WELCOME TO THE STORYPATH SYSTEM

Hello Onyx Path fans!

The evolution of the Storypath system is tied to our work on Trinity: Continuum, a world of hope, heroism,
and peril, and Scion, a world where the children of the old gods walk the earth.
Early on, we found that both new editions of these games had similar system needs, because their characters
are larger-than-life and fight in epic battles on a grand scale. We knew we needed a system that could accommo-
date everyday citizens on the street, superheroes soaring above skyscrapers, and gods of the sun and sky, but we
also wanted rules to help facilitate the connection between the player-characters, their organizations (Allegiances
for Trinity and Pantheons for Scion), and their values.
To move forward, however, we needed to take a step back, because the first editions of Trinity: Continuum
and Scion used custom variants of the Storyteller System which powered Vampire: The Masquerade and
other classic White Wolf games. Despite the differences between those variants, however, at its core the Storyteller
System was designed chiefly as a horror game for creatures that could be effectively fought by human opponents.
In other words, the Storyteller System is great for vampires, but it didn’t excel at portraying superheroes…or gods!
To us, this meant that the stories of these action-adventure games were hindered by their original systems.
The Storypath System was designed as a new set of rules, inspired by the legacy of the Storyteller and
Storytelling Systems, in addition to other story-centric rules. The Storypath System keeps the focus on narrative,
story-built play, and action-adventure. It also draws inspiration from a number of other influences that focus on a
cinematic high-octane action and storytelling, as well, to create a streamlined experience for epic stories.
Within these pages, you’ll find a preview of the rules and examples for both Scion and Trinity: Continuum.
We hope you enjoy the new Storypath System and are inspired to roll the dice and tell great stories!
Signed,
The Design Team

STORYPATH
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
The Storypath System uses ten-sided dice, and is de-
signed to be an action-heavy roleplaying game. The rules
facilitate a number of playing styles and in game elements
at the table including:
• Action Gameplay: Storypath takes cues from action
movies to keep scenes moving quickly and preventing
them from getting bogged down.
• Cinematic Pacing: Storypath divides sessions and
scenes into different units of time that support a
story moving at the speed of plot. Campaigns are
modeled similarly to a long-running television series,
using episodes, arcs, and seasons, to emphasize plot
and characters over minutia or real time competency.
• Scaling: Storypath uses a comparative chart to mea-
sure general degrees of power between opponents.
Gods or superheroes can fight each other on mostly
equal ground, while mere mortals can do the same to
one another. It’s only when the psychic superhuman
deals with your average beat cop that Scale comes
into play!
• Bonding: Though the rules are designed to portray
individual characters, Storypath also uses group me-
chanics to create a collaborative storytelling role-play-
ing experience. The Bonds formed during character
creation and sessions bring new overarching mechan-
ics and collaborative themes into play based on char-
acter milestones.
• Competence: The player-characters are assumed to
be competent in their area of specialization be it
research, combat, persuasion, or any other field of
human endeavor. Dice rolls aren’t always meant to
assume success or failure: they’re meant to determine
influence over the story and the degree to which the
character succeeds.
• Enhanced Combat: Storypath combat uses ranged
bands, fields with terrain features, and the tools for
both active and supporting characters to contribute to
a fight. Combined, these techniques will keep fights
interesting — even in extended conflicts and battles.
MODE S OF PLAY
Storypath actions belong to three general modes that
roughly map to Attributes, or ways characters interact with the
setting. Modes are schemas inspired by traits instead of rigid

2

categories, and are not meant to be internalized as hard and
fast rules. By design, different settings will inspire new modes
clustered around setting-specific special traits and systems.
The following schemas apply to most games powered by
the Storypath System, regardless of setting:
ACTION-ADVENTURE
(PHYSICAL-INSPIRED MODE)
Physical peril, violence, and round-by-round action.
This is the realm of punch-ups, car chases, and defusing
bombs with seconds to spare. These fast-paced scenes usu-
ally take place in real-time, with specialist rules covering
combat and dramatic movement.
PROCEDURALS
(MENTAL-INSPIRED MODE)
Deductions, careful research, and cunning preparation.
The focus is on solving problems by using information
gathered through clues and evidence or formulated plans.
These scenes take place as montages, skipping through
long stretches of work, and include specialist rules for in-
vestigation and crafting.
INTRIGUE (SOCIAL-INSPIRED MODE)
Interpersonal ties, relationships, and social manipulation.
These scenes include interrogations, infiltrating secret social cir-
cles, and pursuing romantic ties. They blend real-time conver-
sation with stretches of “skipped” time, and include specialist
rules for persuasion and representing different personalities.
STORYPATH
SYSTEM BASICS
ATT RIBUTE S A N D ABI LITIE S
Attributes are divided into three Arenas: Mental,
Physical, and Social — and three Functions: Force, Control,
and Resistance — for nine total Attributes.
Attributes reflect a character’s most basic qualities to define
who they are. They might be smart, strong, graceful, or self-as-
sured. If other characters were asked to describe that person in
a few words, their responses would likely be a reflection of their
Attributes: they might say they’re clever or clumsy, or that they’re a
brusque but effective leader. When paired with Skills, these traits
determine the character’s ability to overcome specific obstacles.
Dice pools are formed from pairing a Skill with an
Attribute. Skills describe a character’s capabilities, either
from formal training or refining raw talent.
DIFFICU LTY
Any action that you actually roll for has a Difficulty,
even if it’s 0. This is the number of successes that you must
meet — including any Enhancements — to see if you suc-
ceed. Any action that you actually roll for has a Difficulty,
even if it’s 0. This is the number of successes that you must
meet — including any Enhancements — to see if you suc-
ceed. If you don’t meet the Difficulty, you fail.

THE CORE MECHANIC

You roll a dice pool of d10s: Attribute + Skill against a set Difficulty, which is the number of successes you must meet.
Each die that rolls an 8 or above is a success. If your dice roll scores one or more successes, you add bonus success-
es from any Enhancements from equipment or powers. You succeed on your action if the successes meet or exceed
the Difficulty, and fail if you don’t. More successes than you need allow benefits called Stunts, and failing gains you
Consolation, a chance to affect the story anyway. If you score 0 successes rolling the dice and one or more of them show
a 1, you botch and fail especially badly, but earn more Momentum (a kind of Consolation) than for a failure.
Powerful entities, like demigods or superheroic novas, roll at a target number of 7 or above to get a success.

Example: You roll 6 dice as your pool against Difficulty 3

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
No Successes and if Insufficient Number of Successes Extra Successes
any die shows a 1, Successes needed. If you get this that add Stunts
then a botch occurs. with Consolation many, you succeed.

3
 ST UNTS at any one time, though their Momentum pool starts out
empty, and empties out again at the end of each story Arc.
Stunts are a way of rewarding success beyond the basics, al-
You receive a point of Momentum whenever your char-
lowing you to spend your extra successes to produce additional
acter suffers a failure or setback as the result of a Challenge
effects, like creating useful Enhancements or Complications
(a long-term condition on the character that provides dif-
for other characters. They’re also used to narrate details to the
ficulties in their narrative), or if your dice roll fails and
scene that are beneficial to your characters and generated by
accept Momentum as your Consolation.
your character’s action. Perhaps you successfully clamber over
a wall and have time to create a handhold for the friend flee-
E D GE S
ing directly behind you, or confuse pursuit with a false trail.
Edges are unique quirks that offer a
FAI LU RE & CONS OLATION character a constant, passive benefit. They
often provide an Enhancement to certain
If a dice roll scores no successes, or the character
actions, allow a character to bypass spe-
cannot muster enough successes to overcome the dif-
cific disadvantages, or represent
ficulty even with Enhancements, the action fails.
access to abilities or resources
Simply put, you don’t achieve whatever you were
the character would not other-
hoping to. You swing and miss, your charm falls
wise have.
flat, you draw a blank.
The specific results of failure depend S KI LL T RICKS
on the context, but it never ends in noth-
ing happening. Instead, the Storyguide (or Skill Tricks are applications of
GM) moves the story onward by offering a human ability that verge on the super-
Consolation, a minor benefit that doesn’t human — or, at least, the superhuman-
exactly give them what they want, by advanc- ly reliable. It’s certainly possible to drive
es the group’s interests somehow. If your backwards at top speed through raging traffic
character fails to earn enough successes without so much as denting a wing-mirror, but
to sneak into the white-collar criminal’s it’s not something even an expert can just
office after-hours, they might succeed at accomplish on command…unless they’ve
sneaking in, but accidentally trip the si- got a Skill Trick.
lent alarm…giving them only a few scant Unlike Edges, Skill Tricks cost
minutes to search. Momentum to activate, and cover specific
Consolations can’t substitute for ac- feats or sequences — the sort of cool moments
tual success, but might include informa- that make you go “wow” (or “bullshit”) when
tion leading the character to another avenue you see them pulled off in an action movie.
of assault or completely different aspect of As such, Skill Tricks don’t normally provide
the story, a minor Enhancement offer- an Enhancement that can be spent on any-
ing a success to a future action, or at- thing — instead, they offer a “free” Stunt
tracting a potentially-useful NPC. when used, representing the specific trick
in question.
MOME NT UM
Perhaps the most com-
mon kind of Consolation
is Momentum. This is a re-
source that players spend to con-
trol the story’s narrative pacing
and help out their characters with
direct dice-adders. By default, it is an
“out of character” resource, though some
settings may claim it’s the very real
hand of destiny at work.
Each character can have up
to 12 Momentum

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SCALE
Storypath games span back-alley brawls to dragon-riding
dogfights, often in the same adventure. Scale exists to handle
these extreme circumstances, representing entities or effects
on a different level than normal humans. A Might (Physical
Force Attribute) 1 weakling can struggle against a Might 5
bodybuilder, but they’re both ants in front of a T-Rex.
However, they are also exciting adventures where he-
roes overcome impossible odds. Scale is therefore kind to
important characters; a raging giant easily crushes build-
ings and faceless crowds, but our heroes can dart through
the chaos and face him on more even ground.
I N ITIATIVE
In action-adventure round-by-round conflicts, the ac-
tion can get pretty chaotic. Storypath uses an initiative
system that’s a mix of traditional and collaborative means
to make sure everyone gets their chance in the spotlight.
At the start of the scene, you roll a dice pool of d10s
with the Attributes and Skills your character is using to
react to the situation. Each roll generates a turn slot for
either a player or Storyguide character, with the slots
placed in order of which achieved the most successes —
traits (and then Storyguide’s preference) break the tie if
there’s a draw. This is the initiative order.
The player character who achieved the most successes
occupies the first player turn slot, and acts within it. Once
the next slot comes up, the first player decides which of
their group-mates takes their turn, out of those who have
yet to act this round. And so on, with each player pick-
ing the next to go after his or her turn is finished. The
Storyguide does the same with their characters. This cycle
continues every round until no characters or turns remain,
at which point it resets and the player character whose turn
was last picks the next player to start the next round.
H EALT H
Damage in the Storypath System is represented by two sep-
arate but related concepts: stress boxes, which measure accumu-
lated strain from the conflict, and Injury Complications, which
represent actual injuries. Once all a character’s stress boxes are
filled by damage, they are Taken Out (maybe killed, maybe not),
but a player can stop damage from affecting their stress boxes
by accepting Injury Complications instead. These are effectively
extra successes added to the Difficulty; without buying off these
Injury Complications, the character can’t attempt the action.
PAT H S
Paths represent pieces of a chronicle setting which char-
acters can interact with and be a part of. Paths are the orga-
nizations characters belong to, the societies they join, the
place they came from, or even a concept or setting topic that
relates to their character. Each Path is important not only to
a single character, but are built to give substance and mean-
ing to the entire chronicle, as well as a holistic sense to the
character’s history beyond Edges, Attributes, and Skills.
In some cases, these are setting specific groups and or-
ganizations a character can be a part of; in others, these are
specific to a certain chronicle or group. Characters relate
to a Path through a short sentence or descriptive phrase,
which defines a fact and a relationship to the setting, like
“Three-time Bare-Knuckle Boxing Champion” or “Reborn
God of Fire and Sacred Shrines”.
Paths contain a number of standard elements:
• Asset Skills/Specialties: When a character takes this
Path at character creation, they receive Specialties
of the player’s choice in the two listed Asset Skills.
More specific Paths (such as Pantheons) grant listed
Specialties particularly relevant to their groups.
• Contacts, Mentors, and Allies: Characters on a Path
will have other characters who are useful acquaintanc-
es, acquired over the course of her life and work: a
colleague, a lover, or just someone to trade favors with.
• Equipment: The character can gain access to any
equipment relevant to the Pathway (normally re-
stricted to common items; high-cost items or mean
the character has to take a Challenge, as described
below).
• Access: Some locations in the setting might be re-
stricted for most characters, but if the character’s Path
would grant them access — such as someone with “A
legacy New York’s Finest” as their Path — they’d be able
to walk into the police station or a cop bar anywhere
in NYC with no questions asked or alarms raised.
Narrative Advantage/Disadvantage: On a Stunt or
once per session, the player group can collaboratively bring
in an advantage that relates to a character’s Path, or bring
in a disadvantage that will challenge the group (but will
provide Momentum and challenges to overcome).
EXAMPLE HEALTH TRACK
Vitality: 3 •••
-1 -1 -2 -2 -4
5
 ACTION-ADVENTURE
The Storyguide rolls for the horde — it’s fairly dangerous, so
the pool is 8 dice. It’s a good roll, turning up 5 successes,
EXTENDED EXAMPLE which she splits between the two player characters. They
each compare their Defenses the higher of Close Combat or
A pair of Scions (Rhiannon, daughter of Brigid, and Sigrun, Dodge Defenses, respectively. Rhiannon’s player has Defense
a child of Loki), having been alerted that another Scion of Loki 3 — high enough to avoid being hit, while Sigrun’s player
has gone rogue and loosed a frost giant into Washington, D.C., only has a Defense 1, missing the Difficulty of 2 by 1. They
arrive on the scene. They’ve tracked the giant to a construc- pile onto Rhiannon and try to pin her beneath the weight
tion site and find it looming behind the skeleton of a would-be of ice and snow, but she punches her way out of the dogpile
building. A wake of destroyed equipment, frosted-over infra- and leaps away from the attack cold and snowy but other-
structure, and frozen workers spread are behind it. Snow pelts wise unharmed. Hurled bolts of ice launch from the mass of
down hard and obscures the player-characters’ view. creatures and freeze over Sigrun’s wings, slowing her rapid
approach — but isn’t enough to stop it. (Minion enemies like
From the frosted wreckage, humanoid shapes stir and
this do not typically cause injury to Hero-tier player characters
shamble towards the Band. They move without intelli-
unless they grossly exceed their Defense, instead causing
gence, impelled by instinct and magic. Once they spot the
a Complication. In this case, Sigrun is slowed
presence of the Scions, they quicken and charge menacing-
down by ice.)
ly. Since none of the characters are using stealth to infil-
trate the place, they don’t need to beat the perception rolls
of the humanoid shapes.
The Band exchanges looks, knowing they’ll have to
get past these snowy constructs before they can reach the
bigger foe. The Storyguide asks her players to roll for ini-
tiative. Rhiannon’s player gets four successes and Sigrun’s
rolls three. The Storyguide rolls one pool for the
horde of constructs and only gets one success.
The players decide to go in the order the dice
fell.
Rhiannon wastes no time and charges
in first. The mob is in Close Range already,
so she moves to Engaged on her action
without requiring a movement roll. She
rolls Might + Close Combat (8 dice).
She rolls 4 successes against the mob’s
Defense (a type of Difficulty) of 1. Since
the mob is treated as one single group,
they Rhiannon’s player decides to put all
of her successes into damage, since mobs
have a much higher stress track than play-
ers but don’t take usually Injury Complications.
Sigrun shouts that she will try to
gain ground and uses one of
her divine powers to shape-
shift into the form of the
eagle, then her player rolls
her movement dice (a pool
of Finesse + Athletics to
move past the mob in a swoop.
Her player rolls a Might + Close
Combat to attack with a dice pool of
6. She rolls 3 successes; again the mob
takes the damage directly as Sigrun slashes
with her talons and soars past.
The great horde of creatures surges forward and threat-
ens to consume both Scions under its frigid, seething mass.

6
 The players decide that Rhiannon will go first again the
next round. The Scions mount their second assault; Rhiannon
recklessly rapid-fires her gun. She chooses to Empty the Clip
while making an Aim attack action, which adds 2 extra suc-
cesses to her roll — giving her a total of 5 successes against the
Defense of 1. The hail of bullets tears through the creatures’
frost bodies and turns them into powder.
Meanwhile, Sigrun decides to snatch one of these
snow-monsters in her claws and drops it on its remaining fel-
lows. Sigrun’s player asks the Storyguide how heavy the snow
creatures are, and together they determine that human-shaped
snow creatures are light enough for an eagle to pick up. Her
player rolls Might + Close Combat and turns up 2 successes,
which gets +2 successes due to Scale — magnified by her magic
to be enough to take out the mob facing her as well. It drops
like a stone, and they all explode with the satisfying sound of
shattering ice. For a moment all is silent but the gentle hiss of
settling snow. The Storyguide tells the players the way is clear,
and the Scions rush to face the giant.
INTRIGUE AN D
PROCEDURAL EXAMPLES
S O CIAL
Alma Choudry is an incarnation of Ganesha dedicat-
ed to salvaging the scattered components of a vimana,
a mythological flying machine, from across the World.
Unfortunately, the latest part can’t be bought at auction —
it’s been claimed as a shintai (sacred body) of Kagu-tsuchi
(the dead and dismembered Japanese God of Fire) by the
fringe cult Moeru Kodomo.
Resolved to steal it back, Alma arranges a meeting with
the cult-leader, Kagari Noda, by masquerading as a rich pa-
tron. Some divine magic completes the illusion, and soon
she’s sat right in front of the relic.
Alma assesses Kagari over some small talk, so her player
makes a Manipulation + Empathy roll. She hopes he’ll give
her a moment alone, but if his Attitude (how he feels about
her) toward her is lower than Scope of that task (how big a
favor she’s asking), her suggestion will fail. The Storyguide de-
cides that Kagari considers leaving the relic unguarded to be
a Significant request, a Scope of 3 — which means it’s pretty
difficult.
Unfortunately, Alma’s Manipulation + Empathy roll as-
sessment roll gets 2 successes, and since Kagari isn’t trying
to hide his feelings there’s no contested roll. While he’s
pleased with her recent donation, his Attitude (Trivial, or
an Attitude of 1) isn’t quite good enough. Since it won’t be
easy to improve his Attitude further, she decides to reduce
the apparent Scope of the task, making it seem like not
such a big deal that the priceless relic be left unguarded.
Alma’s player makes a contested Presence + Persuasion
roll beats the Storyguide’s Resolve + Empathy, and he lends
an ear. She scores 4 successes to his 1, and by spending extra
successes equal to his Composure, she pulls off a Stunt to
reduce the Scope of the task. The player describes the count-
less other sacred items she’s been privileged to privately pray
before. Soon he’s flattered into adding his relic to that list
and leaves her alone to pray. Or so he thinks…!
I NT RIGU E
Last night, Devon Emmitt fled his home with light
streaming from his mouth, possessed by a flesh-eating asi-
man. Fortunately he’s an old friend of Dakarai Sterre, Scion
of Damballa, who calls in a favor from Machado, a demigod
hitwoman.
This investigation is a Complex Action, which means
that overall success depends on multiple rolls to represent
different intervals of the investigation. The Storyguide
judges this a case requiring two core Clues (discrete infor-
mation that drives story progress) to crack. The time limit
leaves only two intervals before Devon chows down, so our
heroes split up for the first interval.
Machado uses her Path Contacts as a Career Criminal
to declare she knows a guy in a local street gang who will
talk, and interrogates him. He reveals the neighborhood’s
abuzz about a glowing man stuffed into a car — the first
Clue. Since she uses her Contacts for this, it doesn’t re-
quire a roll, but Machado’s player decides to roll Presence +
Persuasion in the hopes of getting an extra success, against
a Difficulty of 2. Her player scores three successes, and her
player uses the last success to get an alternative clue — they
know where a suspicious car is parked. Putting two and
two together, she deducts it’s probably the same car.
During the same interval — since multiple charac-
ters can split up to cover more ground — Sterre hits
the books and his player makes a Reason + Occult roll.
Unfortunately, his library is thin on glowing African vam-
pire-spirits, so he lacks an Enhancement and 2 successes
doesn’t beat the Difficulty of 3. He hasn’t found a Clue,
but as a Consolation the Storyguide offers the asiman’s
weaknesses from a Wikipedia article — this info won’t
help catch it, but could provide an Enhancement later.
On their second interval, they search the car. Machado’s
player makes a Cunning + Subterfuge roll with a teamwork
bonus. Four successes beats the Difficulty of 3, and discov-
ers the owner’s address, the second Clue, which concludes
the investigation. A spare success fuels a Stunt to notice
another detail — there was no struggle. “Devon” was a will-
ing passenger.
The owner’s door bursts open before the two can
knock on their approach, and Dakarai prepares to put that
Enhancement he earned earlier to good use.
7
 FIND YOUR DESTINY
LIVE THE MYTH
EMBRACE YOUR FATE
Scion is a game about gods, humanity, and everything
in between. It’s a game about mythic deeds and the reasons
why people talk about those mythic deeds. It’s also about
modernity - the World today is a very different place than
the anything our ancestors could’ve conceived.
The ancient powers never fully went away. They wander
our roads and cities, mingling with the teeming masses of
humanity. You are one of their children, born to the magic
of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow.
The Primordial deities and savage Titans, dread fore-
bears of the gods, have escaped their eternal prisons to wage
war with the gods once more. Those battles in the heavenly
Overworlds of the gods have spilled over into our World.
Armed with weapons possessed of mighty powers, the
Scions, divine offspring of both god and man, stand as hu-
manity’s only defense. But even the gods themselves cannot
stand united, as ancient rivalries spring forth once more.
Will you rise to the heights of power through your her-
oism? Will you become more than just a pawn in a spiteful
divine game? What great events will mark your ascent to
godhood?
Scion Second Edition consists of four books which
define and expand the game’s setting, called the World,
and some of the godly pantheons defining that World.
The Scions — children of the gods — are granted a spark
of divinity from their parents, allowing them to climb in
power until they take their seats at the right hand of their
parents, the gods. The first two, Scion: Origin and Scion:
8
Hero, are corebooks containing the Storypath System, the
setting of the World, and how to make characters in the
World of Scion.
Scion Second Edition uses the Storypath System,
and Hero contains a number of additional mechanical
elements:
• Divine Pantheons: Ten global pantheons, cultural
groupings of gods that act as parents and patrons for
Scions: the gods of the Algonquian, Aztec, Chinese,
Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Hindu, Irish, Japanese,
Norse, and Yoruba.
• Supernatural Paths: Genesis, Calling, and Pantheon.
Scions are born, are created, are chosen by the gods,
and this Genesis act colors their entire life. They’ve
also got Callings, or aspirations towards the kind of
god they want to be — such as a Warrior, a Lover, a
Healer — that determine the supernatural gifts they
receive. Lastly, they’re born into or join a Pantheon,
the grand collection of gods with their own rivalries
and politics.
• Purviews and Boons: Discrete elemental miracles
tied into the powers of the World, granting Scions
influence over their powers of their parents: fire, the
sea, the forge, thunder and the sky, and many others.
• Knacks: An upgrade to the Skill Tricks of Mortals,
these allow Scions truly superhuman action hero
moves or suave dramatic powers that defy belief.
 HOPE • SACRIFICE • UNITY
Trinity: Continuum is an action-adventure game of
heroes of all kinds and every time period. It’s a game
about seeing something that needs doing and doing it.
Because if you don’t, who will? The titular Continuum
is a collection of timestreams and alternate universes
stretching back into the barely-remembered past, and
flowing far into the distant future.
Talents are daredevils of extraordinary luck or skill,
the Indiana Jones or James Bonds of the world. Psions
are those gifted with the psychic aptitude to manipulate
the world to a precise degree. Novas are the stalwart few
who can control the very fundamental forces of nature
— a power which, if they’re not careful, will drive them
mad with aberrant lusts. These Inspired individuals, and
more, rise to the fore whenever heroes are in need. And
the world is always in need of heroes.
Every age has its heroes. Which will you be?
The Trinity: Continuum consists of one central rule-
book — which includes all the core rules, a modern day
setting, and rules for Talents — and three main major era
books detailing important flashpoints in the Continuum.
These aren’t the only eras that will be explored; other
eras along the Continuum will be forthcoming.
Trinity Continuum: Æon describes a science-fiction
setting in 2120, where psions are on the rise to help lift
humanity to the stars and protect them from the return
of the Aberrants. Trinity Continuum: Aberrant con-
tains a more immediate near future superpowers setting
in 2028 where novas have begun to appear all over the
world. Trinity Continuum: Adventure! uses low-pow-
ered versions of the three Inspired types to fulfill pulp
archetypes in an action-packed 1924.
Trinity: Continuum uses the Storypath System.
Additionally, this game’s rules will include:
• Allegiances: A heaping handful of modern-day or-
ganizations to which a Talent may belong, from the
troubleshooters of 9, to the explorers of the Global
Cartography Initiative, to the virtuous thieves of Les
Fantômes. Æon’s Allegiances are headlined by seven
Psi Orders, each specializing in a different Aptitude
of psychic power.
• Gifts: Can you shoot a target from a mile away while
skydiving? Does traffic always tend to work in your
favor, but stymie your foes? Gifts are the inexplicable
abilities possessed by Talents which manifest as ex-
treme skill or incredible luck.
• Dramatic Editing: Sometimes, even when the odds
are stacked to your advantage, things just refuse
to go your way. Maybe the guards are doing their
rounds early and are about to catch you breaking
into a safe. Maybe you’ve just fumbled and fallen
off a cliff. Dramatic Editing is what allows you, the
player, to briefly grab the reins from the Storyguide
to explain how you’re going to get out of a jam.
Suddenly a convenient vent above the safe door lets
you quickly hide from the guards, or an errant tree
branch growing out of the cliff grants you the means
to save yourself.
• Aptitudes: One of eight fields of Psi ability pos-
sessed by psions, such as psychokinesis (remote
movement), telepathy (remote communication), or
biokinesis (reshaping your own body). electrokine-
sis (technology and the electromagnetic spectrum),
vitakinesis (healing your body, or someone else’s),
teleportation (remote movement, even across the
galaxy), clairsentience (remote sight and vision),
and quantakinesis (command of subtle quantum
forces and probability).
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 SCION A N D T RI N ITY:
CONTI N U UM SYSTEM
VARIA NTS PREVIEW
While Scion and Trinity: Continuum both use the
Storypath System, they each have their own proprietary
systems to interact with the setting. Featured here is a
sneak preview of two systems, Relic Birthrights for Scion
and the Dramatic Editing used by the Talents of Trinity:
Continuum.
RELICS OF SCION
A revolver called Giantsbane, whose hammer is a small
fragment of Mjolnir. A classic GTO “goat” muscle car. A
ring with the algiz rune on it. The tools of the gods that allow
a Scion to access and channel their otherworldly abilities are
called relics. They provide their own motifs, or methods of
use, that allow a Scion to work miracles through them.
Relics can:
• Channel a Purview for the Scion, allowing them to ex-
press miracles through the relic’s motifs (see Purviews)
rather than their parent’s. It might also provide a small
bonus to doing so. Giantsbane, being a massive gun,
can only use Sky in the form of shooting lightning, huge
gusts of wind, and similarly forceful exhalations, but it
does these things especially well.
• Provide special Boons all their own, based on the
motifs of the relic. These Boons can be bought more
cheaply than the Scion’s own Boons, but only work
when they have the relic in their possession.
• Remove the cost of an associated set of Knacks or
Boons. Alternately, they might allow the use of a
Knack with a different Ability or Calling.
• Allow a special power, such as an enchanted gun
providing infinite ammunition, a pair of head-
phones allowing the Scion to remotely hear con-
versations, or a tuning fork allowing the Scion to
effortlessly mimic any sound she hears. This might
even be fairly mundane, such as doubling the range
on a bow, but in the hands of a demigod they be-
come even more mighty.
DRAMATIC E DITI NG I N
T RI N ITY: CONTI N U UM
Whether it’s uncanny planning, tremendous luck, or
the hand of Fate, characters with Inspiration have the
10
ability to anticipate and seize opportunities that come
their way. This is, in part, because they create these op-
portunities. This system is meant to replicate the con-
trivance of coincidence inherent to the heroic universe
that lies at the heart of Trinity: Continuum. It allows for
the editing of a scene in a dramatically relevant manner,
so long as the result doesn’t contradict previously estab-
lished details.
T H E TWIST
Dramatic editing allows for the retconning of events
that have already transpired in the chronicle, casting them
in a new light and revealing actions or preparations taken
in a brief descriptive flashback. Most often, this comes in
the form of a twist or dramatic shift — an appropriate mo-
ment where the character reveals their gun hidden under
the table, the small cache of passports for when their bud-
dy needs a quick exit, or the fact that the drunk they just
rolled for petty cash was in on the scam.
PARAMETE RS
Believability: Dramatic editing can be used to generate
a plausible advantage within the scene, but it can’t strain
the suspension of disbelief (at least, not without sufficient
expenditure of Inspiration). It’s quite possible that the ma-
fioso duct taped two guns to the bottom of his favorite
table in his favorite restaurant; it’s equally unlikely he did
the same to office desk of a CEO in Mumbai.
Consistency: The edit can’t overrule facts that have
been previously established in the setting or override the
effects of a dice roll that have already occurred. If the
Storyguide states that a supply locker is empty, the char-
acter can’t dramatically edit the scene to find a supply
of ammunition. Dramatic editing also can’t be used to
contradict or override anyone else’s use of editing within
the scene.
Timeframe: Some edits have time limits to them, ac-
cording to the episodic nature of the series. These must
be adhered to!
Dramatic Shift: The edit must come at a moment of
need or appropriately dramatic moment (the twist), as de-
tailed above.
For more about the Storypath System, Scion, and
Trinity: Continuum, please visit www.theonyxpath.com.
11