Brandon Sanderson is a megastar author who likes to do things his way if he thinks it’ll be better. We were expecting the Stormlight RPG and got the Cosmere RPG instead. Cosmere is the system that will work for the whole universe of novels, with Stormlight first and Mistborn next in 2026.
The Kickstarter from Brotherwise Games is breaking records and, with 20 days to go, has over $6 million pledged. Magpie Games currently holds the record for Avatar Legends and $10 million. Always overly generous, Kicktraq suggests that Cosmere will hit $38 million. It’s an explosion of money!
We’ll look at the Kickstarter in a sec, but there are already several freebies as samples.
The Cosmere beta rules are out and free.
The beta rules are a 94-page download that offers the basic rules, character generation, items, how to adventure, combat, gamemastering and adversaries.
The Cosmere Bridge Nine Adventure is also out. It’s a 29-page download, free, and set in the Stormlight Archive.
You are not yet heroes. You currently live in a warcamp at the edge of the Shattered Plains, a vast expanse of chasms and plateaus. Today, you’re traveling with soldiers and scholars loyal to an Alethi noble named highprince Sadeas.
That is where our story begins. A few days ago, a highstorm uncovered ruins dating back to the Silver Kingdoms.
Now, you’re part of an expedition sent across the barren stone to investigate what’s left of those ruins.
Demiplane has also released the official digital toolset with the Cosmere Nexus. That’s free to try.
In the toolset, you also have access to the riles, and the beta rules are included, but get them optimised for your device with interactive toolkits, cross-references and other enhancements.
Demiplane isn’t the only digital partner. Fantasy Grounds will also support the game and have the playtest too.
Cosmere Kickstarter
The Kickstarter will run until August 30th and has retailer support. Interestingly, the URL of the project includes The-Stormlight-Archive-RPG so perhaps the Cosmere switch happened later or perhaps that was always the plan and the URL was to misdirect us!
The system begins with Stormlight and then the running order will be;
- Mistborn in 2026.
- Elantris with no date yet.
- Worldhopper with no date yet.
The offer for fans of the books is that each Cosmere RPG will officially expand the lore.
The offer for gamers is that we’re getting a unique system designed by Andrew Fischer (Star Wars: Edge of the Empire), Lydia Suen (Legend of the Five Rings), Max Brooke (Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay), and Laura Hirsbrunner (Dungeons & Dragons).
What about the system? It’s d20-based, which is similar to 5e but also includes talent trees, skill-based magic and a plot dice.
Even if you aren’t familiar with Brandon Sanderson’s books, this is a chance to experience his renowned worldbuilding and magic systems with two incredibly unique settings. We designed each release to be accessible to new fans, and hope for many people to experience the cosmere for the first time through the Cosmere RPG!
For just $1, backers get access to the expansive add-ons, which is a way to get the merch, like painted minis, without getting the books.
Backers who find $60 get access to any one core book in PDF.
Thousands of fans are going higher, though, and backing at “The Reader” tier at $95. This gets any one core book in physical and PDF form.
Nearly as many hopeful gamers are pledging $195 for the “The Player” tier that gets;
- Stormlight World Guide
- Stormlight Handbook
- Stormlight Basic Dice Set
- Mistborn World Guide
- Mistborn Handbook
- Plot Deck
- PDFs of the included sourcebooks
GMs can pledge higher, and the $295 tier has more than the previous tiers combined. More than 6,000 backers have found the money at the time of writing. In addition to the previous goodies, GMs also get;
- Stormlight Stonewalkers Adventures
- Stormlight GM Screen
- Mistborn Legacy Adventure
- Item Cards
- Punchboard Tokens Pack
- Adventure Maps Pack
- Level Zero Guide & Module
The Collector tier unlocks at $385 and is even more popular with over 8,000 backers to date. That adds more dice and minis to the GM tier.
Brotherwise Games estimates a September 2025 delivery for each tier.
Quick Links
- Cosmere RPG beta rules | Roll20 version.
- Bridge Nine Adventure | Roll20 version.
- Cosmere Nexus
- Fantasy Grounds Cosmere.
- Cosmere Kickstarter.
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