Does Anyone Care? (Cosmere RPG)

[Aldarc]

Has it built up a network effect within the hobby in the past two years similar to what ShadowDark has done? Clearly not.

I am merely pointing out that Big KS dollars do not necessarily translate to a large network effect. (The lifeblood of RPG's). Especially when most of the people backing it are doing so because they see it as collectable merch.

Shadowdark lends itself better to DIY approaches, and SD fans don't really have to contend with creating content for a licensed IP when publishing. There are natural limitations that exist for Avatar Legends that don't exist for Shadowdark.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think Cosmere is inherently niche, with the Cosmere setting having enough books to appeal to Sanderson's fans (hence the Kickstarter success) but also to intimidate non fans.

Yeah and I think there's a real question as to how hard Cosmere fandom will cross over RPG fandom, and also whether Cosmere fans who aren't currently RPG players will start with this RPG.

Aside from the wide disparities in lore knowledge most tables are likely to encounter, I also don't want to be corrected on lore by a superfan when I dare think up something new in my imagination game.

This is one area I do think has the potential to be real issue, because fundamentally, the Cosmere fandom (rather than the more specific fandoms of Mistborn, Stormlight, etc. separately) is built on obsessive lore collation/memorization. Like multiple chapters of a book might only make much sense if you've read entire other trilogies or more, which aren't even set in the same universe. For Cosmere fans this is a selling point, one they clearly really enjoy and will defend to death as a positive (often using some kind of questionable "cross-marketing is an inherent good because it might make the author money!" logic, but that's a different issue), but it does mean that, even compared to Star Trek or Star Wars, the fans are often unusually lore-obsessed and lore-theory-focused.

And more than being character-driven or even conventionally plot-driven, a lot of the books are focused essentially on "lore reveals", which further weights things in this direction (even if said lore reveals tend somewhat to be "Actually the thing people in the setting think is good, is bad!" or vice-versa).

It's possible it won't actually matter much at the table, but it does worry me a bit.

 

[Parmandur]

So, they have physical copies of the products at Ge Con, I cljding their first retail product that was not in the Kickstarter, with box art by Wayne Reynolds:

"In this photo you can see the Stormlight Starter Set, our first post-Kickstarter made-for-retail item. It contains Bridge Nine, the Stormlight Starter Rules, maps and tokens for Bridge Nine, a set of dice, and some initiative cards. So other than the pretty box (and the color of the dice), all these components are already in the Kickstarter. But it's a great way for new folks to jump in."

They have a panel coming today, if any of y'all are at the big con:

"Tomorrow is our "Making Games in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere" panel, where we'll show off some art sneak peeks and talk about what's ahead. It should be a great time!"

 

[TiQuinn]

Yeah and I think there's a real question as to how hard Cosmere fandom will cross over RPG fandom, and also whether Cosmere fans who aren't currently RPG players will start with this RPG.


This is one area I do think has the potential to be real issue, because fundamentally, the Cosmere fandom (rather than the more specific fandoms of Mistborn, Stormlight, etc. separately) is built on obsessive lore collation/memorization. Like multiple chapters of a book might only make much sense if you've read entire other trilogies or more, which aren't even set in the same universe. For Cosmere fans this is a selling point, one they clearly really enjoy and will defend to death as a positive (often using some kind of questionable "cross-marketing is an inherent good because it might make the author money!" logic, but that's a different issue), but it does mean that, even compared to Star Trek or Star Wars, the fans are often unusually lore-obsessed and lore-theory-focused.

And more than being character-driven or even conventionally plot-driven, a lot of the books are focused essentially on "lore reveals", which further weights things in this direction (even if said lore reveals tend somewhat to be "Actually the thing people in the setting think is good, is bad!" or vice-versa).

It's possible it won't actually matter much at the table, but it does worry me a bit.

The idea of playing or running a Cosmere game is absolutely daunting to me because in all likelihood, it’ll have been a superfan who even brought it to the table in the first place, while I have very little connection to the books, and that difference will likely come out at the table. The mere idea that “I’m doing it wrong” would put me off this one.

 

[Retreater]

The idea of playing or running a Cosmere game is absolutely daunting to me because in all likelihood, it’ll have been a superfan who even brought it to the table in the first place, while I have very little connection to the books, and that difference will likely come out at the table. The mere idea that “I’m doing it wrong” would put me off this one.

I have a Sanderson superfan at my table. I've read 1.25 of his books.
This is why I rarely run RPGs set in established IPs (which includes big campaign settings). They seem more shackles to creativity than inspiration.

 

[Campbell]

So, part of the reason I personally have not felt compelled to really talk about it is because this is basically what we got during the Kickstarter. There's just not a lot of new to talk about because most of discussions we'd be having are the same as the ones we had last year around this time. We have some more content, but the core systems have not changed at all.

 

[Vael]

My current group has a superfan (he went to the Sanderson convention a few months back), and a casual reader, and the rest of us (including myself) haven't read any of his books. So there's some interest in maybe playing the system, but Daggerheart is suiting us well and there's both DnD 5e24 and a Final Fantasy RPG that has three members of the group pretty jazzed ... so we might play Cosmere, but it'll be an uphill battle.

It's a crowded market these days, and TTRPGs require a lot more investment than a boardgame or videogame, so I guess I'm in a wait and see mode.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The Status Quo effect is about the individual table. Every one has come together to play a particular system (usually D&D) and are now wanting to play something else. But everyone has a veto and it is impossible to get the table to agree to play another system.

I do feel a need to note this is only true when "everyone" is both stubborn and irreplaceable. In many groups, if there are five players and four of them want to play something else, the one standout is likely going to think hard if he wants to bail out completely and/or have to find a new group. In other words, its not necessarily a veto, and social pressure can make it completely go away unless the person is determined.

The DM effect is the DM deciding to play a particular system seeking players who are interested. This is DM led and relies on the DM marketing the game to the players. It is less dependant on a particular system and rather themes, genres and play styles.

Though system similarity is, for many groups, not a completely irrelevant factor. Selling people who mostly play D&D adjacent games on other similar games is easier than selling them on a BRP derivative.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I'm just not that jazzed for any game setting known primarily through novels (or particularly sprawlingly long media franchises of other sorts). Aside from the wide disparities in lore knowledge most tables are likely to encounter, I also don't want to be corrected on lore by a superfan when I dare think up something new in my imagination game.

Though this sort of thing isn't limited to games coming from media; sometimes games have been around long enough they've generated their own lore in enough detail you can run into this problem (looks over at RuneQuest and WarhammerFR).

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

I am not familiar with the source material.

How is this game different from D&D?