Cosmere RPG vs Dungeons & Dragons
Compare Cosmere RPG and Dungeons & Dragons side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cosmere RPG | Dungeons & Dragons | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Character Building, Heroic, High-Fantasy, Tactical, Licensed IP, Lore-Heavy | Tactical, Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Combat-Heavy, Exploration, Resource Management, Strong GM Support, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + skill vs. difficulty. The GM can raise the stakes on key rolls by adding the plot die: a custom d6 with Opportunity, Complication, and blank faces. Opportunities grant bonus effects chosen by the player; Complications introduce narrative twists chosen by the GM but also add a bonus to the roll. Each combat round, characters choose a fast turn (2 actions, act first) or slow turn (3 actions, act later). Characters advance through branching talent trees across 6 heroic paths and 9 Radiant paths. | Roll a d20 and add applicable modifiers to meet or beat a target number. Checks and saving throws use a Difficulty Class; attacks use Armor Class. Advantage or disadvantage means rolling two d20s and keeping the higher or lower result. |
| Dice | d20 + d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (SRD 5.2.1); proprietary core books |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$$ | Free |
| Publisher | Brotherwise Games | Wizards of the Coast |
| Year | 2025 | 2024 |
| Languages | English | English, French, Italian, German, Spanish |
| Best For | Brandon Sanderson fans who want deep character customization and hard-magic systems brought to the table: groups who enjoy Pathfinder-level build depth in a richly detailed setting. | Groups who want heroic fantasy campaigns with tactical combat and extensive character customization. |
| Highlights | Deep lore integration with the Cosmere setting, extensive character customization rivals Pathfinder, plot die adds dramatic tension, fast/slow turn initiative lets players trade actions for turn order, Foundry VTT support | Weapon Mastery adds effects such as pushing or slowing enemies to qualifying weapon attacks. Class and feat choices let characters develop different roles over twenty levels. Optional Bastions give characters home bases with facilities that produce benefits between adventures. |
| Considerations | Plot die adds a layer of opportunity/complication outcomes on top of pass/fail increasing cognitive overhead per roll, rulebook organization is poor and unclear in places, large barrier to entry for non-Sanderson fans, social encounters can feel repetitive | Spells and class abilities have separate resource limits and timing rules. Higher-level magic can change travel and encounter assumptions that the DM must prepare for. Social encounters rely on ability checks and DM judgments about NPC attitudes. |