Cosmere RPG vs Pathfinder
Compare Cosmere RPG and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Cosmere RPG | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Character Building, Heroic, High-Fantasy, Tactical, Licensed IP, Lore-Heavy | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Lore-Heavy |
| 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 d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. |
| Dice | d20 + d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | ORC |
| Cost | $$$ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Brotherwise Games | Paizo |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| 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 deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. |
| 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 | The three-action economy gives every turn the same three actions to spend on strikes, movement, or spells, so each turn is a fresh tactical decision. Characters customize through ancestry, class, skill, and general feats gained at nearly every level, letting builds diverge sharply within a single class. Four degrees of success, set by beating or missing the DC by 10, turn each roll into a range of outcomes rather than a binary result. |
| 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 | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation draws feats from ancestry, class, skill, and general pools at every level, making each build a slow step. |