Concept: “One of you dregs is plagued with a maddening itch and not only that – the skin is starting to rot. They say Mausoleum Knutha, on the edge of the graveyard Graven-Tosk, holds the only known cure.” Content: A complex and variable (not to mention twisted) crawl through Sarkash Writing: Efficient but vivid descriptions of locations and inhabitants punctuated by grim wit Art/design: Marvelous maps; type design helps map the connections amongst locations and items Usability: Provides checkboxes to track variables (but if you mark this pamphlet, you’re a heathen and you deserve whatever misery befalls you)
*Backer reward for original Kickstarter campaign; special thanks to Johan for providing a copy of this rare little gem
Concept: “The catacomb rogue enters the stage.” Content: A solo dungeon crawler; useful as a generator alongside Mörk Borg’s GM tools Writing: Clear and concise; primarily mechanical but with bits of effective descriptive text Art/design: More traditional than Mörk Borg’s, but still atmospheric Usability: Extremely efficient layout
Concept: A “hyper-linear murder gauntlet of a dungeon crawl” Content: Some nasty creatures and permanent effects (including abrupt deaths) Writing: Concisely creates a strange, ominous atmosphere Art/design: Maps are clear without sacrificing visual style Usability: Color and typography strongly supports easy navigation
Concept: “A massively expanded version of the generator found in the back of the core rulebook” Content: Dungeons both many and varied Writing: On par with what you’d expect from demi-official Mörk Borg content Art/design: Elegantly presented Usability: GMs will have to arrange and map the dungeon, but the key pieces are all there
This entry was sponsored by Davide Cavadini as part of the Ex Libris RPG crowdfunding campaign.
Concept: “Reason has decayed to shifting madness and only the cold remains.” Content: A jaded intellectual in a heap of ivory rubble Writing: Seethes with crazed bitterness and superiority Art/design: Easy-to-read design and layout; illustration captures a sense of bleak desolation in an apocalyptic atmosphere Usability: Meant for use with The Tablets of Ochre Obscurity
Concept: “Brewed by twice-dead druug monks in dank Grift chambers. Imbibed only at funerals or heretical sacrificial rituals.” Content: A Mörk Borg Smoked Stout as black as Nechrubel’s heart.
Writing: Gritty as Gravöl
Art/design: Dark, bold, graven, heretical.
Usability: Stjørdal and Gotlandsdricka malts, foraged juniper, all run through a traditional Kuurna. Available in Cognition's taproom in Ishpeming, MI. Worth a trip.
Concept: “Ancient god-vessels of cursed skin and soot-black wood, as rare and as valuable as they are blasphemous.” Content: 4 sets of 8 powers granted by dead folk gods Writing: Simple and straightforward mechanically; minimalist but seething with character and tone Art/design: Black-and-white art on black ground beside white text; the graphic design is as maliciously expressive as the visuals Usability: Covers are blank to ensure random selection; red page headings facilitate quick reference
Note: Original run was misprinted the first and last inside pages on the covers
Concept: “Two devilish hazards every death-defying dungeon delver must learn to avoid.” Content: A living(ish) doorway trap and a melancholic spirit Writing: Adds dimension and depth to concepts Art/design: Illustrations express the monsters’ ephemerality Usability: It’s hard to screw up a Mörk Borg stat block
Concept: “A collection of tables, monsters, items, classes, rules and ideas” Content: Includes a random monster generator, rules for distance travel and subsistence, The Death Ziggurat and Goblin Grinder adventures, rosters of mundane and profane gear, the Grey Galth Inn setting, a gambling minigame, the Black Salt environmental hazard, new character classes (Cursed Skinwalker, Pale One, Dead God’s Prophet, Forlorn Philosopher), and new Powers Writing: Mörk Borg imagery and tone in wide a variety of styles Art/design: Matches content to myriad layout and design strategies Usability: The mechanical and expository elegance you expect from Mörk Borg;the monster generator particularly uses dice in a clever way
Concept: “A zine full of MÖRK BORG stuff. Most of it is created by our wonderful community and will be (or already is) made available for free download on morkborg.com, but there is also exclusive official material.” Content: Generators for cults and curses, feats, 2 classes, black-powder weapons, 2 long adventures, a pair of 1-page dungeons, and a quartet of monsters/NPCs Writing: Varies by author but consistently emphasizes images and concepts that are grim, creepy, and/or outright weird Art/design: Every entry’s layout, graphic design, and coloration are distinct, creating a lot of visual diversity and easy navigability; sweet foil printing on the cover and first page; fold-out covers just to cram as much content into this zine as possible Usability: The only obstacle is deciding what to read first.
Concept: “A five-paneled A5 portrait wall of death” Content: NPC generator, gear & services, basic rules reference, core Powers list, generic enemy stats, weather, and d100 Items & Trinkets; inserts include Tablets of Ochre Obscurity and tables for traps, taverns, and city events Writing: Concise with tones of grittiness and grim humor Art/design: Player-facing side depicts major locations and characters; GM-facing panels are yellow enough to melt your eyeballs (but they’re perfectly readable and have clever, novel layouts for the expanded content) Usability: Includes “photo corners” to hold GM’s choice of additional content on the left and right panels
Concept: “We agreed to make this happen, and things were quickly descending into madness.” Content: “19 MINIATURES + a pile of crap” Writing: Probably needed to occur to make such delicious sculpts happen. Art/Design: Deviously Dynamic.Disturbingly detailed. Usability: Soak in dish-soap overnight. Scrub. Remove any flash. Use instant glue. Misery.
Concept: “” Content: A graphics resistant, plain-text, free version of Mörk Borg Writing: Mörk Borg, just the text please. Art/design: Decidedly un-hostile design. Warning—Contains banging cover art. Usability: Can’t complain about legibility anymore. Still flammable when printed.
Concept: “In the dying world of MÖRK BORG your character will probably not last long, so it might be a good idea to print some of these.” Content: The official Mörk Borg character sheet Writing: Includes handy references for carrying capacity, Powers, and Omens Art/design: Well organized without sacrificing ethos and atmosphere Usability: Very
Official versions available in English, Swedish, Italian, French
Concept: “Targ-Dungel. A festering wound upon a dying world. Time and space warp within the malodorous miasma. … This, cursed walker, is where you must go. Into the blight. Into the cold, damp mire.” Content: A bog crawl and soundtrack filled with sludge, corpses, and brutality; also includes the Gilded Wolf character class Writing: The prose resurrects the core book’s weird imagery and ominous tone; mechanics text is accessible and easy to use Art/design: The Mörk Borg style we know and love, but left to putrefy in a swamp Usability: Places three factions in explicit large-scale conflict, creating a complex backdrop for players to explore and GMs to exploit
