Brandon Sanderson’s new Cosmere RPG comes with a hefty rulebook. At 385 pages, it’s one page longer than D&D‘s 2024 Player’s Handbook, and thicker pages make it even bigger on a shelf. For newcomers, the thought of reading it could be incredibly daunting. Luckily, Brandon Sanderson might not want you to.
Along with the big books, my Kickstarter copy of the Cosmere RPG also comes with a few smaller softcovers. Welcome to Roshar lays out the basic facts about the setting, and Bridge Nine offers an introductory first-level adventure. It’s undercut, however, by The First Step. This final volume offers a “Level Zero” adventure, and it might be one of the most fascinating pieces of the Cosmere RPG.
You Can Start The Cosmere RPG Without Reading The Rules
Make It Up As You Go
The biggest hurdle to playing any tabletop RPG for the first time isn’t playing the game itself, but the work that comes before it. Navigating complex character creation options and getting a grasp of the basic rules is a lot less exciting than setting out on a quest, no matter how much you try to streamline the process. Dungeons & Dragons has made admirable efforts in this regard, with the recent Heroes of the Borderlands starter set making things easier than ever, but it can still be daunting.
In The First Step, the Cosmere RPG takes the bolder approach of throwing out the pre-game requirements altogether. You’ll still have to build a character to play the Cosmere RPG, but if you make use of The First Step, you’ll start the game before you actually start character creation.
Each player will have a blank character sheet at the onset of The First Step. Rather than making choices according to pre-determined character traits, players will define their character according to the choices they make. This sounds nebulous, but The First Step breaks things down in an almost mathematical manner.
Choices Make Characters In Brandon Sanderson’s RPG
Everything Adds Up At The End
For example, one of the first choices you can make in The First Step is to pick up a weapon. Take this route, and the game master will prompt you to select a dagger, shortbow, shortspear, or sidesword. Each of these will be a useful tool, of course, but it will also affect attributes like Intellect, Awareness, Willpower, and Presence.
The earliest choices tend to be dry, and they might not seem very different from the standard process of character creation. The further you go, however, the more nuanced things get. Within a few pages, you’ll be talking to NPCs, making tactical battle decisions, and choosing whether to take altruistic risks. All of these decisions will be tracked, some by the players and some by the game master. When all is said and done, they’ll help define your character’s path.
TTRPGs usually aren’t about choosing between pre-determined options, and reducing the array of possibilities significantly changes the feel of The First Step. It reads more like a choose-your-own-adventure novel than a typical RPG module, and I can’t help but feel that it would be stilted in play. While D&D‘s starter set leans in this direction, the Cosmere RPG goes all the way.
For TTRPG skeptics, however, The First Step could be an interesting olive branch. Rather than lowering the barrier of entry, it effectively erases it. Reading out a list of options at every step also removes the potential anxieties of improvisation, letting newcomers get a feel for TTRPG choices before having to make them without guardrails.
You’ll still have to do some work before a proper Cosmere RPG campaign. After using The First Step, however, the process of finishing character creation and learning the rules in full should be more approachable.
The First Step Isn’t The Only Cosmere RPG Option
Skip To Level One If You Like
I don’t see myself having a use for The First Step, as I’ve never started an RPG campaign with a party made exclusively of newcomers. Veterans of other TTRPGs will likely find The First Step‘s approach constricting, and learning the full rules of the Cosmere RPG shouldn’t be difficult for anyone with an understanding of games like D&D.
Luckily, it’s not the only way to get your feet wet. Between the first-level Bridge Nine adventure and the first-level beginning of the Stonewalkers campaign, the Cosmere RPG has two options for more traditional campaign introductions. You might not have a decade of campaigns to choose from, like in D&D 5e, but you won’t be stuck with The First Step.
I’m curious to see how many Cosmere RPG groups end up trying The First Step. I imagine most early adopters of the system will have experience in other TTRPGs, but the Sanderson name and Cosmere setting should pull in some fans who haven’t previously embraced the tabletop world.
Regardless, I’m always happy to see RPGs try new things. I’m sure the Cosmere RPG isn’t the only system to rethink the first session, but it’s my first personal experience with such a thorough deconstruction. Hopefully, The First Step will prove just as accessible in practice as it seems on paper.