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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 12:39PM
#21
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Do nothing to represent the physical aspects. Nothing. I'm thinking of Major Kira on Deep Space Nine, who didn't let the physical aspects of the pregnancy interfere with her job. Only the risk to the baby caused her and others to limit her duty, but she still went through some physically strenuous situations and handled herself quite capably.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 12:50PM
#22
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Date Joined:
May 14, 2010
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Had to get my 11 foot pole so I could post.
If you must have a drawback, dex damage is a way to go. And if you are going to be handing out negatives for pregnancy, don't forget the positives.
Mood swings(Daily) Choose one of the following:
Crying swing - The character gains a bonus to diplomacy in sympathy(may not work in evil society).
Anger swing - An effect similar to a barbarian rage that lasts as long as the effect it's emulating.
Happy swing - Moral bonus to resist mind altering effects.
Feel too sad to impliment it, angrily reject it, or happily expand on it.
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 2:33PM
#23
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Mood swings(Daily) Choose one of the following:
Crying swing - The character gains a bonus to diplomacy in sympathy(may not work in evil society).
Anger swing - An effect similar to a barbarian rage that lasts as long as the effect it's emulating.
Happy swing - Moral bonus to resist mind altering effects.
This is where it starts to get offensive. Can we back off on the supposed mental and emotional effects? The supposed physical effects are bad enough.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 3:54PM
#24
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Date Joined:
May 14, 2010
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Supposed? Mood swings are a documented fact of pregnancy. Please keep your facts straight and stick to the topic of conversation. The op is not asking for your opinion on what is offensive and what isn't. This is about helping a dm run a pregnancy in game.
Moderated by
ORC_Opal
on Jun 08, 2012 - 03:58PM
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 4:01PM
#25
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Date Joined:
Apr 24, 2012
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Hey everyone, While the topic is a bit mature, everyone seems to come across as providing some really good advice and tips for the original poster without getting into the more rough details of the matter. Just remember to keep everything factual and don't blow anything out of proportion here. Certainly be careful not to call anyone else out ( or attack them) as well. If you have any questions please feel free to consult the Code of Conduct. Thanks, and I hope your campaign goes well!
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 4:27PM
#26
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Supposed? Mood swings are a documented fact of pregnancy.
But what they should translate into in game terms (if anything) is not. To suggest that it should amount to something other than strong emotions is unnecessary stereotyping.
This is about helping a dm run a pregnancy in game.
I gave him my help. No changes to the character are needed or advised. Focus on what it means to the loyalties of the potential mother when it comes to taking risks, what others think about the child, how certain monsters and NPCs will change their attitude.
The physical, mental and emotional side of it doesn't need to come up and shouldn't. It certainly doesn't need to be discussed here, where, it's safe to assume, the majority of the people have never been pregnant.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 7:48PM
#27
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Date Joined:
May 27, 2012
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My personal opinion on the matter is that the less openly you talk about stuff, the more offensive it gets. Everything gets offensive very quickly if we shy away from these subjects. Women have breasts, men has that other thing, and both genders have all kinds of stuff that comes with it. Is this not okay to talk about?
About the mood swings suggestion.... I can also see this as being offensive actually. This should be up to the player to roleplay if she/he so desires. I would not "punish" the pregnant character by giving a penalty to dex and such. Seems unfair, doesn't it?
Do you have to do anything? If you feel you have to, make the pros and cons weigh each other out. When pregnant, a woman becomes protective and the mother instinct kicks in/ass. So if you feel like giving a penalty to dex you should also make mother's instinct a trait or something. Maybe she gets some feat similar to awareness in 3.5 or rage as was previously suggested. She can sense when she and the child is in danger or something like that.
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13 months ago ::
Jun 08, 2012 - 9:53PM
#28
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Date Joined:
Sep 20, 2010
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I also disagree with imposing penalties to abilities and skills. Honestly, I feel like the Healing surge mechanic is more than enough, and is actually very elegant and effective, to demonstrate physical exhaustion.
Morning sickness isn't a stereotype. It's a fact, and many women have a hard time with it, especially in the presence of food, and some of those women have an extremely difficult time with it. Use the disease track to impose a healing surge tax on her. That will be plenty. If she rolls well after an extended rest, she gets over it. If not, it gets over her.
Beyond that, I really don't see any reason to penalize the character, especially if, as I said before, she's less than 5 or 6 months along. Pregnancy is not physically debilitating until 7 months or more, at which point it becomes extremely debilitating.
And Centauri's point about the danger of harming the baby is spot on. If this really is about a solid RP challenge, then your character's eyes have just been opened to the fact that her life isn't about her anymore. The baby, and the baby's well-being, have got to be the priority.
This is a great opportunity to explore cognitive dissonance, because the character has probably learned that she's pregnant while in the middle of something she previously thought was very important. Now she has to reevaluate her priorities, which might mean abandoning her quest, and her party when they're counting on her.
Sleeping with interns on Colonial 1
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13 months ago ::
Jun 09, 2012 - 1:09AM
#29
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Date Joined:
Mar 13, 2008
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We had a pregnancy in an homecampaign I played in once, though I have to say my character and me didn't notice a thing. They kept it secret rather effectively, so sadly I can't comment on if they took anything actually into account, mechanically or roleplayey. That said, I'm with the group that says no mechanical changes to the character are necessary. The character would be able to go about her business as usual, bit with the added danger of harming the baby. The player could use this chance to explore how the PC would handle things like combat and social encounters now that she's pregnant and has a second life to take care of. I'm assuming the player is an experienced roleplayer and should be able to come up with some interesting ways the character changes. However, if the player finds this difficult, introducing a 'pregnancy' mechanic or two might serve as a crutch. Personally, I find the options below interesting/amusing:
- Modelling a pregnancy as the 'disease' mechanic. The 4th Ed. disease abstraction gives a nice way of handling different stages of a condition. The character just wouldn't be able to recuperate from each stage, but perhaps a stage can be migitated with the help of 'Heal' or 'Endurance'.
- Giving the character one less healing surge, to mimic the additional physical strain of being pregnant. The character now actually has less survivability, which can make her reconsider some strenuous activity options.
- Modelling random mood swings seems amusing. It's a similar mechanic to the Chaos Sorcerer and that Paragon Path that does random stuff on the use of an AP. If every player in the party is on board with this and doesn't consider it offensive, this can give the player something new to try out with this character every once in awhile.
Let us know how it goes.
Heroic Dungeon Master
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13 months ago ::
Jun 09, 2012 - 11:13AM
#30
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My wife and I have had two children.
First off every pregnancy is different. My wife had entirely different problems with the exception of aches and pains.
That being said you might want to sit down with the player in question and talk to them what THEY expect out of this pregenancy.
I have read some rules that it takes a year for an elf to have a baby. For the Drow it could be sooner only because of their connection to the Spider Queen. As for the discussion on mood swings, morning sickness, and such talk to the player.
It might be better to make it a RP thing. If the player wants a penalty on social roles due to being a bit crabby then go for it. If they want to RP it let them.
To the drow brith is both a beautiful and fightning thing. This is because drow society is built on treachery. Also if I remember correctly Drow tend to have more than one child at a time, you know like spider eggs.
Bottom like is that if they is for RPing purposes then by all means RP it up with them. Get the entire party involved in this. My question: This is a mature theme group but it is a mature party?
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