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Free League Publishing’s Symbaroum RPG is heading back to the shadowy depths of the Davokar Forest, with a new setting expansion and updated core books. The supplements will be released as part of an upcoming crowdfunder entitled the Symbaroum Anniversary Kickstarter, which is also a celebration of the game’s 10-year history.
The Kickstarter will officially launch in late May, but you can sign up for alerts now via Kickstarter. Below, we take a closer look at what to expect in this return to the war ravaged lands of Ambria.
What is the Symbaroum RPG about?
Symbaroum is a dark fantasy tabletop RPG that includes elements of exploration, warfare and horror. The focus of the setting is on the Kingdom of Ambria, a sprawling wilderness that for centuries was inhabited only by nomadic elves and scattered human barbarian tribes. It’s also the location of the vast Davokar forest, an area brimming with corrupting magic, slumbering horrors and the remnants of the lost empire of the titular Symbaroum.
In recent years, however, a great war to the south with a powerful dark lord resulted in a stream of human refugees now settling Ambria, putting them into conflict with the local elves and barbarian tribes, both of whom they greatly outnumber. In this wild frontier, fortune hunters have also begun to push into the Davokar in search of powerful and long forgotten magical artifacts.
It’s an incredibly rich and highly detailed setting, which is tightly focused on a single area, rather than creating a massive, sprawling campaign world with multiple nations. The game also stands out thanks to its evocative art, which has been done primarily by artist Martin Grip.
In the real world, Symbaroum began as its own standalone role-playing game, first published in 2015 by the Swedish studio Järnringen and later purchased by Free League Publishing. In 2021, Free League adapted the setting for the D&D 5th Edition ruleset, calling the product line Ruins of Symbaroum and releasing a number of supplements, including core books consisting of a Player’s Guide, Gamemaster’s Guide and Bestiary.
What’s included in the Symbaroum Anniversary Kickstarter?
The biggest shift in the Anniversary Edition is the consolidation of the game’s core library. Free League is condensing Symbaroum’s existing four core books (Core Rules, Advanced Player’s Guide, Game Master’s Guide and Monster Codex) into three revised hardcover volumes.
- Core Rulebook: This remains a standalone, all-in-one entry point. It features all-new art by Martin Grip and includes a tutorial adventure and guidelines for homebrewing.
- Gamemaster’s Guide: This volume focuses on advanced play, offering deep support for campaign building, large-scale battles and even social scheming rules.
- Davokar Creature Codex: Building on the legacy of the original Monster Codex, this bestiary has been updated with practical, user-friendly stat blocks to make running encounters smoother.
It’s important to note that these three books do not constitute a new edition, and are really just an update of the existing rules.
Accompanying the three revised core rule books is a new supplement entitled City States of Vendilyn: A Ravaged Realm. This book introduces a new unexplored region located southwest of Davokar.
Once a prosperous realm, Vendilyn was utterly devastated two years ago by an invasion of elves from Duskwood. The survivors now take shelter inside the walls of various settlements, which are breeding grounds for disease and fear. The result is a more of an urban survival-horror setting characterized by lawlessness, overcrowding and nature warped by elven witchcraft.
What are the Kickstarter backer options?
While the full tier list will be revealed when the project goes live in a few weeks, Free League has confirmed that the campaign will center on four primary hardcover volumes: the three revised core books and the City States of Vendilyn supplement.
Given past Free League Kickstarters, we’ll also likely see collector’s editions, custom dice, accessories and VTT content (we’ll update this page with the full list of backer options once they’ve been announced).
Why we’re excited about the Symbaroum Anniversary Edition
- More usability at the table: While the original Symbaroum books are absolutely beautiful to look at, they can also sometimes be a be difficult to use when it comes to quickly looking up stats or mechanics. Consolidating the core books feels like a solid move.
- New art from Martin Grip: Much of the success of Symbaroum is because of Martin Grip’s moody and atmospheric artwork. Seeing new illustrations from him is definitely a major draw.
- The new setting: The move from the wilderness exploration of Davokar to the urban survival horror vibes of the City States of Vendilyn feels like a solid pivot and something the game hasn’t really explored before.
- A perfect entry point: For players who missed out on the initial run or were intimidated by the growing line of books, this anniversary reset offers a great chance to jump in.
Final Thoughts
It feels like just yesterday that Symbaroum was first released and over the past few years earned a well deserved spot as one of the most visually striking and unique fantasy tabletop RPGs in the market. Yet, a lot can happen in a decade, and this new 10th anniversary edition feels like a great chance to both streamline the mechanics and expand the setting.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Symbaroum Anniversary crowdfunder in the days ahead, with the campaign officially launching on May 19th, 2026. In the meantime, you can sign up now for alerts via Kickstarter.