The Cosmere Game Review

Who is Brandon Sanderson?​

Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prominent fantasy authors writing today. If you haven’t heard of him, it may be because none of his books have been adapted for film or television—though that may change soon, as he is in discussions with producers.

What is the Cosmere?​

The Cosmere is a fictional universe created by Brandon Sanderson, serving as the setting for many of his novels. It includes two major series and several standalone works, each with its own magic system and cast of characters. While these stories can be enjoyed independently, crossovers and connections between them are becoming increasingly common.

Rules​

The Cosmere Game uses a d20-based rolling system with advantage and disadvantage, making it easy for D&D fans to learn. However, it introduces several key differences—such as allowing two sources of advantage to cancel out a single source of disadvantage, and using stat numbers that are identical to their modifiers, similar to Pathfinder. The game also borrows mechanics from several other TTRPG systems:

• Complication dice (d6s) are rolled during high-stakes actions, similar to the Genesys system.
• Armor reduces damage rather than preventing hits, as in Shadow of the Demon Lord.
• Three-action turns, with many actions costing two points, resemble Pathfinder’s system.
• Fast turns let players act earlier in the round by sacrificing one action, again inspired by Shadow of the Demon Lord.

Tone and Style of Play​

The Cosmere Game emphasizes diplomacy, negotiation, and exploration as much if not more than combat. Sanderson’s novels contain relatively few monsters and often focus on social conflicts, shifting alliances, and character-driven plots. At least one character class, the diplomat, also appear to have limited combat capabilities.

That said, the first released scenario focused on exploration and concluded with a chase scene—suggesting that action will still play a role. The game’s tone may vary depending on the group and scenario.

Brandon Sanderson is personally involved in writing the official scenarios and has said he intends to use them to explore parts of the world that couldn’t be shown in his books. These scenarios will be canon, giving fans new insights into the Cosmere setting.

What About Players New to Sanderson?​

For those unfamiliar with Sanderson’s work, the game still offers something fresh. His setting avoids familiar fantasy tropes—there are no orcs, dragons, or traditional fireball spells. Instead, he builds unique magic systems with just a few abilities, then explores a wide range of creative uses for them.

For a TTRPG, this translates into highly flexible mechanics. Players with imagination will find room to experiment, strategize, and bend the rules of magic in clever ways.

Compatibility with the Mistborn Game​

As mentioned, The Cosmere Game is set in the world of the Stormlight Archive. A separate TTRPG already exists for Mistborn, Sanderson’s other major Cosmere series.

It has been announced that they will eventually add rules to unify the two systems with player characters that can travel between worlds. The rulesets are currently different, but it’s been announced that they will be made compatible.

That said, this will likely have to wait on certain future developments in the novels—in particular the introduction of world-hopping main characters— before that is allowed to happen.

Should You Get It?​

Between its canon storylines, creative magic systems, and narrative-focused design, The Cosmere Game offers something very different than the average dungeon crawl. Whether you're a long-time fan of Sanderson’s novels or just looking for a new kind of fantasy experience, the game promises to be well worth keeping an eye on.

 

[Parmandur]

As mentioned, The Cosmere Game is set in the world of the Stormlight Archive. A separate TTRPG already exists for Mistborn, Sanderson’s other major Cosmere series.

It has been announced that they will eventually add rules to unify the two systems with player characters that can travel between worlds. The rulesets are currently different, but it’s been announced that they will be made compatible.

To be clear, the Mistborn Adventure game is out of print now, and there is a new implementation of tgst Setting coming out next year that uses the same engine as Stormlight.

 

[GMMichael]

. . . At least one character class, the diplomat, also appear to have limited combat capabilities.

. . . Brandon Sanderson is personally involved in writing the official scenarios and has said he intends to use them to explore parts of the world that couldn’t be shown in his books. These scenarios will be canon, giving fans new insights into the Cosmere setting.

Well, that's pretty cool!

I notice you write "d20-based" instead of "5e compatible." Does that mean the die does the heavy lifting, or the game is using the older "d20 system?"

 

[Parmandur]

Well, that's pretty cool!

Yeah, they hit a very nice balance here: Sanderson said he wanted to provide people the opportunity to play a campaign that could create a shared "table canon" thwt would fit into the books, though he also shares his personal experience of Star Wars d6 where they got the original cast killed accidentally and built an entire campaign of "fixing the timeline" so this game doesn't require slavish devotion to canon. But the rewritten Adventures do fill that role, and a group thst stays fairly on rails can imagine their characters exist in the future novels in the background.

I notice you write "d20-based" instead of "5e compatible." Does that mean the die does the heavy lifting, or the game is using the older "d20 system?"

This is "Yes/Both/And/Neither" territory. It is not a 5E engine game, or even a D&D or d20 variant strictly speaking. But the resolution mwchanic is rolling a d20 against a target DC with Attribute & Skill modifiers with a pretty familiar mathematical spread. There is advantage and disadvantage, but it has some different details (can apply.yo damage dice, stacks, etc).

But the Attributes are different: Strenth, Speed, Intellect, Willpower, Awareness and Presence are the attributes, which are just plus modifiers (0-3 at Level 1, capped at 10 by Level 20 if one focuses on upping one to the max). They generate three defenses: Physical (10 + Strength + Speed), Cognitive (10 + Intellect + Willpower), and Spiritual (10 + Awareness + Presence).