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

Powers

Mechanics relating to Powers

Foundations

Concept: “Some of these (necromancy) weirdos do it with buildings.”
Content: Raise a house (from the dead)
Writing: Less-defined mechanics make this a concept open to interpretation.
Art/design: Recently resurrected tomb surrounded by boxed text.
Usability: The larger they are, the harder they’ll fall. 

Ghoulish Grin: Issue 1

Concept: “This is the Dying World, so it’s possible no one will notice the difference.”   
Content: "a tide of COSMIC HORROR upon the Dying World.” Two new classes, a magic domain, mutation mechanics, and Mythos Miseries.
Writing: Eldritch horror played for laughs. Surprisingly informed about the unknowable.
Art/design: A generous kaleidoscope of public domain horrors with a layout like frantic diary notes.
Usability: Available as both indescribable zine and plaintext edition. 

GVix’s Mörktober 2023 – 31 Phantasmagoric Entries

Concept: "31 Phantasmagoric Entries”
Content: “A compilation of all my postcard-entries for Exeunt Press' MÖRKTOBER challenge”
Writing: An impish collection of grisly gifts, ghastly guests, and grim tables for rules and quests.
Art/design: Heavy-bordered postcards of inked and crosshatched illustrations in an array of bright uniform colors.
Usability: Available in individual postcard PDF, or advertisement spread png. 

Hammer of a Killing Crown

Concept: “It’s a simple agreement: You retrieve the artifact. Aalgut exacts his revenge … After that, the unbounded power of the Killing Crown is yours.”
Content:
A dungeon crawl. Bufonic treasures. Murderous Crowns. Toadstools. Toads. Spells. Plague.
Writing: Strong and consistent theme and symbolism. Clear mechanics. Incorporates playing cards.
Art/design: Mörk Borg with toadstools (and toads).
Usability: Aesthetics complement the readability. A breeze to read and reference.

Helm of the War Wizard

Concept: “Th[e] crescent moon and stars on this helm glow in the dark.”
Content: A glowing arcane catastrophe waiting to happen.
Writing: Ignore failed powers, until the last star burns out...
Art/design: A hilarious blend of serious Norman style helmet and pointy wizard hat.
Usability: Best if scvm don’t know what happens once the stars burn out. 

Horns of the Axelord

Concept: “The engraved skeletal hand smells of burning herbs.”
Content: Present hand. Start mosh. Eat fingers?
Writing: Unapologetically Metal.
Art/design: Gritty backdrop, splattered skeletal horns, poster quality layout.
Usability: You didn’t need those fingers anyway. 

IMP AKA FAIRY

Concept: “You are a wandering disturbance, a wide-eyed exhalation of ruin and mirth.”
Content:
A character class with frail body and the wild chaotic power of Fairy Magic.
Writing:
Lighthearted and disturbing, in equal measure.
Art/design:
Unrestrained layout with excellent visual balance and crisp clean line.
Usability:
Crowded and busy, but frequently referenced text is clean and organized. Pleasant mix of style and utility. Requires Max Moon’s Fairyland rules to utilize all features.

Kött

Concept: “The Great and final war that still rages between the vampire lords and hell itself... Hated by all. You are slaves to the abyss or escaped deserters searching for a life and purpose, if these can be found in this dying world.” 
Content: A trench fighting, organ grafting, hell of a war. A complete setting and ruleset, you just need to survive it.
Writing: Bleak, bombastic, and apocalyptic. Bursting with the kind of body horror which blurs the line between man and machine.
Art/design: The tortured linework of characters invoke a hellish atmosphere in just a few spare illustrations.
Usability: Self-contained and accessible plaintext. Available in Swedish and English. 

Lord of Chains

7 contributors
Concept:Rob a grave. Steal a blade. Kill the Lord of Chains.
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. 

Morbid Cache

Concept: “Necromancers are lazy bastards, hence why they make such scrolls.”
Content: A scroll to turn tombs into storage trunks.
Writing: Delightfully simple and open-ended desecration.
Art/design: A yellow spirit stalks behind the black boxed text.
Usability: Despoil or withdraw from the bank of the dead at any nearby gravesite. 

Mork Menagerie

Concept: “Each creature has been converted to capture the first edition feel with some darker flavor mixed in.” 
Content: " a compendium of classic creatures converted for use in Mörk Borg.” with bonus treasures, tables, and magic.
Writing: A traditional fantasy lineup with an appropriate mix of dark humor and setting specific details.
Art/design: Text-heavy but visually rich. A balanced compromise between forms
Usability: A well-maintained exhibit. 

Morkkabeans 1.1

9 contributors
Concept: “A new religion has arisen in the desert. Worshiping the Unnamable God of Names, blaspheming against SHE and HE, promising the revolt. Galgenbeck has sent its inquisitors.  The half-giant Nephilim walk the earth. If you join them, almost certain death awaits.”
Content: An escalating tower crawl of nameless gods and religious conflict. Complete with three new classes, gear, artifacts, angels, Nephilim, and mythical creatures. 
Writing: An absolutely metal reinterpretation of Jewish history and folklore.
Art/design: A spectacle of artistic styles as varied as the tower of tongues.
Usability: Visual styles delineate sections. VTT resources available. 

Mörk Borg Compatible Core Reference Cards

Concept: “Do you like TTRPGs? Do you enjoy reference cards filled with items, magical scrolls, beasts, abilities, lore, advice, and hundreds of unique custom illustrations?”
Content: 166 double-sided, tarot-sized reference cards.
Writing: Witty quotes and commentary add texture to each referenced item.
Art/design: Filthy ink splattered across a consistent structure that aids card reference.
Usability: Provided with instructions for print & play for the digital edition. 

Nvrsery of the Changeling

Concept: “A spooky nursery that can stand alone (ish) or be added to any Mork Borg dungeon, especially the MORK MEGADUNGEON.”
Content: Not your mama’s nvrsery (I hope).
Writing: A precious story of big mama and her precious little one, and the broken bodies left in their wake.
Art/design: Baby-proofed layout in black, white, and yellow. Complete with a picture of the precious little one and the layout of their humble home.
Usability: Contains a rare modification to existing character classes. 

one doomed by SHE

Concept: “The end shall come swifter now. Yea, THE WORLD SHALL BLACKEN AND BURN - and you are lighting matches.” 
Content: Proud owner of a venomous little deception, and a curse.
Writing: A small admission that the Basilisk problem is larger than it at first appeared.
Art/design: Fun with a serious print. Very much pink, a little blue, definitely some black, mandatory yellow, hint of white. 
Usability: Organized and engaging. Get ready to cause some Misery. 

Pages Torn from Manuscripts

Concept: “A collection of brief articles and write-ups”
Content:
Component-based casting rules, alternate breath weapons for monsters, less-severe alternatives to Arcane Catastrophes, and fox-imps
Writing:
Conveys plenty of details in manageable lists and paragraphs
Art/design:
Presentations are primarily textual and emphasize readability
Usability: Ingredients table designed for easy use during play; other components are intended for out-of-game reading

Plaguebriner Charm

Concept: “Ever wanted to make corpses explode into rats?” 
Content: Now you can.
Writing: A pfvcked little rat birther charm, no context, full rules. Get used to it.
Art/design: Tortured sculpture become cursed charm on a field of yellow and black.
Usability: Occasionally backfires. Rat-splosively. Great gag for parties. 

Points of Light

Concept: “a simple to learn, fast playing tabletop RPG that adapts the popular and minimalist MÖRK BORG rules to a Gygaxian fantasy setting” 
Content: Classic fantasy tropes, Mörk Borg ruleset. 
Writing: Less fatal rules, still a fatalistic setting of traditional fantasy civilization in slow inevitable decline. 
Art/design: Similarly traditional in design sensibilities.
Usability: Legible text and navigable table of contents aid reference. 

Ravaging Plague I: Rusted Iron, Words of Power

Concept: “Ravaging Plague aims to bring Mörk Borg and its extreme metal influences into further conversation.”
Content:
Extreme metal-inspired offerings across the board
Writing: Laden with metal-inspired imagery and themes
Art/design:
Brutalist text layouts balanced with organic, gritty graphics all presented in stark black & white
Usability:
No table of contents or index, but layouts and different deployments of positive and negative space are good visual aids for navigation

Retro Throwback

Concept: “A zany zine that contains some rethought OSR races/classes... creatures... spells in the form of Arcane Scrolls... [and more]” 
Content: Traditional OSR classes, creatures, spells, and magical legumes?
Writing: Good-natured irreverence of older fantasy RPG tropes.
Art/design: A broad variety of textual elements, layouts, and illustrations with a hint of coarseness.
Usability: Consistency in styles within sections aid in navigation.  

Sanguine Onomancer

Concept: “From commoners to kings, most expose their greatest weakness openly, not unlike blood spilling from an open wound” 
Content: “loathsome practitioners of blood magic” and the fundamentals of their art.
Writing: A treatise on true names and the bloody art of manipulating your subjects through them.
Art/design: A darkly crimson collection of prints, illustrations, carvings, and bloodstains.
Usability: Designed for use by any scvm. 

Scrolls of Thoth

Concept: “Those who possess a Scroll of Thoth do not age and cannot die, there are downsides though.”
Content: A scroll preservative.
Writing: A characterful re-imagining of scroll mechanics and corpse preservation.
Art/design: A mummy, bandage textures, and hieroglyphic book ends on the title text covey a cinematic mummy movie experience.
Usability: Text elements are a little worn. Handle with care. 

SVMP

7 contributors
Concept: “These wetlands of acidic sludge and SVMPs of sickening secretion will, no doubt, fester upon your mortal coil - even your soul will not go untainted.”
Content: A wetlands setting complete with monsters, gods, scvm, and treasure.
Writing: As dark and rotten as DEADSKIN. With black humor creeping into its horror.
Art/design: A variety of filthy illustrations, in both style and substance. Bold headings contrast generally restrained body text. Adds neon green to the palette. 
Usability: Table of contents, categorized index, and navigable spreads. With an emphasis on clarity in the scenario and classes section. 

The Book of Sanguine Onomancy

Concept: “true-naming blood magic!” 
Content: The history of true-naming and blood magic. With a class, magic system, additional rituals, relics, a follower, and npc onomancers.
Writing: A secret history of the art of true naming and a complete collection of the bloody rituals for power-hungry onomancers.
Art/design: An expanded collection of darkly crimson prints, illustrations, carvings, and bloodstains.
Usability: Designed for use by both scvm and game master. 

The Illusionist

Concept: “Então tomou uma medida drástica: fez um pacto com um patrono vil em troca de habilidades que lhe ajudassem em combate. Às vezes, parece que não foi uma decisão acertada.” 
Content: Prizefighter to a dark patron, with a will to live, and a few tricks of their sleeve.
Writing: Mechanics lend a sense of power and powerlessness, of a fate that’s no longer your own.
Art/design: Lightly stylized and structured two-column layout.
Usability: Print-friendly with a hint of yellow. Portuguese Language. 

Twisted Souls

Concept: “‘Que cada um viva meia-vida, mas nenhum dos dois vai morrer!’ A mágica parece ter dado certo, mas, desde então, tudo tem estado muito conflituoso.” 
Content: Two brothers, opposites, trapped in one wizard's body.
Writing: Confusion and conflict define the duality of mastering clean and unclean magic.
Art/design: A stylized two-column layout with reference stats stalking the perimeter.
Usability: Print-friendly with a hint of yellow. Portuguese Language. 

Whither Gold?

Concept: “FOR THERE IS SILVER BUT SO LITTLE GOLD”
Content: The heretical path of gold.
Writing: Defines the heretical properties of gold.
Art/design: A twitter thread.
Usability: Chopped into tweet sized chunks. 

Witch Eater

Concept: “In the Witching Hour, these hungry creatures come calling for a bite to eat.” 
Content: Magic eating, many mouthed shadow serpents
Writing: Makes deftly malicious use of the mighty d4, and number 7, and unlucky 13.
Art/design: A striking blend of header and serpent stalking a vertical design.
Usability: d2 is there too, in the shadows. 
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