Black Powder and Brimstone Brings MORK BORG’s Darkness To Witchhunting Schisms
A new RPG from Free League puts you in the midst of a church schism in a demon-beset world. Check out Black Powder and Brimstone.
Free League announced that it would be publishing a new RPG this week, one “based on and compatible with” MÖRK BORG, the apocalyptic metal fantasy RPG. Only the new game is an entirely different sort of grim and dark and metal.
Written and Illustrated by Benjamin Tobitt, the game is a whirlwind set between two conflicting churches whose schism has been in a decades-long war now. In the midst of all of this, gunpowder, witches, demons, and the slaying thereof. Which sounds amazing. But it’s also a big project that would be published under Free League Workshop, the official sublabel for works by independent creators.
Black Powder and Brimstone
Black Powder and Brimstone is such an evocative title. It tells you everything you need to know even as it conjures up images of buckled hats and braces of pistols. Even the artwork communicates the world. It’s very witch hunter-y and it knows this:
The Orthodox and Puritans of the Church of the Sacred Blood are stuck in a stalemate of a war that has raged for decades. You are a desperate adventurer stuck in the middle of the conflict, desperately trying to survive, and maybe even profit, amongst the chaos and destruction.
To that end, you have a number of weapons at your disposal. And using the game’s ruleset, each tool in your arsenal plays with mechanical advantages:
Wield unique and characterful weapons, each with their own rules and advantages on top of the damage die. The arsenal includes the dreaded Black Powder weapons — infernal devices that ignore all armor on a hit and can cause as much mayhem and destruction to the wielder as the intended target.
There’s also magic. Naturally, it’s forbidden and dangerous. And, using it too much might bring you into conflict with the Inquisition. Because this is gothic folk horror in the age of pistols.
You can get a taste of the game’s combat rules above. Or preview some of the many monsters who will be killing your characters (unless you’re able to think fast and plan carefully) below.
Look for Black Powder and Brimstone on Kickstarter, April 25, 2024!
