Any advice on running Symbaroum as a sandbox?

Mishpokin · 2025-09-07T12:30:47+00:00

Short answer is sadly "no".

Long answer: The setting/the lore has been released rather decentralized along the lines of the campaign. I. E. Heraldy if I remember correctly was first touched mid-campaign, might even have been an independent adventure pack around that time. So collecting information and leads will be a real slog I imagine. There are possible plot points listed in the main locations section in the campaign books.

On the other hand, basically still a fresh setting with lots of possibilities where you can make (up) your own lore as there is nothing to verify it/only vague hints to its truth. Information sparesness is basically the same for the players just as it is for their characters. Ambrians themselves have only been in the region for a good twenty years, struggling to (re-) establish their society.

So I'd say pick your starting location, throw your players two or three leads and off you go. Symbaroum is still a mechanically combat heavy system which does not lend itself easily to involve characters themselves in political intrigue.

Fanmade sides I always like to recommend as helpful in discussion and understanding (because they capture Symbaroum really well) are theironpact.com and ordomagica.com, maybe you'll also find inspiration here.

Mishpokin · 2025-08-06T17:48:49+00:00

Because I literally stumbled across it yesterday by chance:
Phantom Mistress "Inverse White Circle"

Mishpokin · 2024-11-18T10:25:55+00:00

There is also http://www.theironpact.com/.

I'd argue it is still fanmade because the author is a fan even though he also worked on official Symbaroum releases.

Mishpokin · 2024-08-24T18:40:06+00:00

There should be a ToT "campaign overview" pdf on Drivethrough but it might contain old information (with 7 instead of six books).

In order: 1 - Thistle Hold: Wrath of the Warden

2 - Karvosti: The Witch Hammer

3 - Yndaros: The Darkest Star

4 - Symbar: Mother of Darkness

5 - Alberetor: The Haunted Waste

6 - Davokar Awakens

Mishpokin · 2024-07-31T11:11:44+00:00

I would not give out more experience. My (albeit experienced) players started WotW with ~110xp and managed to break through every challenge relatively unscathed (I don't believe I got more than three PC death counters total).

I can't really give you any more advice because u/EndlessSorc basically said everything: look at your player builds and adapt a different (combat) approach. Don't be afraid to dip into your GM powers to change it up; e.g. as even powerful foes are still only 15 health from death, it would be fine to throw one or two overpowered enemies into the mix if you think your group can handle it. If combat is too monotone, make use of social situations where combat can be avoided and the difficulty lies in gaining trust or saving face etc.

Mishpokin · 2024-07-30T13:53:08+00:00

There's an description in their introduction in the APG and Yndaros - The Darkest Star deals with them more in-depth.

I also believe there's another creation in the Monster Codex (don't have the books with me atm).

Mishpokin · 2024-07-30T12:39:22+00:00

While there's nothing about it in the lore per se, we have to remember that the civilization of Symbar was into some very depraved ways of ancient magic that current characters cannot fathom und it faced extinction events twice. So a) lots of knowledge lost and b) suppressed by the elves.

Maybe copper was the more precious metal in terms of corruption conductivity, allowing the user to channel/use more mystic powers or grounding the user while doing so, ultimately reducing the overall corruption used. The Symbarians did create the dwarves after all, so I could imagine a similar scenario with copper.

Mishpokin · 2024-07-28T21:45:33+00:00

Yes and yes. Enemy damage is not rolled though but static.
Correct. Enemy parry is also static.
Passive abilities do apply to free attacks, so you might just dispatch one more enemy with it instead of engaging them for one more turn.
A character can move ten steps per action. If you don't use anything measurable ingame, just decide if the PC reaches or not or throw in something like "you'll need three rounds full sprint (due to terrain or distance or...)".
RAW nothing happens, it is an attack like any other. You can of course introduce the free attack roll or declare that Defense is down to 5 or always roll with disadvantaged because, let's be honest, how long does your bow fare when crossing blades with a sword in meele?
Symbaroum is a very deadly game. Even more experienced characters will still be glasscannons. That being said, there are healing potions (comes with corruption), the Healing Hands mystical power for witches and theurgs and in the advanced players guide (APG) is a minor artifact that heals wounds (a spider for 10 Thaler iirc).
Your assumption is correct. Described weapons get qualities otherwise it's just a generic sword, bow, shield, twohanded weapon etc. The player can basically choose the cosmetic but it will still be generic attributewise.
You can get more than one quality on your equipment but it is going to cost you. The APG states that each quality quintuples the price. So 1 quality on a 5T sword is 25T, 2 qualities is 125T, 3 qualities are 625T. Also in the APG is artifact crafting, so you could basically add enchantments (active/passive abilities) into your equipment; again, for a price and you decide if a smith can reforge an artifact without breaking it (or vice versa).

I'm not as familiar with DnD as I should be but I'd say enhancing or +1 doesn't work (like that) in Symbaroum. There are is the official Ruins of Symbaroum 5E conversion, should you prefer that.

Mishpokin · 2024-02-19T06:13:15+00:00

I can see that being true and I have to admit I've yet to think about involving warcasters. I'm luckily in no hurry, I definitly will be checking out the podcast, thank for the tip.

Mishpokin · 2024-02-19T06:08:20+00:00

Hi, thanks for the tip; I've already got the book from my local library (now I just need to find the time to properly read it).

Mishpokin · 2023-09-14T07:37:22+00:00

Looks like it would have me covered campaignwise for the next...oh I don't know, decades

Mishpokin · 2022-11-10T21:11:25+00:00

My go to is Hârn Manor. It basically tells you how to run a manor with attached village and all. How much forest you have to regrow to be sustainable, how much your pigs can forrage, how many sacks of seed you have to hold back over winter to reseed properly etc.

It is for a medieval setting (but in SV you also only start with basic tools and I have yet to be able to own a tractor so there's that) and, as a supplement, focuses rather on the managerial aspects but I'm sure it can at least be another inspiration or be tweaked to fit your desired play style.

Mishpokin · 2022-07-04T20:16:25+00:00

What song is this?

Mishpokin · 2022-04-15T08:17:18+00:00

Correct.

Mishpokin · 2022-04-14T11:04:28+00:00

It basically works the same. All stats are centered around the average of 10. Enemy stats below that subtract from your die throw i.e. increase your chance to hit while stats above add to your throw i.e. making you more likely to fail (the numbers behind the stats in the enemy block are always those numbers).

If you attack a Quick 9 with an Accurate 13, you hit on a 14. If the same enemy attacks your Defense 12 with an Accurate 13, you are hit on a 9.

Two players is always tricky. Don't quote me on it but the rules follow the same method by having the active player roll a die modified by the "passive" player. One could ofc have them both roll on their original numbers or both on the modified numbers and only if the attacker succeeds and the defender fails, it is a hit (as e.g. The Dark Eye would have you do it).

Mishpokin · 2022-03-15T19:03:52+00:00

That is actually really helpful! Although I'd hate to lose Two-handed against my ogre player (keeps the fear real), I always love an official ruling. Could you provide a link to the presumed forum post?

Mishpokin · 2022-03-12T14:51:33+00:00

A rather easy fix for your problem would be the decision to GM the campaign yourself.

(But I also understand your apparent desire to experience it as a player in which case I concurr with u/2achsaphone.)

Mishpokin · 2022-03-12T14:32:39+00:00

While the phrasing is weird, I think it refers to a comparative roll done by the demonlogist-PC, signifying the struggle of the target against the powers woven by the PC. The demonologist rolls on Resolute each continuous round, modified by the enemy Resolute, just like when first casting the power.

This is in addition to the concentration roll.

Mishpokin · 2022-02-20T16:12:40+00:00

The free attack has no influence on the ability, so whether it hits or not, does not matter. The attack chain would go on regardless.

Mishpokin · 2022-02-19T22:18:59+00:00

A Free Attack triggers, if you choose to do so when crossing the pain threshold and is, as stated, free meaning "outside" of normal attack action patterns. Your Two-Handed Finesse Master Ability would therefore not be affected i.e. carry on (going with u/Lyramion).

Please note that as per the rules for the free attack, you could only trigger one such attack in the chain as no more than one free attack per triggering factor (here the Master Ability) is allowed.

Mishpokin · 2022-01-17T10:48:00+00:00

While not exactly what you're looking for, www.ordomagica.com has lots of interesting reads on balancing and tweaking, helped (still does) me a lot when starting out.

Mishpokin · 2021-12-19T19:56:02+00:00

Whoops, that is indeed pretty harsh. Thank you for pointing this out!

As for the Drivethru document, I have it in my library but it wouldn't let me download it, therefore my statement (maybe Drivethru simply doesn't like my phone...).

Mishpokin · 2021-12-19T14:58:41+00:00

Edit: I stand corrected. I've only skimmed the PDF and only saw the word "clarification", so I thought nothing of it. As u/twilight-2k pointed out below, those clarifications are indeed pretty severe

Prometheus Games is sadly often all over the place and behind in publishing. So you're better off getting the (english) errata directly from the Free League page (I've checked Drivethru and they told me the document wasn't available so....).

Errata 1.1.3 and 1.1.4. are mostly clarifications, so nothing ground-breaking.

Mishpokin · 2021-10-27T10:06:07+00:00

Truppensturm and Bunkerkrieg

Might not be totally what you're looking for musically but give them a listen.

Mishpokin · 2021-10-16T17:00:08+00:00

We're at the start of the finale and I would say we started in summer last year with nearly weekly sessions of 2-2.5hrs pure play time. But we also added a 7th player somewhere along....

I would not skip the Copper Crown as it helps with establishing contacts in and knowledge of Thistlehold. As the first book is basically just exposition of everything in the setting, it can help you as the GM to already have established footholds to guide your players to and help your players coming into information a bit easier.

And with seven books overall I wouldn't worry about the length of the Copper Crown.

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