Cosmere RPG vs Mercs, Mages, and Monsters

Compare Cosmere RPG and Mercs, Mages, and Monsters side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Cosmere RPG	Mercs, Mages, and Monsters
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy
Tags	Crunchy, Character Building, Heroic, High-Fantasy, Tactical, Licensed IP, Lore-Heavy	Classic Fantasy, Skill-Based, Tactical, Comedy, High-Fantasy, Roll to Cast, Character Building, Mission-Based
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.	G.U.T.S. (General Understanding of The System): sum 3d8 and try to roll equal to or under your Trait Level (starts 8, capped at 17). The margin of success or failure is called the Success Level or Failure Level and scales the effectiveness of the action. Knack Mastery shifts the effective trait by −4 (Untrained) to +2 (Master). Difficulty adjustments (Very Easy to Very Hard) add or subtract 4 to 2 from the trait.
Dice	d20 + d6	3d8
Complexity	High	Medium
Availability	Free quickstart	Free quickstart
Runnability	Book tools not listed	3 of 5 book tools
License	All Rights Reserved	Proprietary
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Not yet researched
Publisher	Brotherwise Games	Bad Toad Games
Year	2025	2025
Languages	English	English
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 a comedic high-fantasy adventure with mechanical breadth (mastery-tiered skills, three magic schools, twin crafting paths) paired with a simple roll-under core. Characters are sworn Members of a Guild taking hired contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, often unknowingly working for the Crown or a shadowy Consortium plotting against it.
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	Rolling doubles on an attack triggers weapon-typed Status Effects (swords impale, blunts stun, axes amputate), so weapon choice shapes battlefield complications, not just damage. Mages can attempt spells above their Mastery tier, but a failed overcast rolls on a Miscast table that can escalate to a Wild Magic explosion damaging the caster and nearby allies. Elixirs grant a temporary trait buff offset by a matching Withdraw penalty once combat ends, making potion timing a tactical trade-off rather than free power.
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	Weapon-typed Status Effects, weather penalties, and per-weapon damage tables add table-reference overhead during combat. The comedy-grim tone (Goblin Piss Paste as a crafting ingredient, an Iron Pan spell cast by yelling 'I cast iron pan!', a Mad Child King on the throne) will not fit groups expecting straight high-stakes fantasy. Adventures are built around Guild Contracts in the kingdom of Yogath, so dropping into a homebrew setting means reworking the Crown and Consortium hooks that drive published material.