I simply love this ruleset! I bought the pdf a few months ago during the Lockdown, but since I have discovered and read Classic Traveller my appreciation has matured into true love. Since Cepheus Engine SRD is complete but not very handy (I usally refer to it for additional careers or of pick-up of specific rules), I consider Cepheus Light the true heir of the original three LBB. I am running a successful micro-campaign with it and the players despite their D&D background really appreciate the simplicity of the game mechanics and their immediacy. They obviously didn't like the character generation much, but on that point (like most Traveler players) I'm resigned to being a white fly. Everything you need to run a sci-fi campaign is in this rulebook. It's setting agnostic (which for me is a plus), but if you want some, Stellagama published a few. Pre-written settings are not really my cup of tea, but as far as I can tell, they are very well written. For me, Cepheus Light is all I need as all topics are well explained and covered: from character generation to equipment and combat; from space travel and combat to starship design. And obviously star mapping and world generation. I ordered also the POD Pocket Edition from another provider and the format and the layout are superb.

I've been waiting for a ruleset like Sword of Cepheus for a long time, an RPG capable of adapting the mechanics of Cepheus Engine to the fantasy genre. I have been waiting for the release of the POD version to purchase the bundle with the digital version. Something similar had already been tried with Worlds Apart (adapting space travel mechanics to sea travel), but SoC takes a completely different path. First of all it is openly Sword & [Sorcery / Planet / Sandal] and is designed for (I quote) gritty heroism, dark magic and open world. Character generation is life path based (as in Traveler) and you can die during your career. As an optional rule, you can roll on mishap tables (accidents), but death is not necessarily less preferable. There are 12 careers available, ranging from barbarian to vagabond passing through nobles, soldiers, sorcerers and shamans. Regarding the latter, the magical system is quite interesting. You are not limited by various "slots", but by spell execution time: casting takes a 10 minute turn, the combat round is 6 seconds. This means preparing the spells in advance, encapsulating them in "magical ammunition" called "foci". Learning a new spell requires a magical skill roll, with the associated risks. Additionally, high-level black and gray magic is dangerous and can lead to corruption and mutations on the performer. Another interesting feature: anyone can cast spells, but the PC without skill in magic is severely disadvantaged and risks bigger. The bestiary has been adapted from the classic OSR monsters to the Cepheus Engine animal traits system. The only flaw is perhaps not having included clear instructions on how to generate your own creatures, forcing you to consult Cepheus Engine itself. Everything remains compatible with Cepheus Engine and derivatives (Cepheus Light above all), so it is completely possible to imagine your fantasy campaign taking place on a lost planet of a larger sci-fi universe. As an old fan of both genres this is a plus for me. Until now there were few options for playing a "fantasy Traveller": Worlds Apart, which as I wrote above, insists a lot on interpreting the "sub-sector" mechanics in a marine setting. Or use some excellent supplements from Paul Elliott (Fast Magic, Low Tech Weapons, Archaic Firearms), Michael Brown (2d6 Magic) and "Flynn" Kemp (Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveler). However, all of these supplements required a lot of effort on the referee's part to generate a homebrew ruleset. Sword of Cepheus offers a complete system, even without the Non-Humans supplement (which I highly recommend) and allows you to perfectly reproduce the atmosphere of R.E. Howard, Fritz Leiber and Edgar Rice Burroghs. I'm enjoying it so much and I'm organizing a mini Sword & Sandal campaign for my group.

Full disclaimer: I am biased, I love the 2d6 OGL system. Omer Golan-Joel did it again. Based on Cepheus Quantum, this is a quick though thoughtful ruleset. Everything to run a good post-apocalyptic game is in here: weapons, generic equipment, vehicles. Personal and vehicle combat are barebone but quick and effective and easily hackable with Cepheus Light/Modern or even Cepheus Engine itself for added depth. I really appreciated the Exploration chapter, nothing truly innovative but all the basic to run a post-apocalyptic hex-crawler is present. As expected from the implied setting, Contamination and Mutation gives needed twists and an impeding sense of danger on the players. Characters generally start uncontaminated, but every exposure to the "Contamination" (the sum of radioactive and biological hazard in that world) has consequences (mutations). Then, a good wilderness bestiary and a vault (dungeon) robotic encounters list are provided. Finally the Relic chapter provides advanced technology and weapons meant to simulate (with mutation) some deal of character advancement. I don't know if I will play this as a referee, but I am eager to try it in a solo-play.

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.

It's not my cup of tea, but Stars without number is amazing. The perfect joining link between D&D and Traveller. If you love sci-fi and class and levels games, but you hate Traveller's chargen, there you go! A perfect OSR-like sci-fi RPG! Adventure building, worldbuilding and setting tables are pure gold, usable even in other sci-fi RPG. All in all, even if you are not going to run it, it's a good addition to your collection as a source of material and inspiration.

A great supplement to Cepheus Engine, all updated data of nearby stars and their speculative planets are provided in UWP format. I can envision an ATU with a little thinkering (all spaceport are class X, they are not existent except Earth's one), maybe I will adapt one of my old sci-fi setting with this data.

The mechanics consist in only to roll 2d6 on two tables. It is barebone, but really powerfull. Obviosly is completely freeform.