Embrace the Waste! Symbaroum: Alberetor – The Haunted Waste

Title: Symbaroum – Alberetor – The Haunted Waste

Publisher: Free League Publishing

Authors: Mattias Johnsson Hakke with Erik Hylander and Mattias Lilja

Artists: Martin Grip, Gustaf Ekelund, and Aline Gladh

Year: 2023

Genre: Fifth chapter in The Throne of Thorns fantasy roleplaying campaign

Pages: 169 pages

MSRP: $39.99 for the hardcover or $19.99 in PDF

Symbaroum is, at its core, a love letter to the art of GMing. Its highly sophisticated and structurally complex modules are built to allow the GM to truly show off their skill, crafting rich gaming experiences seemingly on the fly in response to player choice and the whims of the dice. The worldbuilding is robust and the flow of events tends to be more a description of possibilities than a prescription of outcomes. It is immersive in the extreme, and, more often than not, a daunting proposition behind the scenes.

This is especially true in the case of The Haunted Waste which, in virtually any other game line, would be its own separate campaign. The chronicle unfolds as players attempt to track down Queen Korinthia ― a task involving a staggering amount of travel through dangerous territory, investigations that reveal explosive secrets, and a confrontation between a lurking threat and those who would stand against it. It is rich, challenging, exciting, deeply compelling, and would be almost impossible to run were it not for its relatively linear structure.

The Haunted Waste also makes good on the sense of doom that has long hung over the chronicles that preceded it in the Throne of Thorns campaign: the nightmare is here and there is no stopping it. For fans of Greek tragedy, there is something almost poetic in the way the narrative delivers, but for those hoping for more hopeful fare, look elsewhere. The reveals here are powerful and they raise questions that extend far beyond the table. For those who prefer to take their media at face value, it’s a worthy twist; for those who prefer a more philosophical approach, The Haunted Waste will fuel long debates about ends and means.

The chronicle delivers a narrative that is wholly satisfying while still building a sense of anticipation –or is that trepidation?—for what’s still to come. While not a traditional cliffhanger, the changes to the world are massive and their full implications are unknowable. This feels like a nice bit of ludonarrative cohesion for players and highlights a key ethos of the game’s design: seemingly isolated actions build towards unintended consequences.

It’s easy to label Symbaroum as a game for adults; the material is too dark and the world too complex for younger players. Symbaroum, it should also be noted, is also not a game for those simply looking for the fun of a brawl. The Haunted Waste is rife with challenging combat, but that combat is ultimately in service to the storyworld and the broader narrative. The game trusts that its players have, or will develop, motivation beyond feckless destruction; even in a combat-heavy chronicle, the game would fall apart without it.

The Haunted Waste advances the Throne of Thorns campaign with a chronicle that would otherwise be worthy of a truly great epic fantasy novel. Careful attention has been paid to rewarding narrative threads, delivering reveals that feel massive yet grounded in the reality player characters have not only experienced, but shaped. Even though a long, dangerous journey stands between players and the next chronicle –as well as a potential rescue mission fated to fail—there is no doubt they’ll be eager for what’s to come.