January 4, 2025
Ruins of Symbaroum Bestiary
lead designers: Mattias Johnsson Haake, Mattias Lilja & Jacob Rodgers
interior artist: Martin Grip
cover artist: Martin Grip
publisher: Free League
publication date: 2022
cover: hardcover
number of pages: 236
ISBN-10: 91-89143-27-2
ISBN-13: 978-91-89143-27-2
catalog number: FLFSYM020
description: This bestiary contains descriptions of ninety creatures and sixty NPCs from the Ruins of Symbaroum campaign setting. It is compatible with the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Role Playing Game.
Our featured entry from this bestiary is the darkling.
THERE ARE BEINGS in the Davokar region
which almost never leave the woods and
thus are seldom seen on Ambrian soil. One of
these is the creature that in ancient barbarian legends
is called the Darkling, or sometimes Nightling. They are
an intelligent race which has existed in the area since
long before humans came wandering across the Ravens.
It appears they have never been dominant, never sought
conquest and barely left any trace of their existence in
the form of buildings or writing.
THE FEW ACCOUNTS that speak of these creatures are
consistent on a couple of issues, whether they come
from alleged encounters or conversations with knowledgeable
barbarians. Darklings do not seem to discriminate
between cultural beings and the beasts
of the wilds, meaning that humans as well as elves
and trolls are counted among their prey. Aside from
this, their strangest and most prominent feature is
their resistance to mystical influence - a characteristic
that some witches claim has to do with them,
from tradition and necessity, living in total harmony
with Wyrtha, without trying to cultivate, refine or
manipulate nature.
AS A CONSEQUENCE, the darklings are genuine huntergatherers,
and their hunting takes place in both the
woods and the Underworld. They use simple weapons,
such as bows, spears and traps, often without metal.
giving them the quality Blunt. However, the leaders
sometimes have tips of bog iron, or weapons inherited
from killed prey animals.
