Baltic War is a well researched supplement for the Cepheus Engine's Modern War, giving fans of games like Twilight 2000 a new game to be excited about. It combines the two primary flashpoints for NATO and the Russian Federation - NATO assumes Russia will invade the three Baltic countries while Russia assumes Western powers will attempt to influence or undermine Belarus. In this supplement, both happen, providing four unique theatres to explore in game.

Due to word count, the supplement appears to leave out some setting assumptions. For example, there is barely any information about naval and air postures during the war. Current studies assume that, due to the heavy militarization and presence of missiles in Kaliningrad, air power and naval movements would be severely limited in the early stages of a Baltic conflict, making this the ground war this supplement describes.

Overall an interesting supplement and a good start to the expanded Modern War line. Definitely recommended to Twilight 2000 fans or military/alternative history fans.

I really like this game. I think it hits the right balance for me right now between playability and subject matter. The game itself is based on the Cepheus Engine, which is based on Traveller. For those not familiar, task resolution is based on 2d6 add skill against a target number. An 8 or more is typically a success. I played in one Traveller game about 30 years ago. It was fun, but we were exploring systems and Call of Cthulhu and Warhammer stole our attention eventually. Fast forward and I have a wife, two kids, a full time job, and limited time to invest in gaming. Time has been at a premium. Games of Choice have been OSR, Barbarians of Lemuria, etc. to maximize plot and reduce crunch. Another game from my teenage years was Twilight 2000, whcih was fun even if few of the campaigns lasted more than 10 or so meetings. I've always had a soft spot for military themed games ever since, though, and nostagia has influenced buying decisions in the past mostly with disappointing results. They were either too simulationist, like wargames, or too simplistic. Regardless, when I saw this on DTRPG I decided to invest because I already had bought a couple games from Zozer and thought they were interesting.

The Good:

1. Traveller is simple, flexible, proven system that is hard to break. Character creation is simple--with modern weapon damage, they better be.
2. The game is writen with the assumption that the players are leaders and members of an infantry squad and assigned missions as part of platoon and company. The author goes to lengths to provide advice and mission ideas to maximize independence of the squad and hence the players on the battlefield. Advice is dispensed to head off interplay rivalries regarding rank. This was an issue that dogged my group whenever leadership and command were injected in the game.
3. Roles within the squad are discussed in detail including Rifleman, Grenadier, Medic, Marksman, and Gunner, to name a few.
4. A mission generator is included, complete with complications. Non-infantry careers are also detailed, along with how to generate civilian characters.
5. Combat covers all of the concepts I would want to see in a more detailed game such as recoil, blind fire, concealment, cover, panic, autofire, artillery support, communication, vehicle combat, etc. Having read a lot of modern games, I found them reasonable and simple to apply without a calculator or flow chart.
6. The role of the squad is unique in this game, in that the NPC squad members also generate fire that you resolve quickly as part of the combat system. I thought this was particularly interesting, and made the game unique from what I've seen.
7. A comprehensive equipment list allowed differentialtion between individual weapons and vehicles complete with photos.

The Bad:

1. I've found a few editing mistakes here and there. I'm pretty sure this is a one-man shop so I'm cutting some slack. A couple of places the rules weren't as clear as I would have liked, but I figured the meaning out.
2. Another nitpicky one is the absence of a dedicated Stealth skill. Cepheus has it, this doesn't. In Modern War it's combined with Recon: getting in, seeing what you need to, and getting out without getting shot up is all one skill set. In virtually any game I've played, the skill you use to spot stuff is one of the most critical, and adding stealth to it makes even more powerful. I'm not sure I like that. That's an easy fix--the game is resilient so I can easilty fix it (which goes back to #1 in the good column). Tons of things have been written, allowing you to mix and match easily to other eras or circumstances, adding and subtracting equipment and rules.

I like this game a lot, and by the way I think this system would easily support a Twilight 2000 game. The inclusion of the Scrounging skill and Rads make me think that might have been one of the intentions of the author.

A fun, well written mini game that would fit perfectly in any alternative history, world jumping campaign. If you have watched For All Mankind and wondered what that might look like centuries later, here you are. My only grumble is that I want more, more setting, more sectors, including Earth. Bravo.

I just wanna say "WOW" I mean "WOW". This PDF is absolutely amazing. I give it 5 stars!!! The rules here go into depth in regards to military style combat. This fires up my imagination in a thousand directions. I am impressed with how weapons are explained illustrated and used. Also how armor and armor plating work. I also like the book addresses Armor piercing weapons and combat issues in general. I think of running a Red Dawn campaign, A special Ops rescue or any mercenary style ticket you can imagine. I highly recommend this supplement. It is a must have!!! Great work!!!!

Having long been a fan of the original Traveller RPG, I was intrigued enough to download this supplement for the Cepheus Engine rules and I have to say I’m glad I did.

This short pdf provides a slightly altered task resolution system, but the majority of the page count is taken up with an overhaul of the combat system. This greatly simplifies the Cepheus Engine rules and tries (and succeeds) at recreating the very free-form nature of original Traveller combat. Its also great to see a version of Andy Slack’s excellent vehicle combat rules included here (originally published in White Dwarf in the 1980s).

Although these rules are probably not to everyone’s taste, if you’re a fan of those original ‘little black books’ and want to give your Cepheus Engine games that OSR feel, the 1970s 2d6 Retro Rules are well worth a look.

If you're looking for rules for reaction drive(chemical/ntr rockets) travel within the solar system this is fantastic. It has a good amount of realism that you could certainly ramp up based on these rules.

I have used this several times now in my own setting. This magic system works really, really well. It is, indeed, fast, it keeps the game moving along quickly, and it inspires player creativity. The response of players has been positive, and I am impressed by the spells which players have developed on their own.

I would recommend this as a supplement to any Cepheus Engine game which uses magic.

I feel this game gets the genre gaming. Streamlined combat that captures the sense of cinema as oposed to simulation. Running around Cyberspace has been handled beautifully The 2D6 Cepheus engine has been streamlined. Character background tables are great. Love the authors writing style. Get the book on Lulu email author get the pdf free. Can't say fairer than that. Looking forward to picking up Hostile next

It's like those two books were made for each other. Zozer are doing Cepheus mechanics proud. If you're looking for exciting ideas fleshed out and ready to go keep it Zozer Five stars × 2 Looking forward to picking up more.

knowing the past works of the artist the deck plans were bit disappointing, overall a well written addition, and very useful source related supplement.

Hostile Review

I recently received a copy of Hostile and with great excitement. I’ve been a fan of the Alien film franchise for years and a friend who recommended Hostile to me said I wouldn’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.

Hostile isn’t part of the Alien franchise though. It’s more. Its covers more sci-fi movies from that era as well as being a stand-alone universe created by the writer and art team. It’s a rich and detailed back story with a strong but flexible game skeleton that you can add your own flavour at touches.

I particular like the United States Marshal Service and it reminds me of one of my favourite sci-fi movies Outland with Sean Connery. This gritty Western style law enforcer is a real added bonus to sci fi games.

I play war games as well as RPG’s and there is so much rich background I’m thinking of using Hostile for a wargames campaign. I’d like to build a multi-level version of the Hercules and play colonial marine units through it.

I thoroughly recommend this game if you’re a fan of the late 70’-80’s-90’s movies and want to play a game with that gritty edge. Moving carefully down dimly light corridors watching every hatch, floor grill and airlock for something deadly behind it.

Elegant and simple no-fuss combat/task resolution rules for Cepheus. Does what it says on the tin. If you want something faster and easier than the vanilla rules, this set of options may be just the treat. And at no cost, what have you got to lose?

Really enjoying Zozer's books, and this and Hostile are my favourites, it's fast, furious, and light, most of my favourite Cyberpunk tropes here.

Combat is "simultaneous", but separated into hand-to-hand, and weapon rounds, hand-to-hand hits first, which gives a nice cinematic feel.

The world (Tokyo 2225) has just enough detail, but it's easy to incorporate material from any of the early Cyberpunk RPGs.

Light cyberspace rules, and vehicles, and 5 short adventures to boot, definitely worth the money.

Good little book! It has a pretty substantial list of archaic weaponry to make use of, complete with a few rules additions here and there to add character to them as well. Seems built for Cepheus, although as an MGT2 Traveller player I don't see much that impedes using it with those rules so long as you know your stuff.

The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it lacks a nice index/table at the end that has the item names and their statistics all clearly laid out for easiest reference. As it stands it's divided into groups, and descriptions follow the stats of any given group. Nothing wrong with that, just means more page flipping for when you're trying to quickly access stats. Add a complete table of items at the end and I'd give this book 5 stars!

The descriptions themselves are handy, although are in a some cases incorrect - but that's purely a nitpick, as they are "close enough" ;)

This review is based on a skim reading only. I am the author of the Traveller5 World Builder and take a keen interest in wilderness rules.
I am impressed. This supplement has a clear structure for quickly imagining and bringing wilderness situations into your Cepheus Engine or Traveller game. Accessible tables make travel and encounters easy to set up.
But it doesn't limit your imagination, providing concrete numbers for scales of maps and times that are easily adaptable to your imagination.
It also has a fantastic (and concise!) explanation and history of our beloved isocehedral world maps including a great projection of Earth onto one, the best visualisation I have seen that helps us make sense of it.
Definitely worth the very cheap price.

Great stuff as usual from Zozer. In addition to being an indispensable supplement for the Hostile setting, this and the Alien Breeds supplement go together like jam and toast.