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One of the first things that drew me to the Aeon/Trinity role-playing game was the preview artwork showing the heroic Legionnaires defending Sydney Spaceport against the evil mutant Aberrants. The illustration is marvelous...shaven headed psychics caught in a snapshot as they pounded away at enigmatic baddies suitable for a Call of Cthulu game. While the RPG was great, it didn't really capture that scene. Trinity: Battleground, the new wargame based on the RPG, captures that scene perfectly

Trinity: Battleground has as it's bundled setting the recently recontacted colony of Khantz Lu Ge. For the last few years, KLG (as the colony is abbreviated in the book) has been under assault by the tainted Aberrants, formerly human beings capable of manipulating the very fabric of the universe. Only with the development of new jumpships has Earth been able to reach KLG after the loss of it's psionic teleporters. Now, the Seventh Legion of the psychokinetic order has come to rescue the colonists from the Aberrants, their human cultists, and resistance groups.

Like all White Wolf products, the background is strong. The main rulebook is almost half full of background info. A lot of it brings new players up to speed on the Trinity universe. Thankfully for Trinity players, there's also a lot of new meat to digest. Sprinkled throughout the old info is new descriptions of the Aberrants and how they view each other, details on the Legions and why they have facial tattoos (amongst other things), and really cool plot-hooks to throw into the wargame. Great ideas like the lost squad of Legionnaires corrupted by the Aberrants, who now appear out of nowhere to fight for their old Order. Shades of 40K's Legion of the Damned? Maybe. But while the universe of 40K is bleak and the efforts of the armies in it end up adding up to naught, in Battleground the players and their forces definitely "feel" like they're shaping the destiny of a world.

Part of this is the way the game is played. Players take control of units called either Strike Teams (Psions) or Cadres (Aberrants). The main characters in these forces have their own character sheets and detailed information on how much they can carry, what special skills they have, and their psychic abilities/taint powers. This worried me...would the extra detail slow the game down? After playing twice (once with the quick-start rules included in the box, once with the full rules) I can say that they don't bog down. While the games are smaller than many wargamers may expect, with 10-15 pieces to a side, they can be scaled upward with little problems, I imagine. This is because most forces will consist of one or two squads made up of Aberrants and Psions, with the rest of the forces consisting of "Support troops," or non-powered grunts who soak up damage. The heroic feel of the setting is captured in the size of the game.

High points of the game consist of it's Action Point system, which worked well during the game. Squads can accomplish more than just shooting once, or running, in a phase. Also notable are the well-fleshed out campaign rules, which can show how a squad of grunts survives through this long conflict. Highly appreciated are the rules covering picking up equipment, how much a character can carry, and a half-dozen other things that have popped up in other wargames but have never been dealt with. The rules also cover converting your RPG character into a combatant.

The miniatures that come with the game are superb and of much higher quality than the plastic figures for other systems, on par with metal minis. While there is a significant amount of flash to them, this is trimmed easily and the figures seem sturdy. The box also comes with quick-start rules for Battleground and the Trinity RPG, two pieces of nice terrain, lots of cardboard buildings, a dice bag with the Trinity symbol and some fantastic looking ten-siders, two rulers, and two pads of character sheets.

Complaints about the game are few and minor. I would have liked to see more info on support forces, and still can't figure out where to buy them. Luckily, their cost is on the demo forces sheet on the last page of the book. A heavy weapons support group or close-combat Aberrant support would've been neat. I would have loved to see vehicle rules.

As the months pass, new supplements will be released (the next one detailing the Tex-Mex conflict between the Federated States of America and the electrokinetic Order, and includes powered armor rules.) I've seen catalogs that list new miniature releases for the game that are inexpensive compared to the big player on the block (you know who you are!) Also, each new miniature release comes with it's own character card and info.

All in all, Trinity: Battleground is an exceptional wargame that melds seamlessly with the RPG. It works on a smaller scale than some die-hard wargamers may feel comfortable with, but this and the campaign rules seem to feel "right" with the setting. I recommend it for new wargamers, experienced hands looking for something different than 40K and really grim futures, and Trinity players looking for a system to handle their really big combats.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Trinity: Battleground
Author: Chris Mc Donough Category: miniature Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Cost: $59.95 Page count: 88 pg. rulebook Playtest Review by Eric Brennan on 08/26/98. Genre tags: none	One of the first things that drew me to the Aeon/Trinity role-playing game was the preview artwork showing the heroic Legionnaires defending Sydney Spaceport against the evil mutant Aberrants. The illustration is marvelous...shaven headed psychics caught in a snapshot as they pounded away at enigmatic baddies suitable for a Call of Cthulu game. While the RPG was great, it didn't really capture that scene. Trinity: Battleground, the new wargame based on the RPG, captures that scene perfectly Trinity: Battleground has as it's bundled setting the recently recontacted colony of Khantz Lu Ge. For the last few years, KLG (as the colony is abbreviated in the book) has been under assault by the tainted Aberrants, formerly human beings capable of manipulating the very fabric of the universe. Only with the development of new jumpships has Earth been able to reach KLG after the loss of it's psionic teleporters. Now, the Seventh Legion of the psychokinetic order has come to rescue the colonists from the Aberrants, their human cultists, and resistance groups. Like all White Wolf products, the background is strong. The main rulebook is almost half full of background info. A lot of it brings new players up to speed on the Trinity universe. Thankfully for Trinity players, there's also a lot of new meat to digest. Sprinkled throughout the old info is new descriptions of the Aberrants and how they view each other, details on the Legions and why they have facial tattoos (amongst other things), and really cool plot-hooks to throw into the wargame. Great ideas like the lost squad of Legionnaires corrupted by the Aberrants, who now appear out of nowhere to fight for their old Order. Shades of 40K's Legion of the Damned? Maybe. But while the universe of 40K is bleak and the efforts of the armies in it end up adding up to naught, in Battleground the players and their forces definitely "feel" like they're shaping the destiny of a world. Part of this is the way the game is played. Players take control of units called either Strike Teams (Psions) or Cadres (Aberrants). The main characters in these forces have their own character sheets and detailed information on how much they can carry, what special skills they have, and their psychic abilities/taint powers. This worried me...would the extra detail slow the game down? After playing twice (once with the quick-start rules included in the box, once with the full rules) I can say that they don't bog down. While the games are smaller than many wargamers may expect, with 10-15 pieces to a side, they can be scaled upward with little problems, I imagine. This is because most forces will consist of one or two squads made up of Aberrants and Psions, with the rest of the forces consisting of "Support troops," or non-powered grunts who soak up damage. The heroic feel of the setting is captured in the size of the game. High points of the game consist of it's Action Point system, which worked well during the game. Squads can accomplish more than just shooting once, or running, in a phase. Also notable are the well-fleshed out campaign rules, which can show how a squad of grunts survives through this long conflict. Highly appreciated are the rules covering picking up equipment, how much a character can carry, and a half-dozen other things that have popped up in other wargames but have never been dealt with. The rules also cover converting your RPG character into a combatant. The miniatures that come with the game are superb and of much higher quality than the plastic figures for other systems, on par with metal minis. While there is a significant amount of flash to them, this is trimmed easily and the figures seem sturdy. The box also comes with quick-start rules for Battleground and the Trinity RPG, two pieces of nice terrain, lots of cardboard buildings, a dice bag with the Trinity symbol and some fantastic looking ten-siders, two rulers, and two pads of character sheets. Complaints about the game are few and minor. I would have liked to see more info on support forces, and still can't figure out where to buy them. Luckily, their cost is on the demo forces sheet on the last page of the book. A heavy weapons support group or close-combat Aberrant support would've been neat. I would have loved to see vehicle rules. As the months pass, new supplements will be released (the next one detailing the Tex-Mex conflict between the Federated States of America and the electrokinetic Order, and includes powered armor rules.) I've seen catalogs that list new miniature releases for the game that are inexpensive compared to the big player on the block (you know who you are!) Also, each new miniature release comes with it's own character card and info. All in all, Trinity: Battleground is an exceptional wargame that melds seamlessly with the RPG. It works on a smaller scale than some die-hard wargamers may feel comfortable with, but this and the campaign rules seem to feel "right" with the setting. I recommend it for new wargamers, experienced hands looking for something different than 40K and really grim futures, and Trinity players looking for a system to handle their really big combats. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)