Kind of a joke, but...

[Scarey Nerd]

This is a bit of a joke question, but has serious implications:

What happens if a female PC engages in... relations, with a male NPC? Do you roll a d% for chance of pregnancy?

Would be kind of a gamestopper

[Yuki Akuma]

No. You do not roll dice to determine if the female PC is pregnant. That is ridiculous and anyone who does that deserves to have their DM licence revoked.

[Volthawk]

BoEF has rules for that. I think. Never looked, really.

[Scarey Nerd]

No. You do not roll dice to determine if the female PC is pregnant. That is ridiculous and anyone who does that deserves to have their DM licence revoked.

The RP oppurtunities for raising a child whilst on the move in an adventuring party would turn D&D into a sitcom, I guess.

[Yuki Akuma]

The RP oppurtunities for raising a child whilst on the move in an adventuring party would turn D&D into a sitcom, I guess.

If it's appropriate for the game, it happens without needing a bloody dice roll!

[Calmar]

It is said that in the middle ages, people believed certain herbs could prevent pregnancy. I suppose in D&D they do.

[Yuki Akuma]

It is said that in the middle ages, people believed certain herbs could prevent pregnancy. I suppose in D&D they do.

Protip: certain herbs do prevent pregnancy. Where exactly do you think birth control pills came from? Magic?

[Scarey Nerd]

If it's appropriate for the game, it happens without needing a bloody dice roll!

I naturally assumed that, WOTC being who they are, dice rolls would be involved at some stage. Don't get me wrong, I love WOTC with all my heart (Ok, slight exagerration), but they love a dice roll.

[Magic Myrmidon]

Actually, one Play by Message Board game I'm in had that happen. And she DID get pregnant. With twins.

Admittedly, this game has taken place over the events of... I don't really know how long. The party consists of pureblood werewolves, elves homebrewed with a longer lifespan, and other long-lived species, so the time spent NOT adventuring and just giving RP or telling stories is easily given.

[Scarey Nerd]

Actually, one Play by Message Board game I'm in had that happen. And she DID get pregnant. With twins.

Admittedly, this game has taken place over the events of... I don't really know how long. The party consists of pureblood werewolves, elves homebrewed with a longer lifespan, and other long-lived species, so the time spent NOT adventuring and just giving RP or telling stories is easily given.

Sounds like an interesting game! How long were the elves lifespan?

[Calmar]

Protip: certain herbs do prevent pregnancy. Where exactly do you think birth control pills came from? Magic?

I'm glad you're smart. I'm not sure how relevant modern pharmacognosy and and contraceptives are relevant for characters in a (supposedly) medieval fantasy setting, though.

[Scarey Nerd]

I'm glad you're smart. I'm not sure how relevant modern pharmacognosy and and contraceptives are relevant for characters in a (supposedly) medieval fantasy setting, though.

Well, I saw a long list of D&D herbs once, perhaps it was mentioned there, as Yuki is right, modern birth control pills must be formed from natural substances, as magic is less reliable nowadays

[onthetown]

You can if you want, but it would be more appropriate to roll for the gender (unless you already have the child in mind as a character) or for miscarriages during battle and whatnot.

[Magic Myrmidon]

Sounds like an interesting game! How long were the elves lifespan?

About twice as long as normal. So something like 1400 years? Actually, it's a subtype, really, with SR 15, PR 15, and WIS +2. It was a story event that changed my character, so the DM didn't give me LA.

[Scarey Nerd]

About twice as long as normal. So something like 1400 years? Actually, it's a subtype, really, with SR 15, PR 15, and WIS +2. It was a story event that changed my character, so the DM didn't give me LA.

I like that, sounds like a nice subtype, especially since I think Elves shouldn't even have an age limit for their lifespan, being an avid (I think that's the riht word) lover of the Eragon series and the Elves therein.

[Magic Myrmidon]

I like that, sounds like a nice subtype, especially since I think Elves shouldn't even have an age limit for their lifespan, being an avid (I think that's the riht word) lover of the Eragon series and the Elves therein.

That'd be nice. But eventually the world would be populated with a billion really, REALLY old elves.

Unless adventurers try to farm the melee ones for XP. >.>

[Maerok]

That'd be nice. But eventually the world would be populated with a billion really, REALLY old elves.

Unless adventurers try to farm the melee ones for XP. >.>

Well what keeps the Elan from overpopulating the world?

[2xMachina]

IMO, SR is more of a pain than being useful. "Oh look, a team mate is buffing me. I better sit here and do nothing so that it doesn't fizz."

Age generally does not enter into a PC's factor. If you fight lvl appropriate enemies, 3x a day, you'd be lvl 20 within a year. And when you're epic, I don't think age ever enters into the equation.

[Magic Myrmidon]

Well what keeps the Elan from overpopulating the world?

Good question. Depends on the world, I guess.

[Magic Myrmidon]

IMO, SR is more of a pain than being useful. "Oh look, a team mate is buffing me. I better sit here and do nothing so that it doesn't fizz."

Age generally does not enter into a PC's factor. If you fight lvl appropriate enemies, 3x a day, you'd be lvl 20 within a year. And when you're epic, I don't think age ever enters into the equation.

Well, I'm the wizard, so I'm the one doing the buffing.

Yeah, age doesn't make a big deal, usually, but I can see this game going for a long time regarding in-game years.


Especially since the party psion is a timelord. Long story.

[Choco]

Well what keeps the Elan from overpopulating the world?

The fact that they are made (VERY selectively) and not born, most likely. Same goes for Warforged. Looks like someone at Wizards actually thought this one through .

Though if a race of people that can potentially have 20+ kids per couple had an infinite lifespan, yeah, that would be a problem without some way to cull the herd.

[2xMachina]

Immortal Rabbits.

Oh god, we're overrun with them.

[Morph Bark]

Though if a race of people that can potentially have 20+ kids per couple had an infinite lifespan, yeah, that would be a problem without some way to cull the herd.

Yeah, I've seen that happen.

Needless to say, their family eventually conquered the world.

[KillianHawkeye]

No. You do not roll dice to determine if the female PC is pregnant. That is ridiculous and anyone who does that deserves to have their DM licence revoked.

What if you don't want to make the decision yourself? It's not like you can in real life. I've been in a game where dice were used, and the end result was most satisfactory.

So I guess what I'm getting at is "Don't knock it 'till you've tried it."

[Choco]

Now that I think about it, overpopulation is really a temporary problem.

Creature <x> has no natural predators and/or has such a high rate of reproduction that the birth rate exceeds the death rate, so the population can grow unchecked. Eventually the population reaches a point where there just aint enough resources to go around. At that point, they start dying off due to lack of resources (food and shelter) and due to fighting over the few resources there are. Until eventually the population drops back down to a sustainable level, and the cycle repeats itself.

This would make for an interesting campaign actually. Elves that never die of old age are reaching the breaking point, so they start invading the other races territories. At that point all the other races join forces to BECOME the "natural predators" of the elves and keep their population under control, or the elves win and eventually run out of resources anyway, though only after wiping out most other beings

[Thajocoth]

Well what keeps the Elan from overpopulating the world?

The Belkar, obviously...

If a player in a game of mine decided that their character has sex, I'd roll a bunch of d20s, ask their Endurance score and their Fort Defense, and probably not say another word... Just 'cause it'd be funny. Later, if I decided I wanted the plot hook, I'd claim the dice did it, which would ultimately be a lie. I would roll for lesser details of the situation though... Roll a (very low for most NPCs, but high if they picked an obvious skank) chance that the NPC had something to catch, and if so an attack against Fort to see if they catch it. (I like using the disease system.) If I take the pregnancy plot hook, roll a d20: 20 = twins. Stuff like that.

[Totally Guy]

Next session I run will be all about one of the PC's wives giving birth. It's been a long time coming and it could all go wrong for them. Complications are coming.

As for elves... well surely everyone knows they eventually elect to get aboard the ship to the west from whence they never return. Alternatively less composed elves eventually see too much tragedy in the world and waste away due to grief.

[Tedesche]

Protip: certain herbs do prevent pregnancy. Where exactly do you think birth control pills came from? Magic?

Well...I don't know if that's strictly correct, actually. The pill is basically a dosing of synthetic hormones, which screw with the female reproductive system and prevent it from operating properly. I don't think they're actually derived from plants in any way, but...I'm no chemist.

And I can understand the TC's logic about rolling dice to determine if the woman gets pregnant—although I hope it's a low percentage for the sake of not running into a different sort of overpopulation problem! True, it's not how the body actually works, but it's fine as a game mechanic. I don't think most DMs would bother though; what's the fun in playing a swaggering bard or a nearly-naked, muscle-ridden barbarian if you can't barge into a tavern, order a drink, and sleep with every slutty beer wench in town without having to worry about the consequences? This is fantasy. This is escapism. Consequences like that are sometimes best left in the real world.

[Xallace]

You should probably ask the player if she's OK having a baby or not. If not, don't roll. If she wants it, let it happen (maybe after a few tries). If indifferent, maybe a 25% chance on the d%. Although the actual chance would probably depend on species; 15% for elves? 45% for Orcs? 120% for anthropomorphic bunnies?

[onthetown]

You should probably ask the player if she's OK having a baby or not. If not, don't roll. If she wants it, let it happen (maybe after a few tries). If indifferent, maybe a 25% chance on the d%. Although the actual chance would probably depend on species; 15% for elves? 45% for Orcs? 120% for anthropomorphic bunnies?

Bunnies of any kind would just have an automatic success. Roll 5d100 to determine how many is in the "litter".