James Bell

CREATOR

1 day ago

Project Update: September 2026 Update

Hello Steam Warriors,

The latest monthly summary has our Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars book in the "active art direction" phase, which means artists are actively working on interior illustrations. Once these are finalized and delivered, it will move to layout. Hopefully at that point some of the artwork will sneak out and I'll share some previews.

The last listing I saw said they had contracted artists for the splat images - the Roles you pick as your path. While we wait, I'll share one more excerpt from the Leviathan companion book that we unlocked via Stretch Goal. Today... down below the waves!

Aquatic Combat

While the air is a new frontier whose mastery has only recently been unlocked by the potential of condensed coal, the seas have been traversed and fought over for millennia. Though few technologies have been pioneered to eke out an edge on the waves, many have been refined to new heights, or indeed depths, hitherto thought impossible.

One of the newest technological developments enabled by condensed coal is that of submarines. Although many have been designed since the 16th century, it was only the discovery of this strange new fuel source that made them viable naval vessels.

Submarine Encounters

As with aerial combat, elevation plays an important part of submarine combat.

The highest combatant in an encounter always has an Elevation Advantage of 0 and each other combatant has an Elevation Advantage of 1 for every range band they are below the lowest combatant. This Advantage always applies to attacks and attempts to stay hidden based on vision. If you are using the Fixed Elevation optional rule, treat the sea level as Elevation 0 and increase Elevation for every range band below it by 1.

Almost every vehicle designed for submarine combat can rise quickly to the surface. When moving toward sea level, a combatant may move an additional range band as part of the usual reflexive action. This means, absent any special rules, a combatant can move from Close to Medium range.

A character piloting a vehicle, or a leviathan capable of swimming, can attempt a difficulty 3 roll using any appropriate pools as a simple action to move from Close to Long range, provided they end their movement closer to the surface. Should they do so, they — and any characters in the same rig or vehicle — suffer from the Dazed status effect as the vehicle shudders around them due to the increased speed. Until the end of the scene, all human combatants have a Major Complication that, if not bought off, inflicts Taken Out as decompression sickness ravages them.

Unless they are using a weapon specifically designed for underwater combat or a rule or tag states otherwise, all combatants’ ranged attacks suffer an increased difficulty of +2 and the maximum range band they can target is Short.

Underwater terrain functions as cover, either light or heavy, and underwater vegetation adds up to two points of armor to an attack’s target for the duration of that attack. Aquatic life either flees when the encounter starts, possibly functioning as cover until the end of the first round, or as a Complication of a level determined by the Storyguide; small predatory creatures are a Minor Complication, while creatures almost as large as a leviathan are a Major Complication. The consequences of these Complications could be damage, being knocked backward a range band, or an increased difficulty for the affected combatant’s the next action.

A rig or vehicle whose Ruin level becomes Ruptured must reach the surface by the end of their next turn or be rendered Inoperative and sink. The consequences of this are left to the Storyguide’s discretion but they should be able to be rescued, have an opportunity to escape, or similar.

Surface Encounters

Naval warfare remains unchanged since its invention millennia ago. The weapons are more powerful, and the ships are larger, but the tactics are the same.

Whenever a vehicle’s Ruin level becomes Ruptured or Inoperative, that vehicle’s engineer must use their next action to make a Technology + Mental Arena roll with a difficulty equal to the damage dealt by the attack pushing the Ruin level across the boundary.

If they succeed, the vehicle remains afloat. If they fail, the vehicle gains the Sinking Vehicle status effect.

They must roll when the vehicle becomes Ruptured and when it becomes Inoperative, unless an attack takes it straight from Dented to Inoperative.

Sinking Vehicle
The vehicle is slipping beneath the waves. All actions to pilot or attack with it have an increased Difficulty equal to half the number of rounds it has been sinking. A vehicle sinks fully in a number of rounds equal to 10 − the total of its Size and armor.

Resolution: The vehicle fully sinks. If this happens, every character on board gains the Deprived condition for a number of rounds equal to their Stamina, or half their Desperation Pool, at which point they drown and are Taken Out.

Alternatively, the vehicle can be patched. This is a staged action with a difficulty equal to the vehicle’s Size + its armor, and removes the status effect, but doesn’t restore Ruin.

New Tricks

Each Trick below indicates if it is universal and can be used for any type of attack or can only be used on melee or ranged attacks.

The following Combat Tricks are available to human or piloted (rigs and vehicles) combatants only.

Supporting Battery (2 hits, ranged): The target moves one range band away from the attacker and gains the Dazed status effect until the end of their next turn.
Targeting Flare (3 hits, ranged): The next ranged attack against the same target gains +2 Enhancement and the Critical Trick’s cost is reduced to two hits.

The following Tricks are available to any combatant, human, piloted, or leviathan.

Poorly-aimed Bombardment (1 hit, universal): The attacker and defender must succeed at a difficulty 2 roll using an appropriate pool or suffer two Injury or Ruin.
Ramming Speed (1 hit, melee): If the combatant moved before making a melee attack, they may roll a number of d10 equal to their Size and deal additional damage equal to the number of successes.

Optional Rule: Supporting Fleet
The vessels supporting the characters get their own spotlight. Instead of spending hits on these Tricks, the players can spend an equal amount of Momentum to activate them during this spotlight. Additionally, a single vehicle not piloted by the characters can use the Ramming Speed Trick for free as part of this spotlight, automatically hitting the target and losing Ruin equal to the target’s Armor or can automatically deal one Injury or Ruin to a target; unless the players spend one Momentum to choose the target, the Storyguide chooses the affected combatant.

Pending Projects

Leviathan is in the contracts and coordinating phase; our rulebook is in the active illustration phase. Hopefully I'll have artwork to share soon.

Rewards Delivered to Backers

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Æon PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Aberrant PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Adventure! PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Assassins PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Anima PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Aether PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
Trinity Continuum: Aegis PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
They Came from Beneath the Sea! PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
They Came from Beyond the Grave! PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
They Came from the Cyclops's Cave! PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)
They Came from [CLASSIFIED!] PDF + PoD Codes (April 9 '25 Update)

Pledge Manager

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://trinity-continuum-steam-wars.backerkit.com/

Onyx Path Project Tracking

I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.

Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.

Onyx Path Discussion Channels

If you've got questions about the status of a project, the rules, or the setting, you will probably hear back from a writer or developer in the Discord. Or if you just want to discuss this game with other fans, you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:

To Contact James

If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods

Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.

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