Sickest Witch Core Rulebook - Flayed Edition - Justin Sirois

What makes Sickest Witch different - The Severed System

Curious about Sickest Witch? Maybe you like really dark games or maybe you love witches-or both. You might just like the name. Sickest Witch is a dar, low-fantasy system and series of adventures. There are no dragons or fairies. Demonology is prevalent among the poor common folk who populate the towns. Black magic, plague, and famine are routine. But this is folk horror with a twist.

Nostalgia is not what Sickest Witch is going for. There are many old school systems that do that great. Even though this system borrows heavily from the past, it is not looking to recreate it.

This is what sets the Severed System apart from others. Firstly, Witches have to harvest body parts to cast magic. Piece by piece, you become more powerful as you hack up your enemies. Additionally, nearly all magic points are shared in a pool named the Cauldron. This makes for somewhat tense moments as your Coven discusses what to do next.

The Severed System also has a Dark Souls/Elden Ring-style resource and character sharing mechanic. Each time you do a long rest, your Cauldron can summon NPCs and special items. This relies on the network of players who contribute to the pool via social media and forums. Games, in other cities and towns, can literally be linked to each other using Cauldrons.

Leveling up happens at the beginning of the next game session and functions as both a cliffhanger and incentive for groups to get back together again. It also acts as a fun recap of what happened in the previous session.