Empress Wave no big deal?

[BlackBat242]

Virtually every time I have seen the EW discussed here, statements are always made about how it will disrupt Jump travel, change the fabric of the Imperium, etc.

The statements are never challenged, but always agreed with.


However, it seems this is NOT the case!

Having finally (while reading the "ancients" thread) gotten frustrated enough to try to find out just what the EW is (the people here automatically assuming everyone knows what it is, despite large numbers of us never having bought or even looked at any TNE, etc material), I found this nice, long interview Loren Wiseman had with David Nilsen.
http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/AskDave.txt


In it he makes these statements:

Jspace physics would not be changed, but to the extent that Jspace and psionic supraspace were related, that supraspace would be "closer" to Nspace.
.....
The overall result would not be a sea-change of the fabric of the campaign background, but the introduction of new abilities. These abilities, if manifested in a PC in a roleplaying group that wanted such a thing, could make quite a difference in the feel of the TNE campaign.

However, for an old-time hard-sf roleplaying group, the ffects could mostly be, "Didja hear, they hauled away that psion down the street for going nuts?" "Yeah, well that's what they get for being different."

!!!
Jspace physics would not be changed
The overall result would not be a sea-change of the fabric of the campaign background
!!!

Well, that contradicts just about everything I have read here on CotI.


Opinions?

 

[aramis]

Dave contradicts what was in the text; this seems normal practice for Dave N. His writing seems to have continuous issues with not matching what he intended to put down. He made a lot of poor wording choices in TNE.

Sea-change in the fabric of the campaign background includes a great many things Dave N. didn't consider part of the "fabric" of the campaign background... including things like a stable Zhodani Consulate, the J6 limit, The Regecy retaining Imperial Culture, and other bits.... TNE was a constant series of "sea-changes in the campaign fabric."

Easier and more common psionics would be a huge one. The current levels are bloody rare and pretty low; deniable unless you see ZTM's hop aboard your ship. If suddenly 1% of the population are useful wild talents (instead of the 0.01% implied in some sources), you'll have huge social and societal changes... Dave apparently doesn't consider that a change to the fabric of the campaign setting.

It is a simple difference of understanding of what the campaign's fabric is.

 

[Zparkz]

Those changes compared to the virus and the CT/MT(Rebellion) that is a minor change in background. I would view those as evolvement. Things change over time. Sometimes fast, other times at glacial speeds.

 

[kafka47]

I found the EW the biggest disappointment of the New Era rather than heralding a new Invasion threat that would have all the races of Charted Space come together in a common front...it was more a wimpy phenomena. I liked MJD explanation but I have come further to believe it was more than a signal or cry it was rather a highly concentrated burst to recreate the civilization more Rimward...the Empress was in fact the ruler of such an Invasion...

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Is there an adventure that actually implements the EW in a meaningful way?

And by 'meaningful', I mean somewhere between a general non-event ("Yeah, BB ... I hear that all the Psions in this sector have gone nutsoidal!"), and a "Paranoia"-like adventure where everyone is a psionic mutant of one sort or another.

Something interesting, playable and fun.