Heretic: A Mork Borg Solo Campaign - Berun the Heretic
Welcome back to the Heretic, a solo campaign through the Pox Scarred Squalor.
If this is your first dice into the Squalor, be sure to check out the other entries first.
In this chapter, we will inhabit the eyes of Berun the Heretic. You’ll remember he carries a shepherd's crook and has some ‘unconventional’ opinions on religion.
Last we left the party, they had just killed their targeted person in the back of a horrible pub in Sweetbread.
Let's get into it!
Current Party Status
Urvarg 8/8HP, 73 Silver
Theras 3/3HP, 73 Silver
Berun 6/9HP, 141 Silver
-
I tip the barkeep on the way out. Normally I would not, especially when he was difficult to start with. But we did just leave a mess in the back room, not to mention the blood we are dragging around the Wretched Wraith from these severed heads. May the light have mercy on those men we killed today. Anyway, the three silver was a small price to pay for a little bit of forgiveness.
Both Theras with his wicked fangs and Urvarg (there is something off about that one, but I can’t quite put my thinger on it) smile brightly, the dim light of the tavern reflecting off their teeth. 60 silver for the heads, 64 silver found on the bodies, not a bad haul. A person could live well off that for a few months, maybe a year if they were smart. These two are not smart, at least not that way.
And me? I have use of the coin. My shoulder stings from where one of those criminals stabbed me. It isn’t deep but I can feel the blood flow from the wound. It will need treatment, no telling what was on that knife. It wasn’t poisoned or I’d already felt it. Still, it is worth getting checked out.
The walk from the Sweatbread to the Spire district is a long one. It’s obvious we have just committed murder. We are covered in blood and carry a sack of heads that is leaking. A guard makes to stop us but I mumble “Church business”, and he swiftly finds someone else to harass.
Back at the cathedral, we show our trophies to the priest. I was expecting a lot of questions. How do you know it was Nifhel? Who is the other head? Were they a heretic also? How can we believe you? Etc. etc.
But the priest took a quick look and slid over two pouches of silver. 30 coins in each one. And told us to come back tomorrow. Holy light, we could have killed anyone on the street! The three of us bid each other goodnight. I had no desire to spend the night with those two, the day was bad enough.
Alright, each of the party gets 20 silver, making them very wealthy in a short period of time. What do they do with this newly won wealth? I’ll play it like this. Each character has a vice. We know Urvarg is a gambler. Theras is a violent drunk. And Berun? Well we will get to him.
Urvarg goes to the first tavern he can find. It’s a nice tavern and the stakes are quite high. I’ll roll a d20. 1-10 and he loses that much silver. 11-20 he wins 1-10 silver. An 11. He wins 1 silver. Well, he plays again for sure. He loses 9 silver. Ouch! He plays again. He wins 2 silver. In total, he has lost 6. He plays again. He wins 1 more. The total loss is 5 silver. That isn’t too bad so I’ll say he needs to beat a DR8 Presence test to not be a dick about losing the coin. A 3-2=1. He is a dick about losing coins. Because he is being a dick, the tavern owner charges him double for the room and food, 8 silver instead of 4. Urvarg knows he is being ripped off but realises he has no friends in the room and pays up.
Theras finds a cheaper, dirtier bar and starts drinking. I’ll roll a d20. The number I roll is the DR he will have to beat to not start a fight, which is the number of drinks he has. A 15. He will have to beat a DR15 Presence test. A 12+1=13. Not good enough. He gets in a fight with a particularly warted bouncer. Theras punches first. DR12 Strength. A 20! A critical Hit! That’s good enough to knock out the bouncer but he’s stopped before he can cause any more harm. He pays the 15 silver for the drinks and sleeps in an ally.
Berun’s vice is something a bit more serious. He doesn’t drink or play dice, he is a believer in the One True Light, a religion considered heresy by the Church of the Basilisk. The One True Light says that this world will end soon, similar to the Church, but that everyone will go on to a better world. This is the complete antithesis of what Nechrubel teaches.
But supporting the One True Light is not an easy or simple task. The church inquisitors are constantly watching. City guards are looking to shake down anyone with coin. Plus there are rival cults who are desperate and much, much, much (much) more violent than the One True Light.
Let’s see how he goes…
I stalk through the dark and dingy alleyways of The Offal, looking for the mark of the True Light. I wander for hours and watch the light fade into dark. (DR12+ PRS to easily spot a sign, I get a 2+2=4. Not nearly good enough).
Weighed down by this heavy purse I know I’m a walking target and soon enough a person emerges from the shadows with a knife.
“Aw you look a bit lost you do. How about you hand over everything you got and I’ll make sure you get back safe ok?”
I laugh and lean on my shepherd’s crook. “If you want what I have, you must take it!”
Berun - Toughness DR12 - 8+1=9 I’ll spend an omen on this and reroll. A 1. That’s bad…
“Oh, funny man I see. Well, meet me friend. Now hand everything over or your guts will be all over the ground. Another man steps out from a shadow.
These crooks aren’t anything special but they outnumber Berun 2 to 1. In Mork Borg, that’s a recipe for death. And Berun only has 6 HP right now.
They come at me, knives flashing in the waning light. I feel the searing pain of a knife slash across my chest. I swing back but I can’t quite hit anyone. They come again, sensing my weakness and one plunges a knife into my shoulder. I viciously counter-attack and cave one of their skulls in. He’s dead before he hits the ground.
I turn to the other and with the One True Light with me, I swing at him with all my might. I feel his chest crunch as I land a true blow upon him. They are both dead, by the True Light I live another day.
Combat
Scum x2 - HP6, Morale 7, No Armor, Knife and short swords D4
Initiative = Scum goes first.
Round 1 - Scum
Berun dodges one attack. The other does 1 damage. 5/6 HP for Berun.
Berun attacks a Scum - Crit fail. Uses an omen to not take the crit. 2 Omens left.
Round 2 - Scum
Berun takes both attacks. Total 2 damage
Berun attacks - A hit for 6 damage with the crook.
Round 3 - Scum tests morale 7. stays in the fight.
Berun dodges the attack.
Berun attacks. A hit. for 4 damage but will spend an omen to do max damage of 8. Killing the scum.
Combat Over
I move on from these two doomed killers and I soon see it! The symbol of the True Light just above an old shop. We believers in the true light are cursed to never know each other well. The priests of the Basilisk would make us talk with spells and torture. I rap on the door and place a heavy bag of coin at the doorway.
Berun places 10d10 coins there. It ends up being 46 coins.
A hand darts out and takes the bag. In its place is a weathered old piece of paper. A scroll! Magic! I am blessed by the light!
What’s the scroll? Random roll of course. It will be a Sacred Scroll. Oh, this is a good one. Grace of a Dead Saint. D2 creatures regain 1D10 health.
With the light guiding me, I got to a cheap Inn and spend the night.
-
Alright, now time to get better! It’s pretty simple in Mork Borg.
HP - Roll 6D10. If the result is greater than the character’s current HP add 1D6 in HP. That means each character gets a D6 of HP. Urvarg increases by 5 to 13 HP. Theras increases by 5 to 8. And Berun also increases by 5 to 14.
Ability scores - Roll a D6 against each score and if the result is higher, increase it by one.
Urvarg increases in everyone and is now STR +1, PRS -1, AGL +3, and TGH +1
Theras’ PRS actually goes down. He is at STR +2, PRS 0, AGL +2, and TGH 0.
Berun increases every ability also. STR -1, PRS +3, AGL -1, and TGH +2.
And that is it!
-
And that is it for the Pox Scarred Squalor for now. We will come back to this doomed group in the future, you can bet on it.
Be sure to tune in next week for my start of a Band of Blades campaign. It promises to be epic!
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.
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
Comments
Post a Comment