*
It was earlier this year when the fine people at Free League Publishing sent me the GM screen & Core Rule Book for the brilliantly bonkers MÖRK BORG RPG. MÖRK BORG is a pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy RPG about lost souls and fools seeking redemption, forgiveness or the last remaining riches in a bleak and dying world. Who are you? The tomb-robber with silver glittering between cracked fingernails? The mystic who would bend the world’s heart away from it’s inevitable end?
Confront power-draining necromancers, skulking skeletal warriors and backstabbing wickheads. Wander the Valley of the Unfortunate Undead, the catacombs beneath the Bergen Chrypt or the bedevilled Sarkash forest. But leave hope behind – the world’s cruel fate is sealed, and all your vain heroic efforts are destined to end in death and dismay. Or are they?
*
As I mentioned, brilliantly bonkers and hugely addictive. As the writers themselves say…..”A doom metal album of a game. A spiked flail to the face. Light on rules, heavy everything else.”
*
So you can imagine my delight when the equally fine people at Exalted Funeral agreed to send me a physical copy of Forbidden Psalm , a tabletop miniatures game, inspired by and compatible with MÖRK BORG. Forbidden Psalm is an independent production by Kevin Rahman 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.
Of course, it’s important to say that this is an entirely objective and unbiased review.
*
*
It’s a 28mm miniatures agnostic game. You can use any miniatures you already own that fit the bill or build custom minis for this game (with random tables to help you determine how to build them). Solo Play and Coop rules included. All content is also able to be used in the MÖRK BORG ttrpg. In Forbidden Psalm you will recruit a warband of 5 greedy souls to undertake Vriprix the Mad Wizards’ bidding. But the Mad Wizard hasn’t just bet on you. You will face rivals before you will seen any of his coin. Hunt ravenous monsters and unearth dangerous relics as you search for the Psalm itself….maybe even help the Mad Wizard locate his misplaced socks. A game of blood. Metal and death. In Forbidden Psalm your warband is disposable. Its members will suffer injuries, flaws and even unleash horrible magic. But for hardened survivors, a wealth of plunder and experience awaits.
*
All content is designed to be compatible with MÖRK BORG. In the rule book you will find amazing materials than can be used for both the MÖRK BORG rpg and Forbidden Psalm miniatures game.
11 new monsters Campaign system
10 original encounters
Random encounter tables to generate your own scenarios
New weapons
New Treasure table
New relics
Brand new calamity table for when magic goes bad
A Mad Wizard Socks
Solo Play and Coop rules
A levelling system – with xp, injuries
Wagon based combat
*
*
*
So what do we think?……….
Now don’t get me wrong, I have friends and the like – well at least they say to my face that they’re my friends. However, I do have have a soft spot for putting on some appropriate mood music and playing solo RPG – and Forbidden Psalms offers that possibility up in spades as well as the option of co-op preferences with the odd slight alteration here and there. Not only that, but there is also the option of incorporating MÖRK BORG scenarios and campaigns into your adventure…..the different narrative options are seemingly endless.
*
As Forbidden Psalm is a skirmish level game and the fact that the miniatures used are 28 mm, there isn’t a huge amount of space need for the play. You then have the choice of using your own miniatures (My Warhammer Skaven hoards will be press-ganged for this role), but also bear in mind that the PDF version of the book has paper-based versions that can be printed and used.
*
*
Perhaps the greatest strength of Forbidden Psalm is the game’s flexible narrative. This is a game where you have to adapt and think quickly, because if you don’t you will probably, or miss a limb or two. The rules and text are clear and simple, thus avoiding the RPG pitfall of some designs in making the core rules books text heavy and difficult for newbies in particular. Instead I found myself immersed in the reading throughout without feeling overwhelmed. And don’t worry whether you need an experience of MÖRK BORG to fully enjoy this, because you don’t – the greenest of newbies to this crazy, violent, quirky world will find it an easy experience in this rules-light world.
*
Forbidden Psalm is a hugely enjoyable game, however I could foresee some who would be put off by the chaotic simplicity of the skirmish form of combat. There are a number of similar skirmish level games that offer similar experiences which for some may seem shallow. I’, m not sure though that this should be the case, because while the game may on it’s own offer limited gameplay depth the various MÖRK BORG iterations off all sorts of adaptation potential – just check out the exciting plans for Free League To Publish PIRATE BORG, Scurvy Ridden Spinoff of MÖRK BORG (5d-blog.com)
*
Exalted Funeral are a DIY Press & Distro specializing in Table Top Role-playing, Occult, and Heavy Metal printed material.
*