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Cosmere Roleplaying Game
Manual del Archivo de las Tormentas
388 pages, Hardcover
Published December 9, 2025
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33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 11, 2025
I overall liked the book, and I cannot wait to start playing. I loved the art and loved how much there was. I recognise that it is very difficult to write an RPG book for both beginners and die-hard players. Here, they chose to lean in more toward beginners than those already familiar with RPGs (which is good, I think, as one of the criticisms of Dungeons & Dragons 5e is that it is very difficult to figure out alone).
That being said, I have some annoyances.
First, the reader is addressed as "you", but the "you" is the players and not the GM (except in the Gamemastering chapter). I disliked it, as the GM is already kind of separated from the players, and now they are not even the readers for whom it is written. Yes, they do state that the GM also plays the game, but then throw that away when directing the readers.
Second, they have an in-depth part about safety and consent, but only in the GM chapter (which some players might skip). This might feel like putting the responsibility of consent and safety on the GM, which is not fair, as everyone at the table should be respectful and share the responsibility. I do not understand why this is not placed at the introduction, for example.
Lastly, there is a lot of repetition that options exist, but are explained in a later chapter. I get pointing this out once in the beginning. But things get pointed out again and again, without being explained and only referenced to where to find them. This makes it a bit more difficult to search for certain words, as they keep popping up to only say that they exist.
These are only annoyances. The PDFs look beautiful (if a bit similar in style to D&D). I have not seen the physical versions yet as I am writing this.
That being said, I have some annoyances.
First, the reader is addressed as "you", but the "you" is the players and not the GM (except in the Gamemastering chapter). I disliked it, as the GM is already kind of separated from the players, and now they are not even the readers for whom it is written. Yes, they do state that the GM also plays the game, but then throw that away when directing the readers.
Second, they have an in-depth part about safety and consent, but only in the GM chapter (which some players might skip). This might feel like putting the responsibility of consent and safety on the GM, which is not fair, as everyone at the table should be respectful and share the responsibility. I do not understand why this is not placed at the introduction, for example.
Lastly, there is a lot of repetition that options exist, but are explained in a later chapter. I get pointing this out once in the beginning. But things get pointed out again and again, without being explained and only referenced to where to find them. This makes it a bit more difficult to search for certain words, as they keep popping up to only say that they exist.
These are only annoyances. The PDFs look beautiful (if a bit similar in style to D&D). I have not seen the physical versions yet as I am writing this.
September 25, 2025
Excited to begin organizing a campaign!
Read
October 28, 2025een beetje cheesy om dit in mijn lijst te zetten maar ik heb m wel helemaal gelezen haha
October 29, 2025
Breathtaking, Albeit Somewhat Uninvested [4.25/5.00]
First off, this is one of the most gorgeous books I've ever read. If you're a Stormlight Archive fan, I fully recommend this book - just to have. The writing is top notch and the art spreads are beautiful.
But as someone who's been around the block in RPGs... I fret about whether or not parts of its vision work for my table.
Cosmere RPG is a D20 system. Which makes sense. Its trappings of swords and sorcery are perfect for coaxing D&D neophytes toward something new. And the changes Brotherwise have made to classic OGL/ORC hacks are certainly exciting. We have talent trees, nonbinary pass/fail, and (cue scary music) combat that doesn't require a battlemap!
Polyhedral damage dice are still here. Hit points are still here. Advantage and disadvantage are still here... though the use-cases for them have shifted in an interesting direction. Modifiers have been tuned WAY down, which allows for generalists to attempt more checks (good choice), with talents picking up some of the slack for people who want to be true specialists.
But don't lie. You're here for the Radiants.
Radiant paths are the flashiest part of the Stormlight Archive TTRPG. Having codified rules defining what certain paths' powers can do is a joy for Stormlight fans. The Radiant paths operate as one of the many talent trees you can bolt on to your character, where your progression points go into either A.) Spren bonds or B.) Surges. However, they're often locked behind narrative events. Aka., oaths. Which in this game often manifest as goals.
Goals are one of the things about this game that worry me a little.
Yadda yadda, I've played 7th Sea and PbtA... I'm very aware of progress being tied to narrative checkpoints. But in Stormlight RPG, there's something about the emotional weight of saying oaths that feels grander than goal checkpoints. As a GM, I want to put my characters in situations where their aspirations tumble around in front of them, and they have to scramble around in the dirt to seize the kind of life they want for their character. That's grade-A shit, right there. Always do that when you're running an RPG that isn't Doomsong: RPG Core Rulebook or Paranoia.
But to paraphrase Quinns from his recent Quinns Quest Patreon Campaign Log... "these mechanical tools that once forced me to be a good gamemaster seem to only get in the way now that I'm a good gamemaster." I already do this shit on my own - rules notwithstanding. And Radiant oaths are so specific that I feel like I'd be telegraphing them from a million miles away.
And unlike non-Radiants, a Willshaper's repeated oaths to "seek freedom for others" are gatekeeping blistering power level hikes in the party. I can see myself having to nudge the plot in certain directions, both toward and away from the mechanisms of oppression... depending on whether or not I'm seeing adequate progress across the rest of the uninvested Player Characters. And at that point, I'm a GM for most of the party... and for the Radiant, I'm a hated nanny: I have her toys. I control when she gets them.
Adonalsium forbid I'm in an all-Radiant party and have to juggle multiple plot threads and oaths... trying to achieve a Sanderson-esque level of emotional gravitas one gets in Words of Radiance. As a professional accountant, not a super-talented author. Who also needs to feed all the other birdies at the table. At that point, even with the players' help... I feel anxiety at such a difficult job. Which is not something I typically feel when reading a TTRPG.
Finally, the plot die...
The plot die is .
I doubt it's going to come into play as much as I'd like, considering it's trying to go for moments of high risk, or big plot-relevant roles... and even then, it has a 33% chance of hitting a blank. I do like how the complications give you numerical bonuses to your roll alongside the negative narrative effects. That's a smart choice by the designers. Good work.
But as a Star Wars RPG fan... I think complications/opportunities only triggering on 1s or 20s on the D20 outside of Plot Dice is a misstep. And it's entirely due (in my opinion) to the need for Cosmere RPG to be in the D20 game family. Aka, where nonbinary pass/fail goes to die. Pun intended.
I'm not wanting something groundbreaking like Genesys-level custom dice. A Forged in the Dark or PbtA system are already perfect examples of how to do something similar, but with consistently more complications occurring in gameplay. And not "mechanical" complications that I have to mull over in my brain until it explodes... PLAYER complications. Where their own actions have obvious drawbacks that continue to pop up organically in the narrative. But no. Instead, we have Plot Dice making narrative twists happen 66% of the time and/or on D20 rolls with 1 or 20. That's the only time a complication or opportunity comes into play.
I'm not against Cosmere RPG. Frankly, if I didn't have to worry about gatekeeping Radiant player progression, I could see myself running it consistently - such is the draw of Brandon Sanderson's worldbuilding and this book's tremendous art/copywriting. But it stresses me out too much to play it without a prewritten adventure (howdy Stonewalkers: Aid the Heralds in this Stormlight™ Adventure for the Cosmere® Roleplaying Game, how ya doing?).
Weirdly? Even though I love Stormlight Archive considerably more than I love Mistborn... I think the latter might be a better use of this system's ruleset. I'll be back in 2026 I guess.
First off, this is one of the most gorgeous books I've ever read. If you're a Stormlight Archive fan, I fully recommend this book - just to have. The writing is top notch and the art spreads are beautiful.
But as someone who's been around the block in RPGs... I fret about whether or not parts of its vision work for my table.
Cosmere RPG is a D20 system. Which makes sense. Its trappings of swords and sorcery are perfect for coaxing D&D neophytes toward something new. And the changes Brotherwise have made to classic OGL/ORC hacks are certainly exciting. We have talent trees, nonbinary pass/fail, and (cue scary music) combat that doesn't require a battlemap!
Polyhedral damage dice are still here. Hit points are still here. Advantage and disadvantage are still here... though the use-cases for them have shifted in an interesting direction. Modifiers have been tuned WAY down, which allows for generalists to attempt more checks (good choice), with talents picking up some of the slack for people who want to be true specialists.
But don't lie. You're here for the Radiants.
Radiant paths are the flashiest part of the Stormlight Archive TTRPG. Having codified rules defining what certain paths' powers can do is a joy for Stormlight fans. The Radiant paths operate as one of the many talent trees you can bolt on to your character, where your progression points go into either A.) Spren bonds or B.) Surges. However, they're often locked behind narrative events. Aka., oaths. Which in this game often manifest as goals.
Goals are one of the things about this game that worry me a little.
Yadda yadda, I've played 7th Sea and PbtA... I'm very aware of progress being tied to narrative checkpoints. But in Stormlight RPG, there's something about the emotional weight of saying oaths that feels grander than goal checkpoints. As a GM, I want to put my characters in situations where their aspirations tumble around in front of them, and they have to scramble around in the dirt to seize the kind of life they want for their character. That's grade-A shit, right there. Always do that when you're running an RPG that isn't Doomsong: RPG Core Rulebook or Paranoia.
But to paraphrase Quinns from his recent Quinns Quest Patreon Campaign Log... "these mechanical tools that once forced me to be a good gamemaster seem to only get in the way now that I'm a good gamemaster." I already do this shit on my own - rules notwithstanding. And Radiant oaths are so specific that I feel like I'd be telegraphing them from a million miles away.
And unlike non-Radiants, a Willshaper's repeated oaths to "seek freedom for others" are gatekeeping blistering power level hikes in the party. I can see myself having to nudge the plot in certain directions, both toward and away from the mechanisms of oppression... depending on whether or not I'm seeing adequate progress across the rest of the uninvested Player Characters. And at that point, I'm a GM for most of the party... and for the Radiant, I'm a hated nanny: I have her toys. I control when she gets them.
Adonalsium forbid I'm in an all-Radiant party and have to juggle multiple plot threads and oaths... trying to achieve a Sanderson-esque level of emotional gravitas one gets in Words of Radiance. As a professional accountant, not a super-talented author. Who also needs to feed all the other birdies at the table. At that point, even with the players' help... I feel anxiety at such a difficult job. Which is not something I typically feel when reading a TTRPG.
Finally, the plot die...
The plot die is .
I doubt it's going to come into play as much as I'd like, considering it's trying to go for moments of high risk, or big plot-relevant roles... and even then, it has a 33% chance of hitting a blank. I do like how the complications give you numerical bonuses to your roll alongside the negative narrative effects. That's a smart choice by the designers. Good work.
But as a Star Wars RPG fan... I think complications/opportunities only triggering on 1s or 20s on the D20 outside of Plot Dice is a misstep. And it's entirely due (in my opinion) to the need for Cosmere RPG to be in the D20 game family. Aka, where nonbinary pass/fail goes to die. Pun intended.
I'm not wanting something groundbreaking like Genesys-level custom dice. A Forged in the Dark or PbtA system are already perfect examples of how to do something similar, but with consistently more complications occurring in gameplay. And not "mechanical" complications that I have to mull over in my brain until it explodes... PLAYER complications. Where their own actions have obvious drawbacks that continue to pop up organically in the narrative. But no. Instead, we have Plot Dice making narrative twists happen 66% of the time and/or on D20 rolls with 1 or 20. That's the only time a complication or opportunity comes into play.
I'm not against Cosmere RPG. Frankly, if I didn't have to worry about gatekeeping Radiant player progression, I could see myself running it consistently - such is the draw of Brandon Sanderson's worldbuilding and this book's tremendous art/copywriting. But it stresses me out too much to play it without a prewritten adventure (howdy Stonewalkers: Aid the Heralds in this Stormlight™ Adventure for the Cosmere® Roleplaying Game, how ya doing?).
Weirdly? Even though I love Stormlight Archive considerably more than I love Mistborn... I think the latter might be a better use of this system's ruleset. I'll be back in 2026 I guess.
September 10, 2025
Really interesting rules for gameplay that I will likely suggest to my GM to use as home rules in our regular campaigns! Going to be great for introducing people to both RPGs and the Cosmere
October 21, 2025
Fun TTRPG system and great addition to the cosmere. Excited to try it!
November 18, 2025
Not only is this book gorgeous, it's one of the best organized TTRPG books I've encountered.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews