"Cepheus Modern is a 2d6-based OGL game based on Cepheus Light, for playing campaigns set in the modern era. Whatever your game is: modern paramilitary, retro espionage, World War II battles, mysterious explorers, or renegade hacktivists; Cepheus Modern has you covered. This rules-light game offers character creation with a variety of modern careers, skills and equipment, rules for resolving actions in and out of combat, and a complete animal/creature creation system.

Do you like your modern games with a dose of strangeness? Cepheus Modern has that as well, with chapters covering Psychic Powers, Cybernetics, Urban Fantasy, and Aliens! Run your game as straight reality or with as little or much weirdness as you like. To add more sci-fi to your game, consider using this game with Cepheus Light."

Whist digging ourselves out here at Casa De Fabiaschi the players have been trying to figure their way out of the, 'Oh my God the space station is going to explode & we're all going to die' routine. Let's take a step back & look at an optional 'pay what you want' Cepheus Engine title by Stouthearted Games called Cepheus Modern. This is another one of those Cepheus Engine light titles that's been on the back burner for a month or so. Now apparently as a member of the Cepheus Engine rpg club we're not supposed to talk about Mongoose Traveller or original Traveller, etc. Whatever 'cus I'm not a publisher of Cepheus Engine nor do I want to get authors in trouble. But as a subsystem that can be tacked onto Cepheus Engine rpg?! Cepheus Modern is a winner in my book. It presents a whole host of alternative retro & modern campaign options along with the careers to go with them.

So this makes Cepheus Modern very valuable on a number of fronts as a DM or Cepheus Engine player. The fact that Cepheus Modern catters to the campaign & adapts the rules to it rather then the other way around. Cyberpunk campaign? Check that's there. Magic & psionics? Check & check again. Uban Fantasy as an actual viable option?! Check again. But its the fact that the rules actually work without any fiddling on the part of the DM. And its the fact that Cepheus Modern will also work with 1970s 2D6 RETRO RULES From Zozer Games which is how psionics & magic have been quietly appearing the background of our current campaigns.

Cepheus Modern covers all of the basics & does the job that its supposed to in spades & it does so without any issues what so ever. Do I think you should get it?! Yes & its worth the download if your a Cepheus Engine DM or player.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want More OSR action subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/

Cepheus Modern it is the demonstration of the flexibility and universality of the 2d6 system that I've always advocated since I discovered Classic Traveller and its offsprings. The first part is a non-sci-fi re-proposition of Cepheus Light. In this section I felt the lack of more careers: there are eight in all, three of them military. It shouldn't be difficult to insert and adapt some of Cepheus Engine's careers (athlete, diplomat, entertainer, scholar could be essential depending on the cut you want to give to the adventure or the setting). Psion and Mage optional careers are provided in the chapters related to psionic powers and magic. The combat chapter is taken up by Cepheus Light (omitting the spaceship combat for obvious reasons), as well as the animals chapter in which some examples (wolf, tiger, shark, elephant and cobra) are given. Detailed rules are codified to define the statistics of any animal you want to include in the game. The PSI-OPS chapter replenishes Cepheus Light's Appendix A and extends it, adding rules for using psychic powers as a seventh stat, with a standard 8+ throw plus modifiers (-1 to -2 as power level). In the Streets of Metal chapter some additional objects of a cybernetic nature are provided for a possible cyberpunk campaign without giving too many details. In my opinion this is the weakest and barely mentioned chapter: there are no specific careers for a cyberpunk setting (eg hacker). The Urban Fantasy chapter is a very nice addition truly: magic is used as a seventh characteristic usable (as psionics) with points or with dice modifiers against a saving throw. The five categories are well fitting the urban fantasy theme (augmentation, enchantment, senses, sorcery, transmogrification, transportation). I totally see using this system in a Lev Grossman's Magicians caimpaing of sort. If you want to run a campaign on the trail of X-Files or Predator, the last chapter, Aliens, comes handy. Not only it provides alien traits description, but expanded tech level and equipment (taken from Cepheus Light) to face the eventual alien menace effectively. if I wanted to prepare and run a campaign in the contemporary world I would certainly use the 2d6 system. Cepheus Modern makes everything easier: the bulk of the work was done by Mark Stout in this exceptional ruleset. It holds up perfectly on this own even if you do not know or want to use Cepheus Light. I highly recommed it.

I'm going to have to take a stab about jazzing my friends up about Stargate again; this book looks like a great system for heading off to the Pegasus Galaxy with!