Greetings fellow travellers on the twisting roads of the tabletop multiverse!
Today, I though I would give my thoughts on one of the latest tabletop RPGs to come out of Sweden. As a Swedish person myself, who grew up playing a lot of other Swedish tabletop games back in the day, it is good to see the resurgence that swedish tabletop RPG's have had in the last few years, and continue to have. Symbaroum is a product of Swedish company
Järnringen. While Symbaroum isn't a new version of an old game, like a lot of the others are, it instead is a brand new game which has had some remarkable success since it came out. It quickly got an english translation and it has just kept on going since then.
Let's start off by taking a look at the game itself.
So, what's the game like?
Symbaroum is a dark fantasy game set in a rather dark, grim, and deadly world. The world itself is well-defined as it takes place in and around the vast and mysterious Davokar forest. Symbaroum is the name of the region, or rather - as the book explains - it is the name of the civilization which dominated the region up to about 1000 years prior to when the game is set.
The Symbaroum core rulebook is broken down into three sections, or 'books': The World of Symbaroum, Player's Guide and Game Master's Guide. At the end of the book there is a 20-page adventure which can also be downloaded from the company
Järnringen's website.
The first book is all about the fluff. Here you can find information about the world, the setting, and the history, etc of the region. It also takes a look at the various factions that exist in the world - for example the noble houses of Ambria, the settlers of the land, the barbarian clans, the church of Prios, Ordo Magica (a magical order), the elves of the Iron Pact, etc. It is also worth pointing out that the elves of the Iron Pact are not the friendly, exotic and pointy-eared humanoids that we are accustomed to from a lot of other fantasy games and worlds. These elves protect the deeper parts of Davokar against intrusion, and won't hesitate to kill intruders on sight.
There is also Thistle Hold, the last bastion of civilization just before the edge of the forest. It is a well fortified town, and a center of activity, both opportunity and crime. It is not, however, the capital of Ambria, that honor goes to Yndaros instead. And there is a chapter describing it as well. Finally we have Karvosti, a plateau next to a lake on the western side of Davokar. It is the place where the barbarian folk hold their Thingstead twice a year
All in all, the first book does a really good job of setting the tone.
Book two deals with the rules, without the fluff. The system is an amalgam of crunchy, dice-based systems and more narrative storytelling based ones. It feels solid and is good for putting the characters in the spotlight. Each character belongs to one of three Archetypes, which are essentially generic classes. They are the Warrior, the Mystic and the Rogue. These in turn split into several occupations. For example, a Warrior can be a Berserker, a Captain, a Duelist, a Knight or a Sellsword.
There are eight Attributes in the game: Accurate, Cunning, Discreet, Persuasive, Quick, Resolute, Strong and Vigilant. You don't roll dice in character creation. Instead you can either divide 80 points between the eight Attributes, giving hem numbers ranging between 5 and 15, or you can use eight preset values, the sum-total of which add up to 80, and divide them between the Attributes as you see fit.
The system uses a d20 dice, and you roll either equal to or below your Attribute value to succeed. Also, it is the players who make ALL the rolls. The GM never rolls. Instead the GM is meant to focus on the storytelling. The game uses Abilities to personalize and differentiate the characters. The Abilities are ranked Novice, Adept and Master, signifying the level of power or skill the character has in each individual Ability.
There are four races that players can choose between when making their characters. They are: Humans (diversified by the choice of Ambrian or Barbarian), Changelings (basically humans with elven characteristics), Ogres and Goblins. I like this as it helps describe the setting as well. There isn't the plethora of standard fantasy races (though some more might be introduced later), which helps describe the setting really well.
The last chapter of the second book deals with Combat and what a player is supposed to know rules-wise. One thing is that the world of Symbaroum is deadly, and so combat is also deadly.
Book three is the Game Master's Guide, and as you would expect it contains information about rewards, advice, special rules and how to enforce them, etc. It also contains rules on Corruption (one of the basic premises of the game), the Shadow that each living being has and the changes that Corruption brings to it, etc. There is advice on how to build an adventure or a campaign set in the world of Symbaroum, as well as a beastiary.
Before I move on to the next part, I just want to mention the art. It is amazing, and really fits the mood they have been trying to go for in the game. It is dark, grim and mysterious and helps to set the tone as you read through the book. The art masterfully reflects the world they are depicting.
My thoughts
These days, there is a plethora of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games out there. Most of which draw inspiration from Tolkien and/or giants in the genre such as, for example, Dungeons & Dragons. Symbaroum however, feels fresh and different, with its dark fantasy setting. That might be part of the reason why it has done so incredibly well, not just in Sweden but internationally as well.
As for playing the game, it is a very good and solid game to play, and I have had a lot of fun with it. If you want to play a dark fantasy game, where your character can actually die, but which also rewards you with a well-designed system where the players roll ALL the dice, and which also has good storytelling aspects to it, then Symbaroum might be right up your alley. The rules are fairly easy to get the hang of, and combined with the atmosphere of the setting, it is something different and something I think a lot of you people out there will enjoy if you give it a try.
So, where can I find Symbaroum if I want to give it a try?
