This is our preview of Injuries and Vile Deeds, a module for D&D5e that introduces a set of rules to manage injuries and make fighting full of tension and emotion. In addition to this, in the final manual there will be more than 300 ready-to-use NPC and opponents.
We thank Lone Colossus Games for providing us with the preview material; they launched the project through a Kickstarter campaign that, in a few days, was widely funded. We recommend you to follow them on their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter pages and on their site to stay updated on their new projects.
In this preview we will explore the first 20 pages of Injuries and Vile Deeds!
Preview of the Mechanics of Injuries and Vile Deeds
The module opens with the author’s explanation on why to use those rules; the his idea is that in D&D5e the further you level up, the more you become resistant to damage and therefore combat is easier and easier. For this reason, the author wanted to develop Injuries and Vile Deeds, introducing an extra danger during combat: Injuries.
The mechanics are really simple and quick to apply; the base consists of thresholds, determined by the maximum life of the PC; there are 7 in total and one more lethal than the other. It goes from being slightly stunned to death instantly. During a combat action, if a PC has suffered enough damage to match or exceed one of the thresholds, he will suffer a injury based on the relative severity of the hit. To give a touch of unpredictability, you have to check a table with various types of Injury.
Each of them has both a narrative and a mechanical effect. For example, some Injuries prevent the character from speaking for a certain period of time, while others cause her to recover less life points in case of healing.
But these mechanics are not just a penalty for the characters: Injuries can also be inflicted on enemies! A character can declare that during an attack she wants to inflict an Injury on an enemy and choose a specific part of the target. There are also various thresholds for enemies based on the damage inflicted by the Character. Based on the threshold reached, the enemy will receive a certain malus.
The idea is really interesting and adds a great tactical depth to the combat.
There are also rules for managing Special Injuries, generated by the various types of damage (such as acid, ice, etc).
New Opponents
In addition to the new rules, the final handbook will contain new opponents.
We just could check three enemies, but aesthetically (and not only) they seem really fascinating. We can’t wait to see all the others in the final manual.
Injuries and Vile Deeds Kickstarter
The Kickstarter page of the project is very interesting; the pledges are very rich and the stretch-goals are very intriguing. Since the project has already been widely funded, some of them have already been unlocked; among these we can find new monsters, new illustrations and new items.
A really interesting detail is that all the pledges will include audio tracks linked to the content of the manual, certainly a nice idea. You can find a preview on the Kickstarter page.
Conclusions of the Injuries and Vile Deeds Preview
In conclusion, the project is really interesting and can be a very good option to add dynamism and tension to your battles without having to make your opponents stronger.
If you are interested in the project, take a look at the Kickstarter page to discover other details about this work.