Thursday 19 January 2023

From Curt: Adventurers for Mork Borg/Forbidden Psalm (45 Points)

Hi there!

I apologize in advance for monopolizing the blog with my submissions these past few days - I have a bunch of stuff that I was working on over the holiday break, but didn't get around to posting while I was minioniong, so I'm shamelessly taking advantage of the Snowlord's prerogative of being able to post on any day. 

In addition to all things root vegetable and vehicular, I've also been bitten by the Mork Borg / Forbidden Psalm bug, and so have here five hapless and homely mooks to fit that setting.

For those not in the know, Mork Borg is a Swedish designed RPG set in a comically grim, circling-the-drain, Scandinavian death metal world (in fact, there is a mechanic in the rules to count down the game sessions to its doomsday). The small format hardcover is a real treat, whose cutting edge design and layout has allowed it to scoop up eight Ennies this past year.

The Mork Borg mechanics are VERY minimalistic (only 4 stat lines for characters, and probably less than 10 pages of core rules) and as such are a doodle to get into. Character generation only takes a few minutes (which is a good as they usually get chopped up and/or eaten in fairly short order), and if you're too lazy to put in the time, you can simply use their online character generator (aptly titled, 'ScumBirther') to do the heavy lifting for you. At its core, Mork Borg is an open system, where the GM and players are encouraged to fill in the narrative with their own creativity.

Another great aspect to the rules is that their licensing is very permissive. The creators actively encourage adaptations and spin-offs of their core system. This generous licensing approach has created several creative spinoffs already, including 'Cy-Borg' (cyberpunk), 'The Last War' (Great War horror) and 'Forbidden Psalm' (Mork Borg tactical).  

Both 'The Last War' and 'Forbidden Psalm' are not true RPGs, but rather figure-based wargame-adventure systems similar to 'Rangers of Shadow Deep' and the ever-popular 'Frostgrave'. These Mork Borg spinoffs are great rules for a light, but frenetic night of gaming (and a low figure-count of only 5 in a party/faction). I've been running an online Mork Borg RPG campaign for some out-of-town friends, and hope to get some Forbidden Psalm games in with our local group soon. With this in mind, here is a faction for FS - five misbegotten adventurers, all destined, I'm sure, to come to a quick, nasty and sticky end. 

Nick the Pick



Witnail the Flail


Gavin the Glaive


Wesley the Weaver



and, Ishmael the Pickerel 



Knucklebones Miniatures has done a terrific job in capturing the oddball, comical and weirdly grotesque nature of the Mork Borg universe. In the setting, the 'heroes' are typically homely (if not hideous), but in an interesting way, and it gets even 'better' when you come across the baddies. Hopefully I'll have more Mork Borginess over the coming months.


Sorry for the rambling post! Hats off to those who persevered to the end. :)

Five adventurers for 25 points, plus another 20 for the Fantasy Set. 

- Curt

From TeemuL: As a Challenge Veteran, this post probably doesn't even make the Top 10 list of rambling posts, so it was easy to read. Partly because the game system sounds interesting, I guess I need to do some further investigation, simple rulesystems have their place and small figure count, too. The miniatures themselves are tried and tested Snowlord style, lots of colours, very smooth, but lots of contrast. It was a joy to have the master producer join our Thor's Day team.

35 comments:

  1. Fantastic figures, Curt! Do I detect Sarah's influence rubbing off on you with Wesley's raiment? :)

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    1. Thank you Tamsin! Yes, I totally agree that Sarah's work, combined with the ease of wet-blending with Contrast Paints, has helped me explore and experiment with off-the-cuff colour combinations, especially with fantasy subjects like these fellas.

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    2. Yay! I'm an "influencer" now. :)

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  2. These are a joy! I especially love Wesley's rainbow scale mail. The rules sound way too intriguing to not investigate further as well, dagnammit!

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    1. Thanks Peter. Wesley 'armour' was fun to work on. Yes, the games are a real hoot. The Mork Borg rules are free online (plain text), but the hardbound book is an absolute treat for it's layout and design.

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  3. Nicely done, even though he's a monster I reckon that Wesley is striving to connect with his inner Landsknecht side :-)

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    1. You must mean Gavin the Glaive, the unashamedly naked blue chap. Yes, I think with the neck ruff he's making his first tentative steps to being a (fully clothed) doppelsoldner. To him, it's all about the accessories. :)

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  4. A very strange collection, Curt.

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  5. Liking those very much Curt, another strange figure range I have not heard of!

    Cheers
    MattW

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  6. Your ability to surpirse me post after post is amazing. Excellent paint work ... and my curiosity piqued by that obscure Nordic-European RPG rules.

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    1. Give them a look, Benito, I think you'd enjoy them, even as a curio piece.

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  7. Such completely normal, not-at-all-terrifying-I'm-sorry-to-have-seen-this-before-going-to-sleep figures! Great brushwork dude.

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  8. Never heard of it but the figures look great and it's a really intriguing sounding game!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. As a design guy, I think you'd appreciate them even if only for the esthetic.

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  9. Weird and wonderful stuff Curt, lovely and ugly at the same time.

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    1. Thank you Peter. I think the French have the phrase 'jolie laide', or something like that, for things like this.

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  10. No apologies needed as long as you keep spoiling us with such lovely work, Curt. You have really gone to town on Wesley’s armour, haven’t you? Excellent work as always!

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    1. Thank you Martijn. Yes, Wesley was great fun to work on with all his detailed texture.

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  11. Fabulously mad, but then again I have fallen for this off the wall madness and the wonderful Knucklebones figures too :-) Love the colours you've worked into them without overdoing it

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    1. Thanks Paul. I know these aren't for everybody, but they really scratch and itch for me.

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  12. Marvelously done Curt. And a fantastic fun RPG setting. If you ever have the urge for a cyberpunk rpg, I can recommend the M-B related Cy-Borg...its a hoot (no goblin curse to worry about, but plenty more besides!)

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    1. Thank you Bartek! It's funny as I just put in an order for Cy-Borg yesterday. It looks to be great, gritty fun (and I have a few figures for it that I'd like to do).

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  13. They are awesome. Really ticking all the boxes for forbidden psalm. Geoff T

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  14. Very nice, Curt, although would benefit from the addition of some root vegetables :).

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    1. I know, it was terribly remiss of me. Next entry should correct that.

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  15. These are wonderfully characterful and the colours are fab. Game looks interesting and fun too!

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    1. Thanks! I think the game would tickle your sensibilities, Pete.

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  16. Very nice! I'm looking at Last War with interest. I do like the colourful Weaver.

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  17. Excellent looking figs here in very odd/different colours. I really like them, great work.

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