the-game that is Terra Surge.
More to come! Spread the word! Share in your social circles and on your social media and let's keep building our backer count.
#TerraSurge
#TrinityContinuumAnima
Stretch Goals!
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Nov 26, 2021 at 05:25:06 AM
Well, so much for a quiet weekend! We're starting things off right by unlocking another Stretch Goal! Early this morning we passed the funding target and unlocked our Cascade VTT Token pack.
ACHIEVED! - At $41,000 in Funding – Trinity Continuum: Anima Cascade VTT Token Pack– Digital assets will be created to support online play for Anima games set within the 2084 city of Cascade. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
A VTT Token Pack for playing adventures in Cascade? But what about the other part of this game, I hear you say. What about Terra Surge? Fear not - more Stretch Goals are inbound...
At $43,000 in Funding –Trinity Continuum: Synestia VTT Token Pack– Digital assets will be created to support online play for Anima games set within virtual world of Synestia. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
That's right! If we unlock this next Stretch Goal, we'll have virtual tabletop tokens for our virtual game! And these will be added automatically to the rewards list of all backers as a bonus!
But we're not done there. Now that we're talking about assets for play in both the Cascade and Synestia settings, let's talk about characters in both of those settings!
At $45,000 in Funding –Ready-Made Characters – An assortment of ready-to-play characters for use in the Cascade setting, along with their Terra Surge animas, will be released as a PDF supplement, providing examples and allowing players to jump right into the action! The Ready-Made Characters PDF will be added to the rewards list of all Kickstarter backers receiving the Trinity Continuum: Anima PDF.
Let's keep it up! We've got two more Quests ready for our party, and many more adventures on the way!
