“There’s this one character who’s immune to damage, and one that deals infinite hurt every turn! I can’t challenge them without also annihilating the more reasonable players! What do I do!?”
Author: Master Xaras
Torchbearer
The people of Ambria enjoy games. Gambling with dice, racing horses, competing in craftsmanship and chivalric arts are all popular passtimes and events to spectate – but in many ways these games are indicative of different social status. A noble would never be caught carrying a set of dice. A pauper would never be invited to a […]
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Parry Mastery
Reading back some old threads on the official Järnringen/Symbaroum forum on the Swedish site www.rollspel.nu, I found a classic topic with many pages discussing one of the inherent “issues” with Symbaroum’s ruleset – namely how Accurate has a tendency to become a dump stat for any reasonably optimized character. It is the one attribute that […]
The Wild Frontier
When people think of fantasy settings, it can be difficult to get away from the image of old ivy-covered castles and rickety towns that have stood for centuries – a land where the people have always been the way they are, and where the biggest upheaval is a change of colours that fly from the […]
Incremental Ritualist
One of the quirks of Symbaroum’s system that I’ve noticed some new players have trouble wrapping their head around is exactly how the Ritualist ability and learning Rituals works. The confusion mainly seems to stem from the fact that you need to take the ability, which gives you a “slot” for a ritual – then you […]
Wiselads
Maroa of Glimmer. You are condemned for the practice of witchcraft and ungodly ritual. As witnessed by four neighbours, two wise lads, and the Lord Prios Himself, your crimes are beyond doubt. As a servant of the Church of the Sun, I sentence you to be hanged to death, to be left in the light […]
Blight and Affliction
The Corruption rules are one of the unique selling points of Symbaroum. The idea that magic is dangerous is an intriguing idea, and one that is only rarely explored in roleplaying games. It’s one of the most evocative parts of Symbaroum’s setting, and the effects that Corruption has on the world and its people makes […]
The Stain of Corruption
From watching numerous Symbaroum communities, there are a few topics that seem to arise naturally within every group – a few oddities of the system that players or GMs eventually notice and feel the need to question. One such thing is how absolutely explosive the Corruption Threshold rules are. In the background of Symbaroum, Corruption seems to […]
Wrath of the World
Arrai took a cautious step back from the robber. He did not seem like a significant threat, but there was something strange behind those eyes that had not been there a moment ago. A fury. An unhinged wrath. The hunter’s head pounded as it often did when he was in danger. Jak growled deeply – […]
- Abilities
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Ancillary to Alchemy: Handling Ingredients
I received a lot of happy responses to my Alchemy house rule. It definitely seems to do what I wanted it to – make the ability more fun and agile to use. However, as more and more elixirs are added to the game, the randomness of the ability makes less and less sense. It’s especially […]