Accurate Is My Dump Stat

Approximate time to read: 3 minutes.   

It seems to be a clarion call for the existing Symbaroum players to call out this much-maligned Attribute. You have to assign a score of 5 to something, so make it Accurate.

To quote recent guidance to a new player:

The main thing I’d say to do is find a way to substitute something for Accuracy since it’s a boring stat that only does one thing.

Reddit Symbaroum community, Noob: Need help with building first PC

More Than A Battle

Symbaroum involves a fair amount of combat, and I’d be the first to step up and say that the Abilities system favours battle and conflict far too heavily. In the mix, far too many Abilities focus solely on creating enhancements, advantages and alternatives for hitting things.

I’ve charted out Abilities before – and even suggested a few additions that would ease the spread away from physical and combative; in a game with so much politics and back-biting, the Abilities around persuasion and social improvement are lacking.

The possibility that Accurate only achieves one thing and that only for as long as it takes to acquire an Ability that Dominate, Iron Fist or Sixth Sense belies a game that lacks a balanced consideration of what a character should achieve without recourse to conflict.

The Symbaroum magic system achieves a thematically rich connection with the background of the world in the business of corruption and the possibility of becoming an Abomination. When folk consider using another system for the game, they often mention the magic and corruption as the tough part to port. What they’re porting for is often a more complex way to handle combat or character development – which, to my mind, isn’t what the game should be about.

Brutal as battle might be, beyond the first few sessions it can become a session sink as players create ever more honed “character builds”, and the GM struggles to throw ever greater challenges at them to thwart their ingenuity. I wouldn’t suggest that Symbaroum lose the sword fighting altogether. Still, a balance of focus on more cerebral and social challenges might make character development less of a feat in Munchkin-ism.

Raw Potential

Away from the battlefield, the characters should expect challenges that put their hand-eye coordination to the test:

The…

• pendulum swings, so you must leap at the right moment…
• construction lift drops, so grab a joist as it passes…
• gap is narrow, but you might just skip a stone through it…
• Queen’s favourite hound growls; a bop on the nose should stun it…
• sandbag must drop on the stroke of the final chime…
• relic flies toward you, cast across the yawning maw of the abyss…
• tiller slides and tugs as you guide your boat between the rocks…
• sound of the guard approaching makes picking the secured doors lock essential…

…test your Accurate.

If Accurate is your dump stat, you’re not playing the whole game. Every challenge shouldn’t be about hitting someone with an axe or shooting a Lindwurm in the throat. In the RAW (“rules as written”), page 100 explains the core mechanics of the Attributes – and, alas, falls foul of the very thing that has soured the reputation of Accuracy. The second sentence seals that fate:

This Attribute is for instance used to hit an intended target with punches, strikes, throws or a missile from a ranged weapon.

Symbaroum Core Book, page 100

We know this only holds true as long as you haven’t invested in one of the half-a-dozen Abilities that rob the Attribute of that very key value.

However, I would ask GMs and players alike to look at that first sentence:

A character’s hand-eye coordination, precision and timing are all represented by Accurate.

Symbaroum Core Book, page 100

In those few words, you have that list above—and more uses besides—that make the decision to stick a 5 in Accurate one you might regret.

As a GM, you should look to create a spread of challenges across your adventures, primarily to ensure engagement for all the characters in your player group but also to ensure you play up the strengths of Symbaroum‘s background for all its worth:

• Use Persuasive versus Vigilant to mask your body language when spouting bald-faced lies in the court at Karvosti.
• Use Discreet to remain utterly still and silent as the commander of the guard completes an inspection searching for any excuse to bust you.
• Use Resolute to see if you control your embarrassment as your mother recounts tales of your childhood in front of your favoured sweetheart.
• Use Strong to maintain your composure and control your swirling gut after a night of drinking in the private quarters of Mayor Nightpitch.

And, use Accurate for more than just landing a punch because you’re a first-session character and you haven’t got 10 Experience to buy novice Feint.