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Needful Sorrows is the most recent in a series of systems I have hacked, reworked, and built from scratch for my gaming group as we've navigated a rewritten, remixed version of Impossible Landscapes. 

We found that most mechanics we tried just got in the way: our group could handle almost everything through free-form role-play. So I've made a system that strips out everything that is unnecessary for that kind of play. 

It focuses on exactly three things:

  • Giving extra weight to dramatic moments through meaningful sacrifice. 
  • Tracking the ways that the events of the game/story impact the characters
  • Encouraging emotionally resonant moments between characters. 



You are welcome to share, adapt, remix, or build on this work — including for commercial use — as long as you clearly credit the original creator.

However, use of this work to promote hate, bigotry, discrimination, or authoritarian ideologies is strictly prohibited. Any such use is a violation of this license and is explicitly rejected by the creator.

If you use or build upon this material, you are accepting these terms. If you do not accept these terms, you do not have permission to use this work.

If you’re unsure whether your intended use fits within these terms, please reach out. The short version: don’t punch down. 

In brief: I am happy to share! Just don’t be a shithead. If you are a shithead, go away. You don’t get to play with my things.




Author Disclosure Regarding Generative AI: 

This system was written entirely by a human author (me, Faye Weaver). However, I used ChatGPT as a conversational sparring partner and design assistant. I bounced ideas off it, used it to run probability math, and asked it for editing suggestions to help clarify language, though ultimately I relied on my own judgement when it came to the writing itself. No AI generated prose or game mechanics appear in the published text. 

The art is likewise produced by a human: Jean Verne. All art comes from their wonderful art pack, "Faces 001" linked below. 

https://fantasticjean.itch.io/faces-001

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

Needful Sorrows_v5.1_Cover.pdf 1.5 MB
Needful Sorrows_v5.1_Pages.pdf 18 MB