Vor-acious Reading

Just received my latest and possibly last E-bay purchase with my bro's help. The item I got about two weeks ago happens to be one of FASA's last game produced before they folded up in 2001. Its an intriguing title called "Vor: The Maelstrom".

Vor: The Maelstrom is a tabletop miniatures wargame which I would consider just as fascinating for those who enamored with current off-the shelf games like Warhammer, Warhammer 40K and others of its type. What would be considered the draw for me for getting it in this case? The fluff writing. Back in 2002, months prior to my recall to home, I saw this item in a shelf at Wizards Of The Coast gaming store branch at Northgate Mall in Washington state, north aways from Seattle.

I browsed through it and some of the forces used in the main book caught my eye and interest. I'll just run through a brief description of the forces/races showcased in the game:

Union - Comprised of the USA, Canada and Mexico collectively called the North American Union which was brought about by the threat presented by the next force...
Neo-Soviet - Led by General Gregori Vanivar, a student of Stalinist Communism who rekindled it to a scattered and decayed Soviet Union after personal tragedy affected his world outlook. If the Union are the epitome of high-tech fighting forces, the Neo-Soviets would strikingly remind you of Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge expansion because they are at the forefront of the black sciences of genetic mutations, chemical and radiological warfare.
Shard - An interesting force which were initially immortal energy beings at the apex of their evolution now forced back to corporeality due to the condition of the Maw where everybody else is stuck in for a long round of survival for resources and territory. These crystalloids are very versatile in manipulating their crystal forms to suit ranged and melee combat, moreso as they mature after centuries of existence.
Growlers - Strong, powerful pack oriented creatures of incredible strength and drive. They are the brute force type of force depicted.
Zykhee - A race of warrior-monks that excel with the use of mysti-tech. Tall, lithe and bodily flexible.
Mashers - Primitive neanderthals with hyperactive and hypercharged nervous systems which all them "mash" or fuse technology into them, their bodies acting as the power source.
Golems - Massive monolithic conquerors made known by their heavily armored countenance and strong-armed force tactics.
Ceru - A slave race that broke off from their Golem masters. These alien hi-tech gravbike riding gang of nomads survive and strike a blow at their former Golem oppressors.
Pharon - A necromantic race with a strong Egyptian motif and influence. They wield a mix of high-tech and necromancy to crush the opposition and recycle the remains to rejuvenate themselves or create new cannon fodder. They take the matter of creating "Essence of Chicken" to whole sickening level. *gag*

My possible top three forces to pick out of these mentioned are: Union, Shard and Neo-Soviet and Golem or Pharon for a far back-up pick. The Union and Neo-Soviet would be comfortable to RTS people familiar with the Red Alert 2 franchise if they ever reach 21st century standards and upwards. The Shard are fascinating given how they manipulate their crystalline bodies composed of psychically-responsive nanite crystal and they can expulse small amount of their life energy to channel as offensive blasts, defensive fields or other energy phenomena to utilize in the battlefield.

The overall story background of this wargame is straightforward. The Maelstrom is a roving cosmic anomaly that sucks in many worlds to be devoured at random intervals, the worlds that survive have its inhabitants eke out a routine of survival and exploration to acquire resources and territories to improve their chances in the Maelstrom. Skirmishes between the above forces happens as well as an alien lifeforms outside themselves also appear.

I only got the mainbook, Forcebooks covering Neo-Soviet, Shard, Growlers, Zykhee, Pharon and a pocketbook inspired by the game itself through a bid on Ebay with my brother's help. Its still tricky reading to go through it besides wrapping my brain around wargame stat-speak in order to proceed with the next aspect, conversion work to a pre-existing RPG system that would best reflect their abilities. I get some time, when available, to fashion something with regards to some of these fascinating forces into a playable format for RPGs.