Symbaroum - Game Master’s Screen

Järnringen:
Martin Bergström, Mattias Johnsson,
Mattias Lilja

Copyright Nya Järnringen AB 2016

ISBN: 978-91-87915-28-4

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)
Ryan Beland (order #11140583)
Ryan Beland (order #11140583)
 The Shadows of Creatures (read more on page 174) Special Actions (read more on page 161)
Creature Color of Shadow Blind Fighting: To fight blinded or in in darkness, smoke or thick fog is hard. If
both parties in a battle are affected, then no adjustments are needed. Otherwise, the
Creature of nature Green, red and white, sometimes other bright prime colors. affected party gets two chances to fail its success tests – if the character is affected,
Civilized creature Gold, silver, copper, sometimes other metallic shades. the player rolls twice and picks the worst result; if only the enemy is affected the
Corrupted creature Black and purple is dominant amongst blight beasts and creatures close to being player rolls twice and picks the best result.
thoroughly corrupt, while less blight-stricken ones exhibit a slight change in their Disengage From Melee: Disengaging from a melee is done on the character’s
colors, like corroded copper, blackened silver, sickly green, red with streaks of rust initiative and costs a Movement Action. All enemies are allowed a Free Attack.
or white with dots of ashen grey. Use/Apply Elixir: To use or apply an elixir on either yourself or your equipment
Corruption (read more on page 176) counts as a Movement Action. To use or apply it on somebody else is a Combat Action.
First Aid: To perform first aid on a wounded person counts as a Combat Action
Degree of taint Corruption Effect and requires a herbal cure, the Medicus ability or other healing powers.
Stand Up: If the character rolls a successful Quick test it only takes a Movement Action
Blight-stricken Total Corruption 1+ The corruption can be detected with the Witchsight ability
and rituals like Holy Smoke. Temporary corruption fades for the character to get back on its feet. Otherwise, it takes an entire turn.
away at the end of a scene. Line of Sight: If the character stands behind an ally so that the targeted enemy
Blight-marked Corruption Threshold The character develops a physical stigma as a sign of its
is forced to trigger a Free Attack to reach him or her, then the target is obscured
(Resolute/2 rounded corruption. A stigma triggered by temporary Corruption will from view by the character’s ally.
up) reached. heal and vanish after a day, while a permanent stigma rema- Shield: A shield provides +1 to Defense but makes it impossible to use ranged
ins until permanent corruption is reduced through rituals. and Heavy weapons and neutralizes the reach advantage gained from a Long
Abomination Resolute reached. The character turns into an abomination and becomes an weapon, since the wielder must use it in one hand. The buckler is an exception
NPC. No known ritual can save the character. to this, allowing the use of both hands, as well as giving the user +1 to Defense.
Flanking: If 2-4 persons flank an enemy, all have advantage over the target.
Marks of Corruption (read more on page 176)

Degree of taint
Special Rules (read more on page 177)
A festering wound that does not heal Conflicts Within the Group: The active player in the situation is nominated
Discolored skin, blemishes and severe rashes to make the test, while the other acts as resistance. A usual situation would be
Boils in mouth and throat, that burst at inappropriate times when a character attempts to trick or place something on another character. A
[Discreet←Vigilant] test is then made.
Fangs, or nails in the shape of claws or talons
Damage from Poison & Acid: Poison deals damage each turn, and is not affected
Eyes that glitter in the dark
by Armor once it has takeen effect. Poison continues to deal damage until its duration
Eyes that actually blacken with anger, hunger or lust ends, or until someone applies an antidote and makes a successful Cunning test.
A faint odor of decay follows the person, despite him or her looking healthy Acid attacks each turn and has to penetrate Armor in order to deal damage. To
Veins that bulge black when experiencing anger or other strong emotions
remove acid from a body or armor requires that someone spends a Combat Action
and makes a successful Cunning test.
Cold as a corpse or feverishly hot without any signs of sickness or disease
Damage from Falling: Damage is equal to the number of meters fallen. A
Speaks in a unknown evil-sounding language while sleeping successful Quick test reduces the damage by –3. Water or other soft substances
Drawn to tainted artifacts and evil places while sleepwalking subtracts another 5 meters from the fall. Armor protects as usual.
Taste for cadavers, must feed on something rancid every day to avoid starvation NPCs intervene on the characters’ side: There are two ways to handle such
situations: Give the NPC(s) to a player and let him or her control it/them for the
Taste for raw meat, must feed on fresh meat every day to avoid starvation
duration of the combat, or, handle them yourself, summarily. The Game Master
Thirst for warm blood, must drink warm blood every day to not be thirsty does not have to roll any dice in the latter case, only describe what happens.

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)

 1 2 3
Initiative Movement & Combat Actions Defense
The Initiative decides the turn order in combat, Each combatant has two actions, one Move- Advantage
meaning the order in which the characters and ment Action and one Combat Action. These
enemies act. If a character has the advan-
can be used as follows:
tage, it receives a +2 bonus to
A. Defense: All attacks made during the
A. Long weapons: Anyone wielding a Long A. Movement Action the relevant attribute when
turn can be met with Defense, where
weapon is allowed to make a Free Attack making Success tests, and
I. Move into melee: To move towards an the effective defense value is based on
at first contact with one enemy who is not its attacks deal +1D4 extra
enemy in order to attack. This gives an [Defense←Accurate]. If the Defense test
armed with a Long weapon. damage:
enemy with a Long weapon a Free Attack, is successful, then the attack misses
B. Surprised: Make a [Vigilant←Discreet] test but not if the attacker wields a Long completely. Should the attack hit, proceed
to see if the target is surprised. If successful, weapon as well. to Damage. Attacking an unaware,
the attacker can make a Free Attack at the surprised target. Requires a
II. To flank an enemy already engaged
start of the turn against one surprised enemy.
in melee with a combatant allied to passed [Discreet←Vigilant].
C. Quick: Normally, the combatant with the the flanking person.
highest Quick gets to act first.
III. Move around an enemy in order to reach 4 All melee attacks against an
D. Vigilant: If two or more combatants have another target standing further away. This Damage enemy lying down.
the same Quick, then Vigilant is used as a tie gives the bypassed enemy a Free Attack.
breaker to determine the turn order.
IV. Disengage from melee: allows every All melee attacks against a
E. 1D20: If two or more combatants also have engaged enemy to perform a Free Attack. flanked enemy. A target is
the same Vigilant, roll 1D20 until one of A. Weapon damage: The damage dealt
V. Create free line of sight: Move to get an considered flanked if two
them rolls higher than the other. by the character is rolled by the player.
obscured enemy into your line of sight. enemies stand on opposite
F. Delay Action: It is possible to delay one’s Their enemies have fixed damage values,
VI. Draw weapon sides of it. It usually takes
Initiative and let others act first, but then announced by the Game Master when a
VII. Switch weapon: Sheath one weapon character suffers a hit. a Movement Action to get
the combatant must keep this delayed
Initiative for the rest of the battle. and draw another one. around an enemy and flank
B. Protection from Armor: The Armor is
subtracted from the weapon damage. The it. In the same way a cha-
VIII. Stand up after having been knocked pro-
ne (requires a successful Quick test). character’s Armor is rolled by the player; racter can use a Movement
the fixed value of the enemies’ Armor is Action to get away from a
Drink/apply elixir: To apply an elixir
IX. handled by the Game Master. flanked position – but with
to either yourself or your equipment.
Death Test (1D20) C. Actual damage: The target suffers as much the consequence of receiving
B. Combat Action
1: The character’s wound looked much worse than damage as [Weapon’s damage –Armor]. a Free Attack from each ene-
it actually was; the character wakes up with 1D4 I. Attack: An ordinary attack using a wea- my engaged in melee.
D. Pain Threshold: The attacker determines
pon.
Toughness left, ready to act during the next turn. whether the effect if the actual damage is
II. Active Ability: An attack with, or the use equal to or higher than the target’s Pain All attacks against enemies
2–10: The character remains at death’s threshold. of, an active ability. Threshold; if so, the target is either knocked standing on lower ground
to the ground or the attacker is allowed to
III. First aid: To apply an herbal cure on a than the attacker, such as
perform a Free Attack.
11–19: The character is a step closer to death. The wounded or dying companion. attacking down from a wall
E. Death test: Should the actual damage
third time the roll has this outcome, the character dies. IV. Additional Movement Action: Replace against enemies climbing a
suffered be greater than the character’s
your Combat Action with another Move- ladder. This applies to both
remaining Toughness the character is
20: The character dies, but may say some last ment Action. melee and ranged attacks.
either incapacitated or dying. The player
harsh words if the player wants to. V. Pass on elixir: To use an elixir on an must make a Death Test each turn to see
ally or its equipment. if the character survives or dies.

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)

 The abilities’ effect on what attributes are used

Ability Attack with Defend with Initiative Requires ...

Dominate Persuasive (novice) - - Attacks in melee combat
Feint Discreet (novice) Discreet (adept) - Attacks with a short or precise melee weapon
Iron Fist Strong (novice) - - Attacks in melee combat
Backstab Discreet (novice) - - Attacks with Advantage
Sixth Sense Vigilant (novice) Vigilant (adept) Vigilant (adept) Attacks with ranged weapons
Tactician Cunning (master) Cunning (adept) Cunning (novice) Attacks with anything but heavy weapons

Degrees of Difficulty Weapons (read more on page 149)

Degree Modification Example Weapon Damage Quality Cost

Childsplay +5 Find a forest guide in Thistle Hold Single-handed Weapon 1D8 — 5 thaler
Routine +3 Beat a group of bored sellswords at a game of dice Short Weapon 1D6 Short 1 thaler
Simple +1 Track a wounded aboar through Davokar Long Weapon 1D8 Long 3 thaler
Normal 0 Smuggle banned items past the town guards of Thistle Hold Unarmed attack 1D4 Short —
Trying −1 Realize that a lindworm is lying to you Shield 1D4 — 3 thaler
Hard −3 Desipher a message written in the code of the Ambrian army Heavy Weapon 1D10 — 10 thaler
Difficult −5 Disarm a trap set by a master trapper Crossbow 1D10 — 8 thaler
Absurd −8 Hold down an arch troll for a turn, Bow 1D8 — 5 thaler
or find an affordable and capable forest guide in Thistle Hold.
Throwing Weapon 1D6 — 2 thaler

Way of Travel & Time (read more on page 184) Armor (read more on page 151)

Way of travel The Plains of Ambria Light Davokar Dark Davokar Armor Protection Quality Cost
Day’s march 20 km 20 km 10 km Light 1D4 Impeding (−2) 2 thaler
Forced march* 40 km 30 km 15 km Blessed Robe Flexible 10 thaler
Death march** 60 km 40 km 20 km Order Cloak Flexible 10 thaler
Day’s ride 40 km 30 km 10 km Witch Gown Flexible 10 thaler
Forced ride* 60 km 45 km 15 km Wolf Skin Cumbersome 1 thaler
Death ride** 70 km 50 km 20 km Woven Silk Flexible 10 thaler

*Forced march/ride means that no natural healing will occur while traveling. Medium 1D6 Impeding (−3) 5 thaler
Crow Armor Cumbersome 2 thaler
**Death march/ride involves an actual risk for one’s life and wellbeing. All who travel at this speed suffer at least
Lacquered Silk Cuirass Flexible 25 thaler
1 point of Toughness each day, and must make a Strong test in order to not suffer an additional 1D6 points of
damage. A roll with the outcome 20 means that the traveler has been mortally damaged in an accident during its Heavy 1D8 Impeding (−4) 10 thaler
journey. Full Plate Flexible 50 thaler

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)

© Nya Järnringen AB 2016
Ryan Beland (order #11140583)
 The Shadows of Creatures (read more on page 174) Special Actions (read more on page 161) 1 2 3 The abilities’ effect on what attributes are used
Blind Fighting: To fight blinded or in in darkness, smoke or thick fog is hard. If Initiative Movement & Combat Actions
Creature Color of Shadow Defense Ability Attack with Defend with Initiative Requires ...
both parties in a battle are affected, then no adjustments are needed. Otherwise, the The Initiative decides the turn order in combat, Each combatant has two actions, one Move- Advantage
Creature of nature Green, red and white, sometimes other bright prime colors. meaning the order in which the characters and ment Action and one Combat Action. These Dominate Persuasive (novice) - - Attacks in melee combat
affected party gets two chances to fail its success tests – if the character is affected, If a character has the advan-
enemies act. can be used as follows:
Civilized creature Gold, silver, copper, sometimes other metallic shades. the player rolls twice and picks the worst result; if only the enemy is affected the tage, it receives a +2 bonus to Feint Discreet (novice) Discreet (adept) - Attacks with a short or precise melee weapon
player rolls twice and picks the best result. A. Defense: All attacks made during the the relevant attribute when
Corrupted creature Black and purple is dominant amongst blight beasts and creatures close to being A. Long weapons: Anyone wielding a Long A. Movement Action Iron Fist Strong (novice) - - Attacks in melee combat
turn can be met with Defense, where
thoroughly corrupt, while less blight-stricken ones exhibit a slight change in their Disengage From Melee: Disengaging from a melee is done on the character’s weapon is allowed to make a Free Attack making Success tests, and
I. Move into melee: To move towards an the effective defense value is based on Backstab Discreet (novice) - - Attacks with Advantage
colors, like corroded copper, blackened silver, sickly green, red with streaks of rust initiative and costs a Movement Action. All enemies are allowed a Free Attack. at first contact with one enemy who is not its attacks deal +1D4 extra
enemy in order to attack. This gives an [Defense←Accurate]. If the Defense test Sixth Sense Vigilant (novice) Vigilant (adept) Vigilant (adept) Attacks with ranged weapons
or white with dots of ashen grey. Use/Apply Elixir: To use or apply an elixir on either yourself or your equipment armed with a Long weapon.
enemy with a Long weapon a Free Attack, is successful, then the attack misses damage:
Corruption (read more on page 176) counts as a Movement Action. To use or apply it on somebody else is a Combat Action. B. Surprised: Make a [Vigilant←Discreet] test but not if the attacker wields a Long completely. Should the attack hit, proceed Tactician Cunning (master) Cunning (adept) Cunning (novice) Attacks with anything but heavy weapons
First Aid: To perform first aid on a wounded person counts as a Combat Action to see if the target is surprised. If successful, weapon as well. to Damage. Attacking an unaware,
Degree of taint Corruption Effect and requires a herbal cure, the Medicus ability or other healing powers. the attacker can make a Free Attack at the
II. To flank an enemy already engaged surprised target. Requires a Degrees of Difficulty Weapons (read more on page 149)
Stand Up: If the character rolls a successful Quick test it only takes a Movement Action start of the turn against one surprised enemy.
in melee with a combatant allied to passed [Discreet←Vigilant].
Blight-stricken Total Corruption 1+ The corruption can be detected with the Witchsight ability
for the character to get back on its feet. Otherwise, it takes an entire turn. C. Quick: Normally, the combatant with the the flanking person. Degree Modification Example Weapon Damage Quality Cost
and rituals like Holy Smoke. Temporary corruption fades
away at the end of a scene. Line of Sight: If the character stands behind an ally so that the targeted enemy highest Quick gets to act first.
III. Move around an enemy in order to reach 4 All melee attacks against an Childsplay +5 Find a forest guide in Thistle Hold Single-handed Weapon 1D8 — 5 thaler
Blight-marked Corruption Threshold The character develops a physical stigma as a sign of its
is forced to trigger a Free Attack to reach him or her, then the target is obscured D. Vigilant: If two or more combatants have another target standing further away. This Damage enemy lying down.
Routine +3 Beat a group of bored sellswords at a game of dice Short Weapon 1D6 Short 1 thaler
(Resolute/2 rounded corruption. A stigma triggered by temporary Corruption will from view by the character’s ally. the same Quick, then Vigilant is used as a tie gives the bypassed enemy a Free Attack.
Shield: A shield provides +1 to Defense but makes it impossible to use ranged breaker to determine the turn order. Simple +1 Track a wounded aboar through Davokar Long Weapon 1D8 Long 3 thaler
up) reached. heal and vanish after a day, while a permanent stigma rema- IV. Disengage from melee: allows every All melee attacks against a
ins until permanent corruption is reduced through rituals. and Heavy weapons and neutralizes the reach advantage gained from a Long E. 1D20: If two or more combatants also have engaged enemy to perform a Free Attack. flanked enemy. A target is Normal 0 Smuggle banned items past the town guards of Thistle Hold Unarmed attack 1D4 Short —
weapon, since the wielder must use it in one hand. The buckler is an exception the same Vigilant, roll 1D20 until one of A. Weapon damage: The damage dealt considered flanked if two
Abomination Resolute reached. The character turns into an abomination and becomes an V. Create free line of sight: Move to get an Trying −1 Realize that a lindworm is lying to you Shield 1D4 — 3 thaler
them rolls higher than the other.
NPC. No known ritual can save the character. to this, allowing the use of both hands, as well as giving the user +1 to Defense. obscured enemy into your line of sight. by the character is rolled by the player. enemies stand on opposite Hard −3 Desipher a message written in the code of the Ambrian army
Their enemies have fixed damage values, Heavy Weapon 1D10 — 10 thaler
Flanking: If 2-4 persons flank an enemy, all have advantage over the target. F. Delay Action: It is possible to delay one’s
VI. Draw weapon sides of it. It usually takes
announced by the Game Master when a Difficult −5 Disarm a trap set by a master trapper Crossbow 1D10 — 8 thaler
Marks of Corruption (read more on page 176) Initiative and let others act first, but then
a Movement Action to get
the combatant must keep this delayed VII. Switch weapon: Sheath one weapon character suffers a hit.
around an enemy and flank Absurd −8 Hold down an arch troll for a turn, Bow 1D8 — 5 thaler
Degree of taint
Special Rules (read more on page 177) Initiative for the rest of the battle. and draw another one. B. Protection from Armor: The Armor is or find an affordable and capable forest guide in Thistle Hold.
it. In the same way a cha- Throwing Weapon 1D6 — 2 thaler
VIII. Stand up after having been knocked pro- subtracted from the weapon damage. The
A festering wound that does not heal Conflicts Within the Group: The active player in the situation is nominated character’s Armor is rolled by the player; racter can use a Movement
ne (requires a successful Quick test).
Discolored skin, blemishes and severe rashes to make the test, while the other acts as resistance. A usual situation would be the fixed value of the enemies’ Armor is Action to get away from a Way of Travel & Time (read more on page 184) Armor (read more on page 151)
Drink/apply elixir: To apply an elixir
when a character attempts to trick or place something on another character. A IX. handled by the Game Master. flanked position – but with
Boils in mouth and throat, that burst at inappropriate times to either yourself or your equipment.
Death Test (1D20) Way of travel The Plains of Ambria Light Davokar Dark Davokar Armor Protection Quality Cost
[Discreet←Vigilant] test is then made. C. Actual damage: The target suffers as much the consequence of receiving
Fangs, or nails in the shape of claws or talons B. Combat Action
Damage from Poison & Acid: Poison deals damage each turn, and is not affected damage as [Weapon’s damage –Armor]. a Free Attack from each ene- Day’s march 20 km 20 km 10 km Light 1D4 Impeding (−2) 2 thaler
Eyes that glitter in the dark I. Attack: An ordinary attack using a wea-
by Armor once it has takeen effect. Poison continues to deal damage until its duration 1: The character’s wound looked much worse than D. Pain Threshold: The attacker determines my engaged in melee.
Forced march* 40 km 30 km 15 km Blessed Robe Flexible 10 thaler
pon.
Eyes that actually blacken with anger, hunger or lust ends, or until someone applies an antidote and makes a successful Cunning test. it actually was; the character wakes up with 1D4 whether the effect if the actual damage is
II. Active Ability: An attack with, or the use equal to or higher than the target’s Pain Death march** 60 km 40 km 20 km Order Cloak Flexible 10 thaler
A faint odor of decay follows the person, despite him or her looking healthy Acid attacks each turn and has to penetrate Armor in order to deal damage. To Toughness left, ready to act during the next turn. All attacks against enemies
of, an active ability. Threshold; if so, the target is either knocked Day’s ride 40 km 30 km 10 km Witch Gown Flexible 10 thaler
Veins that bulge black when experiencing anger or other strong emotions
remove acid from a body or armor requires that someone spends a Combat Action standing on lower ground
to the ground or the attacker is allowed to
and makes a successful Cunning test. 2–10: The character remains at death’s threshold. III. First aid: To apply an herbal cure on a
perform a Free Attack.
than the attacker, such as Forced ride* 60 km 45 km 15 km Wolf Skin Cumbersome 1 thaler
Cold as a corpse or feverishly hot without any signs of sickness or disease wounded or dying companion.
Damage from Falling: Damage is equal to the number of meters fallen. A attacking down from a wall
Death ride** 70 km 50 km 20 km Woven Silk Flexible 10 thaler
Speaks in a unknown evil-sounding language while sleeping E. Death test: Should the actual damage
successful Quick test reduces the damage by –3. Water or other soft substances 11–19: The character is a step closer to death. The IV. Additional Movement Action: Replace against enemies climbing a
Medium 1D6 Impeding (−3) 5 thaler
suffered be greater than the character’s *Forced march/ride means that no natural healing will occur while traveling.
Drawn to tainted artifacts and evil places while sleepwalking subtracts another 5 meters from the fall. Armor protects as usual. third time the roll has this outcome, the character dies. your Combat Action with another Move- ladder. This applies to both
remaining Toughness the character is Crow Armor Cumbersome 2 thaler
ment Action.
Taste for cadavers, must feed on something rancid every day to avoid starvation NPCs intervene on the characters’ side: There are two ways to handle such either incapacitated or dying. The player melee and ranged attacks.
**Death march/ride involves an actual risk for one’s life and wellbeing. All who travel at this speed suffer at least
Lacquered Silk Cuirass Flexible 25 thaler
situations: Give the NPC(s) to a player and let him or her control it/them for the 20: The character dies, but may say some last V. Pass on elixir: To use an elixir on an must make a Death Test each turn to see 1 point of Toughness each day, and must make a Strong test in order to not suffer an additional 1D6 points of
Taste for raw meat, must feed on fresh meat every day to avoid starvation ally or its equipment.
duration of the combat, or, handle them yourself, summarily. The Game Master harsh words if the player wants to. if the character survives or dies. damage. A roll with the outcome 20 means that the traveler has been mortally damaged in an accident during its Heavy 1D8 Impeding (−4) 10 thaler
Thirst for warm blood, must drink warm blood every day to not be thirsty does not have to roll any dice in the latter case, only describe what happens. journey. Full Plate Flexible 50 thaler

© Nya Järnringen AB 2016

Ryan Beland (order #11140583)