Contribute to help us create a traditionally printed version of Aberrant, a setting expansion for the Trinity Continuum tabletop RPG
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Hello Continuum Community,
Backers have seen previews of the manuscript, including option rules and discussion for tone and subgenre. Discussion of these facets of the game continue in the upcoming Storyguide chapter, which will be part of next Tuesday's Backers-only preview!
The four-color, cinematic, and deconstruction Tones (p. XX) are the first thing Storyguides need to worry about in Aberrant. Consider the three Tones and how they will affect your group’s encounters and story. In a world filled with novas, each action has a consequence. This fits into the game’s main theme of sacrifice. Every action leads to an equal reaction. In what way does this reaction occur? How does it affect your group?
While one person is the Storyguide, Aberrant is, at its core, a collaborative storytelling experience. The entire group participates in crafting the story, though the Storyguide provides narration and voices for non-player characters. The Tones help everyone know what to expect in a game of Aberrant. While specific consequences will occur in the moment, Tones help to give players an idea of what themes and tropes to expect. The Storyguide will narrate through the lens of these Tones while the group plays through the game.
The Storyguide (and also the players) is expected to understand the chosen Tone. If a story in four-color Tone begins to take dark, ironic twists, then there has likely been a miscommunication somewhere along the line. Tones exist so the players know what to expect when performing their actions. The Storyguide should be aware of it when designing the twists and turns in their story. It’s like comparing old, golden age comics with modern superhero movies: While both are fun and enjoyable, they tell different stories and the world reacts in different ways to character action.
Each Tone is enjoyable in its own way, but not every story will be as effective in some Tones. For instance, in four-color Tone, the good guys win and the bad guys lose. There are consequences for players’ actions, but the Tone is designed to maintain the status quo. In four-color Tone, everything is a clear moral choice. It largely lacks gray areas. So, if the group is made up of heroes, they will likely stay heroes and vice versa. In each Tone, the Storyguide should design scenarios that fit the themes and tropes of that Tone. The more the Storyguide drifts away from the Tone, the more the game starts to fall apart.
Four-color Tone can still be used to evoke themes of sacrifice and changing the world. Even if the good guys win, they may lose some things along the way. Many classic superheroes would fit into four-color Tone very easily. While classic comic storylines involve binary good or evil choices, there still is a great deal of sacrifice involved. Because this is of the central themes of Aberrant, the Storyguide will need to consider how to fit this in while still maintaining the bright and optimistic world created in four-color Tone.
Cinematic and deconstruction Tones fit in easily with Aberrant’s theme of changing the world, for better or worse. Though deconstruction and four-color Tones are essentially opposites, both can implement the game’s main themes. Deconstruction Tone subverts the expectations of four-color Tone, but, in both cases, the world is changed because of the group’s actions. The Tone simply guides how it changes.
In deconstruction or cinematic Tone, a character’s good intentions may lead to terrible consequences. This is perfect for players who want to play through a game that doesn’t heavily rely on classic superhero tropes. Deconstruction and cinematic Tone have lots of twists and turns, and it’s easy to surprise players with the unexpected. However, the Storyguide should be careful when telling the difference between subverting player expectation and ruining players’ plans for no reason.
In cinematic and deconstruction Tone, players’ actions lead to major changes within the world. In these Tones, the players are more likely to accidentally set off a chain of events that will change the course of history. The players can still be heroes, but they must also examine their choices and realize that they cannot take anything for granted. In these Tones, the Storyguide should focus on how superpowered actions affect the history of humankind.
In all the Tones, there are cultural touchstones for the Storyguide and the players. To comic book and superhero fans, these Tones will all likely sound very familiar. This keeps the game accessible to new and old superhero fans. New fans will be able to play off of familiar tropes until they get their feet wet in the system. Once this happens, they can branch off in unique directions while keeping in the same theme and tone.
Now that the Storyguide and players have agreed on a Tone, they need to discuss the subgenre of the game. Is your story focused on a team of vigilantes with a strong moral code? Does it heavily include corrupt politicians? Is it set in space? These types of questions are what a Storyguide should consider when the subgenre has been chosen.
Like Tones, subgenres define player expectation. Though the Storyguide may be creating plot points for it, it’s important that the players know what kinds of characters to make. After the subgenre is chosen, the Storyguide should consider the finer points of the genre and what larger implications they have for the world. Especially for subgenres like Social Commentary or Politics, the players’ actions will greatly affect the story and the public’s perception of novas. The Storyguide can think of interesting ways to explore those tropes without venturing too far from the game’s genres.
Celebrity
All novas are famous to some degree. However, these types of stories would focus on fame and the consequences that come with it. When creating a game with a celebrity focus, consider how fame affects novas. Becoming a nova is a seemingly random occurrence. How would the average person react to becoming a celebrity overnight? Some novas, when fame is thrust upon them, become addicted to it. Cults of personality are also a huge part of the world. How will nova fan clubs affect the players? Consider the ways in which fan clubs can become more akin to cults.
Scenarios with a celebrity subgenre should heavily feature public perception of novas both as a whole and individually. The attitude toward novas differs greatly from location to location, but the celebrity status of individual novas may remain the same. How do your players reconcile the two sometimes opposing views?
Additionally, Storyguides creating a celebrity subgenre game should consider the effects of technology on celebrity culture. Aberrant is set in the future and features more advanced technology. Consider how the rise of social media influences celebrity culture. Give your characters opportunities to react to things like going from having three followers on social media to three million. How does social media look in another decade? When novas can broadcast their thoughts and activities to the world with a click of a button, what consequences does that bring?
Crime-Fighting
This is a classic superhero trope. Do-gooders, when given extreme power, will use it. Crime-fighting can have a positive impact on communities, as vigilantes can tread where law enforcement cannot, but traditional law enforcement is still a prominent element. Even if a player circumvents the law to enact justice, the justice system may not see it that way.
Consider how different communities react to crime-fighting. Some may be prejudiced against novas and consider their attempts to help at interference. Others may like novas or a nova may be operating in their own neighborhood, leading to camaraderie with their baseline human neighbors. Consider also the effect that the Tone will have on public perception of crime-fighting novas. Deconstruction Tone in particular will turn the do-gooder crime fighting superhero trope on its head.
Crime-fighting doesn’t have to be just simple muggings in dark alleyways. Players can take on the role of detectives, searching for clues and patterns. They can also tackle organized crime. Though organized crime has mostly been abolished thanks to Team Tomorrow, it remains a major issue in some parts of the world. Don’t be afraid to approach the genre from unique angles.
Espionage
The various factions within the setting like to keep an eye on one another. In this subgenre, players have the opportunity to explore the goings-on of multiple groups or people within the universe. Seeing what’s going on beneath the surface can lead to interesting opportunities. This also gives players the chance to sneak and listen rather than monologue and fight.
Espionage is a special skill that gives the players as many opportunities to succeed as it does to fail. If the players do fail and are found out, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the story stops. The faction being spied on may be interested in what the novas have to offer. This could lead to the characters engaging in the activities they sought out to stop.
Consider the hidden or unknown parts of the setting when planning an espionage game. The main goal of this subgenre is for players to uncover information. The more interesting the information, the more compelling the story. Storyguides can come up with their own secrets to hide throughout the world or choose some from this book.
Hey there, Continuum Community,
We've got just over 10 days left in our campaign, and we're doing well... but let's see if we can do Mega-Well. That's a word, right? Let's pretend it's a term describing Q-Tech... but we're getting ahead of ourselves! Still more to come in this campaign, and plenty of backers to invite to join in! So, please remember to share on your social media and in your social circles!
Today, another piece of Aberrant fiction, again in a familiar form...
Novas can’t help but shape the world around them. The fields of science and technology are no different. Across the world, novas are discovering new ways to study and explore everything around us. They’re inventing new hypotheses and theories to explain the nature of the universe and how humanity can harness and tame it.
The control of quantum forces gifts novas with a view of the world that baselines will never truly experience. Though this sounds elitist — and can be dangerously so in the hands of some novas — most novas who turn their minds to pushing technological boundaries are ultimately doing so because they want to help bring others on their own journey of self-discovery. That they stand to gain fame and fortune through doing so is a powerful motivator to some, true, but a surprising number of nova inventors happily gift their inventions to the world for anyone to build. Unfortunately, sometimes despite the altruistic motives of these individuals, they don’t stop to consider the larger implications of their work on the economic, commercial, or political landscape, or the destruction their inventions could cause.
Developing nations are benefitting from this technological revolution even more than their established counterparts. For those novas seeking to improve the world, these countries are where they want to roll out their newest life-improving inventions, to get them where they’re most needed. This has led to no small amount of resentment among some of the more developed nations, but the simple fact is that retrofitting aging infrastructure isn’t as simple — or as glamorous — as bringing health and prosperity to people who’ve gone without for too long.
Like many aspects of their existence, novas rewrite the rules and forge their own expectations when it comes to technology. Nova inventors can build technological wonders in a matter of months that which would take a dedicated team of developers years of hard work to accomplish. With the right powers novas can even surpass these limitations, absent-mindedly assembling lesser creations while concentrating on some other task, or pulling together advanced technology to replicate other powers in only days or weeks.
Nova technological developments and inventions can be divided into three categories. The first, core-tech, is nova-designed technology that can be replicated, mass-produced, and mostly understood by baseline designers. This level of technology may incorporate peculiarities in the production method, or involve combining resources in previously unconsidered ways, but otherwise there’s nothing in the design that human ingenuity couldn’t have achieved given enough time and effort. Core-tech need not be more advanced that the current level of human equipment. Indeed, some novas have achieved their fortunes by designing, patenting, and marketing improved versions of everyday products, or more efficient and cost-effective ways of mass producing them.
The second category of technical advancement is referred to as nova-tech. Nova-tech is somewhat more difficult to define than core-tech. Essentially, nova-tech relies on novas to exist. This isn’t limited to only being designed by novas but could include inventions that incorporate exotic materials produced by nova powers, or drawn from nova physiology. While a baseline could develop the theoretical design for a piece of nova-tech, they couldn’t build a prototype, much less move into mass production, without the required nova capabilities or samples. This breadth of design both confuses but defines nova-tech. Whereas the production process for a nova-derived pharmaceutical may be manufactured entirely through baseline methods as long as the supply of nova blood remains steady, another facility might require no exotic materials to produce its virtually-controlled microsurgical implant machines, but can’t without a nova with the right molecular manipulation powers to assemble them.
Finally, quantum technology — Q-tech — requires a nova to be able to function. Q-tech interacts with a nova’s quantum imprint at a fundamental level to be able to function at all. Non-nova study of Q-tech can barely make any sense of how it works, even for apparently simple objects. In fact, some Q-tech simply shouldn’t work according to any known laws of physical science, but they still do. A nova could build Q-tech versions of otherwise mundane technology, such as a toaster that happens to be powered by pure quantum flux, but few would bother except to amuse themselves. Q-tech can replicate quantum powers through technology. This is how several nova geniuses overcome their inherent lack of ability to fly or shoot power bolts from their fists.
What’s in a Name?
As far as these rules are concerned, core-tech, nova-tech, and quantum-tech are clearly distinct types of technology in the Aberrant period. This doesn’t mean that the people of the time know of, understand, or even use these distinctions. Most people don’t care if a device can be bulk manufactured, or whether it requires a nova’s intervention in the creation process. To the average person on the street, anything designed by a nova is “nova-tech.”
The exception is quantum technology. While most people are just as likely to call these devices nova-tech, the obvious demonstration of replicating nova powers makes these devices resonate more within the public consciousness. Hyperfusion just works, but the nova Singularity’s gauntlets project gravity waves and turn the world upside down!
Hey Continuum Community,
Following up a bit on yesterday's tiny preview of the writer's Quick Character system, Eddy Webb has come by with an enhanced look at Character Creation. I've also added a bit at the end about hammering the Quick Character system into something presentable and seeing if we can get it to you earlier...
Take it away, Eddy...
Eddy here to talk a bit about Trinity Continuum: Aberrant character creation! I see lots of people are excited (and a little confused) about how character creation works, so I wanted to bring up a few of things to consider:
1) You don't have the full manuscript yet. Things are coming at you in bits and pieces, which can seem complicated out of context. Some of it will make more sense once everything's in your hands!
2) Reading a pre-editing manuscript can be a bit tricky if you're not used to it. Our editing mages and layout wizards have some incredible magic which turns ordinary Word documents into extraordinarily-clear book pages. So some of what looks opaque now will be much easier to understand in the final product.
3) Because sometimes you just want to roll-and-go, we have an upcoming stretch goal for a roll-and-play appendix, which James has already shared a couple bits from. So character creation can be as simple as rolling some dice and making a few choices!
That said, I've made a number of characters when I was playtesting the system, so I thought I'd walk through an example, to give an idea of how it goes. Since I just saw the latest Spider-Man movie, I thought I'd use everyone's favorite wall-crawler as an example: Night Monkey! Er, I mean, the Amazing Spider-Man!
Aberrant suggests I choose my character's name, background, and Aspirations. Since that's the same as the Trinity Continuum core rulebook, I'll just follow those rules. His name is Peter Parker, his background is "Student with a Double Life," and his Aspirations are "go on a date with MJ" (short-term), "do well on my upcoming test" (short-term), and "come to terms with his personal loss" (long-term).
Next I pick my character's Origin, Role, and Society Paths. According to TC core, I get one dot in each. There are some new Role and Society paths in Aberrant, but I don't have to choose those if I don't want to.
Origin: Peter's a pretty suburban kid, so I'll pick "Suburbia" from TC core as his Origin Path. That gives me the following:
* Example Connections: I write down "Ned Leeds," his school buddy, as his connection.
* Skills: My choices are Culture, Empathy, Humanities, and Technology. I have three dots, so I'll put two in Technology and one in Empathy.
* Edges: I can choose from Artistic Talent, Big Hearted, Library, Patron, and Wealth. Big Hearted and Library both seem appropriate, so I take one in each.
Role: Peter's a tinkerer, so Technology Expert from TC Core seems like the best option. More choices to make:
* Example Connections: I go with "'Happy' Hogan," Peter's Stark Industries friend, as Peter's contact here.
* Skills: Options are Culture, Enigmas, Science, and Technology. I put one dot each in Enigmas, Science, and Technology.
* Edges: Options are Demolitions Training, Library, Lightning Calculator, Ms. Fix It, Patron, Weak Spots, and Swift. Patron seems appropriate (Stark might be gone, but Peter still has some pull at the company), so I'll put two dots in that.
Society: Assuming I want to inject this into Aberrant's world, the closest thing to the Avengers is Team Tomorrow. So I'll pick Project Utopia (Team Tomorrow) for his Path. Things to note down:
* Example Connections: I'll leave this as "Team Tomorrow" for now. I can always sharpen that to a specific character later in gameplay, if I need to.
* Skills: For Team Tomorrow, my options are Athletics, Close Combat, Command, and Integrity. Athletics, Close Combat, and Integrity all seem appropriate, so I'll put a dot in each of those.
* Edges: I can choose from Library, Small Unit Tactics, Big Hearted, Fame, Patron, and Wealth. I already have Big Hearted, and he's not famous yet. So I'll just take two more dots in Library.
Now that paths are done, I get six more dots to put in Skills. Looking it over, Athletics and Close Combat both need a boost, so I'll put two dots in each of those. Science also needs a bump up, so I'll put the last two in there.
I have four skills at 3 dots or higher now. Each of them gets a Specialty, which I can make up. After a moment, I decide on the following:
* Athletics: Parkour
* Close Combat: Duck and Weave
* Science: Physics
* Technology: Kit-Bashing
I can also pick a Skill Trick for one of my skills at 3 or higher. I could go with an Athletics or Close Combat trick, but I know there are some Mega-Edges I'm looking at. So instead, I'll keep it to Peter's wheelhouse. I decide on the "Scientific Method" Science trick.
Again, like TC Core: I get one free dot in each, and then I rank the three Arenas. Spidey's smart and pretty tough, but not that social, so I go Mental/Physical/Social.
I get six additional dots in the Mental arena, four in Physical, and two in Social. I give an even spread in Mental, although he has more Cunning than Resolve: Intellect 3, Cunning 4, Resolve 2. Same for Physical, and I put the extra dot in Dexterity: Might 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2. Finally, Peter doesn't have much of a presence, so I put dots in the other two: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, and Composure 2.
I also pick a Favored Approach. Spidey is more about finesse than force or resilience (although I could make a case for resilience), so I decide on the Finesse approach, which gives me an extra dot in Cunning (now 5), Dexterity (now 4), and Manipulation (now 3).
Now we make Spidey truly amazing! Let's see what the nova template gives me:
• The character gains a Quantum Trait rating of 1. Easy enough -- I just mark that down.
• The character becomes Tier 3. I don't even have to write that down -- that just means the dice rolling changes a bit.
• The character gains 1 dot with one Attribute of their favored Approach. Well, let's bump that Dexterity up to a 5, then.
• The character gains either 1 dot of the Fame Edge or 1 dot of the Alternate Identity Edge. I skipped on Fame before, and Peter's definitely trying to keep a separate identity, so a dot of Alternate Identity it is.
• The player can spend 150 Experience to improve the nova character, including acquiring nova traits like a higher Quantum rating, Mega-Attributes, Mega-Edges, and Quantum Powers, including Quantum Technology.
Actually, let's treat this like step five and a half.
Okay, I have 150 points to spend. Let's start with what I want to buy. To play Spider-Man, I need:
* Beyond normal agility and strength
* Really smart (although maybe not beyond human intelligence)
* Wall crawling
* Web shooters
* Spider sense/intuition
The first one is straight up Mega-Might and Mega-Dexterity. I need to have Quantum equal to my rating in Mega-Attributes, so let's keep that in mind.
The next one could be Mega-Cunning or Mega-Intellect, but I'm still on the fence about that. Let's come back to it.
Wall crawling looks like Movement Mode, which is a Mega-Edge. For two dots I can get both crawling and swinging! That's 24 experience.
Web shooters are partially covered in Movement Mode, but I also want to use them to attack. I could look into Q-Tech, but some interpretations of Spider-Man have built-in natural web-shooters, so let's go with that. This would be a Quantum Attack. It's webbing, so it's got the power tags Entangle and Non-Lethal, which is four points. Based on the power description, that means I need four dots, and to have four points, I need three more points of Quantum. Quantum Attack costs 48 experience, and going from Quantum 2-4 costs 48 points, too.
Spider sense is basically the Danger Sense Edge from TC Core. Danger Sense is 3 points.
That leaves me with 27 experience. I'll pick up one dot each of Mega-Might and Mega-Dexterity -- that costs me 24 points -- and sit on the last 3 for now. There are some Mega-Edges that would work great, but I've got the basics down for now.
Aberrant clarifies that I don't get the bonus traits from TC Core, because that's what the experience points covered. So we'll skip that.
Since Spidey has Stamina 2, he doesn't get any more Injury Conditions. So I'll mark off one Bruised, one Injured, and one Maimed.
His Defense is the starting 1.
And that's it! This isn't Spider-Man with all the bells and whistles, and it's not 100% like the character in the movies. But that's okay -- this is Aberrant, a different world from the Marvel Universe, so some things work differently here. But most anyone could look at that character sheet and go "Oh, that's Spider-Man."
So if you're feeling overwhelmed by character creation, just focus on your concept and look for things that fit into that. Once you have a good idea of what you want your nova to do, it's easy to pick what you need and make it all fit into the budget you have.
Now go off and change the world!
As mentioned yesterday, the developers had built something of a "Quick/Random Character Assembly Path" for playtesting, to try and work through a lot of different combinations of powers and cover some popular archetypes.
Right now, that "system" looks like the Pepe Silvia image from It's Always Sunny in Philadelpia - lots of notes and bits to be assembled. The plan was to have it all done in an Appendix and ready for the final Manuscript preview post - on our very last day of the campaign.
But I'm excited to see it now! So I challenged Eddy (or, asked nicely!) to see if his team could get it hammered together sooner, and maybe we could share it at an earlier date?
SO: The 1500 Backer Challenge!
At 1500 Backers supporting this project - Appendix Backer Preview - The day we hit 1500 Backers, I will post the fresh-from-the-assembly-line Quick Character Creation Appendix in an early Backers Only update preview.
So, now that we've got the team scrambling to finish up this last piece a bit early, let's continue to spread the word and hit that goal!