A question for the women...a pregnant PC?

[Whimsical]

I just wanted to remind everyone that Xena was able to destroy the entire Greek pantheon while she was nine months pregnant.

Which, of course, shows that you can adventure while pregnant.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I dunno what your players are like, or the kind of games you play.

But while the character is pregnant, the plot/style of game could switch to more of an investigative, social oriented style. So you could play out the period of pregnancy while not having to worry so much about dungeon-crawling, etc.

 

[Dausuul]

I thought of doing this but the stubborn side of me says, "That would ruin the realism of the world". Realism in a fantasy game? Yeah I know but it's like me warning ahead of time that an item is cursed & asking them if they'd like to put it on. Or like God coming down and asking her if she wants to get pregnant for sleeping with the NPC. I know it's a serious enough angle to warrant an out of game discussion though....what do other people think about asking her before I do it?

Absolutely ask her first.

It's a social contract thing. To take your "cursed item" analogy a bit further: In 1E, it was part of the social contract of the game that any time you used a magic item of uncertain provenance without carefully vetting it first, you were taking your life in your hands, essentially handing the DM a warrant to mess you up in creative ways. So it was okay to occasionally toss a cursed item in with the loot, even one that would alter core elements of your character concept.

In 3.5E, on the other hand, cursed items are no longer an expected thing for most groups. While they do still have a spot in the DMG, I've never seen them used in an actual 3.X game. They've been more or less stricken from the social contract. In a group that doesn't use cursed items, it's not generally acceptable to put in character-altering curses like the girdle of masculinity/femininity. Players don't expect it, so they don't take the precautions they otherwise would.

Pregnancy is similar. If you'd made it clear to your players that pregnancy was something players had to worry about, and a PC had sex without taking precautions, then it would be acceptable to spring a surprise pregnancy on the character. However, pregnancy is not a part of the social contract of most groups; it's assumed that female PCs arrange for their contraceptive needs "offstage," or else they just get lucky. In that environment, this is the kind of change you really need to get the player's permission for.

 

[Graf]

Fundamentally I think the question is: will her character being pregnant lead to a good story.

You've said you have good ideas, but I have to wonder what they are.
If you really do think there is some sort of awesome story in there, then you should ask her.

But, generally, "roleplaying pregnancy" is pretty nitty gritty. Or else you're glossing over it.
Morning Sickness? How much, how long?
Moodiness? Some people have none, some people are fairly moody?
Diet? Is she supposed to roleplay watching what she eats for the good of the baby?

I'm not sure what sort of awesome DnD-type story material is in there.

(Being a parent is awesome, I just became one myself, but, just like I enjoy cooking a nice meal, I don't really think I'd want to play it out in DnD terms).

 

[CharlesRyan]

I'm not a female player, but let me suggest one way of going about it:

Introduce the concept in the game just as the character would experience it. Don't announce to the party: "Guess what: she's pregnant." Instead, during one of your sessions, pull her aside and give her the same early clues that a pregnant woman might experience: late menstruation, small doses of unexplained nausea, etc. Let her draw her own conclusions.

In a world without early pregnancy tests, she might not know for sure whether she's pregnant for a month or two (conceivably even three), and during that time, she may go long periods without any "symptoms." Use that time to suss out how your player feels about pregnancy. If it works for her, go for it. If not, have it turn out to be a false alarm.

 

[Silver Moon]

Fundamentally I think the question is: will her character being pregnant lead to a good story.

It has potential to - in our campaign the party's senior druid once used both 'Fertilize' spell and that spell's reverse to impact the outcome where the King was sleeping with three women with plans to marry the first to give him a male heir - that druid is now the Prince's Godmother and is raising the child at the boarding school run by another of the playing charaters.

 

[roguerouge]

I pretty much agree with the idea that this is a bad thing to spring on the player. But, to add to the thread as a boy gamer, here's a few things to consider:

1. It's the first romantic relationship and she gets pregnant? Who are you, Nancy Reagan? Wait a bit, man!

2. A way to test the waters is to make it a pregnancy SCARE, not a pregnancy. Have her PC's period be late, not MIA.

3. Does her PC have crafting feats? A research project? 'Cause that would be an excellent use of "down time" that her PC is going to be having for the next 20 years. (Especially with the father being LE and all, I'm guessing that she'll either have to deal with sexist division of domestic labor or use magic missile to stop him from "helping" to raise the child.) If you grant her the perfect grandparents-as-baby-sitters, it merely means that your plot hooks will have to be really exceptionally good to lure the PCs away from family responsibilities.

4. If you want to roleplay with pregnancy, why not just have the LE lover be really, really into getting her pregnant?

5. Your wife asks this question after the session: "Honey, does this mean you want to have a child with me?" What will you say? "I thought raising a puppy as a trial run was hackneyed?"

 

[orchid blossom]

I have very much enjoyed playing my pregnant PC.

First, let me agree with the others that you should definitely discuss it with her first. It is a radical change to her PC, and if it's not going to add to her fun, or worse detract from it, then there's no reason to do it.

I think the type of campaign makes a huge difference as to whether a pregnant PC works. The game this character is in is a play by post and weighs heavily toward story. The PC's live in a home town and aren't traveling adventurers, rather trouble comes to them (mostly). There were times that I had my character stay behind, but since it's a play by post I didn't have to just sit around while the others played, my character did her own thing back in town.

The DM also provided a magic item that protected the baby to a certain extent. If my character were to die, the baby would die too, but it was safe from any other damage she might take. It also boosted her CON (basically) so she wouldn't be as drained by the whole experience.

So ask her about it, and if she likes the idea make sure the campaign is handled in such a way as she can still participate without constantly feeling like her PC is the worst expectant Mom in the world.

 

[Clueless]

...but with the wife being the player- "Whow!!! Are you nuts!?! If I slap you, you will thank me later when you come to your senses."
That child will at some small part get her thinking about children of her own, and how that child is treated in the game will reflect on you.

Agreed - honestly that's one of the things that threw the red flag up the most for me. Since your lady's been talking about kidlings lately too. If mishandled in your game this could be one of those things you get woken up at 3 am to talk about because she can't rest. you know - the sort of thing that becomes bigger than it really is on the surface. On the other hand... I'd check your own brain and see if there's more about this plot-twist that makes it so intriguing to you yourself...

 

[krissbeth]

I would be very upset if a DM sprung *any* sort of major change on my character without consulting me first. It's my character... I don't want the DM dictating parts of it unless I know said changes are a possibility ahead of time so I can avoid them or take the risk as I desire.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Edit: Bah, Drothgery beat me to it.

IAWTC.

My DM-slash-SO and I had a discussion about this sort of thing, so we're on the same page about pregnancy and my PC. I'm okay with leaving it to a dice roll, but if he sprung "BUN IN THE OVEN! NO SAVE!" on me, I'd be miffed. Not big on the Deus Ex Machina.

Also, FWIW, I wouldn't see his treatment of NPC baby as a representation of his own paternal instincts or even the situation itself as a subconscious desire to bun up my oven. That's kind of silly.