Who stares back from the dark glass? 

Get Vermis II here: bit.ly/Vermis2 If sold out, subscribe to their newsletter at the bottom of the page to get notified when a new printing is out. Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon Old-School DnD newsletter: bit.ly/TheGlatisant

Vermis will be perfect to run alongside Mythic Bastionland, whenever prompted to use a random myth, just pull a vermis

I treasure both of them. I think the second's departure from the first's format into a more narrative style probably made it easier to have a longer book, informing choices and themes, and there's still a lot to mine for ideas. The wayfarer's journey does dominate, though, so it feels a bit different. They're not strictly game books, but the conceit is enough to have a way to approach the material and accept it for what it is, I think. There's a reason they keep having to print more, they're really something special.

8:58 "Now, are these different character classes, are these NPCs? It doesn't really spell it out." I think the thing at the top that says "The Path Has Been Walked... Now Walk Theirs" is meant to spell out the idea that they're playable characters, and not NPCs

I grabbed an art piece to frame/hang while I picked up the book. Its the shawled emaciated person with a hole in their chest saying "Ive torn my flesh looking for warmth.." The wife might take some convincing.

I ordered both Vermis 1 and 2. I plan to use Grave, a hack of Knave to adapt and use as much of the material as I can into a Dark Fantasy Survival Horror campaign for my regular group. Wish me luck everyone!

I am one of those people who will be troubled by the volumes being in different formats. The books, however, do look excellent.

I've been waiting for my copy for about 7 weeks. Which is about how long I waited for the original, so hopefully that means it will be arriving soon!

Just wanted to say I love your channel, Ben, and you're the reason I rediscovered my love for the hobby and world building. Keep up the awesome work!

Honestly if it were more grayscale with a bit of scarlet contrast this would be classic 2E Ravenloft

The Vermis series is definitely a feast for the imagination.

Literally didn't even finish this video before I ran to the site to grab my copy.

The art is so cool. Cellar daughter art is so cool.

In the ruin of men's hubris, a black mirror stands tall. The sun does not make shadow of it, The sand makes no scratch of it. It mocks me, laugh at me, taunting me. It knows my secret, my shame. it is me. And now, I'm it.

25 minutes since the video was uploaded it sold out. You can now but vermis 1 on the other hand.

It’s not an expensive book, but shipping can eat you alive on this one. Worth it though.

Yeah, mine arrived today! Even Italy to Italy has been super slow (but that's ok, I knew it when I chose the cheap-broke intra national delivery option).

Got my copy this week and just finished it. It's wonderful. It's much more a narrative, which i think complements the first's more raw worldbuilding nicely. Ideally Vermis III will have a different format then either of the first two.

I love the new format- gives me more of the video game guide feeling.

Seems like it would fit hand in glove with Aberrant Reflections.

My copy arrived yesterday and I was ecstatic I fell in love with the first and was so happy reading the second!

I love these reviews! Thank you, Ben.

What a wonderful piece.

Can't wait for the next one

The volume II Vermis reminds me of the DnD campaign called Tomb of Annihilation and the Tomb of Horrors ....

Oh that looks AMAZING! I really need to get the two books.. I feel like running this with Mork Borg's system would be great! The way I figure, it looks like the stats have 5 points, so translate that to -2 to +2 for your modifier.

Cant wait

The art is amazing in these i want them just for that.

My Hollow Press order arrived yesterday! Took about 3-4 weeks in all so it was a bit of a wait but well worth it, what amazing books!

I got the first one after watching your video on it, and I ordered the second one right away.

Man, I'm still waiting for mine to arrive. For the love of dark, sinister gods, don't let it be lost in the mail.

i love both of these books, however where the first one felt like more of a guide this feels more like a long cut-scene witch is a little disappointing if that was what you where hoping for. however as just a pure artistic enjoyment it's still an amazing book and contains great inspiration.

Ty I started the collecting comics hobby because of you. Have both vermis now

Very inspiring.

I haven't watched the video because I don't want to be spoilt. But your first video made me.check and see both books are currently in stock and ordered blind. What an amazing Xmas gift!

I was just looking for more on this book

I like that they went with a different shape and size of the book I just wish they could make it in hardback.

YESSS! YESSSSSSSSSSS!

Have them both and they are great but yes, it bugs the hell out of me that they aren't the same size/format!!!

Just got em both

I bought it the day it came out and I am still waiting lol! I hope it comes soon!

I'm guessing one could stat those creatures using the tools in Shadowdark or Knave 2e pretty easily. Just saying. 😉

the format is very easy on the eyes, kinda retro 80s

I believe the reason why its now wider and shorter its so the pictures and text are farther away from thw middle and they dont sink

I ordered this thing a WHILE ago. When they sent me an email announcing its release. And nothing yet.

Vermis II has better artwork than Vermis I, even if they dropped a little the "videogame narrative". Still, I love how Plastiboo made an even better book. I love it and I will use it for my next D&D campaign. Highly recommended!

Such a fantastic setting, this Vermis. Evocative, moody, vibesome. I'm checking the preview images on the site. I like how the section on Bone Hunters not only gives a wide latitude for GMs to decide how a given Bone Hunter operates, but underscores that devotees of Ghylak don't trust each other. After all, they ALL seek to pile the bones high. (It's very like the Moundmakers covenant from Dark Souls 3, with their mad phantoms who will turn on erstwhile cooperators on a dime). I can imagine the game world might be crawling with letters and missives between Bone Hunters, as it's the safest way for the Coiled One's followers to communicate. EDIT: Decided to bite the bullet and order both books, while they were still in stock.

I absolutely love the Vermis books, are there other books anyone would recommend with a similar feel? Particularly love the old-school, grimdark vibe where it is more about the art and world-building than actual rules for a game. Only other book I know like that is Mork-Borg.

If making an open world, these Vermis products would be good for a Lich/Undead area more or less, I wonder what other similar books there could be for other themes, such as Demons or Humanoids

OMG!!!

No pdfs for these? Or did I miss where those were listed on their website?

I pre-ordered this, it shipped in October and I still haven't received it.

Any word on knave 2e?

Hey Ben, not sure where to ask this so I'll ask it here. Why did you decide not to include a table of magic items/weapons on Knave 2e? For such an item dependent game, I would've thought that would have been important. A magic item generator, like your spell generator, would have been cool too. Love the product though! Finished reading through the pdf today and am excited to play it.

I mean, for those that have backed Kickstarter's waiting is nothing foreign.

Ben, I know this is out of the blue, but I know a large publisher of 5E modules & campaigns who wants to make the jump to OSR compatible modules and campaigns. Not specific to one OSR system, such as OSE, Dungeon Crawl Classics or Basic Fantasy, but just OSR in general where a GM running it would only need to make minimal changes on the fly for the specific system they are running. Is there a resource list anywhere that would help them know how to set up the stat blocks and mechanics to be broadly compatible with the OSR standards? Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I bought Vermis 1 and 2 Earlyh October and am still waiting for it to arrive at my door 😢

PDF?

Hah, yeah, sold out

I am one of the folks who has been waiting over a month to get my copies, and it's driving me NUTS! 😅 They warn you during check out that it can take up to 45 days, for the cheaper shipping. It's just nerve wracking sitting around hoping my books haven't gotten lost.

I still love the art, don't get me wrong... however, Vermis II's narration is much weaker than the first. The word count could definitely be cut in half or utilized to flesh out more of the setting-- leaving the wayfarer's journey as more of an implied through-line if you really wanted to show the world from his perspective. I probably would have put his direct thoughts as little notes/quotes/blurbs at the side, describing different scenarios, item descriptions, or feelings. It probably would have given him more character as well. He's quite vague as it stands. This is despite a majority of the text describing basic actions that he takes (like walking or opening doors). They don't fully use that opportunity to give the character more physicality. Perhaps he is a paranoid man, or stoic, or uncharacteristically callous towards those who don't share his faith. Even if you want to portray him as an 'empty' vessel at times, I fail to feel the hollowness he must feel inside. There needs to be something there for something to be missing from it. Perhaps he always rubs his hands together and fails to warm his fingertips, or paces around like a caged animal when met with a dead-end, or arches his back in a painful and unnatural way to avoid looking at mirrors... If you don't want to give the vessel character, then you probably could have just stuck to narrating in the second-person. It is easier to connect with people by default that way. There are also too many filler words where space and travel can be implied. 'The wayfarer looks around. He is amazed, and takes in the surroundings.' These sentences can probably all just be cut out. Or-- use it instead to describe an element of the surroundings. 'Tepid mist foams and prickles against the walls' vs 'the wayfarer looks at the great white mist that surrounds the area.' Stuff like that. I really missed a lot of the maps/interesting statuses/item descriptions/encounter designs in the original. It gave more of the areas a sense of space/place compared to the sequel, despite there being less of a variety in location. In the older book, I had a better sense of where I was at any given time even without the direct descriptions. It was one of the most interesting aspects of the original. You used to be 'exploring a place,' and in the second book you feel more like you're 'following a person around.' Floating from place to place. Of course, feel free to disagree. These are all just opinions of mine that might not translate well to the product in actuality. Idk.

I was pretty disappointed with the second one to be honest despite the great art style... I really liked the less narrative "gamey" feel of the first one. A lot of the narration in the second reads like gibberish and doesn't spark my imagination at all. The focus on the wayfarer is a total miss for me and makes reading through this one feel like a chore. As a result I got past only half of the book, so I'm hoping it can change my mind in the second half...

Hey questing beast, why haven’t you covered the ACKs II Kickstarter? ACKs is THE best OSR game, easy. You covered Dolmenwood…should be easy to cover a game that goes above and beyond Dolmenwood. ACKs II has a robust economics engine and high level play for all classes. Did Dolmenwood pay you? Sly devil.

Comparing a physical book to dark souls... c'mon seriously? You are brain broken if you can't avoid video game comparisons

Got the second volume just now . I am enjoying Plastiboo’s art and creativity 🫡 this is beautiful