Mörk Borg: souls lost in doom metal | Review

First of all, I would like to specify that I received a copy of Mörk Borg from the publisher Fria Ligan to review it. And I will never stop thanking them. I also want to start by saying that, although I do my best to be objective in what I write, personal tastes always affect the evaluation of a product.

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But let’s keep calm and start from the beginning. This artpunk RPG (available in English and Swedish) was born from the creativity of Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell, thanks to the talent of artists such as Johan Nohr and Pelle Nilsson. These authors are not yet too well known in the role-playing landscape, but with products of this type I can only wish them to ascend to the Olympus of the dice. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say in Hell.

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The unique atmosphere of a twisted decay

The most important aspect to understand this role-playing game are the sensations it conveys. Many other products promise the earth and then offer works that, in fact, always have something trivial. Here no, here you can breathe the air of perdition and the end of time. The only (desolate) land that can be encountered is imprisoned by an eternal sea and the sharp and crackling peaks full of tombs and restless undeads.

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Mörk Borg presents itself through concepts. First of all it is linked to a musical genre, the doom metal, which perfectly accompanies the game sessions thanks to its bleak and decadent style. This never falls into ridicule and indeed manages to maintain a solemn and evocative tone. Personally, for those who appreciate the genre, I recommend trying a session with this background music.

The proposed setting is not a place for the faint hearted. The known world is at the end of time. Powerful entities known as the two Two-Headed Basilisks are revered by men, left orphaned even by the gods (there is only one more that represents the darkness that swallows everything). One of the heads spoke and his words became prophecies of the end of the world. It is not known how it will happen, but now there is little less to do. This means that the values are missing and that the world is becoming increasingly sick and ruthless. There are no salvations, one shouldn’t try to save anything or anyone. The sentence is certain, one can only “live” until the imminent end of everything. Every day can be the right one for one of the Miseries predicted by the Basilisks to occur. And when seven will happen… Oblivion.

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Mörk Borg‘s horror theater

And the world itself takes on a central role. The authors masterfully excluded generic places, always showing something unique, important and significant in the spotlight. So there won’t be the usual forests, plains and coasts. The setting is characterized by specific scenarios, such as a gloomy dark and animated forest, a black royal palace in the center of a cemetery and a valley where the dead never rest. To complete the picture, as anticipated, there is a sinister Endless Sea impossible to cross and a haunted mountain range behind which is not known what there is.

The peninsula is divided into kingdoms and each has an absurd and gothic ruler. A Shadow King that nobody ever sees, a sovereign with an unquantifiable power who is said to want to steal the “color” left in the world,… The ideas are original and the lore behind these elements is also taken up by the mechanics, creating a silent narrative form. By putting the fragments together, you get a general picture with an incredible characterization.

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This narrative technique will not be new to many of you, or at least to those already passionate about the genre. The references to the Dark Souls videogame series seem many; not in content, but rather in style. Lost characters within a dark, fairytale and cruel world inhabited by mysterious and unique creatures. All the laws that govern the world are deliberately vague and cruel, so that those who live there never feel “at home”. The same concepts of space and time are distorted; the end of everything is near, collapse is imminent, the most basic physical laws begin to lose meaning. There are no libraries or collections of information, only sporadic knowledge, often without confirmation.

The protagonists of the (mis)adventures

Such a scenario cannot contemplate classic heroes. The character creation fully follows the spirit of the work and, given the high mortality (Dark Souls intensifies), pushes towards a random generation. You can proceed with or without including a class system and my advice is to use them. They can give a unique touch to the characters, making them special without stealing precious time to peris… play. This choice takes place through a dice roll on a random table, as well as the choice of characteristics (Strength, Toughness, Agility and Presence), physical and behavioral peculiarities and initial equipment. Omens must also be established; they are token to spend to try to survive a little longer. They will be your only friends, trust me.

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Magic has an uncertain origin and is difficult to classify. Some characters will have spells (called Powers) that can be used by reading ancient scrolls. Do you think they can be a lifeline? No! Failing using them can cause tooth loss, evocation of demonic entities, instant death or many other interesting effects. Welcome to Mörk Borg!

On DriveThruRPG the character sheet is free to download. The authors also made available a convenient site for the random creation of characters. At first you may find it superfluous, but you’ll learn to love the possibility of generating yet another unfortunate person with a click.

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In the vague possibility that the first skeleton encountered won’t end your life of suffering, there is also the opportunity of “getting better” (similar to level-up). The master will tell you when you’llll improve, often in conjunction with important events. What will it provide? A handful of extra Hit Points (perhaps), an increase in characteristics (if you are lucky, otherwise they may also go down) and the rare finding of something useful.

Threats are never absent

However, you will crave any crumb of power, trying not to feel overwhelmed by every enemy. They are described by only four characteristics, very easy to understand. This system based on Hit Points, attacks, defenses and Morale gives the narrator great freedom without being too narrative. The possibility to add special capabilities prevents monotony and keeps tension high. Any enemy can be lethal, the character improvement never gives the feeling of being safe.

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As if they weren’t enough, the dangers can also come from the environment; traps and threats of all kinds risk wiping out adventurers without mercy. Slipping into a pit jeopardizes the life of the victim, without giving him too many chances of salvation.

And how do you recover life? The spells are very rare, so you have to hope to find some healing kit or to camp having the necessary rations to be able to feed. Actually there are two types of rest, but only the longer one allows you to recover the Omens and Powers used too.

In order to test many of these misfortunes by hand, the authors also provide us with an introductory adventure in the manual. Although simple and very old-school, it summarizes in a comprehensive way what this RPG wants to be; it does not pay too much attention to the plot, after all it is good for one or two sessions, but it knows how to involve the players in an excellent way.

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The game system of Mörk Borg

Ok, we understood that content abounds… But the engine? Now let’s analyze the mechanics that move these dark threads like tendons of a rotting giant.

The game wants to be immediate and keep the players under pressure, without breaking the metal rhythm that keeps it going. It follows therefore that the game system is simple and straightforward, while managing not to becoming trivial. Each test is based on overcoming a variable Difficulty Rating (DR) with the roll of a d20, to which to add the modifier given by the characteristic used. Any circumstance modifiers change the number to be reached, not your score.

Combats follow the same rule as regards character hit rolls. They also have to perform tests to avoid attacks, almost eliminating the dice rolls to be made by monsters. This subtlety allows you to lighten the tasks of the master (speeding up the pace) and makes players always feel at the center of attention. A different die represents the damage done by weapons; it is very simple: the more the weapon hurts, the higher the dice. On the contrary the armor is worth a die and, when hit, the result of that die represents the damage absorbed. The shield either increases absorption by one or cancels an attack. Even if it may seem simplistic, this method actually allows you to experience compelling, rapid and lethal combats, without interrupting the narrative.

And as far as lethality is concerned, it is enough to say this: ending below the 0 of life is instant death; ending exactly at 0 risks being an impairment or, again, instant death.

This game system may seem “old”, but in fact it is not. The appearance may be that of a narrative system, but in reality the technical aspects are very satisfying.

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The artistic value of the physical material

If you still had doubts about the quality, I bet they will now disappear. Really, I find it hard to believe that someone could not remain enchanted in front of the artistic side of Mörk Borg. The manual has a compact size, hardcover and has almost 100 color pages, half of which are illustrations. And what illustrations! Each page is a small work of art, a panel that boasts unique layout, style and colors. The main palette is made up of white, black and yellow, but fuchsia and red also carve out a space of considerable importance. The font changes countless times and in none of these cases is it out of place. Each line reflects the spirit of the game and exalts it to the nth degree. I don’t want to waste too many words: aesthetically it is probably the best manual I have ever held in my hand.

If you think that this beautiful facade is made to cover other gaps, you are wrong. Inside the content that can be found includes the summary of the rules inside the cover (to underline its usability), many explanations of the game world, all the necessary rules and the introductory adventure.

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Final thoughts on Mörk Borg

I don’t think words are needed: Mörk Borg has captured me from the first moment, enveloping me in a black embrace of eternal perdition. Its mix of content, lore and aesthetics has an almost perfect balance and can give incredible satisfactions. Being so quick to learn and manage, it does not even have that initial “block” given by having to “read too much”.

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I also joined the community through the Discord server (which I highly recommend) and this made me understand how much passion there is behind. Seeing is believing. There are various thematic channels, including for example ideas for the master, aid for new players, sharing of themed images and songs or even discussions regarding the material created by users. And here I open a small parenthesis. Everyone can try to create something to be included among the available content, going through the supervision of the creators of the game. Among them are new objects, classes, traps, spells, monsters; of the latter I got to see a set dedicated to the videogame The Binding of Isaac, another great passion of mine. Some of these creations could also be included in the first expansion manual, which will soon arrive on Kickstarter.

So what are you still doing here? Run to try Mörk Borg before the prophecies of the Two-Headed Basilisks come true!

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