Mörk Borg is not short of monsters. Since its publication in 2020, the Swedish pre-apocalypse Old School Renaissance style roleplaying game designed by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell and published by Free League Publishing, has been supported by numerous third-party supplements and scenarios, which includes numerous new threats. The world of Mörk Borg is a dangerous, even lethal one with relatively little chance of survival for the Player Characters, so new monsters are always going to be useful. Primarily to confront the characters with foes that their players have never seen before, so in game such as Mörk Borg, a bestiary is invariably going to be useful. Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 gives the Game Master some twenty-one monsters, parasites, magical constructs, lurkers, and other threats, all of which are presented in full, succulent colour. This is because they are written and drawn by the author and in some ways, Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 is as much an artbook as much as it is a roleplaying supplement. There is a looming, lurking quality to the art style, often spattered with the muculent and malodorous mess of the midden. All of the entries get a full-page entry with the minimal stats of Mörk Borg monsters leaving plenty of room for the illustrations and the descriptive text. The latter varies in length from one entry to the next and places an emphasis on the folklore to the creatures described. Even this varies from one entry to the next. However, Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 is no A Folklore Bestiary, The Merry Mushmen’s gold standard by which any Old School Renaissance or Old School Renaissance-adjacent bestiary must be measured. In fact, the folkloric elements are underwritten in place and the Game Master will need to extract them from the text rather than use them as written.
There are some common themes running through Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1. There are creatures from swamps and marshes and associated with filth and decay, such as the Bogmen which seek to suffocate, envelop, and digest its victim, but is immune to weapon damage, whilst the ‘Giant Leechworm’ is exactly what you think it is. The ‘Miasma’ is an evil spirit attracted to filth and decay and spreads diseases like the sniffles and the plague, whilst the ‘Plague Fly’ settles on carrion, fresh battlefields, and rubbish dumps in swarms, causing fever-like symptoms in those it bites and laying eggs in open wounds. Worm-like creatures are common too, such as the Cavern Worm that is like a deep sea tube worm that hides in crystalline tubes only to snap out and bite at its victims, The weirdest of the worms are the ‘Howling Worm’, a magical plant-human hybrid which howls and shrieks loudly when anyone comes near, so they are used as alarms much to the annoyance of anyone else living nearby.
Not all of the entries in Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 are simple foes that the Game Master can throw at his players and their characters. There is a version of the ‘Crystal Skull’ that is a combination of magical artefact and personality, containing the bound soul of a priest or herbalist who is not very happy about being so bound. Consequently, he is ill-mannered, angry, and contemptuous of the Player Characters, but might be persuaded to help. What is in no doubt is the Game Master will have fun portraying the unfortunate soul! The entry for ‘Dagon’ is really more illustration than description and adds little that is of use. The ‘Plague Doctor’ is an adaptation of the seventeenth century figure that sought to treat the bubonic plague, both as NPC and Player Character. It is suggested that the towns and cities setting of the Dying World are home to many Plague Doctors, who attempt cures through bloodletting, which can be dangerous if failed, and similarly use magical cures to shorten illnesses, though such an attempt will lengthen the illness if the attempt fails. In comparison to other Classes for Mörk Borg, this is underwritten, but there is perhaps scope for development.
Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 is a slight affair at just twenty-one entries and sparse descriptions for too many of them. Similarly, the emphasis upon folklore in the entries veers towards the meagre rather than the substantial, and in places, that lack gives less for the Game Master to work with and work into her campaign setting. And whilst there is no denying the effectiveness of the artwork in Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1, it cannot wholly make up for the underwritten nature of some of the bestiary’s entries. Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 does not wholly suffer from a case of style over substance, but the Game Master is likely to want to develop some of that substance herself to make fuller use of the bestiary.
There are some common themes running through Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1. There are creatures from swamps and marshes and associated with filth and decay, such as the Bogmen which seek to suffocate, envelop, and digest its victim, but is immune to weapon damage, whilst the ‘Giant Leechworm’ is exactly what you think it is. The ‘Miasma’ is an evil spirit attracted to filth and decay and spreads diseases like the sniffles and the plague, whilst the ‘Plague Fly’ settles on carrion, fresh battlefields, and rubbish dumps in swarms, causing fever-like symptoms in those it bites and laying eggs in open wounds. Worm-like creatures are common too, such as the Cavern Worm that is like a deep sea tube worm that hides in crystalline tubes only to snap out and bite at its victims, The weirdest of the worms are the ‘Howling Worm’, a magical plant-human hybrid which howls and shrieks loudly when anyone comes near, so they are used as alarms much to the annoyance of anyone else living nearby.
Not all of the entries in Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 are simple foes that the Game Master can throw at his players and their characters. There is a version of the ‘Crystal Skull’ that is a combination of magical artefact and personality, containing the bound soul of a priest or herbalist who is not very happy about being so bound. Consequently, he is ill-mannered, angry, and contemptuous of the Player Characters, but might be persuaded to help. What is in no doubt is the Game Master will have fun portraying the unfortunate soul! The entry for ‘Dagon’ is really more illustration than description and adds little that is of use. The ‘Plague Doctor’ is an adaptation of the seventeenth century figure that sought to treat the bubonic plague, both as NPC and Player Character. It is suggested that the towns and cities setting of the Dying World are home to many Plague Doctors, who attempt cures through bloodletting, which can be dangerous if failed, and similarly use magical cures to shorten illnesses, though such an attempt will lengthen the illness if the attempt fails. In comparison to other Classes for Mörk Borg, this is underwritten, but there is perhaps scope for development.
Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 is a slight affair at just twenty-one entries and sparse descriptions for too many of them. Similarly, the emphasis upon folklore in the entries veers towards the meagre rather than the substantial, and in places, that lack gives less for the Game Master to work with and work into her campaign setting. And whilst there is no denying the effectiveness of the artwork in Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1, it cannot wholly make up for the underwritten nature of some of the bestiary’s entries. Creatures of the Dying World: A Bestiary by Jonny Bloozit #1 does not wholly suffer from a case of style over substance, but the Game Master is likely to want to develop some of that substance herself to make fuller use of the bestiary.
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