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<blockquote data-quote="Wraith Form" data-source="post: 1261248" data-attributes="member: 10789">From a &quot;real world&quot; standpoint, this is nearly unheard of. Rampant divorce wasn't common until the 20th century. There would have to be a REALLY extenuating circumstance for it to happen--people even endured spousal abuse without considering divorce. Even as recently as the '20's and '30's, divorce wasn't openly discussed--it was kept under wraps and out of daily conversation when it did happen.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Having said that, 1) this is a fantasy game--&quot;reality&quot; doesn't have to apply, 2) you're the DM--if you want to allow it, then it can happen. &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Certainly from a meta-game standpoint divorced parents add more optional plot hooks for you to manipulat--err, design adventures around, plots that can be very personal and emotionally driven, possibly even sensitive. (As an aside, be careful/aware of gamers that have suffered divorce in some way and how they might react to this topic.&nbsp; Even in a so-called game like D&amp;D.)&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Do you want to have one (or both?) parents estranged from their child? Look to Anakin and Amidala Skywalker: Luke was often torn up over not knowing his father/parents, whereas Leia was blissfully unaware of her real parents. Eventually, Luke won his father back over to the &quot;light side&quot;--but your game doesn't have to do this.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;The other direction (that Hollywood in particular has seemed to take) in recent years is the &quot;adventure that brings the family back together&quot; concept (Liar Liar immediately comes to mind on this). The parents begin the movie divorced, but by the end of the experience/adventure/ordeal, they realize that they've grown and changed to the point where they &quot;give it another try&quot;. While dubiously satisfying in the movie world, this isn't what I've experienced as a realistic end result.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; As a kid, I watched my mother divorce both my biological father and my first stepfather, and watch my father marry and divorce two more times after that. I can't blame all my life's problems on those events, but it didn't help me become a &quot;warm and fuzzy normal person&quot;....&nbsp; Your player should understand that this type of character can (but doesn't have to) be very emotionally conflicted, suffering from guilt complexes or using &quot;escapist&quot; behaviors (drugs, alcohol, role playing games) to avoid dealing with the sad, hard truth.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; OK--a little more info than I intended to write, but hopefully that helps you!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wraith Form, post: 1261248, member: 10789"] From a "real world" standpoint, this is nearly unheard of. Rampant divorce wasn't common until the 20th century. There would have to be a [i]REALLY[/i] extenuating circumstance for it to happen--people even endured spousal abuse without considering divorce. Even as recently as the '20's and '30's, divorce wasn't openly discussed--it was kept under wraps and out of daily conversation when it did happen. Having said that, 1) this is a fantasy game--"reality" doesn't have to apply, 2) you're the DM--if you want to allow it, then it can happen. Certainly from a meta-game standpoint divorced parents add more optional plot hooks for you to manipulat--err, design adventures around, plots that can be very personal and emotionally driven, possibly even sensitive. (As an aside, be careful/aware of gamers that have suffered divorce in some way and how they might react to this topic. Even in a so-called game like D&D.) Do you want to have one (or both?) parents estranged from their child? Look to Anakin and Amidala Skywalker: Luke was often torn up over not knowing his father/parents, whereas Leia was blissfully unaware of her real parents. Eventually, Luke won his father back over to the "light side"--but your game doesn't have to do this. The other direction (that Hollywood in particular has seemed to take) in recent years is the "adventure that brings the family back together" concept ([i]Liar Liar[/i] immediately comes to mind on this). The parents begin the movie divorced, but by the end of the experience/adventure/ordeal, they realize that they've grown and changed to the point where they "give it another try". While dubiously satisfying in the movie world, this [i]isn't[/i] what I've experienced as a realistic end result. As a kid, I watched my mother divorce both my biological father [i]and[/i] my first stepfather, and watch my father marry and divorce two more times after that. I can't blame all my life's problems on those events, but it [i]didn't[/i] help me become a "warm and fuzzy normal person".... Your player should understand that this type of character [i]can[/i] (but doesn't [i]have[/i] to) be very emotionally conflicted, suffering from guilt complexes or using "escapist" behaviors (drugs, alcohol, role playing games) to avoid dealing with the sad, hard truth. OK--a little more info than I intended to write, but hopefully that helps you! [/QUOTE]

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