Cepheus Deluxe vs Starfinder
Compare Cepheus Deluxe and Starfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cepheus Deluxe | Starfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Space Opera, Career-Based, Skill-Based, Sandbox, Ship-Based, Exploration, Random Tables, Toolkit | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, Heroic, Ascending AC, Space Opera, Ship-Based, Exploration |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6, add a relevant skill and characteristic modifier, and meet or beat the target number. The margin is Effect, and Advantage means rolling 3d6 and keeping the best two. | d20 + modifier vs. DC. Three-action economy per turn. Four degrees of success. Cross-compatible with Pathfinder 2e. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | OGL 1.0a; Cepheus Deluxe Compatibility-Statement License | ORC |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Publisher | Stellagama Publishing | Paizo |
| Year | 2022 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want a self-contained interstellar sandbox where career histories feed a shared shipboard trade loop. | Sci-fi fans who want Pathfinder 2e's tactical depth with plasma rifles and starships. Great for PF2e veterans looking for cross-compatible space adventure. |
| Highlights | Career terms turn character history into usable relationships and obligations that already point toward adventures. World profiles feed local law and trade into the crew's travel decisions, giving generated destinations mechanical consequences. Space combat assigns distinct actions across bridge and engineering roles, keeping the whole crew involved. | Free rules on Archives of Nethys, deep tactical combat, cross-compatible with PF2e, distinct class identity |
| Considerations | Career creation can span several career terms before play, making a fresh crew slower to build than the basic 2d6 mechanic suggests. A ship-based campaign tracks recurring operating costs and cargo prices, making accounting part of the travel loop. The book supplies generators and adventure seeds rather than a ready-made sector or campaign, so the Referee must turn those pieces into an inhabited frontier. | Steep learning curve, fewer classes and options than PF2e (still growing), tactical starship combat rules deferred to a future supplement with current rules being narrative only |