Chapter 3: Races
 AMBRIAN PREJUDICE: Ambrians believe they are a superior
This chapter describes the mechanical aspects of the main playable
races found on Symbaroum Campaign Setting. Some GMs prefer to
prohibit players from choosing non-human races to reinforce the
mystery of the setting, allowing players to discover all aspects that
make Symbaroum different from the standard high fantasy scenario.
Humans (Ambrians and Barbarians) have societies and religions with
more similarities with the classic medieval setting. While non-
humans in Symbaroum may appear bizarre to a newcomer player.
For example, ogres do not reproduce, they are the offspring of an old
goblin hibernation inside a sweat made cocoon. Elven females are
bare and must steal babies from other races, leaving magical copies
called Changelings. Dwarves are not born; they are moulded inside
stone honeycombs from their female queen.
Other GMs and game groups prefer to allow even elves as player
characters, since their players are familiar to the setting and want to
try something new. It is recommended that these viewpoints be
presented and discussed among players in a Session Zero, creating a
better gaming experience for everyone and avoiding frustrating
expectations.
HUMANS (AMBRIANS)
Ambrians are the immigrant, the invaders and conquerors who came
from the south of the Titans. After having their homeland ravaged in
a war with dark lords, the Ambrians migrated north in search of a
new home. They tamed the land in the name of their queen and hunt
non-humans in the name of their god.
The list below shows all traits you receive for free during character
creation choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Presence. No other cultural race
has a society so complex in codes of conduct between several
layers of social classes, factions, and institutions. You can invest
up to 5 points in this favoured attribute. If it is also a favoured
attribute for your archetype, you can invest up to 6 points.
RACES PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS COMPARISON
Age & Height Ambrians Barbarians Goblins
Mean Height 175cm 180cm 120cm
Young 16 – 25 y 12 – 18 5 – 10
Adults 26 – 50 19 – 40 11 – 30
Old 51+ 41+ 31+
 KIN FELLOWSHIP: Ambrians know many people in their
crowded cities, from different professions, walks of life, and
social classes. These people, usually other Ambrians, can help
you with information, access to places, a bed to sleep in, or a hot
meal. Yet they wouldn't risk their safety, money, reputation, or
their own lives for you.
 EDUCATED: Ambrian churches offer free education to all
ambrian children (usually to indoctrinate the younglings). You
became literate.
race, even in comparison with other humans (like barbarians).
Interactions between races should narratively reflect Ambrians
pride and intolerance.
HUMANS (BARBARIANS)
Barbarians, collectively called Vhor’Halians by elves and dwarves,
are the primitive human tribes who have lived for generations around
Davokar forest. They are fierce warriors and live scattered in several
warring clans. They are led by a chieftain and a tribal witch. The
latter is responsible for advice, heal and protect clan members on
supernatural matters.
The elders tell stories of their ancestors been enslaved by elven and
dwarven empires, millennia ago. Those children’s tales are constantly
reinforced until adulthood creating a deep barbarian animosity
against elves and dwarves.
The list below shows all traits you receive for free during character
creation choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Potence. Barbarian culture favour
the mightiest between them. Children, the disabled and the
elderly who cannot keep up with the tribe in tasks such as
hunting and fighting may be abandoned or exiled. You can invest
up to 5 points in this favoured attribute. If it is also a favoured
attribute for your archetype, you can invest up to 6 points.
 BUSHCRAFT: You have lived all your life in the wilderness of
Davokar and are used to finding water, food, and shelter. Your
Nature Skill has a +1D6 bonus.
 PRIMITIVE: Your character grew up on a tribal society of free
warriors, gatherers, and hunters. So, he or she does not
understand urban concepts of several social classes, complex
military hierarchy, aristocratic etiquette, personal hygiene,
sanitation and even currency. Cities are chaotic and threatening.
Metal armour are clumsy and heavy. Barbarians would avoid all
Changelings Ogres Elves Dwarves
170cm 230cm 160cm 140cm
21 – 50 31 – 60 50–120 33 – 133
51 – 150 61 – 180 121 – 200 134 – 233
151+ 181+ 200+ 234 – 333
this in exchange to a rustic lifestyle.
 ILLITERATE: Unless you purchase the talent Educated, you
cannot read and write. You may understand simple runes,
symbols, and signs though.
 BRAVERY: Living under constant violence and the dangers of
the wild, barbarians developed a natural resistance to fear. Your
Discipline Skill has a +1D6 Bonus against Fear Effects.
 Forbidden Lands of Symbaroum
GOBLINS
Goblins are a cultural race of small, stinky, green-skinned,
humanoids. They are considered mischievous and untrustworthy by
every other race, although they are employed as a slave workforce on
several Ambrian cities. They work in cleaning and sanitation,
unclogging sewer canals or removing animal waste from the streets.
They usually live in shanty towns outside city walls, and under
unhealthy conditions for human standards. Their chaotic behaviour is
the main reason they accept those conditions, as they rarely achieve a
united and organized society. Even small goblin villages are a mess,
where the concept of private propriety is relative, conflict is a
constant, and sanitation a waste of time.
Goblins change their leaders at the same frequency as the seasons,
with the exception of their tribe’s witch (usually the second in
command) who may be one of the few constants in goblin society.
Goblins’ lifespans comprise only few decades and when they feel
death approaching, they leave to a distant and hidden place (like
Deep Davokar or Underground) to create a cocoon with their thick
sweat. After a long period of hibernation, a new Ogre sprouts from
this cocoon. Without any memory of its past life as a goblin.
The GM needs to approve goblins as a playable race. The list below
shows all traits you receive for free during character creation
choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Competence. Goblins are agile,
quick, and nimble. You can invest up to 5 points in this favoured
attribute. If it is also a favoured attribute for your archetype, you
can invest up to 6 points.
 NIMBLE: Goblins are acrobatic and sneaky. Their Agility and
Stealth Skills has a +2D6 bonus.
 ILLITERATE: Unless you purchase the talent Educated, you
cannot read and write. You may understand simple runes,
symbols, and signs though.
 FRAIL BODY: Goblins have small, frail and usually
malnourished bodies. However, they are strangely resistant to
illness. When critically injured, you roll 1d20+4 before
consulting the critical injuries table results. But, against curses,
poisons, and illnesses, you may roll +2d6.
 SHORT LIFESPAN: Goblins live only few decades, even
under favoured conditions. They have no patience for long-term
plans and tasks. So, you roll one less d6 in skill checks related to
Season Activities.
 PARIAH: Goblins have a bad reputation of being mischievous,
irritating, untrustworthy, impatient, and undisciplined.
Interactions between races should narratively reflect this.
 SURVIVAL INSTINCT: The goblin can take the Brake Free or
Retreat action as a Support Action. Although they hate doing it,
they can live a full day with few water and food, needing only
one meal per day. You may roll consumable dice (food and
water) only once per day. Finally, goblins are always looking
over their shoulders, and have a +2D6 on Awareness Checks
related to hearing.
CHANGELINGS
Half-elves are extremely rare in cities, as pogroms could easily lead
to death at the burning stake. They are feared and shunned both in
human and elven lands, frequently considered sinful, blasphemous,
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or cursed. They usually live lonely lives away from densely
populated lands.
The GM needs to approve changelings as a playable race. The list
below shows all traits you receive for free during character creation
choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Intelligence. The elven wisdom
run through a changeling veins.
 FEY LINEAGE: If targeted by magical effects, like curses or
spells, you are considered an elf or fey creature. You roll an
additional d6 when trying to resist mind-affecting spells and
illusions.
 EDUCATED: During your childhood, you were educated like
your fellow humans or elves, depending on where you were
raised. Choose (according to your character background) in
which culture you grew up before you reached adolescence and
been expelled. It will affect skills like Mysticism, Religion and
Society.
 CHANGELING GLAMOUR: Once per day, you can cast,
without verbal or somatic components, a magical illusion in
yourself, generating 1D4 Temporary Corruption Point. The
illusion affects the sight, hearing, smell and even taste of anyone
at short range. You can change your appearance to something
(like a boulder or small tree) or someone you have already
personally encountered. You cannot change your size or biotype
but can change clothes and wearable items. The illusion is
cancelled at the end of the scene, if someone physically interact
with you, or if anyone at short range pass on a Challenging
Discipline Check. You may cast it again after finishing a long
rest.
 LONG LIFESPAN: Changelings may live centuries under good
conditions. They prefer long-term plans and tasks while they
enjoy the passage of the seasons. You may roll one additional d6
on skill checks during Season Activities.
 OUTCAST: Changelings are usually called half-breed,
mongrels or worse. Because of that, changelings have their social
interactions deeply hampered, the GM must increase all social
skill check difficulties in two degrees. In addition, they are
usually not allowed inside settlements unless in disguise. Been
discovered by citizens may result in to be burned at the stake.
OGRES
The large and brute ogres are not (necessarily) dumb and violent.
Some work along humans doing heavy work in exchange of money,
gourmet food, alcoholic drinks, and entertainment. In Ambrian lands
they are almost slaves, doing heavy work in construction sites or
being part of mercenary companies. But they do not stay for long, as
their long naps usually make them lose their jobs. They come and go,
never establishing a permanent home for more than a year. They
sleep anywhere and eat almost any (nourishing) thing. Human-size
doors, beds, clothing, armour, and some weapons usually do not fit
their bodies, so they are unattached to items and properties. Good
food, drink, pleasure, and precious gems are the few things ogres
usually desire.
Ogres are a goblinoid sub-specie. In reality, they are the result of an
old goblin that went into hibernation inside its own sweat-made
cocoon. Ogres do not have any memory of their lives as goblins and
the majority think it is nonsense. Ogres can also feel the need to
hibernate inside a cocoon when old age advances. They usually went
 Forbidden Lands of Symbaroum
to Underground to find a safe spot where they may, after many
decades, become rise as the terrifying Trolls.
The GM needs to approve ogres as a playable race. The list below
shows all traits you receive for free during character creation
choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Potence. Their large bodies are
south by military forces and construction sites.
 TOUGH & ROBUST: Ogres are tall, large, slow, and very
strong. They must eat a full meal every three hours and take at
least two 30-minute naps during the day. A suit of armor must be
custom-made and costs twice the normal price and time to make;
but their skin has a natural armor of 1 point. Their Athletics Skill
has a bonus of +2D6 and can achieve a max rank of 7, use it to
calculate encumbrance capacity. When critically injured, roll
1D20-4 before consulting the critical injuries table results.
 ILLITERATE: Unless you purchase the talent Educated, you
cannot read and write. You may understand simple runes,
symbols, and signs though.
 LONG LIFESPAN: Ogres may live centuries under good
conditions. They prefer long-term plans and slow-paced tasks.
They enjoy the passage of the winter when they usually
hibernate. You may roll one additional d6 on skill checks during
Season Activities.
 PARIAH: Ogres have a bad reputation of lazy, dumb, slow, and
aloof. They would be killed on site every time a half-giant,
goblin-like humanoid tried to approach a human settlement – if
not considered a useful workforce and military asset. Interactions
between races should narratively reflect this.
ELVES
Elves are the ancient cultural race of fey humanoids that thrived for
millennia. They are very wise, arrogant, magical, cold, and
mysterious. Much of their civilization crumbled with the fall of
Symbaroum, leaving a collective feeling of sadness and longing.
They consider humans as invaders, conquerors, and slavers – turning
almost all encounters between them a violent one.
All racial traits below refer to early summer elves, as they are the
most common elven kind encountered by other humanoids in
Davokar. Along with Dwarves, Elves (even early summer elves) are
slightly more powerful than other races, and this is intentional.
However, the GM may adjust their racial traits to a more human-
standard level. Autumn and winter elves would be too much powerful
for a player character.
Elves would be antagonists in a dark fantasy campaign where mature
themes (like bigotry, misogyny, slavery, and colonialism) arise, so
the GM needs to approve them as a playable race.
The list below shows all traits you receive for free during character
creation choosing this race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Competence, Intelligence or
Presence. The elven finesse, wisdom and grandeur are the source
of many tales and legends. As an Elf you may exceed in any
field covered by those attributes. So, choose one freely.
 WISDOM OF THE AGES: Spending a full round in a deep
trance, the elf can access the collective past memories and
knowledges of his or her ancestors. Once activated, this trait
increases 1D4 skills of your choice in one point for the duration
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of the scene. Even untrained skills. You can activate this trait
after finishing a long rest.
 FEY LINEAGE: If targeted by magical effects, like curses or
spells, you are considered a fey creature. You roll additional 2d6
when trying to resist mind-affecting spells and illusions.
 ELVEN GLAMOUR: Once per day, you can cast, without
verbal or somatic component, a magical illusion, generating 1D4
Temporary Corruption points. The illusion affects the sight,
hearing, smell and even taste of anyone at short range. The target
of the illusion may be a creature, plant, or item of tiny, small, or
medium size and must be at short range at the time of casting.
You can change the appearance of the target to something or
someone you have already personally encountered. You cannot
change its size nor its biotype (bipeds to quadrupeds, for
example), but can change clothes and wearable items. The
illusion moves with the target and is cancelled at the end of the
scene. It is also cancelled if the target (or anyone at short range)
passes on a Challenging Discipline Check. You may cast it
again after finishing a long rest.
 EDUCATED: You receive long decades of instruction, lectures,
and metaphysical teachings by your elven elders. You became
literate and have +1D6 in Mysticism Skill.
 ELVEN GRACE: Elves train for decades, even centuries, fine-
tuning their martial and artistic arts. They roll an additional d6
when using knives, longswords, spears, bows, musical
instruments or crafting tools. While inside the forest, they also
roll an additional d6 to climb, hide, sneak, track, or travel.
 BUSHCRAFT: You have lived all your life in the wilderness of
Davokar and are used to finding water, food, and shelter. Your
Nature Skill has a +1D6 bonus when used on plains, mountains,
and forests.
 EXTENSIVE LIFESPAN: Elves may live for many centuries
under good conditions. They prefer long-term plans and
elaborated tasks while they patiently enjoy the passage of several
seasons. You may roll two additional d6s (2d6) on skill checks
during Season Activities but these activities will take 50% more
time to complete than normal.
 ELVEN SORROW: Elves have a hard time dealing with
feelings of loss, grief, and failure. They constantly mourn for
their fallen empire of old and become furious when fail on
anything. If the character accumulates three failures for the same
skill in the same scene, the PC becomes depressed until he or she
finishes a long rest. While depressed, the elven character cannot
call for Fate Rolls (see chapter 5 – Skills). The GM may
adjudicate narrative events that activate the Elven Sorrow racial
trait, like the death of a fallen comrade, been submitted to
torture, witness a fire on the woods, travel through a plagued
land, a persistent injury or illness, or been imprisoned in a
foreign kingdom.
 ELVEN ARROGANCE: Elves believe they are a superior race,
destined to guide all other less-civilized humanoids in the proper
ways of the land and into the magnificence of elven culture.
Interactions between races should narratively reflect elves’
arrogance. When dealing with Ambrians, elves rarely try to
parley, preferring to leave or to fight.
DWARVES
Dwarves are the short humanoid race that developed its culture and
society below the mountains, in immense halls filled with tunnels and
 Forbidden Lands of Symbaroum

galleries. Sages believe that their connection with the earth and rock make an Intelligence Check and consult table Level of
are beyond human comprehension. Information, on Chapter 5.
The rumours are that dwarves are not born. They are made by their  EDUCATED: You were instructed for many years under a
utmost protected dwarven queen, like bees using theirs female strictly disciplined, military-style school. You became literate
alchemical enhanced mud instead of honey. Maybe this is the reason and learned much about math, engineering, economy, and
female dwarves are never seen on the surface world. Dwarves dwarven religion.
developed a percussionist type of language, also infusing their music
and phonetic magic – while taking advantage of the powerful eco of
 DWARVEN GREED: All dwarves are, at some level, greedy
their homeland. They enchant runes of power all around their walls,
and avaricious. It’s part of their culture to amass wealth and
along their weapons and crafting tools.
treasure for their queen and their “hive”. Every time a dwarf
Dwarves are rare on the surface world, usually trading or conquering loses money or a business opportunity, he or she becomes
for supplies hard to find underground: like wheat, wool, fruits, and grumpy and angry. They remain frustrated until it finishes a long
wood. It is a common occurrence women been kidnapped to serve rest. While frustrated, a dwarf cannot call for a Fate Roll.
small bands of rebel dwarves not used to the presence of fertile
humanoid females. At least, for these women, all dwarves are  AGORAPHOBIA: All dwarves suffer from anxiety while in
infertile. open spaces, like plains and oceans. They need a steady ground
and a firm ceiling to feel safe. While in such environments,
Their halls have large stocks of precious gems and metals, often increase in one degree all skill checks based on Presence.
sought after by human nobles looking for a loan. Sadly, for them,
dwarves have a keen memory and an analytical mind rarely losing
profit.
Dwarves would be antagonists in a dark fantasy campaign where
mature themes (like bigotry, misogyny, slavery, and colonialism)
arise, so the GM needs to approve them as a playable race. The GM
needs to approve dwarves as a playable race. The list below shows all
traits you receive for free during character creation choosing this
race:
 FAVOURED ATTRIBUTE: Potence and Intelligence.
Dwarves’ body are hard and tough, allied with an analytical
mind and accurate memory. You may choose one, after all, your
attributes were purposely modelled by your Queen.

 EARTHBOUND: Dwarves are bound to the world’s foundation

in intimate ways. Without a natural soul, a dwarf suffers physical
damage if subjected to Corruption. The magically created soul
converts Temporary Corruption points into damage points and
Permanent Corruption points into critical injuries rolls. Maybe
this is the reason few of them become Theurges and fewer
decided to take risk with other mystical traditions. Once dead,
the dwarf’s body petrifies and cannot become undead or be
subjected to necromantic spells that affect natural souls. Living
dwarves are naturally resistant to magic receiving +2d6 to resist
the effects of spells that target them. The dwarves’ body is
highly resistant to poison and illnesses, and you may add +2d6 to
resist its harmful effects. Finally, dwarves are resilient and
tireless, needing only one meal per day. You may roll
consumable dice (food and water) only once per day.

 PLANNED LIFESPAN: Under favourable conditions, dwarves

may live exactly 333 years, when they die of old age and their
body petrifies. Because of that, their whole life is usually planed
since childhood. You may roll two additional d6 (2d6) on skill
checks during Season Activities if that chosen activity is aligned
with your life plan. If not, you must roll one less d6 or chose to
abandon that activity.

 DARKVISION: Living in the blackness of a subterranean world

for millennia, dwarves have developed the ability to see
normally in total darkness, without the need of too many torches
and fire accumulating smoke underground. They cannot discern
colours though, only shades of grey up to a medium distance.

 KEEN MEMORY: Dwarves have a sharp an analytical mind.

Every time a dwarf wants to remember a distant or obscure
information he or she have experienced, read, seen, or heard