GUIDE GAME MECHANICS The rules presented are intended for any RPG. Because of the variance between games, the mechanics used in this guide are explained here. The guide uses eight attributes for a character. These attributes are as followed: Physical Strength - physical power. Intelligence - knowledge and wit. Wisdom - judgement and common sense. Constitution - heartiness and "spirit". Charisma - allure, charm, and leadership. Dexterity - prowess and quickness. Luck - fortune and fate. Attractiveness - comeliness and physical looks. Number references to attributes use the 3 to 18 scale which is common among RPGs. Some RPGs use a percentile scale for attributes, if this is desired merely multiple the number listed by 5.56 to get the percentage. Most systems have some system for characters to get out or save themselves from dangerous situations. Systems vary but the following categories are used here: paralyzation, poison, death magic, demon/deity power and other really nasty stuff. rod, staff, wand, and other powerful magic-items (no artifacts). petrifaction, polymorph, and other magics that severely alter the body. breath weapon and other powerful natural attacks. spells, and other common magical effects. Spell levels are only provide as a measure for the spells in this guide. The spell levels don't represent spell levels of any given RPG system. Compare the power of the spells presented in this guide with the level of spells in your game system and adjust the level accordingly. A sub-class is a standard class that provides more specific detail. The sub-class sections have the following info: Introduction/Description/Role - Information. Qualifications - Requirements. Specialty - Another name for the class. Preferred Schools/Barred Schools - For clerics and mages, these are the magic schools. There are a variety of schools in many systems so the most popular ones are used here. Schools are necromancy, alteration, enchantment, invocation, evocation, conjuring/summoning/thaumaturgy, illusion, deviation, abjuration. Chosen Disciplines/Sciences/Devotions - Most psionics in RPGs are broken down into a hierarchy of powers. In this guide devotions are the powers at the bottom. Secondary Skills - Other abilities. Weapon Skill - Requirements and suggestions for weapons. Nonweapon Skill - Requirements and suggestions for non-weapon abilities. Equipment - Suggested and banned equipment. Special Benefits/Special Hindrances - The mechanics that make the sub-class. Wealth Options - Monetary information. Races - Races allowed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WILD-THING RULES (There's one in every bunch!) NOTE: These rules are not necessarily suppose to be taking seriously. If anything, they are provided for your amusement. It seems people will make rules for anything. Before throwing this guide a way because of this section, you might want to read the whole guide and then only throw out sections like this one. And if you keep sections like this one, you may want to seek counseling :) There comes a time in an adventurer's life when he/she wants to engage in the act of sex. Unfortunately, most RPG rule books avoid the subject for obvious reasons. A player rolls dice from pottery to dancing, so why not sex. At first glance, it may seem that a character can have sex for quite a long time. This is true for player characters. They have superior attributes and thus can perform better (that's why they're great adventurers). However, an average character would have attributes between 9-12. Using the below rules, an average character (10 or 11 in all attributes) could go a minimum of 10 or 11 minutes (rounds) and might be able to go an additional 10 or 11 minutes if very, very luck (dice deities willing, but don't bet on it). Some GMs may feel that certain races should be more adept at sex than others. Many arguments can be made for every race. The one race that most people feel should have modifiers is the dwarf race. However, since theses rules are based on constitution and since initial character generation gives bonus or penalties to Constitution (dwarves get +1), it is not necessary to give additional modifiers to race. The following is the steps to go through to see if a character can continue having sex: 1) A character can initially last a minimum of rounds equal to his/her Constitution with certain modifiers. Table 1 lists modifiers to Constitution by dexterity (remember: it's how you use it). Table 2 lists modifiers to Constitution by strength (gotta be able to keep up). Table 3 lists modifiers to Constitution by the partner's Charisma (charismatic partners really enhance sex, even if their Attractiveness isn't high). If he/she wishes to continue, then he/she must make Constitution checks (Step 2). 2) After the initial rounds pass, the character must make a Constitution check for each round he/she wishes to continue. Modifiers to this check are from Table 1 and Table 2 And Table 3, plus cumulative modifier of -1. The character also needs to make a time to climax (TTC) check. A 1 on a 1d6 for males and a 1 on a 1d10 for women indicates such an occurrence. An additional TTC roll is made and a result of 1 indicates multiple orgasms (keep rolling while 1s come up). Of course, males could have trouble continuing after this, but the player can make such decisions. 3) A failed check means the character lost interest for whatever reason. NOTE: In most cases it take two to tango, so remember to keep track of all participates. Table 1: Dexterity Modifier A. Score Modifier 03-05 -4 <-- not much fun 06-08 -2 09-12 0 13-15 +2 16-18 +4 <-- someone could get hurt Table 2: Strength Modifier A. Score Modifier 03-05 -4 <-- wears out easily 06-08 -2 09-12 0 13-15 +2 16-18 +4 <-- nasty Table 3: Partner's Charisma Modifier A. Score Modifier 03-05 -4 06-08 -2 09-12 0 13-15 +2 16-18 +4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTER-SPECIES FERTILITY Amongst races, there are four varying breeding relationships listed in Table A. TABLE A: Relationships Relationship Example Identical human vs. human Similar human vs. elf, human vs. halfling Related human/horse vs. centaur, human/elf vs. half-elf Different human vs. eagle, human vs. horse Whether or not two individuals can produce offspring depends on the relationship and conditions given in Table B. TABLE B: Relationships Based on Conditions Relationship: Identical Additional Requir.: None Chance of Fertility: As normal Result: As per race Relationship: Similar Additional Requir.: None Chance of Fertility: As the lesser fertile of the two races Result: Half breed Relationship: Related Additional Requir.: None Chance of Fertility: As the lesser fertile of the two races Result: Produce pure breed of the race the size of the female (see below) Relationship: Different Additional Requir.: Magical or divine intervention Chance of Fertility: 0% (without intervention) or 100% (with) Result: Produce a new race that may be fertile and breed true Size (of the creature you filthy minded churl) may play a part in some crossbreeds. For example, in human/horse/centaur pairings. The result depends, in part, on the physical size of the parents. Consult Table C. TABLE C: Size Relationship Race of Father Race of Mother Race of child Similar Human (Elf) Elf (Human) Half-elf Related Human (Half-elf) Half-elf (Human) Human or Half-elf Related Elf (Half-elf) Half-elf (Elf) Elf or Half-elf Different Human Horse Centaur (with interv.) Different Horse Human None (or a dead woman) Related Human (Centaur) Centaur (Human) Human Related Horse (Centaur) Centaur (Horse) Horse There is one interesting exception, humans and halflings. While they are fertile with each other, such a pairing will only produce one or the other race. This may be because they are so similar that there can be no half breed race. Consult Table Cb. TABLE Cb: Halfling-Human Size Relationship Race of Father Race of Mother Race of child Similar Human Halfling Halfling Similar Halfling Human Halfling or Human For some specific races, the relationships are given on Table D. TABLE D: Specific Races Race Relationship Examples Centaur Similar None Related Horse, Human. Different Most other races Elf Identical Elf (all varieties) Similar Human Related Drider Different Most other races Half-elf Similar None Related Elf, Human Different Most other races Human Similar Elf, Halfling, Ogre, Orc (and variations) Related Centaur, Half-elf, Half-orc, Minotaur, Satyr Different Most other races On the specific case of and elf and a centaur use the following suggested rules: - Elves and centaurs relate as "different", therefore there is no fertility without intervention. - Elves are "similar" to humans who are "related" to centaurs, but this two part relationship still translates into "different". These rules are not complete but hopefully gives the GM a good base to develop specific rules for inter-species breeding. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCEPTION: WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Sure characters screw around, but it never seems like they get anybody pregnant or get pregnant themselves unless on a whim of the GM. UNTIL NOW! Below is a very simple system to make the decision fairly. To start, get the base chance for each character (Table 1) that participated in sex and add the appropriate Constitution modifiers (Table 2). Then roll percentile dice for each person. A successful roll indicates fertility. If both are fertile than conception has occurred. Of course, this assumes that both characters are of compatible race and are at age where conception can occur (GM's judgment), and it is the female's fertile time of the month. Some GM's may allow all races to reproduce offspring. Other GMs may limit which races can breed together. This decision should remain that of individual GMs, but suggestions are given in the previous section. Table 1: Base Chance Base Race Chance Dwarf 22% Elf 13% Gnome 20% Half-Elf 54% Halfling 50% Human 77% NOTE: The maximum age for each race was divided by 100. This number was divided into 100% to get the base chance (fractions rounded). This gives an accurate representation of how fertile an overall race is. If a GM wishes to add more races, all that would be needed is the maximum age of that race. Table 2: Constitution modifiers A. Score Modifier 03-05 -6% 06-08 -4% 09-10 -2% 11-12 +2% 13-15 +4% 16-18 +6% PROTECTION FROM PREGNANCY The base chance can be reduced by half if the popular technique of coitus interruptus (pulling out by the male). The male must make an ability check against (Wisdom+Dexterity)/2 where Wisdom is the willpower required to stop the fun when it gets better and Dexterity is the quickness to accomplish the mission. Only if the check is made will the chance be reduced (even if successful there is always the chance of pregnancy). Natural condoms made of various materials could be commonly used. These include condoms made with vegetable fibers or animal tissue which would be quite rare and expense (around 10 silver pieces). Such condoms would only be effective in preventing pregnancy 25% of the time. Another option would be to lower the chance of pregnancy by 75%. AGE Some may argue that age should play an important role in fertility, but age isn't represented in these rules. However, Constitution plays a role in fertility and Constitution is used here. A character's Constitution fluctuates because of age in most RPGs. Thus, age is taken into consideration because of Constitution changes due to age. To make any more modifiers would be double jeopardy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PREGNANCY IN A RPG? ------------------- LENGTH OF PREGNANCY With mammals, gestation period is usually dependent on size. Instead of making things complicated, size is not dependant on gestation in these rules but rather maximum age. This will be explained after Table 1. Table 1 lists the length of pregnancy for each race. Also, it lists the duration of each stage of the pregnancy. The length of each stage is given as well. Half-elf pregnancies could last as long as 24 months or as little as 9 months depending on how much human or elf the unborn child is. The number given is for GMs who don't want to bother with complicated inter-racial percentages. TABLE 1: Pregnancy Total Length Duration of Race of Pregnancy Each Stage Elf 24 months 2 months 20 days Gnome 16 months 1 months 24 days Dwarf 15 months 1 months 20 days Halfling 7 months 0 months 24 days Human 9 months 1 month 0 days Half-Elf 12 months 1 months 10 days NOTE: The length of pregnancy was derived from the assumption that an elf's pregnancy lasts 24 months and that the elves life span is 750 years. 750 divided by 24 yields the number 31.25. 31.25 was then divided into the life spans of all races to get the length of pregnancy with the exception of humans. Since human pregnancy in an RPG can have real-world basis, the length is given as 9 months. 14.44 (derived from dividing 130 by 9) could have been used rather than 31.25 but the 31.25 is based on the fantasy elf race and so that number was used for the other fantasy races. GMs may alter the list as they wish. TWINS OR BETTER For those GM's who want to add a little spice to the pregnancy, Table 1b gives the chance of more than one child being born based on race. For example, a human has a 1 in 10 chance of having twins while a dwarf has a 1 in 100,000 chance of having twins. This can also be interrupted as 1 in 10 humans having twin sibling while 1 in 100,000 dwarfs have a twin sibling. These chances are only suggestions and GMs may adjust the table as he sees fit for his campaign. TABLE 1b: Chance of more than one child Race Twin Trip Quad Quint Sex Human 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 Halfling 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 Half-Elf 500 5,000 5,000 50,000 500,000 Elf 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 n/a Gnome 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 n/a n/a Dwarf 100,000 1,000,000 n/a n/a n/a STAGES OF PREGNANCY Each stage of pregnancy is listed below with the effects that the pregnant character will suffer. Refer to the effects section for specifics. Elf pregnancies are quite nice and comfortable. Therefore, GMs may forgo certain unpleasant effects for pregnant elves. 1st Stage - Check for mood swings at 55% chance. - Check for morning sickness (20%). - Lower constitution by 1 because of increased fatigue. 2nd Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 65% chance. - Check for morning sickness (25%). - Lower constitution by an additional 1 for a total of -2 to constitution because of increased fatigue. - Increase in urination output. 3rd Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 75% chance. - Check for morning sickness (30%). - Danger during spell-casting. - Increase in urination output. 4th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 45% chance. - Check for morning sickness (10%). - Noticeable weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race. - Food cravings: Friends may be sent on wild treks to find exotic food to curb the pregnant women's cravings. - Lower dexterity by 1 due to loss of agility. - Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer a -5%. - +5% chance of spell failure due to discomfort. 5th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 35% chance. - Check for morning sickness (05%). - Weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race. - Food cravings. - Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -2 to dexterity because of lack of agility. - Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer an additional -5%. - +1d6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort. 6th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 25% chance. - Weight gain. Increase weight appropriate to race. Adjustment to armor size is likely and probably expensive. - Food cravings. - Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -3 to dexterity because of lack of agility. - Thief skills Climb and Move Silently suffer an added -1d10%. - +1d6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort. 7th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 35% chance. - Check for backache. - Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -4 to dexterity because of lack of agility. - Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times. - +1d6+6% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of concentration. 8th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 45% chance. - Check for backache. - Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -5 to dexterity because of lack of agility. - Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times. - +2d6+3% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of concentration. 9th Stage - Check for mood swings for this stage at 55% chance. - Check for backache. - Lower dexterity by an additional 1 for a total of -6 to dexterity because of lack of agility. - Speed cut by half. Must rest triple the normal amount of times. - +3d6+2% chance of spell failure due to discomfort and lack of concentration. - Develops nesting habits (i.e. desire to make a warm, cozy home and prefer not to go anywhere). EFFECTS BACKACHE The formula to check for backache is as followed: 50% - (Strength + Constitution) + 5 for every previous stage of backache. The backache lasts for 2d4 days. If a woman has a backache, she is in great pain. She should get rest and not engage in strenuous activity. If she decides to, the GM may want to impose a 1d4 hit point loss for every turn of strenuous activity to simulate the agony. Usually in the last three stages of pregnancy, backache is constant, so GMs may wish this upon the character. GMs may desire to make a temporarily (until pregnancy is over) drastic reduction of hit points to simulate the constant agony of the woman. MOOD SWINGS (THE BITCH RULE) The following are the steps to develop a moody female: - The female character must roll 1d6 every eight waking hours for an attitude. - The female may reroll if a situation has been unusually stressful (i.e. after melee, during an argument, etc.). - Any person who comes in contact with the female (ex. other player characters) may request a reroll once per day. Only one reroll may happen each day. The reroll represents people who influence the female thereby changing her moods (for better or for worse). - For a roll of 6 on Table 2, roll 1d6 again. A 1 indicates an obsessive behavior. Thus, she becomes obsessive about whatever the party is doing at the moment to the point of not letting anyone or thing in her way of trying to accomplish her goal. TABLE 2: Moods & Attitudes Die Roll Moods & Attitudes 1 happy, cheerful, optimistic, helpful, friendly 2 self-pity, unhelpful, brooding, pessimistic 3 pissed off, vengeful, cruel 4 depressed, sullen, feeling inadequate 5 depressed. brooding, pessimistic 6 restless, impatient, takes control, urge to get on with things, roll 1d6 for obsession check Needless to say, running a character with all of these different attributes which change all of the time tests the player's ability to roll play to a maximum. MORNING SICKNESS Roll d% on Table 3 to get the level of morning sickness. If the woman continues to have morning sickness from a previous stage, then an additional rule on the table isn't necessary. Mild morning sickness consists of 1 to 2 hours of nausea a day. Moderate morning sickness lasts 1d4 hours a day after which check for 1 to 2 hours of nausea with-1 penalty. Chronic morning sickness lasts 2d4 hours a day after which check for 1d4 hours of nausea with -2 penalty. TABLE 3: Level Of Morning Sickness Die Roll Level How Long 01-60 None n/a 61-80 Mild 3 stages 81-98 Moderate 5 stages 99-00 Chronic 9 stages NAUSEA A character has nausea if a constitution ability check is failed. A person with nausea feels like vomiting. The character has difficulty concentrating and therefore has a -05% chance of spell failure for every hour of nausea. Furthermore, she suffers a -1 to dexterity and strength for the duration of nausea. CHARISMA, ATTRACTIVENESS, AND PREGNANCY Some feel that there should be a charisma penalty imposed to a pregnant character. Supposedly, pregnant women find themselves fat, ugly, and undesirable. Thus, they don't give of an aura of coolness, magnetism, leadership, and determination. Not to many will follow a moody, weak woman. This "ugly" state would also be reflected in attractiveness. Others feel that a pregnant character should get a bonus to charisma. Supposedly, pregnant women "glow with motherhood". Being pregnant is the essence of womanhood and many males find this attractive. In fact, a pregnant woman can get people to wait on her beckon call because she seems so helpless. This "natural beauty" can be reflected in attractiveness. Given these completely different views. A GM should make charisma adjustments based on the individual views of those that the pregnant character meets. Thus, one NPC may find her attractive and thus she gains a bonus to attractiveness and charisma. On the other hand, an NPC can find her repulsive and thus she suffers a penalty to attractiveness and charisma. DANGEROUS EFFECTS ON A UNBORN CHILD SPELL-CASTING A pregnant mage or cleric can cause weird things to happen to an unborn child if she casts spells after the 2nd stage of pregnancy. Magic is the ability to shape, control, harness, and utilize natural forces that infuse the world and surround the character. When a mage or cleric uses her magic ability, this force can influence the development of an unborn child. Every time a mage or cleric casts a spell after the 2nd stage of pregnancy, there is cumulative chance equal to the spell level that an effect has occurred. For example, Roxanne The Mage is in her 3 stage of pregnancy. She casts a 2nd level spell. There is a 2% that the unborn child is effected. The player rolls a 25 on the percentile dice and thus nothing happens to the unborn. Then, Roxanne casts a 3rd level spell. Now there is a 5% (2+3) chance of the unborn child to be effected. But the percentile dice show a 56 and the child is safe. PSIONICS A psionicist shapes, controls, harnesses, and utilizes natural forces that infuse her own being. The essence of a psionicist is mind and body. Since the unborn is in the body, psionic powers that are manifested can greatly effect the unborn child. For every psionic strength point (PSP) used by the psionicist after the 2nd stage of pregnancy, there is cumulative chance equal to the number of expended PSPs that an effect has occurred. EXTRAPLANAR TRAVEL Each time a pregnant character travels to another plane after the 2nd stage of pregnancy, there is cumulative chance that an effect has occurred. Going to the elemental planes gives a cumulative 5% chance of an effect occurring. Going to the ethereal plane gives a cumulative 25% chance that an effect has occurred. Going to the astral plane gives a cumulative 50% chance that an effect has occurred because of the strain. The effects of going to the outer planes is relative to alignment. For each difference in alignment there is a cumulative 2% chance that an effect has occurred. Thus, a lawful good character visiting a chaotic evil outer plane will give the unborn child a 12% (lawful -> neutral -> chaotic = 3 or 6%, good -> neutral -> evil = 3 or 6% for a total of 12%) chance of an effect. LEVEL DRAINING Every time the pregnant woman loses a level for whatever reason after the 2nd stage of pregnancy, there is cumulative chance equal to the number of levels drained multiplied by 10 that an effect has occurred. If an effect does occur, minus 5 to the die roll on the Type of Effect Table for each level drained. MAGICAL AGING If any aging effect is inflicted upon the pregnant woman (such as a Haste spell), the aging effect is split between the mother and child equally. This, of course, may cause immediate labor and birth of the child. Due to increased development rate, the child must make a system shock roll based on its mother's constitution. Failure indicates that an effect occurs. If there is an effect roll on the following table (subtracting the stage of pregnancy, i.e. add 10 if in the 5th stage of pregnancy) to decide if the effect is positive or negative (use appropriate modifiers). TABLE 4: Type of Effect 01-25 Positive; roll on Positive Effects Table 5 26-00 Negative; roll on Negative Effects Table 6 TABLE 5: Positive Effects (ROLL 1d10) 1: Born with infravision which enables child to see up to 60 feet in the dark. If the child's race already has the benefit of infravision than add 20 feet to the range. 2: Born with a +1 bonus to all saves vs. paralyzation, poison, or death magic. 3: Born with a +1 bonus to all saves vs. rod, staff, or wand. 4: Born with a +1 bonus to all saves vs. petrifaction or polymorph. 5: Born with a +1 bonus to all saves vs. breath weapon. 6: Born with a +1 bonus to all saves vs. spell. 7: Born with 10d10 - 5 % magic resistance. 8: Born with a lifetime regeneration ability. The child will be able to naturally (subconsciously) regenerate 1 hit point every turn. 9: Born with a natural (subconscious) ability to "turn" 1 Hit Die undead. Great potential for child to grow up to be a infamous cleric. 10: Born with a psionic wild talent. If the effect was created due to psionics, then two wild talents develop. TABLE 6: Negative Effects (ROLL 1d12) 1: Born with a -1 penalty to all saves vs. paralyzation, poison, or death magic. 2: Born with a -1 penalty to all saves vs. rod, staff, or wand. 3: Born with a -1 penalty to all saves vs. petrifaction or polymorph. 4: Born with a -1 penalty to all saves vs. breath weapon. 5: Born with a -1 penalty to all saves vs. spell. 6: Unborn is mutated into a demon. Possible possessed by the evil intelligence of a demonic creature. The GM should decide what type of demon the child shall be. 7: Radically different coloration of skin. The color change can either be advantageous or disadvantageous to the child, depending on whether the new color will give him/her a camouflage appearance or make him/her a laughing stock. A child's color can change to any other color. The color change is left to the GM and is limited only by the imagination. 8: The child's eyes are much different than normal. Roll 1d6 to determine the types of eyes: 1 = huge and protruding; 2 = small and stalked like a crab's; 3 = large ad turreted, move independently like a chameleon; 4 = appear normal but child has 1d4 additional eyes; 5 = multifaceted like an insect's; 6 = the child appears to have no eyes (any eye sockets are empty, but the child moves and reacts like one with normal vision). 9: The child's eyes appear and function normally except for their color: 1 = solid black; 2 = blank white; 3 = glowing red; 4 = glowing, venomous green; 5 = putrid pink; 6 = opalescent. 10: The skull or head of the child is adorned with unusual outgrowths. While it is possible for a child to attack with these outgrowths (when he/she grows up), this mutation does not give the child an additional attack per round. Roll 1d4 to determine the type of adornment: 1 = antlers, as a small deer, that do 1-2 hp slashing and rendering damage each; 2 = horns, as a small bull, doing 1-3 hp stabbing damage each; 3 = single horn, like a small unicorn horn without magical properties, doing 1-4 hp stabbing damage; 4 = curved horns, like a ram, that can be used to butt an opponent for 1-4 hp damage. 11: The child has a tail. While it is possible to use the tail for attack, this does not give an additional attack per round. Roll 1d4 to determine the type of tail: 1 = short, useless, and non-functioning; 2 = long and prehensile, can be used to hold a shield or other object but cannot be used in attack; 3 = long and segmented, ending in a nonpoisonous stinger that does 1-4 hp damage; 4 = long and whip-like, can be used to inflict 1-2 hp damage. 12: REROLL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WHEN DOES THE STORK COME? Normally, labor will occur 36+1d4 weeks after conception for humans, elves, and half-elfs. Labor will occur 38-1d4 weeks after conception for dwarves and halflings. MISCARRIAGES When a character suffers over 50% of total hit points in damage, there is a chance that she suffers a miscarriage based on how long she has been pregnant. For the first three stages (1,2,3) the chance of a miscarriage is 50%. For the second three stages (4,5,6) the chance of a miscarriage is 25% The woman has 3d4 hours to get to a cleric for a Cure Critical Wounds to save the child. Of course, the child must make a system shock based on its mother's constitution to survive. In the case of a miscarriage, there is a 25% of hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging causes 3d6 points of internal damage to the character. For the last three stages (7,8,9) instead of a miscarriage there is a 50% chance for a premature birth. LABOR & BIRTH When a women has her first child, she will be in labor 4d6 hours. Subsequent labors will be for 1d10 hours. The chance for a successful birth is based on the following formula (use mom's stats): success % = System Shock + (2 * Strength). The GM has two options for an unsuccessful birth. Kind GMs can make the mother make a system shock/2. If she succeeds then the child makes a roll to check for failure on the table based on the following formula: (system shock/2) - 1 for each day premature. (NOTE: subtract 10% from the table for each day the child is premature.) This option gives the character and child a second chance. A more sinister GM can require a roll on the table without any second chances. TABLE 7: Failed Birth (Roll 1d%) 01-40 child dies 41-80 mother dies 81-98 both dies 99-00 Both live (one last chance for success) GMs may adjusted the table based on their own campaign. RECOVERY FROM BIRTH The mother must spend 1d6+3 days in recovery. If the character wishes to engage in strenuous activities rather than recover, the GM can implement penalties to abilities (i.e. strength, constitution, dexterity). The bitch rule should remain in effect for an additional 1d4 weeks after birth. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SPELLS FOR THE MOTHER Level 1 Detect Pregnancy Prevent Nausea Summon Midwife Level 2 Assist Labor & Birth Level 6 'Irnar's Poloroidic Pregnancy Detect Pregnancy (Divination) Class: Cleric Level: 1 Sphere: Divination Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: 1 round/level Casting Time: 1 Area of Effect: 1 creature Save: None This spell enables the priest to detect pregnancy in any creature. The priest will also know the day of conception, stage of pregnancy, estimated day of birth, and gender of child. Prevent Nausea (Abjuration) Reversible Class: Cleric Level: 1 Sphere: Healing Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: 6 turns/level Casting Time: 1 Area of Effect: 1 creature Save: None This spell will prevent the woman from getting nausea for the duration of the spell. The reverse of this spell will cause nausea to the victim, male or female. Summon Midwife (Conjuration/Summoning) Class: Cleric Level: 1 Sphere: Summoning Range: 30 yards Components: V, S Duration: none Casting Time: 1 Area of Effect: 1 creature Save: None This spell will summon the nearest midwife. The midwife will get the summons. She is under no obligation to respond to the summons, but very few midwifes will ignore it unless unfortunate circumstances prevail. Assist Labor & Birth (Necromancy) Class: Cleric Level: 2 Sphere: Healing Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: none Casting Time: 2 Area of Effect: 1 creature Save: None This spell has multiple functions to assist the mother in labor and birth: Epidural - Produces a numbing of the lower back and pelvis to reduce stress on the mother during labor. Push - Assists mother in pushing the child out. Will cut the time of labor by 1d4 hours. Turn Baby - Will position the child correctly during labor for proper birth. The material components of this spell are boiling hot water and towels. 'Irnar's Poloroidic Pregnancy (Necromancy) Class: Mage Level: 6 Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: permanent Casting Time: 6 Area of Effect: 1 creature Save: Neg. This spell will speed up the pregnancy of a woman from 9 stages to 9 hours (1 hour for each stage left until birth). The pregnant woman must make a system shock when its time to give birth. Success indicates that the birth is successful, failure indicates that child dies and the woman suffers a permanent -1 reduction to constitution. 'Irnar is still researching, but the priestesses of the Mother Goddess are doing their damndest to hunt him down and destroy his research, it is a violation if their creed. Some parental mages have created a few useful cantrips. Below is a list of them. They have a small description and should not need additional explanation. Burp - causes the infant to pass gas. Create Cheerios and Milk - creates a healthy portion of cereal w/ milk. Gallager's Food to Mush - transfers food to edible mush for infants. Turn Toddler - keeps a whinny kid at bay. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME Alcohol has a very bad effect on the developing brain of the fetus. In some areas, the brain may never totally mature. In addition to reduced learning capabilities, a person has little or no sense of "right or wrong". He/she has little sense of time, so that a potential long jail term means little to him/her, and he/she doesn't see the benefits of saving money today to spend next year, or to study today for a test next week. These symptoms can range anywhere from almost unnoticeable to very pronounced, and facial disfigurement (small, misshapen eyes and a flatter nasal area) can even occur. Some Fetal Alcohol Syndrome victims are somewhat socially inept. Not in a "nerdy" manner, but they seem to be unable to have healthy friendships. They are attracted to dangerous elements, such as the other troublemakers (unable to separate right from wrong, etc). They can't seem to resist peer pressure, and if pressured, will drink, steal, etc.. Their work ethic is bad, unable to see the future as imminent. The awful thing is, it's not their fault! Therefore, if a woman drinks at ANY time during pregnancy (even if she doesn't know she's pregnant) and if she consumes even a small amount of alcohol, there is a risk of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The more often she drinks, the greater the risk and the greater the possible effects. The player should roll 1d100 when the baby is born, with a cumulative possibility of having Fetal Alcohol Syndrome of +5% for every time the mother had two or more alcoholic drinks (in one sitting) during the pregnancy. If the result is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, then the GM has two options in deciding on the results: 1: The player rolls 1d100 with a cumulative +5% for every time the mother had two or more alcoholic drinks (in one sitting) during the pregnancy. Then consult Table 1. 2: The player rolls 1d12 with a cumulative +1 for every time the mother had two or more alcoholic drinks (in one sitting) during the pregnancy. Then consult Table 2. Note that the character has all of the symptoms up to and including his/her die roll. That is, if the player rolls a 6 then the character has results 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Table 1: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Results Die Roll Effect 01-03 Intelligence is 4d4. 04-06 Intelligence is 3d4. 07-09 Intelligence is 2d4. 10-12 Intelligence is 1d4. 13-15 Wisdom is 4d4. 16-18 Wisdom is 3d4. 19-21 Wisdom is 2d4. 22-24 Wisdom is 1d4. 25-27 Strength is 4d4. 28-30 Strength is 3d4. 31-33 Strength is 2d4. 34-36 Strength is 1d4. 37-39 Some facial disfigurement. Charisma is 4d4. 40-42 Some facial disfigurement. Charisma is 3d4. 43-45 Extreme facial disfigurement. Charisma is 2d4. 46-48 Extreme facial disfigurement. Charisma is 1d4. 49-51 Weak. Constitution is 4d4. 52-54 Weak. Constitution is 3d4. 55-57 Very Weak. Constitution is 2d4. 58-60 Very Weak. Constitution is 1d4. 61-63 Learns at 1/4 speed. 64-66 Learns at 1/2 speed. 67-69 Learns at 3/4 speed. 70-72 Cannot have a lawful alignment. 73-75 Must have a chaotic alignment. 76-78 Must have a neutral alignment. 79-81 Unable to save money, destitute. Always gets rid of money. 82-84 Unable to save money, poor. Wastes money on frivolous things. 85-87 Never able to cast spells. 88-90 2d20+8 % magic resistance. Roll ignoring any result above 87. 91-93 Two problems. Roll twice ignoring any result above 87. 94-96 Three problems. Roll thrice ignoring any result above 87. 97-99 Four problems. Roll four times ignoring any result above 87. 00-00 Five problems. Roll five times ignoring any result above 87. Table 2: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Results 1 Intelligence penalized -1d4. 2 Wisdom penalized -1d4. 3 Strength penalized -1d4. 4 Some facial disfigurement. Charisma penalized -1d4. 5 Weaker. Constitution penalized 1d4. 6 Learns at 1/4 speed. 7 Cannot have a lawful alignment. 8 Must have a chaotic alignment. 9 Must have a neutral alignment. 10 Unable to save money, poor. Wastes money on frivolous things. 11 Never able to cast spells. 12 2d20+8 % magic resistance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ON THE SUBJECT OF A SHAPECHANGING MOTHER AND CHILD When a female who can naturally shapechange has a child, the relationship between mother and child is complex. Specifically, what shapechanging -if any- does the child undergo? There are some rules to remember: Nursing Stage - While the mother is in her natural form, the child is in its natural form. Examples: If a dragon mother is in dragon form, the child also is in dragon form. If a centaur druid mother is in centaur form, the child is in centaur - Until the child is weaned, it "echoes" the form of its mother. This occurs continuously whether or not the mother is actually in the process of nursing the child. Examples: If a dragon mother is in human form, the child also is in human form. If a centaur druid mother is in bear form, the child is in bear form regardless of what its original form was. Weaned Stage - After the child is weaned, it regains its normal form. Examples: If a dragon mother is in any form, the child also is in dragon form. If a centaur druid mother is in any form, the child is in centaur, horse or human form as appropriate. - From weaning until puberty, the child will always remain in its natural form. Adulthood - If the child is not of a shapechanging race, it will never shapechange again. - If the child is of a shapechanging race, it will gain its shapechanging powers with the onset of puberty. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BABY IS HERE! WHAT YA' GOT? CHARACTERISTICS Baby's Sex Probably the most popular topic of a new born child is its sex. Roll percentile dice to determine the race of the child. Generally the probability of having a female is slightly greater than a male. Thus there is a 52% of having a male and a 48% of having as female child. Note that GMs may wish to adjust this number in their campaigns for the various races. Also, the GM may let the character influence the chance one way or the other through magic, divine intervention, etc.. Attributes This system will give you the attributes that the baby will have once he reaches adulthood (which is usually a few years after puberty). Of course, as a child the baby will show potential or problem areas if stats are high or low; especially in areas of intelligence and wisdom. To figure out the attributes, the first step is to average each attribute of the parents which will give you the "genetic" bases. To make the baby a bit different from its parents, a random factor is added to the process. First, add 1d4 to each genetic base and then subtract 1d4 to that number. This means that each of the baby's stats can be up to 3 above or 3 below its parents' average. If the result isn't an integer, there is a 50% chance to round up and a 50% to round down. Example: A baby is to be born, but what will his Strength be? His father's Strength is 17 and his mother's Strength is 14. This averages to 15.5 which becomes the genetic base. Before figuring in the random factor, we know that the baby's Strength will fall between 12.5 - 18.5. On the first 1d4, a 3 is rolled and added to the genetic factor giving us a 18.5. On the second 1d4, a 2 is rolled and subtracted from the 18.5 giving us a Strength 16.5. Well decimals are unacceptable so on the percentile roll, a 23% is rolled causing the Strength to be rounded down to 16. The baby's Strength will be 16 when it reaches adulthood. The same process is followed for the remanding attributes. Note that the baby's attributes must still obey its race's minimum/maximum limits. For example, no human can be born with more than 18 or less than 3 in any attribute. Height To figure out what the baby's adult height will be, the first step is to average the parents height (in inches). Next, add the modifier based on race found on the height table below. Finally, add the adjustment found on the height table if it is a male, subtract the adjustment if it is a female. The result is the baby's adult height in inches. TABLE: Height Race Mod. Adj. Dwarf 1d6 1 Elf 1d6 2.5 Gnome 1d4 1 Half-elf 1d6 1 Halfling 1d8 1 Human 1d10 1 Weight To figure out what the baby's adult weight will be, the first step is to average the parents weight. Next, add the modifier based on race found on the weight table below. Finally, add the adjustment found on the weight table if it is a male, subtract the adjustment if it is a female. The result is the baby's adult weight. TABLE: Weight Race Mod. Adj. Dwarf 2d10 12.5 Elf 2d6 5 Gnome 2d4 2 Half-elf 2d8 12.5 Halfling 2d4 2 Human 2d20 20 Alternative Sexist Height & Weight This system emphasizes the relationship between the sex of the child and the size of the parents. Big men with small wives will have small daughters and strapping sons. Small men with big wives will have large healthy daughters and puny sons. To summarize, this system will have daughter's size favor mothers and son's size favor fathers. Although this system for figuring out height and weight is good, it is given as an alternative. Unless the GM plans the size of the parents ahead of time, a small mother would have a small daughter and a small father would have a small son. This seems reasonable, but if players are looking for player characters out of the baby, having the baby small might not be a good idea. To figure out what the baby's adult height will be, the first step is to calculate height in inches as per your RPG rule book. Take the height of the parent that is the same gender as the child and multiply it by 1.5. Take the height of the other parent of the child and multiply it by 1.5. Add those three numbers then divide by 3. The result is the baby's adult height in inches. To summarize: ht = [calc. ht. + (1.5 x same gender parent) + (.5 x other parent)] / 3 To figure out what the baby's adult weight will be, the first step is to calculate weight in inches as per your RPG rule book. Take the weight of the parent that is the same gender as the child and multiply it by 1.5. Take the weight of the other parent of the child and multiply it by 1.5. Add those three numbers then divide by 3. The result is the baby's adult weight in inches. To summarize: wt = [calc. wt. + (1.5 x same gender parent) + (.5 x other parent)] / 3 Personality Sooner or later, the parents will learn that the baby has a distinct personality. The player should roll on a personality table of his GM RPG rule book. The GM may wish the player to roll on the table once the baby reaches childhood, reaches puberty, and finally reaches adulthood. Of course, once adulthood is reached, the "baby" may be considered a PC rather than a NPC if the player desires to pursue this avenue. Thus, the player develops the character as desired. It should be emphasized here that role-playing personality is only relevant if the baby is intended as an NPC. Babies who are to become PCs shouldn't roll this so the player may have absolute freedom in creating the character. "DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL" SYNDROME A female child should has a percentage chance (60 + her Charisma - father's Wisdom) of charming her father. The charmed father will always think of his daughter as pure and innocent. He will always protect her and blame everybody else for anything that happens to her even if it is obviously her fault. THE FIRST BORN When these baby rules were being developed, GM Mizar and one of his players started to roll up the baby's stats and due to a sequence of unbelievably lucky rolls they created a wonder girl: P. Strength: 18 Intelligence: 15 Dexterity: 17 Wisdom: 16 Constitution: 18 Charisma: 12 Attractiveness: 17 Luck: 14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SEXUAL TENDENCY Some GMs may like totally random factors in a character's generation thus this sexual tendency optional rule is presented. Roll 1d100 on Table 1 to get the sexual tendency of the character using the appropriate social class modifier from Table 2. The reason for the social class modifier: the upper classes have more access to culturally-accepted sexual information and are under strict "moral" guardianship. TABLE 1: Sexual Tendencies Die Roll Tendency 01-80 heterosexual 81-90 bisexual 91-00 homosexual TABLE 2: Modifiers Due To Social Class Social Level Modifiers Lower Lower Class 0 Middle Lower Class 0 Upper Lower Class 0 Lower Middle Class -1% Middle Middle Class -2% Upper Middle Class -3% Lower Upper Class -5% Middle Upper Class -7% Upper Upper Class -9% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BITCH RULE The Bitch Rule is an option that makes a female PC or NPC very moody. GMs may make this a requirement for all females. Other alternatives are making it an insanity, disease, or curse. The Bitch Rule works best for chaotic characters because they seem to have what it takes to work. The following are the steps to develop a moody female: - The female character must roll 1d6 every eight waking hours for an attitude. - The female may reroll if a situation has been unusually stressful (i.e. after melee, during an argument, etc.). - Any person who comes in contact with the female (ex. other player characters) may request a reroll once per day. Only one reroll may happen each day. The reroll represents people who influence the female thereby changing her moods (for better or for worse). - For a roll of 6 on the table, roll 1d6 again. A 1 indicates an obsessive behavior. Thus, she becomes obsessive about whatever the party is doing at the moment to the point of not letting anyone or thing in her way of trying to accomplish her goal. TABLE: Moods & Attitudes Die Roll Moods & Attitudes 1 happy, cheerful, optimistic, helpful, friendly 2 self-pity, unhelpful, brooding, pessimistic 3 pissed off, vengeful, cruel 4 playful, energetic, daring, foolhardy, practical joker 5 vain, proud, lazy, bored, omnipotent feeling 6 restless, impatient, takes control, urge to get on with things, roll 1d6 for obsession check Needless to say, running a character with all of these different attributes which change all of the time tests the player's ability to role play to a maximum. The Bitch Rule initiated in Salina, a chaotic neutral human. Because of her great contribution to the game, a profile of her is below. Salina - 9th level mage Physical Appearance: Salina is 5' 6" brunette with grey eyes. She has remarkable stats (all above 10, INT 17, DEX 18) (honest, that's the way she rolled it...). She is a real "babe". The longer you are in her presence, however, the more you realize that her charisma is not quite up to her atractiveness. Family & Childhood: Her mother died in childbirth. Her father is a rich/feared/respected merchant/trader/smuggler who bought his title and measures affection in monetary terms. To increase Salina's value, she was educated by private tutors and given anything money could buy. She discovered books and power as a substitute for friends and affection. Reasons to Adventure: * Boredom; looking for a thrill * Companionship (though she would never agmit it to herself) * To gain greater powers and a sense of self away from Daddy * To get away from Daddy's immediate grasp so he doesn't marry her off to secure a trade agreement or something General: She lives whim to whim. She has chronic PMS mood swings (aka The Bitch Rule). She is self serving. All of her likes and dis-likes are subject to change at any time, though a respect for books and talent and an attraction to jewelry are pretty consistent. She tends to dislike being dirty and loathes stupid people unless they have something she needs from them. She is a sort-of female Q (from Star Trek TNG). The party puts up with her often dangerous moods because she is a really good mage. Adventure examples: Has a casual but regular relationship with 'Irnar (a NPC mage who "pops" in every now and again to stir up trouble with the characters). She keeps the relationship for what she can get out of him and because he learned some pretty INCREDIBLE moves after being abducted by a goddess of love. 'Irnar is totally into the physical aspect of a relation and since Salina is a mage with the best atractiveness in my campaign, she wins out. Salina has been known to disappear (teleported by 'Irnar) during the middle of her night watch and reappear with melting snow in her hair. Or completely soaked with water, or in one case with grass stains and rope burns. The party has yet to find out what she does on her little side trips. One time she disappeared for three days then reappeared with no explanations, but she was in such a good mood that the party counted their blessings and did not press the questions. Besides, they desperately needed her since they were about to do battle with an Orcish army. One time, another mage in the party got Salina mad at him, so he cast a Globe of Invulnerability around him for protection. Salina, recognizing the spell promptly threw a dagger +2 at him as a "subtle way of saying "get out of my face" and continued on her way without losing hardly a beat. Another time the party had to pay a toll of one magic item each to a very old black dragon (I was sorta hoping they'd try to fight the thing) and Salina, in her helpful, cheery mood promptly offered the other mage to the dragon saying "If you let us pass, I'll give him to you" (note: said with a disgustingly cheery voice). The other mage had to do some quick talking to get out of that one. He did get some help from the good cleric who was "appalled" that Salina could do such a thing. The party encountered a pool of whimsy healing water once. Salina got mad at one of the party members for being stupid, and promptly pushed him in. (The party at the time did not know the effects of the water.) Well, the fighter immediately got healed of all of his hit points, got a whimsy (I don't recall what it was) and drowned because he was wearing metal armour. Two members of the party finally fished him out, but they had a dickens of a time resuscitating him. The episode ended by everyone having a pool fight and pushing someone else in. (All went in except Salina.) In another adventure, the party was right in the middle of battling an awesome mage (Le Morte by name) and Salina suddenly got bored and sat down to do her nails. The party, without a mage to help them out, really got whomped on, had to give in to Le Morte's demands, and lost a Horn of Dwarf Summoning they had spent several months (real time) trying to get in order to call the Dwarves to battle against the impending evil of a powerful anti-paladin (Sheol) who is still trying to take over all of the land. Well. There you have some of the endearing characteristics of Salina. The party she runs around with may not like her all that much, but with players like her, the GM's job of making things difficult for all the players is made a little easier. ("With characters like her," quipped the Cleric named Candice Preach, "who needs adventure?") This background is brought to you by Morgan the Slightly Chaotic ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE RACK CRITICAL HIT CHART: FOR MEN ONLY Female characters are cursed with The Bitch Rule, so how can the males be equally punished. Well, at long last, it's here. The Rack Critical Hit Chart. "Rack" is a term that refers to a shot to the groin. As most guys will tell you, a hit to the body or face is invulnerably more welcome and less devastating than a blast to the crotch. The rack can either be a called shot to the groin, part of a normal critical hit chart, or (to get more use of it) if the attacker rolls five higher than the necessary to hit roll (modified or natural), it is now considered to be a rack. The rack chart is as follows: 0-70 Man drops weapon, clutches privates, and loses next 1d4 rounds of initiative. 71-80 Man is blinded by tears and cannot defend or attack for the next 1d6 rounds. 81-90 Man is stunned for one round and then goes into a berserker rage for 1d10 rounds. Rules for berserk rage applies. 91-95 Man's voice is permanently altered to 1d4 octaves higher, dropping his charisma by 1d4. Also stunned for 1d4 rounds. 96-98 Man is permanently rendered impotent. Stunned for 1d6 rounds. 99 Man loses consciousness for 1d10 rounds. (System shock roll can be made at -50%, if successful, man is only unconscious for 1d4 rounds.) 00 Man goes into shock, no save, and dies. All men within a viewing distance must make a constitution save at -5 or they clutch themselves and remain stunned for 1 round. NOTE: GM's may enforce the rule that any time a man sees another man getting racked he must make a constitution check to see if he is stunned for one round. Exception, see 00. FINAL NOTE: Due to the amount of protection a male will go through to protect his "family treasure", his AC for his privates is 2 better than his overall AC. He also gets +2 to his dexterity at any attempt to dodge.