The Cepheus Game Engine is a retro-clone of Traveller. Jason Kemp did
the work because of the screw up Mongoose made by ending the Traveller
Logo program and switching over to the Traveller Aid Society Community
Content program on the One Bookshelf webistes (RPGNow, DriveThruRPG).

The TAS Program license state that any content released there must
remain there including any derivative work. This type of IP sharing was
pioneered by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 5e. Wizards gave fans of 5e
two choices, one you could use the 5e System Reference Document under
the OGL to publish your own work. However you can't use any trademark,
or D&D IP.  Or you could publish under the DM's Guild and in return
Wizards will allow you do use any of there released books, the Forgotten
Realms IP, and some other IP they made add from time to time. However
your work any anything devired from your work can only be released
within the DM's Guild. There is a 50% royalty compared to the 35% (or
30% exclusive) normal rate that OBS charges.

The TAS program was established by Mongoose to covered the IP of
Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition AND releasing material for the Third
Imperium. That is anything released for the Third Imperium for MgT 2e.
With the same restriction as the DM's Guild.

The problem is that under the MgT 1e Traveller Logo program a number of
ORIGINAL traveller settings were released. When these publishers saw the
restrictions of the TAS License every single one balked at publishing
their material under it. And they are quite justified to do so at it
will kill their ability to release anything based on that setting
anywhere else even for another rule system.

Until the screw-up with Mongoose there been enough of a reason for
anybody to put together a proper retro-clone. The pieces are there when
you combined what been released for Traveller20 and the SRD MgT 1se.
However between Far Future's liberal fan license, the Traveller fan base
used to multiple editions both in print and out of print, and the
natural desire not to rock the boat when it comes to Traveller
publishing meant that unlike classic D&D and the OSR, there never been a
similar movement to produce a Traveller retro-clone.

The MgT 1e Logo program grew slowly but by the time the MgT 2e was
released and the TAS program instituted there were enough publishers
that it was all but certain that somebody would make the effort to
produce a retro-clone. And it turned out to be Jason Kemp and the
Cepheus Game Engine.

Jason could do this because he combined the following sources

Traveller is © 2008 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller and related logos,
character, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of
Far Future Enterprises unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.
Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorized User.

High Guard System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Mercenary System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the
Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles
Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney
Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook,
Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John
Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

Swords & Wizardry Core Rules, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch

System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original
material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

T20 - The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Quiklink Interactive,
Inc. Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used
under license.
Traveller System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

The MgT 1e is very incomplete as a Traveller rule system, but using T20
and bit and pieces of the other RPGs referenced Jason successfully put
together a Traveller clone.

In the year since it release, there has been a 151 products released
classified as Cepheus compatible
http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?filters=45550_0_0_0_0

And only 44 items under the TAS program.
http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/45/Mongoose/subcategory/161_25550/Travellers-Aid-Society

The thing to keep in mind is that if Jason's work doesn't cut it in your
opinions, you can alter it or use the same process as he did to come up
with what you think how it ought to look. And then release it.

On 6/11/2017 10:06 AM, Jim Catchpole (via tml list) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have seen the term "2D6 OGL Sci-Fi" used to refer to the RTT 1e SRD
> for several
> years. To be precise, my understanding is that it refers to the SRD,
> excluding any
> Traveller IP references, since they were explicitly kept under
> copyright by the OGL
> notice attached to the SRD.
>
> Universal Machine Publications produce a set of products they refer to
> as the
> '2d6 Science Fiction System Reference Document' (which aren't free).
> Other than
> that, I'm not aware of an actual document. My copy of the Cepheus SRD
> which
> refers to it as being directly based on the 1e SRD.
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> Cheers,
> Jim
>
> On 11/06/2017 03:03, Jeff Zeitlin wrote:
>> This is probably a dumb question, but...
>>
>> Some of the products recently released as Cepheus Engine Compatible
>> are also badged as "2D6 OGL SCI-FI" compatible. For some reason, I'm
>> assuming that this is _not_ the RTT 1e SRD that Mongoose released. On
>> the assumption that my assumption is correct... where can I find the
>> SRD or Core Rules for "2D6 OGL SCI-FI"?
>>
>> ®Traveller is a registered trademark of
>> Far Future Enterprises, 1977-2017. Use of
>> the trademark in this notice and in the
>> referenced materials is not intended to
>> infringe or devalue the trademark.
>>
>
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