For Use with Dark Fantasy or Horror-based Settings
From the introduction:
In a typical d20 game, a character can suffer tremendous physical damage without batting an eye. Arrows poking from his body like a porcupine, flesh still flaming from a recent fireball attack, and a toothy beast gnawing on his leg, the character strides about with aplomb, no more inconvenienced than if he had chipped a fingernail.
These rules, however, are not for that type of campaign. They are provided as alternative rules for a setting where the fights are quick and brutal, where the monsters are unstoppable and terrifying, and where the players must be very careful or end up very dead. They are designed for a setting where a man can die painfully from a single sword stroke and the claws of the beast can rend even the most skilled warrior from crotch to throat.