%% date:: [[2022-10-13]], [[2022-10-13]], [[2023-01-15]], [[2023-12-04]] %% # [[Mörk Borg]] [site](https://morkborg.com/) Mörk Borg is an apocalyptic [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TRPG]] with a strong heavy metal theme. It is "light on rules, heavy [on] everything else" [^main]. It tackles topics of redemption and forgiveness set in a bleak world. ## Pronunciation ![[mork-borg.mp3]] [^simme] ## System Summary Setting:: Apocalyptic gothic horror Classes:: Yes Races:: No, everyone's human Tests:: 1d20+modifier vs. Difficulty Rating (DR) Degree of success:: No Attributes:: Agility, Strength, Presence, Toughness Player agency:: Low PC hardiness:: Low - low HP, no return from death; medium with Omens PC power level:: Low Publisher:: [[Fria Ligan]] ## Distinguishing features ### Art and theme The art and theme are striking, grungy, and dark. The style is simultaneously captivating and a little too dark for me. Every part of the rulebooks and adventures are heavily styled and consistent. ### Simplified initiative Upon combat, a d6 is rolled. On a 1-3, the enemies begin. On a 4-6, the players begin. ### Cinematic crits and fumbles Aside from the increased damage or miss, natural 20s and 1s also produce a positive or negative effect. ### Morale Every enemy mob has a morale stat. When one of the circumstances below is met, a morale check is made: - Leader is killed - Half the group is eliminated - The lone remaining enemy is at 1/3 HP. The morale check involves rolling 2D6. If the total is over the enemy's morale, roll another d6. On a 1-3, they flee. On a 4-6, they surrender. This speeds up battle where the end is inevitable. ### All the random tables Everything in Mörk Borg, including characters, monsters, and adventures, are generated using random tables. ### Omens Omens are a pool of points that players can use to change events in the game. Each character class has a different die that is rolled every day to determine how many omens a character starts a day with. Omens can be used to: - deal max damage with an attack - reroll a die roll (yours or someone else's) - reduce damage dealt to you by 1d6 - neutralize a crit or fumble - lower one test's DR by 4. Omens are an optional rule. %% ## Rules ![[Mork Borg - Rules - Reference.pdf]] [^main] %% ## Creating a character %% ![[mork-borg-character-sheet.png]] %% 1. Randomize your starting equipment. 2. Randomize weapon and armor. 3. Roll your abilities. 4. Roll your hitpoints. 5. Name your character. OR: 1. Choose or randomize a character class. 2. Follow the class's instructions on rolling for equipment, weapons, and armor. 3. Roll on Terrible Traits, Broken Bodies, Bad Habits, and Troubling Tales. 4. Roll a number of Omens ## [[Mörk Borg Rules]] ## My impressions Mörk Borg is a theme-first game with an impractically gorgeous art style that I can't help but love. The system is simple, but unlike other simple systems, this one is actually fun! The classes are flavourful and exciting to play, so even when you die (which is very likely), you'll be happy to try something new. Things I don't like: - This world is low magic by default. Casting spells is a dangerous activity, and you could die attempting to do so! - It's too easy to die. It's so easy to die that you can die during character creation. This is fun for a one-shot, but discourages longer play. One way I mitigated this was to use [Horrible Wounds](https://morkborg.exlibrisrpg.com/entries/horrible-wounds) to keep characters around for longer. ## Mörk Borg spinoffs The following games are standalone RPGs that take Mörk Borg's core rules but reimplement them in some way. - [[CY_BORG]], sci-fi version of Mörk Borg - [[On the bones of Batala]] - [site](https://rmbananas.itch.io/on-the-bones-of-batala): Mörk Borg reinterpreted in the context of Philippine mythologies - [[Orc Borg]] - [site](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gshowitt/orc-borg-brutal-chaos-powered-by-mork-borg): Orcs vie for dominance and survival in a huge junker ship in space - [[Pirate Borg]] - [site](https://www.limithron.com/pirateborg): Pirates battling undead in a deadly, seafaring world ### Games of Mörk Borg that I've played - [[ttrpgs/The Accursed Den/World|The Accursed Den]], based on the adventure *Rotback Sludge* in the core rulebook (player) - [[ttrpgs/Graves Left Wanting/World|Graves Left Wanting]], based on the third-party adventure *Graves Left Wanting* (GM) ## Resources - [Scvmbirther](https://scvmbirther.makedatanotlore.dev/) is a quick character generator - [DNGNGEN](https://dngngen.makedatanotlore.dev/) is a short and sweet dungeon generator for Mörk Borg - [Monster](https://monster.makedatanotlore.dev/) is a monster generator - [Ex Libris Mörk Borg](https://exlibrisrpg.com/) is a collection of community-contributed supplementary material for Mörk Borg [^main]: [Mörk Borg](https://morkborg.com/)