WW's Adventure/Abberent/Trinity to be d20! (Merged w/other thread)

[Dirigible]

Just to comment on the new WoD...if they are going to have a new WoD with the same trappings as the old...Vampires, Werewolfs, Mages, etc...then there's no reason to get rid of the old WoD because it will just be the same whole thing all over again, just an updated Storyteller system.

Like 'there's no need to change DnD 2nd edition rules unless you change the settings cos it'll be the same thing all over again, jsut an updated Ad&D system?'

 

[Maethras]

Ahh, this was another flaw of Trinity, you had to READ it -- not scan it.

Or a nonpsion that worked for a psionic organization.("Who needs Psi Powers Or, Playing a 'Normal' Human" sidebar page 169)

Yeah, but.. be fair. To put that sidebar in d20 Terms..

Sidebar if it was d20 Modern: "You have the option of starting as a 32 point-buy Hero IF you advance toward Telepath or Battle Mind. Alternately, you can be a 25 point-buy Strong Ordinary."

Sidebar if it was D&D: "You may begin the game as a 32 point-buy Psion or Psychic Warrior. If these do not suit you, feel free to play a 25 point-buy Commoner."

At least, that's the way it read in my book. I didn't have the version called Trinity. I have Æon.

It had.. some interesting ideas. But it wasn't the kind of setting I, personally, cared for. Some neat tech. Too much flying around and zappy-eyeing people for my tastes, though.

 

[Henry]

I got it second hand, but someone from WW staff said the new WOD it will be a varient of WW, that's why not? Not everyone is so opposed to dice pools.

Absolutely. White Wolf has a LOT of time and money and effort invested in the storyteller system; it's what made them #2 big dog in the gaming world (and for a while there in the 90's, #1 in terms of sales). I certainly wouldn't want to see it disappear by a long shot; people love it, and it's popular.

I just wish that Aetherco had followed suit, because that too is an excellent game that needs far more press than it's getting.

 

[Berandor]

I'm not sure what to say.
I like Trinity (bought everything except the Player's Guide), and I'm still sorry I couldn't get someone to play Adventure! with me.
I also like the storyteller system, especially as changed for these games.
Unfortunately, my Trinity group wasn't too invested in the game, and there wasn't much flavor in our games except what I provided. So I now DM D&D again, hwere the group is much more into it.
I'm happy that Trinity is republished, and I think A! was even the better game, but all in all, D20 seems to be more rules-heavy than I would like for the game.

Oh well, best wait and see.

 

[The_Universe]

I've played dice pool games, I have played D20. As a lot of people on these boards seem to, I drastically prefer the D20 system. As a caveat, I will say that I would rather play ANY dice pool game than ADnD 2E. I HATED that system--kept me from playing DnD at all for YEARS.

As for Adventure! and Aberrant, I'm interested...but I hope there's a way to use it with D20 modern. I love 3 and 3.5E DnD, but the native classes to the system are pretty hard to apply to a setting outside of high fantasy, or certain space opera settings.

In all, I think D20Modern is THE ulitmate expression of a flexible, nearly universal D20 system.

You can get almost any D20 game to work with D20modern, but it's pretty hard to get D20Modern stuff back in balance with normal D20. So, here's hoping for conversion notes, at least!

 

[JEL]

Yep, it seems that WW's "working title" for their d20 revamp of their SF lines has also given Aetherco some bonus press.

I never heard of this game until Continuum fans started to spill out of the woodwork to "correct" everyone.

LOL! I had even started a thread about d20 "Continuum" rules and it was taken over by aspiring IP lawyer wanna-bes who had to let everyone know about Aetherco.

Continuum is a really cool game and it just kind of bugs me to see the name being coopted by WW and/or their fans. I do recommend checking out the game even if only for reading material. It has a lot of interesting takes on the subject, but I think that actually running the game might be tricky as the time travel can get pretty complicated. Lacking a group right now, I haven't had a chance to test that theory.

 

[Voneth]

Yeah, but.. be fair. To put that sidebar in d20 Terms..

Sidebar if it was d20 Modern: "You have the option of starting as a 32 point-buy Hero IF you advance toward Telepath or Battle Mind. Alternately, you can be a 25 point-buy Strong Ordinary."

It had.. some interesting ideas. But it wasn't the kind of setting I, personally, cared for. Some neat tech. Too much flying around and zappy-eyeing people for my tastes, though.

I tend to disagree with your assesment, no offense.

Your "BAB" (Fighting abilties) wasn't penalized for being human in the Aeon/Trinity system, neither was your "saves" (Soak rolls and DEX checks) you also had access to the same Alliegences (classes). A normal human may have started out weaker, but he wasn't penalized in his advancement.

To be more accurate for your own case, you'd pretty much have to say that playing a normal human in Trinity would be to chose the race "normal human" and find out that it was weaker than the race "psion" because you got less attribute bumps.

From that point, it depends on whether the GM wants a more "realistic" game ("well psions do have a natural advantage, what did you expect when you insist on playing a normal?") or a more "balanced" game ("Powers, Smowers, I've got gear and attitude, I show those short-cutting punks what a real man is all about.") (On that note, you will want to check out Adventure!'s Daredevils -- they are all about that very theme. In fact at the end of Trinity's metaplot, these type of guys comeback on the scene. ... see you quit too soon. )

So a GM could have given out another "5" points if he thought the norms were too weak, or he could have used the more detailed rules in the Trinity Players Guide.

In fact, as twist in one game that I never got to run, I wanted to do an all normal team. It would have been fun to have them go up against psions, mostly because the designer made psionics just on par with the tech in the game. i.e. the main advantage to being a psion was that you had to carry less gear, i.e. your doctor carried some of his medkit "inside" him.

Again, this might have been part of Trinity's failing. It was too "high-powered" for those who perfer gear over psionics and yet it was also too "low-powered" for those who perfer psionics over gear.

It seems at the heart of it, though, you perfer your SF to focus on "unenhanced" people. There was plenty for "normal" (mundane to Jame Bond) to do in the Aeon/Trinity game, again since that wasn't the focus of the game, you could either just substitute more gear for the loss of powers or you had to read and find the info you needed (such as a normal human could go to both pro and anti psion rallies and not cause a fuss, or set off any "psi" senstive alarms.)

Btw, congrats that you got an original Aeon cover, I happen to have one too. It seems that mine got more use, despite the funky "zappy" illos.

 

[Voneth]

Continuum is a really cool game and it just kind of bugs me to see the name being coopted by WW and/or their fans. I do recommend checking out the game even if only for reading material. It has a lot of interesting takes on the subject, but I think that actually running the game might be tricky as the time travel can get pretty complicated. Lacking a group right now, I haven't had a chance to test that theory.

yeah, but their web page was down (see the unintentional publicity was a good thing!)

It was very frustrating, though, when that thread was totally hijacked without even an apology.

 

[cbas-10]

White Wolf's Trinity Continuum goes d20!

I'm not sure if anyone else has seen this or if this should be in a different thread, but I saw this on the White Wolf website.

SWORD & SORCERY STUDIOS™ ANNOUNCES d20® VERSIONS OF FAN-FAVORITE ADVENTURE!™, ABERRANT™ AND TRINITY™ GAMES

Atlanta, GA, September 25, 2003 — Fans of innovative and dynamic roleplaying games can look forward to new hardcover editions of the acclaimed Trinity, Aberrant, and Adventure! game settings, to be published under the popular d20 System. “We wanted to make these exciting games available to the large audience of gamers who use the d20 rules,” said Mike Tinney, President of White Wolf.

“The three settings of the game universe we call the Continuum have long had loyal followings,” added Andrew Bates, Managing Editor of Sword & Sorcery Studios and a designer for all three games. “By launching them under the d20 System, we hope to bring them to an even larger group of fans.”

The Continuum games will release in 2004, starting in April with the pulp-themed Adventure!, winner of the 2002 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game. The superpower-themed Aberrant follows in June, and the science fiction setting Trinity launches in July. “These are new editions of the games fans know and love,” Bates observed, “with changes primarily to the rules, but also to clean up and reinforce the continuity between the three settings.”

Each book will be hardcover in the standard 8-1/2 by 11-inch format, and will be compatible with the d20 System, requiring the Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5 Player’s Handbook. Each is otherwise complete unto itself. In addition, the three together tell a generational saga the likes of which is seen rarely in roleplaying. Each game is set in a different time period in the same universe, known as the Continuum. This reality is similar to our own, save for the presence of superhumanly powerful people. Adventure! is set in the pulp era of the early 20th century, where players take the roles of amazing individuals — fearless daredevils, mysterious mesmerists and uncanny stalwarts — who explore wondrous and bizarre happenings around the globe. Aberrant is set in the early 21st century, where the focus is on the stalwarts’ genetic descendants, called novas, and how such superhuman beings impact every aspect of society. Trinity is set in the early 22nd century, in a universe transformed by technology, war, contact with alien species and the rise of the distant genetic cousins of pulp-era mesmerists, now called psions.

Dragon Magazine called Trinity “smart, intense space-opera… high-IQ roleplaying,” while RPG.net lauded Aberrant’s “excellent setting” and Adventure! as “imaginative, innovative and fun.”

# # #

A division of White Wolf Publishing, Sword & Sorcery Studios (www.swordsorcery.com) is an affiliation of design studios producing roleplaying products fully compatible with the d20 System and the Open Game License. The studios include: Sword & Sorcery Studios, Arthaus Publishing, Scarred Lands, Necromancer Games, Ravenloft, Gamma World, EverQuest RPG, Warcraft RPG, Malhavoc Press and Engel.

White Wolf Publishing, Inc. (www.white-wolf.com), is a company dedicated to redefining the art of storytelling. Since its birth in 1991, White Wolf has consistently stretched the boundaries of familiar modes of artistic entertainment, introducing new realms to the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres. White Wolf began its journey with its now highly popular roleplaying lines including Vampire: The Masquerade, and then ventured into the realm of mass-market fiction publishing. White Wolf is most recently involved in the electronic entertainment and television industries. For more information, contact:

Andrew Bates
Managing Editor
Sword & Sorcery Studios
White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
1554 Litton Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083
404-292-1819 x236 (voice) / 678-382-3883 (fax)
andrewbates@white-wolf.com
http://www.swordsorcery.com
http://www.white-wolf.com

 

[Selganor]

And it has already been announced here (a few posts deeper) under the title WW's Adventure/Abberent/Trinity to be d20!