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Symbaroum Starter Set
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<blockquote data-quote="Marc_C" data-source="post: 8319200" data-attributes="member: 7025897"><p><strong>Book 2 Setting & Adventures</strong></p><p></p><p>This 64 page booklet is for the GM eyes only. It begins with a 3 pages section explaining the role of the GM and also very useful tips of what to do before, during and after the game session. I’m always amazed when writers can pack so much useful info in such a short space.</p><p></p><p>Next section is a description of Thistle Hold, the home base explorers use to launch expeditions in the ancient forest Davokar. It describes the foundation of the town, defences and population which varies from 6,000 to 10,000 if you include passersby. There are short descriptions of taverns, entertainment, inns, trade and how to gain knowledge & information. There is a keyed map of the town with mention of prominent individuals. Don’t expect a Gazetteer level of details. It does provide enough info to answer the majority of questions the players may have.</p><p></p><p>The third section is titled Expeditions in Davokar. It details procedures for travelling, orientation, foraging, events, locations and treasures the characters will find while exploring the forest which used to be at the centre of the Symbaroum civilization. </p><p></p><p>How does Exploration work?</p><p></p><p> First you must have a guide with bushcraft. You can hire him or a member of the party could have the bushcraft trait.</p><p></p><p>The booklet supplies a hex map of the forest. There are three zones. Bright Davokar, Wild Davokar and Dark Davokar. You will have guessed that the deeper you go inside the forest the more difficult travel becomes and the danger level grows proportionally. The colours of the three zones on the hex map could have been more contrasted. But it’s not a deal breaker.</p><p></p><p>Every day the guide must make an Orientation roll. If he fails a misfortune happens to the group. An example is ‘Toxins in the Water’ that causes 1d4 damage for 1d4 turns for those who fail a Strong test. There are 10 misfortunes that can be rolled randomly by the guide who failed. Failing Orientation also gives a penalty on the two Event tables. If the Orientation roll is successful it gives an advantage to the next two Event rolls. One table is for Enemies in Davokar the other one is for Ruins in Davokar. Both tables are d20. Rolling low means less danger but also less reward. Rolling high is more lethal but can generate greater finds. The GM decides if the enemies are near or inside the ruins. </p><p></p><p>Once the threats have been dispatched the characters begin excavation to find rare items. Items in Symbaroum are not laying around waiting to be picked up. Much like an archeologist the PCs must dig and search for artefacts. They can find debris, curiosities, mystical treasures and artifacts. Each worth more than the other. Every day each PC makes a Vigilant roll to determine what they find. Characters can stay as long as they want at a ruin but danger lurks. Noise will attract monstrosities invariably. That is why the starter set is titled Treasure Hunts in Davokar.</p><p></p><p>There is a d100 list for curiosities and a 12 list for mystical treasures. Artifacts are extremely rare. The booklet supplied the descriptions of two. Finding an Artifact is worth 1000 + 1d1000 thaler (gold).</p><p></p><p>As someone who likes hex crawls this is a very good random system to generate adventurers. You could even use it to do solitary games. Which I will do this summer. That is the best part of the Starter Set in my opinion.</p><p></p><p>The next chapter is monsters and adversaries. Then are classified as abominations, beats, cultured begins and undead. The section defines 2 abominations, 3 beasts, 3 types of treasure hunters, elves and trolls. Finally it details 2 undeads. The section ends with a monstrous traits description. Acidic blood, corrupting attack, etc. It’s a short section, a bit underwhelming when you are used to the D&D plethora of monsters.</p><p></p><p>The book ends with two adventures that read like Dungeon magazine side treks. They have believable backgrounds and good hooks. They both offer good roleplaying opportunities. The writer offers suggestions on how the players can avoid combat. The second one is more complex. I didn't want to change anything while I was reading them, a good sign. Each adventure will take one evening for finish.</p><p></p><p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></p><p>As usual for Free League the artwork and quality of the material is top notch. The setting is intriguing. The adventures are interesting. The system is simple but not simplistic. Hoping to plays this game in the coming weeks. I would house rule experience a bit. The rules simply states how to gain new abilities and how to raise the ones you already have. To avoid the rush to optimization I would rule that you cannot raise the same ability twice in a row. Also the ability would have to have been used meaningfully during the adventure to qualify to be raised. Maybe the Core Book experience rules are more detailed.</p><p></p><p><strong>Where to go from here?</strong></p><p>You can download the free quick start from drivethru. If you are broke use the random system to generate adventures and keep using the pre-gen characters until they max out their abilities. The official Free League forum could be a good source of free material made by members. Link: <a href="https://forum.frialigan.se/" target="_blank">https://forum.frialigan.se</a></p><p></p><p>Looking at the product line there are two paths going forward. If you prefer loose adventuring you should buy the Adventure Packs. They are episodic mysteries from what I understand. If you prefer an arc story you should purchase the Chronicle books which form an epic campaign.</p><p></p><p>Hope you liked my review.</p><p></p><p>Marc_C</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marc_C, post: 8319200, member: 7025897"] [B]Book 2 Setting & Adventures[/B] This 64 page booklet is for the GM eyes only. It begins with a 3 pages section explaining the role of the GM and also very useful tips of what to do before, during and after the game session. I’m always amazed when writers can pack so much useful info in such a short space. Next section is a description of Thistle Hold, the home base explorers use to launch expeditions in the ancient forest Davokar. It describes the foundation of the town, defences and population which varies from 6,000 to 10,000 if you include passersby. There are short descriptions of taverns, entertainment, inns, trade and how to gain knowledge & information. There is a keyed map of the town with mention of prominent individuals. Don’t expect a Gazetteer level of details. It does provide enough info to answer the majority of questions the players may have. The third section is titled Expeditions in Davokar. It details procedures for travelling, orientation, foraging, events, locations and treasures the characters will find while exploring the forest which used to be at the centre of the Symbaroum civilization. How does Exploration work? First you must have a guide with bushcraft. You can hire him or a member of the party could have the bushcraft trait. The booklet supplies a hex map of the forest. There are three zones. Bright Davokar, Wild Davokar and Dark Davokar. You will have guessed that the deeper you go inside the forest the more difficult travel becomes and the danger level grows proportionally. The colours of the three zones on the hex map could have been more contrasted. But it’s not a deal breaker. Every day the guide must make an Orientation roll. If he fails a misfortune happens to the group. An example is ‘Toxins in the Water’ that causes 1d4 damage for 1d4 turns for those who fail a Strong test. There are 10 misfortunes that can be rolled randomly by the guide who failed. Failing Orientation also gives a penalty on the two Event tables. If the Orientation roll is successful it gives an advantage to the next two Event rolls. One table is for Enemies in Davokar the other one is for Ruins in Davokar. Both tables are d20. Rolling low means less danger but also less reward. Rolling high is more lethal but can generate greater finds. The GM decides if the enemies are near or inside the ruins. Once the threats have been dispatched the characters begin excavation to find rare items. Items in Symbaroum are not laying around waiting to be picked up. Much like an archeologist the PCs must dig and search for artefacts. They can find debris, curiosities, mystical treasures and artifacts. Each worth more than the other. Every day each PC makes a Vigilant roll to determine what they find. Characters can stay as long as they want at a ruin but danger lurks. Noise will attract monstrosities invariably. That is why the starter set is titled Treasure Hunts in Davokar. There is a d100 list for curiosities and a 12 list for mystical treasures. Artifacts are extremely rare. The booklet supplied the descriptions of two. Finding an Artifact is worth 1000 + 1d1000 thaler (gold). As someone who likes hex crawls this is a very good random system to generate adventurers. You could even use it to do solitary games. Which I will do this summer. That is the best part of the Starter Set in my opinion. The next chapter is monsters and adversaries. Then are classified as abominations, beats, cultured begins and undead. The section defines 2 abominations, 3 beasts, 3 types of treasure hunters, elves and trolls. Finally it details 2 undeads. The section ends with a monstrous traits description. Acidic blood, corrupting attack, etc. It’s a short section, a bit underwhelming when you are used to the D&D plethora of monsters. The book ends with two adventures that read like Dungeon magazine side treks. They have believable backgrounds and good hooks. They both offer good roleplaying opportunities. The writer offers suggestions on how the players can avoid combat. The second one is more complex. I didn't want to change anything while I was reading them, a good sign. Each adventure will take one evening for finish. [B]Final Thoughts[/B] As usual for Free League the artwork and quality of the material is top notch. The setting is intriguing. The adventures are interesting. The system is simple but not simplistic. Hoping to plays this game in the coming weeks. I would house rule experience a bit. The rules simply states how to gain new abilities and how to raise the ones you already have. To avoid the rush to optimization I would rule that you cannot raise the same ability twice in a row. Also the ability would have to have been used meaningfully during the adventure to qualify to be raised. Maybe the Core Book experience rules are more detailed. [B]Where to go from here?[/B] You can download the free quick start from drivethru. If you are broke use the random system to generate adventures and keep using the pre-gen characters until they max out their abilities. The official Free League forum could be a good source of free material made by members. Link: [URL='https://forum.frialigan.se/']https://forum.frialigan.se[/URL] Looking at the product line there are two paths going forward. If you prefer loose adventuring you should buy the Adventure Packs. They are episodic mysteries from what I understand. If you prefer an arc story you should purchase the Chronicle books which form an epic campaign. Hope you liked my review. Marc_C [/QUOTE]
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