Labels

Heretic: A Mork Borg Solo Campaign - Character and Setting Creation

Welcome back to the depressing world of Mork Borg and to Pox Scarred Squalor. The original series took place in the city of Grift, which grows like a cancer on a cliff above the sea. This series will take place in the city of cities, where the two basilisks themselves live, the city of Galgenbeck, I already have an idea for this campaign but first, we need to create some characters.


---
Warning - This campaign will be dark and violent, with lots of body horror and swearing. Be warned and if you don’t like that stuff or are a kid, (What are you doing here kid? Go learn something) stop reading.
---
I’ll be creating three damned characters. One normal and two with classes. The normal one is up first. Character 1: This doomed character starts with 60 silver and 2 days of rations. They have a small wagon, a bear trap, and a shield (-1 damage or I can choose to have it broken to save them from all damage). Their weapon is a flail (d8), and no armor. Now we roll for abilities. This may seem out of order but Mork Borg often mixes the usual RPG rhythm up. There are four abilities and they are standard. You roll 3d6 and consult a chart. Str = 12 which is a +0 Agility = 15 which is a +2 Presence = 6 which is a -2 Toughness = 9 which is a +0 HP is D8 + Toughness. Luckily I get an 8! And they start with 1 omen. Their name will be Urvarg (won’t matter). Now to do some background for this person. They are shrewd. They have long tangled hair with a cockroach that lives in there. Urvarg is a gambling addict and must wager every day. If they lose, they have to raise and bet again. They are an identity thief who recently killed and replaced this person. But why… I am not Urvarg, yet to the world I am. Some would ask, why have I become Urvarg? The reasons are complex, but they are there. Some would also ask, why have I killed Urvarg? Because I had to become him, is the answer. Either way, I am Urvarg and I have just entered this awful city. The only good part about it is everyone is keen to throw some knucklebones. I won a few silver off the guard who let me into this hell hole.

So now it is time for Urvarg (me now, you understand) to make his mark on this great city…

That is Urvarg down. They sound like a very pleasant person. Ok, let’s move on to character 2. Character #2: I’ll be using a class now and will roll a D6. I get a Fanged Deserter. So like a soldier or warrior who has massive teeth, that can be used to rip someone’s throat out. This character starts with 60 silver, a water skin, and one day’s ration. They get a backpack that can carry 7 items, a sharp needle (what for?), and another shield. The weapon is a sword (d6) and armor is Heavy splint armor (- d6 damage but +4 for agility tests and +2 when defending, making those difficult). This class gets an advantage when rolling stats for strength and a disadvantage when rolling for agility and presence. Strength = 11+2 equals +1 Agility = 15-1 equals +1 Presence = 13-1 equals +1 Toughness = 7 equals -1 HP is a d10 + toughness. 4 -1 is 3 HP. Not great… They also get d2 omens daily, starting with 2. This character also begins with Crumpled Monster Mask which scares lesser creatures like goblins and children. They have to check morale every round. This class is also illiterate, so they can never read or understand scrolls. Agility tests are D14 (adding the heavy armor makes a normal agility test a D18! Yikes). I also get a bite attack that does d6 damage and is easier to hit. I have to be close, obviously, and there is a chance the enemy gets a free attack back. His name is Theras the Deserter. Theras’s earliest memory was a brothel in Schleswig, which was a friendly environment to grow up in. And they’ve very recently murdered a close relative. Very recently. Childhood? I had one. Lots of lovely ladies I called mom. Sold I was, young age. Taken from my moms, never see them again. Given a sword I was. Told to kill I was. Told I was a monster. So I killed. I was Monster. Long life. Many killing. Stopped killing. Settled down. Did farm. Got into a fight. Killed again. I leave. Go to the big city. This old man can still kill. Someone always need be killed. Character #3 I roll a 5 and get the class Heretical Priest. I start with extra silver, a whopping 130! I get the standard 1 day of rations, a water skin, a metal file and lockpick, and a tent. The starting weapon is a femur (d4) and armor is leather (-d2). For abilities, this class gets an advantage when rolling presence and a disadvantage when rolling strength. Strength = 8-2 which is a -2 Agility = 8 which is a -2 Presence = 13+2 which is a +2 Toughness = 13 which is a +1 HP is a D8 + toughness which is 9. A good roll. I also get a Sacred Shepherd’s Crook which does 2d4 damage to anyone who has faith. Name is Belum the Heritic. Belum’s origins are temple ruins in the valley of the unfortunate Undead. Belum believes corvids are the agents of the Basalysk and will fly into a rage when he sees one. He carries a sling and throws small stones at them. The Basalyks that are two and two are LIARS! They tell of only death and depression but I tell you we can fight this evil. It does not have to end this way. Believe in the light. Believe in the sun. Believe that every day you must wake up and walk in its glory. But watch for the agents of the basilisk. They walk in the feathers of the crow, the raven, and the Magpie. They watch… Always they watch… The Setting Galgenbeck, the greatest city that ever was. Glistening with the spires of churches and the ramparts of fortresses, there has never been a greater concentration of wealth and power in a single place. The rich ride in adorned carriages as the priests look down from their gilded rectories.


But there is another side of Galgenbeck that the rich and powerful choose not to see. One of squalor, of dirt, and poverty, where the pox scars the faces of the youth and heretical words are spoken in hushed alleyways. This is the Galgenbeck where this story takes place. The rich and powerful, at least those without their heads buried in the sand, know the poors must be kept in line. Sure there are gangs and they do their pickpocketing, and their trade in flesh and illegal substances. The rich don’t care about that, in fact, they often profit from it in some way. No, it’s the thoughts and actions they care about. There are some in the slums that talk about ‘changing’ things. They speak about how everyone should have a say in the running of the city and that wealth should be distributed equally. That’s bad. But not the worst. Other says the Two-Head Basilisk lies, or at least does not tell the whole truth. Yes, pure blasphemy, but they still say it. And others are starting to listen. So the rich pay killers to go into the slums and cut out that cancer before it sickens the whole city. They pay the killers in blood-stained silver, and the killers know their careers will be short and brutal. There is always a need for more killers in Galgenbeck. Always. But how do our three rejects tie into this all? Well, they need coin. Everyone needs coin.

---

There we go, dear believers. Be sure to check back in next week for the first installment of Heretic, a Pox Scarred Squalor story set in the Mork Borg Universe.

Support the Blog

Are you on Threads? Follow me at @croaker_rpgs. I talk about the blog, chat with other TTRPG creators, and have interesting conversations.

All RPG links to DrivethruRPG are affiliate links and if you click through and purchase something it will cost you nothing extra and help support the blog.


RPG Books I Use

These are the books I used to write this blog. These are affiliate links, if you click any links on this blog and buy something from Drive Thru RPG, I get a small cut of the price at no extra cost to you. It will help support the blog and allow me to buy new and interesting books!

Mork Borg

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment