Trinity RPG - Wolf Spoor's Interview with Andrew Bates

[Matt]

The following text is from Ian Watson's Wolf Spoor . It is a great source for White Wolf news, and Ian is a big Trinity Universe fan, so if you haven't visited his site already, then go now.

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Andrew Bates has been kind enough to answer a bunch of questions for us about the new D20 Trinity Universe games (Trinity, Aberrant, Adventure). A lot of this stuff seems to be the first time this information has been released, so drink up, and read more to read the Q&A.

1. (from shantak)

Dare we hope for color art (ind Aberrant and Trinity)?

We haven't nailed that down yet. We would like to, but color costs are pretty steep. These books are far more feasible to produce in black-and-white, so we may have to go that route.

2. (from CraigOxbrow)

Will there be conversion rules for the original Storyteller system editions?

That's not planned at this point. The current word count is filled with setting material and d20 rules, so there isn't really space anyway. I'd like to try for free pdf conversion stats or something, but I can't guarantee that we'll have anything ready when the books release.

3. (from shantak)

Why is the Trinityverse called just Continuum instead of Aeon Continuum?

Well, there was never an official name for branding the setting as a whole. "Trinity Universe" was applied back in the days of Trinity, but wasn't used for Aberrant and ended up falling by the wayside. We can't actually use "Aeon" for titles or marketing, though, so "Continuum" was a holdover from my use of "Aeon Continuum" in Adventure!

In the end, we felt it best to go back to the beginning and resurrect "Trinity Universe." So the d20 versions will launch with an actual "Trinity Universe" branding.

4. (from shantak)

Assuming there are character classes, are they going to be open-ended like Daredevil, Stawart or even Nova, or will they be more restricted like Crack Pilot, Masked Crimefighter or Entertainer?

There will be character "races" and classes. (We discussed a more free-form approach, but in the end felt that the general existing framework applies quite well.) The "races" cover the three player character categories folks may be familiar with from the Storyteller versions: daredevil, stalwart/nova, mesmerist/psion. Each is a variation on baseline human, just as expressed in the Storyteller version, but using d20 terms.

We're using a whole new slate of core and prestige classes. The six core classes in Adventure!, for instance -- aristocrat, criminal, entertainer, investigator, scholar, warrior -- are pretty open-ended. Each is fashioned as an iconic character type, giving players plenty of room to personalize so that no two of each class need be exactly alike. Additional prestige classes -- inventor or mystic, for instance -- offer further areas of specialization. None of the classes is meant to restrict, though, but instead to offer interesting avenues to explore

whatever concept players have.

5. (from shantak)

Beginning characters in Adventure! (and in Aberrant) are rather powerful and often Larger-than-life. Can a level 1 Mesmerist still be the greatest doctor in Europe or can a level 1 Daredevil be the best biplane pilot the world has ever seen?

There's some adjustment to starting power scale, due to the nature of d20. Player characters nonetheless start out significantly superior to everyday joes, though (just as in D&D -- there's a reason why the core classes offer more than NPC classes do). Plus, we'll have notes on starting characters out more experienced -- at higher levels, if you will -- depending on the campaign.

6. (from MythicFox)

While their books are overpriced for the page count, Guardians of Order has done some interesting things with integrating point-based systems into d20. Is d20 Continuum going to incorporate anything like this?

We talked about doing point-based systems and other variant methods. In the end, we decided to stick with the "standard" overall d20 setup. Some folks may be outraged that it doesn't offer any variety, but we're pleased with the versatility that we're seeing in the material so far.

7. (from IanWatson)

I love the multi-stage character creation, i.e. creating your character as a baseline human first, then adding on all the changes that happen as a result of Inspiration/eruption/triggering. Can we look forward to anything similar in the d20 versions?

Sort of. We also like the multi-stage process, but we also want to keep character generation streamlined. We definitely address how to determine your character pre-eruption et al, then build on the daredevil/stalwart(nova)/mesmerist(psion) stuff not unlike d20 templates (though not exactly like them, either).

8. (from Craig Oxbrow)

With the setting being revised to fit together more cohesively, will you be taking this opportunity to fix some longtime concerns, like Project Rewrite in Trinity?

To a certain extent. We aren't doing new editions, here -- that wouldn't be fair to fans who like their Storyteller versions and have no interest in d20. However, there are some fundamental flaws in the settings that we'll tweak so that the justifications make more sense.

9. (from Anonymous)

Will the new edition pick up the development of the Trinity metaplot where the old edition left off, 2022 [sic], or will it move forwards or ignore the old metaplot altogether?

Trinity d20 will be set after the Upeo return so that players can have teleporter PCs. It won't otherwise advance the metaplot. That being said, we'll try to incorporate some linking material (like the one in the back of the Storyteller version of Adventure!) that gives players guidelines on what occurs between each game era -- or what could happen in Trinity's future.

10. Dual-statted? (from IanWatson)

If these new corebooks are a success, can we look forward to additional support? And if so, will they support both the d20 and ST systems, or just d20?

I hate to say it, but it does come down to finances. If these books are profitable enough, we'll look at doing more material. We haven't discussed how those will be presented, but I will definitely lobby to make them compatible with both Storyteller and d20.

11. (from Longshadow)

Okay. Big fan of the setting, but a little concerned here. There are a number of d20 "Supers" style mechanics sets already available on the market, some very, very good --such as Green Ronin's M&M--others not so good (I'll be polite and not name names). Is WW going to make their own d20ish rules set, adapt an existing one, or license out (such as M&M's Superlink)? As much as I enjoyed the trinityverse, a set of mechanics I can't stomach would strongly influence my purchasing habits.

That's understandable. We'll use our own overall powers setup; we aren't averse to drawing from suitable OGC, but we prefer to set things up in our own way. We'll always want to keep the systems as streamlined yet flexible as possible, as well as evocative of the feel of the Trinity Universe that fans are familiar with.

Bates

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Andrew Bates

Managing Editor

Sword & Sorcery Studios

http://www.swordsorcery.com

White Wolf Publishing

[Ian Watson]

Thanks, Chosen. Yes, I am indeed a big fan of the Trinity Universe games. I'm stoked to see what the new versions will bring - which hopefully includes a bigger fanbase!

You may also want to repost the additional item I posted from subsequent email with Andrew. It deals with cross-compatibility issues.

<a href="http://www.wolf-spoor.org/trinityuniverse">http://www.wolf-spoor.org/trinityuniverse</a>