Skull of Rowdain
The Skull of Rowdain is a Legendary artifact in Symphony of War. When equipped, defeated enemies will surrender instead of being killed (if surrender is possible for the enemy squad). Loyal enemy squads, such as the devote worshippers of Zanatus, will not surrender and will still be killed. Morale of the squad who has the artifact equipped, is locked at Fearful morale. The few undead encountered in the game, also wont surrender if defeated.
This item was introduced with the Halloween event of 29 October 2022. During the event, it would be possible to acquire it as a rare loot item. The item can be acquired at the market, but the chances of finding it in a Bazaar are higher. It will be sold for two items the item value.
Stats
| Stats | |
|---|---|
MHP 
|
-20 |
ARM 
|
-8 |
STR  |
-8 |
MAG 
|
-8 |
SKL 
|
-8 |
| CAP | +4 |
Strategies
The Skull of Rowdain is an exceptionally powerful artifact allowing a squad to surrender defeated enemy units instead of killing them. This means that you can get extra gold and faction XP from the surrendered enemies at the end of the chapter. Care should be taken though as the Fearful morale greatly reduces the damage done by the squad.
It can also be abused in the arena, surrendering 30-50 enemies per arena can drastically increase gold and tech levels.
This morale lock can actually be beneficial if a squad is going to be in repeated combat with enemy squads. A normal squad will generally deteriorate to Shattered morale, which is worse than Fearful, so having the Skull of Rowdain equipped will keep them at a slightly better morale than they otherwise would be.
Combinations
Since the artifact locks the morale of the squad, it is also great to mix with Beatrix who isn't impacted by squad morale, or Boots of Tyranny for extra movement.
It can also be combined with Balmung, which will undo most stats penalty applied by the skull. In case the hp penalty is problematic, then Cyrene's Regalia, Obsidian Plate Armor, or Gilded Clover can be equipped as the third artifact.
Information is needed whether the skull can be combined with Soha's Blood Shard and have the healing effect of surrendering enemies as well.