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Bundle: 554
Archive-Message-Number: 6972
From: [-- REDACTED --]
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 94 06:22:00 BST
Subject: Re: Looking for 'Background' (

 
 In Archive-Message-Number 6958, [-- REDACTED --] (David
 Johnson) writes:
 >
 >Are there any folks out there who are more interested in campaign
 >background rather than rules and such?
 
     I certainly am.  I'm always looking for good ideas for scenarios.
The people I play with tend to be rather creative and inventive, so I
have to run full speed just to keep abreast of them.  ;-)
 
 >Is there anyone else who thinks discussions about weapon penetration,
 >craft design, and planetary science is a little moot in a
 >two-dimensional universe?
 
     Not necessarily.  It can be quite a bit of fun, if you're a
technology junkie like I am.  Of course, the system has quite an
influence on this, as well as the background.  Actually, the background
has an influence on every part of a game (even the rules lawyers).
 
 >...here's a question:  What is there to recommend TNE (vs. MT or CT)
 >from a 'background' point of view?
 
     Bear in mind that answers to this question will be unavoidably
subjective.
 
     In my honest opinion, there is *nothing* to recommend the New Era
background over MegaTraveller or Classic Traveller.  To my mind, the
Virus environment is a giant step backward.  Technology has *regressed*.
This is not something that I am prepared to tolerate.  I'll probably
change over to the new rules system (mostly--G-turns?  I don't think so.
Virus?  Nope--ain't going to use it.), but the Virus-ridden low-tech
background goes out the window for me.  My game is going to very
abrubtly diverge from the officially supported one.  Heck, as far as my
game goes, the Rebellion never happened, either.
 
 >Forget the new rules and such, is the new campaign an improvement
 over the ante-Rebellion, Rebellion and Hard Times eras?
 
     Well, no.  Not for me, anyway.  Technology has always been the
primary focus of my interest in Science Fiction.  The new background
severely cripples the technology that I have become accustomed to.
 
     So, I have to fix things before I can use them.  Oddly enough, the
fix requires reversing many of the changes.  I find that rather ironic.
;-)
 
- --
     Brent
 
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