Mörk Borg (Swedish for ‘Dark Castle’) is a hardcore indie tabletop RPG with a setting inspired by the bleakest aspects of the Black Plague, all filtered through a chopped-and-screwed mix of extreme heavy metal and gonzo grimdark design. And as it turns out, there’s an official Mörk Borg comic.
To Hell and Galgenbeck by Polish cartoonist Lukasz Kowalczuk captures all the wild intensity of the live-fast-die-hard tabletop game in a package that feels like a fever dream version of a Saturday morning adventure cartoon. It releases a new two-page spread every week, some of which are mind-bending full-on double page spreads – all rendered in a blacklight poster-esque palette of black, pink, and yellow to match the sparse but engaging design of Mörk Borg’s game manual.
“I always wanted to make my mark on such IP (I HATE this kind of language, but what can I do?),” jokes Kowalczuk in an official statement. “So the opportunity to write and draw To Hell and Galgenbeck is groundbreaking for me.”
“Mörk Borg is not a game with a typical setting and I don’t have restrictions like ‘You need to use this monster here.’ What I have is support from the co-creator of the game – Johan Nohr (Stockholm Kartell) and editor Walton Wood (Liber Ludorum),” he continues, explaining his working relationship with the game’s creators.
“Mörk Borg is not a nice corporate product. To Hell and Galgenback is not nice. Protagonists are ugly, world stinks, there is little hope for tomorrow and there are no colors besides black, white, pink and yellow.”
To Hell and Galgenbeck has published 18 pages across nine two-page spreads so far, with a new spread releasing every Thursday, and has a physical release in the works. As for Mörk Borg, a free, plaintext version of the game is available through the official website – and if you haven’t played it, throw on some doom metal, pick up some dice, and prepare to lose your mind.
If Mörk Borg isn’t enough, check out our picks for the best tabletop RPGs available right now.