(3.5) Pregnancy and eating habits

[Rensvind]

Hi all!

I thought this might be the place to ask, so here goes:

In my campaign (I'm the DM) one of the characters are pregnant. She is a tiefling (fluffed to be a weakened half-demon), and the father is a human who was tainted by demons (read: took a lot of fiendish heritage feats)...

Now, the question is, how should I make this interesting? I know how many children there will be from the birth, and how they children are going to be, but do you have any ideas for the pregnancy itself?

Maybe any of you know a table of different munchies that a pregnant character can roll on?

Thanks beforehand/ Rensvind

[Mystic Muse]

I suggest making 11 REALLY odd sounding foods that no sane person would eat, 11 fairly odd foods that don't sound like they'd be very good and 11 normal foods and then assign them to numbers in 3s since that adds up to 33. (1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and so on and so forth)

[Killer Angel]

In my campaign (I'm the DM) one of the characters are pregnant.

Just a curiosity: such "inconvenience", it's a player's choice about his character, right?

[Goonthegoof]

Find a list of spell components, assign them all a number and roll.

[Wings of Peace]

At what point does a being gain its soul in your DM's campaign setting and what alignment is the group? Because if the player is evil and some kind of caster they could be carrying around a spare soul to use as an enhancement for spellcasting as per BoVD rules in their belly.

[HunterOfJello]

I made an early House Ruling that only dwarf women can adventure while pregnant to avoid this sort of situation.

[Optimystik]

The Book of Erotic Fantasy has a few rules for pregnancy, including slowing down the mother and applying increasing penalties to Str and Dex as she progresses through trimesters.

The book focuses far more extensively on preventing pregnancy, though.

[onthetown]

Hahhh, we do pregnancy in our campaign (we tend to use younger, more... active characters, to put it lightly) and it can be pretty funny with the munchies thing. We don't think about it too much anymore, but at one point the DM would make rolls every in-game morning and if I "failed" I would have to come up with some of the most disgusting food combinations known to man and then get the (whipped) father to make them.

They got to adventure as long as they could fit into their armor and had a good CON score.

[Rensvind]

Just a curiosity: such "inconvenience", it's a player's choice about his character, right?

Not really a choice... she did choose to be affected by the other player's spell, even though I did say that she didn't have too... and he cast Suggestion, and suggested they should be getting busy right there, right then... One trial for malificent use of magic and rape later, he was judged guilty and sentenced to exile... after a deal with a succubus, he fled, and left the girl pregnant, but with all his loot, so she's happy anyways

Find a list of spell components, assign them all a number and roll.

I do like this one, sounds easy, and still effective, thanks.


@ Wings of Peace: They're mostly neutral, while some of them are leaning a bit too much on the evil side (the pregnant one most of all), but I think her best friend/conscience will stop her from sacrificing anyone (except maybe the halfling, but that has nothing to do with the whole pregnancy thing)

@ Optimystik: yes, the Book was sorely lacking of things about the pregnancy itself... but it says that lycantrophy is sexually transmitted, sounds like a plot twist is coming up soon

[Master_Rahl22]

I dunno about D&D rules, but when my wife was pregnant she didn't really get cravings for odd foods. There were a few normal foods that she would occasionally crave, like she didn't used to eat onions but started wanting them on burgers and stuff, and then quit liking them again after we had our son. There were also foods she used to like that made her nauseous while she was pregnant, like we couldn't walk into a Subway or past one if in a Wal-Mart that had one without her feeling like she needed to hurl.

[ericgrau]

The advantage of this in a fantasy setting is that foods may be even more unusual than normal.

[FishAreWet]

Just roleplay the pregnancy. There is no reason to make rules about it.

[Sinfire Titan]

sounds like a plot twist is coming up soon

Why does this have a sexual undertone? I mean, aside from the obvious context.

[Draz74]

I suggest she have cravings for food that is on fire. At time of eating.

[Rensvind]

Why does this have a sexual undertone? I mean, aside from the obvious context.

It's because the player who controlled the character who raped her is now playing a natural werewolf, and the former character didn't just leave her with a child on the way, there are 2 NPCs as well... I will see if the new character is like that

[AslanCross]

I know pregnant women tend to avoid pungent food like garlic and onions. It becomes extremely nauseous to them. You could do the reverse for your tiefling.

[Wulfram]

Yum, Souls?

[Nuke]

Some odd ones that I've heard of personally :

1) Crayons.

2) Dirt.

3) Pickles. Not really that odd, but she hated them before and after pregnancy.

[Deme]

Well, I have read that, generally, cravings in a pregnancy (such as the stereotypical pickle thing) are from the body craving specific nutrients.
...So, then, what sort of (potentially supernatural) nutrients would be required in an extra degree when one is also supplying nutrients for demonspawn?

...I wish I knew, but it's something you'll want to keep in mind.

[Kalirren]

Well, I have read that, generally, cravings in a pregnancy (such as the stereotypical pickle thing) are from the body craving specific nutrients.
...So, then, what sort of (potentially supernatural) nutrients would be required in an extra degree when one is also supplying nutrients for demonspawn?

...I wish I knew, but it's something you'll want to keep in mind.

Souls, obviously. Just little little little pieces of them.

So one of the cravings is possibly just to do a little bit of evil. Filch something and return it later, be unnecessarily bitter, spread mischief and mistrust. Just a little evil.

[Adamaro]

Prgnancy. It just does not sit with me and dnd.

*imagining TPK and bugbear ripping out an unborn child from females' womb and have it roasted. Not THAT is a nasty thought*

If pregnant, stay put in a nice Candlekeep or similar. IMHO a sane person would do that.

[Eldariel]

If pregnant, stay put in a nice Candlekeep or similar. IMHO a sane person would do that.

Adventurers, by definition, aren't really sane. A sane person doesn't trifle with Dragons and ancient mysteries and forbidden arcana and long-dead evils and deities and so on... Only Wizards do that and they aren't sane by any stretch of imagination.

[Adamaro]

Adventurers, by definition, aren't really sane.

Love the definition

[Rensvind]

Thanks to all of you for the tips, hopefully this will help doing the pregnancy less boring... Because yes, they will be cooped up in their castle the last couple of months, only travelling to and from important political parties, where the rough and aggressive murdering hobos of the party will certaintly provide a fresh wind

Souls is an intriguing idea... But I was hoping the party was going to be more good-aligned from now on... Especially since their boss, the Sultan of the country, won't really accept any chaotic stupid behaviour

[taltamir]

put them in a situation where they get to order their own food. that way they get to roleplay. its not like a woman is harmed by NOT eating the food she craves during pregnancy... so making anything mechanical seems like a bad idea. just let the people roleplay their own pregnancy as they see fit.

[Leon]

There is a list in the back of a Dragon (cant recall the Number) that has some weird and wonderful foods for a fantasy setting - only one i can recall is the Otyugh steak

[Kris Strife]

put them in a situation where they get to order their own food. that way they get to roleplay. its not like a woman is harmed by NOT eating the food she craves during pregnancy... so making anything mechanical seems like a bad idea. just let the people roleplay their own pregnancy as they see fit.

Yeah, but it makes for good quest hooks. Not that I personally would suggest using it in game, at least not for an active adventurer. Its not like getting a Dwarven Defender is that hard or expensive.

[Jayabalard]

Obligitory TVTropes Link.

It doesn't really have a whole lot of ideas, but it does have a couple that I thought were good, including some that are backed up by real life examples.

• Chalk -- Before the modern days of decent nutrition, pregnant women would crave for chalk — it contains calcium, which is necessary to build up the bones and teeth of the baby. Geophagy (eating of dirt and clay) still happens with pregnant women in some poorer countries
• Red Meat, extremely rare. -- In Rosemary's Baby, Rosemary has a sudden craving for rare meat, just barely touched to a hot frying pan. This is another clue that Something Ain't Quite Right.

There's also a link to the list of other Pregnancy Tropes if you're looking for more ideas of how to work it into the campaign.

[Superglucose]

So one of the cravings is possibly just to do a little bit of evil. Filch something and return it later, be unnecessarily bitter, spread mischief and mistrust. Just a little evil.

I like this idea and you could bring it up with the player. It would work especially well with an alignment shift subplot: she's trying to be good but every once in a while she just loses control of her body as the pregnancy gains its own will. And they don't have to be chaotic stupid things, they could seriously be as simple as when she's bumped in a street, instead of ignoring it or saying "Excuse me," she shoves the guy out of the way.

I'd say talk to the player about needing to make some moderate will save when presented with a ridiculously obvious opportunity to commit an evil act. Like, if she's on watch alone she has to make a dc 14 will save or steal 1d10 gp from a member of the party, and while she can give it back in 24 hours she has to hold on to it for that time. If I were a player I know I'd absolutely love something like that, but I have to stress I'd absolutely hate it if you sprung it on me without talking to me first.

[oxinabox]

In Stephen King's Wolves Of The Calla (in yhe Dark tower series), the character Susannah is pregnant, and craves things like living frogs.

OK, If you'v eever read darktower then you'll kinow that Susanah's pregnacy is the pefect thing for you to steal ideas from (if fact if you and your players have never read it, thenm go find it. skim through it,
And find Susannah's pregnacy craving sceens.
SHe has awesome semireal dream and halucinations. wich take place in a real parellel word IIRC.
She is pregnant with a Demon.
You might want to see the birth scean it'sself too.

this is the only time I have ever suggested this (stealling wholesale - i'm Very much in favour of writting your own... everything Real DMs write there own splatbooks - qand hav ethem binded, BTW, it's just so perfect for your sitch.