Mistborn Adventure Game
A narrative-driven RPG set in Sanderson's Mistborn world.
The Mistborn Adventure Game is a tabletop role-playing game released in 2011 by Crafty Games. It is an officially licensed product based on Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn novels, and Sanderson himself contributed to its development. The game takes place on Scadrial, the same world featured in the book series. The core rulebook was published on December 16, 2011. Since then, four additional supplements have been released. The first, Terris: Wrought of Copper, came out in March 2014. The second, Alloy of Law, followed on August 7, 2014 (distinct from the fourth Mistborn novel, The Alloy of Law). The third supplement, Skaa: Tin & Ash, was released on December 22, 2015. The fourth, The Alloy of Law: Masks of the Past, was published on August 8, 2017.
Gameplay emphasizes narrative-driven role-playing, but active scenes rely on rolling two to ten six-sided dice, with the number determined by a character's abilities. Conflicts are resolved using a similar dice pool system. During character creation, players can choose from social classes like Noble or Skaa, which exist in the Scadrial setting. While characters must fit the world, their backgrounds and personalities are largely left to player imagination. Each character has Attributes, Standings, Traits, and Powers that affect gameplay.
All materials are produced by Crafty Games. Each supplement includes the game's title (also the name of the first book) at the top, with the supplement's actual title printed beneath it. Shannon Appelcline noted that while the game's mechanics were a significant shift for Crafty, it was well received and attracted more retail attention than most of their previous releases, likely due to the strength of the Mistborn license.
Quick Facts
- Published
- December 16, 2011
- Publisher
- Crafty Games
- Setting
- Scadrial
- Based on
- Mistborn novel series by Brandon Sanderson
- Genre
- Pen-and-paper role-playing game
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Mistborn Adventure Game was released on December 16, 2011, as the first book in a series of published materials. Since 2011, four supplementary material books have been published. The first supplement, Terris: Wrought of Copper, was released in March 2014. The second supplement, Alloy of Law (not to be confused with the fourth Mistborn book called The Alloy of Law), was released on August 7, 2014. The third supplement, Skaa: Tin & Ash, was released on December 22, 2015. The fourth supplement, The Alloy of Law: Masks of the Past, was released on August 8, 2017. All materials have been created and published by Crafty Games, and each supplementary work includes the title of the game itself, which is also the name of the first book, with the actual title of each supplement printed beneath the game title.
Gameplay is largely built on narrative-based roleplay; however, active gameplay is based on rolling dice from a pool of 2–10 six-sided dice. The number of dice rolled is determined by a character's abilities. Conflict is resolved in a similar dice-rolling fashion. Individual characters can be from the various social classes, such as Noble or Skaa, that exist in Scadrial. Although characters must conform to the setting to an extent, the backgrounds and personality of characters are largely created by the player's imagination with little constraint. Each character has different Attributes, Standings, Traits, and Powers that influence the active gameplay.
Reader's Guide
The Mistborn Adventure Game represents a notable entry in licensed tabletop role-playing games, adapting Brandon Sanderson's popular Mistborn series into a playable format. Shannon Appelcline commented that, while the gameplay is 'a big departure for Crafty', the game was 'well-received and seems to have gotten more retail notice than most of Crafty's other releases to date, likely due to its strong license.' The game's emphasis on narrative-based roleplay, combined with a straightforward dice-pool system using six-sided dice, made it accessible to both fans of the novels and newcomers to role-playing games. The four supplements expanded the game's content, focusing on specific aspects of the setting such as the Terris region, the Allomantic era, and the Skaa underclass. The game's legacy lies in its faithful adaptation of the Mistborn world and its role in broadening Crafty Games' audience through a high-profile intellectual property. It remains a reference point for how literary fantasy can be translated into collaborative storytelling games.
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