STALKER7

Another of my hobby wishes has come true: official Symbaroum miniatures. Good ones, from Steamforged Games.

I confess to a flash of deja vu when I first learned about them; the same little rush I felt when Lead Adventure Miniatures released their ‘Last Project‘ Stalker-themed minis way back in the day.

For those of you who don’t know, Symbaroum is a dark fantasy RPG put out by Free League Publishing in Sweden. (Makers of the Aliens, Blade Runner, LOTR, Coriolis, Dragonbane, Mork Borg RPGs, and more) It’s a wonderful setting and system – my favorite RPG by a wide margin – which is why I was pleased to see not one, but two box sets coming over the hobby horizon.

Even though these were made for the DnD 5E crossover module, Ruins of Symbaroum, I pre-ordered them from Miniature Market here in the US. From a commercial standpoint, I understand why Free League adapted the setting and lore to the 5E system, but I remain unconvinced it was necessary; Symbaroum is a rich, remarkable game that, IMO, does so much, so much better, than 5E.

That said, the Steamforged miniatures echo the dark, moody artwork of Martin Grip and bring the inhabitants of Ambria and Davokar to life for the table top. Particularly this one:

As of this afternoon, all 21 miniatures have been primed and have jumped the queue on the painting desk. Coming out of a two months of nagging illness in the cold, damp New England winter, it’s good to be inspired for a hobby project once again.

In fact, I plan to fire up the hot wire cutter to make some scenario-specific terrain for the box sets’ adventures, Gem in the Barrow and Corrupted Coloss. More as that story develops.

That’s it for now. Have an excellent day.

• The Symbaroum core rule book and Advanced Player’s Guide are a good price at Amazon. In case, you know, you want to pick them up. HERE