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Message: <blockquote data-quote="robowieland" data-source="post: 9695630" data-attributes="member: 7026452">[ATTACH=full]410474[/ATTACH]Of the (as of this writing) two world wars, the second one gets move coverage. The good guys and bad guys are defined more clearly, the media is exciting to watch and many of the games are considered classics. World War I is messier on all sides thanks to a newfound efficiency of human butchery, a confusing web of alliances and other political intrigues and a sense that it didn’t really end so much as everyone involved got tired of fighting and just went home. This grisly setup inspired designers Tyler Lindsay and Astrolich to publish <a href="https://rivetheadgames.com/farewell/" target="_blank">Farewell to Arms</a> which takes MORK BORG out of post apocalyptic fantasy and drops it into post industrial warfare. Rivethead games sent a copy of the deluxe boxed set for this review. Does the game go over the top or huddle in the trenches? Let’s play to find out.<a href="https://rivetheadgames.com/farewell/" target="_blank">Farewell to Arms</a> opts for a fictional setting rather than applying the brutal rules of MORK BORG to an alternate history. The setup is similar with four nations clashing in a forever war involving trenches, machine guns and other mechanized monstrosities. The battle began over a darkly magical substance called Slaggvarra. It reminds me a little of ghost rock from Deadlands in that it allows for reality warping powers and abilities while also becoming a catalyst for a brutal war over resources. At the point in the story that <a href="https://rivetheadgames.com/farewell/" target="_blank">Farewell to Arms</a> begins, nobody really remembers who started the war, who’s winning the war and if it will ever end.Each of the factions in the war gets a few pages of description along with a slick logo designed Brian Yaksha. Johan Nohr contributed the cover art and some interiors, which helps sync up this game with MORK BORG in a way few other members of the Borg Family have done. The art leans into a gloomy gas mask feeling that helps reinforce the themes and setting well. Some of my favorite pieces are ones where old war footage has been digitally manipulated. It’s one thing to see the familiar demonic slashes of a Borg game on the page. It’s another to see the hollowed out eyes of a real person enhanced to look even more desperate.[ATTACH=full]410230[/ATTACH]One of the things that grabbed me about this game was how it is subtly darker than its inspiration. In MORK BORG, the characters rage briefly against the end of the world even as they die horribly and messily. Here, players build a squad sheet to tally the names of the fallen. Even after a TPK or two the war grinds on with futile missions ready to kill more characters. War isn’t Hell in this game. It’s worse.The core book comes with a handful of missions and a random generator. Groups that pick up the <a href="https://rivetheadgames.com/shop/farewell-to-arms-redux-collectors-box-set/" target="_blank">collector's boxed set</a> get access to four full campaigns, one for each of the factions. Borg Family games tend to come off as games played out over a handful of stories. Using a forever war to tell something like a short to medium campaign struck me as very clever. For those who really fall for the idea, it also doesn’t seem like it would be very hard to cannibalize the other campaign for missions for their faction. I might not have the stomach for over 40 sessions of a grim war story but so many people say they want games they can play for years. Turning one of the best one shot games in years into a long haul campaign is an impressive feat.Bottom line: <a href="https://rivetheadgames.com/farewell/" target="_blank">Farewell to Arms</a> merges the brutality of MORG BORG and the haunted nature of World War I into something strangely beautiful.</blockquote>

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