The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Okay, after many hours of furious and relentless playtesting (an entire evening's worth!) I feel confident enough to provide you with a definitive review of this offering from White Wolf.

I realize that Trinity is getting a bit old now and there's already been a dozen or so different reviews concentrating on the setting, the theme, the mood, the devious nature of it all, etc. However as I see it all of these reviews have failed to capture the real questions we gamers want to know before spending our hard earned (or in my case, desperately begged for...) cash.

"Is it any FUN?"

Actually I've found that this question is a universally useful question when confronted with an awkward pause in conversation with company or indeed as a conversation starter. I find it particularly effective if I point forcefully at the person and put on my "serious" face...which I normally reserve for playing poker but it serves me well here too.

Anyway, as I slowly get back to the point, picture me sitting alone and depressed in my room waiting for an opportunity to play this Trinity game so that I can write my first review for RPGNET, see me? (If it helps I'm 5'11" with dangerous hazel brown eyes and a decidedly powerful yet gentle manner that just screams classy...err sorry got carried away there...honestly I don't advertise in personal ads...really err I mean my eyes aren't even dangerous...just mildly intimidating and that's because I have really bushy eyebrows.)

Well, I don't sit alone for long as I quickly run downstairs and seize the phone to dial the one man I know that can help me...Sean. Now Sean is the kind of guy that has more role-playing books and supplements than your local game store. If you've heard about it he's got a copy somewhere (and even a few you haven't heard of...and wouldn't really want to either).

After a brief conversation with him, (you know the guy is my friend but I don't talk to him or do anything with him besides role-playing...actually he doesn't do that much else, well actually we did all go out for a drink once but I don't really remember much of that...except that he was tee-total and my non-gamer friends tried to spike his coke but failed), I found out that he was running a Trinity game on Saturday afternoons and since a player had just dropped out I could take over his character.

"Great!" I exclaimed as I slammed down the phone in anticipation of the forth-coming game...I then promptly phoned back to ask him where the game was being held before jotting down those oh so important starting time details.

Well Saturday came and I turned up at the address Sean told me and was pleased to note that I recognized some of the other players from other games (In case you haven't guessed I'm a poor, starving student but I'm a proud member of the university RPG society which accords me no small measure of status and recognition amongst the local role-players...*severe coughing*)

There are six of us as we sat down to play, I had to sit on the floor as all the seats in the room were taken but I got to content myself with the fact that I could look up everyone's nose...people don't seem as intimidating when you can see up their nose for some reason.

I was given my character sheet by Sean who told me I was a legionnaire or something and that I had a big plasma gun...cool! I could also do some telekinetic stuff and make things hot or cold as I wished...actually I thought my "powers" were a bit lame but I had loads of equipment including something called a BioVas suit which meant I looked something like a space marine when walking around in full armor. Anyway my briefing was that my military superiors deemed it necessary to accompany this group of Psions (the PC's) on some investigation or other...I wasn't exactly sure what it was but it was very important and we were knee deep in conspiracy theories...which was a shame because I really wanted to shoot something with this plasma gun.

Play started and I didn't really have much to do as I was waiting for something to shoot while everyone else was talking to the crew of the ship we were on...I didn't really know how we got on the ship but it seemed like we were on it for months of game time so I spent it looking at the other players.

Four guys (including me!), two girls and a game master (that was Sean and he is a guy but only when he's not a games master or storyteller...that's when he's a God and we are his pawns...woe betide any who would seek to usurp his ultimate authority...he actually said that once, honest.) I sat between the two girls (both on armchairs while I was relegated to the pins and needles position on the floor). Their names I forget except for Beth who I shall talk more on later.... suffice to say that this seemingly pleasant and sociable young woman would proceed to demonstrate her vindictive and thoroughly untrustworthy nature through the course of the night. The guys I sort of knew from other games but seemed strangely reserved in mid-game chatting...one of them even told me to shut-up so he could listen to Sean! He was only reading from a book for God's sake...anyway I was enjoying myself mostly listening to what the other characters did and giving little subtle smiles of warmth and encouragement to the two girls on either side of me...in retrospect this may have been quite unnerving as I was lying on the floor with both hands behind my head at the time...a position my closest friends have assured me provokes an almost irresistible desire to walk over and kick me...at least that was their excuse...

After about a couple of hours we finally landed, I think it was in China or something because the Chinese military met us and told us not to cause any trouble...as if!?

"Show me some freaking aliens already!" was my contribution to the party's plan for finding their contact who had some information on something...actually that's one bad thing I'm going to have to say about this game, there's too much wandering around and trying to skulk in shadows finding secret informants...it was like hi-tech x-files and no cute red headed woman in sight to save the show...

Speaking of stealth, we had to take public transport to some commercial area to locate our contact...we would have to go disguised so as not to alert the Chinese authorities...so the party tried to convince me to remove my armor.

"HELL NO! I get +3 Str and loads of bashing soak for wearing this thing...and it's got it's own life support system...and..."

Well eventually I triumphed and proudly I walked around in full nifty armor while the rest of the PC's walked around in civvies...fools!

Anyway I security wouldn't let me into any buildings and the party would let me use my plasma rifle on them so I stayed outside and pushed around a few civilians (mostly old men and children) to let them know who was really in charge around here. In fact I practically fell asleep waiting for action to occur when the rolling of dice brought me to full attention...

"Roll for Initiative..." Sean said somberly..."Roll well..." he added grinning slightly.

Well I knew Sean grinning was a bad sign so I rolled quickly. (I had to borrow someone else's which earned a few frowns...why is it that some people hate lending their dice to people...I mean we all share the dice quite happily when we play Monopoly or something...*sigh*)

"Ooh" he said as he began rolling dice trying rather ineffectively to cove is rolls with his other hand.

"Ah…I look around for danger", I say quite confidently…

I was worried for nothing apparently as it was the PC's inside the building that were under attack and had just ran out as their assailants chased them…

"Hell Yeah! Let me let loose a few rounds of plasma death on the alien scum!" To which the rest of the party screamed, "No! There are too many civilians trying to flee."

I shrugged and shut up while the rest of the party handled it…at this point I got bored and started playing with the dice. Storytellers note that when a player starts rolling an excessive amount of dice for no reason, or worse, starts building strange dice constructions (I like seeing how high I can stack d10's on top of each other) then they are most definitely bored…a bored player is a dangerous one especially one with a plasma rifle.

So when Sean asked me what I was going to do about the strange black robed man who was holding this old lady hostage with a vibro-dagger…

"Waste him! I then start hitting anyone wearing black clothing…it seems all the bad guys wear it so it must be on discount from some henchman superstore…" at which point the other PC's laugh…did they think I was joking? Well they didn't laugh when I started rolling those 10's…dark plots and darker alleys I may not be suited for but rolling damage dice I could do! So with suitable description of gore and burning flesh I started my rampage…, which came to an abrupt end when the other PC's turned on me! Actually I was doing quite well and managed to kill one (the one that told me to shut up…that'll teach him) until that traitorous wench Beth got into some military vessel that just HAPPENED to be there and fired the ship board lasers on me…my poor legionnaire was toast.

Well I wasn't about to take that lying down…so I got up mumbled something about lectures tomorrow and thanks for the game and went home. Whereupon my housemates and I held an impromptu, "Pizza & Beer in front of the TV Larp"…now that was a game!

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Trinity
Author: Andrew Bates, Justin R. Achilli, and othes too... Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Trinity Cost: $14.95 (softcover) Page count: 320 pages ISBN: 1-56504-622-6 (softcover) SKU: WW9099 Playtest Review by Hashim Hassan on 08/31/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Space Conspiracy	Okay, after many hours of furious and relentless playtesting (an entire evening's worth!) I feel confident enough to provide you with a definitive review of this offering from White Wolf. I realize that Trinity is getting a bit old now and there's already been a dozen or so different reviews concentrating on the setting, the theme, the mood, the devious nature of it all, etc. However as I see it all of these reviews have failed to capture the real questions we gamers want to know before spending our hard earned (or in my case, desperately begged for...) cash. "Is it any FUN?" Actually I've found that this question is a universally useful question when confronted with an awkward pause in conversation with company or indeed as a conversation starter. I find it particularly effective if I point forcefully at the person and put on my "serious" face...which I normally reserve for playing poker but it serves me well here too. Anyway, as I slowly get back to the point, picture me sitting alone and depressed in my room waiting for an opportunity to play this Trinity game so that I can write my first review for RPGNET, see me? (If it helps I'm 5'11" with dangerous hazel brown eyes and a decidedly powerful yet gentle manner that just screams classy...err sorry got carried away there...honestly I don't advertise in personal ads...really err I mean my eyes aren't even dangerous...just mildly intimidating and that's because I have really bushy eyebrows.) Well, I don't sit alone for long as I quickly run downstairs and seize the phone to dial the one man I know that can help me...Sean. Now Sean is the kind of guy that has more role-playing books and supplements than your local game store. If you've heard about it he's got a copy somewhere (and even a few you haven't heard of...and wouldn't really want to either). After a brief conversation with him, (you know the guy is my friend but I don't talk to him or do anything with him besides role-playing...actually he doesn't do that much else, well actually we did all go out for a drink once but I don't really remember much of that...except that he was tee-total and my non-gamer friends tried to spike his coke but failed), I found out that he was running a Trinity game on Saturday afternoons and since a player had just dropped out I could take over his character. "Great!" I exclaimed as I slammed down the phone in anticipation of the forth-coming game...I then promptly phoned back to ask him where the game was being held before jotting down those oh so important starting time details. Well Saturday came and I turned up at the address Sean told me and was pleased to note that I recognized some of the other players from other games (In case you haven't guessed I'm a poor, starving student but I'm a proud member of the university RPG society which accords me no small measure of status and recognition amongst the local role-players...severe coughing) There are six of us as we sat down to play, I had to sit on the floor as all the seats in the room were taken but I got to content myself with the fact that I could look up everyone's nose...people don't seem as intimidating when you can see up their nose for some reason. I was given my character sheet by Sean who told me I was a legionnaire or something and that I had a big plasma gun...cool! I could also do some telekinetic stuff and make things hot or cold as I wished...actually I thought my "powers" were a bit lame but I had loads of equipment including something called a BioVas suit which meant I looked something like a space marine when walking around in full armor. Anyway my briefing was that my military superiors deemed it necessary to accompany this group of Psions (the PC's) on some investigation or other...I wasn't exactly sure what it was but it was very important and we were knee deep in conspiracy theories...which was a shame because I really wanted to shoot something with this plasma gun. Play started and I didn't really have much to do as I was waiting for something to shoot while everyone else was talking to the crew of the ship we were on...I didn't really know how we got on the ship but it seemed like we were on it for months of game time so I spent it looking at the other players. Four guys (including me!), two girls and a game master (that was Sean and he is a guy but only when he's not a games master or storyteller...that's when he's a God and we are his pawns...woe betide any who would seek to usurp his ultimate authority...he actually said that once, honest.) I sat between the two girls (both on armchairs while I was relegated to the pins and needles position on the floor). Their names I forget except for Beth who I shall talk more on later.... suffice to say that this seemingly pleasant and sociable young woman would proceed to demonstrate her vindictive and thoroughly untrustworthy nature through the course of the night. The guys I sort of knew from other games but seemed strangely reserved in mid-game chatting...one of them even told me to shut-up so he could listen to Sean! He was only reading from a book for God's sake...anyway I was enjoying myself mostly listening to what the other characters did and giving little subtle smiles of warmth and encouragement to the two girls on either side of me...in retrospect this may have been quite unnerving as I was lying on the floor with both hands behind my head at the time...a position my closest friends have assured me provokes an almost irresistible desire to walk over and kick me...at least that was their excuse... After about a couple of hours we finally landed, I think it was in China or something because the Chinese military met us and told us not to cause any trouble...as if!? "Show me some freaking aliens already!" was my contribution to the party's plan for finding their contact who had some information on something...actually that's one bad thing I'm going to have to say about this game, there's too much wandering around and trying to skulk in shadows finding secret informants...it was like hi-tech x-files and no cute red headed woman in sight to save the show... Speaking of stealth, we had to take public transport to some commercial area to locate our contact...we would have to go disguised so as not to alert the Chinese authorities...so the party tried to convince me to remove my armor. "HELL NO! I get +3 Str and loads of bashing soak for wearing this thing...and it's got it's own life support system...and..." Well eventually I triumphed and proudly I walked around in full nifty armor while the rest of the PC's walked around in civvies...fools! Anyway I security wouldn't let me into any buildings and the party would let me use my plasma rifle on them so I stayed outside and pushed around a few civilians (mostly old men and children) to let them know who was really in charge around here. In fact I practically fell asleep waiting for action to occur when the rolling of dice brought me to full attention... "Roll for Initiative..." Sean said somberly..."Roll well..." he added grinning slightly. Well I knew Sean grinning was a bad sign so I rolled quickly. (I had to borrow someone else's which earned a few frowns...why is it that some people hate lending their dice to people...I mean we all share the dice quite happily when we play Monopoly or something...sigh) "Ooh" he said as he began rolling dice trying rather ineffectively to cove is rolls with his other hand. "Ah…I look around for danger", I say quite confidently… I was worried for nothing apparently as it was the PC's inside the building that were under attack and had just ran out as their assailants chased them… "Hell Yeah! Let me let loose a few rounds of plasma death on the alien scum!" To which the rest of the party screamed, "No! There are too many civilians trying to flee." I shrugged and shut up while the rest of the party handled it…at this point I got bored and started playing with the dice. Storytellers note that when a player starts rolling an excessive amount of dice for no reason, or worse, starts building strange dice constructions (I like seeing how high I can stack d10's on top of each other) then they are most definitely bored…a bored player is a dangerous one especially one with a plasma rifle. So when Sean asked me what I was going to do about the strange black robed man who was holding this old lady hostage with a vibro-dagger… "Waste him! I then start hitting anyone wearing black clothing…it seems all the bad guys wear it so it must be on discount from some henchman superstore…" at which point the other PC's laugh…did they think I was joking? Well they didn't laugh when I started rolling those 10's…dark plots and darker alleys I may not be suited for but rolling damage dice I could do! So with suitable description of gore and burning flesh I started my rampage…, which came to an abrupt end when the other PC's turned on me! Actually I was doing quite well and managed to kill one (the one that told me to shut up…that'll teach him) until that traitorous wench Beth got into some military vessel that just HAPPENED to be there and fired the ship board lasers on me…my poor legionnaire was toast. Well I wasn't about to take that lying down…so I got up mumbled something about lectures tomorrow and thanks for the game and went home. Whereupon my housemates and I held an impromptu, "Pizza & Beer in front of the TV Larp"…now that was a game! Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)