I've got our final Sneak Peek for you today, an awesome section from the Storyguiding chapter which will be available in full to backer on Tuesday. The draft manuscripts and sneak peeks so far have filled me with ideas for adventures and campaigns, but the Storyguiding chapter helps you turn all of those ideas into fun encounters and cool game sessions.
Before we dig into that, we are - once again - closing in on our next Stretch Goal! Having unlocked a third expansion for our stretch goal supplement, we've got some online play tools coming our way if we can inspire some more backers to join in! At $37,000in Funding – TRINITY CONTINUUM VTT TOKEN PACK - Digital assets will be created to support online play for Trinity Continuum, including key character and antagonist tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
Please continue to spread the word over this final week, and let's see if we can't Inspire enough new backers to unlock that goal, and maybe we can add another besides before we do a review next Wednesday.
As a reminder, here's our schedule for these final days:
April 16 - Chapter 5 Preview - Building Encounters
April 17 - Reward Tiers & Add Ons
April 18 - Draft Manuscript Preview #4 - Chapter 4 + 5 for backers
April 19 - Stretch Goal review
April 20 - Final Day Checklist and Next Steps
Whether you're a seasoned field agent for Alert Status 1 or a rookie recruit for the LRE, there are some good topics to review over this week to make sure we all end up where we want to be.
(An aside, if you're a new backer, make sure you check out our Final Week Countdown / Resource Update. It has links to the manusript previews, interviews, podcasts, actual plays, and fun fiction.)
Sneak Peek: Chapter 5 - Storyguiding
If you’re running a game or playing in the Trinity Continuum, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the Storypath system. This chapter discusses some ways to make the system easier to understand and offers some optional rules to streamline your game. In addition, we cover how to plan for and execute different kinds of encounters, from combat to intrigue. We explain how to dial encounters based on the Talents’ Inspiration levels and what kinds of threats are around. This is followed by example antagonists to showcase the new systems found in this book, and brand-new anomaly powers.
Building Encounters
Talents are exceptional souls whose brilliance attracts prosperity and danger in equal measure. Even well-meaning forces might want to test the characters and submit them to trials and tribulations. Those who ally themselves with Allegiances also make themselves targets of enemies of those Allegiances. We present many antagonists in this book, so how do you know which ones to use and when to use them?
Ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your encounter. Talents are extraordinary people who encounter extraordinary threats, and many encounters end with physical conflict. Talents are capable of much more than just two-fisted action, however. They excel and attract conflict in all three areas of action.
Action-Adventure
Physical encounters are typically violent combat, but action-adventure covers all forms of physical peril, dramatic movement, violence, and round-by-round action. It’s important to consider who is involved once initiative is rolled. More importantly, you should consider what the participants want to accomplish and what it would take to escalate to violence.
For instance, consider an encounter where the characters are rappelling down the inside of a glacier fissure to recover the flight data recorder of a downed plane. At the same time, their rivals from Les Fantômes are rappelling down the opposite wall. The goal of both groups is to race to the bottom. They might attempt to sabotage each other without putting themselves in extra danger. Participants can use Stunts to create assets, remove Conditions, or alter the Field rather than attack each other directly.
Set the stakes at the beginning of each encounter so that the players can decide when they need to escalate. An illegal street race with a prize pot worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is a tense situation that can erupt into a shootout at any time. Challenging a fellow extreme sports enthusiast to a wingsuit competition for charity may turn nasty if somebody’s professional reputation is on the line, but that’s much less likely.
Which Antagonists
From bystanders to the main attraction, you need to decide which characters are involved, where they are, and what they’re doing during the combat. Innocents may flee or try to hunker down, while minor threats may try to pin down a single character or distract the characters as the main antagonist prepares for a major attack.
When trying to decide which antagonists to include, how many, and what threat levels, you should take into consideration not just what power level the antagonists are, but also the capabilities of your characters. Even characters all at the same Inspiration rating are not equally capable in combat. The characters’ abilities and equipment make a huge difference in their effectiveness in a fight. Remembering who has what might be difficult; consider making cheat sheets of Edges, Facets, and Gifts for each player, so they remember what they have available, and the Storyguide knows what the characters are capable of. In general, decide which antagonist archetype to use in a combat scenario based on the characters’ experience level, but deciding which Edges, Gifts, and anomaly powers to include should consider the characters’ capabilities in other areas. This also goes for how many of each antagonist type to include in a single combat.
Tuning the Severity of Combat
Storyguides determine how dangerous to make fights when they sit down to plan the exciting action-adventure parts of their games. Depending on how the players choose to build their characters, this task can range from straightforward to a complicated puzzle. Fights should be fun and engaging, and shouldn’t leave any player surfing on their phone or stacking dice. By the same token, combat encounters shouldn’t be too easy, either. Unless a group is particularly turned off by the idea of combat, most play groups want an action scene to last more than a few rounds.
At the starting level, a combat-focused group can handle up to a Major Threat antagonist. Lean into cool, extraordinary powers, Gifts, and spectacular Edges to give the antagonist unique flair. In its primary source of expertise, the antagonist has 4 Enhancement, meaning it will readily push through anything lower than Defense 4. It also has Defense 4, meaning your players will need at least 2 Enhancement and a dice pool of 6+ (on average) to even land a hit! Bear that in mind when designing an encounter — it never hurts to double-check what’s on your player’s sheets before you plan. This way you’re not throwing something at them that’s too hard or too easy.
For groups with a moderate focus (only one or two of four players have chosen to play a combat-focused character, for example), they can face up to a moderate threat antagonist. You may consider having one major character with some minor character minions for the other characters to deal with, or include interesting Field Complications (p. XX) for characters to interact with. This level of antagonist has 2 Enhancement to its primary action, so can readily handle Defense 3. Its Defense of 4 means at least one of the characters will need 2 Enhancement and 6+ dice to hit them, on average.
That being said, not all player groups will be bold combatants ready to tussle with any threat that crosses their path. On the other hand, some groups may prefer to focus entirely on violence, choosing to punch the problem and solve puzzles by breaking them. Depending on the tack your group wishes to take, you should tune any combat encounters to match their level of ability.
For a group less focused on the combat abilities, keep antagonists to no stronger than a Medium Threat. With the right choice of Edges, this will be a suitable and engaging challenge for a group less interested in engaging with the combat system. Its Defense of 3 means the group needs 2 Enhancement and 3+ dice to hit — a manageable number for a group that hasn’t focused on this area of action.
Sometimes, an important antagonist brings friends to the party. A daring group of heroes can expect that the dastardly villain opposing them will employ dirty tricks, traps, and have a deadly henchman at her beck and call. In addition to other named threats accompanying a series villain, they’ll bring along backup — usually in the form of minor characters. These characters might be hired toughs who want to bash skulls in for a bit of money, or they could be trained combat pilots eager for the thrill of aerial battle.
Depending on the capabilities of the group, you’ll want to tailor how many of these extra threats appear. Use the following guidelines for the number of antagonists based on the characters’ Inspiration ratings.
Inspiration 0 Characters who haven’t experienced the moment of Inspiration are comparatively fragile. They lack the versatility of Talents who can spend Inspiration for Enhancement through Facets, gain Scale for Intensity, and activate Gifts. Edges and equipment are important to keep in mind for characters and antagonists. Antagonists shouldn’t use cutting edge weapons or top-of-the-line body armor. Make antagonists less challenging by giving them fewer Edges than their archetype allows. You can add challenge to an encounter by making one of the antagonists an anomaly or Inspired character, but be careful when assigning them powers or Gifts.
Minor Characters: The Primary pools of minor characters shouldn’t be more than 4 or 5. A large group can still overwhelm a player character, so consider no more than two minor characters per player character. If there are other threats present, use one per two player characters instead. Use Standard Equipment (Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook, p. 140).
Minor/Medium Threats: With Health Boxes and Edges, these antagonists are comparable to player characters at this level. Use no more than one per two player characters in an encounter with only minor or medium threats, or a single minor or medium threat backed up by minor characters.
Moderate/Major Threats: If player characters are facing these antagonists, consider making combat their secondary focus, if at all. Their Desperation pools are as large as minor characters’ Primary pools, but they could support or direct less powerful antagonists to provide a tactical advantage. Remove two of their Edges, and no more than one should have Powers. Player characters will have to expend resources to reliably hit their high Defenses, so don’t use more than one moderate or major threat in an encounter, and offer the players objectives beyond taking them out.
Colossal Threats: Colossal threats are not appropriate for anything other than the end of an intense chronicle for mundane characters. Rather than facing such antagonists directly, use them as hazards to be avoided. Send lesser threats against the player characters while they try to accomplish objectives that will incapacitate the colossal threat. For example, the antagonist is a giant killer robot marching to the center of the city defended by a squadron of soldiers with jetpacks. The player characters must infiltrate the robot and shut it down from the inside, dealing with its guardians the whole time.
Inspiration 2-3 Talents can radically alter an encounter with Inspiration, though they will be limited to only a few uses per scene. Some Gifts provide passive benefits or don’t require Inspiration to activate however, so a group that is running low on Inspiration can still put up more of a fight than mundane characters.
If you want your antagonists to survive, the most important ability to counter is Extraordinary Effort. This allows player characters to increase the Scale of Intensity of any action —including attacks — by 1 for every Inspiration that they spend. In addition to the Enhancement from increased Scale, they can buy additional uses of the Inflict Damage Stunt for each Scale they possess above the antagonist’s. Spending 2 Inspiration would allow them to take out a minor threat with a single hit.
Minor Characters: Feel free to increase minor characters’ Primary dice pools up to 8, but don’t use more than one per player character. Give up to half of them Excellent Equipment (Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook p. 140) for a more challenging fight.
Minor/Medium Threats: Player characters have more options when dealing with threats at this level, but they can still threaten the player characters with their dice pools and Enhancement. Don’t use more than one per two player character, and reduce the number of Edges or Powers.
Moderate/Major Threats: Combat-focused groups can reliably handle a minor or medium threat assisted by minor characters. Alternatively, use a single moderate or major threat with a combative Primary dice pool assisted by a minor or medium threat.
Colossal Threats: While player characters at this level still won’t be able to directly combat a colossal threat, Dramatic Editing and Extraordinary Effort empower them to bring the fight to the antagonist. One colossal threat with an entourage of minor characters can be an epic final fight.
Inspiration 4-6
Minor Characters: The player characters can handle two minor characters per player character if they’re fighting alone, but no more than one per two player characters if assisting a higher-level antagonist.
Minor/Medium Threats: At this level, threats can still be a match for player characters, but you may need more than a couple to challenge a combat-oriented group. Use up to one per player character if they’re fighting alone, or no more than one per two player characters if assisted by lower-level antagonists.
Moderate/Major Threats: Talents are more than capable of squaring off against a single moderate or major threat, so back them up with minor characters and one or two lesser antagonists.
Colossal Threats: At this Inspiration level, colossal threats are still formidable opponents, but the player characters are likely to fare better against them. While they can easily fight alone, they might have a single lesser archetype with them or better-equipped minor characters.
Inspiration 7-10 High-powered Talents can spend more Inspiration in a combat, giving them greater versatility or empowering themselves more often. They can handle large-scale fights and fight more often with fewer losses.
Minor Characters: Talents can generally handle two minor characters per player character if they are alone, or one minor character per player if assisting a higher-level antagonist. Give them Top-of-the-Line Equipment for an added sting.
Minor/Medium Threats: Antagonists at this level are weaker than the player characters, but still capable of overwhelming them in large numbers. Use no more than one per player character when fighting them alone, but don’t be afraid to add a few minor characters to assist them.
Moderate/Major Threats: These threats are still singular characters and can fight alone, but they may need lower-level antagonists to assist them or come equipped with high-end gear or strange powers.
Colossal Threats: With Extraordinary Effort alone, a Talent at this level can match whatever Scale a colossal threat may possess, though they would exhaust most of their Inspiration to do so. There is generally more than one player character, however. Colossal threats should still be singular, but can be supported by any kind of lower-level antagonist.
Procedurals
Antagonists oppose characters in procedural play in two ways. The first is to obscure clues and hinder the characters’ investigations. Keep in mind the difference between core clues and alternative clues. Opposition cannot prevent the characters from finding core clues, but they could make finding alternative clues more difficult or add Complications to rolls.
If antagonists are working to obscure clues from the characters, consider making the core clues related to the antagonists themselves. Let the characters know that crime scenes have been tampered with or that information has been erased from their archives. Alternative clues can reveal the antagonists’ means, methods, and skills. Complications might alert the antagonists that they’re being pursued or identify who the characters are.
Characters may also compete against antagonists to finish the procedural first or most accurately. Each participating team of investigators needs to accumulate the most clues as quickly as possible. The characters construct a legal argument to defend a client while the prosecution collects evidence against them as the court date approaches. Rival journalists race for the juiciest scoops. Globe-trotting adventurers search for the location of a Mycenaean tablet to keep it from falling into the hands of the British Museum.
Which Antagonists
The Storyguide doesn’t need anything beyond the guidance in Chapter 2: Clues and Conspiracy and on page 81 of the Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook if the antagonists aren’t present in a procedural scene with the characters. Antagonists will do whatever the Storyguide needs to justify the Difficulty and Complications of their investigation rolls. Pay attention to the dice pools, Edges, and anomaly powers of the supporting characters involved. Use those details as alternative clues and additional information. As the characters investigate, they learn more about their enemies.
When the characters directly interact with their antagonists during procedural play, the Storyguide needs to communicate with the players to keep the action flowing. Opposing hackers combing through the same network to see who can find the hidden files first, while simultaneously leaving digital traps and dead ends for each other, can be just as tense as any action scene, but requires clearly establishing the stakes and consequences of each action roll.
The action economy is important in these situations as well. Multiple antagonists working together can spread out and find clues more quickly than a single private investigator. The Storyguide should consider appointing a lead investigator for each group of antagonists and improve their Enhancement, or let each member of the group freely access each other’s Edges and powers.
Intrigue
Sometimes antagonists thwart characters through social maneuvering or false leads. Consider having long-term antagonists act in ways that antagonize the characters without devolving into a fight. Maybe a known weapons dealer shows up at a charity ball, and the characters must convince the town’s mayor that she isn’t trustworthy, but she has the mayor’s ear and is trying to convince him that the characters are dangerous. A fight would only prove her point. Maybe an Aberrant isn’t rampaging through town, but instead mind controlling people to kill others. Interrogation reveals that they are looking for something in particular and would go away if offered the right incentive.
Even if you plan for a social interaction between an antagonist and the characters, it may devolve into a fight, and that’s okay. You still want to consider what the antagonist does in a fight. Does she run away when she sees that talks have gone south? Does she call in reinforcements to distract the characters? Does she fight with all her might? How does she escalate in response to violence?
No matter what it says in an antagonist’s stat block, the players’ characters cannot be forced to do anything without their players’ consent. Characters never have to accept the result of an influence roll (Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook p. 89).
Which Antagonists
Characters engage in intrigue in three primary ways. They try to influence specific targets in one-on-one discussions or meetings, sway crowds in a debate or inspire allies with epic speeches, or manage bureaucracies and organizations.
One-on-One
Characters seek social scenes to make friends, gather information, and find connections. Whether convincing a hardboiled detective to lend her aid to their investigation or asking after the criminal leader’s connections in a smoky bar, one-on-one interactions form an important part of building social encounters. For the Storyguide, this means coming up with a colorful cast of characters that your players will want to meet and talk with. Recurring antagonists can develop Attitudes and bonds with the player characters as well as allies. Utilize them to give the players authorial control over the development of their characters’ relationships.
Groups
Characters don’t just interact with each other one-on-one, sometimes they engage with an entire group. This might be on a personal scale, such as giving a speech to a crowded room or trying to talk down a gang of toughs a half-dozen strong, but it could also be on a greater level, such as giving a rousing speech to inspire the rag-tag cadre of soldiers under your command. Your character might also flit from person to person at an elegant gala. For social groups, treat their Attitude according to the lowest of all characters involved. If the aforementioned character is trying to talk down that gang, and their leader hates her, it’s unlikely she’ll have a lot of sway over his followers without the use of a Gift. The same applies for a speech or presentation. After seeing the results of the player’s roll, the Storyguide might decide that a particular character in the crowd was especially swayed and move on to a one-on-one interaction. This presents an excellent opportunity for the Storyguide to introduce new characters, as well as give social-focused characters a chance to flex their skills.
Bureaucracy
Sometimes, characters will face the stodgiest social opponent possible: an organization. When dealing with a bureaucracy or society (such as an Allegiance), treat this as an extended social action. Depending on what the character is trying to do, and how enormous and unfeeling the bureaucracy or society is, it may have Scale, and therefore require special Gifts to deal with. A department of scientists or academics can be dealt with on a personal level, but the entire university has Scale against such tactics. Again, this is just a sample from the chapter. There's a ton more - and examples for some of these options as well. Backers will have access to the full draft version of this chapter - the full draft version of the entire book, actually - on Tuesday!
Tomorrow, I'm going to go over the various pledge reward tiers and Add On options. Until then, let's keep Inspiring other backers to join in!
