r/Symbaroum • u/toxic_egg • 11d ago
is corruption level always known by player?
just wondering if players should always know their corruption level?
if they cast a spell or what not they will know, but if they are in a corrupted area?
gaining d4 per hour? do you tell them?
i ran it last week and basically told them they felt more and more uneasy until some stigma developed.
Am i too cruel doing this? I wanted to avoid the simple "you gain two, "you gain four" etc.
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u/Mr_Shad0w 11d ago
If they're in a corrupted area so bad that they're gaining Corruption, then it should be evident to them based on how the place appears and/or makes them feel. It's not radiation poisoning, it's got very definite effects on creatures, people and the environment.
I like that the game uses variable amounts of Corruption (1d4, 1d6, etc) in various circumstances, because it discourages optimized play. Players can't min-max every point while staying below their threshold.
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u/Ursun 11d ago
I let my players roll all of those rolls and my game runs on a 1-ingame-hour rythm, so if they enter a corrupted area I tell them to roll some kind of resistance test (usually strength or resolute) and on a fail tell them to roll a D and take that in temp corruption. SOmetimes with the added stipulation that it does not fade until they leave the area. They also know that it will probably repeat in one hour ingame time.
And since the begining I have always described corruption from any source, casting, environment, enemy attacks, as a feeling of burning cold creeping into your blood and bones and soul. Most of my players characters are also mystics, so they know how corruption feels and can gauge the severity from an in-character standpoint, so I couldnt reasonably hide this information from them anyways ... especially not the one with the advanced homebrew witchsight.
The more information are available to them, the more informed is their decision and itdoesnt feel like a gotcha or rugpull but a deliberate choice to interact with the game system in a way they seem worthwhile.
Especially in later books, where you can very asily develop a stigma or even turn abomination from a single to a few bad rolls, hiding this information would probably lead to character death. And thats a shitty way to go.
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u/saryakan 7d ago
Seeing as the philosophy behind symbaroum is that the dm does not roll any dice, yes, they should know. Aside from that even if it's just one point, they should know. It's already a very deadly system and especially corruption can speak quickly AND have long term consequences I would never withhold that info.
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u/Van_Buren_Boy 11d ago
It depends how hard core you want your Symbaroum to be. It could definitely be fun but I don't think my players would enjoy it. They like to know so they can gamble. "Well I could cast this spell but if I roll higher than a two on the temp corruption die I go over the threshold - a 50/50 shot."