From the Dark Forest: RPG Reviews

Welcome to the dying lands of Mork Borg (Swedish for Dark Fort). It's a scary place filled with all the Black Metal atmosphere you can handle. I had anticipated that Mork Borg would be a lethal dose of old school roleplaying and I was not disappointed.  Presentation: The art and layout for this game is utterly mind-blowing. I was struck with amazement at how crisp and darkly beautiful all the art is. This is the doing of artist Johan Nohr and it's easy to say that this is some of the best rpg art and design that I've seen. The pages are somehow grim yet splashed with bright pinks, yellows, blues, and reds. The contrast between the morose black & white and the vibrant hues is a fantastic choice. Throughout the book, Johan also dabs in some silver foiling to further push that Metal vibe. As for the state of the book itself, it is high quality and well put together. They even change up the types of paper in the book to mingle in some of those old school zine vi

Ever wanted to know what it would be like if Mad Max and 80s pro-wrestling had a baby? Have you ever wondered what it's like to be bodyslammed into a pile of 80s references? Well, wonder no more, because I give you Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland! This is an offering from designer Brian Shutter, with awesome art by Mustafa Bekir. This rpg is a modified take on the D&D Black Box rules, which means its D20 based and fits squarely in the OSR (Old School Rennaissance) wave of games that we've been seeing recently. This was a promo copy, so it was only about 65 pages long, but it contained almost everything you'd need for a full fledged game of NLotTW.  What really stuck out to me about this game is that it definitely had a focus on style. There's focus put on your hair, sun-glasses, etc., and each of those gives you special abilities.  Not only is it style, it's 80s style, which has a bit of flair. Each piece of artwork felt like a Stoner Doom band cover and the o

  Ever want to play in a gonzo post-apocalyptic fantasy game? If so, Barbarians of the Ruined Earth has got you covered. This book is 167 pages jam-packed with sorcery, weird tech, mutants, beastmen, and barbarians. There are two variations of the cover, so you're welcome to pick whichever version you like best. I have to say that I was initially offput by the cost since its only in soft cover form ($40 for regular paper, $50 for premium paper), but after recieving my copy, I realized exactly why they priced it that way. The quality of the book is fantastic and there is tons of full cover artwork. The book is written by Mike Evans and features artwork by Matthew Adams, Fred Dailey, Kelvin Green, James Hanson, Matt Hildebrand, David Lewis Johnson, and JV West. It really shines through that this is a labor of love by the aiuthor and artists. Rules: This book is a modified version of the Black Hack and features that system with some tweeks. There are 4 human classes (Barbarian, Death