Not a fan of several changes to the rules.   Advantage/Disadvantage added, this was a big problem for many in D&D 5th ed and when mongoose decided to imitate it. Not including it in Cepheus was a big point in it favor, so why put in? Skills have been removed. Not odd esoteric things, but long time standbys like comms and gambling. Less randomness character generation. One of the key points of Taveller character gen was that it would not go according to some well laid out plan power gamer blueprint. Like real life unforseen events haveinfluence

Enough rules to make the game work, but not so many that they get in the way.

This is an excellent "middle ground" between the classic 2d6 system (which was in some places a bit sparse and lacking) and the current versions (which are in many places too fussy and unnecessarily complex, or suffer from contradictions and clarity issues). Think of it as the classic system which has been enhanced, introducing some new ideas and incorporating some of the better ideas from the later versions.

Having alreadyPurchased Cepheus Deluxe. Decided check out C.L.U. Just awesome. It's got 112 pages of streamlined concepts. That take the Cepheus Rules Engine and adadd adds some great touches. For the pricesprice you're getting great value. Gave my Pocket Version of. Cepheus Light Away. Upgraded is what you will want to run with.

If you're new to. Cephues this. is a great. way to get. Into it.

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This ruleset is comprehensive neat and tidy. Fantastic addition for your 2D6 scifi needs. Highly recommend getting this. The comprehensive system isnt hard to pick up. Great for new and old players alike. You can run  eons worth of adventures with this. Stellgamma always deliver and the price is a steal. Got a print copy as well as the PDF. Looking forward to that landing.

"Dark times has fallen upon the Storm Wolf Tribe. Once edible fruits and plants had become poisonous and game that was docile turn into viciously aggressive malformed monstrosities. The source is an abbey used as a vault for dark knowledge way too harmful to be left loose on the world. Something horrible has happened to the kind yet weird monks living in the abbey and it seems to be ancient and beyond evil. Is up to the tribe's most brave warriors to find out and stop this force before it engulfs the Storm Wolf tribe in its darkness." "It Came from the Scriptorium is a horror dungeon crawl adventure for 3 to 5 PCs, using the Barbaric! sword & sorcery rules ruls and fully compatible with The Sword of Cepheus or any other 2d6 OGL fantasy game. The default setting is the Steel Borderlands, a wilderness distant from the settlements composing the civilized lands of kingdoms and empires but it will fit very easily into almost any sword & sorcery setting.

The players should be aware that due the horror nature of his adventure that their PCs mortality rather will be high."

' It Came from the Scriptorium' By Ivan Cantero Muñoz "The Fictionaut" is a solid adventure for the Barbaric rpg & its a rather nasty horror adventure. But its a fun one. And while it only clocks in at twenty three pages of horror goodness I'd say that this is an adventure for experienced Barbaric players. Barbaric is a full on Sword & Sorcery 2d6 supplement rules for 'The Sword of Cepheus' Rpg.

And now back to ' It Came from the Scriptorium' By Ivan Cantero Muñoz "The Fictionaut". This is a lethal little adventure about the goings on at an isolated monastery that has a whole tribes of Wolf barbarians who live nearby. They're bothered by the haunted goings on at said monastery. Now Ivan Cantero Muñoz "The Fictionaut" seems to be a fan of Bruce Campbell vs the Army of Darkness because this adventure is a back handed love letter to that cultclassic movie.
Forbidden books, undead demons, plenty of undead, and more make ' It Came from the Scriptorium' a must get for the fans of those films. But this is a lethal little number of an adventure and quite perfect for a mid Winter horror game. ' It Came from the Scriptorium' would work quite nicely as a 'The Sword of Cepheus' Rpg. one shot quite well. Where ' It Came from the Scriptorium' shines is when this adventure is used with Barbaric! Then its full on barbarians vs demon undead in the monastery from Hell.

' It Came from the Scriptorium' provides a fun little horror filled & lethal romp through a barbarian horror filled 2d6 adventure that will thrill your players. And kill more then a few PC's off.

Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want more OSR 2d6 action? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

I like Lightning League. There is a lot of detail to paint a general picture of a post World War Two type of environment with enough elements of the 40s B-Movie fantastical to give players permission to feel a bit light hearted when going over the topic material. Giant Ants? Check. Zombies? Check. Evil Scientists, Robots, and Rocket Packs? Oh Yes! Some of the aside commentary by the author does end up triggering a few laughs as well.

Another thing I like about this is the collection of artwork that has been gathered together to illustrate the potential adventures within. I find old style illustrations to be fascinating and I love how they're given a nod in this.

Book is great. Filled tons of information to construct your own campaign. A must have for any scifi RPG fan.

Great value for money. Terrific ship design. Good example of a distributed hull. Thanks for the excellent product. I'll look for more from Surreal Design.

Within the realm of 2D6 Sci-Fi games, Cepheus Deluxe stands in an interesting position of being both an excellent restatement of the classsic core rules we've all loved and used since the late '70s as well as being interesting take on many of those rules that I haven't seen done before.

Probably the change I was most concerned about (but nevertheless very intrigued by) was the decision to replace the classic 2D6 SF character generation system with one that allows more player input. Having created a few characters of my own, and used the system with some of my players, I have to say I think this new character creation system works well. While the old SF character creation system is of course iconic in it's own way (who doesn't love dying in character creation!) I feel the decision to switch the character creation system to one that is more player driven was ultimately a positive one. The system is also quite a bit faster when it comes to using it with new players, as there is less need for each player to have a copy of their career's table for reference. Overall, I like the new system. It's similar but different in a good way, less random but still gives room for random events (and the optional ability to die in character creation like the good ol' days hehe.)

Speaking of character creation, an aspect I really enjoy about Cepheus Deluxe is the addition of the Traits system. While similar to the Feat system from that very popular Fantasy Role-Playing Game, the Traits system meshes surprisingly well with the 2d6 SF skeleton. None of the traits seem "broken" in a way that could cause serious issue, and given this game's high lethality I doubt it would be possible for any combat traits to be excessively unbalanced. What the Traits instead allow is more player choice, while not being overwhelming, as the Traits available are constrained by what skills and abilities the player character already has.

Other than the traits and the character creation system, much of the rest of the book is made up of rules which are all refinements to the already excellent Cepheus Light rules. The book also contains many optional rules allowing for more heroic Science Fiction campaigns if that is more your thing. There are plenty of random tables for GMs as well, something which I feel more modern 2D6 SF games should take advantage of. Formatting is very good, much improved from the first publication of Cepheus Light. Also of special note, as of writing this, this is only one of two 2D6 SF RPGs I own which has an Index.

Cepheus Deluxe is a great system, and for it's price it's price it is truly wonderful. I would say if you are looking for a 100% pure restatement of original 2D6 SF rules, you may be better served elsewhere, but if you are looking for an excellent RPG using those rules a base I can't recommend Cepheus Deluxe enough. Personally, I can't wait for a print copy.

Cepheus Deluxe is fabulous!

This game has taken concepts aspects and multiple optional rules and combined them in a new edition. New character generation systems, life events, character traits, animal rules.This game can be used as an addition tio the Cepheus Light rules or as a stand alone rule set. The artwok is gritty simple and old school. I like this game and its layout. I also very much like the fact it is so compatible with the original Cepheus Light system. You can tell a whole lot of heart and passion was put into this edition. Also The price!!! You have a complete game for a very affordable price compared to some of the other over priced game system printing companies. I love this system it is the same 2D6 engine as other more pricey Sci Fi versions. I highly recommend Cepehus Deluxe but I would play it with Cepheus Light and decide which systems and home rules you want to apply at you table. Most excellent game and great value

G Miller.

After reading the system, won't be using it. :( While I like the character generation system (other than the couple near useless professions) and the combat system, the rules seems to less than supportive of long-term campaigns and player retention. The magic system appears to be a booby trap for unsuspecting players. IMO, you'd pretty much be setting yourself up to fail being a sorceror. It is billed as swords and sorcery, but it is more swords and swords and more swords based.

Almost bought Cepheus Atom, but found out about ever increasing corruption. I must ask, are any of the Cepheus-derived games long term campaign / player friendly or do they all contain some kind of 'gotcha!' rules aimed at the players? Both Swords and Atom seem actively player-hostile, like old time D&D with an adversarial DM, but baked into the rules.

I can't review from a player or GM perspective, but you can't get much better than the latest revision to a time-tested system released under a truly fan-friendly open license for ten bucks. The entire text of the book, with the smallest possible exceptions, is open content; practically the only restriction is "please don't just sell reprints of the book" (an exaggeration, but barely). To me, that alone is worth the purchase price; this is a future-proof product that is designed to be used by players, authors, and game designers alike.

" Starships riding fire across the sky. Heroes and villains exchanging laser fire. Desperate spacers struggling against an alien monstrosity. Vast planetary vistas, flying cities, moonscapes, mad robots, and first encounters. In short: high-action science-fiction adventure that stimulates your sense of wonder. Cepheus Deluxe puts you in the shoes of an adventurer visiting distant stars and encountering the unknown. Whether you are a seasoned player looking for a rules-light game, or a new gamer wanting to experience what science-fiction role-playing games are all about, Cepheus Deluxe opens your way forward.

Cepheus Deluxe is a set of rules for playing classic science fiction games. It includes rules on creating characters, resolving actions, fighting other creatures, and engaging in space battles, generating worlds, handling the risks of interstellar speculative trading, exploring new worlds, and many other activities. While designed for fast, action-packed play rather than an accurate simulation of reality, Cepheus Deluxe encompasses a wide variety of rules and materials for building a science-fiction universe and playing in it.

Cepheus Deluxe draws its inspiration from old-school science-fiction roleplaying games. It shares many similarities with these games. Material from older rules sets and those created with Cepheus Deluxe, the old Cepheus Light, the Cepheus Engine Core, and old-school sci-fi roleplaying games, are easily compatible with only a moderate amount of adjustment."

The other day I received my copy of Cepheus Deluxe and this is one OSR system that we've been looking forward to for sometime. Authors/designers Omer Golan-Joel, Richard Hazlewood, Josh Peters, & Robert L. S. Weaver really do actually deliver the goods here. Cepheus Deluxe is far different & far superior to other versions of the Cepheus Engine even though they are cross compatible. How is this version of the Cepheus Engine different then say Cepheus Light? Well according to the Omar Golan-Joel himself; "Double the size of Cepheus Light - including animal generation rules, robot creation rules, new and expanded ship design rules, many new vehicles, equipment, and cybernetics, and many, many optional rules to easily permit you to make the game your own. We revised all rules based on customer (and, later, playtester) feedback, to make this as playable and enjoyable as possible."

And they really have clocking in at two hundred & twenty seven pages of OSR & Cepheus Engine goodness Cepheus Deluxe covers everyithing from PC generation down to space combat in an easily understood format. The material here within Cepheus Deluxe is up to Stellagama Publishing standards & its very well done. Cepheus Deluxe has easy to read colums, nice layout, & presents a well tested system. Cepheus Deluxe travels down the same road as The Sword of Cepheus Sword was published in 2020, so it has sold quickly. It uses a streamlined and skill-based 2d6 system & so does Cepheus Deluxe. Cepheus Deluxe takes full advantage of the Cepheus Engine system in invovatlve & well thought out ways. So what can be done with Cepheus Deluxe?! Anythng! The material & rules of Cepheus Deluxe is geared for actual campaign play & it lives up to its The Sword of Cepheus pedigree. Cepheus Deluxe is geared towards adventure & campaign play. The rules are simple, reliable, & easy to digest 2d6 system goodness done with respect to the legacy of the Cepheus Engine. Very solid design & good ultility with Cepheus Deluxe as it only sells for a mere 9.99 for the pdf on Drivethrurpg. Cepheus Deluxe is an amazing addition to the Stellagama Publishing line of games continuing the amazing quality of products. For me Cepheus Deluxe is definitely worth the download! Thanks for reading our review! Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog For more reviews & support for 2d6 Cepheus Engine & other OSR products please subsribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Having played Stellagama's Cepheus Light several times, it was a breeze to learn the Cepheus Atom system. What I find so appealing is the streamlined quality of the rules system. Rolling up characters only take a few minutes, and combat is quick and easy to manage. Their is still enough variety in combat resolution without it being too abstract or bogged down by a lot of rules covering every aspect/nuance of combat. This is where Cepheus Atom shines far above Gamma World First Edition combat. The GW first edition combat system was something I never did like.   There are a good variety of environmental mutations that characters can receive, as well as a good size list of ancient relics that you will want your characters to find while exploring the wastelands. Instructions for creating settlements, mapping resources, or antagonist organizations are not included. These are left to the imagination and creativity of the GM.

I recently purchased a POD copy of Cepheus Atom from DriveThruRPG. The print quality, layout, and book size are excellent in my opinion. I highly recommend purchasing the PDF and POD together. Both come in handy for my gaming campaigns.

A "rules light" rpg may not suit everyone's taste, but for those who don't want the hassle of referencing a ton of rules, this is a great choice. If you like your RPG with lots of "fast and loose" action, then Cepheus Atom is right up your alley!

D. Tom Conboy

Great game. I loved it. Really fitted for the Sword & Sorcery/Sandal/Planet genres, especially the magic part because classic D&D-style magic is a huge problem to deal with campaigns of these genres. I'm only giving 4 stars out of 5 because the pdf has a certain number of typos and editing mistakes. For the relatively small size of the book, I thought it was worth mentioning. However, face this comment as an amicable criticism, because I actually liked the product and will watch out for future products of Stellagama. May the dice always roll in your favor.