Vermis by Plastiboo is an art book series, styled in the way that they seem to be manuals for a retro souls-like video game or TTRPG. The world of Vermis is dark and dangerous, yet filled with a melancholy often lacking in dark fantasy. The lore is deep but vague, leaving it up to the reader to imagine. As the tagline goes, which flesh is your flesh?

I first heard of Vermis several years ago, and fell in love with its moody style and imagery.
This shrine contains a smattering of my thoughts concerning it, particular artworks I enjoy, theories, and links to other sources concerning the series.
I have the first two books, but I do not have the third, so that won't be brought up.

I implore you to purchase the books yourself, you can on Hollow Press. Also go follow Plastiboo's tumblr.

The world of Vermis is clearly dying, and what remains doesn't even cling to life, but slowly fades. The beautiful illustrations, like the one above of the Princess's ghost, add to the feeling. But the book is still so colorful, bright pops that make me think of classic fantasy book covers such as Wheel of Time. There are dungeon maps a few times in the first book, the Green Sun Ruins being the only 3D one, and the most appealing in my opinion. The goblins and dead princess elude to a mysterious story, which is elaborated on in the 2nd book, Mist and Mirrors.

It almost goes without saying, but this vignette of the princess is one of the few glimmers of hope in Vermis, even though it lies in the past. We know from the first book that the kingdom falls to ruin with the death of the princess to an illness. But that hope and beauty shines through in this page

Both books 1 and 2 feature character selection, at the beginning of 1 and end of 2. This is cause of the differing structures between the books: Book 1, Lost Dungeons and Forbidden Woods, is told in 2nd person as a clear guide. Book 2, Mist and Mirrors, is told in a very linear story, following The Wayfarer. Book 1, there are options for who you represent, but book 2 is one path of many. It says 'The path has been walked, now travel theirs' before giving the characters.

I have a few specific things to say on the images above. The one of the mirror, and walking backwards through it, is SUCH a cool concept, I plan to use it in DnD at some point. A doorway only visible through a mirror is a fun puzzle, and also very eerie. The pale cloaked skeleton with a mace is one of my favorite images from the two books, I want to get it as a tattoo someday. The Drowned Labyrinth is another thing I intend to use in DnD at some point.

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Because Vermis is structured like a game guide, some people have created fan games based on it. The only one I've played is by Adam Duehring on itch.io. It's text-based and is like an old PC game. It's pretty cool and fun, though I haven't beaten it as I am notoriously bad at video games.
You can find it here.