A very consistent product, given that it's hand-drawn, with enough variation in common tile types that I don't feel I'm repeating too often. Coasts are just bonkers, I've had to use three monitors to transcribe a map-- one with the new map, one with the old, and one with all the coast tiles! There are a few things I would've liked out of this edition and a few more that I'm looking forward to in the next.

I'll start with the next-edition territory first. I think it goes without saying that the dynamic coast tiles are the most interesting part of this pack. I would be very interested to see that system extended to the Mountains and Hill tilesets especially, but Mushroom, Crystal, and Volcano tilesets as well. I'd also like to see road tiles in the same vein as this edition's river tiles. Multiple styles -- cobblestone, dirt, asphalt, major, minor, etc. would greatly enhance the usability of the existing tilesets.

In this edition, my complaints are almost entirely related to the consistency of tileset construction. While some tilesets incorporate bare-background tiles, some of the more complex tilesets like forests, hills, and mountains do not include these tiles. For some of the more complex coastal tiles, it's essentially impossible to attractively represent a coastal forest. Riparian forests are similarly affected, as are rivers in hilly areas. Coastal jungles are right out, except on the most simple coastal tiles.

But those are really my only gripes with what is, taken in its totality, a fantastic tileset which absolutely exceeds my (admittedly measured) expectations. It's an absolute steal for $10. Here's hoping the next edition is as fantastic.

As a side note for Roll20 users, these tiles are 2 units wide so you'll need to adjust your grid spacing accordingly to get them to line up properly.

Second edition represents a marked departure away from the traditional, rules-heavy, refereed, simulationist approach to Sci-Fi gaming toward a mass-market, rules-light, game-mastered Sci-Fi in the Far Future(TM).

Boon and Bane dice work similarly to advantage/disadvantage dice in D&D 5E. What works well in a light setting like 5E is the harbinger of doom in Traveller. Billed as a system to simplify the referee's job, Bane and Boon dice actually limit player options without being much better than the traditional DM based system. For example, where before you could take multiple negative DMs to cut the time required for a task by several steps, you are now limited by the B&B system to one step only, since a player can only be affected by one bane dice at a time. I used that particular system just last week in my own game. Had I been playing this edition, I would've been incinerated by a jumpcusser's laser beam. The life of a famous drive engineer and his crew ended because he was magically prevented from speeding up his rolls by more than one step. Wait, though-- would I have been killed? Let's take a look at space combat!

Space combat is totally, 100% wrecked. Structure has been removed as a stat. As an example of the changes, the normal Free Trader now has a hull rating of 40. Weapon damage is, on the whole, the same as 1E. System hits are now restricted to critical hits exclusively. Where in 1E, you'd get through the hull and the armor, then start hitting systems and structure before actually destroying the ship, when you remove the hull in 2E, the ship is destroyed and beyond, and I quote, "any repair". That's right-- hull points are now health points. 1E's harrowing, highly-lethal, and most of all satisfying damage model has given way to what is essentially ground combat in space with more hit-points. Not only that, but good luck taking it as a prize. At least after a combat in 1E, you could take hull-less ships as heavily-damaged rewards, or for salvage, or something. Now you're just... out of luck? The fact that system hits are now essentially random means that power is more of an annoyance than anything in the combats I've run. While it could have been a welcome addition to the simulation of 1E, it seems like a pointless extra stat in a system that wants to be this light. Several ships cannot actually run their maneuver drives, jump drives, and basic ship systems in combat at the same time, as well. This is before weapons, you understand. I'd fix this, if there were any actually any ship construction mechanics in the core rulebook. Those are stripped out in favor of a multi-book "core collection" philosophy. The ghost of D&D whispers at our airlock again, friends.

Those are the two big complaints I have right now. Not the only ones. The skill mechanics aren't that good. A couple of skills were combined that made sense, but the progression is a little fast, and there's a hard limit on how far you can progress. EDU is now the most important stat bar none if you're playing a freeform game. Armor values on people have gone way up, without a corresponding increase in damage output. Combat in general is far less lethal. I mean really! This is a game where you can die during chargen. Why nerf the lethality? My friends and I have run a couple of sim combats and we're all kind of universally disappointed.

Now, it's not a total loss. I'll pick and choose some mechanics that I like as they are to use in my 1E games, particularly a certain clarification about the amount of mail available at a port, but I'm not going to be transitioning over to 2E as it stands now. 2E is tantalizingly close to being okay, but it's marred by some weird mechanics that can be fixed, and some big flaws that are working as designed and intended, according to the forums. I haven't posted there yet, but I plan to. I feel like a segment of the Traveller playerbase was left out of previous playtests by accident, and the exclusion of the serious side of the community let the book get to this current state. Like I said at the start, this book represents a design philosophy shift, not poor design. These would be good rules for a different game. They're bad rules for Traveller. If you're not on board with the present direction of the game, or willing to really push to try to change it, I wouldn't drop the cash on this.

I had eagerly anticipated Run & Gun. I bought it as soon as it was available. I was surprised upon reading the book. Somehow, we have been delivered a book with half the content of Arsenal for 4th edition, with no new chems, drugs, or toxins and a modifications list lacking basic modifications. Extended magazines are missing. Electronic firing is missing. Foregrips are missing. Barrel mods are missing. A simple copy-and-paste job would have sufficed-- these modifications can in many cases be used directly from 4E Arsenal with no rebalancing, but we didn't even get that. There are no new drugs or chems or toxins at all. Tacnets, while present, did not undergo the redesign many had hoped for, with the lowest level tacnet being 18F, even though it's marketed for civilian use according to the fluff. The fluff says that tacnets are available for civilian purchase once they have passed a BG check and been issued a permit. Fifth Edition core states that you can never be issued a license for a forbidden item. I didn't mention the price, did I? That's because it costs half a million nuyen for a modest boost to perception tests. Martial arts are similarly useless, with an Ares Firewatch style that costs 37 Karma and 2 1/2 months of training to learn fully, and provides benefits that are marginally useful at best, even in their intended use.

One of the high points of the book is the fashion section, and the weapons arsenal. While modification is limited, the stock guns are interesting and useful. Each gun has its own role, which I can easily identify, and they'll be a fixture in my weekly games. Similarly, fashions are realistic and have immediate utility. The book is full color as well, which is a nice change from 4E Arsenal. There's a lot more art, which I definitely appreciate. Demolitions have been given their own chapter, and it is one of the better decisions made in this production. The demolitions chapter almost makes up for the rest of the book's failings.

On the whole, I'm disappointed. I thought I was getting the personal combat parts of Arsenal, updated and rebalanced for 5th Edition, with a smattering of new equipment and rules. Instead, I got two thirds of the personal combat parts from Arsenal, with a side dish of 5E. I wouldn't buy it again knowing what I know now, but the good parts are good enough that I'm not going to ask for a refund. I'm definitely going to be waiting for the hivemind's opinion on all future supplements.