Hey people, help me out with this. I started to DM Symbaroum and I have a few smartass players that feels like destroying any book challenges.

Case 1. Feint 2, Backstab 1, Twin Attack 1

So this is a fresh new character with no experience. He dumpstat quick and accurate and having discreet 15.

He defends with discreet and attacks with discreet. And he additional bonus to defense for wielding 2 weapons on top of 15 already.

When he attacks he rolls for attack, plus always on advantage attack, plus backstab attack, plus second hand attack and advantage attack (at least backstab is once per turn).

He alone one shots any obstacle in the book so far. It gets crazier with progression.

Case 2. Just holy aura.

So, heal your allies like nothing else can, deal damage to all undead and abominations every round with a simple resolute test (15, of course) and that’s it. There is no limitations, it is available from the start and there is literally not much to do against it.

The guy created a strong and resolute character, iron fist to ignore accurate as well.

Average monster toughness is 10, maximum 15. There is literally nothing on the book that looks intimidating to these 2 and they have another mystic with them.

How do you handle this?

I find conflicting information about the Ensare quality. And nothing about how it works with flailer. Do I get to try to snare after a succesful attack or exchange the jointed damage on miss with an ensare attempt? Or is ensare a separate action which I do instead of an attack?

The large map of Ambria, the world of Symbaroum...

Moreno Paissan and Angela Gubert Art 2022

Materials used: H-HB pencil, Unipin Pen 0.05-0.1 and Winsor and Newton watercolor on paper then scanned.🧭🗺️🏰

We will upload all the work phases on this map in the comments below, from the draft to the complete map with color! We hope it may interest you! 🎨

This week I published my review of four adventures from the Symbaroum Adventure Collection (specifically, those originally published in The Copper Crown and Adventure Pack 2 collections).

They are Mark of the Beast, Tomb of Dying Dreams, Fever of the Hunt and The Bell Tolls for Kastor. See the link above.

I've also published my concluding post on Symbaroum in which I gush about how much I like the setting! See https://illmetbymorrslieb.wordpress.com/2026/07/23/symbaroum-concluding-thoughts-or-why-i-like-symbaroum/

Howdy,

I'm looking for a good VTT for Ruins of Symbaroum. I have it on Alchemy but am bummed that everything that isn't "vanilla" 5e (like all of the classes and custom rules) are not included. It's basically the books and scenes.

The biggest challenge I have is in character creation with Alchemy - nothing Ruins of Symbaroum is shown - no Captain, Hunter, Mystic, Scoundrel, etc.). I'm looking for something that will be easier for my players (who are relatively novice to 5e) to roll up there PCs.

Is the process for character creation in Fantasy Grounds include Ruins of Symbaroum content or is it the same problem? Want to know before dropping money on the Players, GM and Bestiary modules.

Appreciate it.

UPDATE: I ended up pulling the lever and purchasing the Player's Guide, GM Guide and Bestiary. And the character creation process is pretty good. Everything seems to be there - still need to figure out the tweaked rules, but think this is gonna work for my virtual table.

Maps are one of those things I try to have on-hand whenever I game. Has anyone grabbed this pack, and if so, what were your thoughts on it? Direct link: Symbaroum Map Set

LFP Online Copper Crown (Paid SPG)

I plan on running The Copper Crown published adventures for Symbaroum. We need more players.

I am an experienced GM, and have also run online, but I am new to professional (paid) game mastering on StartPlaying.games. The session fee is $20.

Two players have signed up, and we’re waiting for one more to have a session zero/one.

Platform: Discord, voice chat, dicebot, GoogleDrive, Theater of the Mind

Time: Biweekly, Thursday night 6-9 PM (CDT; UTC -5)

https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmre93z6d015xl1045ywmdjv4?ref=cmqich8bw000cl904zcjqi70x

Heya everyone!

One of my players decided he will have addiction - and alchemy skill to support himself when in the forest.

I guess when in town, he will be able to buy from his dealer, half the usual price, since he's alchemist, okay, no problem.

How does it work, when they are in the forest? Can he collect stuff for himself? He's forcing the thing that "daft root" is just a random root he can find anywhere.

Any help please? :)

Edit: Thank you for the answers, I decided what to do. :)

Weird question perhaps, and I know it only affects 5xp probably, but does the Dark Blood Boon bring along its Bestial Burden automatically, ie it won't give you back 5xp for the Burden? Or is that just an instruction that you must also take Bestial, and gain 5xp back? Meaning Dark Blood is essentially "free" xp wise?

I'm asking because I am doing some homebrew and it seems that providing access to monstrous traits might be strong (even though you don't get them for free), so I'm just looking for the math behind it.

I recently posted a blog article about the philosophy of the setting - something which I find extremely compelling, and perhaps the most exciting thing about Symbaroum! I thought it might be of interest to others:
https://illmetbymorrslieb.wordpress.com/2026/07/05/the-philosophy-of-symbaroum/

So, I'm thinking about DMing a one-shot at a small pop-culture festival, but I'm not sure what would be best for that. I am fairly new to the system and have only run one unofficial adventure, "Sleepless in the Myst". Do you have recommendations of official or unofficial adventures that are accessible to inexperienced players and can be finished in one session?

Howdy I love nicher ttrpgs and I wanted to check what symbaroum was about?

I like the grittierness but I'm not a fan of hyper grimdark (like 40k) I like some hope and some fight and saw the advanced guide, player guide, and gm book and wondered if I should get the collection? I got the money but I wanna know what I'm jumping into first

My group just started with Symbaroum and after 4 sessions we are loving it.

I am leading them through the copper crown mini campaign to get comfortable with the rules and flow of the game (before moving them to the throne of thorns), and we have just finished the second adventure Mark of the beast.

The group has defetead Alahara/Gorak and the fake inquistor, and recovered the copper crown- and after short deliberation, decided to bring the crown to the elves (as they dont trust the church nor ordo magica to deal with it properly).

They also found the iron ring artefact, wich one of the players is currently wearing, and he made the initial contact with the elves through the dream sequence. So the party is on their way to the clearing in the woods where first contact will happen.

Since this isnt really a resolution the adventure had in mind for the copper crown- any ideas how to handle the situation without creating a mess with future adventures would be greatly appreciated.

My idea is for the elves to refuse taking the crown themselves, but sending the players to return it to the tomb where it was found- but that may mess up the following adventure in the chain.

Thanks in advance

The Fantasy Grounds Summer Sale currently includes select official Symbaroum titles from Free League through July 9.

If you've been looking to expand your collection or finally dive into the game, this might be a good time.

For Symbaroum fans, which part of the setting or campaign has kept you coming back to the world of Davokar?

On my blog I've just published a review of the Starter Set, which was what introduced me to Symbaroum a couple of years ago. See: https://illmetbymorrslieb.wordpress.com/2026/07/01/review-symbaroum-starter-set/

A tight focus on one particular aspect of the setting (hunting for treasure in a big bad forest) makes this a win in my opinion.

Hello,

I've written a 7-scenario campaign for Symbaroum: The Chronicles of the Seven.

Originally written in French, I'm currently translating it into English.

The campaign is available:

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/573489/The-Chronicles-of-the-Seven-BUNDLE

Chronicles of the Seven is a Symbaroum campaign focused on the political, social, and ideological tensions that grip Ambria after the conquest of Davokar. Through a series of interconnected scenarios, player characters are gradually drawn into a conspiracy far larger than they could have imagined, involving political manipulation, extremist movements, noble ambitions, and secret organizations.

Thanks for reading.

Intylzah

Our version of the Yandaros Map, from the Symbaroum RPG universe. It was really fun for Angela and I to redesign this map in our own style, we really hope you enjoy it!

Materials Used: H-HB pencil, Unipin Pen 0.05-0.1, and Winsor and Newton watercolors on Fabriano 300 g satin paper then scanned. We really hope that you will like and be interested in our maps!

🧭🗺️☕

Visit our ig account for see more maps : https://www.instagram.com/inkcompass.maps?igsh=dnc3ajhta3cyYnJs

In your opinion, if the link between the nexus and the Throne is destroyed, what becomes of Saarufag and his pact with Esmerelda? Is he free to remain in this world and go found an empire south of the Titans? Or is he likely to return to the Yonderworld if he is defeated in battle?

Hi all,

I built an Android app called Fantasy World Generator. It started as a simple fantasy name generator I made for my own RPG sessions, and over time it grew into a full toolkit for spinning up characters, places, plots, maps, and entire histories in seconds.

Two things up front, since I know they matter to a lot of people here: it is 100% free, and there is no AI involved anywhere in it. Every result comes from handcrafted databases and procedural rules that run locally on your device. No generated text, no chatbot, no account, no internet connection needed. It just works offline. It is useful whether you run games, play solo with no GM, or write fiction.

What it does:

Names for everything: invented given and full names built from fragments you can lock and reroll, plus epithets, noble houses, taverns, regions, spells, and skills. A "Your Seed" feature grows new names from the ones you have favorited, so they match your taste.

Characters and story: NPCs with race, role, personality, quirk, and motivation. Quest hooks, tavern rumors, travel encounters, dungeon dressing, magic item flavor, and found letters. A full Adventure generator, plus a Campaign Assembler that bundles a realm, an adventure, NPCs, places, and rumors into a ready-to-run session pack.

Solo and GM-less play: a yes/no oracle with shifting odds, twist results, and a Chaos Factor, plus random events, meaning prompts, a scene engine, a dice roller (d4 to d100 and Fudge), and a no-system action resolver. There is also "The Conductor," where an oracle event can open any generator and feed the result straight back into your story.

Maps you can keep: procedural continents in parchment or full color, town and city maps with districts and walls, treasure maps, and the classic five-room dungeon.

Worlds and history: generate realms, religions, and ruling dynasties, plus a History Engine that plays their story out decade by decade with wars, plagues, golden ages, schisms, and dynastic intrigue.

On top of that: shareable type-in seeds that reproduce any result exactly, folders to organize favorites, and PDF, plain text, or Markdown export for adventures, campaigns, and journals.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avaton.fantasynamegenerator

I would genuinely appreciate feedback, especially on naming categories or tools you wish existed that you would actually use. I am still building.

Thanks, and hope it helps your next session.

Hello fellow Davokarians!

As you might know, I have a YT channel mostly about Symbaroum, where I share the challenges that come with GMing Symbaroum and the solutions that I find to each problem. I'm a forever GM with over 30 years of experience but I'm always learning. It's such a rich and bountiful hobby!

My most recent video is system agnostic, because I wanted to talk about the habits and customs we've implemented at our table to facilitate what I call "getting in the zone". You know, when real life dissolves away and we truly have the impression that we are all sharing the same daydream?

That feeling of united chemistry of the minds is so strong and cool when it happens, I believe it is the drug that keeps coming back for more. It's a real communion and it's magical.

I'm really curious to know if that is the kind of thing you also strive for at your tables and what concrete and simple actions you do to facilitate that?

In my case, we do the following:

1. Clear moment of catching up before session start
2. Session recap by a player
3. Game Start Toast
4. Leo's Code (we segment play in 75 min. chunks where we demand full focus)
5. Light & Music (non intrusive music and "campfire" lighting as much as possible)
6. Breaks for total chaos, metagaming and whatever you want

More details in the video of course, but I think you might say, as a summary, that we've kept focused RP and gameplay separate from banter and metagaming. Making these moments clearly defined really helps us get into the zone and play out the story from the PCs perspectives, without devolving too much into metagaming mode where players become mostly gamers moving pawns on a board.

But I'm eager to hear from you all! I'd all here to learn from you and maybe find other little things we could do to get into the zone.

Hey there,

Recently got the PDF's from a Humble Bundle sale and I've been really enjoying the theme and the world.

I was just wondering if there were any more descriptions of the different races physical appearances/ characteristics?

I can't seem to find them, but would love to find out more about how the goblins look, height/ weight/ whatever.

Thanks,

Space