I'd originally though of private-mail to Loren on this; then I
decided that the rest of the TML was entitled to know my opinions.
As a result, this will read like it's been written to GDW - which it
really is, in a sense.
1) Why the change from base rolls of 2D6 to 2D6-1, and the
limitation to D (13) on characteristics? If this was done strictly
for compatibility with T2K2 and DJ, I'd question whether the change
is appropriate at all; what you've seemingly done here is change a
16-base system to a 13-base system (since characteristics are now
on a 1-13 instead of 0-15 basis). The 13-base system has a higher
level of granularity; the characters near the "racial norm" will be
less differentiated from each other. It seems to me that the use of
this pattern in T2K2 and DJ was making something different for the
sake of making it different; I see no advantage to the new pattern,
and the Traveller/Megatraveller pattern has seniority. Better to
revise the others and make T2K3 and DJ2 use the old 16-base pattern,
which allows for "finer" discrimination in physical/intellectual
capabilities. Better still to switch to a 20-base system (2D10 if
you want the bell shape (my preference); 1D20 if linear is OK) for
all of the games; you will get still more differentiation among
characters, with the additional side effect of Education (in those
games that have it) potentially being a description of exactly how
many years the character has spent in formal schooling.
2) I _do_ approve of moving Social Standing from a UPP attribute to
background information. In most campaigns that I have played
in/talked to others about, Social Standing was a piece of
information that had little, if any, relevance to the game. The old
Vargr form of Charisma was too volatile for use with human
characters, but was certainly a bit more relevant to play.
3) The changing of END to CON and DEX to AGL appears to me to be
strictly cosmetic, as does changing the order of appearance in the
UPP. If done for compatibility, the same comments as I made in 1)
apply.
Overall, I'd have to say that the new system isn't _bad_; the nits
I'm picking are because I _have_ played Traveller for almost its
entire lifetime, and have gotten what I think is a good feel for the
game; I typically don't even look at tables much any more. More
seriously in need of overhaul is the ship design rules; I hope that
those will be RFC'd (Request For Comment) here as well. I'm working
toward some ideas that would be appropriate for a stellar
environment that's ripe for rebirth, as TNE is supposed to be; I'll
RFC them on the TML when I have gotten them thrashed out enough.
Obviously, they'll be based on the MT rule set; They should be as
portable to TNE as the current world generation system is.
I'd like to see some solid info on alien races this time around;
DGP's Megatraveller Alien series was off to a good start, and the
original Alien Modules weren't bad, but could have stood some
expansion. Let's see the alien stuff early on, and DON'T change the
system as soon as you've gotten off to a good start, like has
happened twice before. I wonder if that was a contributing factor
to DGP leaving the Traveller add-on market... I'd also like to see
more info on minor races this time, and some solid background info
that can be used to allow for campaigns in space outside the former
Imperium (more specifically, within the other major interstellar
empires, and with _any_ of the races that might be seen within a
particular sphere).
The TNE blurb I saw on the back of the Arrival Vengeance folio seems
to imply that certain fundamental characteristics of the universe
can be altered at the referee's discretion. Is this true, or am I
reading to much into the blurb? If so, I'd appreciate knowing what
kinds of things can be accommodated by the rules for this kind of
change; I like to stay within an "officially sanctioned" universe;
the couple of times I did my own thing, someone came out with what
appeared to be sanctioned material that, If I used it, would have
rendered my prior work DOA. I bit the bullet, and resolved that I'd
stick to the real thing to avoid this in the future. The Foreven
set-aside was something of a godsend in this respect; it gives me a
place to try out ideas without having to worry about being blown out
of the water by official material. On the other hand, while it
tells me how things will play in Peoria (B-776978-A, 1032 Foreven),
it doesn't indicate how they'll play in New York (yes, the one on
Terra) or Regina, or Vland, or Capital... you get the idea... ;)
'Nuff said; the nice people here on the TML don't have to listen to
me ramble on and on...
J/
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