Books The Stormlight Archive Gamifying the Cosmere: Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive RPG Does the new Cosmere TTRPG do justice to the books? By Christopher Hutton | Published on September 15, 2025 Brotherwise Games Comment 0 Share New Share Brotherwise Games Brandon Sanderson is a masterful storyteller whose novels, from the Stormlight Archive to Mistborn and beyond, have captured the imagination of fans across the world. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that people would want to bring those settings to their tabletop roleplaying game. Brotherwise Games launched the Cosmere RPG in 2024 to massive success, raising more than $14 million to produce TTRPGs that let players create their own stories and characters within the worlds of Roshar, Scadrial, or anywhere else in the Cosmere—the fictional multiverse in which many (but not all) of Sanderson’s books are set. But TTRPG adaptations of novels can be a mixed bag at times. Some can capture a world elegantly and bring immense value to it, while others seem like they’re wearing the “skin” of the setting but fail to do the stories justice.  So, how do the Stormlight Archive RPG books, which were released in July, hold up to scrutiny? The Stormlight Archive RPG, which is the first wave of TTRPG books set in the Cosmere universe, was released in July. It includes the Stormlight Handbook, which teaches players how to play and create characters in the setting. There is also the Stormlight World Guide, a book dedicated to fleshing out the history and culture of Roshar (the name of the planet, system, and the continent on which the novels take place) and providing tools for gamemasters to tell tales within the Cosmere setting itself. These two core books were also supported by two one-shots, short adventures that can be played at one setting, as well as a longer campaign for players who want to go from level 1 to level 7 in the world built around a story penned by Sanderson and fellow author Dan Wells. Stormlight Handbook The handbook is both a rulebook for players and GMs and a guide to character creation and the specific mechanics of the world. It contains details on how to play humans and singers in Roshar as well as the six “heroic paths” available to them: agents, envoys, hunters, leaders, scholars, and warriors. Each path draws inspiration from historic archetypes or characters from the novels, such as the ability for scholars to become Stormwardens, or for leaders to act as commanders in warform, leading singers into conflict with the Alethi. Each of the classes offers mechanical flexibility for players who want to get into the nitty-gritty of optimized builds while also drawing on the unique heritages and worldbuilding elements that infuse many of the cultures Sanderson has introduced throughout his books.  There’s also a lot of details about some of the more iconic facets of the setting, covering everything from Shardblades and spren to how Stormlight and Surges affect the world and the people. Stormlight World Guide The Stormlight World Guide is a companion guide containing extensive details about the world. While it’s easy to think of this book as designed for the gamemaster of the setting, it’s better considered as the core resource for understanding the main rules and lore of the universe. It lays out the cosmology of the world and how the unique weather systems that have arisen through highstorms and Stormlight formed the flora and fauna of Roshar. While aspects of this are present in the story directly, the World Guide makes the details crystal clear in ways that will benefit newcomers to Roshar and the Cosmere. For example, the prevalence of highstorms impacts every aspect of the planet’s ecology, including playing a key role in what sort of biology tends to thrive on Roshar—which is why shelled creatures are among the most prominent animals in the world. A protective carapace is necessary for survival in such a harsh environment. The World Guide also goes into extensive detail about the various nations of Roshar, the fraught relationship between humans and singers (the original inhabitants of the planet), major historical events, the storms, and much more. This includes significant expansions on what it means to live in nations like Alethkar, Kharbranth, and many other locations that are prominent in the novels, but where are sense of everyday life and experiences may be muted or vague due to the story’s tendency to focus on Kaladin, the Kholins, and the other Alethi characters (though of course, there are plenty of exceptions in the mix). It’s a surprisingly thorough guide that covers a wide range of content from the novels and novellas. New Lore from the RPG Some of these elements may appear to familiar ground for long-time fans of the Stormlight Archive, as Sanderson has proven himself well-skilled at weaving a complex fantasy world. But there are plenty of fragments of new storytelling for game masters and long-time fans to draw upon. The “Ideals” is perhaps one of the biggest reveals.  In Roshar, there are ten Orders of ancient Knights Radiant, consisting of Surgebinders that successfully form a bond with a spren by swearing an Oath. In the game (as in the books), this gives that player access to two of the ten surges in Roshar. Stating an Oath involves progressing through specific Ideals, embracing key principles that inform how a person acts and lives, starting with the First Ideal (an Oath shared by all the Orders) then moving on until potentially reaching the Fifth Ideal. Sanderson had previously revealed some of the Ideals in his work, but the handbook fills in and clarifies the remaining Ideals (including Oaths for the Dustbringers, Edgedancers, and Elsecallers), with the exception of the final Oath—when it comes to the mysterious Fifth Ideal, the handbook states that “These Words are lost to time, and characters in this game can’t achieve it (yet).” The Stormlight Player’s Guide also added more information about the various forms that singers can take, including which spren they have to bond with to change their form. There is also additional detail about the Yelig-Nar—one of the Unmade, a particular kind of spren with darker powers—as well as some clarification about the kinds of Surges Yelig-Nar can use (a topic some fans have been speculating about over the last few years). There’s also more information about the Nightwatcher, a powerful and secretive spren that has been mentioned throughout the series, a primal entity who lingers among the mountains and can bestow boons and blessings (always accompanied by a curse) upon those seek her out. The God Beyond, an entity who has also received passing mention as part of the Cosmere mythos in various novels and novellas, also receives expanded lore. There are still plenty of bits of lore and questions that have not been addressed by the novels—Sanderson seems to enjoy dropping hints and seeding clues throughout the series, as well as lampshading pertinent omissions which will hopefully pay off in future books. The lore revealed thus far through the RPG and its materials is intended as canon for all the books that take place in the Cosmere—and fans might expect further revelations, as there will be opportunities to expand the Cosmere with the second wave of TTRPG books, which will be based on the Mistborn novels’ world of Scadrial. Given this attention to detail and worldbuilding, it’s clear that Sanderson and Brotherwise have worked hard to turn the Cosmere RPG into a must-have for die-hard fans of the books.[end-mark] The post Gamifying the Cosmere: Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive RPG appeared first on Reactor.