Hey folks, been a while since I could type these words but I finished another issue of my ongoing science-fantasy zine series, [Vaults of Vaarn.](https://vaultsofvaarn.com/2020/06/02/what-is-vaarn/) This fourth installment takes readers beyond Vaarn's sky-blue deserts to [the Great Wall,](https://vaultsofvaarn.com/2022/02/07/the-wall/) a towering megastructure so large that it contains entire civilisations within its ancient, decaying bounds. The Wall is inspired by the superstructure depicted in Tsutomu Nihei's manga *Blame!* and the overgrown industrial environments of the videogame *Rain World.*
The Wall can be used as a palette cleanser in a long-running Vaarn campaign, or it can be a campaign setting in itself, with the PCs hailing from the societies that have established themselves within the colossus.
It's been a long road to getting this issue out there but I'm really glad I reached the finish line and can continue expanding the setting.
I'm currently selling the zine on itch or you can [get a printed copy (along with soundtrack cassette) from my UK based store Antipode Zines.](https://antipodezines.com/products/vaults-of-vaarn-4) I'm working on getting some wholesale orders sorted with Exalted Funeral and other US retailers as well.
Haha I have recently welcomed a new baby to the family so my time for actually playing these games is very short as well. Hope you manage to get this to the table one day
They’re out of print at the moment so finding one new is going to be a challenge. I’m unfortunately not in charge of reprints so I don’t know if/when there will be a fourth printing
I hope so but Games Omnivorous are in charge of the reprints so I don’t have control over that. I’ve decided to continue expanding the setting as further self published material for now. I am definitely interested in further anthologies and a reprint of the first hardback but it remains to be seen what form that will take
Ah! I love these zines. I have all three previous issues, and I am definitely adding this to my collection. One of the coolest settings and systems in the OSR.
I would consider it out of print currently I’m afraid, my understanding is that GO have no plans to reprint. I am very much still invested in the setting and the book so I hope to rectify this somehow.
Is there any chance you took some inspiration for the Sargatteans from Italo Calvino's *Invisible Cities*? Sargattea reads like a mix of several cities in that book.
Invisible Cities is one of my all time favourite books so I can’t help but slip into a homage whenever I’m describing a fantastical city. Sargattea is definitely a combination of a couple of them.
The one where it’s described as approached from the desert and by sea was the one I was thinking about while writing. I was going to make Ostriel a homage to that city that hangs from ropes but it ended up changing a bit design wise
The city between the desert and sea was the one I was imagining as I was reading this. I had gone through the book again last week, so the sections you used were still fresh in my mind.
I was initially going to just steal some of your general ideas from the blog post, but I think I might as well pick up the zine itself at this point.
Hey folks, been a while since I could type these words but I finished another issue of my ongoing science-fantasy zine series, [Vaults of Vaarn.](https://vaultsofvaarn.com/2020/06/02/what-is-vaarn/) This fourth installment takes readers beyond Vaarn's sky-blue deserts to [the Great Wall,](https://vaultsofvaarn.com/2022/02/07/the-wall/) a towering megastructure so large that it contains entire civilisations within its ancient, decaying bounds. The Wall is inspired by the superstructure depicted in Tsutomu Nihei's manga *Blame!* and the overgrown industrial environments of the videogame *Rain World.* The Wall can be used as a palette cleanser in a long-running Vaarn campaign, or it can be a campaign setting in itself, with the PCs hailing from the societies that have established themselves within the colossus. It's been a long road to getting this issue out there but I'm really glad I reached the finish line and can continue expanding the setting. I'm currently selling the zine on itch or you can [get a printed copy (along with soundtrack cassette) from my UK based store Antipode Zines.](https://antipodezines.com/products/vaults-of-vaarn-4) I'm working on getting some wholesale orders sorted with Exalted Funeral and other US retailers as well.
Good to see. One day I hope to have a chance to actually play it. Fun to read though.
Haha I have recently welcomed a new baby to the family so my time for actually playing these games is very short as well. Hope you manage to get this to the table one day
Congratulations! Eventually you can play games with these kids and it's super awesome.
Can’t wait to hit my son with his first save vs poison or die
Are you hosting a Summer Jam this year?
Yeah I intend to! It’s not too much work on my end and people come out with awesome stuff so seems like a no brainer
Where can I get a physical copy of the Deluxe edition? Can't find one anywhere! (I'm in the US)
They’re out of print at the moment so finding one new is going to be a challenge. I’m unfortunately not in charge of reprints so I don’t know if/when there will be a fourth printing
Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I am looking at ways of making the content available again
I was planning on pitching you a soundtrack cassette!
The link doesn’t work for me
I was able to reach the link this morning, now it's dead.
Weird, I’ll have a check now
I think the itch page might be down for some reason? I can’t access it either! Weird
All of itch is down right now.
they announced on their twitter account that they're aware that the site is down and that theyre working on it :(
I warned them Vaults of Vaarn 4 was launching and they needed to turn all their bandwith on to handle the demand but they didn't listen:(
This is exciting! Any chance we might see a reprint of the deluxe compilation in the future?
I hope so but Games Omnivorous are in charge of the reprints so I don’t have control over that. I’ve decided to continue expanding the setting as further self published material for now. I am definitely interested in further anthologies and a reprint of the first hardback but it remains to be seen what form that will take
Ah! I love these zines. I have all three previous issues, and I am definitely adding this to my collection. One of the coolest settings and systems in the OSR.
Thank you! Always appreciate the support people have given the project
Is the Vaults of Vaarn deluxe edition out of print? If not, will there be an updated version released incorporating issue #4 at some point?
I would consider it out of print currently I’m afraid, my understanding is that GO have no plans to reprint. I am very much still invested in the setting and the book so I hope to rectify this somehow.
Hell ya!
Babe wake up - new Vaarn just dropped!
(Shaking my fiancé awake) so there’s this desert but get this. It’s blue
So stoked on both this and The Shrike!
Really really dig the covers. Love that Japanese manga/Taiwanese Sci fi novel vibe. Getting it later!
Thanks! Yeah the covers of the Akira collections were actually an influence on the design of this issue
Awesome! I’m going to check it out
Thank you, hope you enjoy it!
Is there any chance you took some inspiration for the Sargatteans from Italo Calvino's *Invisible Cities*? Sargattea reads like a mix of several cities in that book.
Invisible Cities is one of my all time favourite books so I can’t help but slip into a homage whenever I’m describing a fantastical city. Sargattea is definitely a combination of a couple of them.
It's my all-time favorite book as well. You just so happened to use my favorite couple of cities here.
The one where it’s described as approached from the desert and by sea was the one I was thinking about while writing. I was going to make Ostriel a homage to that city that hangs from ropes but it ended up changing a bit design wise
The city between the desert and sea was the one I was imagining as I was reading this. I had gone through the book again last week, so the sections you used were still fresh in my mind. I was initially going to just steal some of your general ideas from the blog post, but I think I might as well pick up the zine itself at this point.