had a hole in their 1997 publishing schedule, so CEO Steve Wieck went to designer Andrew Bates to fill it; the result was a new game, ÆON, which went from first conception to publication in just 10 months. ÆON was a science-fiction game intended to create a whole new trilogy of games, and although it used a variant of the Storytellergame system, ÆON was intended to appeal to a more action-oriented audience than the World of Darkness. ÆON ran into troubles almost immediately due to a lawsuit from Viacom who felt that it violated the trademark of their TV show, Aeon Flux ; the names on the first printing of ÆON actually had to be stickered over with the game's new name, Trinity. Because of White Wolf's imprint ArtHaus' success, acclaimed-but-low-selling games were added to the imprint over the years, and Trinity came to ArtHaus in 2000. ArtHaus produced d20Trinity books to test the waters for White Wolf's other universes, but Trinity d20 came and went in a time when the d20 market was already weakened.
Description
Trinity was the first installment in the Trinity Universe series of games sharing a common background and developing an alternate history of humanity through two centuries, and allowing players to play almost all genres of science fiction - from comic-book superhero action to cutting edge technothriller, space opera, and old-fashioned pulp standards. Though it had a vocal fanbase the whole game line was discontinued due to low sales in 2001; an adaptation for the d20 system was released in 2004. Onyx Path Publishing has recently acquired the rights to the Trinity Universe and has announced its intention to release a new edition of Trinity, using the original Æon name under the new line name Trinity Continuum.
Setting
Set in the twenty-second century, Trinity portrays a future Earth slowly recovering from a disastrous war and expanding in space. Former depressed areas such as Africa, South America and Eastern Asia, which suffered moderate traumas during the Aberrant War are now the leading political forces in the international arena, while Europe is a landscape of ruins and hard struggling survivors, and North America is under a fascist regime. Bio-engineering is the leading technology and psionics are known and studied if not exactly widespread. Alien contact has been made, with mixed results. Characters take the roles of psionic individuals, working for one of the many organizations in the gaming world, and tackling troubles when they arise. The game setting, which is detailed in a number of supplements, allows for a variety of styles, from cyberpunk-like corporate espionage to Mad Max-style post-holocaust frontier adventure, to space exploration.
Orders
Players have a choice of six "Orders" for their characters to join. Each Order possesses a mastery over a specific "Aptitude", a category of psionic powers. Each Order is based in a specific geographic location, often the homeland of its founder, and is heavily influenced by local culture. Actually, there are eight "Orders" in the Trinity Universe, but one only became playable after some metaplot hooks made it so, and the other has almost been exterminated by the year where the playable timeline begins. ;The Æsculapian Order ;Interplanetary School for Research and Advancement ;The Legions ;Ministry of Psionic Affairs ;Nova Força das Nações ;Orgotek ;Upeo wa Macho ;Chitra Bhanu
System
The game runs on a slightly modified version of the White Wolf Storyteller System. A reprint was announced in late 2003 of the three Trinity Universe games using the Open Gaming License 3.5 rules, better known as the d20 System. The latest version by Onyx Path Publishing uses their new Storypath System.
India Underground: Psi Order Chitra Bhanu & Bharati Commonwealth Sourcebook
Trinity Field Report: Noetic Science
Trinity: Awaiting Inspiration
Naming issue
Trinity was originally to be known as Aeon, and was originally issued under that title in its hardback and deluxe versions. Legal issues arose with the holders of the rights for the animated seriesÆon Flux, which claimed the game challenged their trademarks. The matter was settled by White Wolf choosing to change the name of its game, and leaving "Aeon" as the unofficial name for the whole line. Early copies of the game had a sticker with the new Trinity logo covering the original Aeon logo.
Reception
The reviewer from Pyramid #29 stated that "Hope. Sacrifice. Unity. Strong words used to define the spirit of Trinity, the new science-fiction roleplaying game from White Wolf."
