Out of all the members of the MORK BORG family, Vast Grimm stands out for a few reasons. Its distinctive art style continues the fine tradition of grisly images with a color palette that takes it in more of a 90’s video game direction. The game has built a dying universe that gives players a chance to explore rather than just survive. There’s also a glimmer of hope with legends of a way to escape the universe before the Wurms completely take over.
Creator Brian Colin has relaunched the game as a Kickstarter with it now under his full control. Vast Grimm – Escaping Stasis expands the universe, refines the rules and allows him to directly print and mail books to fans. I spoke with him shortly before the relaunch of his wurm-infested creative offspring.
“I never seem to stop thinking about new ways to expand Vast Grimm,” said Colin. “There is so much I want to explore, but most of the initial concepts start to develop in my monthly Patreon releases.It is through there that additional rules and tweaks have developed. For months, I have been running game nights at Local Ties (a brewery in my hometown), and I’ve never wanted to bring all of my Vast Grimm hardcover books with me. Moving to a zine format makes it a lot easier to pick and choose exactly what you want to bring to the table each time you play.”
The crowdfunding gives new players a few different ways to get into the game. Now that there’s an established fanbase, the core book is broken into a player and Game Master’s guide. The new rules can also be picked up in an art-free version, though I think that removes one of the best parts of the game.
“Since the initial crowdfunding campaign back in 2021,” said Colin, “there have been three additional Vast Grimm TTRPG crowdfunding campaigns. This will be the first that makes the rules modular so that players can pick up a Crew Member Manual just for them, and Netwürk Operators (what I am now calling GMs) can snag their own Netwürk Operator Manual.”
The reprint also gave Colin a chance to revise the rules. The original game hewed pretty closely to the MORK BORG template but other members of the family have been unafraid to make changes. Colin took the opportunity to add a character component that better fit a works of decaying devices and ruined space ships.
“There needed to be another stat,” said Colin. “Vast Grimm was being developed right around the same time as Cy_Borg, and at that point, there had been only the four stats. After playing Vast Grimm for a while, it was obvious that Presence was the stat used way too much. I added Tech fairly early on and made sure the PDF with the rules for that can be downloaded for free. As I continue to add new rules, I don’t want to exclude anyone who has already supported me and force them to purchase something new. As I publish incremental changes, past supporters will be able to access these updates at no cost. With the new Vast Grimm – Escaping Stasis, there will be an Upgrade Toolkit free for everyone. Along with the Tech Stat, there are rules for harvesting würms, using rebreathers, new leveling-up mechanics, crew factions, and keywürds”
Shifting the game back under his control also gives Colin a chance to address the current instability of the game market. He has experience working in a print shop and took some time to consider how to battle tariffs, shipping and other challenges that change daily. By moving the printing in house, he hopes to keep those forces at bay for years to come.
“Shortly after graduating from art school,” said Colin, “I got a job at a print shop. For a few years, before joining a boutique ad agency, I worked in the pre-press department. Already have a working knowledge of printing, even if that was ages ago, it wasn’t a big leap to going full DIY. As I looked at printing zines domestically, I decided to explore the cost of having my own machine. I made sure to include my projections of how many zines I personally would produce in a year. It’s a lot. Then, when I did the math, if I only printed my own stuff, I would break even and I would have so much more control. All of the zines will be printed directly by me. It is very exciting! I just printed my zine double feature, and by the time this is released, I will have printed the Sqwürmish rule books as well. With the uncertainty of tariffs that our industry has experienced over this year, I took a long look at how I could have more control and not be at the whim of someone else’s mood swings. That led me down the path of getting my own digital printer. It really satisfies the control freak itch that I have to be involved in every aspect of my projects.”
Colin sees a bright future for the MORK BORG family. Even as the space becomes much more crowded with games that directly use the system or are heavily inspired by it. The Vast Grimm universe stands out by expanding into card games like Plunderlust and miniatures games like Sqwuirmish. The game is known for its ease of play but the community of creators is also a big part of the Borg family’s strength.
“There are so many incredible games,” said Colin, “spanning a wide variety of genres. Practically everyone that I have interacted with in the community has always supported one another. We all seem to believe in each other and want to do what we can to ensure each other’s success. I can only see the Borg scene growing. High-profile industry folks are having a great time playing borg games. I can’t wait to see where it is five years from now and hope I can be a part of helping some of the up-and-coming creators.”
Read more at this site