Poisoned Pages for Shadow of the Demon Lord
In Shadow of the Demon Lord, damage is a necessary
abstraction that represents a combination of the
cuts, scrapes, and bruises one might sustain fighting
in a battle combined with the physical and mental
exhaustion suffered from battle. Furthermore, it
represents the diminishing ability to turn a significant
injury into a minor one. Damage, when used in this
way, keeps the game moving quickly and the players
free from the minutia involved in tracking each
potential wound. While the manner in which the
game portrays damage is in keeping with the design
goals, some groups might prefer a more complex
system, one that more closely matches the effects of
being cut, shot, burned, or worse.
Battle Scars provides a set of optional rules that
amplify the existing damage rules to present a grittier
game, where injuries sustained in the course of an
adventure can have lasting consequences. The rules do
not simplify the game or make it any easier to survive.
In fact, they turn what is arguably a challenging game
for characters to survive into a potentially lethal one.
Before deploying these rules, Game Masters should
explain how they work and make sure their use would
not diminish play but instead improve it.
Finally, the rules are primarily designed for damage
applied to player characters. The complexity they
entail makes them unsuited for most secondary
characters controlled by the GM. However, GMs might
find these rules interesting when applied to major
characters (see Secondary Characters, Shadow 194),
especially when those characters have a strong and
lasting presence in the campaign.
~Credits~
WRITING AND DESIGN:
rOBERT j. sCHWALB
editing: Jay Spight
Proofreading: Kara Hamilton
ART DIRECTION: rOBERT j. sCHWALB
Graphic Design: Hal Mangold
and Kara Hamilton
LAYOUT: kara hamilton
ILLUSTRATIONs: Svetoslav Petrov
Battle Scars is ©2016 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
All rights reserved.
Shadow of the Demon Lord, Poisoned Pages, Battle Scars
Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated logos
are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
SCHWALB ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
PO Box #12548, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
info@schwalbentertainment.com
www.schwalbentertainment.com
 effect. When you take damage this way, you become
Injuries fatigued for 1 round. A creature that can reach you can
stanch the wound and remove one bleeding injury by
Characters are at risk of sustaining injuries whenever
getting a success on an Intellect challenge roll. Using a
they become injured, which occurs when the character’s
healer’s kit grants 1 boon on the roll.
damage total equals or exceeds half his Health score,
If you are not a living creature, you instead take a –1d6
or incapacitated, which results when the character’s
penalty to Health each time you gain this injury. The
damage total reaches his Health score. The nature of
penalty lasts until you complete a rest.
the injury is random, determined by rolling dice. An
Catastrophic Injury: You die and your body, or what’s
injury could be a minor setback, something that stays
left of it, falls prone.
with the character for the rest of his life, or kill the
Comatose: You are knocked senseless and fall into a
character outright.
coma that lasts 1d3 weeks. Unless fed and watered, you
eventually die.
Gaining Injuries Horrific Injury: Blood gushes from your body, shock
Whenever you take damage and become injured or causes your organs to fail, or something fundamental
incapacitated as a result, roll a d20 + half your group to your wellbeing stops working. You fall prone and
level. If the total of the roll is 10 or higher, there is no become impaired. Furthermore, you die after 1d3
additional effect. If the total of the roll is less than 10, rounds. Death can be prevented if you heal damage
make a fate roll (roll a d6) and find the number rolled on and your damage total after healing does not indicate
the Injury Fate Roll table. you are injured. If you survive, you gain a nasty scar
as a memento that hinders you. Roll a d6 to see what
Injury Fate Roll happens.
d6 Result
d6 Permanent Effect
1 Major Injury. Roll 4d6 and find the total on the
Injuries table. 1 –2 to Perception
2–5 Minor Injury. Roll 3d6 and find the total on the 2 –1 to Strength
Injuries table. 3 –1 to Agility
6 Near Miss. You managed to avoid the injury by 4 –1 to Intellect
pure luck. You are frightened for 1 round. As well,
you must get a success on an Agility challenge roll 5 –1 to Will
or drop what you are holding.
6 –2 to Speed
Injuries Knocked Out: You fall prone and become
3d6 or 4d6 Injury unconscious. At the end of each round, roll a d6.
4 or less Knocked Out On an even number you remove the unconscious
5 Staggering Injury
affliction. You also remove this affliction when you
are no longer injured.
6 Traumatic Injury
Limb Loss: You lose a limb. It might have been
7–8 Painful Injury severed, crushed, or mangled to the point of uselessness.
9–11 Minor Injury You become stunned for 1 minute and suffer a Bleeding
12–16 Bleeding Injury Injury as well. Roll to see what part of you is lost. To
17–19 Maimed
determine the right or left, roll a d6, with an even
number indicating the right and an odd indicating
20–21 Limb Loss
the left. The effects of limb loss should be obvious—a
22 Comatose character missing a leg or even a portion of a leg cannot
23 Horrific Injury walk without aid. As well, losing a foot or more of a
24 Catastrophic Injury leg causes you to fall prone and prevents you from
standing up.
Injury Effects 2d6 Loss
The following entries describe what happens to 2 Entire Arm. If you have lost all your arms, you die.
your character based on the injury sustained. Since
characters might become injured from a variety of 4–5 Forearm. If you lost this forearm, you lose the rest
of the arm.
damage sources—weapons, fire, acid, and so on, the
6–7 Hand. If you lost this hand, you lose the forearm.
descriptions are intentionally broad and Game Masters
are encouraged to add descriptive elements to match the 8–9 Foot. If you lost this foot, you lose the lower leg.
damage’s source. 10–11 Lower Leg. If you lost this lower leg, you lose the
Bleeding Injury: You bleed profusely from the injury. rest of the leg.
At the end of each round, you take 1d6 damage from 12 Entire Leg. If you have lost all your legs, you die.
the injury. Multiple bleeding injuries have a cumulative
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 Minor Injury: You suffer a minor injury that causes Incapacitated Characters
you to become impaired for 1 round.
Maimed: You lose an extremity and become dazed The rules for incapacitated characters give characters
for 1 round as a result. Roll on the following table to plenty of chances to escape death. While the rules
determine the extremity or extremities lost. are there to insulate the characters and suggest they
might be a cut above the rest, you might find them too
d6 Injury generous. If you want to make Shadow of the Demon Lord
1 Lose a patch of skin.
more lethal, use the following special rules for player
characters.
2 Lose 1 ear. If you lose both ears, you make
Perception challenge rolls to hear with 3 banes.
3 Lose 1d3 toes.
Becoming Incapacitated
4 Lose 1d3 fingers. When you become incapacitated, make a fate roll and
find the results on the following table.
5 Lose your nose. If no nose, treat the roll as a 1.
6 Lose 1 eye. If you lose both eyes, you become
blinded.
Incapacitated Fate Roll
d6 Result
Painful Injury: Hurt in a sensitive place, you are 1 Death
overcome by the pain. You become impaired for
1 minute. At the end of each round, you can make a 2–5 Dying
Will challenge roll and remove the affliction on a 6 Disabled
success. You also remove this affliction when you are
no longer injured. Disabled
Staggering Injury: You fall prone and become dazed You are defenseless, and you remain defenseless until
for 1 minute. At the end of each round, you can make a you heal any damage. At the end of each round, make a
Will challenge roll and you remove the affliction on a fate roll and find the results on the following table.
success. You also remove this affliction when you are
no longer injured. Disabled Fate Roll
Traumatic Injury: You gain 1d3 Insanity from seeing
your body horrifically injured. While you are frightened d6 Result
from gaining the Insanity, you are also impaired. 1 Dying
Sustaining a traumatic injury leaves a scar somewhere 2–5 You remain disabled. If you get this result
on your body. three times in a row, you become unconscious
for 1d3 hours and do not make fate rolls. At the
end of this time, you heal 1 damage and become
Scars impaired until you complete a rest.

Many injuries leave lasting scars. The GM might assign 6 You heal 1 damage and become impaired
for 1 round.
a scar’s location or use the table to randomly determine
it. To determine right or left, roll a d6. An even number Dying
indicates right, while an odd number indicates left.
You are defenseless, and you remain defenseless until
Scars you heal any damage. At the end of each round, make a
d20 Scar Location d20 Scar Location
fate roll and find the results on the following table.
1 Head 11 Abdomen
Dying Fate Roll
2 Forehead 12 Shoulder
d6 Result
3 Cheek 13 Ribs
1 Death
4 Ear 14 Upper back
2–5 You continue dying. If you get this result three
5 Chin 15 Lower back times in a row, you die.
6 Nose 16 Buttocks 6 You become unconscious for 1d3 hours and do
not make fate rolls. At the end of this time, you
7 Hand 17 Foot heal 1 damage and become impaired for 1d6 days.
8 Forearm 18 Calf
9 Upper arm 19 Thigh
Death
10 Chest 20 Groin You die and your soul finds whatever waits for it through
the last door. Unless you can be restored to life, make a
new character.

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 Dealing with Injuries Mishaps: While true marvels of engineering,
mechanical limbs can wear down and break. Whenever
Using the rules in these pages can saddle characters with
the creature wearing the limb makes an attack roll or
missing limbs and long-lasting effects. Characters can
challenge roll and the total of the roll is 0 or less, one
mitigate or overcome some of these challenges, however.
mechanical limb or extremity breaks.
Prosthetics Magic
Characters missing limbs can find some benefit from
Sometimes the best answer to dealing with injuries
prosthetics. Quality varies a great deal.
is magic.
Prosthetics RESTORE BODY LIFE UTILITY 4
Item Price Availability Target One creature you can reach
False eye 1 ss Uncommon
You touch the target, and it heals damage equal to its
False nose 2 cp Common
healing rate. If you concentrate for 1 minute, during which
Peg leg 2 cp Common time you maintain contact with the target, you restore one
Prosthetic arm 5 ss Rare missing extremity, organ, or limb.

Prosthetic leg 1 gc Rare

UNSPEAKABLE GRAFT FORBIDDEN UTILITY 4
Wooden hand or foot 2 cp Common
Requirements You must have a body part such as an eye,
False Eye: A fake eye can be carved from wood, finger, hand, or leg harvested from a living creature that
ivory, glass, or steel, and has to be fitted to the socket. is still alive
If the false eye is too large, the wearer feels incredible Target One creature you can reach
discomfort, becoming impaired for as long as it is in
You touch the body part you harvested as described in the
place. If too small, the eye falls out whenever the wearer spell’s requirement to the place where it is missing from the
takes damage, sneezes, or makes a sudden move. target’s body. If you concentrate for 1 minute, during which
False Nose: Common varieties of fake noses are little time you maintain contact with the target, you graft the body
more than tiny iron tents strapped to the face, while rare, part to the target’s body, allowing the target to make full
more expensive false noses better resemble a nose, they use of the part. The grafted body part might have unusual
still appear, though less obviously, fake. characteristics, such as claws, the ability to see in the dark,
and so on; such benefits are conferred to the target creature.
Peg Leg: A creature missing a lower leg can use an The creature from which the body part was harvested
action to fit the peg leg to the stump. Doing so allows still receives information from the
the creature to move normally, albeit with a –4 penalty part such that it can feel what the
to Speed. grafted hand feels, see what the
Prosthetic Arm or Leg: These replacement limbs grafted eye sees. While this
give the semblance of having the limb but provide can have a variety of
no functionality. benefits, it causes the
creature great mental
Wooden Hand or Foot: Like prosthetic limbs, these distress. Whenever the
devices do not restore functionality. They merely provide creature completes
the appearance. a rest, it must
get a success on
Mechanical Limbs and a Will challenge
roll with 1 bane or
Extremities gain 1d3 Insanity.
If the target
Engineers have made great strides in creating creature is not
mechanical limbs to help people missing limbs restore missing the body
some functionality. Each device must be custom made part you would
for the user and requires someone with knowledge graft to it, you
of engineering to create them. Installing the limb or must remove
extremity requires an hour of work. At the end of the appropriate
part first for the
this time, the wearer regains full functionality of the
spell to have an
body part. effect.
Mechanical Limbs Sacrifice You
can expend
Item Price Availability
a casting of
Mechanical arm 15 gc Exotic this spell to
Mechanical foot 1 gc Exotic cast the part
bone from
Mechanical forearm 10 gc Exotic flesh spell from
Mechanical hand 5 gc Exotic the Forbidden
Mechanical lower leg 10 gc Exotic tradition.

Mechanical leg 20 gc Exotic

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