Cosmere Roleplaying Game

Lore & Background

The Cosmere Roleplaying Game was developed following Sanderson's interest in producing a pen-and-paper role-playing game based on The Stormlight Archive. On September 20, 2022, Sanderson, Brotherwise Games' Johnny O'Neal, and illustrator Isaac Stewart teased the production of a role-playing game based on The Stormlight Archive, revealing videos of digital models of some characters' miniatures with an expected release date of 2024. A crowdfunding campaign for premium miniatures launched in October 2023 raised over $4.1 million USD, with rewards including a full set of figurines and statues shipped to backers prior to November 10. In November 2023, Dragonsteel Entertainment officially announced the production of a role-playing game based on The Stormlight Archive, and a Mistborn-based deck-building game was also announced to be released by Brotherwise Games in the second half of 2024.

On August 6, 2024, a crowdfunding campaign for the role-playing game launched on Kickstarter, revealing the game's title to be Cosmere Roleplaying Game. Brotherwise Games and Dragonsteel announced their intention to produce the game with all stories set within Sanderson's Cosmere fictional universe. In an interview with ComicBook.com, O'Neal mentioned that the production of the upcoming third setting would likely be a Worldhopper campaign, which brings all different fictional worlds in the universe together, and an Elantris campaign based on the upcoming sequels would also be made. The Kickstarter campaign raised over $2 million USD within hours of launch, and reached over $10.366 million on August 25, breaking the record set by Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game as the most-funded RPG on the platform and becoming the first tabletop RPG to surpass the $10 million mark in a crowdfunding campaign. It concluded with over $14.7 million from 52,658 backers, surpassing Frosthaven to become the most-funded tabletop game on the platform.

The game uses a d20 system. In The Stormlight Archive Campaign, players accompany Bridge 9 during the introduction of the gameplay. The Mistborn Campaign, based on Era 1 and Era 2, features all sixteen metals and their respective Allomancy and Feruchemy powers, similar to a talent tree, with players using their powers as investigators. A digital version of The Stormlight Archive campaign setting was released in 2024, while a hardcover version came out in September 2025. A Mistborn campaign setting is expected to be released in 2026.

Reader's Guide

The Cosmere Roleplaying Game represents a significant milestone in tabletop gaming, both as a commercial phenomenon and as a bridge between Sanderson's expansive literary universe and interactive storytelling. Its Kickstarter campaign's record-breaking $14.7 million haul—surpassing previous champions like Frosthaven and Avatar Legends—demonstrated the immense demand for officially licensed adaptations of the Cosmere. The game's design, using a d20 system and offering distinct campaign settings for The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn, allows players to engage with the unique magic systems and narratives of each world. The planned Worldhopper and Elantris campaigns further indicate an ambition to unify the Cosmere's disparate settings into a cohesive role-playing experience. By providing a structured yet flexible framework for exploring Sanderson's worlds, the game has expanded the reach of the Cosmere beyond literature, offering fans a new medium to inhabit its characters and conflicts. Its success also underscores the viability of crowdfunding for large-scale tabletop projects, setting a new benchmark for the industry.