PUNK BORG - A TTRPG About Overthrowing Corporate Overlords

WHAT IS PUNK BORG?

PUNK BORG is a rules-light, vibes-heavy, low-tech-cyberpunk game built off the rulesets for MÖRK BORG and CY_BORG. The players are Punks: rebels in a city ruled by cruel corporate Overlords. Full of rage and hatred for the manufactured capitalist system, the players must use cunning, creativity, and DIY methods to fight back. A grassroots army made from dirt and grease. Despite using mechanics from the previously mentioned games, PUNK BORG is completely standalone.

WHAT IS THIS CAMPAIGN FOR?

The full core rulebook for PUNK BORG, as well as the intro scenario THE BARGE are already available to download for free on itch.io. So why a Kickstarter campaign? This campaign is to fund a print release of the book, and will cover the cost of manufacturing and shipping. I've been wanting to get this book in people's hands for a while now, and I believe this is a good way to do it.

SHIPPING WILL BE TO THE UNITED KINGDOM ONLY - I WILL NOT BE SHIPPING ABROAD, BUT ANY DONATIONS FROM THOSE OUTSIDE THE UK ARE WELCOME

Main updates about the game (patches, funding goals, and events PUNK BORG will be at) are announced via the game's Instagram page.

THE PREMISE

PUNK BORG takes place in the City - a bustling coastal metropolis dressed up to perfection by its Corp rulers. A retro-inspired city full of sandy beaches, fast cars, and postcard-worthy sights. But hidden a little deeper are all the parts the Corps don’t want you to see. Crumbling roads claimed by highway gangs, a vast landfill infested with raiders, a choking industrial zone mining the remnants of an old asteroid buried deep under the city; and of course slums full of rowdy, troublesome punks.

The Corps squeeze every penny and every second of labour from the Sleepers that inhabit the City, keeping them complacent in a Trance - carefully crafted and maintained. The Resistance is made up of those that have broken from this Trance, and seek to free others to rally more to their cause. The players may be inducted into this collective, and throw themselves into bringing down the Corp regime.

Standing in the way of the Resistance is the City law enforcement: revolting, piggish monsters in blue uniforms. Punks call them ‘Swine’. Lurking in the more depraved areas of the city are nihilistic gangsters, who despite breaking from the Trance choose not to join the Resistance’s cause. And in the closely monitored Corp fortresses and bastions of control are vicious Corp security officers and lieutenants. Their fangs and claws drip with bloodthirst and ambition.

And to boot, the Resistance is running on a timer. They are doomed to become a trend sooner or later; once that happens their whole revolution will lose meaning to the Sleepers. The countdown to commodification draws nearer. Their plan: make as much noise as fast as possible. 

A playlist to get you at home in the City, representing all Domains and factions:

WHAT'S IN THE BOOK?

Within 100 pages of an A5 hardcover book:

• An original setting to explore made up of twelve unique districts, and a selection of TV and radio stations.
• Four playable classes: Grunt, Screamer, Demolition Man, and Technic.
• Mechanics for equipment, combat, broadcast hijacking, crafting, and more.
• A menagerie of enemies to fight: from monstrous badged enforcers, to good-for-nothing gangsters, to roving biker gangs.
• A mission generator at the end of the book to craft the bones of a scenario.
• A table full of events to count down until commodification.
• Writing, art and photography made by real humans.

REWARDS

• The STANDARD EDITION of the book is what it says on the tin. The basics you need to get playing the game.
• The LIMITED EDITION of the book is the first and perhaps only of its kind for PUNK BORG. Featuring a bookmark ribbon, head and tail bands, a dust jacket with hand-finished details, and alternate cover art.
• The scenario THE BARGE is available as an add-on. This A5 leaflet contains a short and sweet scenario that can be used as an intro adventure, or dropped into an ongoing campaign.

IN AN EFFORT TO MITIGATE SCOPE CREEP I WILL NOT BE SETTING ANY STRETCH GOALS. Any funds accrued over the goal will go towards production of more books, and future PUNK BORG projects!

In the meantime the game will be patched, and the new version released on itch.io while the books go to print. The patch will include two new spreads to cover freeing Sleepers and computer hacking, along with mechanical, writing and layout adjustments.

Shipping is included in the reward tier price.

LEGAL

PUNK BORG is an independent production by Sedgewick Georgiou-Cross and is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG/CY_ BORG Third Party Licenses. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell. CY_BORG IS ©2022 STOCKHOLM KARTELL.

All art, text and layout is done by myself. The only things I can't take credit for are the original MÖRK BORG and CY_BORG game engines, and photographs sourced from Unsplash.com and Pexels.com.