The Other OSR: They Came From The Necropolis

They Came From The Necropolis is supplement for Forbidden Psalm and Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition is a miniatures game published by Space Penguin Ink. It is a 28 mm skirmish level miniatures game playable with just five miniatures per warband per player and as a systems-agnostic setting, those miniatures can be from any range and publisher. It is also notable for a number of things. First, its background means that it is compatible with Mörk Borg, the Swedish pre-apocalypse Old School Renaissance style roleplaying game designed by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell and published by Free League Publishing. That means that Player Characters from the roleplaying game can be converted for use with Forbidden Psalm and with a bit of effort, content for Forbidden Psalm, could be adapted to Mörk Borg if a more physical, combative game is desired. Or the Game Master and her players want to scale their game up to handle skirmish encounters on a battlefield rather than in the theatre of the mind.

They Came From The Necropolis is a short affair that provides further additions to the dark and dirty world of Forbidden Psalm. The danger of conflict is a constant threat and every incident of conflict is brutal and uncaring, with few surviving such occurrences unscathed. Yet for the right amount of coin there are some that will enter the employ of others. Mercenaries or sellswords, they can join a warband and serve until the task they have been hired for is complete. Their advantage is that they bring their own equipment, but they will jealously guard it as it represents their livelihood, their capacity to go from one job to another. In game terms, what this means is that a mercenary can be hired for 25 gp and will replace a member of a warband at least temporarily. The mercenary does not have to be outfitted, but will not share or drop his own gear.

The supplement describes and gives stats for twelve such mercenaries. Each not only comes with his equipment, but also details of a feat, a flaw, and a special aspect. They include Pigmen, a Duke, a warrior, Knights, a Falconer, the Wounded, an Alchemist, a Zealot, a Bombardist, Necropolis Priests, Village Heroes, and a Knight and Retainer. For example, the Feat for Warrior lets her player roll two dice and take the better result, but the Flaw of never leaving combat, and the Special of granting a bonus to Melee to other members of the warband, whilst the Wounded has the Feat of being hard to kill and takes less damage with each hit, and the Flaw that when he is downed and gets back up, his Toughness increases, and the Special that he is cheap to hire. What is really is that the combination of the Feat, the Flaw, and the Special builds character in each mercenary, adding a little story potential as well as making them different to play. For example, the Village Heroes have the Feat of ‘Defenders of the Innocent’ which gives them a bonus to damage to monsters and a Flaw of being ‘Untrained’ and suffer a penalty to attack rolls, but their Special is that if they kill a monster, they lose the flaw.

The supplement also includes a ready list of names to give the mercenaries and details one monster. This is the Horse Head Knights, which of course, have the head of a horse, are immune to darkness conditions, and are undying. There is a chance that when they are killed, that they will return to life with full Hit Points!

Physically, They Came From The Necropolis is decently presented, with only a hint of the artpunk styling of Mörk Borg. Most of the mercenaries are given a page each which includes their stats and an illustration, which is that of a fully painted miniature (drawn from the Black Crab Miniatures! range). These are very nicely done, the Pigmen having a beady-eyed porcine face, the Wounded limping along on a stick with his right leg capped at the knew, Necropolis Priests possessing a certain creepiness.

They Came From The Necropolis is a solid expansion for Forbidden Psalm. The stats and mercenaries are quick and easy to add to a warband and each one is interesting enough to make play just that little bit different for the single session or battle, they are hired for.