Mörk Borg - Session 3

Maws in the Mist

Introduction

Two weeks ago, Felban had just left his newfound friend for dead after a nightly encounter with some zombies. Last week, instead of doing another session, I wrote a Let’s Look At article about Reclvse, a new solo engine supplement for Mörk Borg. I was contemplating on whether to port my play through to use it instead of Sölitary Depths which I had used until now. At first, I didn’t really want to do that. I figured Felban would meet an untimely death soonish anyway, but that didn’t happen.

So, what I did was, I started the session and played through a day, then I switched engines. So, Day 5 is using Sölitary Depths, and the rest of the play through is using Reclvse. I’ll share my thoughts at the end of this article, if you’re interested to hear them. Without further ado, let’s get playing.

Maws in the Mist

Day 5

Days left to Valley of the Unfortunate dead: 4
Roll for Nechrubel (d10): 6 => no Misery
Roll for weather (d12): 7 => Cloudburst

The morning caught me unawares. One moment it was pitch black, and the next time I opened my eyes the light was piercing through the branches. I crawled out from beneath the tree and looked around for any signs of danger. Or of Risten. I let myself wonder if he got away, but quickly pushed the thought to the back of my mind; he’d been bitten and there was nothing I could do to help him.

Stocked up on food for once, I decided to trudge on. The days, eventful as they had been, blended together and I didn’t know how long I’d already taken. Whether my so-called “friend” was still waiting for me.

Road (d8): 6 => Well-used road
Events (d20): 5 => Weather change
=> Weather (d12): 3 => Piercing wind

I trudged along a well-used road in the direction I believed the the Valley would be. Sometime around midday, the wind picked up, seemingly blowing through my robes. The holes left by the zombie’s claws the night before didn’t help.

Is there anything noteworthy encountered during the walk?
d4: 1 => Yes
Is it an inn?
d4: 1 => Yes

After several hours of walking, just when I had given up hope for finding a place to stay the night, I spotted a silhouette in the distance. As I came closer, I could hear shouting mixed with laughter from inside. An inn. Blessing my good fortune, I walked to the door. A wooden sign, hanging slightly askew told me this charming little place was called The Meagre Snip.

Inside the air was thick with the smell of sweat, smoke and shit. I tried not to make eye contact with any of the patrons, and plopped down on a stool at the bar. The barkeep, a fat bastard with enormous pouches under his eyes, was busy drying a glass with a rag. When he noticed me, he put down the glass, wiped the mice droppings of the counter with the rag, then resumed wiping the glass with it, all the while eyeing me with a healthy does of suspicion.

I tried to make out the name on the name tag. When I was fairly sure I had it correct, I opened my mouth.

“Wakta, is it? Can I have something to eat? And a room for the night.”

Fucker must’ve been hard of hearing, as he dropped the glass on floor where it shattered, and grabbed me by the collar with one fat hand, the other balling into a fist the size of a ham.

“We don’t offer no moms here,” he growled. “Now get out before you get to pick your teeth from the back of your throat.”

“ROOM, I said, R-O-O-M!” I yelled to the barkeep.

Understanding lit his face up.

“Well why didn’t you say so?” he asked as he let me go. “We don’t have no rooms vacant, but you can as Slurper over there if he’s okay to share.” He pointed to a sorry-looking, filthy excuse of a man nursing a mug of something akin to beer. He had long, black hair that, by the looks of it, had not been washed within the last few years. As I was looking at him, he lifted the mug to his lips and slurped loudly. Great. I hope he fucking snores as well.

I didn’t have much choice so I just went with it. I plopped down on a chair at Slurper’s table, asking him if he was okay sharing a room with me.

Does he agree?
d4: 2 => Yes, but...

“If you pay for the room,” he blubbered, and slurped on his beer.

I was too tired to argue the point, so I just nodded and went back to the barkeep, and paid for the room, some food and, against my better judgement, a beer.

-15s = 65s left
Avoid food poisoning:
GAM DR 12 Toughness: 7+3, 17+3 => Weak hit => -d2:2 HP for vomiting = 6

Wakta offered me Tveland yam-hash with sliced pungent tomb-truffle. It was delicious, but I made the rookie mistake of chasing it down with the beer. Within minutes, I was outside, puking my guts out. Weakened, I wobbled back in and tucked in for the night, stomach rumbling in protest.

Let’s play pretend. Let’s pretend that Reclvse, the Solo Supplement that I covered last week was actually out already when I started this playthrough. Let’s also pretend that I didn’t get frustrated with the vagueness of Sölitary Defilement after rolling a Weak hit on the road check because the road was in despair, and had no idea how to interpret it. Because basically, I think “getting lost” (which I treat Leaving the Road as) is binary in nature. Either you are or you are not lost. You either know where you are, or you don’t. Getting a weak hit and having to roll on the Leaving the Road table and resolving whatever the game throws at you, and also counting that as the traveling for the day seems harsh.

Anyways, I digress. I will continue with Felban as rolled up, and I will not be using the Starting Blessings introduced in, I think, v1.8 in Reclvse (I didn’t cover them in my Let’s Look At as they weren’t included in that version.) As for his quest, I will roll for Start A Quest as I would have done before setting of from outside of Schleswig.

Quest move: Start a Quest (+Toughness)
17+3 | 17+3 vs 12 = Strong Hit
Advantage on next Quest-related Move
Find my “friend” and solve the problem (standard)
Segments: 0/8

I’m thinking, since each Advance a Quest fills 1-2 segments on a Hit, I have at least a couple of clear milestones ahead:

1. Reach the Valley of the Unfortunate Dead in one piece

2. Confront the “friend” and figure out what they want of me

3. Solve that issue somehow depending on what they want (possibly chaining it as another quest?)

By now, I’m approximately halfway there. I will skip the Determine Length of Journey move since I’ve already started it and know how far I have left to travel. And by I, I mean Felban. From day 6 onward, I’ll be using Reclvse travel mechanics. Hopefully this doesn’t make the narration to jarring or anything.

Day 6

Days left to Valley of the Unfortunate dead: 3
Roll for Nechrubel (d10): 6 => no Misery
Weather (+Presence): 17-1 | 12-1 vs 12 => Weak Hit
=> Poor weather: wind, rain, cold or gloom, minor penalties or loss of visibility

I shivered, whether from the icy wind and rain or from the night, I couldn’t tell. Slurper had stumbled into the room and even though we had separate beds, he came to mine and had been spooning me the whole night, the bastard. I didn’t have enough energy after the food poisoning to fight him off. Thankfully, he was still so out of it in the morning that I’d slipped out without waking him. Apparently, the rat poison affects different people in different ways, go figure.

Travel the Road (+Agility)
8+2 | 8+2 vs 12 => Miss
You become lost, trigger Hold Your Bearing

It didn’t take long after I left The Meagre Snip that the nonstop barrage of ice shrapnel that the wind threw into my eyes had me wander off the road. Keen to get where I needed to be, I didn’t pay enough attention and just trudged forward until it was too late. When I stopped, I realized I had no fucking clue of my whereabouts.

Hold Your Bearing (+Presence)
19-1 | 19-1 vs 12 => Strong Hit
You stay on course with no trouble
Wilderness Landmark (d20): 15 => A massive sinkhole

There was a small ridge ahead of me, and I thought to myself, if I just push up on the hill, maybe I can see something helps me navigate. I did just that, and when I crested the ridge, I spotted a massive sinkhole ahead of me, and next to it, the road I had strayed from. Mentally thanking the powers that be, I returned to the road and vowed to myself to keep a better eye on my step henceforth.

I was nearing the right place, with the mountains looming on my right. I found an outcropping that sheltered me somewhat from the wind, and managed to build a small fire to keep my hands from freezing solid. I brewed some 3x Red Poison and 2x Hypho’s Enervating Snuff while eating a ration, then tucked in to try to get some sleep.

-1 ration = 5

Camp (+Tougness)
3+3 | 10+3 vs 12 => Weak Hit
+d4 => 2 HP, total: 8/8
Trigger Night Encounter

Night Encounter (+presence)
9-1 | 11-1 vs 12 => Miss
A threat emerges (creature, foe, weather or omen)
d4: 2 => foe

Creature type (d20): 10 => Parasite (2-4HP)
Armor (d6): 3 => Light armor (1)
Morale (2d6): 10
Damage (d6): 2 => d4
Behavior (d20): 14 => Cowardly
Appearance (d20): 7 => Charred
Reaction (2d6): 7 => Indifferent

I had barely had the chance to close my eyes when a sound made me jolt upright to a sitting position. I scanned the dark around me, unable to pinpoint the direction it had come from; Popping. Like a fungus roasting from the inside out. Then came the stink. Charred meat, piss, and sap. I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.

It crawled slowly towards the fire—the size of a small dog. It’s eyeless face, if you could call it that, regarded me when it heard me move about uneasily, but it didn’t seem threatening, just drawn by the fire, more like. It plopped down right next to the fire, so close, in fact, that it was in danger of catching fire itself. By the looks of it’s backside, it would not have been the first time—it was protected by a shell resembling burnt bark.

It didn’t cost me a thing so I had no issue sharing the heat with whatever the hell that thing was. Still, I kept the sword close at hand, just in case. It took a good while for sleep to come, but when it did, I got a good night’s rest.

Day 7

Days left to Valley of the Unfortunate Dead: 2
Calendar of Nechrubel (d10): 3 => No Misery
Weather (+Presence)
10-1 | 12-1 vs 12 => Miss
Severe weather, disadvantage on travel rolls

That is, until the rain started. The thing had left at some point, probably when the fire had gone burnt out and I didn’t have anything to offer anymore. The weather had warmed a few degrees, so now I was not pelted by stinging ice needles anymore, but that didn’t make me any less miserable: I was soaked to the bone. I’d reckon I’ll develop gills if the weather doesn’t improve soon. It would not surprise me if a fish would be swimming past me at shoulder height, that’s how much it rained. Visibility was a few metres at best, nil at worst.

Travel the Road (+Agility)
14+2 | 11+2 | 7+2 vs 12 => Weak Hit
-1 travel day => 1
Face a complication (hazard, weather shift, resource loss, noise)
d4: 4 => Noise

Nevertheless, I stalked forward trying to make progress towards the Valley in the rain, when a scream cut the rain like a knife, making my blood curdle in my veins. I looked around me in vain, as the visibility was poor, and didn’t see anything. Regardless, I tried to hide my sorry ass from whatever caused someone to scream like that.

Face the Wilds (+Agility)
19+2 | 17+2 | 14+2 vs 12 => Strong Hit

Whatever made the banshee shriek, I managed to pass by them unnoticed, maybe thanks to the rain. As the evening started to near, I came across a burned-down watchtower. While the condition was poor, it was abandoned, and gave me at least somewhat sheltered place to rest. I knew I had to be getting near, now.

-1 ration = 4

Camp (+Tougness)
17+3 | 3+3 | 13+3 vs 12 => Weak Hit
Trigger Night Encounter

Night Encounter (+presence)
2-1 | 3-1 vs 12 => Miss
A threat emerges (creature, foe, weather or omen)
d4: 2 => foe

Creature type (d20): 12 => 1d6 => 6x Pack hunter (2-5HP each)
Armor (d6): 2 => Light armor (1)
Morale (2d6): 7
Damage (d6): 5 => d8
Behavior (d20): 16 => Opportunistic
Appearance (d20): 9 => Horned
Reaction (2d6): 2 => KILL!

At night, it stopped raining, but thunderstorms rolled in, and the constant cracking of thunder prevented me from sleeping deeply, so I was wandering around the watchtower, searching for anything useful to take with me when I briefly saw silhouettes of three or four creatures watching the tower. Clearly outnumbered, I quickly gathered that I had no choice but to try to bar the entrance with whatever I had at hand.

Face the Wilds (+Strength)
19+0 | 11+0 vs 12 => Weak Hit (use Omen to turn it into a Strong Hit)

There were some charred beams lying on the floor just inside that entrance, and I estimated that if I piled them in front of it, it would prevent anything bigger from entering. With a grunt, I lifted the first one and placed it in diagonally in front of the door. I pressed some rubble and rocks to better hold if in place, then threw the second, even heavier beam in front of it. Just as I had managed to put it in place, two yellow eyes locked into mine from the outside, between the beams. I heard the banshee shriek again, and the creature looking at me bared it’s teeth, took a step back and then rammed it’s horned forehead into the beam I had just put in place with enough force to make the entire structure groan and creak.

I cursed under my breath, and tried to gather more debris to stabilize the beams while keeping an eye on the doorway. Meanwhile, I heard the scraping as the other creatures desperately clawed at the walls and windows, trying to find a way inside.

I didn’t get much sleep that night, but eventually, the creatures got bored and moved on.

Day 8

Days left to Valley of the Unfortunate Dead: 1
Calendar of Nechrubel (d10): 1 => Misery =>
=> 2d6: 6, 6 => And the unnamed enter the earth, passing through the Veil as it is sundered by Daejmon, the left underling of Nechrubel

Weather (+Presence)
9-1 | 8-1 vs 12 => Miss
Severe weather, disadvantage on travel rolls
Weather precipitation (d20): 13 => Steady snow
Visibility (d20): 14 => Light that flickers

I must’ve dozed off at some point during the morning hours after the pack left me alone, because my neck was stiffer than a corpse left to rot in the snow outside. Yeah. Snow. I huddled my cloak tighter around my head, and checked if the coast was clear—no visible tracks in the snow, at least. That’s something, I told myself, not believing half of it. Still, I counted myself lucky to have made it out alive.

Travel the Road (+Agility)
4+2 | 3+2 | 2+2 vs 12 => Miss
You become Lost: Trigger Hold Your Bearing

Hold Your Bearing (+Presence)
15-1 | 12-1 | 12-1 vs 12 => Weak Hit
You stay on course but lose time, suffer fatigue or encounter a minor complication
Travel-cost hazards (d20): 3 => Bridge out

Walking around in the snow had gotten me warm, but it did not prepare me for what was to come: a raging river with no obvious way to cross it. I knew the Valley loomed ahead, on the other side of said river, so I had no way but to walk along it, to try to find somewhere to cross it. Eventually, I did find a bridge, but there was one small issue; it was broken. It had several planks missing and just looking at it made me feel queasy inside. Thing was, there was no other way, and I’d already lost too much time looking for it.

Endure the Environment (+Toughness)
12+3 | 14+3 vs 12 => Strong Hit

I was shaking all over, muttering curses under my breath as I stepped on that sorry excuse for a bridge. It groaned under my weight, as if complaining. And not only was it in danger of collapsing at any minute—it was slippery as a witches tit! There was only one railing, the other one had broken off.

“Do not look down,” I kept telling myself. “And keep a steady pace.” And it worked. I almost slipped once, but the railing held, and I steadied myself and my heart which felt like it was trying to break out of my chest. Then it was over. I promised myself I’d take another route going back. Because fuck that.

An hour or so later, I started seeing gravestones and mounds, obelisks and stone crosses jutting from the earth. I had arrived. My hand instinctively groped for the envelope. Soon, I’d find out who my so-called “friend” is.

Advance a Quest (+Toughness)
12+3 | 14+3 => Strong Hit
Mark 2 segments => 2/8
Gain advantage on next quest-related Move

Afterthoughts

Honestly? I wish I had had Reclvse at hand when I started this play through. It flows so nicely. I had some minor questions, which I asked the creator on their Discord, and they answered them right away. Not only that, they promised to fix the wording and add missing things to the 2.0 version which is in the works.

I’m still getting a hang of the using the system myself so don’t take this as an example of perfect play. Where you see three rolls instead of two, that’s where I’ve had Disadvantage on travel-related rolls, and only the two lower values actually count.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know in the comments below!

And if you haven’t subscribed, please do: it helps my SubStack grow, and you get notified whenever I post new stuff on here. And it’s free!