In March 2024 we presented the new Ruins of Symbaroum 5E Bundle featuring Ruins of Symbaroum, the 2021 Free League Publishing adaptation for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and compatible systems of Symbaroum, the 2016 FRPG set in the primeval Forest of Davokar. Inspired by Princess Mononoke and the Witcher computer games, Ruins of Symbaroum conjures a rich setting of ancient ruins and barbarian clans, Iron Pact elven wardens and Blight Beasts, princes and rogues, treasure and corruption, all beautifully illustrated in full color.
Free League funded the Ruins of Symbaroum supplements and adventures in a big April 2021 Kickstarter campaign. Building on the 5E Open Game License rules, Ruins lead designer Jacob Rodgers (Adventures in Middle-earth, Beowulf: Age of Heroes, Warhammer Soulbound) emphasizes the dark fantasy nature of the setting with new rules for traveling and rests, social challenges, and Davokar’s ever-present threat of Corruption – the gathering of darkness to a character’s Shadow which, if left untended, can manifest as terrible physical transformations. The Ruins Player’s Guide adds new Origins (Abducted Human, Changeling, Ogre, Templar, Troll, Undead revenant, Wrathguard), Backgrounds, classes (Captain, Hunter, Mystic, Scoundrel, Warrior), and Approaches (subclasses); optional rules for Troupe Play, Advanced Traps, Pitched Battles, Ceremonial Magic, and more; and 5E conversions of the amazing Davokar bestiary. The Gamemaster’s Guide describes three settlements central to the setting: Thistle Hold, the town of explorers and treasure hunters; Yndaros, the capital city of the kingdom of Ambria; and Karvosti, the cliff of the barbarian High Chieftain deep inside the forest of Davokar.
Many Symbaroum adventures involve the Ambrians, who fled their ancestral home two decades back after a devastating war. Their new land borders the vast forest of Davokar, which engulfed the remnants of the Empire of Symbaroum after it fell to ruin centuries ago. Ambrian explorers might seek out the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries; establish a base of power among princes, guilds, or rebellious refugees in Yndaros; or hunt trolls, beasts, and undead warlords. Though the forest is rich with resources and mythic treasures, the elven wardens of the Iron Pact have vowed to keep anyone from disturbing its ruins. They warn that the ancient evil of Symbaroum stirs in its sleep. Tread carefully.
(Note: These Ruins 5E supplements and adventures require the Fifth Edition OGL rules or compatible rulebooks. If you want the original 2016 standalone Symbaroum RPG, check our Symbaroum Starter Pack in the Bundle Store.)
This new Ruins of Symbaroum 5E Bundle featured the entire English-language Ruins of Symbaroum 5E line to date for an unbeatable bargain price. There were three titles in our Player Collection (retail value $40) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide (plus the free introductory scenario The Promised Land and On the Nature of Davokar), along with The Art of Symbaroum (previously in our August 2018 Symbaroum Bundle) and Hidden Treasures of Davokar. And this Player Collection included an exclusive set of six full-color Davokar maps created for the 2021 Kickstarter campaign and not available on DriveThruRPG.
Those who paid more than the threshold (average) price also got our entire Gamemaster Collection with five more Fifth Edition supplements worth an additional $95, including the Ruins of Symbaroum Gamemaster’s Guide, the Bestiary, the Adventure Compendium, the two-adventure collection Call of the Dark, and the Ruins of Symbaroum 5E Gamemaster’s Screen.
Ten percent of each payment (after gateway fees) went to this Ruins of Symbaroum offer’s designated charity, Direct Relief. Direct Relief sends protective gear and critical care medications to health workers, with emergency deliveries to medical facilities across the US and to regional response agencies across the world.
