Game Concepts
Cave Borg is a game of survival in a wild, savage land as your tribe struggles to avoid extinction. The same base rules of Mork Borg will, of course, be the same with numerous tweaks, alterations, and new rules without taking away from the spirit of the system. I’m trying my best to keep all of the extra rules as optional as possible, for anyone who wants to stick the original Mork Borg experience.
The Basics
Keep in mind, these are all subject to change, as none of this has yet been play tested.
Hit Points, Omens and five ability scores (more in line with Pirate Borg and Cy_Borg) remain. The scores are Bash (Strength), Grit (Toughness), Instinct (Presence), Agility, and Wisdom (Knowledge).
A new addition to the stats will be Gut, because of the survival theme, your cave people will need to eat to sustain themselves. The bigger, tougher cave people will need more food than the smaller, weaker ones.
An optional (but recommended) rule will be Vocabulary. When players interact with one another around the table, they can only use the words in their vocabulary list. This is determined by their class, Wisdom score, and added to throughout advancement (called Evolving, in Cave Borg).
The Classes
The Hunter: Just like it sounds, prefers ranged combat.
The Gatherer: Excellent at crafting and using resources.
The Warrior: A simple minded brute who likes to smash stuff.
The Shaman: A spell caster that supports, buffs, and heals.
The Mystic: A spell caster who calls upon animal spirits for combat.
The Feral: A wild, stealthy cave person who prefers the company of wolves.
The Troglodyte: The basic, classless cave person.
Each class (The Hunter, The Gatherer, The Warrior, and The Feral) will all have a base trait, as well as six traits that they gain as they Evolve.
Instead of traits, The Shaman and The Mystic have incantations (spells) that they gain, and like Pirate Borg, these incantations have three tiers that allow them to cast progressively more powerful versions.
I’ve parsed your entire blog so far and think the premise and idea is super sick! I will definitely be backing this when it gets to that stage. I also had a thought I’d like to share, if you wouldn’t mind. If you do, and aren’t taking content feedback from fans(totally understandable btw), please disregard the rambling to follow.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what you have in mind for the particulars(named places, characters, lore, etc)of the setting of Cave Borg other than the inspirations and ideas you listed before, so this idea might be entirely irrelevant… but I thought it might be interesting if you framed the game as a “Neolithic prequel-hack to Mork Borg” set in the Neolithic age of the actual Mork Borg world.
This is inspired mostly by Farewell to Arms Redux, a “sequel hack to Mork Borg,” set in the equivalent of World War One in that universe. It’s set on the same map, no more waterlogged from the effects of climate change, and the factions within are the descendants of those in Mork Borg. My thought is that it might be neat if you did the reverse with precursor groups and characters that eventually become those seen in Mork Borg in an age before the basilisks.
Sorry for all the words, I probably could have said all that much simpler way. Feel free to ignore all my nonsense, cheers on the project!
I welcome all input and ideas! It is an interesting idea, but I already have an idea for the world that makes it separate from the actual world of Mork Borg. If this project goes well, I had the thought of doing a follow up that adds in 1930s era explorers finding themselves wrecked ashore of this world—think King Kong or The Lost World—so it wouldn't quite fit!
DeleteAh gotcha, I understand what you're going for and it does sound very cool! I'm excited to see where it goes. Also, I don't know if you're looking, but I'd be interested in helping with a playtest... I love all things Mork and Borg so i'd love to give aid however I can before buying!
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