Vast Grimm Quickstart Rules & Adventure

Author: Brian Colin, Ross Brandt
Publisher: Infinite Black/Creature Curation
Page Count: 12
Available Formats: Print
Print – Free (Free RPG Day ’21)

Earth, or what we once called Earth, has been sliced and diced, gnawed at, chewed up, and spit out. What remains are fragments, floating vestibules anchored to the fragmented carcass of an exploded planet. You are merely a vessel within vessels; you and the others who remain are just waiting to be fed upon. Perhaps there are pockets of survivors with some form of recognizable civilization in some remote outpost. Will today be the day when a dormant awakens to become one of the Grimm? Welcome to Vast Grimm!

To my knowledge, Vast Grimm will be the first full-length independent game published under the MÖRK BORG third party license. Under this license, publishers may freely use MÖRK BORG’s rules and mechanics. It’s evident from the “Quick Rules” included that Vast Grimm takes full advantage of this allowance. It is essential MÖRK BORG with the serial numbers filed off, and a new distinct theme slapped on top.

As Vast Grimm is mechanically MÖRK BORG, thematically, it’s a mash-up of both MÖRK BORG and Mothership. Incorporating MÖRK BORG’s grimdark tone, it’s a desolate world where you’re likely not going to live too long. If something doesn’t kill you, you’re likely to become infected and join the ranks of the Grimm. Throw in the Sci-Fi and looming horror elements that are the cornerstone of Vast Grimm, or at least as they appear in this Quickstart, and you can see Mothership’s influence on the game.

The Quickstart is short and offers just a taste of what must be in the full rulebook. Unfortunately, little more than a page is dedicated to giving readers a sense of what the game is about. However, the single page of “Quick Rules” provides everything needed to play the enclosed one-shot adventure; the one-page quick play rules are available online. The adventure—”Into the Wurmhole”— and the four pre-generated characters take up the majority of the booklet, complete with all the necessary creature stats, random tables, a map, etc.

The premise: The hail of a beacon lights up your sensors, sending out its urgent distress signal from a lone asteroid. It seems to be emanating from inside a cave on the dark side of this pock-riddled rock.

The digest-sized booklet is printed in full color with a bold layout; splashes of bright pinks and vibrant reds contrast against dark hues. The aesthetic they seem to be striving for is very similar to that of the Art Punk style of MÖRK BORG. I’d be remiss if I did not mention the profanity used within the Quickstart; this is a much as part of product identity as the bold color palette.

Conclusion

As I mentioned above, the influences on its design and aesthetics are pretty obvious. The Quickstart offers a single page of rules and a short adventure that can be played out in about two hours—making it an excellent option for a pickup or convention game.

Does the Quickstart offer enough to whet the appetite for more? I think that all comes down to the type of game you’re looking for and the depth of the narrative you expect in your games. While I can’t speak to the full version of the game, which as of this review is not yet published, the Quickstart will likely appeal to those who enjoy grim Sci-Fi games.

~ Modoc

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