Fan Content Policy

Our goal for the Cosmere® Roleplaying Game is to build a long-term community supported by years of releases. We know that RPGs are about creating and sharing your own stories, so we need a policy that empowers people to do so. At the same time, we want to draw a clear line between fan creations and official content.

Cosmere RPG Fan Content

Brotherwise and Dragonsteel encourage fan content for the Cosmere RPG, as long as it is non-commercial, contains the correct attributions/disclaimers, and does not contain any copyrighted artwork or logos.

In the future, Brotherwise intends to share an OGL (Open Gaming License) version of the underlying ruleset, but one which removes any references to Dragonsteel IP. That system, Plotweaver™, will have a generic OGL/SRD that will allow for monetization, but not of any content related to or resembling Dragonsteel-owned IP.

Guidelines

  • All Cosmere RPG fan content must adhere to the Dragonsteel Fan Content Policy, with the additional clarifications specified below.

  • Cosmere RPG fan content should not copy the page backgrounds, border elements, and cover templates of official content. Legally speaking, that's all copyrighted "trade dress." Practically speaking, it makes it harder for fans to know what's official. Please use original styling for any fan-made PDFs or materials you produce. However, you may still use the Opportunity, Complication, action, and reaction icons.

  • Please include this statement in any game content you share: "This is unofficial fan content, created and shared for non-commercial use. It has not been reviewed by Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC or Brotherwise Games, LLC."

  • Our policy will differentiate between "game content" (e.g. new rules, maps, or adventures) and actual plays or reviews. We encourage people sharing Cosmere RPG video content, but please reach out to jillian@brotherwisegames.com if you have any questions.

  • Fanmade Cosmere RPG game content should not be monetized or paywalled in any way. For example, if you design a new "Stormwarden" heroic path specialty, you cannot make it available via a paid Patreon.

Monetization

There are two exceptions to our policy’s prohibitions on monetization:

  • We encourage recorded or live streamed coverage and actual plays! If you are playing or talking about this system on YouTube, Twitch, Moonbeam, or any other platform, you may monetize your videos, as long as your content does not run afoul of any other guidelines mentioned here.

  • We do not place any restrictions on professional GMs who ask to be compensated for the time they spend running adventures, whether they do so independently or via platforms like StartPlaying. Professional GMs are welcome to use official adventures, homebrewed content, or publicly available fan content for those sessions.

Thanks for your understanding of the need for these guidelines to protect Dragonsteel IP while building a great community for this RPG!