The Trinity Continuum from Onyx Path Publishing is a series of action-adventure role playing games using the Storypath System. The Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook provides the basic setting for the system and acts as the core engine upon which the various settings within the Continuum run. If you’re looking to join one of the Trinity Continuum Games running on Startplaying, you’ll need to make a character. Fortunately, character creation for Trinity Continuum is fast and easy!
All Trinity Characters begin by selecting three Paths and three Aspirations. Paths define who your character is and what they can do while Aspirations tackle what you would like your character to achieve. You select two short term Aspirations, which are events that could be reasonably accomplished within a single session. These could be as simple as “punch a Nazi” or “solve a mystery” or as involved as “work up the courage to talk to the cutie I see every week at the laundromat.” You then select a long term Aspiration which is something that will normally take several sessions to complete. This could be something like “get a promotion at work.” or “send my nemesis to jail for good.” As your Aspirations are completed you gain Experiences which you can spend to improve your character, and you replace the old Aspirations with new ones. This not only helps your character grow but also helps tell the Storyguide and the other players what you are looking for out of the game. You can tailor your Aspirations to match the moods, themes, and genres you want to explore!
Next up are the Paths. In Trinity Continuum, characters have an Origin Path, a Role Path, and a Society or Allegiance Path. In simple terms, the Origin Path is where you are from, the Role Path is what you do for the team, and the Society or Allegiance Path is the organization you work for. While the Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook offers rules to create your own Paths, there are several pre-generated Paths offered in that book and in the various settings and supplements throughout the Continuum. Each path effectively provides 3 dots in skills, 2 dots in Edges, and a Connection relevant to the Path. The Path has a list of 4 Skills you can choose from and a list including around 15 dots worth of Edges you can select. Skills are the central measure of what your character can do and form the basis of most dice pools when you need to roll to see if you can accomplish something. There are 15 Skills in the Trinity Continuum system, found in the Core Rulebook. Edges add bonuses or subsystems to improve your character.
Once Edges and Skills are purchased for each Path, the player then purchases Attributes.Attributes are measurements of your character’s raw potential and form the other portion of most dice pools. You gain an initial allotment of dots to spend among the three Arenas of Attributes: physical, social, and mental. Each Arena has three Attributes and is represented vertically on the character sheet. You choose the most important Arena to your character and spend 6 points among the three Attributes. Your second most important Arena gets 4 points, while your tertiary Arena gets 2 points. Then you get to choose your character’s Favored Approach. The nine Attributes are arranged horizontally on the character sheet into three Approaches: Force, Finesse, and Resilience. Select which of these is most important to your character and add one dot to each of the three Attributes included in that Approach.
Once these basic steps are completed, you will add a template which will instruct you on additional point expenditures and traits you can purchase. The available templates change from game to game. From the superheroic Novas of Trinity Continuum: Aberrant to the Squires, Gogs, and Magogs of Trinity Continuum: Aether there are a wide array of character options available throughout the settings of the Continuum. Hopefully you’ll consider exploring them all here on Startplaying!
Travis Legge is a writer, developer, and streamer working with Onyx Path Publishing, Aegis Studios, and more.
