As another playtester I can tell you this was a blast to play. I tend to be the Chaos Monkey in the group and hit the GM with wild curveballs. This adventure gave me plenty to do and there was so much more that could have happened. I like the bits of actual history that tie to this location, the red herrings, the amazing NPC's to love or hate, and yes the constant anxiety of being in way, way over our heads. I paid for this out of my own pocket.

I was loosely familiar with Mork Borg when I received Black Powder and Brimstone. I knew its reputation and figured the two would align. What I found instead is a game that takes the very best aspects of Mork Borg and offers something new. Black Powder and Brimstone acknowledges its connection to Mork Borg but easily stands on its own two feet.

While the brutality and consequences are there - with the grimdark theming - Black Powder and Brimstone feels slightly more forgiving to the player. Bad rolls might still kill your character unexpectedly, but you have an equal chance, if not greater, to thrive. Leveling up offers you greater character growth than Mork Borg. Devil's Luck, feats, and a number of smaller features culminate in giving your characters a fighting chance to last that little bit longer. To tell a more compelling story, making for an even more emotional end should they die.

Black Powder and Brimstone keeps you dangling on the edge in every situation without pushing you off to see if you survive. It's thematic setting which combines inspiration from The Witcher, Vermintide, and A Plague Tale feels just niche enough to be incredibly compelling to dive into without feeling obscure. The book lays out everything you need to know and offers wiggle room for the creativity of the GM - in fact encouraging the GM to change the game to suit their table.

I didn't expect to be as enthralled with Black Powder and Brimstone as I am. I feel like it hits that great middle ground of being a rules-light experience that also needs to be taken more seriously than DnD. It's loaded with fantastic options and so many helpful tables to build the world together. I cannot praise it enough.

Loved playing this module, and there was so much more to it that we didn’t get to! (Players always derail the story.) a compelling mystery with plenty of leads to explore, and a thrilling ending. Highly recommend!

Very limited adventure with no stats for monsters, little option for different resolutions and little to do in the investigation.

I was one of the original play testers for this module, and I had an absolute blast playing it. Since then Axel has refined it and made it a much more complete story, full of intrigue, mystery and suspense. A must for anyone who wants to give Vaesen a go.

"Den mannen hjälper oss, ge honom inte fisken"

Free League Publishing gave me a chance to check out their new offering, Black Powder and Brimstone. It is a grimdark fantasy RPG compatible with MÖRK Borge. It is a rules-light, art-heavy OSR game that offers swashbuckling adventure and gothic folk horror in an unholy blend. It’s kind of funny that I grew up playing old-school role-playing games (I started with the 1979 blue basic D&D book) but haven’t really engaged with an OSR game until now. If this is a good representation of what’s out there, I might have to check more of them out.
Black Powder and Brimstone is set in an alternate world where holy inquisitors and demons slug it out for control of the continent while the rest of humanity struggles to survive. This is actually one of my few problems with the game. It is basically just a more demonic version of fifteenth-century Europe, which is one of the few problems I have with the game book. If you are going to make everything basically the same, including characters like Luther Martin and a religion based around the Shepard, why not just make it an alternate history game? It’s a small thing, but I would have preferred either completely original or just own the fact it’s Europe.
The book’s best feature is the incredible artwork. It is distinctive and evokes the feeling of the game wonderfully. The artwork fills every page of the book with wall-to-wall inspiration, and it lets you slide into the roles of the characters and the threats they will face easily. The rules are a little sparse but make the game quick to pick up and allow a lot of flexibility to use as is or adapt to your group. The setting, as it is presented, would be easy to shift into a different system if you wanted to use it for a campaign in your D&D or other fantasy TTRPG. All in all, I really enjoyed checking out the game, and I will have to track down some more OSRs to investigate.

Note- I was given a copy of the book for review purposes by Free League Publishing. All my opinions are my own.

We had fun playing this short adventure. I especially liked the original idea of the sacrifice necessary to enter the tomb, since it already makes the player characters a little weaker and the whole situation feel even more tense and hostile.

I like the 2 hour adventure scenario especially for Convention scenarios.

Could you please set up an option to have the maps separate of the PDF especially for VTT use?

If you are a fan of the Mork Borg rule set and want to play monster hunters this is a game you will enjoy. If you are a fan of Ronin and Pirate Borg you will be familiar with the layout of the book. The use of Feats as a leveling mechanic is wonderful. The advanced combat section is a wonderful addition to these games and I will be using it in my other Mork Borg style games.

streamlined but useful rules presented in a stylish but readable fashion. It also comes with a very unique sci fi setting that I found quite interesting.

I am loving Dragonbane so far. It has very streamlined mechanics compared to a lot of TTRPGs out there, but with enough rules to cover many common adventuring scenarios. Combat is not too crunchy but offers a lot of different tactical styles. It can be lethal but not overly so. It is not too simulationist like GURPS, Rolemaster, etc., though the GM can always limit the use of Heroic Abilities and such to add more realism if needed. So overall a very flexible and balanced system that is fast becoming one of my favorite rule systems. There's also a solo or GM-less option for those interested. I hope the publisher adds more titles like a campaign setting (given its Swedish origins, I'd love one that has a Nordic theme like in Ironsworn or Middarmark), more solo adventures, additional spells and classes, and perhaps hex crawl and domain rules.

Great stuff! Thinking of printing this. But will there be any new version soon so I can wait with priting? Cost around 300SEK from a service. :P

This is quickly becoming my group's default game!

It uses the Year Zero Engine and is very easy to pick up and start running!

This is beautiful book with that does an excellent job keeping the feel of Tolkein's world. If you are a fan of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you need to check this game out!

Really enjoyed incorporating this Vaesen into my own campaign.