How can I disfigure my villain?

[Who_Da_Halfling]

Hey guys, I've been developing the recurring villain for my group's campaign and I had the neat idea that his visual quirk (as per Rich's articles, which are a great read btw) was a blackened and damaged left arm, as if injured in such a way that it couldn't be magically healed (he's a Goblin Sorcerer bent on revenge, but he's still got access to friendly clerics and stuff who would heal him, so I figured the only way he'd be that badly scarred would be if the would was unhealable).

Problem is, I totally made that up off the top of my head and now I can't find any RAW justification for it. That is, I can't find anything (i'm particularly thinking of a monster he could have encountered) that could injure him like that (I haven't had a chance to look at all the possible traps that he could have tripped in a dungeon or something).

Any ideas how I can inflict this kind of injury on him? Should I just pick something else, or should I DM fiat it and make something up (and if the PCs ask why he was injured like that just be cryptic like "you don't want to know" ?)

-JM

[kamikasei]

Homebrew something (for a certain value of "homebrew", one which happens to be equal to "make something up and don't bother statting it"). The problem is that virtually anything you come up with within the rules leaves open the possibility of the players finding a way around it - and what they come up with may turn out to be an obvious-in-hindsight possibility that you should have accounted for ("wait, so if Jeff's restoration spell worked, how come he's never been able to get it healed before?").

So my suggestion is: a god did it. However he got the injury - from a monster, a trap, a wizard; acid or fire or necromancy seem like good ways to get an injury like that - perhaps it was part of a quest or trial set by his deity, and it's the deity's will that injuries sustained during the trial persist forever, or perhaps he failed in some way and this is his punishment. Point is, you can make it utter fiat that you don't have to explain and make that fact something interesting about the character.

[Ceaon]

How about his blackened arm is a sort of offering to a higher being? In return, he gained sorcerer powers he didn't have.

[starburst98]

nope, nothing. he could just get it chopped off and regenerated, problem solved. so unless somehow non of the clerics have regenerate he could get it fixed.

[Mephit]

Book of Vile Deeds -> Deformity Feats. Homebrew from there?

That's all I'll say. I'm surprised though, that someone actually ended up needing these. I always considered them pretty useless.

[Who_Da_Halfling]

The offering to his deity to get his spellcasting actually sounds really good (considering how its not really a great idea for a Goblin to be a charisma-based caster in general, this does make sense). I should have mentioned that all I have is the core stuff and the complete, plus PHBII. So I don't know about the Deformity feats, but since the party has seen him before (he's kinda a recurring villain who started as a random mook goblin who managed to escape the party and has been plotting revenge ever since), so I would think he would have to start with something like that.

I think I'll go with the offering thing, could also explain how he gets the Ring of Teleport that he'll use to drop in on the party and escape when he's not yet a reasonable threat to them (5 lvl 6 PCs vs. 1 Warrior 1/Sorcerer 2 goblin?).

Thanks for the ideas, still open to suggestions!

-JM

[RMS Oceanic]

Also from Book of Vile Darkness, the disease Warp Touch. About a third of its outcomes are gameplay-free mutations, and you can make one up, I'm sure.

[kamikasei]

Another possibility: the arm was injured by some monster (homebrewed) which drains the life energy of its victims. It cannot be healed until the monster is slain and some organ of its consumed by the victim / used in a magical ritual to restore the stolen energy. Plot hook! If the players can find and slay this monster, they can offer the villain the restoration of his arm in return for a ceasefire or peace.

[insecure]

You could, alternatively, give him a flaw. Somthing like this:

One-armed
You're missing an arm.
Effect: You can't fight with two weapons in combat.

[kamikasei]

You could, alternatively, give him a flaw. Somthing like this:

One-armed
You're missing an arm.
Effect: You can't fight with two weapons in combat.

"...and for some reason you can't get it back. Not even with powerful clerical magic."

Working out the mechanical effects of lacking the use of an arm isn't the issue, working out why the problem hasn't been fixed already is.

[Who_Da_Halfling]

Another possibility: the arm was injured by some monster (homebrewed) which drains the life energy of its victims. It cannot be healed until the monster is slain and some organ of its consumed by the victim / used in a magical ritual to restore the stolen energy. Plot hook! If the players can find and slay this monster, they can offer the villain the restoration of his arm in return for a ceasefire or peace.

This is my first real campaign, so I'm a little hesitant to homebrew monsters (I already feel a little weird setting up encounters where the PCs fight 3 or 4 different types of monsters and then I don't know how to calculate the CR for it). Also, the plothook could be interesting, and I may use it in a later campaign or a later mission in this one, but for the main villain I'm not sure since one of his motivations is revenge against the party for killing his uncle (he's also on a Redcloak-like mission to build a Goblin civilization by force). So, he's unlikely to accept help from them, although I suppose offering to give him back use of his arm would be a pretty good incentive.

I'm thinking that could be an interesting quest to help like a blind seer or a peg-leg guy somewhere. Food for thought...

-JM

[Prometheus]

Don't explain it - the goblin is not talking. The PCs will either not notice the inconsistency, or they will, use metagame to think that it is just description, and then subsequently ignore it. Thus far this sounds like a bad strategy, but much later you reveal that it was a powerful evil spirit who inflicts damage that can never be healed (and perhaps grants arcane powers or inflicts madness on it's followers). At this point it will be clear that you aren't try to explain an inconsistency in the past, but it was a hint all along for the real danger. Needless to say, when it comes time to fight this baddie, your players are going to be scared. If you don't want to be as harsh as reality, than say that cure spells cast on anyone who is afflicted harms the spirit (but doesn't heal the damage) and that the damage reverses when the spirit is killed.

Alternatively, the goblin keeps the blackened and scarred limb as some sort of utility. Perhaps he is a Warlock instead and it was taken as part of a deal or maybe there is a parasite/symbiote (Fiend Folio) who claims it in order to give him power (could be the source of arcane magic, or you could give him something else such as an enervating touch attack or immunity to fire).

EDIT: Oh wow superninja'd. If you don't feel comfortable homebrewing, use the boards to request a homebrew and I'm sure someone will be glad to help (assuming you give them enough advance notice). Heck, once I clear exam week I might do it for you.

EDIT2: Str damage. Permanent Str damage must be healed with a 4th level spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/restoration.htm) (7th level Cleric).

[valadil]

What if he chose to leave it scarred as a reminder of something or other? Like, he won't have it healed till he gets revenge or claims the world or some such. I think that'll give him way more definition than if you just made him look burned.

It also gives you the possibility that the players will heal his arm just to be *****.

[kamikasei]

This is my first real campaign, so I'm a little hesitant to homebrew monsters

Really, for what I described all you'd have to do is slap the new ability on to an existing monster. You could probably even take a monster with a similar ability and reflavour it. You don't need to create the monster from scratch, so you shouldn't need much more than a couple more pairs of eyes on the forums to look the ability over and advise you on how much of a CR increase it might be.

The tricky part is simply that D&D doesn't have a good called shot system. You could try treating it mechanically as Dex damage or the like and using a monster with reflavoured ability damage.

[AKA_Bait]

What if he chose to leave it scarred as a reminder of something or other? Like, he won't have it healed till he gets revenge or claims the world or some such. I think that'll give him way more definition than if you just made him look burned.

It also gives you the possibility that the players will heal his arm just to be *****.

I like this idea. Make it so that he's bent on revenge not because of the damage to his arm, specifically, but really beacuse of the damage to his pride. He could be healed. Sure. But he refuses to be so that his rage remains undiminshed and his triumph will be all the sweeter when it comes.

[Doresain]

what if its the result of a high amount of taint in the goblin? just throwing ideas out there

[xPANCAKEx]

maybe he was injured previously out in ther wildernerss, cut off from medical care for weeks.... he eventually recieved aid, but his arm was disfigured by the prolonged injury

besides - magical healing only restores HP, in terms of RAW it doesn't neccisarily stop disfigurement

[Starscream]

Here's a thought, he lost the arm some time previously when he lacked access to the divine magic necessary to heal him. Using his own arcane powers he was able to find a work around: attach a flesh golem's arm in its place. MM2 contains rules to do something like this. Because he now has an animated corpse's arm it can appear damaged in whatever way you like.

The book does not mention if it is possible to chop such an limb off and then use proper healing to grow a real one, but maybe it confers some benefit (like a +2 to strength, or the monkey grip feat) that the goblin would like to keep, so he tolerates the deformed arm. Because the arm itself is non-living, it would not be affected by healing magic when the rest of him is.

Or he might have just been born that way. If having a withered arm counts as his natural state, healing might not fix it.

[Ganurath]

Stick a few Burrowing Arrows (Complete Warrior) in a nonlethal area of his torso with his body having healed around the wound. It'll make him look deceptively like a tough warrior (he has arrows sticking out of his chest!) and gives him a unique weakness (a Cure Minor Wounds spell would push all the arrows out, inflicting damage.)

[kamikasei]

besides - magical healing only restores HP, in terms of RAW it doesn't neccisarily stop disfigurement

I think the assumption is that regenerate will heal such a wound, even if it's old. Or, as was mentioned, you could just cut off the limb and then cast the spell to regrow a shiny new one.

[RukiTanuki]

When in doubt, a powerful artifact did it. You know, like Mozenrath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozenrath).

[Immutep]

It could be a cursed item that he used to wear there, which he since got removed that left the scar. Maybe goblin "chicks dig scars" is the only justification for keeping the damage not healed that you really need? Maybe the PC's could really wind him up by healing him? :amused:

Alternatively it could be a badge of pride. Orcs and half orcs will wear tattoes and scars like some people wear jewellry, why not goblins?

[mostlyharmful]

How about a curse, either a cursed item that he can't get rid of (or that has useful other effects, he's a sorc arfter all he doesn't really need both hands) or a Greater Curse spell from a bigger badder BBEG that he doesn't have the caster level to get rid of, good forshadowing and an easy in rules effect.

[Deth Muncher]

Whoa buddy, this ain't Hero System. You don't get bonus points for being deformed.

Unless, of course, you ADD bonuses for being deformed. Then it's kinda like Hero System.

[Telonius]

When in doubt, a powerful artifact did it. You know, like Mozenrath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozenrath).

Mozenrath was also the first thing that came to my mind. I'd say go with this.

[Starbuck_II]

Vile damage can't normally be healed right?

So a Vile wound (if such a spell effect existed) wouldn't be regenerated.

[BardicDuelist]

Burnt by vile fire and has no reason to enter consecrated ground/doesn't know or have a high enough level cleric who knows that that's how vile damage is healed (since vile damage would be rare anyway, you could even say that it's even rarer in your campaign world and make the knowledge DC incredibly high).

Vile damage is found in Book of Vile Darkness, but unless you plan on using it, you don't really need to know anything about it other than it cannot be healed by normal means and must be done on hallowed/consecrated ground by a high level caster, or something like that.

Why not cut the arm off? You do and regenerate it, it is still damaged (wohoo for supernatural damage types, right?).

Why not just kill him and raise him? While the arm is an inconvenience, he doesn't really want to risk the whole death thing on a hunch that it might work.

[Flickerdart]

You know the Eye of Gruumsh PrC for Orcs? At one point they have to give up an eye in mimicry of their god, and in return they get some power which they lost if they Regenerated it. Why can't your Sorcerer be like that? Make up some fluff about a benevolent god that took pity on the poor little Goblin cripple and gave him sorcerous powers. Not a Good god, because they'd just heal it. Maybe one of the gods of magic. Vecna? In any case, the arm can probably be healed but he doesn't want it to, because he's afraid that the god will take his powers away.

[AngelSword]

There's the little-used bit from Bestow Curse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/bestowCurse.htm) that may help you.

You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above.

If you're running it, you could say that some special, rare ingredient must be used during the casting of Remove Curse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/removeCurse.htm) before his arm is restored.

Also, if it's still functionally sound, there'd be no real motivation to have it repaired.

[DoomHat]

You could go the Lord Zed approach.
“He tried to harness the power of 'The Ultimate Artifact of Goodnesstm' for evil, and it burned him for it.”

[Winter_Wolf]

I don't know what all books you're planning on using, but a number of books (Oriental Adventures, Unearthed Arcana, Heroes of Horror) have printed stuff about taint (like was mentioned previously). It could theoretically be healed, but generally evil things don't seem to bother with it.

But my first thought was, "he was burned by Hellfire." I stole that from Dresden Files, more or less, but I really like the concept. Burning extraplanar evil. Mmmm. If the arm is still functional just make fluff and go with it. Who's to say that in your world magical healing even removes scars? Function restored, sure. Ability damage healed, fine. But a goblin sorcerer with a blackened arm could still be charismatic in a sinister evil kind of way. Give him a couple points in intimidate if you absolutely need to find some way to justify it.

Just tossing out ideas.

[Iku Rex]

The goblin has an undead graft from Libris Mortis (or Fiend Folio). There are several arm grafts to choose from.

[Talic]

There are several mechanical ways to disfigure.

1) Undead/Aberration grafts (Libris Mortis / Lords of Madness)
2) Taint (Heroes of Horror)
3) Willing Deformity Chain Feats (Heroes of Horror)
4) Aberrent feats (Lords of Madness)


For example:
Willing Deformity (+3 Intimidate)
And Deformity: Tall (+5 foot reach, -1 AC)

or
Aberration Blood (+2-4 to a listed ability from feat)
Inhuman reach (+5 foot reach, -1 Attack)

There are others that get you natural armor, fly speeds, or even blindsense.

[Deth Muncher]

2) Taint (Heroes of Horror , Oriental Adventures, Unearthed Arcana)




Fixed that for ya.