Ruins of Sybaroum 5e: Adventure Compendium – Complete Review
Introduction
I ran the Ruins of Sybaroum 5e recently at my table. It’s been a while since I’ve ran 5e and we wanted to make our return. Ruins of Symbaroum offered a different enough setting and flavor that we made our plunge and start with the Adventure Compendium. I did buy this book with my own money, and ran it using the official Alchemy RPG module (also purchased with my own money). This review will be on both the game and the module. You can pick up a copy of the Adventure Compendium on the official Free League Publishing site or your favorite game store. You can also pick it up through my Amazon Affiliate link. It really helps me out. I’ll be leaving affiliate links where I can.
What is Ruins of Sybaroum 5e: Adventure Compendium?
The adventure compendium is a 5e compatible adventure that takes players from levels 1-8. If you’re planning to run any of the other pre-written adventures in this series, or are a new DM, this is the place to start.
The Adventure Compendium is a collection of adventures that lets players not only explore the world of Symbaroum, but get a taste of the different types of adventures. There are witch hunts, murder mysteries, escort missions, and a few other neat surprises. You will need access to at least the OGL ruleset, but it doesn’t hurt to have a Gamemaster’s Guide. Things like the Ruins of Symbaroum Core Setting Book, Player’s Guide, and Beastiary are nice to have, but you can run this game with just the OGL.
The Module
Alchemy RPG is a VTT that focuses on enhancing Theater of the Mind campaigns. It can be used to run combat and it has tools to run battle maps, but the modules main job is to set the mood with its cool visuals and atmospheric soundscape.
The Adventure Compendium Module is fine, but it is incomplete. Buying other modules will make prep easier, but hombrewing what you need isn’t hard, just time consuming. If this is your first VTT, buying into it isn’t going to be a problem. It is reasonably priced with a clean UI that is simple and easy to use. As far as substance goes, the visuals for the module are cool, but not the real reason you’re buying the game. You can always supplement the module with your own content for free. I found the font too small to read, and I don’t like that you can’t move or resize any of the windows. It be nice to be able to move the notes around to move characters.
Combat in this module works fine. If you like to use maps, the experience feels a bit lacking. Resizing maps feels a bit clunky (but better than Roll20) and the maps included with the module aren’t very optimized. They work well enough if you ever need to run something quick, but Foundry VTT does it better. If you don’t care about maps, it’s great. Setting up the encounter is easy, and every chapter is neatly divided so you only get the stat blocks you need. I don’t think the included visuals and sounds did much to enhance combat, but setting up your own scenes with music and visuals is easy and quick.
Alchemy is a solid VTT for those who want to focus on the story and don’t care much about combat. It is free to try (with a few limitations), but you can start with the module if you want to support the publisher and want the convenience the module provides. You can run the game without the module, but it is a little time consuming.
The Book
If you’re a new Gamemaster with new players looking for a darker grittier adventure, the Adventure Compendium is a great place to start. The book has solid pacing and a good variety of actives to get things started.
The world of Symbaroum is very unforgiving and will wipe a careless party. GMs can always tweek and change an adventure to fit their table, but the adventure is supposed to be harsh. Monsters are supposed to be strong, resources are supposed to be scarce, and the danger is supposed to be feel real. Games like these seem to have more meaningful moments of epic heroism, but the table needs to be in the mood for it. Changing survival mechanics and re-balancing combat is always fine, but it takes away a bit of the spirit of the campaign. As it turns out, we weren’t really in the mood for a more serious campaign and we couldn’t form that connection. Lowering the difficulty to allow room for shenanigans made it not as good.
But, just because the game didn’t fit the flavor of our campaign, it doesn’t mean it won’t fit yours. The Adventure Compendium does a fantastic job at being an intro product, and with a good amount of difficulty to keep things grim. It does feel like it is geared towards newer GMs and players (it could be a lot harder) and that is perfectly fine. The stories it tells are also fine, but not a real reason to buy this book. If you want to explore the world of Symbaroum and don’t need the crutch, you can try starting with the setting book instead. I’ll be doing a full review at some point so stay tuned.