Previous stats for systems vs. new stats

[phavoc]

I'm kinda torn on this. On the one hand the previous body of work for already defined systems should be re-used whenever possible because of continuity. But on the other hand some of the previous bits of system data where kind of out of whack to being REALLY out of whack. So in that case change is good.

I like the fact that there are great 3rd party reference materials out there like Traveller Map that really make a player and ref's life easier with good and easily accessible information, not to mention that they are free.

How does everyone else feel about the changes to system statistics? In some cases I think they are necessary, but in other cases they make the planetary description/reasoning more questionable by lowering tech levels to the point they shouldn't be able to do certain things vs. increasing them to do the same thing on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Thoughts/opinions?

 

[-Daniel-]

I will offer two thoughts and than leave the judgement to others.

1) I do like when there is continuity in the background for a particular setting. Even if there is change, give some reason. Government change, there was a war. Population drop, plague hit. But I do like some consistency in the setting.

2) Other than myself and one other person, the rest of the folks at the table have only ever played in MGT and even then, they have had very limited exposure to older materials. And most of them would never even think to go look at older materials to compare and see there has been changes.

Are changes good or bad for a setting, that I will leave for others to debate. I will use what ever I have to try and have fun. :mrgreen:

 

[phavoc]

I totally agree with you. Things that are static aren't real. Picking up an older supplement or those that have bought previous ones is where the continuity come in. That and there are some tools on the net that are just fantastic reference guides.

Depending on WHEN the adventuring is going to take place makes it possible to adjust or side-step the question of continuity between previous supplements and potentially newer ones. So if CRB 2.0 is set say 40-50 years in the future, a lot could have changed in that time frame to explain and allow for the variances between material sets.

I just think some thought and questions should go into it all to make sure a good balance is found and players (new and old alike) have at least some information and reasoning on why there is a variance. Some of the worlds definitely need to be tweaked to bring them into a shade of reality rather than letting the dice generate everything (sometimes dice can be really silly!). That's where the referee comes in usually. Though it's nice to not have to tweak everything out there all the time.