PATHS OF POWER: TWO EXPANSIONS FOR MÖRK BORG

 There are about a gazillion reasons I love MÖRK BORG. 

For starters, I parted company with the big, bulky math-heavy RPGS back around 2000. I'd played some of them in the 80s and 90s, but the older I got, the less interested in them I was. By the time Dungeons & Dragons 3e and 3.5 came along, I was already playing with B/X again. I've probably run Risus far more than I should have.

When MÖRK BORG appeared in 2020, it had a system that made B/X look Byzantine by comparison, so rules light it was zen. For the handful of unfortunate victims who stumbled into this post not knowing what MÖRK BORG is, a quick summary: written by Pelle Nilsson with graphic design and art by Johan Nohr and "dead people,"MÖRK BORG self identifies as a "doom metal album of a game, a spiked flail to the face...(r)ules light, heavy everything else." It's set in a late medieval fantasy world that is suspiciously Swedish and undergoing an apocalypse. The characters' lives are positively Hobbesian. The game initially had me at "doom metal," but then again I am a 55-year old goth with black fingernails and an unnerving number of pieces of jewelry with pentagrams on them. But once I got the game, what really bowled me over about MÖRK BORG was the design.

By this I mean not only the game design, but also the graphic design, because more than any game I have ever seen the two work hand-in-mailed fist to create the total play experience. As game design, MÖRK BORG wants to know what the absolute bare minimum you need to run a classic dungeon crawler is. All of the rules fit on a single page. Monsters don't have stat blocks, they hav hit points, morale, a few terse notes and a name. Spells, referred to as "Powers" in the game, are often half a sentence. Take "Foul Psychopomp," which reads "summon (d6) 1-3 d4 skeletons, 4-6 d4 zombies."

These economy extends to descriptions of the world. The regions of this dying world get about a paragraph of brief description, tops. There are no lore dumps here, no "in the reign of King Harmug IV." Instead we are told "Galgenbeck...is the greatest city that ever was" before moving on to a few lines on religion and politics. Reading the text, I often felt I was reading song lyrics instead of prose...a neat trick for a game that takes its inspiration from music.

But this is where the graphic design and layout come in. 

If the text of MÖRK BORG is the lyrics, the way the book is laid out, the art, and the presentation, are the basslines, guitars, percussion, and vocals. They convey more about the game and its setting that words could. 

An easy example is the order the information is presented in. The inside front cover and front page are random item charts: NPC names ("Man? Woman? Lost souls all."), d10 Occult Treasures, Traps and Devilry, Weather, and Corpse Plundering. Just glancing over these, a picture of the world and the kind of game MÖRK BORG is becomes clear. The first thing we learn about the setting is the prophecy that dooms it. Then we get a brief tour of the regions. It isn't until pages 16 and 17 that the first real mechanic shows up: the Calendar of Nechrubel. This is a random table present as a quasi-scriptural page divided into seven sections or Psalms. Every game day the GM rolls a die (the type of die is determined by the players ranging from d00 to d2. On a one, a "Misery" in unleashed, rolled off the table of Psalms. These Miseries change the conditions of the setting, and after 7 of them the world ends.

The point is, by page 17 we get it. The doomed world is conveyed to us in very few words and clever presentation. MÖRK BORG swept the Ennies the year it came out, taking gold in Best Writing, Best Layout and Design, and Product of the Year, with the silver in Best Game. It did this for giving us a very different way to experience game books.

But MÖRK BORG's obnoxious "in your face" presentation is not to everyone's taste...neither is metal for the same reasons. Aside from this complaint, another thing that puts some players off is that the game, by design, is sparse. Characters are defined by only four abilities (Agility, Presence, Strength, and Toughness) and character classes--a staple of this kind of game--are entirely optional and presented almost as an afterthought. They are for the most part very tongue-in-cheek takes on the classics...Fanged Deserter for the fighter, Esoteric Hermit for the mage, etc. They don't really bestow many unique abilities. Instead, characters are defined, primarily, by what they carry, not what they are.

An example of this is how magic is handled. Anyone can cast a spell or Power so long as they are in possession of a scroll it is written down on. Scrolls come in two flavors...Unclean Scrolls (think magic-user) and Sacred Scrolls (think cleric). But there are only ten powers of each type. Again...sparse.

There have been "fixes." Since its release MÖRK BORG has spawned a bewildering array of "compatible with" games. Many of these have moved the doom RPG vibe to other settings--feudal Japan, viking Europe, space, the old west, the pirate haunted Caribbean, and so on. But some have "nudged" MÖRK BORG towards being a more "vanilla" RPG. One of the best is Rodney Rickrode's Mork Manual, which complete re-imagines the standard setting into a world where the Dark Lord is returning. With classes more closely resembling classic RPG ones, a bestiary of familiar monsters, and expanded spell lists it goes a long way to address what some people don't like about MÖRK BORG.

But if, like me, you love the "doom metal" vibe of the original, but your players are whining...I mean, making legitimate requests...looking for more options and hardier characters, I have two solutions for you.

In 2024, Nicholas Volpe released Paths of Power: D666 Dark + Twisted Powers for MÖRK BORG. This introduced--alongside the Sacred and Unclean scrolls from the core game--18 more "paths" or "schools" of Powers, each with a dozen new spells. Characters could "specialize" in these paths, effectively changing what flavor of magic-user they were, or randomly acquire spells by rolling three six-sided dice and find the results. It was a huge expansion of the magic system, with 216 new Powers total.

What I liked about D666 was that it didn't just try to adapt already established classic fantasy schools of magic to MÖRK BORG. It didn't serve up Illusionist spells or Druid spells per se. These were new schools and they all had that dark, twisted, and funny flavor that made MÖRK BORG unique (I maintain that MÖRK BORG is not trying to be a "grimdark" game but is in fact taking the piss out of edgelord games). Thus you get the Path of Blood Power "Something Bloody" that soaks you in gore for ten minutes but makes you harder to hit or restrain because you are wet and slippery, of the Path of Death Power "Skeleton Valet" that gives you an animated skeleton companion for the day who is knowledgeable, well-mannered, and polite. MÖRK BORG is one of those games that doesn't take itself too seriously, and the tone of D666 reflects that.

This year, 2026, saw a companion volume emerge, Paths of Power: D44 Classic Classes. This volume adds 16 player character classes to MÖRK BORG. Some of these, like the Druid, Assassin, or Ranger, do resemble classic fantasy RPG classes we all know, but they are given very MÖRK BORG spins. Some others, the Inquisitor, Brawler, Templar, or Witchblade (my favorite) are new entries perfectly suited to the offical MÖRK BORG setting.

The classes in D44 are more robust than standard MÖRK BORG ones as well and more suited to campaigns.  Each offers 2-3 standard abilities, and then two D6 tables of additional class abilities. You roll (or choose) one ability from each of these tables , and then later on when you "Get Better" ( MÖRK BORG's version of leveling up) can roll or pick and additional ability. Many of them are quite cool. The Berserker spends a Power for example to go into frenzy: they must attack an enemy each round and may attack allies if none are available but they gain D6 temporary hit points and do double damage. The Witchblade can spend 1 or more Powers and each adds a D6 additional damage to their attacks that turn. 

In addition, D44 offers some optional rules to make player characters less fragile, and introduces the concept of conditions--like Blind, Staggered, or Stunned--into the game. Finally, it reprints every Power from its predecessor D666 in handy tables at the end of the book.

Both Paths of Power volumes are great resources for players and GMs who like the doom metal vibe of the MÖRK BORG game and setting, but want plenty of options to expand on the core game. There are other, more robust adaptations of MÖRK BORG but color inside the lines of the core game and are terrific resources. 

The Only Story You Need: More Thoughts on Glorantha

When I introduce newcomers to the world of Glorantha, I always start with some variation of the following: it's an ancient world setting that focuses on myth, and there's really only one myth you need to know. It goes something like this.

The cosmos emerges from Chaos. First comes Darkness, then Water. The Earth emerges from the waters and begins the Green Age, the spring of the world. The Sky rises from the earth and starts the Golden Age, ruled by the sun god. The world is shaken then by the birth of the Storm gods. They tear heaven and earth apart to make room for themselves. One storm god slays the sun, throwing the world into darkness and eternal winter. This ignites the Gods War. The gods fall to fighting each other, and Chaos re-enters the world. Nearly everything dies. In a last ditch effort to save the cosmos, the gods bind themselves and create Time. The time of the gods is over. It is the time of the mortal races. History begins.

It's a fractal story. The general pattern is easy to grasp. We all know this story because we all live it. Our lives begin in Darkness and Water--the womb. We are born into childhood, the Green Age, followed by youth, the Golden Age. Strife and struggle enter our lives, then decline and darkness. Our time ends and someone else's begins.

A Fractal Cosmos

But the deeper you look, the pattern repeats itself endlessly. It's there in the order of the Gloranthan seasons, the days of the week, and even the Ages of Time (which begin with exploring new powers and end with conflict and destruction). The myths of individual deities almost invariably explore how the god or goddess in question fits into the story told above, and it even dictates the layout of the Elemental Runes on your character sheet.

With new players, I like to start campaigns during Sacred Time, when some variation of the story above is retold. I don't tell the players the story ahead of time, I give it to the characters during the game. Then I play seasonally, starting with Sea Season, letting the pattern become obvious as we play. Gods and cults get introduced as necessary. I've done this hundreds of times and it's never failed me.

Skip the "Family History" section of character creation. It means nothing to newbies. Right on p. 29 RuneQuest tells you it's optional anyway. I also use the "Inexperienced Adventurers" option (p. 25) and skip choosing cults. You can get new players into the game in about 20-30 minutes with these options, and teach them the game and setting through play. Essentially, Six Seasons in Sartar was my blueprint on how to do all this.

This works particularly well at conventions. I shun pre-generated characters, and have been able to introduce first time players with their own characters and still have time to play. 

I introduced all four of my current players to RuneQuest this way. Sure, now they are all Glorantha nerds, putting their grubby little mitts on my precious tomes and getting lost in the pages of The Guide to Glorantha, but they all went into it blind. They hadn't even read the rulebook. But that's the thing about rabbit holes: you don't need to know what's at the bottom of them before you take the plunge.  

If you like what you read, consider buying me a martini! Follow this link--> ko-fi.com/therook93

Greg Stafford's "A Pyre for Gods and Heroes" at Long Last. or, Where the #$%& Have You Been the Last 5 Months Montgomery?

READERS MAY HAVE NOTED an absence of posts since August 2025. That is the longest period of silence this blog has seen since it launched in 2012.

I could tell you that I ran off and joined the circus, that I was abducted by aliens, that I joined a tantric cult and achieved higher states of consciousness one yogini at a time. The truth is, however, that I suddenly had a project on my lap that was for me a wish come true, an offer I could not refuse, and something I was willing to suspend all my projects for (including this blog). Now the cat is out of the bag, and I can talk a little about it.

Chaosium's Michael O'Brien (MOB) posts about this over on the Chaosium page (link here), but I will quote the first half of what he has to say to set up the picture:

As many Glorantha fans will know, Chaosium founder Greg Stafford long harbored aspirations to be a published novelist, and worked on perfecting his “Harmast’s Saga” novel over many years – decades even – stopping and starting several times. Greg would sometimes read and share his work-in-progress at conventions; today there are different, incomplete fan versions out in the wilds of Gloranthan fandom, but no complete “novel” per se. 

Starting in 2015, Jeff Richard, Greg’s frequent creative collaborator, and editor Susan O’Brien, who knew Greg personally, began – with Greg’s blessing – the task of gathering these manuscripts together and constructing a master text. The plan then was to work with Greg to “fill in the gaps” and, at long last, publish a novel pitched for Glorantha fans and the general reader alike. 

Jeff and Susan made solid progress. Altogether the tale Greg wanted to tell was about 90% complete. And for the parts yet to be done, Greg left himself notes about what was needed. Sometimes these notes were detailed drafts, sometimes dot points, sometimes there were even diagrams.

Sadly, Greg’s untimely passing in 2018 put paid to this three-way approach. Work on the ‘Harmast’s Saga’ project was shelved as we mourned Greg. Jeff and Susan went on to other creative endeavours…

For Chaosium's 50th anniversary year, one of the things that was decided was this was the perfect time to honor Greg by finishing, and publishing, his novel. Back in July of 2025, MOB arrived about a week early for KaijuCon, and we had dinner in Tokyo. He asked--straight-faced--If I might like to finish up Greg's novel and get it across the finish line. 

Naturally I said "no"...

...in some bizarre alternate universe. In this one I said "yes," and spent the next five months alone with Greg, pouring over what was written and his notes and trying to figure out where he had intended to go with it all.

I didn't do this alone. Susan O'Brien returned to the project as editor, and together we wrote, rewrote, and rearranged to get a text that would read something like a modern novel. Understand, this is not another King of Sartar. Greg was writing a novel, not an in-world collection of historical texts. This book was different from anything else the world has seen for Glorantha. I honestly believe it will change how people approach Gloranthan gaming. It certainly changed how I did.

I will not give spoilers, but the histories are out there. The novel takes place in the First Age, 1200 years before the events of most RuneQuest campaigns. The main events are set in 411 ST, with a lot of material showing the years and decades before that. You will see the breaking of the First Council. You will see the birth of Nysalor (and get to know him fairly well). And you will meet Harmast Barefoot, at the very beginning of his career. That is about all I will say.

Also, for the record, one thing I never plan on discussing is what I wrote and what I didn't. A lot of what I did was adding to Greg's chapters, clarifying. The chapters that were mine, I wrote using Greg's character's, following his notes, advancing his plot. So to my mind it was, is, and remains Greg's novel.

So go to Chaosium and download the sample chapter, "Invitations." And stay tuned.