Logging all the main differences to the most classic of d20 systems.
The Cosmere RPG takes a lot of ideas from d20 systems (like D&D) and works it into a system based around the Cosmere. But while the broad approaches remain quite familiar, there are plenty of differences too. Some of these alterations are about streamlining or improving mechanics while others are necessary to make the game feel more like playing in the Cosmere.
My groups typically play D&D, as do most TTRPG groups. To help these people out, I’ve documented the most important differences between the Cosmere RPG and D&D 5e. Hopefully, for those that haven’t had chance yet to read the full rules, this will be a useful resource for knowing what differences to expect and where to focus your reading on the rules.
How is the Cosmere RPG similar to D&D?
I’ll start with the similarities. The Cosmere RPG borrows a lot of the broad approaches from d20 systems like D&D. You have the same polyhedral dice, d20s are used for tests and attributes (ability scores) and skills add modifiers to show how competent you are at those tests.
You should expect a system that combines combat, social and exploratory gameplay. There’s level progression, character sheets and things like defenses (AC) to determine whether attacks hit. Paths (classes) provide talents (features) which enhance your specialties. You’ll have hit points, a move speed, weapons with ranges and different damage types, armor for protection and so on.
At a broad level, the similarities are fairly clear and reading through the handbook, it’s easy to feel a fair bit of familiarity with the approach here, even if a lot of the specifics are quite different…
What are the differences between the Cosmere RPG and D&D?
Having said all of that, there are some quite significant differences with D&D in the Cosmere RPG. I’ve listed out the most significant ones I could find in my initial reading of the rules.
Character differences
Path talent trees instead of classes
Instead of a class with set features gained at each level, the Cosmere RPG follows more of a skill tree approach. You can mix and match from multiple paths, and each path has multiple subpaths (specialties) you can follow (kind of like subclasses, but again, you don’t have to just stick to one).
Attributes
This the name of ability scores in the Cosmere RPG and they function in a similar way with a few differences. Investing points in attributes will make you better at things related to those attributes. Like D&D, your modifier will usually range from 0-5 (though D&D let’s you go into minuses). But in the Cosmere RPG, your attribute score and modifier are the same number. There are also different classifications of attributes:
- Strength
- Speed
- Intellect
- Willpower
- Awareness
- Presence
Defences
You have 3 different types of defences; physical, cognitive and spiritual. These will defend against different things.
Each defense type is based on 2 different attributes and their combined score. This is unlike D&D where defences are primarily determined by AC which is a combination of dexterity and armor or associated with saving throws that can relate to any ability. For the Cosmere RPG, armor doesn’t even affect your defenses, instead it provides a deflect score which reduces incoming damage.
Skills
Skills are fairly similar to how they work in D&D. There are some different skills, but largely they encompass similar things.
However, while you still add your relevant attribute to skill checks, you don’t have a proficiency bonus or skills you’re proficient in. The Cosmere RPG is more granular than that. Instead, as you level up, you receive skill ranks you can spend on different skills. This means much more variable skill checks, but also more control over what you’re good at and how good you are at it.
Also, skill checks encompass your attack rolls too.
Expertise
These represent specialist areas of knowledge and training in certain areas. They aren’t a thing in D&D though you will find them in other RPG systems (like Daggerheart).
In some cases, they mean you can do or know something that others without that expertise wouldn’t know or do (like speak a language, have detailed knowledge on obscure cultural or religious knowledge, craft an item or wield a Shardblade). In other instances, they let you use the expert traits of weapon or armor.
Movement rate
This is determined by attributes (speed) rather than your species.
Senses
This is determined by attributes (awareness) rather than your species (through things like darkvision or blindsense).
Focus
Abilities in D&D are often fuelled by multiple expendables from various character features, often with multiple expendables to be tracked simultaneously. The Cosmere RPG has a unified expendable for talents and special actions known as focus which will power your special features and abilities.
Investiture
Linked to this is investiture which fuels your magical powers when you become a radiant. In this sense, it’s similar to spell slots and other magical expendables like channel divinity. However, it’s simplified a little. You don’t have spell slots of varying power levels to worry about, instead you just lose the amount of investiture an ability requires to fuel it.
Multi-pathing
Multiclassing in D&D comes with some restrictions and isn’t really considered the standard format for character progression. In the Cosmere RPG, you might specialise to some degree, but it is expected that you’ll take multiple paths and certainly multiple specialties. Even if you stick primarily with a single heroic path, you’ll likely end up taking a radiant path at some point too. Multi-pathing is not only much more fluid in the Cosmere RPG, it’s also much more common.
Magic items (fabrials and shards)
Magic items, at least in the Stormlight Archive setting, come under 2 main types; shards (shard weapons and shardplate) and fabrials. Fabrials are a sort of magical technology that harnesses the power of spren (which fuel powers on Roshar). Shards are powerful forms of weaponry and armor that grant much greater protection and damage output. While less varied in nature to magic items in D&D, they are often very powerful items too.
Combat mechanics
Action economy
Your turn isn’t made up of 3 distinctive types of actions (movement, action and bonus action). Instead you simply have 3 actions which can include things like movement, attacks, class abilities etc and you can mix and match this however you like on your turn, as long as you stay within the 3 actions limit.
This means, for example, you can move 3 times or move twice and then make an attack, both of which are only possible for a rogue in D&D (through the dash action and cunning actions) but available for any character in the Cosmere RPG.
Order of combat
This is quite different in the Cosmere RPG. Instead of rolling for initiative, players decide each turn if they want to take a fast or slow turn. If you want to take a fast turn, you go before everyone else, but have 1 less action to use. Turn order will also follow this formula (characters in the same turn order decide among themselves what order they take their turns):
- Fast PCs
- Fast NPCs
- Slow PCs
- Slow NPCs
The plot die
This is a completely new mechanic that allows the DM or sometimes players to raise the stakes of a skill test and roll the plot die. Doing so gives you a chance of receiving a complication (something problematic) or an opportunity (something beneficial) into the narrative or the gameplay.
Raising the stakes can occur in combat, social situations or really any time skill checks are being made. It should only be used when a crucial test is being made though so as not to ware out its impact. There’s not really anything like this in D&D. It’s probably more reminiscent of Daggerheart’s hope and fear system. But unlike hope and fear, it’s not always being used for every skill test.
Additional actions
Beyond special actions available through paths, there are additional actions that any character can take that you won’t find in D&D.
For example, there’s the brace action to impose disadvantage on enemy attacks against you and the gain advantage action that will let you perform a skill test to get advantage on your next attack. You can also use 2 actions to recover health and/or focus once per scene as if you’d taken a short rest.
Additional reactions
You can use your reaction in more ways too. For example, you can use:
- Aid – Use a focus to grant advantage on an ally’s skill test.
- Avoid danger – Make a skill test to potentially avoid the peril of your surroundings.
- Dodge – Impose disadvantage on an attack against you by using a focus.
- Reactive strike – Use a focus to make an attack against an enemy that leaves your reach.
Conditions
Both D&D and the Cosmere RPG have conditions that affect you in various ways. Some of these conditions are similar like surprised, prone and restrained (though to fit with Cosmere mechanics, may function slightly differently). In other cases though, they are completely different to what you’ll have experienced in D&D.
Some completely new conditions in the Cosmere RPG (at least for D&D players) include; afflicted, determined, disoriented, empowered, enhanced, focused, immobilised and slowed
Advantage and disadvantage
While this largely works the same, you can choose the highest/lowest roll of any die that’s part of a test, not just the d20 (as in D&D). This means an attack with damage rolls could see you roll the damage die twice instead to see if you can cause more damage.
Turn time
In D&D, turns are generally considered to take 6 seconds. In the Cosmere RPG, they take about 10 seconds. This is a nod to the time it takes to summon a Shardblade (10 heartbeats) but doesn’t really change gameplay significantly.
Death
Death in the Cosmere RPG is both harder to come by and harder to recover from (there’s no raise dead spell). If you are knocked to 0 hit points, you suffer an injury. This causes you to roll on the injury table and if your score is -6 or lower, you die. A single injury or 2 won’t normally cause death, but more stacked injuries might do as they cause a -5 to your score each.
Injuries
To make dropping to 0 hit points more meaningful, you instead incur injuries which debilitate you, usually temporarily. The more injuries you have though, the higher the risk of death.
Other differences
Lore
The lore is obviously different. Don’t expect adventures in the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. Settings in the Cosmere RPG will focus on the worlds of the Cosmere (of course). This will start with Roshar of the Stormlight Archive before heading to Scadriel (from Mistborn) and then on to other worlds beyond that.
Social interactions
There’s a slightly greater emphasis on social interactions in the Cosmere RPG than in D&D. For example, it’s assumed that many social interactions will require a series of skill tests to accomplish success.
While this can be true in D&D, it’s mechanically implemented through the use of focus. This will let NPCs resist your attempts to influence them (if this is appropriate). This naturally means that you may need 2 or more successes to persuade an NPC with at least 2 focus.
The plot die adds another layer to social interactions, where the stakes can be raised and complications or opportunities introduced too.
Endeavours
These are longer segments where characters attempt to accomplish some kind of objective like sneaking through a guarded location or searching a city for an escaped convict. They tend to rely on multiple skill checks to determine eventual success or failure. They don’t exist in 5e but have existed in previous editions of D&D.
These were all the major differences I could find in how the Cosmere RPG is different to D&D. What do you think of how the Cosmere RPG is changing up classic d20 systems? Let me know in the comments below.
