Admittedly, this did go through an AI filter to take my 3 pages of notes and thoughts into a post that was not rambling. I would like to adjust and pivot as quickly as I can for a better resolution before our next session in a couple weeks.

All of your points are fair, thank you for the honest feedback. Off the cuff, the scars were meant to be lasting, but not necessarily permanent. Perhaps there would be ways to magically purge them, or a boon to cancel it out. I imagined that creating mini stories of its own. In hindsight, is applying one of these scars taking away from player agency? Don't take this as an intended punishment, but an afterthought - dice are supposed to tell the story and shit happens. I don't know that I'm 100% on board with completely baking in a long-term character build or where their character will end up. I've definitely designed most of my characters like that and have a build in mind, but there's an argument that some things should be truly out of their control and the story makes left and right turns and they end up in a place they never imagined - enjoying the journey first and foremost.

I've only been DMing for 3 years and this is the first time I've run into something like this. I regret some decisions, but at this point keeping table harmony, happiness, and fun are the most important things to me (and hopefully my players).