Ruins of Symbaroum: Gamemaster's Guide (5E)

The rich and nuanced Symbaroum setting revolves around the Ambrians – a civilization that two decades ago were forced to flee their ancestral soil after a devastating war. Their new and promised land borders on the vast forest of Davokar, covering the remnants of the Empire of Symbaroum which fell into ruin hundreds of years ago. Brimming with natural resources and mythical treasures, the forest calls out to the Ambrians to be explored and plundered, but the road into its depths lays far from open. Not only are the shadows beneath the foliage fraught with danger, monsters and infectious Corruption; there are also the elves of the Iron Pact who have vowed to die to keep anyone from disturbing the ruins of old, warning that the ancient evil of Symbaroum stirs in its sleep. 

Now you can join in the adventure! Seek out the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries; establish a base of power among princes, guilds, or rebellious refugees in the capital city of Yndaros; survive encounters with trolls, dark-minded beasts, and undead warlords. But always remember the warnings spoken by the wardens of the forest: tread carefully and do not disturb the ruins of old, for the horrors of Davokar are about to awaken!

Aside from the base core rules referenced in the 5E OGL, the Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide contains everything you need to create characters and set out to explore the world of Symbaroum. We provide this information in five major sections: an introduction to the setting, new rules for gameplay, new character origins, new character classes and feats, and a set of resources (equipment, spells, etcetera) for making characters and for use during play.

New Rules 

To emphasize the dark fantasy nature of the setting, new rules for traveling and rests, social challenges, and magic are introduced. Regarding magic, wielders of mystical powers cannot avoid being affected by the ever-present threat of Corruption — the gathering of darkness to each character’s Shadow which, if left untended, can manifest as terrible physical transformations and even the eventual loss of the character entirely, as Corruption consumes them mentally and physically.

New Origins

Aside from familiar folks such as humans, elves, and dwarves, the Symbaroum game world lets you create PCs and NPCs who are changelings, ogres, goblins, trolls and even a particular form of undead. Also, the more recognizable folks differ quite radically from what you would expect – for instance, in Symbaroum the elves (rather than orcs, trolls, or similar) could be described as the default enemy of adventurers and explorers.

In Ruins of Symbaroum, character Backgrounds are generally tied to Origins. The following Origins and Backgrounds are included in the Player's Guide: 

Aside from the base core rules referenced in the 5E OGL, the Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide contains everything you need to create characters and set out to explore the world of Symbaroum. We provide this information in five major sections: an introduction to the setting, new rules for gameplay, new character origins, new character classes and feats, and a set of resources (equipment, spells, etcetera) for making characters and for use during play.

New Rules 

To emphasize the dark fantasy nature of the setting, new rules for traveling and rests, social challenges, and magic are introduced. Regarding magic, wielders of mystical powers cannot avoid being affected by the ever-present threat of Corruption — the gathering of darkness to each character’s Shadow which, if left untended, can manifest as terrible physical transformations and even the eventual loss of the character entirely, as Corruption consumes them mentally and physically.

New Origins

Aside from familiar folks such as humans, elves, and dwarves, the Symbaroum game world lets you create PCs and NPCs who are changelings, ogres, goblins, trolls and even a particular form of undead. Also, the more recognizable folks differ quite radically from what you would expect – for instance, in Symbaroum the elves (rather than orcs, trolls, or similar) could be described as the default enemy of adventurers and explorers.

In Ruins of Symbaroum, character Backgrounds are generally tied to Origins. The following Origins and Backgrounds are included in the Player's Guide: 

• Abducted Human: Runaway
• Changeling: Broken Home, Mage's Assistant
• Dwarf: Dreams of Doom, Life-Debt, Outcast
• Elf: Avenger, Exile, Mediator, Scout
• Human: Common Folk, Faithful of Prios, Houses of Nobility, Merchant, Refugee, Scholar of Order Magica
• Ogre: Learned in Magic, Raised by Commonfolk, Sellsword
• Troll: Artifact Hunter, Journey of Discovery,
• Undead: Revenant

New Classes

The Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide presents the classes Captain, Hunter, Mystic, Scoundrel and Warrior – each with between four and seven different approaches (called Subclasses in the 5E OGL rules), and all of them with customized features up to the 20th level. The captain class is something special, as its members have the capability to command and train others, to improve the fighting ability of a group as a whole.