2300 AD vs Cepheus Deluxe
Compare 2300 AD and Cepheus Deluxe side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| 2300 AD | Cepheus Deluxe | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Tags | Career-Based, Skill-Based, Simulation, Combat-Heavy, Tactical, Crunchy, Ship-Based, Exploration, Random Tables, Strong GM Support | Space Opera, Career-Based, Skill-Based, Classless, Character Building, Sandbox, Ship-Based, Exploration, Random Tables, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | For a task, roll d10 and add modifiers from applicable skills and characteristics; meet a difficulty target from 2 for Simple to 18 for Impossible to succeed. A natural 1 fumbles, while failed checks use a separate roll to determine whether the character may retry or suffers a mishap. Hasty, hazardous, uncertain, and cooperative tasks modify time, failure risk, information, or group participation without changing the core check. | For uncertain tasks, roll 2d6 plus a skill and characteristic modifier to reach a target number. A natural 2 fails and a natural 12 succeeds when the task is feasible. Effect is the amount by which the modified result exceeds or misses the target. Advantage means rolling 3d6 and keeping the highest two dice. |
| Dice | d10 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | OGL 1.0a; Cepheus Deluxe Compatibility-Statement License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Mongoose Publishing Fair Use Policy | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license and compatibility license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | GDW | Stellagama Publishing |
| Year | 1988 | 2022 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want career-shaped crews exploring a politically divided interstellar frontier where starship operations and hard-science constraints drive missions. | Groups who want a shipboard science-fiction sandbox with career histories and a working trade economy. |
| Highlights | Career terms turn pre-play service into skills and organizational ties, giving each crew member a practical history that feeds later missions. Space combat uses hex movement and signature-based detection, making maneuver and sensor discipline as important as weapon range. Linked world-generation and mapping procedures build planets down to regional terrain, giving exploration campaigns playable locations instead of setting prompts. | Career events produce contacts and enemies that can become adventure hooks. World profiles alter trade prices and local restrictions, giving destinations practical consequences. Distinct shipboard actions let the crew contribute beyond firing weapons. |
| Considerations | Character creation can end when a turning-point roll fails, leaving a concept in its current career before the player intended. Combat routes each hit through location and damage-type tables, adding several lookups to a fight. The future history assumes a World War III and French hegemony, so campaigns are tied to a specific 1980s vision of the 24th century. | Career creation spans several terms of skills and events before ordinary play begins. Trading campaigns require recurring expense and cargo accounting. The Referee builds the setting from generators and adventure seeds. |