D&D 5E Can characters give themselves Horrible Scar?

[Saeviomagy]

The hound was scary because he was 6'11, clad in plate, a renowned killer and had the blessing the king so you couldn't even rely on the law to protect you. His scars made him easy to identify so his renown could kick in without him needing to announce himself.

Oh, and he basically fails every intimidate check he makes, because he always had to follow through with violence. He's pretty much the quintessential fighter with bad charisma and no social skills.

 

[BigVanVader]

Oh, and he basically fails every intimate check he makes.

Hey man, you don't know that. Maybe he was just shy.

 

[GameOgre]

He actually made all those intimate checks. he didn't HAVE to resort to violence, he just did that part because he liked it!

Tom rolls a natural 20 on his intimidate check for the Hound.
DM"The man shakes with fear letting down his guard and starts to tell the Hound everything he knows about the plot".
Tom"The Hound smacks the guards head into the wall and when he collapses to the floor, starts kicking him to death".
DM "Umm, before or after he tells you what he knows?".
Tom "before".

 

[Ravenheart87]

The hound was scary because he was 6'11, clad in plate, a renowned killer and had the blessing the king so you couldn't even rely on the law to protect you.

That's the being proficient with Charisma (Intimidation) skill part. But the scars gave him advantage.

 

[Roger]

would you allow a player to have their character give him/herself a Horrible Scar

Sure. It's not quite Head-of-Vecna levels of fun, but it still sounds pretty darn fun.


(Edit) Upon further review, what I'd probably do is allow the person to roll twice on the Lingering Injury table and select which injury they'd like. They can keep trying as much as they like, or until they run out of body parts to lop off.



Cheers,
Roger

 

[Hand of Evil]

I have allowed in my games as part of "ritual scarring/tattoos" where the character is playing a race or class where it is part of their background, it is part of level progression (not every level just noted ones in my homebrew).

Example: The Shadow Men of The Troll Moors, killing a troll means they get small skull burned on their forehead. The more skulls the greater the reputation of the warrior. It is part of the background that a troll has to be killed every three levels to five levels.

 

[Joe Liker]

I'd allow it. I'd also give a chance that the wound would cause an additional lingering injury -- probably putting out an eye, assuming the scar is on the face. (I can't imagine any other location that would cause advantage on Intimidate checks.) I'd also require a Constitution save to avoid contracting a disease. (Unless an artery has been severed, infection is far more deadly than wounds!) And wouldn't it be just too bad if some emergency came up during the recovery time for all of this?

Furthermore, I'd impose disadvantage on Persuasion checks for anyone who seemed to be this person's friend. Just because you're not the one making the roll, it doesn't mean you're not affecting the outcome! (And, of course, low-DC Persuasion checks that I might have otherwise hand-waved might now become mandatory.)

Also, keep in mind that the character cannot benefit from high-level healing without losing the scar. Remember that if cure wounds is cast in a 6th-level spell slot, it counts as a 6th-level spell!

I would clearly spell all of this out for the player before they do the deed.

 

[ExploderWizard]

And don't forget that ritual scarring was practiced in many tribal areas, even just a century ago? Are they all insane?

Ayup! Risking infection, sepsis, and death to mark your body for some spiritual, political, or personal reason is kind of a textbook case of insanity. Not all human beings are sane creatures.

 

[Krakenspire]

Horrible scars can manifest in many different ways, including a bad Charisma score. Which may be the reason I can't intimidate, people just feel sorry for me.....etc...

But a mechanical bonus comes with a mechanical cost IMHO. Drow don't get 120' darkvision for free any more, and neither should a character get horrible scars for free. Children run to the opposite side of the street, barkeeps chase you away because you're scaring off business, and you can't disguise yourself easily, or your diplomacy skill suffers. Or something equally costly.

 

[Saeviomagy]

So... if having scars gives you advantage on intimidate, surely the same can be achieved with a disguise kit...