An official sequel to Stonewalkers

Brotherwise just posted an update to their Kickstarter page about the Mistborn RPG, but if you read a bit further down the page, you’ll see a call to playtest a new campaign in the Stormlight setting. Here’s what we know so far.

We’re getting a new Stormlight Campaign for the Cosmere RPG

This is a new Hardcover adventure, likely meaning that it will be a new campaign with a physical release similar to Stonewalkers. It’s not clear whether that means we are talking about something that is of a similar size and length to Stonewalkers, but I think it’s safe to say that it's not going to be a short adventure like Bridge 9 or the first steps.

What we do know is that this is a confirmed sequel to Stonewalkers and will have a heavy focus on military combat and war.

It’s mentioned later in the post that the playtest will feature tier 3 characters, so we can assume the adventure will take us into the up to level 15 or perhaps beyond.

Art by Pierre Ignaszewski

In this screenshot we see the Coalition army bracing for an attack - you can see members of the Alethi and Azish forces on display, but there are potentially other forces represented further back.

This likely means we’re going to be somewhere in the Oathbringer timeline which tracks with the themes of war and large scale military engagements promised in the campaign.

We also get hints that there will be new elements to combat, including skirmish scenes and squad-style adversaries. When we get in to my speculations a little bit later in the video I’ll talk through what I think we might be able to expect there.

The post references how Game Masters will need to zoom out during their campaigns, tracking conflicts in a region and letting characters take command of larger military forces.

Finally, in the playtester application, the test is described as a brand new system that will be a  new way to engage with the Cosmere RPG.

That’s it for the details in the post, and so let’s talk about it.

Wild speculation

First off, I’m thrilled that we’re getting a sequel to Stonewalkers so soon. I was worried that with the release of the Mistborn setting this fall, it would be a long time before we heard anything official about future Stormlight content.

That’s not to say that the campaign is going to be out soon - it’s still in alpha playtesting, so it could be a year or more before we see a new release.

I like that the sequel is going to be majorly expanding the systems of the Cosmere RPG.

Further developing mass combat makes a ton of sense on the Cosmere, especially in the Stormlight setting. In the books, we start with individual characters with smaller scale problems which evolve into planet wide threats, and it's nice to see that the RPG is going to mimic that scale.

I hope to see this campaign take us right up to Tier 4 and prepare characters for adventures beyond Roshar.

Given the screenshot, this campaign will likely take place, at least in part, during Oathbringer. The coalition didn’t fight battles at this scale with these specific forces until the year or so of world-wide war that took place in between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War.

This setting is kind of interesting, because in fiction, Rhythm of War is only like two months long, and Wind and Truth is only 10 days. We don’t have much runway on the Stormlight Archive beyond Oathbringer, and so a long campaign that runs during that year of war with the forces of Odium makes a ton of sense. 

Could the campaign be set at the same time as War For Roshar?

It’s important to note that this is also the time that War For Roshar, Brotherwise’s tabletop wargame, will likely take place. We know we’re getting some new minis for that game, so I expect to see a lot of new mineratures at least be available to 3d print through my mini factory.

Now, when I think of a military style campaign, I imagine something akin to that type of tabletop wargaming system where you’re controlling large squads of troops and deploying them across a battlefield. 

Considering that they phrased skirmishes as a scene tells me that this is going to be distinct from the rules of conversations, combat, and endeavors as we know them today.

There’s already some guidance on Mass Combat in the Stormlight Handbook so I assume a lot of the mechanics will be founded, at least in part, in those rules. In particular, I can see the Mass Combat Flowchart on page 353 being a good representation of what we might expect.

I’m also interested in the mechanics surrounding being a military commander. This likely won’t just be commanding troops on where to fight, but also controlling supply lines, camp management, and potentially even negotiations with the enemy. 

For the squad style adversaries, I could see a specific adversary type that you could only use in Mass Combat. 2

Instead of a single creature with specific stats, you’ll see a group of adversaries represented with a larger pool of hit points.

I could see mechanics like being able to route a squad adversary as opposed to straight up killing them, and different types of maneuvers and formations depending on their culture and origins.

Some other mechanics we might see could focus around scouting, management of moral, and potentially even siege-style attacks and defense. 

There is huge potential with this expansion, and I can’t wait to see what Brotherwise comes up with.

Get in while you can

If you want to participate in the Alpha, you’ll have to act quickly. The application closes down July 12th. 

To apply, check out the Cosmere RPG kickstarter post and update.

And that’s what we know so far. Surprisingly quite a bit for something so early in development. I think a release sometime in late 2027 or early 2028 is a great pace for major releases. 

I think that Brotherwise committing to the Hardcover release really shows the commitment to the Cosmere that everyone wanted to see, and I can’t wait for the stunning art that will come along with that