Trinity RPG - Trinity Evolution

[Matt]

Trinity Evolution

A more cinematic alternative worldhistory for Trinity

By Chris Challice

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Introduction

This is an alternate background for the White Wolf's world of Trinity. By writing this I am not insinuating that the standard Trinity background, from now on deemed 'Trinity mainline' or just 'mainline', is flawed. I can see why people would want to play Trinity as it is written in the books and am by no means discouraging them from continuing. I have written this document to be as concise as possible so assume that anything I do not specifically mention is the same in this Trinity, henceforth referred to as 'this timeline', as in mainline Trinity. Thirdly, this is not a treatise on the rules of the game; you could play this version of Trinity using the exact same rules that appear in the main book. Of course for my game I have made a small amount of house rules, but this will not be the place to mention them.

What is different about this timeline? To make a long story short, atmosphere. Where mainline is dark, this timeline is cinematic, where mainline is science fiction, this timeline is space opera, and where mainline is historical, this timeline is dramatic. This is not to say that action, mystery and drama do not appear in mainline, it is just to say that this timeline focuses more on these features and less on dark themes, science, and realism. To say that either is better or worse is like saying that maple-walnut tastes better than rocky-road, it is all a matter of opinion.

Below you will find three sections. The History, which measures out the historical differences of this timeline, How Psi Works, which measures out the differences in how Psi works in this background, and the conclusion, which gives some reasons why I embarked on this madness. I hope you enjoy what follows, and if not you can always use mainline or make up your own history for Trinity Earth. So without further ado I bring you an alternate version of Trinity.

The History

Below are some brief explanations of changes that I made to the history of Trinity Earth. They are listed in chronological order, and anything that is not mentioned in this timeline, you can assume, runs along with the regular Trinity venue. 1923: Maxwell Anderson Mercer did not establish AEON. In fact he does not appear in this timeline at all. The reason for this is simply because, when I wrote this timeline, there was no place for him in my game. As for the Aberrants, in this timeline, they still worked with humanity as Novas. However there was all encompassing organiztion, spread over nations, which exclusively studied and interacted with them. Instead there were many smaller organizations, that ran in various different countries around the world, which took on this task. These organizations are at the freedom of the GM to create, for my game, they hardly matter because my campaign happens long after they have been scattered to the winds.

1970-2046: The "Golden Age of the Nova", was even more glorious than in mainstream Trinity. It was during this time that the deep space colonies were settled, and contact with the Qin was established, all through the miracle of Nova porters. Of course, not everything was rosy; all the terrible things that happened with Novas in mainstream Trinity also took place in this timeline, right up to the UN eventually declaring war on them.

2061: China did not declare the "Earth Strike Ultimatum", instead this was when the Psychic Orders began to crop up. In this timeline the Psychic Orders are much older, in fact they have existed since before the middle ages, staying together, keeping their existence secret, all out of fear that of what happened to the Aberrants at that point in time, would have happened to them. However, seeing that the world would likely be destroyed at this point if they remained hidden, they approached the one remaining superpower left in the world, China, and promised to help in the fight if China would offer to protect them if they won. With the Psychic Orders giving humanity a helping hand a losing war quickly turned into a standstill. (Obviously this means that the way Psi works is different in this timeline than in mainstream Trinity, for more information on that please see the 'How Psi Works').

2061-2113: The Aberrant War raged on with even more devastation occurring between humanity, the Cyes (pronounced as the plural of Psi) and the Aberrants. Everything that happened in mainstream happened in this timeline, except for the following; The crash (which happened later on), the beginning of the Psychic Orders (they had already been around for centuries), the destruction of the quantakinetic order (they never existed in this timeline), and the first contact with the Chormatics (which has yet to happen).

2114: An Aberrant attack still sent Esperanza crashing down on France. However, in this timeline, this is what ultimately caused the end of the Aberrant War. Shocked at this despicable act Upeo Wa Macho decided that enough was enough. While the rest of the Psychic Orders were still reeling form backlash, they gathered together and pooled their power to send all the Abberants in the solar system to the other side of the galaxy. This task was so daunting that, combined with the backlash from the Esperanza crash, all the members of Upeo Wa Macho died from the terrible strain that this feat put upon their bodies and souls. Their Proxy, her life draining away due to massive internal bleeding, barely managed to teleport to a UN security meeting to tell the world the news and beg humanity to unite, for Upeo Wa Macho's solution was only temporary. The Abberants were banished but they would be back and humanity would have to be ready for them. Having completed her task she died, security being lax, and the Abberants most obviously gone, the whole world soon knew about Upeo Wa Macho's sacrifice.

2115-2250: The Crash. Basically everything that happened in the crash in mainstream Trinity, except for the obvious contradictions, happened in this timeline as well, plus more. Inspired by the sacrifice of Upeo Wa Macho, a group of influential people decided that they would take their message to heart. These people predicted that the UN could not last much longer, and that China would not keep its promise to the Psychic Orders, they were right on both accounts. So after the world leaders had failed they began to pick up. They approached the Orders and made a deal, if the Orders would back them in helping humanity to unite, then they would help the Orders unite with humanity. Thus AEON was formed and with the backing of the Orders it became what the UN was, but with teeth. However it had a long road ahead of it, there were numerous challenges that the early AEON had to face in picking up all the pieces and helping people to help themselves. But slowly and steadily, all through the hell of the crash, they managed to push humanity back up onto the to the stage from which it fell. To make a long story short they helped the world become what it is in mainstream Trinity.

How Psi Works

Psi

In this timeline Psi is not linked to a Psi particle, instead all applications of Psi are based on Psi energy. The theory goes like this; everything that exists in the universe from a black hole, to a star, to an asteroid, to a living creature, is at its smallest and most simple form energy. This energy is called Psi and any variation in Psi leads both to different objects and different actions.

How Psi Works

Everything uses Psi on some level. Every action or change that happens can, at its root, be linked to a movement of Psi. A sun exploding is a movement of Psi, a baby being born is a movement of Psi, an army marching across the land is a movement of Psi, and even someone making a cup of coffee is a movement of Psi. Some movement of Psi, such as the falling of an apple out of a tree, we can easily comprehend and understand. Other movements, such as our brains interacting with our bodies, we experience every day but can not easily explain. And others, such as a Telepath reading another's thoughts, we can hardly comprehend, let alone fully understand, and even then only a few of us can do that. But, no matter how complex or large an action or change is it can always be boiled down to the ebb and flow of Psi energy.

About Cyes

In this timeline the term 'Psion' is not used (the word somehow doesn't sound right to me), instead most of the populous, despite the protestations of noetic scientists from around the world, call 'people who can do strange things, and are not abbarents', cyes. Another difference between this timeline's cyes, and mainline's psions, is that they all come about their gifts naturally, no Prometheus effect is necessary. That being said, it should be noted that in this timeline cyes are just as rare as psions, only a few people are born with this natural gift but those that are, are destined to live interesting lives.

How Cyes use Psi

Everyone uses Psi at some level, however there are people out there who can use it in ways that are different from the rest of humanity. This difference goes beyond the mundane distinctions of talents and professions that define most people. Cyes are men and women who can do things that are just out-right amazing in comparison to the rest of humanity. What they can do specifically is already detailed the main Trinity Book, under their various psychic aptitudes and Orders, all of which exist in this timeline as well as Trinity main.

Using Psi in an extraordinary fashion comes naturally for cyes; for them it can be as easy as walking. Most cyes, in fact, display very low levels of their aptitudes before they even start training. However, for a cye to get good at this the cye must intensely use his aptitude again and again for a long period of time. A good analogy between a cye and using his aptitude is an acrobat learning how to tumble. Before an acrobat begins training all she can do is a cartwheel and maybe a flip, and even then the flip is attempted with great difficulty. After a bit of training the same acrobat can now do startling jumps, spin in the air for a short period of time, and do all the things she was able to do before with ease. After many years of practice this same acrobat can do tumbling feats that, for the majority of the population, and maybe even many other acrobats, would be deemed impossible. As for everything she has done before, well that person wonders how she could have ever not known how to do such simple tricks. It is the same with manipulating one's aptitudes. At first there is a very basic understanding, then, after about a decade of practice, one thing after another begins to click, and, after about fifty years of practice or so, a psychokinetic can lift cars without even touching them, a vitakinetic can mend bones and flesh through will alone, a clarisentient can see the landscapes of planets well beyond our solar system, and so on and so on. This is made simpler, and takes far less time, if the cye has a whole Psychic Order comprised of scores of people willing to show him the ropes. Yet, despite all this, what a cye does and what an acrobat does, or what everyone else does for that matter, are all metaphysically the same, it is all a Psi moving in the background.

A note about Psi pool

A cye's ability to call upon her aptitudes is limited by a residual pool of energy that exists within her being. Scientists in this timeline have measured this energy and can tap it with biotechnology, but as of yet, they can neither reproduce it nor fully understand where it comes from. What is known is that every time a cye uses her powers this energy field weakens. Once this pool has completely dissipated the cye can no longer use her miraculous abilities until she has a chance to recover it. How this is done is not known either, but the rate of recovery is astoundingly fast. A fully depleted cye can be at full strength within a day. Another interesting thing about this energy is that, at the will of the cye, it can form itself into other types of energy. This is how the electrokinetic can generate electricity, how the psychokinetic can lift objets without touching them and how any other kind of cye can use his or her aptitudes to manipulate their environment. Most modern noetics postulate that this energy is none other than raw Psi, and this theory is what ignited noetic science in the first place.

Other differences in Psi

Here are some other important differences that are related to how Psi works in this timeline.

• Backlash: Backlash in this timeline is the same as it is in mainline, except that it is subjective. The more one is used to a traumatic event the more one is resistant to backlash from that particular type of event. For instance, a Legionnaire war vet does not have to make a backlash roll at seeing someone get killed, or even killing someone himself. However, a person who has never even seen violence in his life might take backlash if he witnessed a violent episode on TV, and if he actually ever killed someone before experiencing violence he'd take the backlash in lethal (though this is an extreme case). Most cyes see backlash as ripples in Psi that can be very dangerous to those 'above water' (meaning those who aren't prepared for it, or those who do not normally interact with Psi in the special way that only cyes can). Note: some backlash, like the kind that was caused by the Esperanza crash can not be avoided by anyone.
  
  
• Abberants: In this timeline there is no taint, in fact the general theory is that abberants have a deeper 'understanding' of how to manipulate their 'aptitudes' than cyes have to manipulate the ones taught by the Orders. However, it has been shown that abberants do not even use psi aptitudes in the normal sense, instead each one is believed to have a completely new 'aptitude' of her own. This type of understanding is so different form what cyes do, that no cye has ever been known to turn into an aberrant. (In fact this is the same reason why cyes don't use multiple aptitudes, they just don't have the gift for it). One other difference is that cyes can combine their abilities to get stronger, while abberants can only rely on their own powers. The reason for this is unknown, but it is the sole reason why the Orders were able to hold out against the abberants, despite the obvious gap in individual power between them and cyes. (One on one abberants are much stronger, one on many cyes will always win).
  
  

The Orders

Proxies

In this timeline there have been many proxies throughout history, however all the current ones are analogous to the proxies presented in mainline.

Upeo Wa Macho

To make a long story short this order is dead (see History). How they enacted the mass banishment of all the abberants on Earth is unknown and it is doubted that it could ever be replicated again, even if another entire Order is willing to sacrifice itself. There also have not been any porters cropping up since the end of the Aberrant War, though the reason why is more easily understood. It took about two millennia for mankind to develop psychic teleportation and with the secrets of Upeo Wa Macho buried with its cyes it seems that it may take humanity another two millennia before human porters are seen again.

Chitra Bhanu

The quantakinetics have never existed in this timeline.

Names

The Vitakinetic Order is known simply as the Red Cross, as it has been known throughout history, though proxy Zweidler is doing his utmost to change the name to the Aesculapian Order.

Aliens

Unlike mainline, aliens can be cyes. In fact, as far has anyone has studied, every Quin seems to be a biokinetic. However, there is a theory that where humanity lacks in the number of cyes, they more than make up for in variety. As far as anyone knows, apparently even the Quin, there have never been any Quin who have had any psychic aptitude that differed from biokenisis. There have also been no Quin abberants; has far as anyone knows; though many have a shadow of a fear that this may one day change....

Biotech

In this timeline DNA does not need to be injected into a biotech item in order for it to be formatted it to a cye. Instead all that needs to be done is for the cye to concentrate on the item for a round. However all the rules for formatting too many bioaps still apply.

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Conclusion

So there you have it, my skewed view of how the Trinity world works. Why did I do this? The simple answer is because I'm a tinkering monkey. For every system and game world that I have ever GM'ed, even Star Wars, I have always found the desire to tinker with both the rules and the background. When I first bought Trinity I fell in love with many of the ideas that it presented, but a few of them I could not easily stomach. So I looked at what I disliked, said 'Hey I'm the GM', and changed it. The first idea that I did not quite enjoy was the way mainline Trinity described how psychic powers worked. I knew why the authors of Trinity wrote the description in a pseudo-scientific fashion, but I just couldn't wrap my head around Psi particles and the Prometheus effect, it seemed all to 'manmade' for me, and not 'starwarsy' enough. So that is why I changed how Psi worked from Prometheus effects and Psi particles, to some mystical energy-field that is the cause for everything (sound familiar?). The second idea that bugged me was that everything seemed so historical, what I mean by this is that the background did not seem to me to be written like a story, but more like a history of political intrigues and dirty dealing. Now I can see why the authors set Trinity up in this fashion, it had a more realistic feel. But I wanted my fairy tale! So, without further adieu I made the history of this timeline less realistic, with everyone grabbing for power, and more dramatic, everyone living out his or her life on a grand stage. Finally I noticed that the whole Trinity aspect was cloaked in a dark pall, normally this is not a bad thing, but the previous campaign that I had run in Star Wars had some very dark themes and I wanted to start things off on an upbeat for once. As to why I wrote this document well, A) I wanted to hammer down the specific changes for my players, and I think it might be possible that there are GM's like me out there who would like to see this. So there you go a whole new Trinity background. Again I would like to say that I do not believe that my Trinity is better than mainline, I just feel that it is different enough to perfectly suit my players, and myself even though it might not be for everyone.