This is Fletcher, a cannibal warlock who has abducted the Shadow-kings true Heir, Aldon, for his evil necromantic machinations. Or has he?
Fletcher has taken the Shadow-kings son in an attempt to use him as a bargaining chip to have the king take care of a creature that hides in his Accursed Den, Lesdy. Fletcher would do it himself, however he is much to large to squeeze into the tiny hole that Lesdy hides behind. That appears to be all unless you, as a GM, want to embellish or expand on any of Fletcher's motivations.
Fletcher offers a simple but interesting goal that is not what players may expect immediately, and Fletcher himself offers a very challenging fight for a bunch of first timers in Mork Borg. The game is fast, brutal and hilariously grim, and Fletcher combined with his companion creature help teach players these rules when they encounter him.
What is the companion? A LARGE worm-creature called the Gut-worm that hides in the Rotblack Sludge, black goo that sits at the base of the Accursed Den, that obeys all of Fletcher's commands, and will likely one-shot anyone it hits.
What I enjoyed so much about running this encounter, and the worm being bound to Fletcher in the way it is, was how players can cleverly handle their combat encounters. Fletcher is equipped with a significant HP pool (20), has armour of -d4, and has a Red hot flail that deals a whopping d8 damage and cripples players (-2 agility tests). These are all abilities that can outright kill players.
In addition, when he takes damage his flesh and blood splatters and deals d4 damage on whoever hit him if they fail DR8 agility check. Fletcher also brandished powers as a cannibal warlock, all of which give him a powerful punch - and to top it off? Every third spell automatically succeeds.
This may sound WAY too difficult, and honestly.... it probably is. However - Mork Borg taketh away, but also giveths when players are clever. My players used a Command spell on the worm and tasked it to bite Fletcher. Failing its Presence check, it had to obey the magic command - and it instantly swallowed Fletcher. Once it dispatched him, the worm died too as it is psychically controlled by him, and when Fletcher dies, so does the worm.
In short, while Mork Borg threatens to snatch player character's away, it can do the same to your big bad bosses. Pretty metal!
Fletcher was great fun to play. My players enjoyed his dark demeanour, and clearly dominating presence. But through clever use of spells, and appropriate risk, they killed him with his own companion, saving Prince Aldon in the process. Fletcher proved a great introductory boss, and can be found in the core Mork Borg handbook - me an day players definitely recommend it to all your dark, goth friends!
Well that's the (not technically!) monster of the week! Have you tried Mork Borg? If so what did you think? I was really worried about it being way too difficult, especially for new players, but in the end it was a riot to play and we all came away bloodied and battered - ready for another game.
If you got this far, thanks for reading and catch you on another post! Until them, great gaming!
-KJ
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