For those that don’t know, the Cosmere is the interconnected universe created by Brandon Sanderson in his books with series like The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn. This universe is getting it’s very own RPG based on D&D’s d20 system, but with its own unique systems for character creation, levelling up and things like the plot dice.
It will begin with it’s first setting based on the world of Roshar of the Stormlight Archive which will release next year. Mistborn will follow in 2026 and there are plans to expand into further Cosmere settings beyond that.
The TTRPG was backed on Kickstarter last summer becoming the 3rd most backed Kickstarter in history. I’m one of those backers and we’ll be covering the game here on Dungeon Mister once it releases.
For now, we’ve had a load of new details about the game emerge from Dragonsteel Nexus 2024. Thanks to Invested in the Cosmere who first revealed these details.
Concrete release dates
Release dates were reiterated and made more concrete. We got confirmation that the Stormlight setting will release in September 2025 (Kickstarter backers may still get the digital release sooner than this). The Mistborn setting will release about a year later in 2026.
They also spoke of the possibility of additional settings. Mistborn and Stormlight are by far the most fleshed out parts of Cosmere lore, but the panel were asked to vote with cheers on which setting they’d like to see next between Elantris, Warbreaker and a Worldhopper setting. Warbreaker seemed to win that loose competition, though with Elantris sequels next on Sanderson’s slate of books, I suspect that could win out. Much of this depends on how much people buy the initial settings, but we know that Brotherwise Games and Brandon Sanderson are committed to supporting the RPG for as long as books are being written in the Cosmere.
Paths, skill trees and combat
We got a closer look at things like the warrior and willshaper skill trees and specifically the shardbearer path. Levelling up seems to work differently to D&D where you’ll be able to choose skills from a skill tree and these might come from different paths. In fact, it was confirmed that there would be no level cap. Instead, players will be encouraged to gain as many powers as they can from the Cosmere at large. I thought this sounded like you’d be able to take levels/skills from other settings so you might have a windrunner that’s also a coinshot for example, though this wasn’t confirmed explicitly.
We also got confirmation that there would be options for using nightblood in combat, though this won’t weave into the official campaign but could form part of a homebrew campaign.
Stonewalker adventure details
We got a bunch of details about the stonewalker campaign. We now know that it will occur across Roshar and that travel to Shadesmar will be possible. We also know that it will cover large parts of the continent including places like; Tall Elorim (the city of shadows), southern Alethkar, the Shattered Plains, Rathalas, Greater Hexi, Emul and Shinovar.
We also know that we’ll meet 3 of the heralds during this adventure; Nale, Taln and Pralla. There’s also an indication that players can get their hands on the dagger that can kill the heralds.
Mistborn setting first look
A first look of the Mistborn setting was also given. For starters, the setting will occur across both era 1 and 2 (despite the considerable time gap). This means things like firearms will be available.
We’ll get 32 metallic arts available. On top of this, players can choose characters that are koloss or kandra-blooded and hemalurgic spikes can be used (if you dare).
One of the core challenges is getting the balance right between the potentially hugely powerful Mistborn over that of a misting or a twinborn. The general essence of it seems to be that while Mistborn might have access to a lot of powers, specialising deeply in these will take considerable time over say the specialism that comes from a misting for instance.
There will also be specific conditions for soothing and rioting to ensure these aren’t seen as mind control.
As exciting as all of this is for us Sander-fans, if you haven’t read every book in the Cosmere, don’t panic! Anyone will be able to play with a basic knowledge of the Cosmere which will be provided in a guide to bring players up to speed. And while the official campaigns are based on actual lore, players will have the flexibility to tear up the lore as much as they’d like and simply create their own adventure and stories in the Cosmere.
Are you planning to start adventuring in the Cosmere next year? Let me know in the comments below.
I would love to adventure in the Cosmere universe. Didn’t Brandon write D&D campaigns before writing took over? He should publish some of those campaigns.
I know he plays. Would love to be part of Brandon’s table. There is an existing Mistborn RPG knocking around but this new RPG will supersede that.
One cool thing is that the Cosmere RPG has loads of input from Sanderson and the events fit into some events that never made it into his stormlight books, but are a canonical part of the universe so as much as possible, we’ll get to play out actual Cosmere events!