Table Of ContentS��������� P���������
T S C
HE WORD OF EPHEUS
2D6 SWORD & SORCERY ROLE-PLAYING
C
REDITS
AUTHORS PROMOTIONALVIDEO
OmerGolan-Joel.,RichardHazlewood, JoelLovell
AndJoshPeters
PLAYTESTERS
EDITORS Da'ud Vyd, Joel Lovell, Karsten Fritsche, Günther
Lietz,IngolfSchäfer,MHaroldPage,MartinSchramm,
RichardHazlewoodandJoshPeters
PeterKre�,MarkBober
INTERIORART
ADVISORS
HannahSaunders,Publicdomainart,andPublisher's
MarcTabyanan,RobertWeaver
ChoiceQualityStockArt©RickHershey/FatGoblin
Games,LuigiCastellani,MiguelSantos
LAYOUT
COVERART OmerGolan-Joel
StephanieMcAlea
LEGALDISCLAIMER
• This Product is derived from the Traveller System Reference Document and other Open Gaming Content
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PublishingorFarFutureEnterprises,anditmakesnoclaimtoorchallengetoanytrademarksheldbyeither
entity. The use of the Traveller System Reference Document does not convey the endorsement of this
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• CepheusEngineandSamardanPress™arethetrademarksofJason"Flynn"Kemp”;StellagamaPublishingis
notaffiliatedwithJason"Flynn"KemporSamardanPress™.
• Thenames“Cepheus”and“CepheusEngine”areusedinthisproductwithJason"Flynn"Kemp’spermission.
• ProductIdentity:ThefollowingitemsareherebyidentifiedasProductIdentity,asdefinedintheOpenGame
Licenseversion1.0a,Section1(e)andarenotopencontent,andthusarepropertyofStellagamaPublishing:
All trademarks or registered trademarks, proper names (characters, organizations etc.), dialogue, plots,
storylines,locations,characters,artworkandtradedress.(Elementsthathavepreviouslybeendesignatedas
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copyoftheOpenGameLicenselicenseisshownonthelastpageofthisbook.TolearnmoreabouttheOpen
GameLicense,pleasegotoh�p://www.opengamingfounda�on.org/.
• Allevents,persons,locations,andothermaterialincludedwithintheserulesarestrictlyfictional.Thisalso
includesthealienandpsionicsrulesinAppendixA.
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T S C
HE WORD OF EPHEUS
2D6 SWORD & SORCERY ROLE-PLAYING
Copyright © 2020 Stellagama Publishing
All rights reserved.
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T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
Introduction 5 Combat 54
Die Roll Conventions 7 Damage and Healing 56
Skills 8 Morale 57
Skill List 8 Example of Personal Combat 58
Languages 9 Chase and Vehicle Combat 60
SkillAdvancement 9 Example of Naval Combat 64
Character Generation 10 Sorcery 66
Step 1: Characteristics 10 The Basics of Sorcery 66
Step 2: Background Skill 12 Concentration 67
Step 3: Careers 12 Learning Spells 67
Careers 14 Critical Failures 67
Mustering Out - Material Benefits 27 Talismans and Foci 69
Example of Character Generation 29 The Shades of Magic 69
Traits 31 Example of Spellcasting 73
Trait List 31 Spells 74
Equipment 37 Spells 75
Gold, Silver, and Other Coins 37 Monsters 93
Encumbrance 37 Monster Types 93
Living Expenses 38 Treasure 117
Adventuring Equiupment 39 Magical Research 117
PersonalArmor 40 Generating Treasures 119
Vehicles and Mounts 41 AppendixA- Inspirational Media 127
Weapons 43 Appendix B - Legal Information 128
Hirelings and Mercenaries 45 important notice 128
Adventuring 48 Publishing Your Own Materials 128
Law and Chaos 48 The Sword of Cepheus
Compatibility-Statement License
NPC Reactions 48 (CSL) 128
Roaming the Seas 52
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I
NTRODUCTION
Asorcererblastinghisenemieswiththepowerofhis Biblicalorfaux-Romanworld,menandwomenwith
mind.Amuscledbarbarianwieldingaflamingsword sharpwitsandstrongsword-armsfightmythological
against the local tyrant’s thugs. A secret cabal of creatures and overthrow tyrants. The common
magiciansplottingtocontrolthemindsandsoulsof threads of all three genres are the blade-wielding
kings. A gladiator who freed himself from slavery protagonistswhousetheirbrawn,aswellasbrains,
wanders the land, righting wrongs and smashing to fight foes both supernatural and mundane and
villains. Big muscles, big swords, eldritch sorcery, undertakehair-raising,violentadventures.
powersofthemind,eldritchbeasts.FromBurroughs
There are three main themes to Sword of Cepheus:
to Howard to Moorcock to Italian Peplum films to
Gri�yHeroism,DarkSorcery,andanOpenWorld.
those dreaming of outlandish post-apocalyptic
worlds, heroes raise swords against corrupt nobles, GrittyHeroismmeansthataskilledcharacteriswell
inexplicablesorcerers,andalienmonstrosi�es. above a normal person in power and ability. An
expertswordsman(MeleeCombat-3)ingoodarmor
SwordofCepheusallowsyoutodiverightintothese
can defeat many lesser warriors in armed
exciting tales and take the role of the heroes and
confrontation. They will parry their opponents’
anti-heroes wielding swords and sorcery in such
weaponsandstriketrueattheirbodies.Withagood
se�ngs.
Tactics skill, they will also act well before them.
Adventuresawait! However, they are still mortal. An ambush, sneak
attack, poison, or other underhanded tactic will put
them in grave peril. A lucky arrow can still strike
WHATISAROLE-PLAYINGGAME? them, though good armor will mitigate part of the
impact.Tacticsandstrategymatter.Evenaso-called
A roleplaying game (RPG) is a game in which the
"highlevel"charactermustthinkbeforetheyact,and
players assume the roles of characters in a fictional
lesserfoescandefeattheheroes.
setting.Playersactouttheseroleswithinanarrative,
either through literal acting or through a process of Dark Sorcery implies that magic is unreliable and
structured decision-making based on rules. These often corrupting to those who use them. Doubly so
rulesallowfairanddramaticresolutionofuncertain for any "magic items". Any spell can fail, and any
or dangerous situations faced by the players’ ritual has a certain risk of dire consequences. Using
characters. black magic - such as necromancy - corrupts the
sorcerer's soul and body. There are no teleporting
Playing Sword of Cepheus requires imagination,
supermen throwing fireballs around in Sword of
inspiration,anddiscussion.Twoormoreplayerscan
Cepheus.Rather,therearesorcerersweavingsubtler
play, though typical groups range between 3-5
spells and conducting risky arcane rituals. The same
players.Allyouneedtoplayisthisdocument,afew
goes to monsters - while often easier (on paper) to
six-sided dice, and writing supplies. One player, the
slaythanthoseoftraditionalD20games,theyposea
Referee, “plays” the game world and describes the
danger to those who try to confront them - even
fictionalsituation,whiletherestoftheplayerseach
skilledheroes.
playonePlayerCharacterwhoactsfreelywithinthis
world and deals with the consequences of their The worlds of adventure Sword of Cepheus is
actions. Together, the Referee and players create a designed to emulate are Open Worlds. The world
story, much like the way many of us used to create does not scale with the characters; a moderately
stories by playing make believe as young children, skilledcharactercantryandtacklehorriblemonsters,
exceptwithmorediceandmorestructure. ataseriousrisk,whileanexpertadventurercanstill
face a challenge against "weaker" foes. The players
choosetherisklevel;therearenoscaling"challenge
WHATISSWORDOFCEPHEUS? ratings" here. Scouting, information gathering, and
knowingwhentorunawayareimportantinSwordof
SwordofCepheusisaroleplayinggameinthetriple
Cepheus. This also means that lightly or moderately
“Sword” genres: Sword and Sorcery, Sword and
skilled characters can adventure, shoulder to
Planet,andSwordandSandal.InSwordandSorcery,
shoulder, with highly experienced veterans, and still
often-amoral protagonists face vile sorcery and
makeadifferencebothinandoutofcombatwithout
horridbeastsastheycompleteawesomeadventures
beingtotallyovershadowedbytheirexpertpeers.
for gold and glory. In Sword and Planet, humans
finding themselves on barbaric or decadent alien
planetsusetheirsuperiorbrawnandvaliantheartsto
win fame, fortune, and the heart of an alien
princeling.InSwordandSandal,oftensetinaquasi-
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Sword of Cepheus also draws inspiration from old- only recently gained its freedom from the mighty
school science-fiction roleplaying games. It shares Reticulan Empire. Our flagship ruleset is Cepheus
manysimilarities,intermsofgamemechanics,with Light,anold-school2D6sci-firole-playinggame.
them.Materialsfromold2D6rulesets,includingthe
OGL 2D6 Sci-Fi SRD, the Cepheus Engine Core, and
Cepheus Light are easily compatible with Sword of TWOBASICRULES
Cepheus with only a moderate amount of
Rule 0: to facilitate play, the Referee is the final
adjustment.
arbiterforanygame-relatedques�on.
To play, you need a copy of these rules; several six-
Rule1:thisisagameplayedforfun.Ifarulegetsin
sided dice, available at game and teacher supply
the way of your group’s fun, change or ignore it,
stores (you'll need at least two, but more is better);
subjecttoRuleZero,above.
you’llalsoneedapencilandsomepaper.
ANOTEONUSABILITY
ABOUTTHEAUTHORS
All material included in this book, except for the
OmerGolan-Joelisa38yearsoldfreelanceEnglish-
above introduction chapter and the Open Game
Hebrew-English translator and an avid sci-fi and
Licensetextatthebackofthebook,isOpenContent.
fantasy gamer. He lives in the town of Yavne, Israel
This means that the book, with the above-noted
withhiswifeEinatandtwocatsSakiandChicha–the
exceptions, can serve as a basis of your rules and
realmastersofthehouse–aswellasanentourageof
products(includingcommercialones!),andevenre-
house geckos. Omer is a fan of science-fiction,
publishedifyousodesire.
fantasy,andhistory,anamateurcook,andahobbyist
herpetologist. He also writes sci-fi and fantasy role- As noted above, the name “Cepheus Engine”,
playing gaming material, including These Stars Are however, is a trademark owned by Jason “Flynn”
Ours! a full-scale campaign setting for the Cepheus Kemp and Samardan Press™ and using them is
Engine and other OGL 2D6 sci-fi games, which he subject to consent from Jason “Flynn” Kemp and
published by Stellagama Publishing® in 2017, and Samardan Press™. Claiming compatibility with the
CepheusLight,afull-scalesci-firuleset,publishedin Cepheus Engine follows the Cepheus Engine
2018. Compatibility-Statement License, as given in the
Cepheus Engine System Reference Document
Richard Hazlewood has been playing RPGs since
publishedbySamardanPress™.
1976. HeservedeightyearsintheUSNavy,operating
nuclearreactorsonsubmarines. Heenjoyedthatso
muchhegotoutoftheNavyandwentintoaviation.
Richard has a master’s degree in Aerospace
EngineeringandworksforamajorUSairline. Hehas
twogrownchildrenandthreegrandchildren.Richard
lives with his wife and three dogs in the Southern
USA.
JoshPetersisahighschoolmathandhistoryteacher,
an accomplished drummer, and avid tabletop RPG
gamer. Josh has a Master's Degree in History, and
resides in Montreal, Canada, with his beautiful,
pa�entwifeandtwodeviouslyadorablechildren.
STELLAGAMAPUBLISHING
Stellagama Publishing is a small international role-
playing game publisher focused on science fiction
gaming,foundedinJanuary2016.Wepublishgaming
material for the Cepheus Engine, 2D6 Sci-Fi OGL,
Stars Without Number, and White Star RPGs. Our
goals are primarily to publish enjoyable and
immediately playable supplements, settings,
rulesets, and adventures for our fellow players and
Referees.OurflagshipsettingisTheseStarsAreOurs!
a high-action space-opera universe in which Terra
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DIE ROLL CONVENTIONS alternately,ifyouthrowa4,yourEffectis4–8=-4.
A"natural"resultof2isalwaysafailure,regardlessof
Sword of Cepheus uses common six-sided dice. We skillsorotherDMs.A"natural"resultof12isalways
noteeachdieyouneedtorollasa“D”.Unlessnoted asuccess,eveninadversesituations.Insomecases,
otherwise, “2D”, for example, means “roll two dice suchassorcery,a"natural"resultof2hasfurtherdire
andaddtheresultstogether”. consequences.
In this game, DM means Dice Modifier – a number Opposedthrows:inasituationwheretwocharacters
you add or subtract from a dice roll. For example, opposeeachotherinanattempt,forexampleathief
“2D, DM-2” means “roll two dice, add the results trying to sneak past a guard, each character throws
together,andthensubtract2fromthetotal”. 2D plus the appropriate skill or characteristic
modifier;thehigherrollwins.Re-roll�es.
Another common die roll is ”D66”, typically used in
large tables. In this case, roll two six-sided die, If no difficulty level is listed, assume an Average
preferrablyofdifferentcolor.Oneprovidesyouwith throw(6+)
”ones” and the other with ”tens”, for a total of 36
Note that skilled characters are competent and can
possibleresults.
oftenpracticetheirtradeorprofession,undernormal
conditions, without a throw. Use throws only when
THEBASICGAMEMECHANIC the characters are at serious risk or under pressure,
such as time pressure, opposition, or adverse
ThebasicmechanicofSwordofCepheusisthethrow,
conditions.Forexample,amasterhealer(Medicine-
and when we say this, we mean dice throw. Throw
3) can give effective first aid without requiring a
2D,addtherelevantskillorcharacteristicDM,andif
throw and can help characters recover from serious
the total is equal or higher than the target number,
wounds but will have to make a Medicine throw to
you succeed. For example, “throw STR 8+” means
treat an unknown disease. Combat is always an
“throw 2D and add yourSTR DM;if thetotal is 8 or
adverseandstressfulsituationandhencetheattack
more,yousucceed”Theamountbywhichyourtotal
throwsandothercombat-relatedthrows.
throwexceedsormissesthetargetnumberiscalled
the Effect. If, using the previous example, you roll a
total of 11 on that throw, your Effect is 11 – 8 = 3;
CommonTargetNumbers
Difficulty TargetNumber Examples
Rou�ne 4+ Ligh�ngafirewithoutflintandsteel
Average 6+ Leadingandinspiringothersincombattofightmoreeffec�vely
Difficult 8+ Findingwaterinadesert
VeryDifficult 10+ Foragingenoughfoodtoeatwhiletraveling
Formidable 12+ Cas�ngthemostpowerfulspellsknowntomortals!
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S
KILLS
CharactersinSwordofCepheususeavarietyofskills Deception: convincingly avoiding the truth and
tosurviveandthriveinworldsofhorror,sorcery,and misleadingotherpeople.
high adventure, from sailing the high seas to
Investigation: this skill combines keen observation,
swordsmanship.
forensics,research,anddetailedanalysis.
Skills are a character’s greatest asset. Skilled
Jacko’Trades:thisspecialskillreducestheunskilled
characters are competent. A Skill at level 0 denotes
penalty (DM-3, noted above) by its level. For
basic training, which allows some use of the skill
example, a character with Jack o’ Trades at level 2
(without the "unskilled" penalty) but is insufficient
wouldonlysufferDM-1tounskilledrolls.Youmaynot
forholdingajobinthatfield;forexample,acommon
gain more than 3 levels in this skill and cannot
town guard might have Melee Combat-0 and a
improveita�ercharactergenera�on.
blacksmith'sapprenticemighthaveCraft-0.ASkillat
level 1 (denoted Skill-1) represents someone who is Leadership:motivatinganddirectingothers,oftenin
employable, such as a guild journeyman; Skill-3 �mesofcrisis.
denotes a professional, such as a guild master; and
Liaison: the art and practice of negotiation and
Skill-5 represents an expert – a rare true master of
diplomacy in a myriad of social situations. This skill
thecraft.Forexample,acommonvillagehealerhas
covers diplomatic meetings, haggling with
Medicine-1;anexperiencedphysicianhasMedicine-
merchants,ordiffusingasituationbeforebladesstart
3; and a fabled healer of the sick, far beyond any
flashing.
normal physician or herbalist, has Medicine-5. The
task resolution system takes this into account – Medicine: training in the art of healing, from
professionalsshouldalmostautomaticallysucceedat diagnosistobindingwoundstosurgery.
routine tasks (difficulty 4+) and easily perform
MeleeCombat:fightinghand-to-hand,eitherwitha
averagetasks(difficulty6+),whileexpertswillalmost
weaponorunarmed.
automatically succeed in routine and average tasks
andeasilymanagedifficult(8+)ones. Science:thestudyofnatureandtechnology.
Sorcery:thedarkartsofmagic,fromritualspellsto
iden�fyingandcrea�ngmagicalitems.
S L
KILL IST
Stealth:traininginbeingunseenandunheard.
Alchemy:theesotericartofcombiningandcreating Steward: the care and serving of passengers and
alchemical and chemical substances. Also covers otherguests.
herbalismandpoison-making.
Streetwise: familiarity with underworld society and
Animals:thecareandtrainingofanimals.Alsocovers thewaysofworkingwithit.
generalagriculture.
Survival: staying alive in the wilderness. This also
Ar�fice:crea�ngandappraisingmagicalitems covers“outdoor”skillssuchastracking,foraging,and
fishing.
Artillery: the use of siege engines such as ballistae
andcatapults.Inhigher-techsettings,thisalsocovers Tactics: tactical planning and decision making,
theuseofprimi�vecannons. whetheronthegroundorinthesea.
Art: the use of artistic talent, from painting and Recon:scou�ngfordangerandspo�ngthreats.
sculp�ngtosonganddance.
Religion: knowledge of gods and demons – and the
Athletics: the ability to exert oneself physically. You waystoworshipthem.Insomesettings,thisskillmay
may add the Athletics skill to appropriate physical grantcertainsupernaturalabili�es.
characteris�crolls.Thisskillisneverrolledunskilled.
Riding:usinganimalsfortransportation,fromriding
Archery: using bows and crossbows. In higher-tech a horse to driving a chariot to riding an elephant or
settings,thisalsocoverstheuseofprimitivefirearms. dinosaur.
Carousing: the art of mingling in social settings to Rulership: Administration and dealing with realms,
achieveyourgoals.Alsocoversgambling. bureaucracies,andthelaw.Alsocoversforgery.
Craft: the ability to maintain, repair, and build Watercraft: controlling and using boats and ships,
mechanical devices of all sorts, from crossbows to includingnaviga�on.
cartwheels.Alsocoverslockpicking.
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AnoteaboutCepheusLightskills:Tobettersuitthe LEARNINGLANGUAGES
worldsofsword&sorcery,SwordofCepheususesa
Youmaylearnanewlanguagebyinves�ng10XP.
somewhat altered skill list. Most notably, Riding is a
separateskillfromAnimals,duetoitsimportanceas
a "vehicle" skill in lower-tech societies; Archery
OPTIONALRULE:FASTERADVANCEMENT
replaces Gun Combat, Craft replaces Repair,
Rulership replaces Admin, and Artillery replaces If the players and Referee desire faster character
Gunnery; and there are new skills, namely Alchemy progression, grant 1 XP per session rather than
andSorcery. adventure, or 2 XP for an outstanding job in that
session. However, the limit for the total sum of a
character’s skill points still exists. For even faster
L
ANGUAGES advancement, simply grant 10 XP after each
adventure.
Any character knows a number of languages, in
additiontotheirspecies'standardlanguage,equalto
their EDU modifier. After character generation,
characters may learn additional languages using the
experiencerules(seebelow).Therearenoskilllevels
forlanguages,eitheracharacterknowsthatlanguage
ortheydonot.However,theRefereeisfreetoallow
aLevel-0versionofalanguageskill,representingvery
basicunderstandingofthatlanguage.
S A
KILL DVANCEMENT
Sword of Cepheus characters can slowly improve
their skills through experience. This is done by
spending Experience Points (XP). A Character will
typically gain 1 XP per adventure, or 2 XP if the
character did an outstanding job, at the Referee’s
discretion. Characters can only advance skills during
downtime. Note that advancement is incremental:
for example, to rise from Skill-1 to Skill-3, the
character must first purchase Skill-2 and only then
Skill-3.Ingeneral,acharacterwillusuallyincreasea
level1tolevel2skilla�erafewmonthsofsolidplay.
Note, however, that the total sum of a character’s
skillpointsmaynotexceedthesumoftheircurrent
INT+EDUcharacteris�cs.
INCREASINGSKILLS
SpendXPtoincreaseskillsperthefollowingtable.
XPSkillCosts
DesiredSkillLevel XPCost
0 2
1 10
2 10
3 10
4 20
5 30
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C G
HARACTER ENERATION
Your character starts the game as a skilled, Educa�oncolumninthecareertables.
experiencedadult.Thischapterwillshowyouhowto
• A character gains a number of additional
generateacharacterandtakethemthroughacareer.
languagesequaltotheirEDUDM.
• Together with INT, Education determines the
STEP 1: CHARACTERISTICS character’smaximumnumberofskillranks.
SocialStanding(SOC):Acharacter’sconnectionsand
Characteristics describe your character’s general
posi�oninsociety.
talents and abilities. They serve as basic skills – for
tasks which every human (or lizardman!) can • Social Standing provides characters with a
perform,butsomecanperformbetterorworsethan numberoffreeAlliesequaltotheirSOCDM.
others.
• Characters with SOC 11+ may automatically
Throw2Dsixtimesandassigntheresultsinanyorder applytotheNoblecareer.
desiredtoyoursixcharacteris�cs:
• AttheReferee'soption,nobles(SOC11+)might
enjoyvarioussocialprivilegesorevenhaveafief.
Strength(STR):Physicalprowessandbruteforce.
• Strength determines a character’s carrying OPTIONALRULE:IRONMAN!
capacity.
Foratrueold-schoolexperience,throw2Dsixtimes
• Strength, along with Dexterity and Endurance, and assign them to the characteristics in the order
determine how resistant your character is to givenabove.
physicalinjury.SeetheCombatchapter.
Dexterity(DEX):Agility,coordina�on,andspeed. OPTIONALRULE:HEROICHEROES!
• Dexterityisthecharacteristicusedforthrowing
Throw 3D seven times and in each case, drop the
knives and bombs, as well as evading physical
lowestdie,dropthelowestroll,andassigntherestto
threatswherespeedisessen�al.
thecharacteris�csasdesired.
• Dexterity, along with Strength and Endurance,
determine how resistant your character is to
physicalinjury.SeetheCombatchapter.
Endurance (END): Physical resilience, fitness, and
forceofwill.
• Enduranceisthecharacteristicusedforavoiding
physical threats, such as poison, where
toughnessandstaminamatters;italsoservesto
resist effects trying to bend a character's will,
fromtorturetosorcerousdomina�on.
• Physical injury is first applied to Endurance
beforetheothertwophysicalcharacteristics.See
theCombatchapter.
Intelligence (INT): Reasoning, creativity, and
intellectualcapabili�es.
• Intelligence is the characteristic used to resist
attemptstotrickthecharacter,fromhypnotism
toillusionspells.
• Together with EDU, Intelligence determines the
character’smaximumnumberofskillranks.
Education (EDU): Formal schooling and general
knowledge.
• Education 8+ allows rolling on the Advanced
10
