Concept: “features way too many knives” Content: Pointy things, capes, rules for being dandy with a variety of weapons, a seedy tavern, odd jobs, discretion, and time banditry. Writing: An appropriate level of roguish charm, sharp wit, references, and puns. Art/design: A vibrant and full-bodied visual design. Plenty of rouge on this rogue. Usability: “If you are insufferable while doing it. You get DR –2 for the test. Yes. DR –2.”
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.
Concept: “Rules for intoxication and carousing, tables for rolling up a tavern, and menus for each of the major regions” Content: Includes tavern names, characteristics, patrons, and fare (with mechanics for intoxication) Writing: A balanced mix of grim humor and humorous grimness Art/design: Fairly subdued use of color but diverse visual elements and typefaces add character and facilitate navigation Usability: Potentially profitable or disastrous for PCs; always entertaining for the GM
“‘Well if they’re so bloody fucking hungry… LET THEM EAT BUGS!’ • Marie-Claire Delcroix, Allians noble (deceased)” Content: 5,800 possible bugs, and what happens when you eat them. Writing: Entire mechanics for catching and eating bugs. With a veritable hive of crunchy, protein-rich tables. Art/design: Juicy grubs and grinning goblins splatter this neon green sensory experience. Usability: Organized, legible, but intentionally antagonistic.
Concept: “There is nothing but the City.” Content: A complete, setting-centric RPG based on the Mörk Borg system Writing: Well written with a consistently bleak and visceral tone. (Did you expect anything less?) Art/design: Fairly traditional graphic design and layout with illustrations that support the theme well Usability: Verbally and visually graphic in some places
Concept: “Eat your friends. They’d do the same for you.” Content: Optional rules for upcycling dead characters and benefits for doing so Writing: Darkly humorous and appropriately off-kilter Art/design: If Hell has insane asylums and their cafeterias have menus, they probably look like this Usability: The mechanics are nestled in with the flavor text, but if you know what you’re looking for, you’re good to go
Concept: “an optional compendium of Wounds, Maimings and Fractures” Content: Hit point reference, more specific extremities to maim, and a d66 table of lingering injuries. Writing: A well-thought wound location table, and injuries for character creation with inspirational backstories. Art/design: A lightly deconstructed anatomical figure, skulls, and a heart. With lists in a tri-fold pamphlet. Usability: Available in meaty & yellow, or printer-friendly. Säte is your butt.
Concept: “Anuk Schlenger will be resurrected to speak again, unlocking the truth and destroying the Calender of Nechrubel.” Content: The outline of a grand heretical conspiracy, lead by the infamous Tergol, to upend the false prophecies with the help of—a lone drunkard. Writing: A collection of instructions, references, and handouts. As well as (medicinally) humorous drunkard mechanics. Art/design: A collection of traditional illustrations, prints, and artifacts highlight amidst Usability: Available in print ready and web pdf formats. Includes a vtt asset pack.
Concept: “A mini-zine of rules for Mörk Borg Published as part of the Chässe-Galerie zine” Content: Rules for mass casualties and freezing to death.
Writing: Cold, calculated, and clear as ice.
Art/design: Print-Friendly rules reference, with blackletter headings, and a charming skeleton to indicate which part of your scvm is freezing. Usability: Versatile OSR rules for allowing scvm to influence a large battle, and easy and practical rules
Concept: “An extension to the bad habits table… Every cloud could have a silver lining; there may even be a small upside, however slight.” Content: Bad habits with a little extra nuance. Writing: A nuanced take on fantasy traumas. Not too clinical, not too fantastic. Art/design: A tumbling two-column layout astride a tormented parchment illustration. Usability: Mental health depictions in rules are always simplifications. Please be considerate at your table. Your results may vary.
Concept: “Camping rules for Mörk Borg... Also, it's a poster.” Content: Miserable camping mechanics to end your days. Writing: A merciless nightly torture device with conditions to ratchet up the misery until the end. Art/design: Relentless neon pink guides you across the text, with a comic strip to remind you that camping won't save you from the apocalypse. Usability: Re-structures many non-combat mechanics in Mörk Borg.
Concept: “A quarterly publication that focuses its cyclopean gaze on a single system with every issue” Content: “A journey through dilapidated townsteads, rejuvenated fields and terrifying dungeons, with all the horrors you meet along the way” Writing: The pedagogy of planting and population planning, and a forgotten temple to begotten basilisks, all aggressively annotated. Art/design: Darkly grotesque cultists, disturbed floral prints, cultured public domain illustrations, and colorful marginalia highlight the body text. Usability: Organized, aside from a few intentionally frustrating almanac charts. But I’m sure you can manage those with a little old-fashioned spit and polish.
Concept: “Because if you can't beat them, you might as well get a soul sucking job and try not to cry.” Content: “A CORPORATE HANDBOOK OF A GAME. Rules light. Art.... still kinda light.” Writing: A uproarious collection of corporate jargon, jaded satire, and nihilism. Hell. Art/design: A kaleidoscope of collage-style digital illustrations, edited photography, and text. A yellow and pink veneer over corporate gray. Usability: Nightmarish, but inspirational.
Concept: “A gross and gratuitous starting equipment randomizer for imprisoned players” Content: Tables for what you’re hiding and where you’re hiding it Writing: More efficient and economical than gross and gratuitous Art/design: Organizational and type choices add plenty of character to a concise supplement Usability: None of these items are things I’d want to hide in any of those places
Concept: “A science-fiction hellscape for MÖRK BORG, where the desperate folk try to survive as capitalism slowly destroys the world” Content: Includes alternate Miseries, gear, enemies, and rules for Powers Writing: Tone is appropriately bitter with a subtle undertone of humor Art/design: Aesthetics are a luxury alien to your cyber-scvm Usability: Content is organized into neat, self-contained categories
Concept: “text to tattoo on your cursed flesh to give your body some Mörk Borg compatible stats” Content: Rules to weaponize your own limbs. Both on and off your body. Writing: Irreverent and just a little ridiculous. Art/design: Anatomy illustrations flanking central rules text. Usability: Rules for the scvm meat or tattoos for the player meat.
Concept: “The dumbest sportsball game you can play!” Content: Watch teams of five scvm wail away at each other. A ball is also involved. Writing: A clean and functional ruleset for a chaotic death sport. Art/design: Heavily stylized design elements and effective use of sparse illustration make for an engaging but functional rulebook. Usability: Easy to reference, quick to play. You (probably) won't lose your head.
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: “Want to play solo between your weekly games? Want to practice to get familiar with the game, and try generating new ideas, and getting as Mörky Borgy as you can alone? These rules are for you.” Content: A simple, concise system for running a solo game Writing: Uses a straightforward, conversational tone with clear instructions Art/design: Designed for easy reading and use rather than visual style Usability: Instructions are broken down into short, manageable points; calls for various other supplements and resources, all of which are free online
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: “Elaborates on the roles of insects in underground gambling in the setting” Content: Stats for bugs, gear for catching bugs, rules for selling bugs, an entothropic character class, and a sprawling bug-fighting-arena-slash-gambling-parlor Writing: Clear and readable with Kelly’s characteristic wit Art/design: Designed and laid out for readability with some buggy, Borgy flair Usability: Laid out and designed for easy reading and reference
Concept: “Brutal skirmishes in the grimdark trenches of the dying world” Content: More nuanced movement and combat rules for miniatures-based wargaming and skirmish-combat experiences Writing: Straightforward exposition of mechanics Art/design: Plenty of blackletter, yellow, and splatters with some thematic illustrations Usability: Logically laid out by topics and subtopics; cover sheet doubles as a ruler
Concept: “An minimalist OSR RPG toolkit to gamify player actions for cults or macabre associations.” Content: A prototype Mörk Borg focused cult simulator. Writing: An outline for scvm to start their own kvlt for fun and profit. Art/design: An engaging and clean kvlt sheet. Defaced lambs. Plaintext draft of rules. Usability: “Mörk Kvlt is a project in development, rules and descriptions may change. Open to suggestions, proofreading and criticism.”
Concept: “Mörk Borg mayhem in a grunge fantasy world” Content: oDnD classes, creatures, and setting, with an extra helping of misery. Writing: The Dark Lord’s invasion of darkly absurdist humor into an early fantasy setting. Art/design: Playful collage of vintage prints emphasize their subjects, strong white-bordered text aid clarity and adds to the aesthetic. Usability: Self-contained rules, navigable index and table of contents, reference material. Solidly utilitarian.
Concept: “Mörk SJäl is a system for tabletop roleplaying inspired by the gameplay and atmosphere of the Soulsborne franchise” Content: A Soulsborne Mörk Borg hack. Writing: A gentle guided rules-light approach to harsh tactical gameplay. Art/design: AI-generated dark fantasy art elements in a clear transparent layout. Usability: Playtest Edition.
Concept: “Conversion rules for MÖRK BORG magic, weapons and enemies to Ironsworn!” Content: Guidance on converting Mörk Borg content to the Ironsworn system. Writing: Concrete conversion tables for several stats, as well as advice and guidance for special effects and less straightforward translations. Art/design: Well-organized plain text document. Usability: Clear conversion tables, instructions, and examples for clarification.
Concept: “A world in decline is a veritable paradise for fungi of all kind.” Content: Fungi, environs filled with fungi, fungus-based class and items, and some mushroom monsters Writing: Efficient but with enough detail to spur interest and imagination Art/design: Relatively sparse but still under development Usability: Very efficient layout for a lot of content
Concept: “You’ll have to forgive me, but I’ve forgotten, what was your name again? I’m Professor Locust, but most people call me the Mörkémon professor.” Content: That’s right, it’s that crossover. With d66 Mörkémon, two classes, eight “dungeons” and the city of Caput Mortem. Writing: A childhood franchise with all the puns and references you’ve come to enjoy, made lovingly miserable. Art/design: A flexible, consistent, and intuitive design that guides the reader through the world of Mörkémon. Usability: A second edition of Professor Locust’s Mörkédex.
Concept: “ripping open the guts of combat & letting the wet slop pour out. Most attacks miss. But every action should feel thrilling.” Content: Optional combat systems for Mörk Borg. Writing: Tables to complicate misses, quantify trauma, and modify monsters. Mechanics expand crit/fumble ranges by sharing blood between storyteller and scvm. Art/design: Surrealist AI art supplements public domain icons and illustrations in an eclectic style. Usability: Three d66 tables span multiple pages. Can be distinguished from one another by changes in the background illustration.
Concept: “An escalating apocalypse calendar” Content: Variant rules for rolling Miseries Writing: Entirely expository Art/design: A torrid love affair between Renaissance oil painting and the label maker from hell Usability: Pretty straightforward
Concept: “「信長の黒い城」は、織田信長が本能寺で死なず、本当の第六天魔王になった闇の戦国時代を舞台にした、戦国ドゥーム・メタル・ファンタジーTRPGである。(‘Nobunaga's Black Castle’ is a Sengoku doom metal fantasy TRPG set in the dark Warring States period when Nobunaga Oda did not die in Honnoji and became the true Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.)” Content: Mörk Borg set in an alternate doomed Warring States period. With rules, classes, monsters, and three scenarios. Writing: Congruent elements establish a cursed alternative history. Art/design: A bold and bloody tapestry. Usability: Strong visual style and a comprehensive index make a suitable reference. GM screen available.
Concept: “Inspired by the 1983 U.K. release Now That's What I Call Music or Now 1.” Content: A card set that expands core Mörk Borg components (bad habits, scrolls, hirelings, etc.) … but based on pop music Writing: Appropriately concise (since it has to fit on a card alongside the art) but still characterful Art/design: Predominantly yellow and pink on black in a unique adaptation of Nohr’s style Usability: Project is incomplete
Concept: “Master jewelers have a story they like to tell their apprentice about obsidian.” Content: Rules for crafting obsidian weapons and fueling them with souls. Writing: Self-contained and loosely defined to be adopted to your setting. Art/design: Jewelers hard at work behind some box text. Usability: Some sorcery is required, use at your own risk.
Concept: “a sidequest system for Forbidden Psalm campaigns.” Content: 27 odd jobs for a warband of scvm, with rules and a table of rewards for the survivors. Writing: Consistent in structure, packed with flavorful and delicious references. Art/design: Neon textboxes with gritty black text for rules. White text over horizontal static for examples. Usability: Designed for use as a table or cards.
Concept: “a reference sheet for the optional omen rules for Mork Borg” Content: Business card formatted Omen rules. Writing: An essentially pragmatic summary of Omen mechanics. Art/design: Effective hierarchy draws attention to frequently referenced text. The weathered background and small illustration enhance rather than distract in the stylized version. Usability: Available in stylized and printer-friendly formats. Both with legible reference text.
Concept: “a great big beautiful trash rocket smashing through space and it is jam-packed with ORCS” Content: An entire hulking space orc ecosystem with a complete rule set. Writing: Orcy text written for puny humies. Art/design: Loud and fast. Large and bright. Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Usability: A4 format + Riso print enhances style and legibility.
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
Concept: “Ultra low-bar-to-entry skirmish rules for Mörk Borg” Content: See “Concept”. Writing: Self-contained procedurally generated Mörk Borg skirmishes, a clever opponent initiative system, and conditions to codify effects. Art/design: Functional illustrations and clean text organization with the occasional flail for flourish. Usability: Guided examples provided to assist in learning the rules. Reference cards and materials are provided.
Concept: “Roleplaying In A World Of Bioweapons” Content: Complete rules for bioweapon fueled modern survival horror, with a swamp crawling starter scenario. Writing: A detailed alternate history setting with mechanics emphasizing resource management, body horror, and tactical dismemberment. Art/design: Neoclassical & romantic oil paintings and biological illustrations juxtapose a partially collapsed 2080 setting in single column layout. Usability: A robust table of contents, utilitarian layout, rules reference, and character sheet aid in reference to this slightly more robust ruleset.
Concept: “Inspired by history, fantasy, horror and rum. Your cutlass & flintlock won’t save you from the hordes of skeletons, the Kraken, or even your own crew.” Content: A standalone game for nautical scvm. A complete ruleset with 8 classes, naval combat rules, 18 vessels, over 80 monsters & NPCs, suitably scvrvy equipment, and a substantial introductory sandbox adventure. Writing: A rich grog blending history, fantasy, and horror. As doomed as the Dying Lands... but with more drowning and animated skeletons. Art/design: Crisp richly colored and strongly contoured illustrations, lovingly textured maps, and full-color spreads. Usability: Larger, slightly crunchier, but with ample built-in references and tools bookended for ease of reference.
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.
Concept: “In space, no one can hear you squeal.” Content: Rules, classes, ships, creatures, gear, settings, tables, generators, and adventures for pigs in space. Writing: A space opera that simply squeals parody, with rules that are fattened up and ready for slaughter. Art/design: A grease-slicked modern layout with illustrations varying from rendered near-3D comic illustrations to positively grimy porcine character portraits. Usability: Reference tables bookend the text, with a clear table of contents to aid in reference. Clear type faces enhance legibility.
“Includes D66 fully illustrated monsters (organized into 6 biomes) to catch, train, and battle. It also includes a Class, several NPCs, adventure hooks, a map, a printable sheet for keeping track of your Mörkémon, and more!”
Concept: “A table of random encounters or occurrences in a world being overtaken by THE MIST” Content: 12 terrible effects of Psalm 1:2 Writing: Quick descriptions of events and mechanical effects Art/design: Uses color to emphasize numbers and emphasize certain effects Usability: Duration since the Misery adds to results, ensuring scvm suffer appropriately
Concept: “100 travel encounters, six new classes, skills to expand your characters, and three adventure locations” Content: The encounters encompass a range of people, happenings, and other … things; classes bring some archetypes and novel concepts to the table; skills add additional depth and features to Getting Better; the two shorter adventures work as one-shots, and Purgatory provides a sprawling landscape for scum to explore Writing: Not terribly text heavy with alternately descriptive and instructive prose Art/design: Fairly straightforward layouts with a wide range of art; obligatory yellow and pink Usability: PDF comes in HD and SD versions to accommodate user needs; also include some hex tiles for exploring Purgatory
Concept: It's Just a Potato. Content: Starchy. Bland. Writing: No writing at all. Art/design: Morbid and horrifying. Nightmare fuel. Usability: It is said one can boil them, though I prefer to mash them. Some will stick them in a stew.
Pötatö Borg is an independent production by the Ex Libris team and is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell.
Concept: “An alternative rule for having players hit more often, while being hurt a lot more!” Content: PCs can automatically hit but at the expense of lowered defense Writing: Four sentences of mechanics Art/design: Text location and color bands help to frame and emphasize the central image Usability: Expressive typeface takes a moment to read, but concise writing mitigates the minor difficulty
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
Concept: “An expansion to Mork Borg's resting system that allows players to make actions while taking a long rest that may benefit (or doom) the party” Content: 6 actions with their own functional and narrative benefits and drawbacks Writing: Simple, straightforward descriptions of each action’s mechanics and effects Art/design: A nice variety of typefaces and intuitive layouts with the classic black-white-yellow color scheme Usability: A good choice for adding more depth and excitement to downtime
Concept: “Restful Spirits is an optional rule for dealing with cranky ghosts in Mörk Borg. It was inspired by Emmy Wahlbäck and her character Grin.” Content: Rules to soothe the restless dead. A poem to rest your weary head. Writing: Rules embedded in verse that uplifts rather than shies away from the dead. Art/design: Charming colored sketches illustrate proper ghost etiquette alongside the text. Usability: Suitable for use in a child-friendly Mörk Borg hack.
Concept: “As the death of the world approaches, harbingers ride out, embodying all of its woes.” Content: Stat blocks for avatars of misery and mechanics for introducing them into your game Writing: Clear, concise, and characterful Art/design: A mix of artists and styles embedded in Mörk Borg’s aesthetic Usability: Straightforward layout; tables add variety without being overwhelming
Concept: “Travel across the dying world.” Content: Mechanics for adding color and adventure to journeys Writing: Provides solid sketches for GMs to flesh out Art/design: Relatively restrained but with enough Mörky elements to establish visual character Usability: The travel mechanic is simple and easy to use
Note: “Roads to Damnation” includes additional art and content, and it is only available in Feretory; “Overland Travel” is available free on the MB website.
Concept: “Roll as many d20 as you would dare – THROW THE BONES!!!” Content: A push-your-luck osteomancy mini-game. Writing: An engaging and highly variable results table with mechanics that simultaneously reward and punish you for more dice. Art/design: Bones rendered in stippled newsprint with a sleek serif font. Usability: Bonus points if you use bone dice.
Concept: “Either by choice or by curse you adventure in painful solitude.” Content: A lightweight solo oracle designed for Mörk Borg Writing: Includes Yes/No oracle, random events and their character, and tables for answering open questions Art/design: A clean, easily navigable layout with on-brand graphic design Usability: Some ambiguity regarding when to roll Random events; otherwise, a handy on-the-fly tool for GMs as well
Concept: “Ceci est une traduction des références des règles de Mörk Borg en français.” Content: A French translation of the rules reference sheet. Writing: The rules reference, in French. Art/design: Identical in design to the original rules reference. Usability: Available in full color, printer-friendly, and black and white.
Concept: “an art-lite version of the rulebook with everything you need to play the game” Content: An honorably complete ruleset with the full assortment of classes, enemies, and equipment. Not lacking in flavor, only lacking in setting. Writing: Rules emphasizing the social consequences of actions, balanced against the needs of survival in a doomed land. Art/design: Crisp enemy illustrations are provided, with a colorful cover illustration. Otherwise unadorned. Usability: Organized, navigable, and legible.
Concept: “These heretic ideas are collected below the frayed parasol of corrupt religion and cute parasites” Content: 7 new creatures, a living dungeon, occult-bugs-as-resources rules, and tables for effects of parasitization Writing: Creature entries feature descriptive passages, stat blocks, and adventure hooks; overall, creative and effective Art/design: More traditional layouts with text balanced by facing-page illustrations; images are generally gritty (in the good way) and the rest of the graphic design follows suit Usability: “Cute” is highly subjective, but definitely some interesting and creative creature concepts
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.
Concept: “Want to get a bit deeper into the dreary wastes of Kergüs? Want to investigate the dream-plagued snow? This guide will give you many helpful tips, and get you well on your way.” Content: Includes new gear, weather, finds, injuries, scrolls, variants for core classes, rules and encounters for arctic travel, monsters, and a dungeon generator Writing: Well written with on-brand grimness and humor Art/design: Relatively conservative but still stylized enough to be distinctly Mörk Borg Usability: “Author is not responsible for symptoms of frostbite, hypothermia, or insanity caused by Kergüs's (un)natural environment.”
Concept: Supplemental character creation tables Content: 47 additional character names, 14 "bags", 55 pieces of equipment, and 10 weapons Writing: It has words. (They're pretty good ones.) Art/design: Not elaborate; doesn’t need to be Usability: As-is, will require a digital random number generator (or a small throwing knife)
Concept: “A Compiled PDF of all Scvmbirther exclusive content with rules for using it at the table!” Content: Additional class abilities for Fanged Deserter and Wretched Royalty as well as optional results for weapons, armor, gear, Terrible Traits, Broken Bodies, and Bad Habits rolls; includes directions for incorporating content into character creation Writing: On par with the core book’s quality Art/design: Primarily typographical, but choices make for easy reading and use Usability: A minimally intrusive way to add new content to character generation
Concept: “A collection of terrible traits, bad habits, and bodily features” (featured in Scvmbirther) Content: Additional quirks and foibles to flesh out characters Writing: Very aligned with Nilsson’s grit and wit Art/design: Conservative but still thematically aligned; some clever use of sub/superscript Usability: A handy supplement for a high-mortality game
Note: Published prior to release of formal third-party license; semi-semi-official-ish
Concept: “Another collection of terrible traits, bad habits, and bodily features” (featured in Scvmatorium) Content: Even more quirks and foibles to flesh out (or in some cases de-flesh) characters Writing: Just look at the title—how could this be bad? Art/design: Conservative but includes characteristic elements like multiple typefaces and highlighting Usability: Yet more options for players with perennially unlucky characters
Concept: “Unfolding it unveils large golden calligraphy at the top of the page: Hraxet’s Humble Homes... you’ve been swindled into a deal with the devil.” Content: The Dying Worlds farcical real estate market. Writing: Simple mechanics, engaging narrative snippets, seriously terrible shelters. Art/design: Glamorous cover portrait (of Hraxet?), and pinker than I would expect with the barebones moniker. Usability: Largely plaintext, good visual hierarchy, and legible font for ease of both reading and reference.
Concept: “From north to south, barge pilots … carry mushrooms. Dense, heaping bargeloads of mushrooms.” Content: An assortment of shrooms, variant Shroomic Powers (and consequences), rules for barge racing, rules of barge building, ready-made barges, and a barge-based class Writing: Clear and easy to read prose with some obligatory conceptual weirdness Art/design: Traditional layout and design with color, illustrations, and typographical variance lending visual variety Usability: Simple in itself; an interesting way to lend some background color or focused variety to campaigns
“Slasher Jam was a jam I ran over the course of October 2021 that got 20 entries. I have compiled those entries into 2 volumes. Volume 1 contains classes, items, and monsters. Volume 2 contains the adventures of Slasher Jam.” – Michael Mars, ed.
Concept: “a relatively rules-lite, OSR-inspired, and grim (but not hopeless) role playing experience using only plaintext and ASCII” Content: A traditional fantasy take on Mörk Borg systems, with hit locations and wounds substituting HP. Writing: Debilitating (rather than deadly) wound mechanics, more forgiving magic use, and explicit incorporation of fantasy races establish the traditional fantasy rpg setting. Otherwise largely (mechanically) unchanged. Art/design: Recognizable ASCII illustrations enhance a plain text document. Usability: Printer-friendly.
Concept: “Grab your bibs and bone saws you’re in for a treat…. ” Content: A filling 120-page harvest of human meat (and how to use it). Writing: Sefl-indulgent self-injury, masticatory mutilation, and gratuitous gluttony. Art/design: Sharp sketches, gruesome graffiti, and a not-inconsiderable quantity of red. Usability: Organized and occasionally explicit body horror abounds. You have been warned.
Concept: “Out in the frozen wastes of Kergüs is the graven image of a dead god… You need to appease the irate Blood-Countess Anthelia of Alliánce. This may be your chance.” Content: A blasphemously festive hexcrawl. With occult items, frozen foes, and plenty buried beneath the snow. Writing: An eloquent introduction this sorry excuse of a province. An unsurprising amount of snow (and death) related mechanics. Art/design: A flavorful variety of illustrations and layouts. All admirably executed. Usability: Stylish yet easy to read, with strong visual elements aiding in reference.
Concept: “Sometimes, in a game, you need to rise from your grave.” Content: Tables for how characters died, were buried, and resurrected Writing: Concise and darkly humorous Art/design: Color and type provide the right aesthetic and facilitate fast navigation Usability: So simple even a dead guy can use it
Concept: “an expansion to Sölitary Defilement, a solo supplement for MÖRK BORG!” Content: A Mörk Borg tailored oracle, region-specific mechanics, rare monster generation, traps, adjustable difficulty settings, and more... Writing: Efficient and flexible, both mechanically and thematically. With a gorgeously miserable rare monster generator. Art/design: Considered design elements with some delightfully grimy (and printer-friendly) surprises. Usability: A legible, referenceable, and well-structured working document. Requires playing cards or equivalent.
Concept: “You are dead but death doesn’t want you” Content: Ill-omened ashen wasteland adventures as hands of fate. A standalone game system that’s compatible with Mörk Borg. Writing: A cogent fictional world with compelling themes and history. A mechanical hybrid of Mörk Borg and Necronautilus. Art/design: Deconstructed visual and textual elements fit themes of consumption and recollection. Usability: For solo and group play. Can be played in conjunction with Mörk Borg characters.
Concept: “Eight plays to distract you from your own shortcomings for a dreary evening” Content: It’s just the titles, not the actual plays. That would be a really big document. Writing: Clever wordplay on the play’s titles and author’s names Art/design: A variety of typefaces set against a gloomily purple thrust-stage background Usability: No mechanics other than rolling the play, but a great way to add some cultural scenery
Concept: “Alternative rules and extended content” Content: Includes new options for starting equipment, companions, class-specific unarmed attacks, weapons, artifacts, armor, critical hit locations, bad habits, familiars, names, pack animals, minor items, and musical instruments Writing: Captures the core book’s grim humor and tone Art/design: Strong Mörk Borg aesthetic; sets itself apart with blue that harkens back to the core rulebook Usability: Well laid out; available in single page and spread versions for convenience
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.
Concept: “11 ways monsters hurt you for missing terribly. Use frequently to keep combat moving forward.” Content: A table of outcomes for missed attack rolls. Writing: A spiteful but fair table which scales with the magnitude of your failure. Art/design: Bristling with armaments. Usability: For the impatient masochist in all of us.
Concept: “We did a little Conan-like campaign with Mörk Borg rules and wanted to share the results to another F, our Friends :P.” Content: Rules for survivable “heroic” solo scvm, complete with an example sword and sorcery barbarian class. Writing: Informal, conversational, educational and friendly. Like a discussion with your DM (I hope). Art/design: Fun character notebook sketches in a basic practical layout. Usability: Designed for paired play. DM + 1.
Concept: “An engine of lonesome death” Content: A sprawling supplement with comprehensive rules and tables for solo play Writing: Straightforward, second-person instruction in the main text; also includes a sample of play Art/design: Clean, linear textual layouts and presentations with on-brand typographical choices to delineate structure; illustrations set a lonely, macabre atmosphere; also includes a handy flowchart for daily activities Usability: Calls for the use of other supplements and tools, but in itself, a thorough kit for dying alone & miserable, including multiple useful documents for record-keeping
Concept: “Someone asked for a plaintext version of Sölitary Defilement, so here it is!” Content: A plaintext supplement of comprehensive rules and tables for solo play. Writing: Consistent and straightforward narrative resolution. Clear instructions for solo play. With an included sample of play. Art/design: 128 fixed-width characters with L337 ASCII embellishments. Usability: References Mörk Borg & Feretory but has suitable instructions for solo play and record keeping without them.
Concept: “‘Steer a ship into the unknown, carry our hopes to alien shores, and restore our destiny.’” Content: An adventure filled with maritime weirdness and cosmic horror; includes a corruption rule Writing: Sharp and esoteric in descriptive text but clear and efficient when addressing mechanics Art/design: A variety of layouts and visual styles ranging from brooding to vibrant Usability: Isolated island setting makes this a good option for anyone seeking a survival-horror adventure
Concept: “More optional character creation tables” Content: d66 tables of terribler traits, brokener bodies, and badder habits Writing: Each entry is quick and concise but with plenty of roleplay potential Art/design: Laid out and designed for easy use, but includes some fun typographic easter eggs Usability: A solid expansion of the core book’s options
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.
Concept: “The Pillar of Múr was found and destroyed. … Creatures called Devourers now make the ground tremble as they crawl from the depths. Scouring the land, they ravenously consume what lay in their path.” Content: An expansive hexcrawl that includes a bestiary, specialized gear, and optional rules for mounts, chases, climbing, and fighting colossal creatures Writing: Incorporates general information about the scenario as well as descriptions of and mechanics for elements like monsters and locations Art/design: Incorporates original and found art into exuberant designs and diverse layouts Usability: Requires more GM prep and intervention to assemble a narrative arc, but supplies all necessary components
Concept: “an optional supplement to The Bridges of Múr and the Endless Sea Campaign book.” Content: 128 tarot sized campaign reference cards. Giant monster minigame rules. Writing: Full of engaging extras including quotes and humorous traits or uses. Art/design: High contrast illustration focus a stylish and clear card layout. Usability: Consistent layout aids in easy reference. Print and play construction instructions included.
Concept: “In a world where there are miseries around every corner and all hope is lost, what’s more suffering added on top!” Content: A collection of curses (and cures) for miserable scvm. Writing: Some truly miserable curses, difficult or unpleasant cures, and the rules to inflict them on your friends (and enemies). Art/design: A high energy layout with bold use of color for guidance and a tastefully cursed collection of print illustrations. Usability: Collect bodily substances, perform a ritual of attachment, curse… profit?
Concept: “1. Create a character 2. Have an EGG implanted inside you. 3. DIE...” Content: A second chance at death. Writing: Casually disgusting, clinically disturbing, implanted with body horror. Art/design: I hate to imagine what that man is doing with so many EGGs. Usability: For the auto-cannibalistic Scvm.
Concept: “a baleful toolkit” Content: Optional rules for the evil eye (source, gossip, affliction, ward, and aftermath) Writing: Some interesting concepts and foreboding imagery Art/design: Borg-ful layouts and colors with lots of macabre eye (or lack of eye) imagery Usability: A set of 5 easy-to-use tables
Concept: “Rules to grill a character and transform a monster into the horde.” Content: Catching and extinguishing fire; creating collective stat blocks for groups of various sizes led by exceptional specimens Writing: Concise delivery of mechanics in both cases Art/design: Laid out and designed for easy reference and use with a background that supports both halves of the concept Usability: Fire rules are simple to use in the moment; creating a horde is best done in prep rather than at the table
Concept: “‘Our morbid collection offers an opportunity for those brave enough—or desperate enough—to modify their own fragile existence.’” Content: " Replacement body parts. 3x NPCs. A list of items and tools. A ‘Chance of Infection’ table. A mini post-TPK rebirth.” Writing: A glorious abomination. Made up of funny, morbid, and delightfully strange parts. Art/design: Grotesquely detailed illustrations, a splattering of display text, and a richly textured trifold. Usability: Inverted text avoids casual player spoilers. Print-friendly or violent bright cover editions are available.
Concept: “Every aspirant is implanted with a sample of their patron and it strengthens their resolve, piety and wisdom.” Content: Six quests for initiates seeking to prove their worth (willing or otherwise) Writing: Provides lore and quest sketches; some are more absurd than others Art/design: Easily readable body text with stylized headings; includes an illustration of a sample knight and one pretty sweet basilisk icon Usability: GMs will have to supply knight stats and flesh out the quests
Concept: “If a vile scumbag has earned a carnal punishment from the gods, or a gutless worm is unable to decide which position they desire, this is the supplement for you.” Content: A table of STDs and a table of positions Writing: Descriptive names and clear explications of effects Art/design: Straightforward delivery embellished with blackletter, colored lines, and engravings Usability: The diseases have effects and some mechanics; the positions are just for lulz
