I will say this...
A new setting has already been attempted. Somewhat recently I might add.
There was a shift in setting, but it was not NEW in the manner the GMS seem to be planning this time. The Wildlands was still affiliated with Haven and the Witchwood, the new one does not seem to include that possibility. If it did there would not be skill chances to accommodate the new settings rules.
Stealing SOME of a players levels and goodies is no different than stealing them all. If they feel an item is broken....fix THAT item, don't punish other players that do NOT have broken items.A third option of forced retirement would be great as well. This helps make the transition easier.
Under no circumstances is forcing people to make new PCs ever NEEDED, unless we are no longer going to be playing Haven and are now playing Beyond the Stars.....but that would have the same effect as just making everyone start at level one...I like the idea of people starting new characters, as it really is needed
I also feel players SHOULD start new characters, half way was done before with the jump to the wildlands and it FAILED, it wicked FAILED, like epic amounts of FAIL. that needs to NEVER happen again.
That feeling of yours is, fairly obviously, due to choices made by PCs that feel they cannot enter town again due to whom they tried to kill....or some such similar bad in game decision. There are many players that like the new setting, even if there are many that do not.
Good thing that this isn't not EVER likely to happen in a fantasy setting where magic items are part of the genre like light sabers are in Star Wars. There is also no logical basis for their removal, for better planning when adding powerful ones...maybe...sure. A compete removal is just silly.I also feel that all magic items really need to come out of the game if once again we are going with a new thing, they break the game and really should probably just not exist, all efforts to curb there power have failed.
The game rules system has never punished new players....other players choice to play abusive PCs is what has punished them. There are currently about 12 new players I could list that started in the last year that do not feel punished. Then again the abusive PCs haven't been around much or at all in that time.....and player levels should be curbed in some way, we have mostly just super high level characters at this point because the game punished low levels and had no GOOD retirement system so everyone sits on the same character for years on end, doing nothing but amassing wealth and power.
I way say its the manner you acquired those resources and items that punished low level characters...not the system...as a high level player that has a 3 inch stack of resources, lots of money, and over a dozen magic items including resist sleep and resist magic items. I would support this.
again, the game is fun. I have always had fun, because I play to ROLE PLAY...not stick jockey and new PC carjack. Even the event other PCs tried killing mine was a blast...because I play for the reason every player SHOULD LARP....to enjoy the experience of the PCs life...the ups...the downs...the FULL story. Playing to JUST be the heroes is setting yourself up for failure as even the hero experiences bad...it would make the game fun again, it would be nice to have a new fresh start.
Not every player may see that the game is still fun because of choices that player had their PC make, but really it is. Come to the last event this year and see...