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 fi nd these rules interesting when applied to major characters, especially when those characters have a strong and lasting presence in the campaign.