Cepheus Engine vs Rifts
Compare Cepheus Engine and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cepheus Engine | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Sandbox, Modular, Toolkit, Simulation | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + skill level + characteristic modifier. Meet or beat 8 to succeed. Effect (margin above/below 8) determines degree of success or failure. Lifepath character creation with careers, skills, and mustering-out benefits. | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | OGL | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Samardan Press | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2016 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | GMs who want a fully open, hackable classic sci-fi engine for sandbox campaigns: trade, exploration, and space combat without any IP restrictions. | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. |
| Highlights | Completely free and OGL, comprehensive rules covering personal combat to starship design, fully compatible with classic Traveller material | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. |
| Considerations | Dense 200+ page SRD with no setting or adventure content, lifepath character creation can kill characters before play, assumes GM comfort with sandbox prep | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. |