Vermis: The horror game that doesn't exist

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[@QuestingBeast]

Check out the Big Bads Kickstarter: bit.ly/BigBads My RPG Knave: Second Edition is coming soon to Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/questingbeast/knave-rpg-second-edition Get Vermis: bit.ly/Vermis1 Old-School DnD newsletter: bit.ly/TheGlatisant Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon

[@Enaiarr]

I would speak to a doctor if you haven't already about the nail clubbing you're presenting - it might be nothing, but it's often a sign of underlying cardivascular disease

[@queenvagabond8787]

I love this sort of thing, you might want to consider it for a neat OSR system, especially in the psychedelic or gritty 'British OSR' vein, games such as Troika! or Warlock :)

[@ianmiral8611]

Hey man. You have a very awesome looking thumbnail. Where'd you get it?

[@QuestingBeast]

@@ianmiral8611 It's an image from the book

[@ubcroel4022]

Can you do a more in-depth review of Vermis?

[@AENock]

Feels like this should be accompanied by some grimey dungeon synth.

[@chris2earth]

There’s a spotify playlist by the artist (plastiboo) that has a vibe you’re looking for

[@FEARitself100]

I'm already inspired to do such that

[@BigbyH]

Shout-out to Alkilith

[@Nilli0n]

I imagine Filmmaker looking at some of the art

[@MarquisDeSang]

Dungeon synth is the best

[@ReadingDave]

Thanks for reviewing Vermis. This book has all the reasons I get non-DnD books to inspire the game I am playing.

[@Snyperwolf91]

I love such books that are food for inspiration and let yourself make the context from it through the Artworks alone . But i would even say that Old D&D Artworks and even great Fantasy paintings are the best source-material to get adventure ideas out because modern Fantasy artworks always ruin too much the mystique and the interpretation aspects way too much with their context filled and rather generic approaches.

[@kerk7102]

can you recommend any books similar to vermis? im a new dnd player and i love settings like this!

[@memenazi7078]

@@kerk7102 it’s based off a book, but Deltora quest: book of monsters was cool. Maybe even beast quest, but just to look at the book covers.

[@kerk7102]

@@memenazi7078 Thank you mister meme nazi

[@Bashaka104]

Hermano ya me joderia jugar d&d

[@Quiltfish]

I had such a nostalgic flashback to when I was a kid, coming home after school to play Vermis until Welcome Home started on Local 58.

[@EvernightTown6969]

Oh my god, I thought I was the only one who remembers Welcome Home or even Local 58! My favorite show in Local 58 is Candle Cove! So nostalgic

[@oranberry]

Local 58 is an analog horror project, it was a fake channel and didn't actually have any shows of it's own

[@Quiltfish]

@@oranberry r/woosh

[@hunterls6069]

@@oranberry Listen buddy, just because your cable provider didn't have Local 58, that doesn't mean you have to try and convince us it never existed. I remember waking up every Saturday morning just to watch it.

[@themuffinlord6442]

@@oranberry bravo Sherlock you solved it

[@bloodrunsclear]

Wait...nobody remembers Vermis? Next thing you're going to tell me is that Nelson Mandela didn't die in prison!

[@autisticautomaton]

*TVA shows up*

[@budderk1305]

I loved playing Vermis with the boys after we hung out at the arcade setting high scores in Polybius

[@RelativelyBest]

I remember playing Vermis as a kid but it started giving me strange nightmares. I also remember one of the characters using my IRL name even though I'm sure I never wrote it anywhere. I dunno, maybe that was one of the dreams. Anyway, it creeped me out so I got rid of the game. But the really weird thing is, nobody in my family can recall me owning it.

[@Anon26535]

I hardly ever got to play it because as soon as I got home from school my brother was always hogging the TV to watch some stupid show about pirates.

[@CrypticCocktails]

And there was that pirate show, with the skeleton, what was that called?

[@singularbear8656]

This books general atmosphere of this book reminds me of Fear and Hunger, and the mad pricker class is basically penance armor

[@argoniek6801]

Exactly my thoughts

[@Snirby1629]

fr

[@shanewinter7251]

There was a game called Spaceship Zero that did something similar. It claimed to be the official rpg of an old 1950s scifi show that started on radio and was remade into a German tv show for a few seasons before being canceled. All throughout the book were sidebars referring to trivia from the “show.” It was all very fun.

[@TrashGoblin824]

It was also a companion piece to an album of the same name by Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

[@ath0lbr0se]

I'm so happy and proud of Plastiboo for publishing Vermis and all the attention that's come to it, I've been following them for so long and it really warms my heart to see this

[@voidnoidoid]

Omg plastiboo? No wonder the style felt so familiar i love their work

[@magnus2643]

Ihavent really been on twitter for a while but ive also been following them forever so watching this video i started to think .... "hold on a sec this looks a little too familiar"

[@Chaoclypse]

Absolutely love Plastiboo's work! I just bought Vermis days ago, and I was so inspired I even did some art in the same style, haha. Can't wait for it to arrive!

[@Kriskazam]

Thats the mark of great art. Plastiboo inspired me to work on some art, moreso some literary writing and music as i cant draw, but the point still stands the same

[@qwert_511]

Happy to find some Plastiboo fans here!! They’re such a huge inspiration to me

[@_Jay_Maker_]

As a writer and game designer, this is a legendary idea and I am extremely jealous that I hadn't thought of it first. This should be an entire genre. Just... lore that is presented like a game, could be a game... but isn't. It's so inspirational, yet without the baggage of systemic expectation that you'd see from a typical RPG design. As a reader, I suppose _you_ would provide that baggage.

[@sihplak]

Aspects of this are extremely reminiscent of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, especially that head in the chimney illustration.

[@_Jay_Maker_]

Absolutely. I also got a huge Stephen Gammell vibe from a lot of the art in this. This book rules. I hope I can get my hands on it some day.

[@qwertysoap7554]

nice pfp

[@jantesa]

Me tie doughty walker

[@DoggoneNexus]

@@jantesa Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo

[@craigcochrane2284]

Questing Beast is costing me a fortune with all these amazing books. Thank you.

[@VosperCDN]

Probably costing a lot of his viewers a fortune - I know I've bought up several of the books/games reviewed here.

[@arcticcirclepit2008]

@@VosperCDN Yea. I'm one of them too. Like... I look over at my gaming shelves and blame Ben for a whole shelf of purchases in the last year. Hahah.

[@RodBatten]

Yeah, QB is practically a subscription service for OSR boutique publishers. I've bought a lot of stuff that Ben has reviewed. Not complaining, mind you, the stuff Ben reviews is usually worth whatever it costs.

[@antigrav6004]

This one is pretty cheap for what it is. They got me sold on it.

[@davoskerrith1864]

Yup, I feel that one!

[@bjhale]

This is very interesting. One of my coworkers, who knows very little about TTRPGs, once looked at one of my adventure modules I was reading and remarked that it looked like a video game guidebook. Might be fun to buy a random PS1 Brady Games guide and use it to run an adventure or campaign. They often had great maps.

[@williamroeben]

Hokey smokes, thank you ,this is AMAZING. The intro plate and that 'knight embracing a corpse' pic brought me to tears

[@Assault_Butter_Knife]

This book ticks literally all the boxes on what I want in my fantasy stories It has the mythical, alien world that you know little about, but remains low-fantasy It has the late-last century design philosophy and style It is moody and atmospheric, conveying a sense of depressing, decaying world with doomed characters It is subtle in its presentation It has highly stylized art It doesn't dump all available knowledge onto you, instead leaving a lot of things, from the look of monsters to the world itself and your purpose in it up to imagination and personal interpretation The only thing that I could possibly ever ask for is for the story to turn out to actually turn out to be some deeper moral allegory or an exploration of the reader's psyche, leaving you with food for thought, but unfortunately I will never know that because the accompanying product doesn't exist. Seriously, words can't describe how much I yearn for some game or novel or show like this. It's like an itch that can't be scratched

[@msid7748]

Same bro, same

[@Lazy_scorpio]

Sounds like you'd enjoy the game Fear and Hunger 1&2.

[@Assault_Butter_Knife]

@@Lazy_scorpio thanks for recommendation, I have heard of it before and it does seem like something I would like. I'm definitely going to give it a try sometime, just don't know when

[@georgepayne2687]

This sounds almost exactly like Dark Souls. The only real hiccup is the Low Fantasy, which the earlier segments of the games may resemble, but towards the end it gets less grounded. Still, if you want an actual game that ticks nearly all these boxes, play Dark Souls (assuming you haven't already).The final game dives especially deep into the esoteric aspects of the world and how it functions. Oh, and don't be scared off by the difficulty warnings. The game may be challenging at times, but it's deeply connected to the narrative themes of the game; not to mention that the difficulty is often overstated.

[@Assault_Butter_Knife]

@@georgepayne2687 Yea the first Dark Souls was quite close to what I described, it as a pleasant experience and I should probably replay it again sometime lol. But honestly the thing that came the closest to this description for me was the Witcher series, I really loved that one and with the amount of books & games there's quite a lot of material to go through

[@w3ss3l88]

I've been following this artist forever, I'm so happy they're getting more recognition

[@BoPeeep]

Plastiboo is one of my FAVORITE artists. Their work is phenomenal, and im so glad to see other people as interested in this as i am!

[@garfofthesnarfinggod9787]

I watched 2 minutes and decided that this is something I wanted to experience first hand, so I bought it.

[@godismyjudge4964]

It’s funny how the horror genre tends to have the most creativity in storytelling and what not which is why I love it even though I hate being scared! It’s like loving chocolate milk but being lactose intolerant

[@AROAH]

This is such an amazing idea. It so perfectly captures the feeling of reading the manual for a game you just got on the way home from the store, imagining all the amazing things you’re going to experience when you can finally put the game in your console and play it for yourself.

[@nutherefurlong]

Just wonderful. Especially the Soulsy melancholy tone, yet another book to hunt down :)

[@janthummler3548]

What a cool idea. I remember writing nintendo style guidebooks with my best friend way back in the 90s for our imaginary games. Vermis really oozes dark souls atmospehre, I'll try to get a copy!

[@pedrobernardo5887]

This is very inspiring. A match made in heaven for Mork Borg or a dark gritty D&D game.

[@bensaylor9093]

I got 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the video before I went and ordered a copy. This is exactly the type of stuff I love and am always hunting for.

[@artistpoet5253]

This would be a great bit of source material/inspiration for some Runecairn: Wardensaga. Heck, the whole book could be used as an oracle for any number of solo games or even some cooperative dungeon crawlers. What a fun book.

[@aaronsomerville2124]

Darn you Ben Milton! My most expensive KZbin subscription.

[@AnsamblGulici]

Your video inspired me to order this book and it arrived yesterday. It's really amazing! I think your description of it as grim, sad and melancholy at the same time is just right. Thank you for the recommendation.

[@TheSergio1021]

I absolutely love everything about this concept. Worldbuilding through "game mechanics" and telling stories without a script. All hinging on you understanding game guides like the D&D player's handbook. I need a copy!

[@KD-no7pw]

This reminds me of Fear and Hunger and MÖRK BORG. I’m definitely glad that there are more projects with such an atmosphere.

[@four-en-tee]

The King in Yellow TRPG when?

[@ChryI]

I could hear the classic version of The Dark Spire OST playing in my head as you went through this book.

[@Hakman78]

This is really cool, you can tell there’s lots of love and care put into this, and even though there is no official game, inspiration can spark from something small, and with this, it will inspire someone in their own artistic endeavors for sure

[@johnfreymuth4808]

Such a BRILLIANT idea. Thank you for covering this! What an inspiring book.

[@TheNraveles]

Does anyone else think the back of the book feel very much like those “liminal surrealistic horror” pics? A pic of something mundane that feels kinda eerie with a caption like “which flesh is your flesh?” Just fits perfectly

[@Corve]

Looks like some serious Dark Souls worship. I dig it!

[@D4rkkay]

Yeah i imagined it like dark souls and seems to fit rlly well

[@samuraiBSD]

It's actually giving me King's Field vibes even more than Dark Souls. The melancholy and the vibe of darkness just beyond what they're showing you is even stronger in those games than From's later stuff.

[@_krbrs_]

Thank you for sharing! This video popped up in my recommended and i loved it! This boos looks amazing and the video is veeery informative, chill and cool!

[@glo0009]

What a treat. One of my favorite artists has an art book with all these wonderful ideas in it.

[@gtrlarry]

What an interesting book. Does it fall into a genre of books because calling it an 'art book' feels like selling it short. Where can I find more books like this?

[@JokingThief]

'Unfiction,' is a genre of media that presents a fantasy world as reality. In the case of Vermis, it presents as a guide for a video game that never existed. _House of Leaves_ is one of the more prevalent pieces of literature to do this.

[@noesunyoutuber7680]

For a more old school approach to unfiction, you may want to check out the Codex Seraphinianus. Originally published in 1981, it's essentially an illustrated encyclopedia from a world that doesn't exist, written in a made-up language with no actual meaning. According to its author, Italian artist Luigi Serafini, it was meant to evoke the feelings a child would feel looking at a book that they couldn't read yet knew adults could decipher.

[@TheBloggme]

Not too sure, but it reminds me of berserk, you might enjoy that manga series i sure did.

[@hamroller3835]

This is the first time I've ever signed up for a newsletter. Thanks for showing this to me.

[@celticwinter]

The art is very nice. It scratches that special itch between crosshatching, (colored and uncolored) woodblock prints, pastel crayon drawing, tarot cards and working with graphite. I am having some trouble describing what I mean. Very nice, really.

[@snartgaming4922]

You've been killing it I love these

[@klink420ish]

I absolutely love the artwork. Every page could be a metal album

[@aramkaizer7903]

It's like an Analogue Horror Darkest Dungeon with a vaguely Souls-like vibe as well, but with a unique old school twist

[@MmeCShadow]

This is such a cool concept for an actual horror story, telling it like it's an old-school guidebook and gradually hinting more and more that the original game was somehow *wrong* while conveying information in a secondhand, detached way.

[@chookity372]

Interesting you mentioned it’s a “nice break” from black metal stuff because, like others, I was instantly reminded of dungeon synth as soon as you opened the book (a genre arguably derived from black metal). I personally get very similar feelings from this book, dungeon synth and also some types of black metal. Awesome stuff!

[@perochialjoe]

I thought this was a really stupid idea from the beginning of the video but my opinion changed pretty quickly. That could be a legitimately great source for ideas for a DnD campaign and just creative inspiration in general. Really nice video!

[@stinklinethegoblin5952]

Wow I’ve been following this artist for a long time glad to see them get recognition

[@freethrall]

As someone who laments pages background and lore, I'm surprised how much I'm finding myself drawn to this.

[@kapitankapital6580]

Damn, that's such a cool premise for a work of fiction. I guess guide books are a bit old fashioned now, but I really like the idea of adapting it to a modern format. Maybe writing a KZbin walk through review/video essay, or one of those IGN style guides? It could be a really cool way to "create" the artistic side of a game without having to do all the coding and so on of making an actual game.

[@FriedOrange]

That's kind of what Petscop was. It was made under the pretense of being a let's play for a rare video game, but as the series progresses you can connect the dots to form a story about the narrator.

[@sirguy6678]

Always love your reviews! Great job!

[@QuestingBeast]

Thanks!

[@NatetheNerdy]

One of the gods is named mergo, and one of the first npcs you find is a sad knight. They're definitely inspired by FromSoft, and that's a great thing.

[@bfkgod]

This looks amazing. Perfect for dark fantasy style creative inspiration.

[@pupbrother8711]

Thanks for making me aware of this- I'm actually a huge fan of Plastiboo the artist so I'm so psyched to see a project of theirs I can support!

[@proto_117]

that thumbnail is absolutely haunting and I love it

[@bensaylor9093]

Follow up comment- I just received my copy and spent awhile reading through the first chapters. It is ASTOUNDING. I absolutely love this booK and have already planned to use this today for a potential one-on-one tabletop session. It is perfect for days like this.

[@alexzanfir234]

holy shit I love this so much it gives me the same vibe that the video game fear and hunger gave me with the whole world that seems hopeless and unable to be saved making you in a way feel that you are always under pressure and in danger and now I just wanna write a dnd campaign centered around some dark fantasy stuff Im surely going to buy this and use it in my next dnd campaign

[@ryanpirosch3977]

What an incredible book! The artistry and passion really shine through, and the concept of a guide for a game that does not exist is really clever

[@foggyvhs8790]

Was glad I was able to grab a copy this batch, got a copy on your recommendation, it’s really cool!

[@Dallaspulla521]

Absolutely adore this kind of artstyle

[@mikaelquites4834]

Love this book! I even did a part of an adventure based on it and the players enjoyed it a lot.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

The art reminds me of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, I love it.

[@nicholasfinch9886]

Amazing video! Great work!

[@Nizati]

This feels like a cursed-game creepypasta or an ARG and i'm here for it.

[@catfinch]

The second I saw the animated puppet near the end of the video, I gained a sudden inspiration for a puppeteer fairy for my faewild campaign. This book is really neat, and I might buy it if I ever get the chance.

[@empty_nam]

it is a CRIME that i did not find this sooner, thank you youtube for reccomendding me actually good videos

[@mickeymyers13]

This has got to be one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. Thank you so much for bringing this to light!

[@dantanskymonsterhunter]

I love these books and your channel. Thanks for this.

[@orenges]

I keep coming back to this video, its just THAT interesting.

[@skylarm2068]

Hey Ben. Commenting about a year after I saw this video. Was expecting an in-depth look into an unreleased horror game, and all I got was a new style of TTRPGs that's completely transformed how I view them. 10/10. Love your stuff!!!!!

[@space_1073]

I am obsessed with that art style wow

[@mueezadam8438]

This video stuck with me way longer than I expected

[@king_aeron]

My mind cannot see the Cloister Black font without thinking about Death Note lmao.

[@raymondkertezc364]

really like the idea of strategy guide for a game that doesn't (yet) exist!

[@shyvanadragongape3821]

Thank you for making this video. It helps a lot Ty Ty Ty

[@thrashfan911]

Love this artist ! I have been following him for a while ! Glad his art is reaching new audiences

[@rampageblizzard]

Thanks for putting me on to this book. I need to pick it up immediately. I might get two actually, one that I can cut apart and make collages / frame pages, and one for to keep as a whole book.

[@W4rgle]

Bought a copy. Love the idea of stuff like this, content to inspire. Rather have this than a whole module!

[@primusavenged]

Has incredibly strong Fear and Hunger vibes

[@s2sHoXXs2]

i hope you know this exact comment (i think, im pretty sure) got me into fear & hunger about a month and a half ago because i was curiously wondering "What's that?" as i typed 'fear and hunger' into the search bar. Im so into these games now, and it seems to have had a boost in popularity thanks to Super eyepatch wolf's video!

[@primusavenged]

@@s2sHoXXs2 Always happy to assimilate another brain into the meat dungeon

[@s2sHoXXs2]

@@primusavenged consider me fully assimilated 🎉

[@robk6551]

"But don't look up the chimney" is officially a reference

[@johnnydecomposizione3106]

This seems so obscure and "far", but Ive just realized they are at a fastival 1h far from my house

[@Beastlango]

Love the black metal reference. When I get the book I plan on going through it while listing to the Antestor album The return of the Black Death, it’s sad doomy Black metal sound would go great with it

[@unkindled_dreg]

This is so souls-like in atmosphere and theme

[@AesirOdinn]

Absolute great video, thank you so much

[@noxthepreacher5958]

Stumbled upon the video by a total accident. Thank you, it was beautiful and ended very quickly. Totally goes to my favorites.

[@nightdog4183]

Honestly this is such an amazing idea for a book, it looks very interesting and the design are definitely really good.

[@pixledriven]

I love how much that looks like an early 2000's strategy guide

[@WayneBraack]

You're right. That talisman that causes the moon to disappear for a night would be a great item DnD.

[@MadHatter42]

The Hiding Man is literally just Naked Ned from Peasant’s Quest.

[@SarjanaKucingKota]

The thumbnail looks so creepy, it reminds me of Sad Satan

[@endimyongms6901]

I keep missing this book when it isn't sold out. I'm obsessed!

[@danielemaranzano6872]

This is amazing. Wish there was a ebook version!

[@garygallimore4620]

had an idea for a dnd campaign set in a sort of purgatory style realm ruled by an ambivalent deity of death. the world is corrupted not because of the deity but by the corrupt souls wandering through it and this book has gave me so many ideas.

[@MidnightHedgehog365]

That spider head gives me Junji Ito vibes in all the best ways.

[@vbus5236]

Very interesting concept! I'll surely check it out

[@ShamanJeeves]

I like the concept behind this. Maybe a potential outlet for video game ideas I haven't the programming knowledge to execute.

[@KingGlizz]

As someone who proudly owns this book, highly recommend. Great to see a youtuber I like talking about art from one of my favourite artists :)

[@luisav.411]

Omg! this is from Plastiboo, I love their illustrations so much!! This one is outside of what they usually do but still very attractive concepts and fascinating vision

[@Jax7787]

Interesting. I feel like this could be a Dark/horror setting book for Troika easier than it could be a setting book for most other systems. But with some work, it could probably be used for most OSR systems. I like it!

[@josephkinskey1345]

This is really late but I was just curious, are there any other books (PDFs too) like this? Going to order Vermis when it’s available but would love additional stuff like this for inspiration on building my newest DnD homebrew setting!

[@imstupid880]

I love things like this. Reminds me of when they used to put actual lore in game manuals, or reading through a TTRPG rules book.