I avoid the TL boards with a vengeance as, unlike back in my day, they always seem to devolve into one person bitching at another. That, obviously, doesn't mean that I'm not interested in what the current batch of TLers publish elsewhere, like here.
That said there is a long-standing LRP convention for linear-style LRP systems such as TL that unless backplot exists from the start you are playing with a clean slate with year 1 of history ostensibly being the first year that the games was played. It's not the best scenario but it does allow for the fact the it's a University game, run by students (and Marcus) for students (and Marcus). The people who run the game move on (or fade aways slowly) and things grow. At any one time there is only one group of people who can set the precedent for world events and that group is the rules writer and current plot team. Everyone else has always had the free reign to come up with their personal background providing that it doesn't force world events or tamper with another character's background/situation. This has never stopped groups of players making linked characters, or finding mutually compatible backgrounds and expanding on them.
<deep breath>
Now, instead of blathering I will respond to your questions with answers (or further questions of my own), that being said I only disagree with one thing you've said, "...things I feel I need in order to roleplay better..." It is quite a big thing however but I fear I may be being a pedant:
Who is going to write this and maintain it?* Most people involved have jobs/degrees/lives to lead and this is a big job to start from scratch.
A current map would be good but would by the OOC limitations of the game be a purely IC map with grey areas and descrepancies to allow for an ever expanding plot sequence. A set of maps for the past twenty years?!? Crikey that's harsh, you want twenty years of story and then (we'll allow for one map per year) twenty maps to show how those stories affected the Barony? I'm afraid this next question is going to get very boring: Who is going to write this and maintain it?*
This is your best question, a fleshed out character only needs one paragraph of description to make it more real than a min/maxed elven druid scout who is a combat womble in fun fur. My only point in addition to this would be that because you (sadly not "we" until I can get back to play again) are playing an heroic progression linear system and there a quite a number of people who play it for the hack and slash, or who are simply incapable of actually roleplaying very well. Too busy to flesh out a character is no excuse, because if you have time to play, you have time to sit on the bus on the way to campus and write a paragraph.
no subject
That said there is a long-standing LRP convention for linear-style LRP systems such as TL that unless backplot exists from the start you are playing with a clean slate with year 1 of history ostensibly being the first year that the games was played. It's not the best scenario but it does allow for the fact the it's a University game, run by students (and Marcus) for students (and Marcus). The people who run the game move on (or fade aways slowly) and things grow. At any one time there is only one group of people who can set the precedent for world events and that group is the rules writer and current plot team. Everyone else has always had the free reign to come up with their personal background providing that it doesn't force world events or tamper with another character's background/situation. This has never stopped groups of players making linked characters, or finding mutually compatible backgrounds and expanding on them.
<deep breath>
Now, instead of blathering I will respond to your questions with answers (or further questions of my own), that being said I only disagree with one thing you've said, "...things I feel I need in order to roleplay better..." It is quite a big thing however but I fear I may be being a pedant:
Who is going to write this and maintain it?*