Mörk Borg Review and Custom Adventure

ttrpg
Written By Matthew Davis

Reader discretion is advised as harsh language is used in this article for the purpose of thematic effect. I talk about my experience with Mörk Borg and an adventure I ran, including session 0 tools and character creation.



Review

The book is extremely pretty and gnarly in its graphic design. It is engaging and thematic in its presentation of its rules and lore. While tough to read sometimes, there is clean text of all the main stuff you need. Even better, these tables and references are in the end covers of the book, which is very well designed and handy. This of course, is not new to those who have seen countless reviews of the game. The print quality is second to none and is an amazing artefact to behold. The rules are lite, deadly and style appropriate. It is old school renaissance to the core. There are low checks as characters have low ability scores, and only few features. The gear and few abilities they do get are well suited to aa grizzly game. The magic can be buck wild and epic in how powerful it is, being balanced by anyone getting it and being deadly to the user sometimes. There is low hit points, high stakes fun to be had here. The game features many epic loot pieces that are all grim-dark and heavy. It has devastating creatures that are pure joy for the game master in imagery and presentation. It features many tools to generate adventures, and a sample adventure. The right amount of are for my liking (not heaps), but plenty to get your imagination to get adventures together.

Check out the rules and adventure I wrote for it below! This adventure is inspired by a song and is a play on the original AD&D adventure ‘A Paladin in Hell’.

Rules

Simple rules can be found here: https://morkborg.com/preview/

Safety Tools

Reminder to mention to players up front: it goes without saying this will be incredibly dark and so trigger warnings are set here. I am going to say stuff that is dark. It is brutal. Let me know if it gets too dark, no judgement!

Character Creation

  • steps on pg 19

  • class (set number) or random (if so, then d2 omens) , your choice + optional (38-43)

  • Pick a name, it won’t save you

Core rules

  • Abilities - check see d20+/— stat see rules - players roll to attack and defend - creatures don’t roll dice - init enemy 1-3, hero 4-6

  • Melee strength 12, ranged presence 12, defence agility 12

  • Powers presence d12 - critical . Fumble pg 44

  • 6-18 difficulty class for checks

  • Rest, reaction, morale pg 31

  • AGILITY - Defend, balance, swim, flee
    PRESENCE - Perceive, aim, charm, wield Powers

  • STRENGTH - Crush, lift, strike, grapple
    TOUGHNESS - Resist poison/cold/heat, survive falling

  • HP 0 broken pg 29, negative is dead - pg 29 for fumble and grit

  • Armour absorbs damage


A Junkie in Hel - Adventure


Music

Based on the Song: Black Shuck by The Darkness Apple Music Link

Playlist for the session: Apple Music Link

Map

Chasm Map 2 from Dyson Logos https://dysonlogos.blog/maps/

Hel map

OPTIONAL RULES FOR ADVENTURE

IF YOU DIE: https://cjeggett.itch.io/being-dead-for-mork-borg or

lose one point from all scores - not be alive and one problem has happened to you based on how you die like -

  1. limb is removed (d4) - you may use it as a weapon or you have no head

  2. your skin drops off every round (-1 hp per hour) -

  3. D4 beasts come after you per day as you rot of death - won’t stop

  4. Your face is a skeleton - each interaction with people DR is increased by d4

you are only UNDEAD in HEL, you may not leave. You are also consecrated, like the other filth.

The end is in 6 rotations: Psalm 1:2 (main book pg 17)

  • Any last words on the hangman’s noose?

  • Quarter master is available later to purchase gear from.

Adventure

OPENING

A castle of bleak despair - crows hang around.

  • Approached by a lord to get his deadshit brother back - a lord’s brother who has the password to an old vault - he thinks he is a paladin but he is just super jacked and whack - You are off to join a glorious mission to clear out the hell pits of undead fuckers - The HELs are a place where people never return from then underground, people are brought there as slaves and returned from the dead after death

  • reward: a gem and he won’t kill you

  • See if they can check or ask some to see how they get there

The city filled with vermin as you walk the streets you know the way to the river port

RIVER STYX

  • On the way you are ask to take a boat ride down the stygia stix river - some small boat captained by a man all in black with a long pole who doesn’t talk much - checks - PRICE IS 2 SILVER EACH

    • Swerves and tides - weird for a river - make a check

    • Myr nymph - as the drowned dead instead singing in there - the temple of the kracken god mork borg from the

    • Navigation checks to help the boat master

    • A chest is held on board, with an inscription “the master of the ferry, he who drove those across the river” letter turner if you get it wrong you take d2 poison damage else you win a bowl and a spoon (a note inside says, one takes form this famine spoon means death from slow starvation_ _ _ _ _ _ CHARON is the answer

ENTRANCE

  • You come across a great doorway it seems locked - you see a ghost walk through it, and it opens for a skeleton. Looking around you come across an inverted cross black obelisk. It just says in an inscription, “for those who cannot wait” (Check to break down or wait til they open for you and sneak in)

  • You enter a cave that opens to see sort of open tomb in the wall. It is dark in here, hard to see anything.

HEL Rooms:

  1. The cleansing room - here you see people being files through, stripped of their clothes and belongings, which are being place into piles (clothes, jewels etc) there at d6 crooked guards pg 66 and d4 zombies pg 65 in here and the brother YARLES (see above entry) - he is fighting for the fiery one (thinks he is a priest of the tempest fire)

    Hidden Tunnel - a secret entrance to the pits - can try and climb through to the bridge - you hear a whistling from under the wall

    YARLES ENTRY

  • A naked man, covered in black ichor is standing there with a red sword, he hold a torch in the other hand.

  • An extreme priest of the tempest fire is off to clear out the Pitts - he takes heaps of smack and can’t feel pain (resist all damage by 1 if you take it, roll a d6 to see how many rounds it lasts), but make a check every round to see if you are addicted
    You will join them to grab some mad loot and hope to die a glorious death  - Why wait for the inevitable agony end, don’t be boring and die slowly SO MUCH TREASURE AND GLORY

  1. Entrance A painting of an old man in robes, he is feeling before a mausoleum - his eyes are black

    1a. there is an inscription on the wall - “work and your death will be quick - if you do not obey there will be torment beyond repair”

  2. Prison in this room lies 4 cells, 3, 2, 6, 1 prisoner in each. Reaction when talking 2D6 reaction - they have stories of why they came:

    1. They have come because life was meaningless and they sought redemption

    2. They were tricked into thinking treasure lies this way

    3. They are mad and try to strangle the PCs

    4. Undeath means eternal life

    5. The great library is here (an old man)

    6. For glory

      They know there is a beast, they hear the screams of those taken away. They don’t know why they were saved.

      Back side of the wall is where they are killed and turned into zombies, those who die raise here. there is dried blood all over this place. Some bones. D2 zombies pg 65

  3. The Choice - Wrat (wraith) pg 61 - a statue stands in the centre of this room. It smells musty in here. It is a Skeleton with a shall. A bag sits in front of it. Filled with 12 3d6 silver.

  4. Armoury - walls of weapons line up - d4 zombies pg 65 are sharpening blades in here - roll on loot table for corpse plundering

  5. Shrine of the devil -This place seems empty, but you hear chanting. There is a pentagram on the floor.  cultists pg 71 prowlers - who are trying to finish a ritual to summon a demon to take down the leader of this place. YOU MAY DECIDE TO HELP THEM. IF IT IS SUMMONED IT WILL BRING ABOUT DOOM BUT WILL HELP YOU WITH THE LICH.

    HEL PITS
    the bridge before you opens to an infinite void below. It looks rocket and seems to sway in the lack of wind. You hear a faint whistling from the base

  6. An empty room, the stone feels cold in this room - see S1

  7. Unclean library - there lies a dark library - make a check to see if you find anything other than hold history tomes written in forgotten languages

    1. Secrets to immortality through undead - A Guide to being a good slave

    2. How to summon an epidermis golem - a 48 cycle project to commanding the flesh

    3. Euthanasia and its practices

    4. Grafting the faces of the dammed to oneself

    5. Best uses for human bones - weapons, utensils and tools

    6. Unclean scroll that is called death but is always an arcane catastrophe

  8. The throne room and boss room - a room filled with bones there are 4 pillars made of stone and bone, and dark crystals that slow with grey pulses. In the room sits a chair with an old wizened creature. He is plugged into the walls behind him, with energy pulsing from the back of his head. lich pg 63
    HE WILL TELEPORT BETWEEN RANDOM PILLARS - so can they - he has his strike - every time the pillar is activated and arcane catastrophe happens

Treasure:

  • curved ritual knife (d4)

  • A soul jar

  • Small blood filled jar

  • big lump of coal

  • Child sized iron maiden

  • Red poison

S1: treasure chamber - check to enter - secret door you smell some vial coming form bend the stone (at the floor there is a gap) inside there is a pile of bodies

black poison vial x 3 uses scroll of foul psychopomp 66 silver

Extra nightmare:

Blood drenched skeleton Belize pg 62 - People who have been crazy slaves for so long they don’t know what’s up and call the guards on you if you barter with them


Matthew Davis
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