Let’s Talk About Nohr

John Baltisberger speaks to Johan Nohgr, the man behind MÖRK BORG’s visual aesthetic.

This was my second article title. My first was “It’s Neither Here Nohr There.” But I decided my editor would run me out of town if I went with that, so here we are. For those of us in the indie TTRPG scene, Johan Nohr is an icon, a giant striding across the field of what RPGs are.

MÖRK BORG came out in 2020, a bright yellow book with big, bold, black lettering. The game itself was brutality incarnate, grim-dark fantasy that took everything over the top to an almost comical level. Hell, the game has a table of prophecies that you roll on every time the characters wake up from sleep, and after 7 prophecies come true, the world ends and you are instructed to burn your book. The book is STEEPED in Swedish Black Metal, and its art style is perfect for what it is.

With MÖRK BORG’s third party license and success, the creator scene for the game exploded, hundreds of supplements, adventures, and fiction coming out at something of a breakneck pace. And everyone wanted to either hire Nohr to create covers or art for their project or to emulate Nohr as closely as they could. Someone even created a spreadsheet of art assets called “I’M NOT PAYING NOHR FOR COVER ART” with a tutorial on how to emulate the art style of MÖRK BORG and links to tons of public access art assets you can use. Nohr happily and excitedly shared it with people, not because he wanted to lose out on work but because he is excited for other people to make their own things and to explore their own styles.

That said, I’m no exception. I hired Nohr to do the cover of Whispers of the Dead Saint, and then I got the cover tattooed on my calf.

I’m lucky enough to consider Johan a friend. We’ve worked together a few times now, with him providing art to a few projects or me editing his writing on some others, and I reached out to him to ask a few interview questions. Here’s what he had to say:

BALTISBERGER: A lot of people have this image in their heads of writers and artists being tortured introverts working alone and in isolation. What is the reality of your process and art?

NOHR: I think that’s a truth that is both harmful and very accurate haha. It certainly rings true to my situation and process. Maybe not so much the tortured part (though self-doubt and imposter syndrome are both key ingredients in my work), but I’m certainly isolated and an introvert. And now that I’m doing this full-time, I’m more or less completely a recluse (at least when the rest of my family is at work or school). That fits me perfectly! I’m at my most inspired and productive when I’m by myself. But at the same time, I value collaboration immensely and will go on and on about how important it is to not try to do everything in isolation. Some, or all maybe, of my best work have been made in collaboration with other people. So I’m a walking contradiction there. I want to be left alone and create in solitude, but also always collaborate.

B: You’ve achieved something of “celebrity status” in the TTRPG scene. Other than taking up your time, how has that effected your life, art, and psyche?

N: I suppose. No, but I really enjoy it, of course, and it’s very rewarding to have people acknowledge the stuff I do and not just throw my art into a void, hoping that it’ll reach someone, some day. I’ve been struggling a lot with seeing any real value in my work in the past, and being able to do it for a living and have people genuinely excited for the next thing have really given me a confidence boost. Also, it’s given me a huge network of artists and likeminded creatives to work with. That is also a sure way to grow and learn even more.

B: As an extension of that, Mork Borg and your design style has had a HUGE impact on the current TTRPG zeitgeist. While Art-Punk is extremely visually stimulating, do you feel like people are eschewing their own style in an attempt to mimic you, or do you feel it has allowed people easier access to creation and being able develop their own art aesthetic?

N: There’s a range of different approaches and what I think of them, for sure. I’m honored and glad that my style has influenced and inspired others, and I believe that this kind of inspiration circles around in a creative feedback loop (in a good way). But I also want people to do their thing. I see many designers trying to mimic exactly what we did, and that’s kinda missing the point, I feel. My favorite modules and spin-off games have always been the ones that take inspiration from the core games, twist it, and change it into something completely different and unique, that has its own identity and voice. I think the same way here, and we try to stretch ourselves outside of whatever patterns or standards we made, experimenting and pushing ourselves to see what MÖRK BORG can be. Sometimes it’s yellow and splattery, sure. But it doesn’t need to be that. The magic is in the unexpected. That’s what made MB big and interesting to begin with.

B: Wanna shit talk AI at all?

N: All my art is made by an AI (Absolute Idiot).

Recently, I grabbed a huge selection of items from his shop, Pitt Trap, including his two art books, Art by Nohr and Doodles by Nohr. Both are fantastic additions to any art book collection and just go to show how prolific he has been since 2020. But more than that, I think anyone who creates can learn a very important lesson from these art books: doing the work leads towards mastery. Nohr isn’t incredible because he just woke up and could draw a skeleton man; Nohr is incredible because one day he woke up and started drawing shitty skeletons until they started to be not-shitty. And then he kept going, kept drawing over and over again. And he’s still drawing and creating. I’ll cover my grab bag next week, reviewing each of my acquisitions.

Here’s the link to the “I’m Not Paying Nohr for Cover Art” sheet.

Here’s the link to Nohr’s Pitt Trap Shop.

John Baltisberger loves TTRPGs and Kaiju. He is an author of speculative and genre fiction that often focuses on Jewish Elements. Through his writing, he has explored themes of mysticism, faith, sin, and personal responsibility. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and his daughter.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.