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Ex Libris Mörk Borg A directory of content, tools, and resources

FÖLK-LORE: Rendezvous & Romps

Mandagor

Concept: “Black or nebulous forms, they gaze upon mortals with piercing red eyes filled with mischief and wickedness.”
Content:
An multiform creature and potential companion to generous scvm
Writing:
Provides copious lore pertaining to behavior and ecology alongside stat blocks for various forms
Art/design:
Predominantly textual, leveraging color to differentiate certain blocks; includes some cleverly placed depictions
Usability:
Contains a fair number of behavioral details for GMs to keep track of

Martolea, Tuesday’s Demon

Concept: “Tuesday’s Demon rambles into desolate villages from its den high in the mountains only after a grisly tragedy has occurred on a Tuesday.”
Content:
A bizarre, subversive, brutal beast and  a simmering, horror-themed investigation spanning a few days in a seemingly quiet town
Writing:
Includes a standard stat block as well as additional attributes and an overview of the monster’s MO; the adventure balances subtle tension and intrigue with moments of overt violence and gore
Art/design:
  Graphic design aids in navigating the adventure; illustrations add lots of creepy visual character
Usability:
  Includes a town map and an appendix of character sketches for quick reference

Omentide

Concept: “An egg hunt riddled with danger and reward!”
Content:
Lore, NPCs, items, and schedule for a high-stakes scavenger hunt in the Dying Land
Writing:
A balance of lore and mechanics with lots of character folded into both
Art/design:
Laid out for easy reference, with graphic elements that add strange, supernatural character
Usability:
A straightforward toolkit for a grimly humorous adventure

Schmatzer, Aufhocker und wo man sie findet

Concept: “Two monsters […] some scenario seeds you can roll up and a small dungeon”
Content:
See concept
Writing:
Monster entries provide sufficient context while the dungeon is clear and concise
Art/design:
Monsters are well organized with appropriate illustrations; dungeon is primarily typographical, which guides reading, but includes a map and a creepy crayfish-baby
Usability:
A bit of a variety pack; straightforward and easy to navigate

Tantrabobus of the Southern Wells

Concept: “These creatures take up residence in wells throughout the dying land.”
Content:
Includes stats, random well generator, real-world lore, and tactics for fighting one
Writing:
Delivers the necessary information but stays scant to spotlight the art
Art/design:
Features plenty of visceral, gritty depictions
Usability:
Content is spread cross several pages but well organized for easy use

Teind of Álfheim

Concept: “An experimental sonnet, adventure, and bestiary”
Content:
A relatively brief but compelling, supernatural dungeon
Writing:
Poetic text reinforces the dark, haunted theme and provides DM with inspiration as well as interpretive flexibility
Art/design:
Some extremely rich colors with A LOT of creepy baby doll faces, even by Mörk Borg standards
Usability:
Paginated by room for easy operation

Tenacious Helmets

Concept: “A monster based on unfinished business, misplaced trust and faulty armour”
Content:
A trap/monster/item targeting unwary and acquisitive adventurers
Writing:
Includes background, behavior, effects, and a stat block (of course)
Art/design:
The illustrations will make you want one despite the adverse effects
Usability:
Multivalent but ergonomic in any capacity

The Black Volga

Concept: “MÖRK BORGified Polish urban legend about the fearsome vehicle driven by former regime’s secret service, satanists or the Satan himself”
Content:
An ominous vehicle and a malicious occupant
Writing:
Folds the mechanics into the lore
Art/design:
More traditional text blocks superimposed over background images
Usability:
GMs will benefit from taking a few minutes to familiarize themselves with this before using it at the table

The Devil-Bargained Canoe

Concept: “A party cruise gone awry.”
Content:
A literal boatload of cursed souls pursued by infernal spirits; the canoe itself is pretty nifty
Writing:
Furnishes background and a setup to lure PCs into a chase/fight
Art/design:
Colors create a haunted, supernatural feel; text conveniently splits backstory from in-game concerns
Usability:
GM may have to use some subterfuge, but otherwise pretty straightforward

The Devil’s Crossroad

Concept: “A random encounter generator based on the lore of meeting the Devil at the crossroads. He’ll take your soul and force you into playing his little death games.”
Content:
Complete one of six death matches or be dragged down to Hell; includes some clever conditional mechanics and rewards for completion
Writing:
A balance of context and mechanics with strong imagery in the descriptive text
Art/design:
Designs and layouts reinforce the themes and concepts from the text with plenty of grimness and grimness
Usability:
Unforgiving to unlucky PCs (not that that’s anything new in this game)

The Devil’s Tramping Ground

Concept: “Based on a real-life location in Chatham County, North Carolina”
Content:
A cursed location and potential infernal encounter
Writing:
Straightforward delivery of lore and mechanics
Art/design:
A frenetic layout (but in a good way) with good use of color and form to differentiate text blocks and add emphasis
Usability:
Handy as a random encounter or the object of a quest

The Hiidet On The Hills

Concept: “The hills hide goblins.”
Content:
Everything you wanted to know about hill goblins, and then some
Writing:
Clear and descriptive with little flourishes of humor and weirdness
Art/design:
Overall coherent design choices with graphics that are varied but always expressive, entertaining, and appropriate
Usability:
Components are well organized on the macro and micro scales

The Loneliness of the Múrmaiden

Concept: “How the protagonists have learned that there is no power stronger than love”
Content:
A twisted archetypal comedy in 4 acts; emphasizes weirdness over grimness
Writing:
Presented as a script for stage; full of humor and clever wordplay
Art/design:
Makes powerful use of a limited palette of vivid colors in traditional page layouts and images
Usability:
A fairly linear adventure; as a document, easy to read and use

The Salmon of Knowledge

Concept: “You chance upon a skillet that crackles gently atop an open fire.”
Content:
Eating of this oracular ichthyoid grants a peak into the future (for better or worse)
Writing:
Sharp and sensuous
Art/design:
An elegant, visually interesting composition
Usability:
Eat the fish, win a prize 

The Visitor of Reduction

Concept: “The constant downpour started some weeks ago after yet another newborn disappeared. […] To top it off, nobody is allowed to the cemetery and place of prayers.”
Content:
An investigative, isolation-horror adventure inspired by South American lore
Writing:
Provides background and hooks along with profiles for important NPCs, stat blocks for enemies and monsters, and weather mechanics
Art/design:
Judicious use of contrasting colors in illustrations and clean, clear maps
Usability:
Relevant information and stats are proximal to maps, making them easy to use at the table

The Wild Hunt

Concept: “While traveling these barren lands, be wary of the foreboding sound of a hunting horn in the distance, for that is the call of The Wild Hunt.”
Content:
An encounter with cursed hunters the PCs can either resist or join
Writing:
Provides a general scenario with stats for riders and rewards for assisting them
Art/design:
Clearly organized with some appropriate colors and images
Usability:
Leaves the hunt’s object ambiguous for the GM to adapt as needed, and provides a way out of the fight for stubborn PCs

Trial of the Altered Beast

Concept: “The Altered Beast is dying, slowly succumbing to the passage of time. While their story is set to end, there is a way they can yet live on.”
Content:
A funnel containing locations, monsters & NPCs, and an optional class as a “reward”
Writing:
Provides background for the GM’s benefit along with descriptions and relevant mechanics for locations and inhabitants
Art/design:
Typographical choices create a visual hierarchy that facilitates reference and navigation; illustrations add color and character to the creatures & NPCs
Usability:
Includes separate PC- and GM-facing maps and a printer-friendly version of the whole document

Vile Bile-Rider

Concept: “Glorious FILTH~! Is there no greater feeling than to bathe in the aftermath of LIFE”
Content:
A filth-wallowing composite monster
Writing:
Gets the point across without being overly graphic
Art/design:
Colors are spot-on for the concept; a weirdly ingenious collage illustrates the concept described in the mechanics and paratext
Usability:
An interesting tool for tactically minded GMs

Wind Fetter

Concept: “In Wästland a foul forgotten lake has suddenly dried up revealing a blasphemous smithy at its bottom.”
Content:
A dried-lake-bed crawl that ends in an occult charnel house; wind effect table is particularly of note
Writing:
Has pretty comprehensive descriptions with some vivid, detailed imagery
Art/design:
Mostly oriented toward ease of use, but contains some cool visual text on the cover
Usability:
Straightforward with enough variability to keep it from being completely linear
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