Certain
tribes at the edge of the Blasted Lands believe that every wound is a living
portal to a spirit world made of flesh and bone that resides within all living
beings. They alone understand the truth that those foolish practitioners of
“scientific medicine” are blind to: the moment when flesh parts, the moment
when blood seeps, the moments where in all knits anew, these moments are all
alive in time just as we are. After all, scars are not made, they are born.
You can speak with scars. Most scars are torpid and
extremely bored because nobody acknowledges their sentience. If you speak to
one, it will animate and answer in a tiny voice. It may be (1d3) 1:
mischievous, 2: stupid, or 3: helpful. This process is extremely unsettling for
the person bearing the scar.
Starts with: a painful-and-intricate mutilation
blade, a loincloth, and a Really Cool Scar (see table).
A Scar Tissue, Dispel Wound
B Ritual Mutilation, Invoke Wound
C Rites of Scarring, Wound Possession
D One with the Spirits
SCAR TISSUE: When not wearing armor, you get +1
defense for each Really Cool Scar or Really Ugly Scar you have, to a maximum of
+3.
DISPEL WOUND: Once per day, you can remove all fatal
wounds from a target, then test your WIS. If you fail, you’ve offended the
Wound Spirits, who give them a Really Ugly Scar (-1 to disposition rolls)
before leaving.
INVOKE WOUND: Once per day, you can spend an action
to call out to a the Spirit of a Wound that the target had suffered sometime in
their life, and have that Wound open anew. Roll a d6 that increases in die size
for each template of Scar-Speaker you have. The target takes that much damage,
and if you rolled the max result for that die, the target rolls on the Death
and Dismemberment table.
RITUAL MUTILATION: You can spend a minute to roll a
d4 and take that much damage to regain the use of a once-per-day ability. If
you roll a 4, you went overboard: roll again. If you roll a 4 again, gain a
Really Cool Scar.
RITES OF SCARRING: You may spend a day preparing a
ritual though which you can summon a friendly Scar-Spirit to inhabit the
permanent injury of an ally. This ritual requires multiple meaningful
components and an RP ceremony. At ceremony’s end, make a WIS check. If you
succeed, the target gains a Really Cool Scar.
WOUND POSSESSION: Once per day, you can spend an
action to send a Wound Spirit to possess the wound of an enemy, holding them in
place with sheer pain. They must make a save or be paralyzed for 1d6 rounds. As
an action, you may give the Wound Spirit a one word command, and if the target
fails a save, the spirit will try to twist the possessed body to fulfill that
command.
ONE WITH THE SPIRITS: You can enter a trance where
you become a living conduit between the material world and the spirit realm,
and every significant wound you take is inhabited by a friendly Wound-Spirit.
The trance lasts 3d6 rounds. During the trance, you are not unconscious when
you are at 0 hp or have fatal wounds, and having fatal wounds does not kill you
until the trance ends. During the trance, you get +1 to all rolls for every
fatal wound you currently have, and for every permanent major impairment from
the D&D table that you have suffered in your lifetime. When the trance
ends, the Wound-Spirits will attempt to carry you off to the spirit realm: save
or die.
REALLY
COOL SCARS
1 A patch of
tough, leathery scab-tissue. Gives you +1 defense, but only if you’re not
wearing armor.
2 This scar
bears a grudge. Once per day, when you take the same type of damage that gave you the scar, you can halve the damage.
3 ‘It looks a
little like a person! See, there’s the head, there’s the arms…’ This scar
can see, hear, and speak. It can help you remember things or act as a lookout.
4 Receiving
this scar has dulled your sensitivity to pain. Gives you 1 hp.
5 Makes you
look like a complete badass. +1 to disposition rolls.
6 Looks like
an arcane glyph. This scar can catch spells. If you succeed on a save vs a
spell, roll a d6. On a 6, the spell has been caught in the scar and you can use
it as if you spend the same amount of magic dice that the caster spent to cast
it.
REALLY
UGLY SCARS
1 People just can't stop staring at it. It grabs attention. You will
be easily picked out from a crowd, but only for bad reasons.2 It looks humiliating. In any conversation, it's only a matter of time before it will be the topic of discussion. Better make up a good cover story...
3 'It looks a little like a person... why are they giving me the finger?' This scar can see, hear, and speak, but it hates you. It will work against you when possible. Its disposition can be changed, though...
4 It's in the shape of an offensive symbol or design. Get ready to make some political enemies...
5 It always looks fresh... like it's going to open up again at any moment. This scar will wait until you are in a dangerous situation, then open anew, causing 2d6 damage.
6 Looks like an arcane glyph. This scar catches spells. But not in a good way. Each time a spell is cast near you, roll a d6. On a 6, the spell targets you instead. This only happens once per day.
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