Your D&D character doesn't have scars, and I think this is a problem.
Some RPG systems have mechanics for hindrances/disadvantages, and that is cool too, but I don't think it is strictly necessary. What happens BEFORE the game begins is not as important ad the actual game.
I'm not talking about healing spells either, although maybe they ARE part of the problem.
I'm talking about your high-level warrior, who has been trough dozens of battles, got stabbed, bitten, knocked out, and almost died several times.
He might have acquired many treasures, gained famed and riches, defeated several monsters, he might even rule a castle, but, by the way it looks, there was no simply no cost.
I'm not talking about appearance only.
Instead, I'm wondering if there should be a place in your character's sheet for old wounds. Maybe a missing finger, or even an eye (that will give you disadvantage when shooting bows). Maybe -1 Charisma from a hideous facial scar, or -1 Dexterity due to a ruined knee.
They don't need to be permanent, but some might be.
It doesn't need to happen often, nor does it need to happen to every PC.
I guess what I want is to at least have a possibility of actual wounds after dozens of dangerous battles.
These might not be to everyone's tastes.
As doesn't fit every genre. You could even say that Conan, Elric and John Carter rarely get significantly wounded. Add healing magic to it, and you have every reason to believe your setting is full of veteran warriors without a single old wound.
But I really feel this makes the game less interesting.
Scars and wounds give PCs history, even more than their stats and weapons do.
You are unlikely to remember how you got to level 5 and even where you got that +2 sword, since you get so many.
But you'll probably remember why, where and how you lost a finger...
Anyway, getting this to work in the table isn't easy. Nobody likes playing a severely wounded PC that doesn't heal.
Critical hits come to mind, but this is not an ideal solution; it is likely that they'll cause TOO MANY WOUNDS because PCs fight so often. Fighting and horde of goblins will surely cause several critical hits, for example, even for the experienced fighter, and even heavy armor will not protect you from crits if they are caused by a natural 20.
Wounds probably need to come from being reduced to zero HP (the 1e DMG subtly suggests this as an alternative to death).
This way, your wounds will not be as terrible - they will remind you of that time when your nearly escaped death!
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This is why my thoughts on magical healing lean on the idea that it's fast and dirty. Wounds healed through magic will look messy. Scars for sure. Quite possibly broken bones that haven't quite set right. It's something you do when you need to get back to fighting fit NOW - and don't care that it's ruining your body for the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool alternative for gritty games! Reminds me of the first Ravnica novel - "potions" were like steroids, a quick fix that might cost you later.
DeleteI included "Zatoichi Rules" in Chanbara for losing eyes, limbs, etc. Plus rules to mitigate the penalties over time. My players avoided them like the plague. They didn't want to use them, because they feared being the victim of them.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, one of my current players has developed a phobia of tentacled monsters due to a past TPK and the loss of another of his PCs to a froghemoth. I've also run PCs with PTSD related to near death encounters they had.
Some people like this, some just want to be the nigh-indestructible pulp hero.
I like grittier rules, but there is definitely some balance to be found.
DeleteMy rule is that when a character ends up in a state of bleeding out (I'm using Hyperborea rules, so -4 to -9 hp) they have to roll on a hit chart to determine wound location and, assuming they survive, that's their new scar.
ReplyDeleteIt only came up once so far, a paladin got a nasty head wound but then he got captured by slavers and hasn't been rescued just yet.
I like using negative HP for that. It should leave a scar or even a permanent wound. You could even apply the -4 to -9 to a roll, with lower numbers meaning lasting wounds.
Delete