pointcrawl
Dead Girls in Sarkash Forest
Concept: “You are lost. You are dead.”
Content: A random pointcrawl through Sarkash, 6 original thematic classes, and optional rules and gear that add more conceptual depth and distinction without straying from the Mörk Borg core
Writing: Brooding and grim with an undertone of forlorn optimism; extremely effective in conveying the intended tone and atmosphere
Art/design: Visually diverse art and typographical choices unified by a focus on the setting and themes
Usability: Deliberately deals with sexism and trauma; intended as a self-contained module, but the adventure and classes can be used with other Mörk Borg content
Drafts: Dead Girl Classes, Dead Girls in Sarkash Forest, Encounters in Sarkash Forest
Down and Out in a Schleswig Sanitorium
Concept: “Recently the staff has all been murdered by a patient gone rogue. That suits the King’s ends well enough.”
Content: Clever scenario, especially the conclusion
Writing: Disturbingly descriptive at times, humorously irreverent at others
Art/design: Adapts Nohr-esque style to express its “sterile” environment
Usability: Well organized by category, but involves some flipping/scrolling/shuffling
FVCK THIS I’M OUT
Content: A randomized bridge crawl with monsters and other hazards
Writing: Concise and witty (hopefully)
Art/design: Dominated by a strange landscape and its denizens
Usability: Works best as a two-page spread
Glasrø Island
Concept: “Go to the Island, bring back the dumb Prince, stay alive.”
Content: An island crawl with surreal features and denizens
Writing: Very concise
Art/design: A central, more visually subdued map supported by on-brand accoutrements
Usability: Layout is a bit crowded but navigable with due attention; small text can be tough to read; includes a handy map for the players
Gone with the Gnomes
Content: Adorable gnomes. Celebration. Maypoles. Riddles. Hattery. A village in peril.
Writing: Full of childlike whimsy and bloodshed. A real fairytale.
Art/design: Admirably ambiguous yet gleefully grotesque illustrations in a riotous layout.
Usability: Start in the upper right and make your way around the center. Hydrate or die.
Graves Left Wanting
Concept: “The PCs find themselves buried alive in the vast, ever-changing cemetery of Graven-Tosk.”
Content: A macabre, nonlinear graveyard crawl
Writing: Relentlessly grim with splashes of gallows humor, especially at the end
Art/design: Monochrome with purple highlights set the atmosphere beautifully
Usability: Well-organized into sections that include relevant stat blocks
Gregor's Folly
In The Belly of the Beast
Content: A serpent-shaped, acid-rich, nautical funhouse.
Writing: A segmented, event-driven skeleton draped in bile and blood.
Art/design: A fantastical cross-sectioned serpent dominates a white-capped sea of black pixels.
Usability: A traditional white-on-black text layout fits on one page for easy reference.
Johan’s Forest
Content: A desperately venomous little pointcrawl.
Writing: Head-turning depictions like, “At night they merge into one giant bird-snake."
Art/design: Miserable little trees, a filthy little creek, and a few other happy little accidents.
Usability: A quick sketch for an in-media-res forest crawl.
Lavandeiras & Biosbardos
Content: Nocturnal spirits who entice you to do your own laundry, for weal or woe; a ruse of an adventure with multiple potential climaxes
Writing: Includes descriptive text sets the scene and mechanics to determine the outcome; very concise but with adequate, compelling imagery and appeal
Art/design: Efficient design choices delineate segments and make for easy use and reference; primarily textual with a fun text-based map
Usability: A two-in-one bargain
Lord of Chains
7 contributors
Content: A Graven-Tosk digging, Sarkash roaming, Bastion storming, Shadow King’s prophecy averting point crawl.
Writing: Energetic and near melodramatic plot sets the tone for a truly torturous adventure.
Art/design: Loud when it ought to be, quiet when it counts. Metal throughout.
Usability: Self-contained, shadowed, and bound in iron chains.
Murder, Blues, and Her on My Mind
Concept: “A long forgotten Saint of Beauty, Love, and Dead Relations, is said to dwell amidst the ruins of her temple compound.”
Content: A 7-room dungeon with locations and encounters that build on characters’ choices and actions
Writing: Lots of it, but clear and to-the-point
Art/design: Conservative use of color; centralized map; some illustrations to create visual diversity and characterization
Usability: Location order is nonlinear but simple enough to navigate
Murky Bog
Content: A 13-point adventure with 5 original monsters
Writing: Concise and accessible
Art/design: Laid out for maximum visibility of map without sacrificing easy reference to additional information
Usability: Includes a blank map for players and a suggested soundtrack
This entry was sponsored by the creator as part of the Ex Libris RPG crowdfunding campaign.
“Carnivorous plants! Human sacrifice! A rampaging undead mammoth to chase you around the bog! Some physical copies available.”
Penuria
Content: A filthy pointcrawl, a miserable village setting, and the local ziggurat.
Writing: A village in hardship. Potentially some deep shit. Specifically Fathmu’s shit.
Art/design: The classic grimy yellow in a crisp accordion pamphlet design.
Usability: Printable, but hard on your yellow ink. Spanish language.
Putrescence Regnant
9 contributors
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
Skuggträsk
Content: A swelling industrial nightmare for Mörktober 2023.
Writing: Effervescent prose depicts a strange and storied metropolis.
Art/design: A sprawling map erupting with cursed details.
Usability: Prompts for encounters in a unique urban setting.
Slasher Zine / Jam Compilation
18 contributors
Solitude
Concept: “A lonely adventure with inspiration drawn from Solitude by Hans-Christoph Steiner.”
Content: An abstract crawl inspired by experimental digital music
Writing: Concise but atmospheric; stat blocks for some challenging monsters
Art/design: Visually adapts its source material to a unique effect
Usability: Some inverted text may be a challenge but not a significant hindrance
Somnolevolence
Content: A dead basilisks’ dreamcrawl.
Writing: A tortured text with misery lying just below the surface. A dying world dress rehearsal, complete with psalms.
Art/design: Strong cover illustration and design elements support a tortured narrative.
Usability: Clear rules pamphlet with a self-contained map. Available in full color, print-friendly, and digital formats.
Svið in a Ditch
Content: A high-concept hexcrawl across the Dying Land and through Bergen Chrypt; populated by a wide and colorful cast of characters
Writing: Provides detailed descriptions of locations, insights into NPCs, and creates a sense of interconnection between encounters
Art/design: Text heavy, but necessarily so; color and visual choices keep the pages interesting and lively
Usability: Contains links to other useful supplements; also available in simple and plaintext formats for easier readability
Svið in a Ditch
Content: A high-concept hexcrawl across the Dying Land and through Bergen Chrypt; populated by a wide and colorful cast of characters
Writing: Provides detailed descriptions of locations, insights into NPCs, and creates a sense of interconnection between encounters
Art/design: Text heavy, but necessarily so; color and visual choices keep the pages interesting and lively
Usability: Contains links to other useful supplements; also available in simple and plaintext formats for easier readability
Südglans
Content: An aquatic point crawl across a disturbingly inhabited sunken city.
Writing: Stylistic, clear, and evocative. Provides a strong framework for running each location.
Art/design: Distressed black and white. Strong and consistent hierarchy. Two column structure.
Usability: Easily Printable. Consistent cues for sensory descriptions, mechanics and stats.
The Bone Fields of Northwyr
Concept: “A cursed and frostbitten sandbox”
Content: 5 distinct locations with unique characters and tables for random encounters and cursed artifacts
Writing: Very dark and somber; provides copious background for the setting and concise but effective characterization for its inhabitants
Art/design: Predominant use of powder blue creates an appropriate cold tone punctuated with warmer pink and yellow to aid navigation and provide contrasting character
Usability: Text heavy, but written to be memorable and designed for quick and easy reference during play
The Burning Gash
Content: Cannibal prison massacre
Writing: Aside from the introductory paragraphs, short descriptions of locations and creatures, tables for times, and adventure hooks
Art/design: Mostly sticks to an uneven, fractured-looking two-column format with some illustrations and additional trade dress
Usability: Nonlinear and presumes creative problem solving
The Cleaving in Buskstätt
Content: A pointcrawl amidst malicious overgrowth
Writing: Concise; mostly devoted to stats & mechanics
Art/design: Map and art are prominent without encroaching on the text
Usability: Small text emphasizes the visual elements but may be difficult to read
The Cult of the Black Salt
Content: A salty, corpse-strung scaffold crawl.
Writing: An event-based framework to explore a surprisingly constructive death cult.
Art/design: A defiantly tortured figure is scaffolded to the top of this simple text spread.
Usability: Requires Feretory. Print Friendly
The Fiend’s Paw
Content: A courtroom-dungeon generator
Writing: Delivers a backstory to motivate a crawl in search of fabled treasure
Art/design: Primarily textual with typographical emphasis and illustrations to establish ambience
Usability: Straightforward to use, and interesting change of scenery for an urban adventure
The Fleshworks
Concept: “Nechrubel has […] resurrect[ed] you here as animated skeletons. […] Your only desire is to escape and get some new fleshy digs.”
Content: An imaginative character-creation dungeon
Writing: Visceral descriptions punctuated by blunt wit
Art/design: Color choices differentiate text blocks and maintain readability the graphic ground
Usability: The layout’s logic may not be apparent at first; look to the pentacle, and all will be revealed
The Forsaken God
Content: A crawl through the castle and its surroundings, including a table to randomize the fortress’s layout
Writing: Ample descriptions of NPCs, locations, and other details
Art/design: Includes a full-page map and a Mörk-Borgy palette
Usability: Mechanics are incorporated into the descriptive text, which may slow some readers and GMs down
The Gardens at the Bewitching Hour
Concept: “The gardens were an extremely popular spot in Grift …. Now it is nothing but weeds and despair.”
Content: A crawl through a baroque pleasure garden
Writing: Primarily descriptive; adds clever nuances to monsters and NPCs
Art/design: A nice map and clearly delineated locations
Usability: C’est magnifique