OSR Review & Commentary On The Free Cepheus Engine rpg Fanzine & Supplement - issue #007 of the Cepheus Journal

 "Welcome to issue #007 of the Cepheus Journal. Since this is issue 007 we decided to make this a spy themed issue.

To that end this issue of Cepheus Journal is taking a hard look at superspies and espionage. Norton Glover provides a short  set of rules for dealing with intelligence networks, a realistic upgrade for starting your adventures when compared with “So you are in a bar when…”, while Ewan Spence outlines how to make characters in the modern CIA’s Special Activities Center Special Operations Group. Those of you who game in the relatively near future can look to a passel of gadgets and upgrades that would make Q slightly queasy as Mr. Glover makes his second appearance with Zaibatsu Retrogenics. Peter Simon writes about the motivations for betraying secrets. There is also short spy adventure for a medieval setting by our own P-O Bergstedt."

There are also a number of SF articles in this issue. Joseph Jaquinta brings us a brace of articles on Lagrange points and the humble spaceship door. Timothy Collinson supplies us with some alien cephalopods to come through those doors and Neil Lucock a shuttle to put them on. We also have the first part of  Jo Jaquinta’s story “Raider’s Lament”.

So while everyone has been arguing and whatnot over the last couple of weeks. We've decided to dive back into Cepheus Engine's favorite fanzine Cepheus Journal issue #007! This issue is all about spies, super spies, and more. The first article up is From the Editors By Paul Drye which goes over this issue's premise in spies, super spies, and space. There's a general overview of the contents of this issue and then we head deep into the bowels of 2d6 action with Beyond the Iris Valve by Joseph Jaquinta.This article goes into the placement of doors, airlocks, etc. within Cepheus Engine starship plans and their alternatives. There's some solid ideas here for 2d6 play and plans. 'Eroctopi' By Timothy Collinson gives a band new alien race and yes there's a spy theme here. A new alien species is always welcomed in Cepheus Engine! Lagrange Rendezvous by Joseph Jaquinta gives a hard look at Lagrange points & their uses in exploration, Cepheus Engine, and more. Again this is really useful for Cepheus Engine style games. Raider's Lament is a rather bawdy little story and adventure idea By Jo Jaquinta. Again there's some great ideas here. And then we get 'The Chort' By Neil Lucock; "The Chort shuttle is a popular option in the luxury cruise market. In systems near nebulae and with interesting Gas Giants or other attractions, the typical cruise of 5 days allows 20 passengers to enjoy fine food and entertainment while admiring the view from the panoramic windows on the upper deck." This is a fine addition to the Cepheus Engine family of space craft. 
'Why do people betray secrets' By Peter Simon is a good overview of the betrayal of secrets in intelligence agencies and their uses in 2d6 games. And then we come to 'Zaibatu Retrogenics' By Norton Glover. And again I'm so glad these are not real! Norton Glover is at it again with his 'Intelligence Networks' article & its all good stuff here. But then we're given into the tender mercies of 'CIA Special Activities Center' By Ewan Spence. And here things start taking a dark turn for your 2d6 games. 'From Visby with Love'  By P­O Bergstedt is a jolly little romp of a Sword of Cepheus or Barbaric adventure & its damn good. 'Who Goes There' By Brett Kuger  introduces us to Unit Chief Sir Bravan Nickols whose perfect to head the cell of your latest Brit esponisage cell or organization in your 2d6 games.  All in all this was a very satisfying issue of the Cepheus Journal but don't take my word for it! 
Down load The Free Cepheus Engine rpg Fanzine & Supplement -  issue #007 of the Cepheus Journal Here! 

Exhibit Species 667 - The Nihilist For The Sword of Cepheus Rpg & Your Old School 2d6 Campaigns

The Nihilist 



 0kg Outsider, extraplanar flyer, GBJAA0 #App: 1 Treasure: None Athleltics-1, Sorcery-2, Melee Combat-1, Recon-1, Survival-1
Special attack; armor 0; flies 20m/action
Neutral; Morale DM+4 The Nihilist is a dread elemental spirit of the planar Winds, famous for its might and guile. • Immune to non-magical weapons. • Immune to poison and disease. • Knows 3D spells. The Nihilist demon radiates a horrid aura with the radius of 40m. This aura deals 1D damage per round to all surrounding creatures.The demon emits a sickening aura; any creature coming closer than 10m to the demon must throw END 8+ or be sickened: DM-2 to all actions, and only have one Action per round.Any being that sees the demon must throw INT 8+ or be paralyzed with dread. This effect ends when the demon leaves the victim's line of sight, or one round after the demon engages in combat. The demon may possess a target. The target must throw INT 8+ or be possessed and controlled by the demon. The target may attempt another INT 8+ throw once a week to cast off the possession; Dispel Evil exorcises the demon immediately and forces it to leave the victim's body. Note that there are no limits to how many people the entity can possess unlike normal demons.  Whirlwind: may create a whirlwind around itself at will, causing 1D damage to anyone within 2m range

The Nihilist is the skull  remains of a planar spirit or god that was found on NS-482 by scientists & researchers for Project Far Jump. All those connected with Project Far Jump including staff, scientists, expediation personel and others are dead by suicide. The Nihilist essence is contained within the alien skull & has  moved on from the Project Far Jump facilities to parts unknown. It's motives are simple:

• 1. consume all of the psychic energy of a world
• 2. turn the population into it's subjects
• 3. destroy all life
• 4. Lie dormant until discovered by a new species.

The character of The Nihilist is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving The Nihilist, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.

The Nihlist is from the Public Domain Super Heroes site here and should be used with caution as it can quite easily cause TPK's. 

Review & Commentary On The Free Cepheus Engine rpg resource - issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal

 "Welcome to issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal.

From Ewan Spence we have an article about the 2nd Battalion Royal Australia Regiment for Modern War. Then from Jo Jaquinta we have the third part of his Raider’s Lament and an article aboutan out-of-the-ordinary monster.

Our editors have also contributed. Brett has interviewed Paul Elliot of Zozer Games and written a review of the Cepheus Deluxe rules. Paul has written an adventure and finally P-O has made a subsector map a written a short write-up of an alien race." 


The Cepheus Journal continues to impress with a solid  issue #009 that's been put to bed & on the site for download. Ewan Spence does an excellent job covering the RAR for Zozer Games Modern War. The whole article dives into the ins & outs of this modern Australian military force for your 2d6 Modern War campaigns; "The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army and forms part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, Queensland." 
This is a tightly written & very researched article . 'The Raiders Lament' part 3 by Jo Jaquinta goes the distance bringing more Cepheus Engine inspired action to the fore. Jo Jaquinta also delivers a great new monster with the Monster Capybara for your fantasy  2d6 game campaigns. And this is followed up with an interview with Paull Elliot of Zozer games & his passion for 2d6 games & history! Good stuff all around in this interview. 
Brett Kruger does an excellent review of Cepheus Deluxe one of the latest incarnations of the 2d6 Cepheus Engine rpg. Paul Dyre follows this up with 'The Sins of Winter Last' for the Sword of Cepheus rpg and its a rather nasty little adventure with all of the trimmings. P-O Bergstedt brings home the 'Chamberburg Sector' campaign setting for the Cepheus Egine & he follows this up with a rather nasty version of the Kramptus! 

So is issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal worth the download?! Yes I believe it is given the fact that one its free & two it manages to cover a bit of everything with its 2d6 goodness & content.

The Free Cepheus Engine rpg resource - issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal is Available Right Here 

Review & Commentary For Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games For the Barbaric! rpg, Sword of Cepheus, & Cepheus Engine rpg's

 "A new BARBARIC setting! Battle Atlantean spearmen, Greek pirates, lionmen and mammoth-riding archers! Welcome to an antediluvian world, where Atlantis in all its decadence has not got long to live. It is epic and dark, full of demonologists, Ice Age tribes and pyramids. Conflict is everywhere ... your swords are needed. 

Beyond the known ages of Man, the great kingdoms of Atlantis fight to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depends on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, is pushing the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war".

So awhile back Paul Elliot announced that Warlords of Atlantis for the Barbaric rpg rules was going to hit the rpg market like a shot. So being a huge fan of both Cepheus Engine & Paul's rpg efforts I grabbed a copy when it hit the stands! Warlords of Atlantis is both Sword & Sorcery as well as pure Pulp as we see from the intro;  

"Back beyond the known ages of Man, to the lost beginnings of civilisation, there was a time of war and conflict. The great kingdoms of Atlantis were fighting to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depended on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, has pushed the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war. Player characters in Warlords of Atlantis can make their fortunes exploring this world. They can fight as mercenaries or pirates for kingdoms willing to pay, seek out lost treasures and items of fabulous power, they can create grand schemes of conquest, or perhaps engage in thievery and brigandage - as their morals or ambitions dictate."  So essentially this is a perfect little campaign setting add on for running an Atlantian campaign with Barbaric! or the Cepheus Engine rules this includes Sword of Cepheus of course. 
Warlords of Atlantis excels at creating a sand box setting within fifty five pages and bringing the Atlanteans right into focus for Sword & Sorcery action! You get Greeks, Voluscians, Thalangarians, the Kythians, Sokarians, & more each of which has certain traits, professions, & skills. These represent actual cultural impacts on your PC's that tie into the regions religions, peoples, history, and more. This Warlords of Atlantis's campaign sand box setting is a tinder box of violence ready to explode into full blown war!  And this Sword & Sorcery setting has both your Conan & Lovecraftian vibes in spades but its gotta a far more Sword & Sorcery setting balanced on the edge. Add to this a tinderbox setting and things could go South fast for those visiting from the 1930's! And it brings into focus the idea that Atlanteans are the inheritors of some pretty damn fouls magicks and more. 
And all of this is geared for a Barbaric! rpg campaign but there's a lot more here under the hood then one might seem. Barbaric! is brutal, short, and dangerous cousin of Sword of Cepheus & this relative fits right into this side of the Cepheus Engine rpg family. The expanding universe of Barbaric!  & Sword of Cepheus rpg setting books means that you can run what you want as the DM. And it shows the versitility of the 2d6 rpg system. 

What Warlords of Atlantis does is take the Barbaric! rpg & give it spurs for being turned into a lost land or an inner Earth game campaign easily. But if one was to add in Cepheus Atom to this mix then one can do even more weirdness with Warlords of Atlantis. Do you want to do a full on Pulp Science Fantasy campaign with magick, Tolkein fantasy, mixed with Lovecraftian goodness?! Then add in Sword of  Cepheus rpg for even more fantasy action! 

 Warlords is solid fifty five pages of Pulp action madness that works well & is an excellent addition to the Cepheus Engine rpg lines. The book has a bit of everything for an Atlantean rpg campaign easy to understand history, interesting peoples,  more PC options, Lovecraftian magicks, strange gods, weird monsters, Sword & Sorcery themes and more. To me as a DM Warlords of Atlantis is an excellent addition to the Barbaric! rpg line. 

Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games Is Available Right Here

Review & Commentary On The Free issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal For the Cepheus Engine Rpg & 2d6 Family of Rpg's

Here comes  the free  issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal For the Cepheus Engine Rpg family of games. The Cepheus Engine rpg community is incredibly energetic to say the least about producing rpg content & the latest issue of this venerable downloadable magazine isn't an exception to this fan legacy. 

Right off the bat we get a fantastic Ian Stead cover & then dive into Ewan Spence's 2 RAR for Modern War & it does a good job of going into the material; "2nd Battalion Royal Australia Regiment for Modern War The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army and forms part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, Queensland." The article is detailed & well thoughtout. For Modern War this is a solid little article that does down scope into the military details of the Task Group. Modern War by Zozer games thrives on this level of detail. Raider's Lament by  Jo Jaquinta is a part of an on going series of stories & it captures the early old school Traveler rpg vibe quite nicely. 

Monster Capybara  by  Jo Jaquinta is both monster entry & total encounter for Sword of Cepheus. And itrs done in such a way to be played in one night or as a part of an ongoing campaign as an inserted encounter. Very nicely done. 

Interview with Paul Elliot by Brett Kruger  goes into some of Zozer Games back story & what the author's thoughts are. and its a well done interview. 
A pretty solid review of the Cepheus Deluxe rpg by Brett Kruger rounds out this section & its a very detailed review & solidly done. 

'The Sins of Last Winter' by Paul Drye is a Sword of Cepheus Rpg mini adventure set in a Winter location with all of the trimmings. There's some solid twists & turns as the adventure takes the party through some rather straight forward but harsh turns. 

'The Chambersburg sector' by y P­O Bergstedt gives a full mini sector for old school 2d6 science fiction games or a complete Cepheus Engine rpg sector. There's some real details here & its a nicely done sector to add to your own home game. 

'The Krampus' alien race by y P­O Bergstedt is perfect for adding a bit of that demonic & dangerous Christmas magic to your home Cepheus Engine rpg campaign. 

All in all issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal  was well done, very nicely thought out, & really brings home the heat of the ever expanding family of Cepheue Engine 2d6 rpg family of games! 

The Free  issue #009 of the Cepheus Journal Is Available For Download Here 

Review & Commentary 'It Came from the Scriptorium' By Ivan Cantero Muñoz "The Fictionaut" From Stellagemma Publishing For the Barbaric rpg

 "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. 

 'It Came from the Scriptorium' By Ivan Cantero Muñoz "The Fictionaut" From Stellagemma Publishing For the Barbaric rpg Is Available Right Here

OSR Review & Commentary on Cepheus Deluxe rpg for Your Old School 2d6 Science Fiction & Science Fantasy Gaming

" 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. 

Cepheus Deluxe is available
through Drivethrurpg right here. 

Setting Up A Warpland Campaign With Sword of Cepheus rpg Resources

" The sky has been turned into a mind bending kaleidoscope, occasionally delivering mutagenic maelstroms that change forever the appearance of both the landscape and its people.

Abysses have punctured reality, corrupting it all with their infectious energy while seducing with power those insane enough to listen.

Sometimes you've got to figure out games as you go. Take for example Warpland rpg which has been sitting on my table for two weeks. DM Steve blundered by today & quick thumbed through my copy of this dark beauty. You know this is pretty bleak, right?! Yeah.. Well I'd invert the setting & run  an 'Italian Sword & Sandal'   also known as peplum campaign in this setting! Why?! The fact is that Warpland is ripe for Jack Kirby like heroes of legend & DC's Fourth world saga hijinks. Basically, Warpland screams out to be used as 'bigger then life' mythic venue.  And this is a great venue for a Europe of  a Sword of Cepheus rpg style campaign. 

 

So what is about Warpland that's so appealing as a bigger then life Sword & Sorcery OSR style game?!  Well, the Warpland location  setting is the essence  that Eighties Fantasy or Sword & Sorcery artwork was made of. A setting that allows the DM to explore, use, and alter it as needed. Now couple this with several other OSR 2d6 products such as Cepheus Atom & Cepheus Barbaric And you've got a ready made campaign. 

 Cepheus Atom is perfect as a dark mirror for Warpland rpg's ancient past. The weird devices & dangerous artifacts reflect a very nasty past. Simply drop in  Cepheus Atom's into Warpland rpg's setting. So what does this have to do with Warpland?  Warpland is a perfect mirror setting for many Italian 'Sword & Sandal' movies from the Sixties, Seventies, & Eighties. 

 And Italian Sword & Sandal movies?! Quite a bit.
The  Barbaric! rpg is the perfect 'add on' for this little campaign idea which will mirror the Eighties Italian Sword & Sorcery films of the VHS tape era. 
The reality is that the peusdo Europe of  Eighties Italian Sword & Sorcery could be leveled as a part of the Warpland setting. 

This weird Europe setting is rife for Chaos induced humanoid races including some half breed PC's. Who can be created from Sword of Cepheus rpg style rules with 'Non-Humans for The Sword of Cepheus.' 

What would the agenda be for such a Warpland campaign?! We'll get into that in the blog next time!