An Ode to Obscure Games: VOR the Maelstrom

 Hi!

I must admit that I was humming and hahing about what I'd post next for my series on obscure games and settled on Vor: The Maelstrom by FASA!

Vor: The Maelstrom was originally released by FASA back in 1999 and for a brief moment could have challenged the might of GW but as with so many games from my collection, vanished into obscurity in 2001 when FASA ceased trading. Over the years there's been attempts to get a new edition, largely from the now dwindling VOR player diehards but also from Mike 'Skuzzy' Nelson, the games creator.

The game revolves around Earth being pulled into a pocket dimension which has consumed many other worlds. This nightmarish realm is inhabited by many other races and all must fight to survive the destructive powers unleashed upon them by the VOR, a malevolent singularity which is slowly consuming every world that is transported into the maelstrom.

The setting is set in the not too distant future with the two superpowers of Earth, the Union and the Neo-Sovs being caught in an ongoing conflict before the world is literally sucked into a different dimension.

Here they mus join the struggle against many foes, both human and alien, be it the crystalline Shard, the space mummies of the Pharon, the weird, multi jointed Zykhee, or the giant rage monsters, the Growlers. Survival is key and the place is determined to kill everything so straight off, theres some really fascinating settings to explore.

Each force is pretty unique but did suffer from balance issues, especially the Pharon who were seen as being extremely overpowered but if you're playing a campaign driven by narrative, the space mummies should be terrifying!

With a plethora of fantastic artists producing some truly stunning covers for the books, weird alien races and for its time, a really original set of rules mechanics. VOR was in a unique position as it seemed to have everything going for it but sadly it wasn't to be and faded away which is a real pity.

Rulewise, the game gave models action points which could be used to move, shoot, activate abilities and a wide variety of other bits and bobs and allowed you to really play in a way that previous big Sci-fi rules (especially GW!) didn't. Coupled with alternating activation and a complete guide to creating your own stats so you could play literally any force you could imagine and a D100 chart for some of the mad environmental conditions one could find in the Maelstrom its a great ruleset.

I remember it took a bit of effort to get the way it worked straight in my head as it was so very different from what I was used to but it worked remarkably well!

While the rules and setting were great, if needing a reworked 2nd edition that would have would have worked out the kinks and at least three new races and a book specifically for designing custom forces in the pipeline, the element that did let down Vor was the miniature line.

FASA got very different sculptors to work on the ranges and while some were really nice for the time, others were decidedly ropy and their tendency to only have a couple of sculpts per unit was a real shame (the Neo-Sov Rad Troopers are particularly unfortunate). Given time, I'd have loved to see the range get properly fleshed out and the setting explored more thoroughly. 

I actually own a boxed set of the game that I picked up for a bargain price on Ebay some years ago with the intention of painting them up (it is the third version of it I've owned!) and the starter set miniatures were all sculpted by GW legend Kev Adams so had loads of character, despite their limited poses and at some point I really need to get them all painted up!

Unlike most of the games I'm covering, Vor was by a large company and could have gone on to do great things but sadly its pretty much a dead game these days. Handily Ral Partha Europe produces the miniatures range and still has lots of the rulebooks and army books so it isn't difficult to pick up and its a great ruleset in its own right and still holds together really well.

Interestingly it was the inspiration behind WARGAMES UNLIMITED free rulesets, No Quarter and No Limits which are still available and would refine the rules, remove the setting and go for a completely generic wargame set that is really good to boot.

Sadly even these haven't been updated in ages but if you're looking to try them out, the game is great fun!

As for Vor: The Maelestrom, its worth picking up if you can find the rulebook as the setting is really interesting and the rules for the ever changing weather conditions are worth the cost of the book themselves, even if you port them over into your own setting (they're particularly good for depicting what worlds within the Eye of Terror would be like!)

Tomorrow will see another addition to the ever growing list of awesome, quirky or odd games I've got in my collection so watch this space.

Until then, All the best!

Richard