Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere TTRPG is set to break more Kickstarter records

He’s done it again: New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson has created a new Kickstarter for his Cosmere RPG developed by Brotherwise Games. The campaign has raised nearly $6 million in its first 48 hours, and will surely break the record of $6.7 million that Sanderson’s previous Kickstarter brought in. It’s quite possible that at the end of this campaign, Sanderson could overtake the previous top-funded TTRPG record on Kickstarter, Avatar Legends at $9.5 million.

As our resident Brandon Sanderson fan, I’m going to try and break down what the Kickstarter is about for you. Beta rules and two adventures are available for testing on DriveThruRPG and Demiplane, but I’m going to focus on the world of Cosmere, and what fans of the books will get from the RPG.

What is the Cosmere?

The Cosmere is the name given to the universe that Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels take place in. To quote directly from his website:

“All of my Cosmere books share a single creation myth, a single cosmology, that gives underlying theorem of magic for all these connected worlds. The theorem is not simple – I can’t really encapsulate it in one sentence – but you can map out how the magic all fits together in the Cosmere using this kind of super theorem. Since all the worlds in the Cosmere are connected, that means you should pay attention. Certain characters from one series sometimes show up in other series. You don’t often need to know this is going on to enjoy the book, but if you keep your eyes open, you’ll be rewarded with glimpses of these Worldhoppers now and then.”

This is important to know because the TTRPG is designed for games set in the Cosmere, not just Mistborn or Stormlight. It’s an over-arching rules system designed to encompass each world, so Sanderson fans of all types have something to look forward to.

The Cosmere RPG was originally the Stormlight RPG

The Stormlight Archive is a grand fantasy series currently being written by Sanderson, much like George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time (which Sanderson finished on the request of Jordan before his passing).

The Stormlight Archive takes place on a world known as Roshar, which is besieged by massive storms that shaped the world and civilization; cities can only be built where they’re sheltered from these massive events, and even the trees and plants have evolved to be able to withdraw their leaves to protect themselves. Centuries ago, the Knights Radiant — warriors who protected the world — betrayed mankind on the day known a the Day of Recreance, and are considered traitors to mankind. Yet they left behind their armor and weapons known as shardplate and shardblades: armor which can give a person superhuman abilities, and weapons which can cut through any object without leaving a mark. It goes without saying that kingdoms will fight and fall for these ancient relics.

The Stormlight Archive currently covers six books: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Edgedancer, Oathbringer, Dawnshard, and Rhythm of War.

Stormlight will be the first game available in the Cosmere RPG

Stormlight World Guide, Stormlight Handbook, and Stormlight Stonewalkers Adventure are the first books coming out in the Cosmere RPG, all due out in 2025. The Stormlight World Guide will be a 224-page hardcover (or PDF) that covers the history, culture, and key players from the Stormlight Archive. This is being touted as a book that even non-players will want to have, as it will have new information that is canon to the world of the books.

The Stormlight Handbook will be the first core rulebook released for the Cosmere TTRPG, and will include all of the rules needed to create characters and play, or GM a campaign, within the world of Roshar. Looking at the Kickstarter campaign page, it appears that three playable classes in Stormlight will be Shardbearers (characters with the relic armor and weapons), Artifabrians (think scholars who can use technology) and Knights Radiant (they were gone, but it seems some people might still be able to use the power of the once knightly order).

Mistborn joins the TTRPG in 2026

The books after Stormlight will be based on the Mistborn series. As Mistborn currently is split into two different eras (a fantasy era and a wild west type era), the core Mistborn book will have lore and rules for both eras to be play settings. Currently, this is slated for a release in 2026. This is also my favorite series from Sanderson, and I am definitely looking forward to this.

Now then, does anyone have $295 they could give me so I can get in on this while I’m at it? Anyone?