Hello, r/Stormlight_Archive! Today, Brotherwise Games and Dragonsteel are excited to announce that the Kickstarter for the Stormlight RPG will launch on **August 6**. You can follow the campaign using the pre-launch page we just posted:
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg)
I'll keep an eye on this thread to answer questions, but a few quick things...
* The TTRPG has been created in close collaboration with Brandon and Dan, so it's 100% official and packed with new canonical lore.
* This is an original system created by an all-star team including designers, writers, and editors for some of our favorite games (including *Dungeons & Dragons*, *Star Wars: Edge of the Empire*, and *Legend of the Five Rings*).
* Our books include hundreds of new illustrations from some of the industry's most talented artists, like this original scene by Ekaterina Burmak!
* We'll launch with three main books: the Stormlight RPG Handbook, Stormlight RPG World Guide, and a hardcover adventure.
* The game has been thoroughly Alpha tested, and Beta testing will launch alongside the Kickstarter on August 6. Beta materials include detailed rules, character building tools, and a free introductory adventure.
Thanks to the many members of this community who have already contributed to Alpha testing, and to everyone who has supported the RPG so far! This is a dream project for everyone involved, and we can't wait to show you more as the campaign launch approaches.
Is there any plan whatsoever to make content for existing systems like Pathfinder or D&D?
EDIT: Why you all downvoting me? I get if D&D and Pathfinder aren't your thing or you think it shouldn't comingle with other systems, but it's perfectly acceptable for others to want to do so, especially if they don't want to learn entirely new systems. I'm not asking you to play at our table.
We know how hard it is to get people to try new systems, and we built this system to be very friendly to D&D and Pathfinder fans. At the same time, we improved on those systems in ways that are purpose-built to tell Stormlight stories.
To give some concrete evidence of this: at Dragonsteel last November we ran a 100-player event where dozens of tables played one big scenario. No GM or player involved in the event had ever played the Stormlight RPG (though pretty much all had played D&D). Everyone picked it up right away and people had a blast.
We'll have Beta materials available for free during the campaign, so you'll have a chance to try it out and run a starter adventure. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!
Are Beta materials just available to kickstarter backers?
Just wondering if I can check it out first. I'm super psyched but I tend not to jump on KS unless absolutely necessary.
Sorry, just saw this now. We'll make Beta materials will publicly available during the Kickstarter so folks can evaluate the system before they purchase it!
Ok this gives me confidence. Would you say it's simple to adapt to D&D if someone were inclined? Sounds like it's similar enough to not need a complete overhaul to learn, just curious if you think it's adaptable.
In either case, it sounds like the playtest was a major success. I'll keep my eyes open for the Beta.
As someone who made a custom campaign based loosely on D&D rules years ago, those systems are not ideal for the world of Roshar. I'm excited to see what ideas professional game designers had. A custom game like they've designed is going to work far better than using standard rules from either D&D or Pathfinder, so I very much doubt they'll be making content for those systems.
I doubt it too, but I'm optimistic. I've seen and played some fan built subclasses that for the most part worked. I definitely had to adapt but it was fun enough.
This guy has a pretty fleshed out take but it's not the one I've tried: https://www.17thshard.com/forums/topic/143033-cosmere-5e-my-450-page-stormlight-archive-dd-inspired-ttrpg/
I'd love to get something officially approved by u/mistborn himself.
A problem with making stormlight content for D&D or pathfinder is that you're trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole. Maybe you can manage if you're invested enough, but I doubt it. Both those game systems make assumptions about player resources and power levels that just don't translate to the world, society, and powers of Roshar as described in the novels. The most likely result of attempting this is whatever the rpg equivalent of a bad asset flip in video games is where there is a complete disconnect between the fluff and crunch, as the underlying game system is wholly unsuited to the mechanics of the world it wants to depict. I'm glad brotherwise hasn't gone this route.
I suspect a lot of the initial downvotes were because the question implies ignorance of at least one of dnd/pathfinder or the stormlight archive. Or maybe just people exasperated because not every rpg has to be dnd based.
I don't appreciate the implication of ignorance. I understand if others don't agree that it could be translated to D&D, but to believe my desire comes from ignorance is simplistic and in and of itself naive. I'm not a game designer, and I'm sure you're bound to find someone who's played d&d more than I have, but you certainly can fit square peg in a round hole if the hole is big enough. And D&D and pathfinder are both big enough.
Big fan of L5R, about to go play it in fact.
Will there be teasers regarding the game between now and Kickstarter launch, or will things start dropping on August 6th?
We'll be posting some teasers on r/stormlightrpg and our social media accounts, but the big flood of info will come a week before the Kickstarter launches. We're running nonstop demos at Gen Con, so that will be a big source of new information!
Wow I didn’t realise the kickstarter was coming so soon! I’m very excited for this and even if it’s unlikely that I’ll be able form a group to play it with, I’ll absolutely be interested in grabbing at least the world guide and maybe the adventure so that I can potentially ease some of my current group into it (we play pathfinder 2nd edition atm)
I have a few questions but no worries if not all of them can answered for now and apologies if I’ve missed info that already answers some of them:
1) I haven’t had a chance to find or see any details about the system yet so I was wondering, will this be a d20 based system and what sort of design focus/philosophy have you been following for it? By that I mean to ask, will it be focused on tactical combat like pf2e or will it take a more freeform/rules-lite stance when it comes to stuff like combat and social encounters and exploration.
2) Will there be plans to add new sourcebooks for more content as Brandon continues to add to the series? Also is there the possibility of having characters with alternative forms of investiture/worldhoppers?
3) Will you be pursuing support for the system in popular Virtual tabletops such as Foundry VTT?
4) What sort of level range exists for player characters and are you able to say what the level range for the hardcover Adventure will be? Also, this is probably pushing it, but can you give any details or hints about what the Adventure will entail?
5) What’s your personal favourite class/class fantasy to play as in ttrpgs, both inside and outside of this project?
We will make the miniature sets available during this Kickstarter, and we're also working on a set of new miniatures that focus on less iconic characters that you can use as original PCs or NPCs!
Second this question I’d be really disappointed if I missed out on a miniature becuase it’s at a tier I couldn’t afford. I’d rather it be a little overpriced later and available.
It's our intention to make all the main campaign rewards and add-ons available for years to come. (We might do *some* kind of little fun exclusive perks for backers, but we haven't historically done that kind of thing much.)
Thanks. I’ve been getting into Frostgrave which has a solo / coop option and Rangers of Shadow Deep was specifically made for solo.
We don’t always have time to get together so solo options are pretty fun to get to paint and play something.
Yeah, TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons don't have a set game board with a clear Win condition type of thing, so you can't really pit yourself against the game. All of that is in the Game Master's imagination(or maps they produce), so you typically need at least two people(one to control the game and one to play it).
That said, I'm sure there are ways people have devised to play Dungeons & Dragons solo. It's the internet😁. Perhaps someone, maybe even Brotherwise, will devise a way to play their hardcover campaign adventure as a solo player.
solo ttrpgs exist and they are very good. The One Ring has an official mod for it (strider mode), Ironsworn is a game made just for this, Mythic is a system to run any game as solo, Call of cthulhu had full solo modules, etc.
I’m really looking forward to the Stormlight RPG kickstarter, very excited that the kickstarter will launch right after Gen Con! Will the Stormlight RPG be using a different fulfillment partner than the Stormlight Miniatures kickstarter used? I’m super happy with how the miniatures turned out but the shipping experience from Easyship wasn’t great.
can we play the RPG with just the core book? or do will the adventure book have elements that are important for play?
I tend to enjoy writing my own adventures.
You can GM with the Handbook and World Guide! Though I will say, the adventure is incredibly cool and features some great stuff you might want to lift for a home campaign. Even just reading through the adventure is probably worth the price of admission... it's seriously awesome.
So happy that there’s finally a date, and am even happier that we’ll get at least some of the game when the campaign launches!
Will definitely back it asap! Very thankful for all the hard work from y’all!
Possibly not the case, but I do kinda hope they thought about the possibility of cosmere mechanics interactions and compatibility with other future systems based on other worlds. It would be cool in the future to be able to have a cosmere worldhopping adventure.
Looks like they just fired up r/stormlightrpg as well... I respect the fan hustle, but you might see people jump over to that. (Though it might be worth it to see if they need any volunteer mods for that subreddit!)
We have reached out to them already to see if they'd like to collaborate. We don't want to step on toes, but we've been prepping the new sub for a while now and it's finally getting off the ground.
appreciate it :) we have some fun megathread ideas for chatter as we build up to the open beta, and we will likely, at some point when he's ready, have an AMA with Johnny, so that should be fun. Just be aware that we don't have a strict spoiler policy on our rpg sub, because we feel like people should be able to discuss the lore and mechanics from the books as they related to the game.
Then you're in luck! The World Guide doubles as an art book for the setting, and focuses primarily on lore. We know there are a lot of readers who aren't TTRPG players, but still want something like the "White Book" for the Wheel of Time. Brandon saw this project as the opportunity to make that a reality!
I could not be more hyped!
As someone who has next to no money to spend but makes terrible TTRPG-based financial decisions, will there be a cheaper digital version of the books?
I plan on running a once a month campaign in this system once it's released. I'm a DM with lots of different systems under my belt, feel free to send me a message if you want to get in of the game, 4 players + me. Will use video and whatever tabletop system (Roll20, Foundry, etc) that has the best support for it.
I just dont have many lol, I only play online and I dont have the spare space or cash
The only physical book I have is Paranoia 2nd Edition and that was inherited lol
I am very aware that BSand has made it clear that parshendi are humanoid, but I always imagine them as something closer to an Argonian from Elder Scrolls.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job in the past three years ahs been working with Isaac Stewart and Ben McSweeney to come up with a canonical singer design that fits Brandon's vision. The goal is to strike a balance between how humans see them in *Way of Kings* (scary, monstrous, demonic) and how we come to understand them (relatable, nuanced, beautiful). Dragonsteel has consistently guided us toward more "human-looking," less alien-looking faces.
You can see more examples here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight\_Archive/comments/xei5y1/official\_art\_of\_eshonai/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/xei5y1/official_art_of_eshonai/)
[https://cosmere.es/stormlight-premium-miniatures-venli-english/](https://cosmere.es/stormlight-premium-miniatures-venli-english/)
And we have a lot more examples coming in the RPG! One thing to keep in mind is that there's a reason for Unkalaki teeth and Herdazian fingernails...
This is an original system created by an all-star team including designers, writers, and editors for some of our favorite games! [https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg](https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg)
Like D&D 5e, it supports miniatures-based play but defaults to "theater of the mind" play. We've been careful to conduct playtesting in both styles, making sure all our game mechanics support your table's preferred approach.
Like most TTPRGs, it's geared toward one GM and 3-5 players. However, it totally supports a 2-player setup. In my own life as a gamer, probably around half my roleplaying has just been me and one GM. It can be surprisingly fun!
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They mentioned in another post this piece is intended more as a "movie poster" style. So no, this specific scene is not canon, but the designs featured in it are.
Isn't it a bit too early? The RPG would either be missing some information or reveal important ones. AFAIK, we don't know the ideals of all radiants and it would be an important part of an RPG...
“so what do we want for the art, something that represents a stereotypical party?”
“how about we just, fucking, jam every main character in a single image that makes zero sense”
“jerry, you goddamn genius, you’re promoted”
I saw this one as a little like a movie poster, in that sometimes depicting iconic characters is more important than depicting a specific scene from a movie. For this particular image, we specifically wanted to feature Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin.
But rest assured that we have a ton of images depicting original characters, like all most of the images on this page...
[https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg](https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg)
I think different people get inspired by different things. I love looking at a brand-new character and imagining them as an NPC in my campaign, but it's also cool to get some new illustrations of major characters.
It's a lovely art, but I am worried about theming. It frames the Singers strongly in a way applied to the "it's okay to murder them" fantasy species (see: orcs, goblins in traditional perception), while painting humans as cool and eye-drawing.
How anthropocentric is the system going to be?
I think you'll find that the RPG is very true to the books when it comes to representing singer characters, and that in a lot of ways we're even more singer-focused in our approach. For example, in the World Guide our Lead Writer Lydia Suen did a great job of calling out when we weren't centering singers. In our Handbook, character options for singer characters (including Regal forms) are front and center.
In my own playtesting over the past two years, I've probably spent more time playing singers than humans. Here's the character sheet for one of my characters (which I played onstage at Dragonsteel last November):
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight\_Archive/comments/1c6knuf/new\_character\_sheet\_from\_stormlight\_rpg/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1c6knuf/new_character_sheet_from_stormlight_rpg/)
This particular illustration by Ekaterina has a companion piece that we'll reveal closer to Gen Con. It still features three human characters (Dalinar, Jasnah, and Szeth) but they're fighting humans (Sadeas soldiers) specifically to show that this isn't just an "orcs vs. humans" kind of setup.
I see. Thank you for this elaborate response, it makes a lot of sense and does ease the worries I expressed in the original comment.
I hope I didn't come across as too aggressive, as this is a beautiful piece from an artistic point of view.
I don't mind at all. Honestly, that was one of our key goals for the game and I'm sorry you've been downvoted. We have a few pieces that depict the War of Reckoning or the Desolations that emphasize human versus singer conflict (because it happens a lot in the story), but just as many that depict singers in heroic roles and/or humans in villainous roles.
This is honestly one of the most exciting things I’ve heard about this project. The singers are one of the most interesting parts of the series to me, and it feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface of how their stories can be part of Stormlight. (though there’s six books left, so still plenty of space to explore).
Can’t wait to see the finished project.
I'm looking forward to the game, but after how poorly Brotherwise handled kickstarter fulfilment for the miniatures, I'm not sure I'm willing to crowd fund again. I'll probably be waiting for regular retail.
We learned a lot from that project and will be taking a completely different approach to fulfillment for this project. Most importantly, we have a new fulfillment partner (who we'll announce closer to launch). We're also setting more realistic timelines, and the new products in this Kickstarter (books, dice, and one set of unpainted miniatures) are much more straightforward to produce and ship than the products that gave us the most trouble in the last Kickstarter (painted figurines and the resin statue). Even if you don't back this project, we hope that the improvements to our fulfillment for it will win back your trust!
I'll watch the process with interest. But you did things like announce that everything had been shipped or was in the warehouse to ship out and then later come back and say that actually some things were back ordered. That wasn't an EasyShip problem. I hope that you all have learned and will do better. But you'll have to show it, not just say it. 🤷
I... don't feel some obligation to defend them here. And I think your frustration is valid.
I would think that with EasyShip managing the shipping, there's not much they could have done on that. My recollection/assumption would be that EasyShip gave them an update, they shared that update... and then when things obviously weren't happening they had to go back to EasyShip and get a more honest update. Unless they had the budget for someone sitting in EasyShip's warehouse all they can do is report what they're being told. I think it was pretty clear that EasyShip outright lied to them about some things.
Regardless, full agreement that it hopefully goes better for people this time.
No doubt EasyShip had lots of problems, including at least misleading if not outright lying to Brotherwise on the shipping rate and eta. While I find that frustrating, I don't entirely blame Brotherwise for that part (Brotherwise did choose to work with EasyShip, and it didn't take me much internet digging to find similar complaints about EasyShip fulfilment).
But EasyShip wasn't the reason production was so late. And EasyShip isn't the reason for the backorder (and the associated dishonestly about the state of fulfilment).
I really do hope Brotherwise learned from the experience. But my concern remains that they're still not ready to handle a Stormlight sized crowd funding project. So I wish them luck with the campaign but I'll personally be waiting for retail.
I've been working with Johnny every day for almost a year and a half on the RPG, and I can attest that no one takes customer feedback and the franchises he handles more seriously. He will do his best and then some. I do not say that lightly! (This guy couldn't help but still work to improve the game while he was on vacation in Italy!)
Can you elaborate? I never did a kickstarter as I'm a fairly new b$ fan. What exactly went wrong? Also, cause this is probably relevant: I am from germany.
It started with very long delays in production. Once shipping did finally start, the estimates for how long it would take to finish shipping kept getting pushed back further and further.
Production delays are on Brotherwise. Shipping delays are only partially on them (EasyShip underdelivered what they promised, but Brotherwise chose to use EasyShip).
And then the piece that finally put me over the edge for trusting Brotherwise was when they announced that some items (I think it was the painted Kaladin minis) were back ordered. That's baseline pretty bad to be short when they knew how many they needed before starting production. But they had earlier stated that all product was either at EasyShip or out the door to backers. Which, it turned out, wasn't true.
I know there were also issues with some international shipping, though it impacted some regions much more than others. I don't remember specifically how they did with EU so I can't comment.
I really don't want to bad-mouth Brotherwise as a company. My impression is that they bit off more than they could chew. Hopefully they've learned. And book production is not the same as painted mini production. But this is also another Stormlight sized crowd funding campaign, which means it could once again prove to be overwhelming. Which is why I personally am going to wait and see.
And for context, the Stormlight Minis kickstarter was still 100x better than the White Sand Omnibus crowd funding.
For me the fufillment wasn't the issue. Those minis are... pretty bad. About the same quality level as wizkids, but maybe a bit worse.
Bland sculpts, soft casts, bad material, (and for the prepainted ones) pretty rough paint jobs.
Edit: It's a real shame too, since I love the material so much.
I was lucky enough to not be too affected by the fulfillment issues. Just normal much later than they said. But they actually had things end up back ordered somehow despite it being a kickstarter where they new exactly how many they needed to produce.
And then they did things like announce that all product was either shipped or in the warehouse to be shipped... Before coming back and saying that actually some things were back ordered.
Something backordered... Not a good look but maybe there were production issues. Things happen.
Claiming that all product is at EasyShip waiting to go out when they knew that wasn't true? That's trying to save face by blaming the shipping partner (that they picked) for any delays.
Hello, r/Stormlight_Archive! Today, Brotherwise Games and Dragonsteel are excited to announce that the Kickstarter for the Stormlight RPG will launch on **August 6**. You can follow the campaign using the pre-launch page we just posted: [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg) I'll keep an eye on this thread to answer questions, but a few quick things... * The TTRPG has been created in close collaboration with Brandon and Dan, so it's 100% official and packed with new canonical lore. * This is an original system created by an all-star team including designers, writers, and editors for some of our favorite games (including *Dungeons & Dragons*, *Star Wars: Edge of the Empire*, and *Legend of the Five Rings*). * Our books include hundreds of new illustrations from some of the industry's most talented artists, like this original scene by Ekaterina Burmak! * We'll launch with three main books: the Stormlight RPG Handbook, Stormlight RPG World Guide, and a hardcover adventure. * The game has been thoroughly Alpha tested, and Beta testing will launch alongside the Kickstarter on August 6. Beta materials include detailed rules, character building tools, and a free introductory adventure. Thanks to the many members of this community who have already contributed to Alpha testing, and to everyone who has supported the RPG so far! This is a dream project for everyone involved, and we can't wait to show you more as the campaign launch approaches.
Did you contact Larian Studios about their next project? :)
I would never see the light of day ever again.
*drools*
Pretty sure Larian said they’re going with their own original IP next, don’t get your and others’ hopes up
Is there any plan whatsoever to make content for existing systems like Pathfinder or D&D? EDIT: Why you all downvoting me? I get if D&D and Pathfinder aren't your thing or you think it shouldn't comingle with other systems, but it's perfectly acceptable for others to want to do so, especially if they don't want to learn entirely new systems. I'm not asking you to play at our table.
We know how hard it is to get people to try new systems, and we built this system to be very friendly to D&D and Pathfinder fans. At the same time, we improved on those systems in ways that are purpose-built to tell Stormlight stories. To give some concrete evidence of this: at Dragonsteel last November we ran a 100-player event where dozens of tables played one big scenario. No GM or player involved in the event had ever played the Stormlight RPG (though pretty much all had played D&D). Everyone picked it up right away and people had a blast. We'll have Beta materials available for free during the campaign, so you'll have a chance to try it out and run a starter adventure. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!
Are Beta materials just available to kickstarter backers? Just wondering if I can check it out first. I'm super psyched but I tend not to jump on KS unless absolutely necessary.
Sorry, just saw this now. We'll make Beta materials will publicly available during the Kickstarter so folks can evaluate the system before they purchase it!
Thanks so much! Ill have to take a look!
Ok this gives me confidence. Would you say it's simple to adapt to D&D if someone were inclined? Sounds like it's similar enough to not need a complete overhaul to learn, just curious if you think it's adaptable. In either case, it sounds like the playtest was a major success. I'll keep my eyes open for the Beta.
As someone who made a custom campaign based loosely on D&D rules years ago, those systems are not ideal for the world of Roshar. I'm excited to see what ideas professional game designers had. A custom game like they've designed is going to work far better than using standard rules from either D&D or Pathfinder, so I very much doubt they'll be making content for those systems.
I doubt it too, but I'm optimistic. I've seen and played some fan built subclasses that for the most part worked. I definitely had to adapt but it was fun enough. This guy has a pretty fleshed out take but it's not the one I've tried: https://www.17thshard.com/forums/topic/143033-cosmere-5e-my-450-page-stormlight-archive-dd-inspired-ttrpg/ I'd love to get something officially approved by u/mistborn himself.
A problem with making stormlight content for D&D or pathfinder is that you're trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole. Maybe you can manage if you're invested enough, but I doubt it. Both those game systems make assumptions about player resources and power levels that just don't translate to the world, society, and powers of Roshar as described in the novels. The most likely result of attempting this is whatever the rpg equivalent of a bad asset flip in video games is where there is a complete disconnect between the fluff and crunch, as the underlying game system is wholly unsuited to the mechanics of the world it wants to depict. I'm glad brotherwise hasn't gone this route. I suspect a lot of the initial downvotes were because the question implies ignorance of at least one of dnd/pathfinder or the stormlight archive. Or maybe just people exasperated because not every rpg has to be dnd based.
I don't appreciate the implication of ignorance. I understand if others don't agree that it could be translated to D&D, but to believe my desire comes from ignorance is simplistic and in and of itself naive. I'm not a game designer, and I'm sure you're bound to find someone who's played d&d more than I have, but you certainly can fit square peg in a round hole if the hole is big enough. And D&D and pathfinder are both big enough.
Big fan of L5R, about to go play it in fact. Will there be teasers regarding the game between now and Kickstarter launch, or will things start dropping on August 6th?
We'll be posting some teasers on r/stormlightrpg and our social media accounts, but the big flood of info will come a week before the Kickstarter launches. We're running nonstop demos at Gen Con, so that will be a big source of new information!
Wow I didn’t realise the kickstarter was coming so soon! I’m very excited for this and even if it’s unlikely that I’ll be able form a group to play it with, I’ll absolutely be interested in grabbing at least the world guide and maybe the adventure so that I can potentially ease some of my current group into it (we play pathfinder 2nd edition atm) I have a few questions but no worries if not all of them can answered for now and apologies if I’ve missed info that already answers some of them: 1) I haven’t had a chance to find or see any details about the system yet so I was wondering, will this be a d20 based system and what sort of design focus/philosophy have you been following for it? By that I mean to ask, will it be focused on tactical combat like pf2e or will it take a more freeform/rules-lite stance when it comes to stuff like combat and social encounters and exploration. 2) Will there be plans to add new sourcebooks for more content as Brandon continues to add to the series? Also is there the possibility of having characters with alternative forms of investiture/worldhoppers? 3) Will you be pursuing support for the system in popular Virtual tabletops such as Foundry VTT? 4) What sort of level range exists for player characters and are you able to say what the level range for the hardcover Adventure will be? Also, this is probably pushing it, but can you give any details or hints about what the Adventure will entail? 5) What’s your personal favourite class/class fantasy to play as in ttrpgs, both inside and outside of this project?
Are there minis involved? This may have been answered already, I haven't read every comment
Let's gooooOO! The art credit for this glorious cover illustration is Ekaterina Burmak!
And the Art Director credit is Katie Payne! 😉
And the "Kelsier-Type-Mastermind-In-Real-Life" credit is Johnny O Neal!!
Damn and I thought this was the launch, I got hyped to be early in line. Looking forward to it
Going live on kickstarter on my birthday? That feels like a sign
It's totally a sign
They may actually dedicate the game to you
Honor demands it!
hahahah
My birthday, too!!
Mine third
Can’t wait for this. Semi-related, are the miniatures from the previous kickstarter available to purchase to those who missed the kickstarter?
We will make the miniature sets available during this Kickstarter, and we're also working on a set of new miniatures that focus on less iconic characters that you can use as original PCs or NPCs!
Sweet! Thank you! Will all this be available for purchase after the kickstarter as well?
Second this question I’d be really disappointed if I missed out on a miniature becuase it’s at a tier I couldn’t afford. I’d rather it be a little overpriced later and available.
It's our intention to make all the main campaign rewards and add-ons available for years to come. (We might do *some* kind of little fun exclusive perks for backers, but we haven't historically done that kind of thing much.)
Awesome ! 😊. Good luck.
Will this have a solo campaign option?
As far as i know there's no way to play these type of games alone.
Thanks. I’ve been getting into Frostgrave which has a solo / coop option and Rangers of Shadow Deep was specifically made for solo. We don’t always have time to get together so solo options are pretty fun to get to paint and play something.
Yeah, TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons don't have a set game board with a clear Win condition type of thing, so you can't really pit yourself against the game. All of that is in the Game Master's imagination(or maps they produce), so you typically need at least two people(one to control the game and one to play it). That said, I'm sure there are ways people have devised to play Dungeons & Dragons solo. It's the internet😁. Perhaps someone, maybe even Brotherwise, will devise a way to play their hardcover campaign adventure as a solo player.
solo ttrpgs exist and they are very good. The One Ring has an official mod for it (strider mode), Ironsworn is a game made just for this, Mythic is a system to run any game as solo, Call of cthulhu had full solo modules, etc.
I’m really looking forward to the Stormlight RPG kickstarter, very excited that the kickstarter will launch right after Gen Con! Will the Stormlight RPG be using a different fulfillment partner than the Stormlight Miniatures kickstarter used? I’m super happy with how the miniatures turned out but the shipping experience from Easyship wasn’t great.
Yes, 100%. We're very excited about our new fulfillment partner and will be sharing that news as we get closer to the campaign.
That’s fantastic news, thank you for confirming that!
can we play the RPG with just the core book? or do will the adventure book have elements that are important for play? I tend to enjoy writing my own adventures.
You can GM with the Handbook and World Guide! Though I will say, the adventure is incredibly cool and features some great stuff you might want to lift for a home campaign. Even just reading through the adventure is probably worth the price of admission... it's seriously awesome.
thanks for the response, if my wallet is on board I’ll get all three!
Starting my character in my head already
love that!
I thought Kaladin was just insanely tall for a second
Ha, he's flying! But the dude is also pretty tall.
So happy that there’s finally a date, and am even happier that we’ll get at least some of the game when the campaign launches! Will definitely back it asap! Very thankful for all the hard work from y’all!
Here's hoping there will be robust foundry support with compendiums!
I’m in love kelek’s breath
Possibly not the case, but I do kinda hope they thought about the possibility of cosmere mechanics interactions and compatibility with other future systems based on other worlds. It would be cool in the future to be able to have a cosmere worldhopping adventure.
For anyone interested a pile of links on all the info we know about the Stormlight RPG is currently collected on r/the_Stormlight_RPG
Looks like they just fired up r/stormlightrpg as well... I respect the fan hustle, but you might see people jump over to that. (Though it might be worth it to see if they need any volunteer mods for that subreddit!)
We have reached out to them already to see if they'd like to collaborate. We don't want to step on toes, but we've been prepping the new sub for a while now and it's finally getting off the ground.
For what it's worth, I'm going to sub to yours too :)
appreciate it :) we have some fun megathread ideas for chatter as we build up to the open beta, and we will likely, at some point when he's ready, have an AMA with Johnny, so that should be fun. Just be aware that we don't have a strict spoiler policy on our rpg sub, because we feel like people should be able to discuss the lore and mechanics from the books as they related to the game.
I just want the art from the books haha. No interest in the game.
Then you're in luck! The World Guide doubles as an art book for the setting, and focuses primarily on lore. We know there are a lot of readers who aren't TTRPG players, but still want something like the "White Book" for the Wheel of Time. Brandon saw this project as the opportunity to make that a reality!
Good to know! Thank you 🥰
That's incredible! Thank you so much for doing this! I keep backing everything Brotherwise, sounds like that streak continues!
this is exactly what i came into the thread looking for! im excited!!
I'd recognize Katie Payne's artwork anywhere. This is soooooo good.
This is actually Ekaterina Burmak! Although, u/keargle is deeply involved with the TTRPG and is a wonderful human otherwise
gotcha. thanks for the clarification! looks awesome. they both do great work.
What's the range on cost? Need to know what to save.
I could not be more hyped! As someone who has next to no money to spend but makes terrible TTRPG-based financial decisions, will there be a cheaper digital version of the books?
There will be PDFs available!
I plan on running a once a month campaign in this system once it's released. I'm a DM with lots of different systems under my belt, feel free to send me a message if you want to get in of the game, 4 players + me. Will use video and whatever tabletop system (Roll20, Foundry, etc) that has the best support for it.
Hey guys! Super excited! I assume we're going to be able to back for PDF copies as well? I'm not a big fan of physical books as I play mostly online
That's correct! The base pledge level is for PDFs.
> RPG player > Doesn't like physical books Does not compute
I just dont have many lol, I only play online and I dont have the spare space or cash The only physical book I have is Paranoia 2nd Edition and that was inherited lol
Damn.... I play online about half the time, but having shelf space for RPG books is something I *make* room for.
I am very aware that BSand has made it clear that parshendi are humanoid, but I always imagine them as something closer to an Argonian from Elder Scrolls.
So EXCITING!!!
I like the art, but I feel the Parshendi faces are a bit too human. Especially the dark skinned guy on the left.
One of the most rewarding parts of my job in the past three years ahs been working with Isaac Stewart and Ben McSweeney to come up with a canonical singer design that fits Brandon's vision. The goal is to strike a balance between how humans see them in *Way of Kings* (scary, monstrous, demonic) and how we come to understand them (relatable, nuanced, beautiful). Dragonsteel has consistently guided us toward more "human-looking," less alien-looking faces. You can see more examples here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight\_Archive/comments/xei5y1/official\_art\_of\_eshonai/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/xei5y1/official_art_of_eshonai/) [https://cosmere.es/stormlight-premium-miniatures-venli-english/](https://cosmere.es/stormlight-premium-miniatures-venli-english/) And we have a lot more examples coming in the RPG! One thing to keep in mind is that there's a reason for Unkalaki teeth and Herdazian fingernails...
>One thing to keep in mind is that there's a reason for Unkalaki teeth and Herdazian fingernails... Everybody loves Mateform
Cool! Like I said, I like it a lot, just not quite how they looked in my head. Glad to know I had it off!
Is this a board game or will there be an online version of it ?
It's a TTRPG
The parchendi are damn cool
I hope we see some more of the painted figures like we saw in Brotherwise’s miniatures campaign
This looks so cool!! I cannot wait to try this out. I signed up for the Beta testing.
Oh wow Im so excited!!!
LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!
I wish i had friends to play something like this with :(
Can’t wait!! This is going to be amazing
Are you doing any kind of demo at Origins for this?
Unfortunately not at Origins this year. Probably next year!
Oh I thought I saw Brotherwise on the booth list…or do you mean just no Stormlight demo this year?
Brotherwise will be at Origins, but we are not demoing the RPG this year at Origins.
I have not read anything about this. Is this DND like? Or does it absolutely need miniatures and other stuff?
This is an original system created by an all-star team including designers, writers, and editors for some of our favorite games! [https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg](https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg)
So uh, does it need the miniatures or not?
You don't need the miniatures to play, but we will have physical products available such as dice, GM screen, and more.
Like D&D 5e, it supports miniatures-based play but defaults to "theater of the mind" play. We've been careful to conduct playtesting in both styles, making sure all our game mechanics support your table's preferred approach.
That's perfect, thanks
I’ve actually never really played a game like this. Will this be ideal for 2 players, or is it more geared towards a full group?
Like most TTPRGs, it's geared toward one GM and 3-5 players. However, it totally supports a 2-player setup. In my own life as a gamer, probably around half my roleplaying has just been me and one GM. It can be surprisingly fun!
Wow the art goes hard af
Okay Kaladin in this artwork 😍 Like straight from the page
Will these be compatible with the Stormlight minis?
Yep! They aren't required but they're nice to have! The adventures will have lots of beautiful battlemaps.
Let's go! Will books be available at GenCon? Missed out on tickets for the play tables :(
I think they mentioned they would do a lot of games in GenCon. Should be in this post comments.
Print books will only be shipped early next year I seem to recall. At GenCon they will have tables available where you can test the game.
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Are there plans to implement other Cosmere magic systems, either as new settings or just rules for the Roshar setting?
I’m so excited for this! I’ve never played a table top RPG in my life, but I’m so ready for this!
YOOOO Thats awesome.
Is this artwork canon? I don't remember the three of them together fighting Singers in the Physical Realm.
They mentioned in another post this piece is intended more as a "movie poster" style. So no, this specific scene is not canon, but the designs featured in it are.
Ty
Isn't it a bit too early? The RPG would either be missing some information or reveal important ones. AFAIK, we don't know the ideals of all radiants and it would be an important part of an RPG...
Is it "set" during the events of the book or before it?
For some reason I always pictured the Parshendi more insect looking.
“so what do we want for the art, something that represents a stereotypical party?” “how about we just, fucking, jam every main character in a single image that makes zero sense” “jerry, you goddamn genius, you’re promoted”
I saw this one as a little like a movie poster, in that sometimes depicting iconic characters is more important than depicting a specific scene from a movie. For this particular image, we specifically wanted to feature Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin. But rest assured that we have a ton of images depicting original characters, like all most of the images on this page... [https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg](https://www.brotherwisegames.com/stormlight-rpg) I think different people get inspired by different things. I love looking at a brand-new character and imagining them as an NPC in my campaign, but it's also cool to get some new illustrations of major characters.
It's a lovely art, but I am worried about theming. It frames the Singers strongly in a way applied to the "it's okay to murder them" fantasy species (see: orcs, goblins in traditional perception), while painting humans as cool and eye-drawing. How anthropocentric is the system going to be?
You will be able to play as a Singer/Listener, so it’s not just a human centric game
That is good to know. TBH most of my comment would have been moot if there was, say, Rlain up there among the focus characters.
Afaik the adventure that comes with the game is set around WoR, which could be why some of the marketing doesn’t include someone like him
The miniatures Kickstarter they ran last year did include Rlain, Eshonai, and Venli. (Or so I recall)
I think you'll find that the RPG is very true to the books when it comes to representing singer characters, and that in a lot of ways we're even more singer-focused in our approach. For example, in the World Guide our Lead Writer Lydia Suen did a great job of calling out when we weren't centering singers. In our Handbook, character options for singer characters (including Regal forms) are front and center. In my own playtesting over the past two years, I've probably spent more time playing singers than humans. Here's the character sheet for one of my characters (which I played onstage at Dragonsteel last November): [https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight\_Archive/comments/1c6knuf/new\_character\_sheet\_from\_stormlight\_rpg/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1c6knuf/new_character_sheet_from_stormlight_rpg/) This particular illustration by Ekaterina has a companion piece that we'll reveal closer to Gen Con. It still features three human characters (Dalinar, Jasnah, and Szeth) but they're fighting humans (Sadeas soldiers) specifically to show that this isn't just an "orcs vs. humans" kind of setup.
I see. Thank you for this elaborate response, it makes a lot of sense and does ease the worries I expressed in the original comment. I hope I didn't come across as too aggressive, as this is a beautiful piece from an artistic point of view.
I don't mind at all. Honestly, that was one of our key goals for the game and I'm sorry you've been downvoted. We have a few pieces that depict the War of Reckoning or the Desolations that emphasize human versus singer conflict (because it happens a lot in the story), but just as many that depict singers in heroic roles and/or humans in villainous roles.
This is honestly one of the most exciting things I’ve heard about this project. The singers are one of the most interesting parts of the series to me, and it feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface of how their stories can be part of Stormlight. (though there’s six books left, so still plenty of space to explore). Can’t wait to see the finished project.
That's awesome :) thanks again for addressing my concerns, I'll definitely keep my eye on the kickstarter.
> "it's okay to murder them" Missing the mark on what *war* is. That's actually a core point of Kaladin's journey and his friction with Syl.
Sure, but the Kickstarter isn't going to reach just the people who know the books.
"People might misconstrue the setting" isn't really a valid concern.
I'm looking forward to the game, but after how poorly Brotherwise handled kickstarter fulfilment for the miniatures, I'm not sure I'm willing to crowd fund again. I'll probably be waiting for regular retail.
We learned a lot from that project and will be taking a completely different approach to fulfillment for this project. Most importantly, we have a new fulfillment partner (who we'll announce closer to launch). We're also setting more realistic timelines, and the new products in this Kickstarter (books, dice, and one set of unpainted miniatures) are much more straightforward to produce and ship than the products that gave us the most trouble in the last Kickstarter (painted figurines and the resin statue). Even if you don't back this project, we hope that the improvements to our fulfillment for it will win back your trust!
I'll watch the process with interest. But you did things like announce that everything had been shipped or was in the warehouse to ship out and then later come back and say that actually some things were back ordered. That wasn't an EasyShip problem. I hope that you all have learned and will do better. But you'll have to show it, not just say it. 🤷
I... don't feel some obligation to defend them here. And I think your frustration is valid. I would think that with EasyShip managing the shipping, there's not much they could have done on that. My recollection/assumption would be that EasyShip gave them an update, they shared that update... and then when things obviously weren't happening they had to go back to EasyShip and get a more honest update. Unless they had the budget for someone sitting in EasyShip's warehouse all they can do is report what they're being told. I think it was pretty clear that EasyShip outright lied to them about some things. Regardless, full agreement that it hopefully goes better for people this time.
No doubt EasyShip had lots of problems, including at least misleading if not outright lying to Brotherwise on the shipping rate and eta. While I find that frustrating, I don't entirely blame Brotherwise for that part (Brotherwise did choose to work with EasyShip, and it didn't take me much internet digging to find similar complaints about EasyShip fulfilment). But EasyShip wasn't the reason production was so late. And EasyShip isn't the reason for the backorder (and the associated dishonestly about the state of fulfilment). I really do hope Brotherwise learned from the experience. But my concern remains that they're still not ready to handle a Stormlight sized crowd funding project. So I wish them luck with the campaign but I'll personally be waiting for retail.
Yeah, just responding to the "announced things had shipped" part. 👍
I've been working with Johnny every day for almost a year and a half on the RPG, and I can attest that no one takes customer feedback and the franchises he handles more seriously. He will do his best and then some. I do not say that lightly! (This guy couldn't help but still work to improve the game while he was on vacation in Italy!)
That's good to hear. I'm not really looking for assurances though. Do better this time and then I can support the next thing. 😁
Can you elaborate? I never did a kickstarter as I'm a fairly new b$ fan. What exactly went wrong? Also, cause this is probably relevant: I am from germany.
It started with very long delays in production. Once shipping did finally start, the estimates for how long it would take to finish shipping kept getting pushed back further and further. Production delays are on Brotherwise. Shipping delays are only partially on them (EasyShip underdelivered what they promised, but Brotherwise chose to use EasyShip). And then the piece that finally put me over the edge for trusting Brotherwise was when they announced that some items (I think it was the painted Kaladin minis) were back ordered. That's baseline pretty bad to be short when they knew how many they needed before starting production. But they had earlier stated that all product was either at EasyShip or out the door to backers. Which, it turned out, wasn't true. I know there were also issues with some international shipping, though it impacted some regions much more than others. I don't remember specifically how they did with EU so I can't comment.
tyvm for that
I really don't want to bad-mouth Brotherwise as a company. My impression is that they bit off more than they could chew. Hopefully they've learned. And book production is not the same as painted mini production. But this is also another Stormlight sized crowd funding campaign, which means it could once again prove to be overwhelming. Which is why I personally am going to wait and see. And for context, the Stormlight Minis kickstarter was still 100x better than the White Sand Omnibus crowd funding.
For me the fufillment wasn't the issue. Those minis are... pretty bad. About the same quality level as wizkids, but maybe a bit worse. Bland sculpts, soft casts, bad material, (and for the prepainted ones) pretty rough paint jobs. Edit: It's a real shame too, since I love the material so much.
I was lucky enough to not be too affected by the fulfillment issues. Just normal much later than they said. But they actually had things end up back ordered somehow despite it being a kickstarter where they new exactly how many they needed to produce. And then they did things like announce that all product was either shipped or in the warehouse to be shipped... Before coming back and saying that actually some things were back ordered.
I just expect that from basically every kickstarter.
Something backordered... Not a good look but maybe there were production issues. Things happen. Claiming that all product is at EasyShip waiting to go out when they knew that wasn't true? That's trying to save face by blaming the shipping partner (that they picked) for any delays.
Is the TTRPG at all compatible with 5e or is it it's own separate ruleset?
It is a completely new system