Cepheus Engine vs OneDice Abney Park’s Airship Pirates

Compare Cepheus Engine and OneDice Abney Park’s Airship Pirates side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Cepheus Engine	OneDice Abney Park’s Airship Pirates
Genre	Sci-Fi	Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi
Tags	Sandbox, Toolkit, Ship-Based, Career-Based, Skill-Based, Random Character Creation, Random Tables, Exploration, Simulation, Tactical	Pirates, Ship-Based, Licensed IP, Skill-Based, Cinematic, Pulp Action, Random Tables
Core Mechanic	Roll 2d6 and add the relevant skill, characteristic modifier and difficulty modifiers. A total of 8 or more succeeds. The margin above or below 8 is the Effect, which determines the outcome where the rules call for it.	Roll 1d6 plus one relevant ability and an applicable skill if any, then meet or beat the Gamekeeper’s target number. Opposed checks compare totals, while Doubloons can secure non-combat success, turn a hit into a miss, or power swashbuckling stunts.
Dice	2d6	d6
Complexity	High	Medium
Availability	Free core rules	Paid
Runnability	4 of 5 book tools	3 of 5 book tools
License	Open Game License 1.0a	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Commercial publishing allowed — Open license	Not yet researched
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	Samardan Press	Cakebread & Walton
Year	2016	2014
Languages	English, Italian, French	English
Best For	Groups who want interstellar sandbox campaigns built around trading or exploring aboard a shared ship.	Groups who want fast, cinematic campaigns about a shared airship crew, with boarding actions and procedurally generated Skyloft destinations.
Highlights	Career terms generate experienced characters whose skills and starting assets reflect their prior lives. Planetary trade codes modify cargo prices, giving merchants a reason to compare routes and markets. World and encounter tables provide the referee with material for an interstellar sandbox.	Doubloons refresh each session and turn danger into player choices by averting harm or enabling cinematic stunts. Airship combat uses abstract range bands to structure chases and boarding actions for the whole crew. Random Skyloft tables generate aerial settlements with distinct economies and local customs.
Considerations	Failed career survival rolls kill characters by default, with an optional mishap alternative requiring referee approval. Damage reduces physical characteristics, weakening injured characters until they recover. Operating a ship requires tracking recurring expenses alongside its income.	The Gamekeeper sets target numbers and many situational modifiers, so table consistency depends on shared expectations. Player pirates reduced to zero Health by lethal damage die unless Medicine succeeds within three combat rounds; a Doubloon instead leaves them unconscious. The setting includes authoritarian oppression and slavery.