Grimworld Raving Review
Here’s an overview of Grimworld, a supplement for Dungeon World.
I’ve temporarily stepped away from Dungeon World to pursue Numenera.
As such, when my copy of GrimWorld arrived recently, I was a little bit disappointed that I’m currently invested in another system.
Until I cracked it open, that is…
This book is absolutely GORGEOUS! The layout, design, and aesthetic all fit perfectly with the tone of the writing and content. The book is brand new, but pages are printed with dirt, grime, ripped pages, scratched out messages, and hastily scrawled notes.
Even brand new this book looks like I stole it from the very characters who inherited this world. It feel like a well-worn journal or tome written by someone who lived in this world.
The outside covers look like an ancient tome:
The book contains a bunch of new races, new monsters, classes, items, and compendium classes. All of these items are listed on their kickstarter, so I won’t spoil everything. More important is the tone and theme that the content follows.
Grimworld includes multiple tools for creating a dark, mysterious, and dangerous world. My favorite tools are the included monsters, the Fronts/Arcs, the location builder, and Dungeon World/Fate Hack
The Fronts/Arcs give enough information to provide the skeleton of a 2-3 session campaign or mystery. The best supplements keep it brief, encouraging you to fill in the blanks yourself.
The included monsters all have weaknesses listed, along with motivations and unique information. A few new ideas are mixed in with familiar and still-scary classics. Great art, of course!
But believe it or not, the thing I plan on using the most is the Location Builder. I LOVE rolling up stuff. This lets me roll up towns, caves, and tons of misc locations. It looks very flexible, with great ideas for making things that much more dangerous and creepy.
In conclusion, this is the perfect way to add some darker low-fantasy elements to your games. I highly recommend it!
