Standard of Ruin - Mork Borg
A band of mercenaries trudges through battles, political intrigue, and hell as they struggle to raise a kingdom. Will you join their cause?
$5.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Monday - 12:30 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 6+ Sessions
0 / 4 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Gritty, violent, and brutal acts will be required to win in this world. For 300 years the "exalted lands" have had no rest, no peace. Its kingdoms squabble, mercenary groups number as large as armies as peasantry fork over their last pennies for protection. This game has two main tenants: MORK BORG HORRIBLE WOUNDS (expansion) GAMEPLAY Combat is brutal and violent. Should a fighter let their HP reduce to zero, they risk taking lethal or life altering wounds. Fortunately, you aren't alone. Beyond your companions, you will have a warband at your side. Footmen, cavalry, archers, or more, they will fight at your command. Be careful, for they aren't puppets and may resist or even mutiny. Despite having an army, your foes are often bigger than you or more numerous. Men do not follow cowards who stand and watch, so you are not safe from the fight. Armor is adjusted to better reflect the extremes. Sneaking and dodging are more possible when going light, while tanking and surviving hits with full plate feels godlike. You will manage your soldiers and territories, trade, and engage in politics. You will delve deep and rise high, all depending on your actions. People are spiteful and rude, the only difference between the high and low class is how good they are at hiding it. Using secrets against your enemies will be vital to success. Invoke the wrath of kings, rally the oppressed to a lost cause, or spark the fires of war to make your enemies kill each other. DETAILS The game is modified MORK BORG. The world died and was reborn, as is the cycle. Gameplay has been expanded to allow for more nuance while keeping the simple foundation. Character creation will be a few steps longer, as these are veterans who have survived war and have the will to die old. Time will progress quickly, measured by half days. Combat, encounters, and RP will be held on the standard granular scale, but "overworld" gameplay will be faster. Knight, assassin, archer, or wizard, your character has gained power over the standard of their kind. You begin as powerful and renowned mercenaries. Very few reach your level, and most do it alone or under a heel. You've broken past any ties outside of this company, you are free to do as you wish. The game will be a slow rise to power, where even in the late game, you will encounter/use monstrous beasts in battle. You will not be immune to ambushes or smaller encounters, you will not be able to afford to bring your army with you to every place.
Game style
Sandbox / Open World
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Combat Heavy
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Average response time: 9 hours
Response rate: 50%
About me
Howdy, I'm a Max, a longtime gm looking to meet you! I've been playing TTRPG's for a while, with my first experience being Alien RPG. I enjoy challenging players to think through actions and enjoy the satisfaction of creative ideas coming together. I like to draw, especially for one shots where details are left to the imagination but the shape is defined. I am new and improving, so I will often use pre-rendered tokens. I love to surprise players. Hallucinations, using preconceived notions against them, and plot twists are my favorites. I work to implement them naturally, dropping hints and slowly forcing shady player characters to reveal themselves slowly as they work towards their objective. I have died in many of the games I played, in loving every death. In my first game (Alien RPG) I died a very well deserved death as my character tumbled back a staircase with a chest full of lead. I remember that story clear as day. A good premise, solid characters (and great players behind them), and the freedom to strive towards my given goal as I pleased. I do like to introduce pvp for one shots. Even if no direct combat happens, having players sabotage each other (often in secret) is very tense and interesting to see unfold. I have seen the sole survivor wave to a helicopter with a flare, the last survivor die alone in a hunk of metal drifting through space as the alien feeds them an illusion, and the band of warriors shuffle aboard the ship as the false city lay behind them.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
The first hour of session 0 will be dedicated to character creation and pre-game discussion. I will provide all relevant additions and changes before said session for players to review. Character creation will only be slightly more complicated than regular mork borg for the vanilla aspects. Classes can be default or custom. Shape shifters, necromancers, 3 gnomes in a suit of armor? Feel free to experiment, but take into account that non human or magical people may be hunted. (specifically if they are perceived as monstrous) As an aside, while min-maxing is possible (and I have no issues with it as long as it serves a character's development), I ask more emphasis is put into the role and thought behind said character.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Must have a discord account. I will create a small server with the players to share material and include session reports. Will be using Sqyre for Foundry VTT, no need for an account but you do need a computer, decent wifi, and a decent microphone. Make sure to set up noise cancellation or push to talk to not disturb the other players during a game.
What Max brings to the table
I like to use voices, sounds (soundboard and ambient soundscapes), and tokens in simple maps. Seeing as the nature of the game is unpredictable, I may take 5 minutes to quickly draw a map while players take a break. This mostly applies if a location requires a battle map. While I like having rules, they are only guidelines. Good descriptions, creativity, and sometimes cool actions are more important than what was written in a vacuum. I like to promote creativity over min-maxing in my games. Given the sandbox nature, the more creative and complicated, the harder it will be for the enemies to know what you are doing. Talking about scheming, you don't have to tell me everything! If the party wants to do execute a convoluted plan to get wolves to adopt bunnies through political machinations, surprise me! I will create npc's that react according to their values and goals, so make sure to be well informed before making decisions. While the money is nice, most of it will be put back into the campaign for art (especially character art so it doesn't contrast with the art style). Vistas, maps, and more will be drawn by an artist I hire, so the money has the purpose of locking a player in with intent, and making the game look cool!
Homebrew rules
Changes include: -Horrible Wounds Supplement by Vil. (be careful in combat!) -Eat Prey Kill by Karl Druid. Only using some parts. -Blackpowder Basics by I. McClung. Only using some parts. -Magic has been stabilized to be more usable. Powers are still used as the currency for them, though a few spells are able to be cast without the use of a power. You can memorize scrolls for casting. -Altering the balancing of armor so it guarantees protection at higher levels while adding more levels. You want to be bazuso, the armored giant? Now your armor guarantees protection! Do you want to sneak around with proper ninja clothing? Now it's easier for you! -Shield and ranged weapon expansions. -Recruitment, food, and strategic decision making on a warband level. -Political gauge system for each major NPC. -Total war combat additions for waging massive battles. Includes besieging, flanking, monstrous beings, advantage and disadvantage, maneuvering, parleys, and more! -Slower replenishing Omens, use them wisely. -Monster and creatures, along with methods to tame them (good luck learning how) -Political intrigue system, bartering, negotiating, marriages, territorial disputes, assassinations, cultural regions and methods to manipulate them (all fictional)
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Max creates a safe table
I won't lie, this game might have it all. Not all content warnings may happen, but they are possible. If you have a problem with some, let me know and I may be able to adjust the setting to not include them. Unfortunately, if it has to do with war, brutality and gore, or the occult, it may not be possible due to the nature of the story (and mork borg nature). Regardless, I am open to all discussions. Reminder, you are expected to use negative elements against your enemies. I will explain this again during session 0, where lines and veils will be discussed. It is a game, so if you feel uncomfortable tell me as soon as possible. I will have an anonymous form available after every game to gauge progression, criticisms, content, and more.
Content warnings
Safety tools used