From the dice trays of All Rolled Up comes Cörk Børd, a new tabletop roleplaying game of Nordic Noir investigative horror, and it’s funding now on Kickstarter.
Paul (disclaimer: friend of the blog) has built up a trusted reputation as a designer who delivers, and All Rolled Up (disclaimer: our Tabletop Scotland sponsor) similarly. Are we biased? Well, we can’t be the only ones to hold the team in high regard, as the crowdfunding campaign has two weeks to run and is more than twice the target.
Mörk Borg delivered a bleak fantasy world steeped in doom, corruption, and rapid demise. But what if this grim despair found its way into our world today, trading rusted flails for the cold steel of a service pistol?
Enter Nordic Noir – dark crime fiction set in cold Scandinavian landscapes, populated by weary investigators who press on despite their own ruin. When these two shadows collide, Cörk Børd crawls from the wreckage. Written and designed by Paul Baldowski, creator of Cthulhu Hack and The Dee Sanction, this is a hauntingly immersive and fully standalone game of investigative horror.
Built on the Mörk Borg system, it introduces structured investigation mechanics featuring the innovative ‘Clue Chain’ system to guide your procedural. As these heroes aren’t clean or unbroken, the rules incorporate systems for tracking the emotional baggage and personal breakdowns that define the genre. The book comes packed with tables, tools, and guidance, making it perfect for hacking into other Borgs and roleplaying games, and the whole grim package is illustrated by entirely human hands.
Cörk Børd is a standalone 60+ page RPG and investigative toolkit, powered by the grim engine of Mörk Borg, but sharpened to a razor-edge to focus on emotional collapse, slow moral ruin, and relentless clue-hunting. Nordic Noir meets existential horror—every clue leaves scars, and every solution lies buried beneath the weight of your broken life.
Gamers can support Cörk Børd by sharing the news, and at £12, the art-heavy PDF for the game unlocks as a thank-you reward.
At £24, Cörk Børd’s hardcover copy is added.
That’s it. Simple, although there are stretch goals which are falling as the project collects backers.
The delivery dates for both versions of Cörk Børd are June 2026, which seems ages away, but it’s at least a realistic timeline for a project that’ll need loads of art and layout.
We’ve until September 11th to join the crowdfunding campaign.
