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| Artwork is by Dan Scott from the MTG card "Grotesque Mutation" |
What does not kill you...
Only makes you stranger
There comes a time when the nature of a PCs injuries are so extraordinary, their survival against all odds deserves commemoration. Use the below tables to get a gist for how their body has been twisted under the cruelty of both sword and sorcery.
Procedure
If a PC survives a battle, ravaged by magic and suffering permanent harm, consult the Injury table below. Find the appropriate injury they suffered, then roll an [Adjective] (if applicable) and finally map the [Element] to the closest suitable magic aspect they were victim of.Injury
Pick the closest approximate injury the PC has suffered.
- Mutilation -> Grow a new limb of of [Adjective] [Element]
- Impalement/Gash -> The wound now leaks [Adjective] [Element]
- Flayed/Exposed interior -> The exposed area is protected by a layer of [Adjective] [Element]
- Disembowelment
- Liver -> Spit bile of [Adjective] [Element]
- Spleen -> Blood of [Adjective] [Element]
- Stomach -> Eats with teeth of [Adjective] [Element]
- Lung -> Exhales [Adjective] [Element]
- Crushed -> Body part is kept together by [Adjective] [Element].
- Sensory Damage
- Eyes -> See through eyes of [Adjective] [Element]
- Nose -> Smell through nostrils teeming with [Adjective] [Element]
- Tongue -> Talk to [Element] with your tongue of [Adjective] [Element]
Adjective
- Shrieking
- Expanding
- Invisible
- Giant
- Smoking
- Intelligent
- Ethereal
- Erratic
- Floating
- Glowing
- Heavy
- Volatile
Element
Choose the closest type of magic to the one the PC was subjected to, then choose or roll a D4 for the aspect of that magic.- Fire: Flames, Ashes, Smoke, Calcified Flesh.
- Lightning: Electricity, Suspended Thunderbolt, Thundercloud, Spasming Flesh.
- Water: Ice, crustaceans, Water, Steam.
- Earth: Rock, Metal, Plants, Subterranean life.
- Unholy: Darkness, Brass, Brimstone, Blood.
- Holy: Light, Holy Water, Solidified Rainbows, Silver.
- Psychic: Grey matter, Brainstems, Force fields, Psychedelic mushrooms.
- Eldritch: Tentacles, Slime, Maws, Dark Matter.
- Illusion: Illusionary substance, Solidified colors, Solidified Emotion, Iridescent Crystals.
- Radiation: Ever-shifting mass, Random body parts, Radioactive stone, Tumors.
- Alteration: Gold, Wool, Scales, Chitin
- Necromancy: Undying flesh, Souls, Bone, Teeth.
- Nature: Bark, Leaves, Thorns, Vines.
- Catch all: Magic runes, Sparkling energy, Solidified Magic, Liquid Magic.
Notes:
Inspired heavily by Die Trying's horizontal progression. This is my first mini-implementation of a system I've been mulling over for a while, the idea is that future implementations are able to handle non-magical injuries and allow the players to change through narrative consequences and rewards rather than a Level Progression Table. It's a long way there, but if you got any idea for how to get there, please let me know!
Biggest current challenge is mapping everything to appealing system-specific mechanics rather than off-loading everything to the DM.

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