As part of my March 2025 roleplaying game intake of materials I acquired nine new-to-me items for use when playing with the Cepheus Engine System. The products range from a couple of adventures to several sourcebooks. All provide great support to players or Gamemasters.
Adventures
HARD VACUUM – Issue 03: Weeping Son (Boondock RPG Adventures, 2025)
In issue 03: Weeping Son, the player characters must settle a long-standing debt with an interstellar crime syndicate and travel to a deep-space fuel refinery, locate a stranded information broker and return with sensitive data.
Publisher’s blurb
If you read the full publisher’s blurb you will discover a bit of a spoiler as to the rest of the story, so be forewarned. Hard Vacuum is a digital 16-page product with pretty much all that is needed to start and run this adventure. Hard Vacuum adventures are not meant to be a full campaign but more of a one-shot. This is the third issue/adventure and each has gotten better.
Into the Dark (Baggage Books, 2018)
The Solar System turned out to be a lot less friendly than we expected. Dreams of Martian canals and Venusian jungles died in the harsh light shone by Mariners and Veneras and Voyagers.
But what we did get was an array of worlds of awesome majesty, one that’s enough to scare off 99% percent of would-be explorers—but not you. Using the Cepheus Engine core rules or other similar game systems, the Into the Dark setting book lets you play OSR SF adventures in the near-future of the Solar System as we understand it now.
Europa. Titan. Pluto, points beyond? They all will kill you if you make one mistake, and they won’t even register that you’re there when they do it. You’re going to go anyway.
Publisher’s blurb
I do not want to say this is another The Expanse setting but..think of this as more of a hard sci-fi setting for near future adventuring in our “known” Solar System using Cepheus Engine.
Ships and places
Historical Ships of Clement Sector 1: Trent-class Destroyer (Independence Games, 2016)
The Trent-class destroyer is a reaction drive vessel used by the United States Space Navy in the early days of colonization into Clement Sector. The 1500-tonne destroyer was launched in 2185 to provide security and to protect the United States’ fledgling interstellar colonies. The Trent-class was the most capable of the first generation reaction drive interstellar warships.
Publisher’s blurb
A great design of a low-tech ship that lacks artificial gravity. Spinning habitats for the win!
Quick Ship File: Rokke Class Research Vessel (Moon Toad Publishing, 2022)
A small research ship for a water world? Yes…
The Rokke Class Research Vessel is intended for planetary observation and research, and is specifically optimised for marine exploration. The 600dton vessel is capable of Jump-2, sustained 2-G Manoeuvre and extended duration. It comes fitted with a marine exploration launch and a moon pool, as well as two air-rafts and a Standard Class Runabout.
Publisher’s blurb
Ship Book: Pukharra Fast Scout (Moon Toad Publishing, 2013)
You might think that, at 100dtons, there is little one can do with a scout ship beyond the classic Type S dating back to the original Traveller RPG. Think of this as a speedy scout or fast-ish converted yacht.
Ship Book: Lune Class Freelancer (Moon Toad Publishing, 2014)
Freelancer? Think more of a small-ish ship for big ADVENTURE.
Orbital Platforms: Construction Rules for Space Stations in the HOSTILE Setting ( Zozer Games, 2022)
When talking HOSTILE think ALIEN or the like. This means most any HOSTILE setting materials can be ported (with a little bit of some conversion effort) into your ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game shenaigans. In addition to recapping platforms from other HOSTILE products, “three example stations are included: a 30,000-ton high port, a 2,000-ton orbital defence station and a 2,000-ton research station.” Xenomorphs not included…as far as you know.
Locale: Startowns (Michael Brown, 2019)
A neat little product for producing startowns outside of spaceports. I like the rules for different law levels or more “shady” happenings. After all, I am more of “scum & villainy” type of adventurer at heart.
Feature image courtesy Moon Toad Publishing
The opinions and views expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and are presented in a personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Navy or any other U.S. government Department, Agency, Office, or employer.
RockyMountainNavy.com © 2007-2025 by Ian B is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 