A bit of background on the Cosmere and what it is.
With the impending launch of the Cosmere RPG, there may be some out there that have little knowledge of the Cosmere, but are keen to play the RPG. Or maybe some that have read the books but simply need a refresher. This article is for these people.
As with anything in the Cosmere, so much is inter-related that it’s difficult to be completely spoiler free. But I’ve put together this introduction in a way that I think shouldn’t spoil anything major in the books, or that you couldn’t gather from reading the early segments of any of the series.
But if you do intend to play the Cosmere RPG, you will at least need some grounding in the universe and things like its magic systems. As a consequence, some of what I say may be considered mild spoiler territory. So if you want to go into the books completely spoiler free, turn away now. Otherwise, what I say won’t ruin any major plot points for anyone that wants to read the books later on.
What is the Cosmere?
The Cosmere is a fictional universe that includes gods, magic and even different species. And it is a universe in the sense that it has different worlds and systems inhabited by people and on which different stories are told.
For example, books in the Stormlight Archive tackle events on a planet called Roshar, the Mistborn series is about events on Scadriel and the Elantris books handle a world known as Sel.
These worlds are mostly isolated from one another, but there is some crossover. This means that in the Cosmere RPG, you can tell stories focused on a single world, but it’s also possible to cross between worlds (known in the Cosmere as worldhopping).
The worlds of the cosmere
There are many worlds in the Cosmere. Most are uninhabited and unimportant. I won’t give a comprehensive list of these here (that’s something for another article), but instead, I’ve listed the ones that are featured in books published so far:
| Planet | Planetary System | Books |
|---|---|---|
| First of the Sun | Drominad System | Sixth of the Dusk |
| Nalthis | Nalthian System | Warbreaker |
| Ashyn | Rosharan System | The Stormlight Archive |
| Braize | Rosharan System | The Stormlight Archive |
| Roshar | Rosharan System | The Stormlight Archive |
| Scadriel | Scadrian System | Mistborn |
| Sel | Selish System | Elantris |
| Taldain | Taldain System | White Sand |
| Threnody | Threnodite System | Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell |
| Canticle | Unknown | The Sunlit Man |
| Lumar | Unknown | Tress of the emerald Sea |
The gods of the Cosmere
Thousands of years ago, there was a single god-like entity known as Adonalsium. Adonalsium possessed the powers of magic and creation, creating the Cosmere itself.
However, Adonalsium was destroyed and its power was split into 16 shards, each granted to a different individual. Each shard holds different powers depending on the aspect associated with the shard (such as honor or preservation).
These individuals spread across the Cosmere to different worlds, creating or inhabiting them. Because of this, different worlds have different magical systems influenced by the shards brought to those worlds.
The magic of the Cosmere
Part of the journey of the Cosmere books is learning more about how the different magic systems work. I’ll try to avoid any details that go too deep into any one magic system, but will instead stick to the broader ways they work that you might discover early in a book series.
The magic system of Roshar
Magic on Roshar (the world of the Stormlight Archive) works through bonds made with spren. Spren are beings of varying intelligence (in the same way animals and humans differ in levels of intelligence). Different spren represent different emotions and ideals.
If a spren decides to bond with someone, that individual gains powers associated with that spren. For example, bonding a windspren will grant the powers of a windrunner. This will allow you to lash yourself in different directions, shifting gravity for yourself and essentially allowing you to fly. A lightweaver can create illusions, including around their person and so on. All bonded individuals can also do things like heal themselves too.
These powers are limited though by the Stormlight held within that individual’s body. Stormlight is a sort of gaseous substance held within gemstones. It can be breathed in by a bonded individual to fuel their powers, but once you run out of Stormlight, your powers stop working.
The magic system of Scadriel
Scadriel (the world of the Mistborn series) has magic derived from metals that are used in 3 different ways.
The first of these is allomancy where each metal is associated with different powers. For example, tin heightens your senses, zinc and brass let you influence emotional states and steel lets you push against metal objects.
But this power isn’t available to just anyone. Only those of a certain heritage can access these powers. And most only have the abilities to use one type of metal.
There is also feruchemy which is a different manifestation of magic with metals that only those of a Terris bloodline can use. Where allomancers consume and burn metals to power their abilities, feruchemists store powers from their body into metalminds, which are pieces of metal worn on their body.
Like allomancy, feruchemy has different powers associated with different metals. Steel stores speed, tin stores senses and so on.
Finally, there’s hemallurgy which involves using metal spikes to take the investiture from one individual and transfer it into another, granting them magical abilities.
The magic system of Sel
Sel is the world of the Elantris series where people can use AonDor to draw glowing symbols into the air or carve them into physical objects. When drawn by an Elantrian (an individual invested with powers), these symbols can cause magical effects. Different symbols and different variants of those symbols will alter the effects of the magic performed.
There are 3 other forms of magic mentioned in the books, all of which we know little about so far. ChayShan is a kind of meditative martial art whereas Dakhor creates symbols on the skin to transform an individual. Forgery appears to be related to Dakhor and uses stamps to apply symbols to an object or person to change them according to the blueprint on the stamp.
The magic system of Nalthis
Nalthis is the world of the Warbreaker book. Here, all people are born with a breath which can be given to others (but only if the giver is willing). A single breath will provide a sort of sixth sense, but increasing the number of breaths you hold will increase the powers you possess.
This can vary from basic capabilities like perfect pitch or resistance to disease to the the ability to bring inanimate objects or even dead creatures to be temporarily controlled and animated.
That’s all the context you need to dive into a Cosmere RPG campaign. Want to know a bit more about what the Cosmere is? Ask away in the comments below.
