MÖRK BORG?

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finarvyn said:
A bit of a thread necro. I got a flurry of ads on my Facebook feed for something called MÖRK BORG: IKHON.

https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/store/...


Basically, that's all I know about the thing. It's for Mork Borg, so I'm tempted to plunk down $21 just to see what it is, but I figured I'd toss something out here to see if anyone has seen this before. (And if so, what you thought about it.)
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First I've heard of it too. I'll have to take a look, as it seems like I have to buy all things Mork Borg...
 
It’s four small booklets with black covers in a box. It’s sort of an in game prop for summoning the Ikhons. You grab a random book and roll a dice and read the effect.

Its fun and filled with cool art, like MB.
 
Just picked up Cy Borg. Like SLA Industries in 1992, they managed to capture the spirit of the times (or, at least, the anxieties) and distill it into a game. The $25 price tag is a little steep for a pdf of succinct, evocative fluff but it's good evocative fluff.
 
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Brock Savage said:
Just picked up Cy Borg. Like SLA Industries in 1992, they managed to capture the spirit of the times (or, at least, the anxieties) and distill it into a game. The $25 fee is a little steep for a pdf of succinct, evocative fluff but it's good evocative fluff.
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I agree, CY-BORG is a pretty good game off the page. Once you get over the 'art over readability' style many of the games have, the vibe is infectious.

BTW, what are the kids calling these games and the books specifically, Artpunk? In a way I'm impressed the aesthetics of HOL, which baffled and amazed me when a friend showed me his copy, became an actual style for RPGs nearly 30 years later.
 
finarvyn said:
I got my kickstart copy of Pirate Borg. Haven't gotten too far into it yet, but the fonts are a lot more readable than Mork Borg. I'd say that somebody learned something, but the creators are different people. :trigger:
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It’s one of the reasons I’ll probably keep Pirate Borg but sell Mork Borg
 
Fenris-77 said:
You can gtfo too. No geek card for you. :grin:

Apropos of nothing in particular, this post really makes me think we need an emoji that is actually laughing, not just smiling.
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Ha, to each their own. I just don’t have time for games that make me work to even be able to read them, perhaps I just haven’t smoked enough of the pot?
 
sharps54 said:
Ha, to each their own. I just don’t have time for games that make me work to even be able to read them, perhaps I just haven’t smoked enough of the pot?
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MB isn't for everyone, that's for sure. I loved every page, including the layout and font madness as soon as I read it, but that isn't everyone's experience.
 
I don’t have anything bad to say about the mechanics for what it’s worth.
 
I consider Cy Borg a must-buy for fans of the cyberpunk genre, especially if they lean hard into the “punk” aspect. Cyberpunk was my favorite genre in my teens and 20s but interest has slowly declined over the past 20 years or so. Besides a few standouts like Bladerunner 2049 and the Cyberpunk 2077 video game there hasn't been much in way of inspiring media in the past decade or so. Cy Borg gets me inspired. Even better, people I show it to also get inspired.

Cons: If you want to be reductive Cy Borg is just a collection of inspiring art paired with brief evocative exposition and a bare bones system. It’s not a good buy for someone who only sees the value of a pdf in the price per word sense. It's not a good fit for someone who isn't willing or able to creatively "fill in the gaps" and flesh out the details of the world when needed.

Mork Borg was neat but didn’t rock my world or inspire me with new ideas. Mork Borg is strongly European in feel and I look for creative inspiration from other sources. I’ve been into dark "metal" fantasy and art since Warhammer’s Realm of Chaos so Euro-based dark fantasy is kinda played out for me. That's not to say I don't like European influences in my fantasy. Brancalonia is what a 5e game written by Umberto Eco would look like, it's really good and worth checking out!
 
Brock Savage said:
I consider Cy Borg a must-buy for fans of the cyberpunk genre, especially if they lean hard into the “punk” aspect. Cyberpunk was my favorite genre in my teens and 20s but interest has slowly declined over the past 20 years or so. Besides a few standouts like Bladerunner 2049 and the Cyberpunk 2077 video game there hasn't been much in way of inspiring media in the past decade or so. Cy Borg gets me inspired. Even better, people I show it to also get inspired.

Cons: If you want to be reductive Cy Borg is just a collection of inspiring art paired with brief evocative exposition and a bare bones system. It’s not a good buy for someone who only sees the value of a pdf in the price per word sense. It's not a good fit for someone who isn't willing or able to creatively "fill in the gaps" and flesh out the details of the world when needed.

Mork Borg was neat but didn’t rock my world or inspire me with new ideas. Mork Borg is strongly European in feel and I look for creative inspiration from other sources. I’ve been into dark "metal" fantasy and art since Warhammer’s Realm of Chaos so Euro-based dark fantasy is kinda played out for me. That's not to say I don't like European influences in my fantasy. Brancalonia is what a 5e game written by Umberto Eco would look like, it's really good and worth checking out!
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So what does Cy Borg do that Cyberpunk 2020 doesn’t already do?
 
sharps54 said:
So what does Cy Borg do that Cyberpunk 2020 doesn’t already do?
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Cy Borg is creatively inspiring, just like Cyberpunk 2020 was in 1990 and SLA Industries in 1992. Judging by the explosion of third party content online for Cy Borg in such a short time, I think it's safe to say many others feel the same way.

I played Cyberpunk 2020 frequently for about a decade and infrequently for another decade. I can say in all honesty that CP2020 feels tame, pedestrian, and dated in comparison to Cy Borg. That said, and I want to be perfectly clear about this, Cy Borg is simply a collection of inspiring art paired with brief evocative exposition and married a bare bones system. Cy Borg is not a traditional RPG book and you are gonna feel ripped off if you're looking for CP2020 redux with an edgy facelift.
 
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Tame and pedestrian sounds like a problem with the GM and group. As far as dated we still prefer 2020 to Red so I’m hesitant to change mechanics that work and Cyberpunk 2020 hits the sweet spot for us as far as combat goes. That said it is possible there is something in there to steal so I will check it out at some point, or at least seek out a YouTube review where they flip through each page :hehe:
 
Brock Savage said:
Bro, CP2020 is stuck in the 80's and reflects the attitudes and anxieties of the time. Japan ascendant and street drugs are scary!
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It is definitely a game of its time set around presumptions of the time. I agree if you don’t want to play in alt history the first idea is outdated but the second is still valid.
 
I backed the hardcover reprint of Purgatory on Kickstarter:

OneBookShelf

www.drivethrurpg.com www.drivethrurpg.com


Brock Savage said:
The creators of Cy Borg went bold with the core theme of the game. I happen to believe that if you break this rule you are not playing a proper 'punk game.

View attachment 55858

I hope they produce a plain text rulebook to use as a reference.
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I believe Questing Beast was suggesting that a rule like this is somewhat silly, as it would invite people to try out exactly the thing they forbid. Of course, some of the comments started dragging politics into it. *shrugs* I personally think it's fine, and also probably to be taken somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Certainly not something to get wound up about.
 
3rik said:
I believe Questing Beast was suggesting that a rule like this is somewhat silly, as it would invite people to try out exactly the thing they forbid. Of course, some of the comments started dragging politics into it. *shrugs* I personally think it's fine, and also probably to be taken somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Certainly not something to get wound up about.
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Politics? In cyberPUNK???
 
Ladybird said:
Politics? In cyberPUNK???
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Yeah well, they were implying that telling people they 'cannot' play these things is, in fact, a political statement. I don't think it is, but it's probably not a matter to be discussed on the Pub. :wink:
 
finarvyn said:
I got my kickstart copy of Pirate Borg. Haven't gotten too far into it yet, but the fonts are a lot more readable than Mork Borg. I'd say that somebody learned something, but the creators are different people. :trigger:
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Mine is on its way. I late-added the playing cards just before they sent it. My friend actually pledged at the Limited Edition Hardcover Book level so I'll get to see how that turned out as well.
 
3rik said:
Yeah well, they were implying that telling people they 'cannot' play these things is, in fact, a political statement. I don't think it is, but it's probably not a matter to be discussed on the Pub. :wink:
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I suppose it comes down to whether you think cyberpunk is a setting genre or a narrative one. The CyBorg authors clearly think the latter.
 
finarvyn said:
I got my kickstart copy of Pirate Borg. Haven't gotten too far into it yet, but the fonts are a lot more readable than Mork Borg. I'd say that somebody learned something, but the creators are different people. :trigger:
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Yep. It’s a cool looking book, but created by someone who was inspired by MB and not the MB creators.
 
Gringnr said:
Also Ilike Cy-Borg better than Mark Borg
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Mark Borg? The author of Don’t be a Dick? XD 2FB7EE5A-5687-4F7B-B366-58DC5C93E951.jpeg

More seriously, it’s a common when something influential happens like Mork Borg for subsequent iterations to be preferred by people as the thing is refined further. However, those iterations would not have had the same impact as the original because of those refinements.

Apocalypse World is another I can think of where the subsequent iterations have overtaken it but it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that the chaotic creativity of AW was a part of why those iterations even exist. Mork Borg is much the same.
 
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And here is Ikhon,

Ikhon.PNG

What's in those booklets: each booklet is dedicated to an Ikhon (= "a nigh-forgotten folk gods" for those of you wondering). So you get one page about the Ikhon then 10 entries for their powers (and their effects in-game).

Ikhon_2.PNG

The box interior gives you rule to use this stuff (basically "how do I summon the Ikhon's powers?"). If you're a MB fan, this one's a no-brainer. Yes, you can use it even if you run other games (Warhammer comes to mind as well as Shadow of the Demon Lord).
 
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