# Sickest Witch Core Rulebook A d20 folk-horror TTRPG where oppressed witches harvest body parts for vile magic, share power through the Cauldron, and fight back in a low-fantasy medieval world of plague, famine, and dark bargains. ## At a Glance Medieval folk-horror witches - Severed System d20 tests - GM-led Coven play - paid PDF and print - best for dark fantasy groups that want body-part magic, shared resources, and grim campaign pressure. ## Why It Fits Sickest Witch gives TTRPG Games a distinctive folk-horror and low-fantasy witch entry that is not just generic dark fantasy. Its d20 Severed System, body-part spell components, shared Cauldron resource, class structure, and supported adventure line make it useful for readers comparing horror fantasy, witch TTRPGs, and campaign-capable indie dark fantasy. ## Fit Facts - Players: 2-6 players + GM - Session length: 180-240 minutes - Prep: Medium - Price: Paid ## Facets - Genres: Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Folk Horror, Horror - Systems: d20 System - Mechanics: Campaign, Character Customization, Class-Based, Low Magic, Resource Management, Team-Based - Themes: Bleak, Dark, Mature Themes - Decision tags: One-Shot Friendly, Rules Medium ## Scores - Complexity: 3/5 - New GM Fit: 3/5 - Roleplay Focus: 4/5 - Combat Focus: 3/5 - Tactical Depth: 2/5 - Campaign Depth: 4/5 ## Best For - Groups that want witch fantasy with folk horror, body horror, and moral pressure - Tables that like simple d20 tests but want magic to create hard resource choices - Players who enjoy classes, spells, grim advancement, and a supported adventure line - GMs who want maps, NPCs, enemies, generators, random tables, and a starter adventure in the core book ## Avoid If - Your table wants gentle witch stories, cozy occult fantasy, or horror that stays mostly atmospheric - Body-part magic, gore, oppression themes, or revenge-driven play are poor fits for the group - You want deep tactical combat, miniature positioning, or build optimization to carry most sessions - You dislike shared resource pools that force the group to negotiate every major spell ## Explorer Notes [Sickest Witch Core Rulebook](https://justinsirois.itch.io/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook?ac=YUqaLN4pVvG) is for groups that want witch fantasy to feel ugly, bodily, and dangerous rather than sparkling or heroic. It is a low-fantasy folk-horror TTRPG about covens of oppressed witches who reclaim power through brutal magic, shared resources, and a world where plague, famine, demonology, and class violence are ordinary pressures. It is a weaker fit if your table wants comfortable fantasy, gentle occult drama, or a clean tactical dungeon game. Sickest Witch has simple d20 tests, recognizable fantasy adventure tools, and a full intro adventure, but its identity comes from body horror, moral pressure, and a campaign line that asks what liberation costs when power is literally carved out of enemies. ## What the game is Sickest Witch is a standalone TTRPG written, illustrated, and designed by [Justin Sirois](https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/qa-justin-sirois-sickest-witch-rpg/) and published by Severed Books. The official itch page describes it as a dark, low-fantasy system and series of adventures with no dragons or fairies, where demonology, black magic, plague, and famine are part of everyday life. The player characters are witches in a medieval folk-horror world where magic is vile, costly, and socially charged. The core fantasy is not becoming respectable heroes. It is forming a Coven, taking power from people who abused power first, and deciding how far the group will go when every spell reminds the table where that power came from. ## Publication history and current edition The current core book was crowdfunded through [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justinsirois/sickest-witch-core-rulebook-rpg) in 2025. The campaign raised $50,695 from 865 backers against a $3,000 goal, and the Kickstarter page was last updated on July 10, 2026 when checked for this profile. The itch product is currently marked released and sells the downloadable core rulebook for $17.99 or more. Sickest Witch also had current award visibility in 2026. The ENNIE voting ballot listed the core rulebook under [Best Game](https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2026/ballot.php?category_id=12) and [Best Rules](https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2026/ballot.php?category_id=18). Published 2026 ENNIE results show Daggerheart and Legend in the Mist taking the Gold and Silver slots in those categories, so Sickest Witch should be treated as an ENNIE nominee, not an award winner. ## What you need to play The core rulebook is the place to start. The itch page lists lore, an introduction adventure called Salt of the Earth, more than 100 illustrations, more than 100 Sickest Witch and NPC spells, Witch Customs, weapons, a world map with 13 large locations, social ranks, random encounters, traps, weather, loot, generators, enemies, and third-party license resources. The official [Sickest Witch books page](https://www.sickestwitch.com/p/books.html) presents the line as an ordered adventure series. Salt of the Earth is the level 1 adventure in the core book. Blood Property and Hayride continue the line, while Sickest Wretch adds six additional non-witch classes and another intro adventure. The same page lists a Player's Guide and Coven Box as support products. ## Product line and support The product line looks intentionally serial. The official books page says the adventures are meant to be played in order as the Coven uncovers lore and upgrades its powers. That makes Sickest Witch more campaign-shaped than a single horror one-shot, even though the core adventure can be used as a focused start. The core rulebook also includes third-party license information, and the game's support line already includes adventures, player-facing material, cards, dice, and aids. That gives it better long-tail table support than many small-press horror games that ship one striking PDF and stop there. ## DriveThruRPG and availability DriveThruRPG status is the one unsettled storefront detail. The itch page exposes a downloadable file named SickestWitchCoreBooks_DriveThru_5.6.25.pdf, and the official Sickest Witch books page links several companion products on DriveThruRPG. I could not verify a stable direct DriveThruRPG product page for the core rulebook or a visible DTRPG rating count during this run, so this profile points readers to the itch product and official Sickest Witch pages rather than inventing a DTRPG link. ## Core rules and play structure Sickest Witch uses the Severed System. The official itch page explains the basic resolution loop as d20 tests against Obstacles using character stats called Oracles. If an Obstacle is 12, a player rolls a 20-sided die, adds the relevant Oracle modifier, and succeeds on 12 or higher. Some chance checks use percentages instead, such as a 25 percent or 50 percent chance. The five Oracle types on the itch page are Fist, Flesh, Nerve, Network, and Cauldron. They cover strength, durability, agility, mental perception or charm, and magic. The system is familiar enough for players with old-school or Dungeons & Dragons experience, but the game is clear that it is not trying to recreate old-school nostalgia. ## Characters, covens, and advancement Characters are organized through classes. COMICON describes six witch classes, plus two non-witch options in the Butcher and Fighter, while GMshoe's creator Q&A describes a core book with eight classes, more than 90 spells, many weapons, a home base, random tables, and a 30-page intro module. That makes the game class-based without locking every character into the same kind of witch. Advancement is also tied to the session rhythm. The itch page says leveling up happens at the beginning of the next session, acting as both a cliffhanger and a recap. That is a smart fit for campaign play because the game makes the last session's consequences part of the next session's opening conversation. ## Signature mechanics - Harvested magic: witches cast by using severed body parts as magical components, turning power into an explicit resource and content boundary. - The Cauldron: nearly all magic points are shared in a Coven pool, so spellcasting becomes a group conversation instead of private character accounting. - Linked cauldrons: the itch page describes a resource and character-sharing idea inspired by Dark Souls and Elden Ring, where different tables can contribute to a shared pool. - Body parts as currency: the GMshoe Q&A says spell components become a kind of currency and can raise ethical questions about who the witches target. - Session-start leveling: advancement arrives at the next session opening, encouraging recap and a small cliffhanger between sessions. ## What play feels like A strong Sickest Witch session should feel like dark fantasy with dirt under its nails. The Coven hunts, bargains, hides, retaliates, scavenges, preserves body parts, argues over shared magic, and tries to survive a world where the oppressed finally have terrifying leverage. The table is likely to spend as much time deciding whether a spell is worth the cost as it spends calculating the die roll. Compared with [Old Gods of Appalachia](/item/old-gods-of-appalachia), Sickest Witch is less about regional folklore and community defense and more about medieval oppression, coven identity, and bodily magic. Compared with [The Silt Verses](/item/the-silt-verses), it is less investigative and more class-and-adventure driven. Compared with [Trophy](/item/trophy), it is less about inevitable doomed treasure hunting and more about witches using an ugly system of power against an ugly world. ## Running the game The GM load looks medium. The rules pitch is simple, and the core book includes a starter adventure, maps, NPCs, enemies, generators, and tables. That gives a GM real scaffolding. The harder work is calibration: the premise asks the table to handle gore, oppression, revenge, and moral pressure without flattening them into empty shock value. The Cauldron is likely the main facilitation tool to watch. Because magic points are shared, a quiet table may need the GM to slow down and ask who wants to spend from the pool, who is saving it, and what everyone thinks the Coven owes each other. That shared-resource pressure is the part most likely to make Sickest Witch feel different from a normal dark-fantasy adventure. ## Campaign fit Sickest Witch can handle a one-shot, especially through Salt of the Earth or a tightly framed Coven job, but it looks strongest as a short-to-medium campaign. COMICON specifically points to both four-hour one-shot play and longer campaign potential, while the official books page presents the adventures as an ordered line that slowly reveals more of the setting. For campaign play, start small. Introduce Black Branch, the Coven, the Cauldron, one clear enemy, and the group's boundaries around harvested magic. Let the larger lore arrive through the published adventures rather than front-loading every secret before the players know whether they enjoy the central bargain. ## Reception and awards The visible response is promising but not yet broad in the way a major-publisher line might be. COMICON's January 2026 review praises the game as less crunchy and more pickup-and-play than many dark fantasy TTRPGs, singles out the shared Cauldron as an effective group-pressure mechanic, and presents the game as usable for one-shots or longer grim campaigns. GMshoe's Q&A is not a review, but it provides useful creator-side evidence for the game's premise, classes, spells, modules, and intended tone. The formal recognition signal is current and strong: Sickest Witch Core Rulebook was a 2026 ENNIE nominee for Best Game and Best Rules. It did not win either category according to current winner lists, so this page should not carry the Award-Winning tag unless a later award win is verified. ## Where it is strongest - Groups that want witch fantasy with folk horror, body horror, and moral pressure instead of cozy occult adventure. - Tables that like simple d20 resolution but want the magic system to drive hard choices. - Players who enjoy class options, spells, grim resource loops, and a supported adventure line. - GMs who want a dark fantasy campaign with maps, NPCs, generators, enemies, and a starter adventure in the core book. ## Where it can frustrate groups - The body-part magic premise can be too intense or too unpleasant for tables that only want atmospheric horror. - Groups looking for deep tactical combat may find the system pitch simpler than expected. - Players who want heroic fantasy may bounce off the oppression, revenge, and grim resource economy. - Tables that dislike shared pools may find the Cauldron produces negotiation pressure they do not enjoy. ## Content and safety notes Expect body horror, severed body parts, violence, oppression, slavery or servitude themes, plague, famine, black magic, demonology, revenge, gore, and moral questions around treating bodies as resources. The itch page is age-gated and tags the game as Adult, Dark, Fantasy, and Horror, so this is not a game to spring on a group without an explicit tone and safety conversation. A good session zero should cover gore level, harm to innocents, oppression themes, religious or demonic imagery, body-part harvesting, and how the table wants to frame the witches' retaliation. The game is more interesting when those boundaries are clear enough that players can make hard fictional choices without wondering whether the table itself is still comfortable. ## Best starting path Start with the released [itch.io core rulebook](https://justinsirois.itch.io/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook?ac=YUqaLN4pVvG). Then use Salt of the Earth from the core book as the first adventure before adding Blood Property, Hayride, or the Player's Guide from the official Sickest Witch books page. If a direct DriveThruRPG core listing becomes visible, verify the product page and rating count before adding that link to the site. ## Research notes Last checked: September 13, 2026. - [Sickest Witch RPG - Core Rulebook on itch.io](https://justinsirois.itch.io/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook?ac=YUqaLN4pVvG) - [Official Sickest Witch books page](https://www.sickestwitch.com/p/books.html) - [Sickest Witch RPG - Core Rulebook Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/justinsirois/sickest-witch-core-rulebook-rpg) - [GMshoe Q&A with Justin Sirois](https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/qa-justin-sirois-sickest-witch-rpg/) - [COMICON review by Anton Kromoff](https://comicon.com/2026/01/27/sickest-witch-a-fun-and-frightening-ttrpg-for-you-and-your-friends/) - [2026 ENNIE Best Game ballot](https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2026/ballot.php?category_id=12) - [2026 ENNIE Best Rules ballot](https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2026/ballot.php?category_id=18) - [2026 ENNIE winners summary](https://ttrpgfans.com/ennie-awards/) - [Atlantis Comics product listing](https://atlantis-comics.com/products/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook-standard-edition) ## Links - Explorer page: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/item/sickest-witch - Agent JSON: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/api/games/sickest-witch.json - Publisher or official site: https://justinsirois.itch.io/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook?ac=YUqaLN4pVvG - Reviews or retailer page: https://justinsirois.itch.io/sickest-witch-rpg-core-rulebook?ac=YUqaLN4pVvG