Mail Room: Cepheus Modern

Cehpeus Modern is an interesting mod to the Cepheus Light system to cover modern gaming using the 2d6 style of sci-fi roleplaying system. I picked this up because a complete set of animal rules were in here, they had a vehicle combat system, some magic and cybernetics, and I liked the tight feel to this set of rules.

Light and Fast

I liked that this was a bottom-floor sort of modern-game, really basic and fast with familiar rules. If I wanted to play out an action scene or quick scenario from a movie, this feels really good and I could get in and going quick with a pretty good sized cast of disposable cast members. I wanted to have this to go along with the Solo play system for the Cepheus Engine in order to cover modern scenarios without the sci-fi flavor of the basic rules.

If I want to play a scene in a modern war, heist, action, monster, or other movie this set of rules really fits my needs. I can spin up the 5-6 person cast in about 30 minutes. I can get playing quick, the rules fit in my head, and that is a good thing.

Not as Zero-Based and Specialized

One interesting point is the rules are not as focused on zero-based skills as the basic Cepheus Engine or even M2E Traveller. I feel this is a result of the bounded accuracy style balancing that has been implemented in the newer editions that keeps skill bonuses down to lower numbers, and splits out a lot of skills into specialty areas that force you to specialize. Cepheus Modern feels more old-school with less skills, higher skill levels, and a faster advancement track.

There are no real broken-out specialty skills here, just a basic list of broad skill areas of knowledge. One engineering skill, one pilot skill, one gun combat skill, and so on. I feel this is good for a lighter-weight game as I spend a lot of time in M2E Traveller going over skill lists, picking specialties, and looking up what covers what. A broad skill list with specialties allows greater character customization and also keeps skill levels down through more choices, so M2E Traveller (and also Cepheus Engine) are better "character builder" games in my feeling.

More Career Options Wanted

I wanted more options for careers in a modern setting. I know, this is OGL, write your own! I just may do that. Specifically, I wanted entertainer, technology, industry, and politician careers. Something more than just business and rogue for non-military career options. But yes I know, having more careers would take away from the light-and-fast nature of the game. But still, I wanted a little balance between military and non-military background options for a modern setting. I just may write these up since it seems simple enough.

Vehicle Rules Improvements

One odd side-effect of the vehicle rules were car chases with pistols and SMG shootouts did not really have a chance to affect the vehicles or passengers. You need a weapon capable of "vehicle damage" that rolls against a vehicle's protection value in order to get onto the damage tables, which include chances for blow-out tires or passenger hits.

I would handle this two ways. Firing at passengers is full cover (-2), if from a moving vehicle -1) and if at a moving vehicle (-1) so a -4 DRM total. Or, just use the normal vehicle targeting and combat rules but give most projectile weapons a AV of d3 so they can affect smaller cars and get table results. There is also the possibility of called shots to tires and other areas with smaller weapons as well.

Perfect for Solo

I like this rules set for quick one-off modern scenarios with the Solo rules, even using this for more sci-fi games when running a "monster in space" type scenario. In that type of game, a pilot is "the pilot in the movie" and same goes for "the engineer" and "the doctor." In a quick game, I am not interested in complicated character builds, detailed histories, and I am more interested in broader roles and faster character generation.

There is a Cepheus Light game available and I may want to check that out, since that is what this rules set is based on, and that seems to be a lighter version of the base sci-fi game. There is a difference between a full-game, such as M2E Traveller and Cepheus Engine, and the lighter faster-to-play options such as Cepheus Modern and Cepheus Light - and I am a fan of both rules styles. There are times I want deep and complex, and other times I want light and fast. I like having the option to switch styles and keep everything mostly compatible and working the same.

I like this set of rules and the entire product line, all of this feels like it is perfect for me at this moment and my moods. I can dive into deeper games where characters are rich and complex, or I can go fast and loose with something quick and rocket through a play session without too much investment and time. Overall, a great mix of rules and options for complexity, and I am happy with my purchases here.