Written by: James Sadler
Mörk Borg took the TTRPG world by storm when Free League published it in 2020. And with good reason—every page of the book oozes with dark, grisly flavour, and the rules are simple enough to fit on a single sheet of paper. The game’s authors, Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr (as well as the creative writing consultant for the English version, Patrick Stuart of False Machine fame), describe Mörk Borg as “A doom metal album of a game. A spiked flail to the face. Rules light, heavy everything else.” So, let’s have a look at the best Czepeku maps to use with Mörk Borg that really complement that tone.
If you’re wondering what are the best battlemaps to use with Mörk Borg, Czepeku’s visual resources can absolutely help. Conduct your encounters and combats in hand-drawn arenas, or simply use them to create a certain atmosphere, to infuse your game with that je ne sais quoi of the bitter and the damned.
The world is going to end; that much is clear. Sooner or later (but not much later), the 37 prophecies of the calendar of Nechrubel will come to pass. The skies will weep, and the earth will tremble. But until then, the people of Tveland are condemned to a lesser misery: that of merely existing in such a world.
Mörk Borg doesn’t just lean toward the darker side of tabletop RPGs. The game inhabits its niche fully and without apology, revelling in the grim, the grimy, and the grotesque. I’ve looked through Czepeku’s back catalogue of over 5,000 maps and picked out the 10 best maps to use with Mörk Borg.
Wizard Prison Part 4
I like to try and look back through Czepeku’s entire back catalogue and not discount a map simply because of its age. But neither does this map, being one of their more recent offerings, detract from how great it is. I think the body horror and sheer otherworldly strangeness of this map complements Mörk Borg’s ‘the world is ending and nothing makes sense anymore’ vibe. This map could serve as a fitting battleground for a terrifying boss encounter, an audience with a powerful extra-dimensional, or it could be a gateway to somewhere stranger still.
Nightmare Dragon Lair: Fog
Perhaps the facade of this building used to be one of soaring splendour, of light and delicate masonry. Now, whatever corrupting influence lies inside has turned the once gleaming stonework into a mockery of its original form. This map’s ominous tone should speak volumes about what awaits the party on the other side of those doors. Is it the temple of a dangerous cult? Or perhaps this is the lair of a nightmarish dragon, as the map’s title suggests. Maybe this place represents a boiling-up of the world’s evil itself, emerging pustule-like from nowhere at all.
Lair Of The Many Eyed God: Cult
Speaking of evil, what better way to show players the nature of what threatens the world than the deranged god of a murderous cult? One of the really great things about Mörk Borg is just how simple it is. The game’s compact ruleset allows players to grasp the entire thing within a few minutes, and it allows GMs to craft the strangest and most bonkers creatures without worrying overly about complicated rules or endless lists of spells and abilities. Let an idea grab you, and run with it!
Elder Brain Lair: Gore
Did you know you can search Czepeku’s maps using keywords? Their website has a search function that filters maps using predefined terms like ‘fey,’ ‘celestial,’ or ‘rainbow.’ They also have search terms that are more in keeping with Mörk Borg’s unique aesthetic, such as ‘corpse,’ ‘skull,’ and, of course, ‘blood.’
Annis Hag Lair: Night
The twisted and macabre design of this map meshes really well with Mörk Borg. You might, as the map’s name suggests, wish to use it as the lair of a Hag—a mercurial crone just as likely to pluck out your liver as to strike a deal. The theme certainly fits. Or you might want to use it to house any other of Mörk Borg’s hellish bestiary. It might serve just as well as a Troll’s den or the setting for a troop of cavorting Goblins.
Dead Angel Reef: Fallen Angel
The world’s plight implies a lack of benevolent divinities or celestial saviours (ones that care, anyway). What happened to them? A war in heaven when the earth was young? One might track down the stars that fell to earth back when hope’s candle still burned. Perhaps the means of saving the world lie with the shattered bodies of those who once protected it. Or perhaps the world’s salvation died with them.
Void Dragon Lair
I’ve included this map mainly because it’s really cool but also because it’s an extremely versatile one. The variations that come with this map allow you to use it as a stage for so many different encounters. You could use it with the void dragon as the setting for an epic battle with one of the basilisks, or you could mix it up and use the ‘blood’ variation, the ‘underdark,’ ‘ice rocks,’ or ‘volcano’ variants to bring some devilish variety to even the smaller battles of your campaign. Have a look here at all the different variations that are available!
Grand Cathedral: Shadowrealm
A mighty cathedral rises from the centre of Galgenbeck, a spired monstrosity that mounts the clouded skies. Within the cathedral’s shadowed depths, the high priestess of Nechrubel rules the great city from her throne. But her position does not make her immune to the world’s fate. Like everyone else, she is doomed. Does she seek a way out for herself? Or does she look for a way the whole world might persist in the wake of this calamity?
Shadowfell Fortress
Amidst the skewed gravestones and foetid tombs of Graven Tosk, the palace of the Shadow King broods. The place is a crumbling heap, a dark counterpart to Galgenbeck’s grand cathedral, where the eponymous monarch reigns over… over what? Over a pile of stones, over the dead who lie buried five-deep in graves marked and unmarked alike. The palace itself seems to grow more ruinous and yet larger and more menacing with each passing year as if parts of it are pulled in from adjacent realms. How is this possible?
Yggdrasil Roots: Blood Pool
Deep in the bowels of the earth, the basilisks mutter their endless prophecies about the coming of armageddon. Are their words the truth? Do they become the truth once uttered? Perhaps these serpents can be influenced, perhaps their oracular power can be swayed from imminent apocalypse. Or perhaps their voices can be silenced forever. Would it leave the world a better place? Maybe. It’s unlikely to make it a worse one.
If you’ve found this brief tour through some of Czepeku’s darker maps useful or interesting, you might consider checking out more of our maps, where you can find all of their maps and browse through them at your leisure. Or, if you’re convinced already, you can download them all in gorgeous high resolution via our Patreon page.
You can also find the basic rules for Mörk Borg here to give you a taste of how it works, or you can find copies of the game via Free League’s website here.
Just remember that a heavy dose of misery and darkness should be offset with equal amounts of joy and sunshine. Go for a walk. Touch grass. And don’t worry, it’s just a game. The world isn’t really going to end.
The world isn’t really going to end.
The w̸o̴rld i̷̖̾sn’̶̡̱͗t̶͎̺̉ ̶̎͜r̶̢̢͙̍̓̒eá̶͈lly̶͚̖̋̋ͅ ̷̘́̊͘g̵͎̝͂̎͑̐͝͠oing to end
T̶͇̪̘͕̥̦̀͒͛̎́̏̀ͅh̸̟̊́́͝e̶̹̪̜͓̿͒͑́̾̌͝ ̸̡̡̤̖̗̟͖̈́͑w̷̨͔̗̖̆̌̐̓́͊̅̀͝o̵͖̬̳̳̬͗̎̑͑rld̶̲̗̙̃͌͋ isn’t really ̵̢̦̭̗̻̠̎̓̏̒̀̀goị̸̢̫͍͉̺͓̬̮̈̀̎̀̽̑̌̚ng̸̱̹͊̊͒̾̂̕ ̶̢̨̫͈̞͐̎̀̎̓t̵̤̻͇͊̂̾̽́̚͠o̶̧̡̜͖͍͚̘͚̠̎̉̒́͛͂̿͝͝ end
T̷̛̫͖̈́̏̐̀̇̍̔͊̔͘͠he̵͇̓͌̀͛̅͋̀̀͛̿͆̚ ̸̛̛̮͈̞́͂̔̈́̂͠w̶̗̼͍̝̝̏̓͜ó̴̟̘͓̞̯̻͙̪̬̙̥̱̂̑̅̆̉̏͘͜͠ṛ̷̨̛͛͒̑͗͐̾͂̏̑̚l̵͓̑̃̌̃͝ḋ̴̟̻͖̳̞̱͇̳̟͒͊isn’t ̷̥̫͕̼̅̓͌͌̉̽̂̏̀̈́̐͂r̵̮̪͕͓̳̈́̓͝ͅẹ̷̛͔̫̖̭̫͋̆̀͠a̴͎̝̙͙̺̥͎̎͛̌̆̉̂̀̉̃̒͒̀͜͠ĺ̵̪̠̉̏l̸̤̞̪͊͊̎̉͑̒̄͐́̿̓̚͠y̶̟̣̰͙͎̜͕͓̑͊̓̾̿̅ ̴̦̓̐g̸̛̬͚̖̝̼̙̓̍̊̓͐͒͘͜͠͝ò̸͔̭̱͈̤̹͉̟̲̭͚͗͗͑̽̂̑̉̈́̔͋̊͘ȋ̷̡̟̙̱͙͎̻̪̤͕̖̥̭ņ̷͈̻̯̙̟̤̎̒͐̐͑̾͂̈́̏̈́ͅġ̸̝̝̀̂̏̌͋͆́̔͛̈̓̉ ̵̧̬̩͈͇̯̰̈́̈̃̉̔̕t̶̢̜̖͚̖̙̪̦̩̭̭̰̒̄͆̂͒̈ő̷̫̰̎ͅ ̴̪͔̜͓͝ȩ̷̧̣̪̎̀̾͗̈́̓͜͝ͅn̶͔̗͓̼͍̈́͑̓̏͂̊̾̉̇͒d̶̢̳̲͇̩̖̲̥̭̠͔̝̂̓͠.̶̨̠͈͙̘͎̤̋́̆̓͜
Th̷̖͇̼͕̪͎̙̠̠̝̺̻̯̃̇͐̈́̈́̑͌̄͊̉͗̓̾̄̊͜͜͜ȩ̶̜̬̞̓͒̇̎̅̔̾̈́͘ ̴̧̢̪̙̻̰̪͉̙͎̫̪͚͈̪̘͚̫̣̈́w̸̢͕̮͎͇͖̎͌͋̄o̴̢̦͓̭̱̦̮̯͖̭̠̘͍͛̀̈rld̸̡̛̛̝̰͎͎̾́͆̄̀̇́̐͋̚ ̵̡͈̤̠̫͔̤̠̪͂̐̊̾̌͑́̋͑̌̆̀̎̿̈̈́̔̔͜ì̶͉̑͑͂̅̾̆́̎́̾̿͗͆̏͝͠ṥ̸͎̻̤̉̐͐̏̃̀̔͊̒͊͋͠ͅn’t really ̷̢̛̫̜̹͍͓̯͙͕̬̈́́͛́̍͒͗͒͌́́̆̔̀̈̈͒̅g̷̡̡͚̻̮̩͕͚̲͙̣͈̩̹̜̤̟̳͖͊̈́̐̅̑̐ơ̷̻͓̹̲̝̠̖̫̤͙̻̩͊́̎͘i̸̢̨̨̨̘̼̩̮̠̮͔̱͎̩̜̭̜̳͐̉̐̔͠ń̵̨̧͚̩̖̻̙͓͙͈̣̻̻̬̆̃́͌͊̌͋̆̈́́̃̉͜͠g̸̟̈́̐̌̋͘ ̴̨̢̛̛̘̣̱̭̘̤͈͇͕͚̥̍̋̈̒͗̆́̋̾͐͊̌͛̿́͜͜͝ͅt̷̥̬̙̒́̀͗̈̋́̈̓̓̎̒̑̅͒̊̑o̴̢̥̩̝̥̜̲͎̞̅͌̓̒̉͘ ̸̢̤̝̺͙̖̜͖͌̆̉̈͊̉͐̐̐͘͜͝e̷͓̞͋̄̓̒͐́̍̅́̚͝͠ņ̴̯̲̦̱̦̪̻̳̔̑̿̒̊̊͐͌͗̆̋͂͒̋̇͋̃̚̚͜d̷̨̨͈͕͓̠̺͎̣͊̀̐́̒̏͐͝.̵̧̡̛̫̥̘̩͔̤̤̮͇̝̋̓͊̎̍͝
̴̢̠̥͇̹͓̜̩͕̯̗̳̲͔̫͛̓̾̎͂͌̓̽͊̅̔̉͂̚͘͝͝͠
The world ̴̡̠̣̟́̆̓͌͝ȋ̵̠͓̈s̵̨̡̡̖͈̞̘͙̠͔͎̥͍̳̥̖͈͈̱̪̤͑̈́̈̑̀̃̽͋̍̓̂̄́͘̕͠ǹ̴̛̝̩̈́̃̅̐̀͐͆̊̀͆̄͂̿̑̋͊͘͘̚͠’̴̡͓̤̗̖̣̞̼͎̺̖͉̮̗̏̉͒͆͛͊̾̽̉̅͗̍͜t̴̡͍̼̬̹̱̖͖̤͎̝͓̭̎͊̐͆̔̇̊͛͐ ̷̛̛̖͋̓͊͐̎̋̀͗̓̅̔̏̓̓̋̉̈̚͘͠͝r̵̛͖̆͊̽́͛̂̆̌͂̌̓̀̇͒̂̌̊͗̃̋̕̚e̵̠͉̥͚̖͊͗̒͑͐̒̉͆́̈͋ā̷̛̳̻͎̬̣̗̯̹̯̣͖̱̩̩̙̽̉͂̉̀͛̉͑̍͒̔̓̌̚̕͜͠l̷̡̯̭̳̮͇̝̪͕͖͓̼̺̘̟̤̞̐̓͆͋̃̆̎̊͐͌͝ͅͅͅḻ̶̢̛̪͖̤͈̲̼̯͕̣̘̹̲̭̜̥̎̏̇̈́̎̏͊̇̆́̃̀̈̊̏̍̏͌̒͋͘͜y̶̮͉̬̣͈̫̹̞̟͙̌͑̀̓̿͐͌̒̊̀̓̀̎͋̎͊̂̔̚͘ ̴̨̻̱̥̻̪̙̞̼̫̩̋̑̐̐͗͛̚̕͜goping to ̵̡̡̖̺̺͎̞̫̬͖̪͛̈́͒ë̴̢̢̡̨̺̟̥͙̠̥̱̣͙̝̯̖͔̺̯̼̗́͐̽́̊́̑̓͘͜n̵̗̤̬̱͈̂̇́̐̋̒̈́͐̈́̽̏͑̍̅̄̀̎̓̑͘͘ḑ̵̢̹̜͚͈͍͓̻̫̮̯͎̆̏̎̋͋̽͠͝͠͠.̶̲͖͇̹̱͉͎̭̠̝̠̝͍͖͉̰͓͉̽̑͆̀͜ͅ
Ṯ̷̡̧̬̜̪͓̲̱͖̯̲̤̳̻̘̝̣͊he ̴͔͖̜̼̯̜̘̣̼̗̝͚̹̓̀̓̎̐̀́̚ͅwò̶̮̿̂̚rld̷̨̺̤̲͖͉̝͕͈̳̪̻̘͓̗͎̰̜̹͙̞̦̟̹̹̗͚̳͎̮̺͇̅͒͆̽̄̈́͜ isn’̷̡̧̨̡̣̠͙̬̭̳̗̝̰̳̜͎̠̩̙̩͚̩̭͔͎̟͕̞͒̏̓͛̍̒̿̄̿̈́͑̋̂̆̒͊̆́͐̅̊̓͌̿̚͝͠ͅt̸̛͖̦̯̳̞͚͕̜̳̖̫͇̯̺͍̺̹̬͓̮̰͇͍͗̊́͊̉̋̿̊̈́̈́͂͐̅̒̔̈́͂̓͘͘̕͜͜͠͝ ̴̮̰̆̅̏̌̃͑̈́͝͝r̶̡̛̞̫̀͗͆́͒̑̒̈͑̾̃̅͒̈́̊̄͘͝͠ę̸̡̩͔̮͔̻̹̭̻̻̥̪̪̭̙͇̬̩̻͚̪͓̱͔̇͋̊̈̅̎̑̀͗̄̃̒̚͝ą̴̢̨̧̢̨͈͙̟̭͎͔͍̗̯̩̝̰̖̗̱̪̦̪̟̗̩̋̃̆͑̀̈́̈́̅̿͒̐͌̊͑̈͐͂̚͜͝l̸̨̟͙͕̻̪͇̬̮̯͉̺̳̝͑̅͒͊̆ĺ̷̢̰͖̤͓̙̪̫̹͖̜͈̗̭͚̤͇̲̟̮̰̩̆̍̀̓y̷̨̢̢̘̹̭͎͓̩̬͇̺͙͂̎͜ͅ ̵̧̧̛̖̩̲̗̤̦͖͓̞̑̅̄͆́̅̓͛̅̓̽͊̅̐̕͠g̶̛̻̭̺̝͒̃̎̏̈́̏͗͌̅̆̿̂̈́̑̂̊̐̊͆͊̈́̀̄̋̈́̏͘͘̕͘͝͝͝ơ̷̢̧̨̲̲̥̪̱̝̦̙̤̭̘̈̑̂̆́̿̓̐̀̎̽͘͜in̸̨͓̤̲̟͛̉̾̓̏̏̎͊́̑͌͝͝g̶̡̯̜̙͙̗̖͌̿ ̴̢̯̼͖̙̣͔͍͈͈̬̣͒̑̆͒̂̅̏̚̕͝ẗ̶̨͍̻̭͎̠́͂̈́̈̐̄̕o̸͉̳̿͆͛͛̍͋͝ ̵̤̗̪̻̥̹͕̊̒e̷̛̤̣̪͇̙̖͙̊̋́͊͑̐̒̀̊̌̆͂́̋́͗̈́̔͗́͊̐́͘n̴̨̟̼̳̺̳̱̠̝̘̲̳͕̫͕͎͙̣͖̹̖͕̬͙̯̟͎̆̊́̆͜͜d.̸̢̪̳͓̼̘̗̻̩̥̥̯͇̼̣̞̹͇̝͎̼̞̺͓͔̪̪̜̲̫̱̗̲̇̿ͅ
T̵̛͇͈̹̈̉̊͐̓̔̆̓̿͆̄͛̃̃͌̐͐̾̌̅̎̌̈̀͗͛̌̈̾̎͛̏̒̉̃͂̒̈́̕̚͘̕͝͝͠͝͝ḩ̷̧̢̢̛͕͉̳͕͓̫͈͙͚͔͔͚̮͉͙̟͍͓̖͔̗̜̩̠͈̺̠̬͙̯̹̝̞͍͔̲̯̫͍̤͂̒͌͋̅̇̈́͋̀͋̍̋́͂́̋̾̐̂̐͋̔̑̈̎͆̅͠ͅͅę̷̢̫͕͉͓͉̼̥̤̲̘͉̈́̏̓͆͊̂͌͆͊̈́̏̌͌͊̇̾̓̑͌̎̍́̈́͛͋̄̅́̃͑͘͝͝ ̵̛̞̼̝̋̉̃͑͒̔̅͑̔̉͑̑̃̇̒̑̚͘ẘ̶̛̞̺̭̞̞͈͔̘̰̥̻̗̏͐̆̇͑̄̔̿͂̾̄̾̇̉̎́͗̉̉̿̓̿͊͌͆̔̽͛̈́̐́̃̇̿̚͘͘̚͝͠͠͝o̷̢̻̹̯͖͎̺̬̝͑͐͊̈̓̉̈́͜r̴̢̭̦̳̱̙̝̰͍̗̍͋̓̀̀̂͛́̂̈́́͆̅̃͂̉̀̀͌́̐̉̆̃́̋̄̀̎̆̑͊́̕̚͝͝͠͝ḻ̶̻͓̩̙̻͕̫̠̝̗͂̇̇̀̒͂͊͛͌̿̕͘d̷̡̡̡̛̛̛̹͔͚̤̤̼̼͔̼̼̟̹͔̦͚̓̋͐͆̆̀͋̽́̎̏̊̎̎͒̽̀̊̈́̎̈́͂̽̒̂̀̏̓̎̒̒̏̅̀͆̿̍̚̕̚͘͜͜͝͝ isn’̶̧̧̧̧̛͙̺͍̹̘̠̰̥̟̼͈̯͉͙̥̪̘̲̭̙̞̼̝̱̥̞͎̊͗̈́̋̐̈̄͒͒̍͋̾̿͌͗͐͛̋͛͝ͅt̴̨̞̗̭̝̩̝̤̥͙̲̥̝̥͇͙͙̱̪̹̰̠̤̙̘͙̲̹͖̟͕̘͍̭͚͓̞̻̟̻̲̐̐̉͌͋̃̈́̅͋͆̂̈́͛̓̈́̇̑͒́͛̈́͊͋̃̊̎̃̆̆̂̒̎̈́͐͗̆̈͘̚̕͜͜͝͠͠ͅ ̴̼̭̲͈̳̩̟̻͒͆̄̅̽͗́̽͛͌͜͝ŗ̷̢̢̤̟̟͚̯̦̖̱̭̠̖͎͕̳̊ͅeā̷̹̾́͐͆̐̾l̸̢̰̦̥̞̜̗̥͎̟̱͉̰̠̦̟̠̍̒͂̒̾̿̄͌̉͋̐͑̊̕̚ļ̶̢̡̨̰͖̣̤̤̳̟̭̖̝̹̪̮͙͕̩̙̭͕̼̣̫̼̟͇̙̪̰͙̖̀́̆̽͌̉͐͋̍̋̾̔̿͑͑̈́̓͘̕y̵̡̡̨̡̛̮̰̬͖̙̣̫̖̤͇̝̺͉͕͈͍͓̣͍͍̖̹͕͚̠̭̥̻̦̺̪̬̝̒̾̈͗̓̇̎̈̈́̈͛̐̀̋͂͛̏̑̑͛̊͆͗̉̇̊͌̅́̀̊̎̓͛̋̒̍͘̚͜͝ ̵̧̡̥̫͕̦̳̣̰͖̠͖͖͓̱͎̼̠̫͈̟͓̥̭̩͙̭̜̳̫͖̈̊̚͜͜going to end.̶̨̧̢̡̧̛̮̥̫͚̺̤̝̳̹̠̤̙̖͇̜͈͌̓̋͗͆͛̎̊́̓̏̃̈̿̓̿͐̓͊̒͆̆͑̌̇͗̈̀̐̓̈͂̂̚̕̚̕͘͜͝͝͝͝͠͝