LBB9: Library Data - Mgt2 Consistency?

[Evil Aardvark]

Hey gang. Is there anything that is inconsistent between LBB9: Library Data and the current timeline?

My players are sneaky, so if I just hand them the Library Data that comes with some adventures, they'll read through it to try to game the game. I'd like to bury the information they need in the middle of an LBB9 dump but I don't want to give them actively misleading data. Well... I don't always want to give them actively misleading data all the time...

 

[Galadrion]

As I recall, both of the Library Data books specifically and explicitly carried the disclaimer that pretty much any of the data might be inaccurate to one degree or another. As such, any player attempting to use the LBB Library Data books to pull metagamer shenanigans fully deserve to have the rug yanked out from under them, wrapped around them, get clubbed a few times, and dumped in the back alley behind the sleazy dive bar they all met in. Or the situationally appropriate equivalent.

 

[ottarrus]

The problem with just handing somebody a copy of LBB-9 is that it doesn't include everything and it doesn't include things that really should be in there. Things like world UPPs, information on local minor races, trade data, etc. etc. etc. At some point every referee is gonna have to 'update' the LibDat to suit their own campaign.
Something else that needs to be said... Travellermap, Mongoose, GDW, and every other source out there seem to have different ideas on world UPPs. For example, there are no less than 4 'current' 'official' sets of UPP data on the Spinward Marches, none of which agree with each other.

What I would do in your shoes is tell the players that the LBB-9 information is MOSTLY true, but that updates only arrive at the speed of the ship carrying them. The IISS, TAS, and subscription services try hard to keep it up to date, but that's hard to do Imperium-wide. Therefore, the more local the data the accurate it is likely to be.
Another thing I would do is select a source for your UPPs and other information and tell the players that this source is 'canon' for your game, not the other one over there.

 

[Garnfellow]

I agree with Galadrion and ottarrus -- any time you give players library data they should be reminded that they are being given general information that is probably mostly correct but could be badly out of date or flat-out incorrect in specifics. It's the equivalent of an entry from a reputable encyclopedia. You could probably begin researching a trip to Tanzania by reading a Wikipedia article. If you didn't know anything about the destination it's probably going to be a decent start, but that's about it.

 

[Sigtrygg]

There is nothing in Library Data that would grant the players setting secrets.

 

[Condottiere]