Scars

I do it this way. Anything 4 damage or below doesn't scar.

Anything healed by magic doesn't scar.

Things healed by items like potions and stuff leave faint scars.

Things healed with the Heal skill and so on leave scars based on severity.

Natural healing, like sleeping leaves pretty bad scars.

If magical healing is involved we usually do the opposite. The party tends to have unnaturally smooth and healthy skin

It actually pissed off a member of the party who was new to traveling for long periods of time. He kept getting injured and had to heal every few days so his feet wouldn't grow callouses. Imagine suffering from the same foot blisters for months.

I don't track much, only really significant ones; it helps that my character has natural armor equivalent to a set of chainmail, so they're pretty freakin' tough.

Therefore, the scars or injuries that stick are pretty significant ones.
A wing crippled from a duel on an airship that exploded. (mechanical it'll heal in a few months)
A limp (fluff-wise, grandma trashed her in a duel and broke her leg to make her remember it))
And my favorite; Another duel where she got downed and her opponent tried to coup-de-grace her THREE TIMES, cutting her throat and stabbing her in the chest twice. She made her saves vs death ALL THREE TIMES, in a system where it's not very easy. She's got a set of very impressive, implausible scars from that, at least as I imagine things.

I kind of wish the GM would pay more attention to the fluff rather than just "alright, you finally can't fucking fly, my life is so much easier." Someone who has clearly survived big chest wounds or such damage to the throat seems like they ought to get a little more in the way of stares or wary respect, but oh well.

Yeah my character suffered a major swipe during a vampire attack so the event left her face permanently scarred. Additionally her shoulder is all cut up from a nasty cloud of daggers spell that she got caught by.

I plan to update scars as major attacks occur during the rest of her sessions.

I played a fighter once who took a fireball to the face to save his party. It incapacitated Him and his face never looked the same again. Afterwards he found a full plate helm to wear.

Hp isn't meat points. Losing them doesnt have to represent them taking a wound

>Natural healing, like sleeping leaves pretty bad scars.
So most pcs are walking plaques of scar tissue?

>Think Aragorn when they first meet him but older and stronger
Aragorn was like 80

I'm playing with that idea for my current group. Basically, if they go down, they get a minor scar with some side effects. If they fail all their death saves, they can die or get a major one with more debilitating side effect. Currently, the wizard has a dent in his head, the warlock has a broken nose and a limp, and the rogue's left wrist gets jolts of pain whenever he uses it.

It's been a fun way of grinding characters down so far. Can't do dangerous shit forever.

You can be scarred and remain a pretty girlboy, user. Look at this sexy son of a bitch, for instance.

In terms of appearance not.actual age. He was actually 93

I'm doing that with my shadowrun character's mental scarring.

Physically, she just has scarring sorted out with biosculpting.when she updates the cyberware.

>Her potential is limitless

Fuck K6BD for being simultaneously so neat looking and such garbage.

Yeah I really enjoy the aesthetics and fights but it really gets silly, often.

Whenever I play DnD I've started giving PC's a scar whenever they take massive damage from a single attack. Like 50% or more of their total health.
I'll usually let the player dictate where their character gets it.

I haven't really done that but it sounds neat. How would you do that in a system like D&D where damage is incredibly abstract though? What wounds leave scars and which just leave scratches are entirely arbitrary.

I do like messing around with scars and eyepatches though, to the point where it's probably a cliché. You know how in most media the guys with eyepatches are usually the bad guys. I like having good guy NPCs with eyepatches, the kind who are though as nails but behind all that muscle and all those scars have a big heart.

I was once sent from full HP to just 2 negative hitpoints away from dying without a single save. Somehow survived, but we figured such a brutal attack should leave some sort of scar, especially since it was an acidic breath attack.
I suggest it meltet off, disfigured or discoloured the skin on half his body, making the character some sort of hideous Two-Face lookalike.

I keep track.

My Call of Cthulhu character, Donny, has been through some serious shit.
Here's a list of his scars off the top of my head:
>big gash on left cheek, knife wound
>Arms and thighs: various long lacerations and punctures from being stabbed and clawed by Deep Ones
>hands: just covered in scars from all the times he's busted his hands punching people
>Patchwork of scars on abdomen from having part of a plane engine fall on him
>Tiny puncture, right shoulder; from a knitting needle (actually still fresh)
- Chest partially covered in suction-y/melted flesh from a Shoggoth Attack
>A few minor burns, stab wounds, stitches
>Appendicitis surgery scar

My 5e dwarf fighter, Konn, is similarly scarred up.
>Right eye fucked; associated bad ass scar from forehead to right cheek
>legs and thighs: just covered in grease burns
>missing part of left pinky
>Three holes in chest and back from being chomped on by a dragon (teeth went through)
>Bits of an evil shattered sword lodged in chest
>bite/claw marks on left leg
>Uncountable minor scars from various battles

My DM does
>If you take more than half your max HP in damage you get a notable scar

I had my character pick up a few on her cheek from a wolf, and across her eyes from a knife attack.