Warrior Path Optimisation Guide for the Cosmere RPG

Helping you build a powerful warrior character for the Cosmere RPG.

Warrior talents

Knowing which talents are best and will work well for your character is more important in the Cosmere RPG than in D&D. This is because you have a lot more choice over which talents you take rather than the more rigid progression found in D&D for classes.

To help you pick the right talents for your character, I’ve split them into the various specialties and I’ve also divided them by level. This shows the fewest number of levels you need to gain this talent when following the most direct path down the talent tree (ignoring the extra talent Humans receive at certain levels). This is just to help you know how quickly you can get each talent (as I find the alphabetical order in the book a little unhelpful).

I’ve also rated each talent to give you an idea of how good I think it is. This is a rough rating. Some builds may find different talents more important or integral to their build so don’t be put off by a low score if you think it’s going to help your character or work for them.

All Specialties

To take any path, you must first take the key talent.

Level 1 talent

Vigilant stance (4/5)

Being able to take the dodge and reactive strike reactions without expending focus is a pretty big boon. As a melee specialist, you should be in a position to use one of these reactions each round and can save your focus for other uses.

Just be aware that this is not an always on talent. You must activate vigilant stance. It also conflicts with other stances you acquire so you can only use one at a time. This means you may not want to bother grabbing too many stances as you won’t be able to use them all at the same time (though having a few stances will make you quite adaptable).

I did try to work out if it was possible to benefit from multiple stances in the same round, but the writers seem to have been capable and the answer is no, you can’t really benefit from multiple stances in the same round without basically giving up as much as you gain from transitioning to that stance.

Duelist

Level 2 talents

Practiced kata (3/5)

Losing the action cost for entering vigilant stance at the beginning of combat is solid. And despite the wording, this is the case for conversations and endeavours too (the actions cost mentioned is for if you’re surprised or changing between stances that doesn’t start with vigilant stance).

It’s worth noting though that vigilant stance is no good in endeavours and conversations, it’s just there to set you up to enter a more useful stance. Stances you gain from the duelist specialty will give you out of combat benefits which I’ve summarised below:

• Flamestance: Advantage on intimidation tests.
• Ironstance: Advantage on insight tests.
• Vinestance: Increased cognitive defence might be of use.

I suspect flamestance and ironstance will be of the most use here. Just be aware of the focus cost of switching into these stances outside of combat.

Flamestance (3/5)

An extra action is a strong option. Your first turn using flamestance requires an action so this essentially restores parity, but future turns will benefit from an extra action.

The challenge with this stance is maintaining a 1v1 setup which is problematic for 2 reasons; you’ll likely want to work with allies to take down a single enemy quickly and as a warrior, you’ll likely want to be on the front lines attracting enemy attacks away from more vulnerable characters. This could make flamestance hard to maintain it’s benefits throughout a combat. It might work better in a party with multiple warriors in it. Being maneuverable could also help here too. In fact that extra action will make it easier to grab advantage or disengage to move around and basically do more with your turn.

Level 3 talents

Ironstance (4/5)

More easily accessible reactive strikes is great for a tank that should be working to attract attacks. There will be a focus cost here (it’s a worthwhile one though) but you will cause more damage more quickly. It also comes at the expense of not being able to take defensive reactions like dodge. Use this if you want to go all out attack and minimal defence.

This could combine well with talents that let you take an extra reaction. The better your attacks, the more worthwhile this becomes too so consider pairing up with talents like the soldier’s combat training for a free graze per round, the shardbearer’s mighty talent for extra damage per hit or the their shard training for more powerful attacks.

Signature weapon (4/5)

This only works for one weapon type so you’ll likely be focusing on one weapon as much as possible, but it expands your opportunity range. This means you get an opportunity on a wider range of d20 scores (normally this changes from 20 to 19-20) at tier 3 this increases 1 more. Basically, it increases your chances of rolling an opportunity by 5% each time. This means more restored focus and critical hits which is fairly strong.

The more attacks you can make, the better with this as it ups the odds of attacking with opportunity. Ironstance will help you accomplish this. A soldier’s swift strikes will help here too.

Feinting strike (5/5)

This requires 2 focus, so you won’t be able to use it all the time, but it does have some big benefits.

First off, as worked out in my adversary analysis, cognitive defenses of adversaries tend to be worse than physical ones so by targeting a cognitive defense, chances are you’re going to hit more easily.

Second, removing focus from an enemy will nullify them a decent bit. This is going to work best with a high rank in intimidation so make sure this is at least decent if you want to go this route. I’d focus this on tougher enemies that are more likely to use their focus in more problematic ways.

Removing enemy reactions will let you move away without fear of opportunity attacks and will make enemies less able to resist your attacks.

Finally, an opportunity will give you 2 extra actions to use on the strike action or changing a stance. Wielding 2 weapons is more likely to let you get something out of this as you could use both actions to make a strike for instance. This also works with a soldier’s swift strikes too. Signature weapon will make you more likely to land an opportunity too.

I wasn’t sure about this at first, but this isn’t the strike action. I think this means you can still use the strike action on your turn with the same weapon, even if you’ve already used feinting strike. Of course, with the high focus cost, you can’t always use actions like this, but it does mean you can have some very aggressive turns of attacks.

Level 4 talents

Vinestance (4/5)

This is a more defensive stance. Extra physical and cognitive defense on a frontline warrior is always great. A reaction to cause an attacker to lose focus is great against tougher enemies with lots of focus abilities as you can reduce their focus a bit. You can also push them away up to 25ft which could be useful for forcing them to use an action to move rather than a more all out aggressive approach.

Wit’s end (2/5)

You won’t always use this, but it can be devastating. There’s a lot of damage here, but just be aware it’s a bit situational and kind of high risk and high reward.

It costs 2 actions (true you do get a bit of movement too). It also costs a focus and can only be used against enemies with no focus. Even then, a target with no focus is likely battered already and the extra damage may not be needed to finish them off.

What this means is that while this is a very good talent occasionally, it’s also highly situational which makes it less useful most of the time.

As a side note to GMs, I think the loss of focus is a physical manifestation. The target is tired and distracted and this could be noticed by an attacker. I don’t think players should have to guess if the target has no focus, I think it’s OK to say they look like they don’t.

Shardbearer

Level 2 talents

Shard training (5/5)

Expertise in shardplate and a shard weapons is potent. Both are powerful pieces of equipment. All shard weapons will do more damage than standard weapons, but for the higher damage warhammer and the ranged grand bow, you’ll need 5 strength which may take a little while for some characters. A Shardblade is still excellent though.

Add to this a once per round graze damage to enemies equal to your rank in the skill used to make the attack. This makes you very good at dealing with crowds of enemies. You’ll want to invest in the heavy weaponry skill (which will also help your attacks hit). And on that note, more attacks means more chances to land this damage. Consider things like the soldier’s swift strikes or ironstance (for reaction attacks) to increase this. Flame stance will be no good though as it relies on 1v1 combat.

With shardplate, your attacks will be better too. You’ll have increased strength and speed making you more likely to hit. You’ll also have the best possible deflect (5) and extra deflect at the expense of a charge (you’ll usually have 6 with this talent instead of the normal 4). Just be aware that if you lose all charges, your shardplate is going to cause you some problems so deflect carefully.

Stonestance (4/5)

Unlike some stances, stonestance doesn’t require any action economy other than potentially activating it. An extra deflect is going to be very useful for a character diving into the middle of combat. You can also protect allies by forcing an extra action to attack them. So keep allies and enemies as close a possible and draw attacks against yourself.

Level 3 talents

Windstance (3/5)

Windstance is a bit more balanced than other stances. Advantage on agility tests will protect you a bit from attacks that might knock you prone or restrain you, while you can get an extra action to disengage (for manoeuvrability) or make an attack. It’s best for when you need to move around the battlefield a lot (perhaps to defend allies).

Mighty (5/5)

Attacks deal more damage with mighty. This affects all hits you land so the more attacks you can make, the better. Dual wielding weapons can help here, as can the soldier’s swift strikes and something like ironstance allowing you to attack more as a reaction.

Bloodstance (4/5)

This is a much more aggressive stance, sacrificing defense for a greater opportunity range (+2). This is great for landing more critical hits and regenerating focus, but as standard, this remains a 15% chance of landing an opportunity on attack tests (range of 18-20).

If you grab signature weapon from the duelist specialty, then you can expand your opportunity range to 16/17-20 depending on your tier giving each attack a 1/5 or 1/4 chance of landing an opportunity which is really solid odds.

You can make your reduced defense more worthwhile by making more attacks (further increasing your odds of landing an opportunity). The soldier’s swift strike, ironstance and dual wielding weapons can help here. And yes, you can wield 2 shardblades, though offhand strikes will cost 2 focus unless you use a more appropriate weapon. Also you’ll need to acquire 2 shardblades!

Just remember, you’ll be much more vulnerable to attacks in this stance so use cautiously (which feels like an oxymoron when talking about bloodstance).

Level 4 talents

Shattering blow (3/5)

This is great for dealing with those wearing shardplate or half shards to basically deplete their armor. It may be worth having in your arsenal as you make it to higher levels when this might become more common but is perhaps less useful at lower levels.

You can still push enemies you damage with an attack. With the +2 strength from shardplate and your natural inclination towards strength, it’s not hard to reach 5+ strength to make this push quite considerable.

This is built for working with shard training (which is required for shattering blow). It’ll work on the grazed enemies too as it works on enemies you damage, not just those you hit. It’s even better in big crowds as you can smash enemies into each other for even more damage.

It’s just a tad situational for being a really strong talent.

Meteoric leap (4/5)

Great for dealing with nearby crowds, you can easily knock prone multiple enemies, deal some decent damage, and your strength should be higher than most. Just be aware of the 2 action and focus costs on this one so save it for really good opportunities to stomp into a crowd.

Level 5 talents

Precise parry (2/5)

One of the best ways to nick a Shardblade. Of course, if you’re playing this specialty, you probably already have one, but now you can nick one from your enemy. You can also just shatter someone else:a weapon with your own shardblade.

I imagine it’ll be rare that you’ll be unarmed for this, but you might have a hand free if you’re still summoning a shardblade for example.

The challenge here is balancing this reaction with others that might outright prevent a hit (like dodge) or let you attack back like reactive strike (especially if you have ironstance).

Soldier

Level 2 talents

Cautious advance (3/5)

The action economy is decent here. You kind of get a free half movement out of the 2 actions you use. Problem is it relies on a combination of actions you might not always want to use when you could just use 2 actions in whatever you want. When you need it, it could save you an action which is great, when you don’t, it’s pointless.

Combat training (4/5)

The extra expertises are handy. Even better though is grazing without focus. Essentially ensures you get damage each round. It can be especially great against high defense enemies that you might miss more often.

Level 3 talents

Defensive position (3/5)

2 disadvantages really ups the benefits of taking the brace action. You’ll likely want to be wielding a shield to really make the most of this. Stick near allies too to grant them some protection as well.

Devastating blow (4/5)

At tiers 1-2, the extra damage is probably a little greater than what you could accomplish by making a second strike somehow (like with an offhand weapon). It essentially makes it possible to do this level of damage with a sword and shield in hand. It does mean you don’t get a second attack to up the odds of landing a hit so this tends to be best used when you already have advantage or have no other way to use an action.

It’s also great for any shield or two handed weapon wielder. And it scales with damage as you hit higher levels.

Hardy (4/5)

An extra HP per level now and at future levels is solid for making you more durable and fairly universally useful.

Level 4 talents

Formation drills (2/5)

Great for parties with multiple shield-wielders, a bit rubbish for anyone else. Again, soldiers work best with allies so stick close and share your defensive benefits. If your party are more aggressive than defensive, I’d avoid this one, but in some parties it could be quite good.

Wary (2/5)

I’m not sure how often we should expect to be surprised. This is likely down to the GM a lot. Again, less focus lost is great, but I’m not sure how often we should expect that to occur, and this likely depends a lot on your GM.

Swift strikes 5/5

You can make another strike action each turn when you have this. Great for upping your damage output. You’ll just need to make sure this is something you’re likely to use a lot rather than moving or bracing for example.

Combine this with devastating blow can lead to some really big damage output.

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Building an optimised warrior

In this section, I’ll give some advice on which options to consider when building an optimised warrior.

Ancestry

You can choose a Human or Singer ancestry for an optimised warrior.

Human: Go for a Human if you want to be able to choose extra talents from heroic paths as you progress levels. You’ll get an extra talent at levels 1, 6, 11, 16 and 21. If you’re really keen to get to certain talents on your path quickly (or multipath a bit more) then Human is a great option.

Singer: Singers get a unique path that gives them different forms they can transform into. Warform, nimbleform, direform and Stormform are the best forms for a warrior. Decayform and nightform can also be a good fit.

Attributes

Recommended attributes

Strength: Important for attacks and increasing your physical defense, both of which you’ll need high.

Speed: You’ll also need this for your physical defense. You may also want to move faster to close the gap between yourself and enemies. Chances are, you’ll focus on heavy weapon attacks rather than light weapons so this is probably less important for attacks.

Willpower: You’ll need this for increased focus which will not only fuel some talents, but also let you do things like dodge, make offhand attacks and make reactive strikes. This will also help things like discipline (which will make you resistant to some adversary effects) and intimidation which is needed for some talents and you’re well placed to try and scare foes.

Awareness: From a pure warrior perspective, this is probably your least important attribute, but if you plan on taking a radiant path (which you probably will), then you’ll need a spiritual attribute for your investiture and this is the best one for a warrior. It’ll increase your senses too and help your perception and insight.

Attributes to avoid

You’ve probably got too much to focus on to invest in intellect or presence. You could opt for investing in presence over awareness for investiture, but awareness is a better fit for a warrior.

Skills

You’ll want to focus on skills that lean into your strengths as a warrior. It’s generally better to have specialists in different areas in a party than lots of generalists. This means honing in on physical skills primarily. You’ll also want to consider skills used by some of your talents. Some of these are not physical skills either so you may want to invest here.

I’d recommend investing skill ranks in the following skills:

• Athletics or acrobatics: Often, but not always, these skills can be interchangeable. This means it makes more sense to invest heavily in one of these, but not both. Most warriors will likely favour heavy weapons so you’re likely to be better in strength and therefore a better fit for athletics.
• Heavy weaponry or light weaponry: You’ll also want to invest in one of these, but don’t need to invest in both. Again, a strength based warrior usually makes the most sense so I’d tend to favour heavy weaponry, but light weaponry can easily work too.
• Discipline: A good defense against some conditions and effects. If you have the wary talent, this will also help reduce involuntary losses of focus.
• Intimidation: If you take the feinting strike talent (which is a strong option), you’ll want a high intimidation. You should have at least a decent willpower for the focus it’ll grant and this will also give you options in social situations too. If you take flamestance, you can also gain advantage on intimidation tests.
• Stealth: Stealth can be used a lot by the whole party and you should at least have a decent speed score.
• Thievery: You probably only need one character with a strong thievery score in the group. You could be an option for this, though there are better paths for this.
• Perception: Commonly used skill and useful for anyone. Depending on how heavily you want to rely on investiture (and therefore a spiritual attribute) will determine your capabilities here. Some shardbearer talents also require up to 3 perception as a prerequisite.
• Insight: If you take ironstance, you can have advantage on insight tests making you a good option for an insight specialist.
• Survival: An OK option for you if you’ve invested a bit in awareness. Not hugely important and you may not be the best fit for this in the party, but it can be an option.

Expertises

Expertises can grant some special knowledge or benefits when using certain items. Largely, you can take whatever expertises fit your character, but there are a couple of things to consider:

• Armor expertise won’t do much for a high strength character: Because it’s mostly just going to lower the threshold for wielding cumbersome armor. However, at early levels, it can make half-plate an option with a lowered strength requirement. You likely won’t be hugely competent at crafting (though this can be possible), but if you are, it will lower the costs of crafting armor.
• Weapon expertise are your most important: In fact, if you want to wield certain weapons, you’ll likely want to ensure you have expertise with them. Base this on what weapons you want to wield. If you want to wield shard weapons, you’ll want to take shard training from the shardbearer specialty which will give you expertise in a shard weapon.
• Utility expertises aren’t essential, but there are a few useful options: Things like military strategy can be useful, as can something like riding horses if you want to use a mount, but largely, you’re fine picking what you want here.
• Cultural expertise is often little relevance to your path: This is really for languages and cultural knowledge and won’t really impact your path, even if you come from a warfaring culture like the Alethi.

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Do you have a strong warrior build? How have you built them? Let me know in the comments below.

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