Ring of Sustenance and Growing Up

[Len]

The ring, according to the DM, does not halt the aging process, but does not provide the necessary elements to *grow* - only to sustain... and, for an infant, that is not good enough. (it does not prevent decay or create eternal life - just is not enough for an infant)

Does the ring provide the extra calories you need to march and fight all day, as opposed to just enough for your basal metabolic rate? If it can adjust for that, why can it not adjust for a child's requirements?

Seems like a silly ruling to me.

 

[silentspace]

I don't think there is a 'correct' ruling here.

But I think the DM is brilliant. It sounds like a fun challenge. It's his job to put challenges in front of you, and to tell you when you solved them. In his mind you haven't solved this challenge yet. I wouldn't argue the point, its one of those things that could really go either way.

Or there could be a third way - maybe the child does grow, but there are consequences. For instance, the magic might change him physically somehow. Or scar him emotionally from lack of contact. It's fun to think about.

 

[domino]

Halflings aren't growing into Half-orcs - they're on a basically human scale, adjusted for their ultimate adult sizes.

However, a single ring can provide widely different nutritional values, and saying that it can't provide enough for a baby to grow (less than a full grown human needs, probably) is a completely arbitrary ruling.

 

[shilsen]

Is "The Universe" the DM in this case? Or is he merely on the DM's side?

Come on, Patryn - by definition, the universe is both the DM and on the DM's side

As for the original question, going by the description of the ring of sustenance as written the DM is wrong. He just happens to be making a house rule (which is fine) and trying to justify it through some bad semantics (which is unnecessary). Just rule that this is the way the ring works in this game and move on.

 

[Dimwhit]

What children need as they are growing to actually grow, and what adults need to sustain themselves are widely different.

Infants, for instance, need colostrum for the first few weeks of their lives, and then they never require it (or anything like it) again.

Actually, they don't need colostrum, it's just ideal. Neither of my kids got it, and they're very healthy.

I don't think the basics needs are any different, just the amounts.

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

What a freaky idea. Imagine a being who has never eaten in its life because it always had that ring on. Then it loses the ring. What a bizarre concept eating would seem, perhaps even revolting. I mean, all that gnashing of teeth, sloshing around of saliva, bits of fiber and flesh sticking in your teeth. Gross! That and such a creature's relationship with said ring would put that between Gollum and his ring to shame! How about a psycho villain with that sort of ring, with an ivory cameo on it of his/her mother. She died in childbirth and the father, callous and/or overcome with grief had the ring made to provide for the child but otherwise neglected it. Defeat the baddie and capture the ring--quite useful, but perhaps too creepy to wear?

 

[Shadeus]

I agree with the masses that the ring should sustain the infant and allow it to grow specifically from a pure nutrient point of view. But this magical crutch will be a big problem at some point; the child will not learn to eat. If no one teaches you how to do something, how is someone that's not even been alive but a couple months supposed to figure it out? They can't. And if the ring is ever stolen later in life, the baby may starve to death because it doesn't know how to eat.

There is also a lot more to raising a child than just keeping it fed. To name a few, there's bathing/keeping the baby clean, mental development, irregular sleep schedules, allergies to everything, continual sicknesses (colds, fevers, etc.), and a constant demand for attention. It just depends on how into these aspects of raising an infant you want to get into.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

There is also a lot more to raising a child than just keeping it fed.

I think that's pretty much understood by all present.

The problem, however, is "How do you feed a baby when you don't have a wetnurse and it can't eat solid food?" A ring of Sustenance seems to fit the bill to a "T." Now, of course, later on in the kid's life, he'll need to be taught how to eat, but that's neither here nor there, as far as the immediate, life-threatening situation goes.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

We can have a wetnurse, but - in our brainstorming - we were trying to avoid it. A non-skilled woman serving as a wetnurse whilst adventuring is a little dangerous for her, and the baby... which is why the group had initially began formulating the idea of using the ring...

However - just want to point out that I didn't start this thread as a "help me prove my DM wrong" - he's made his decision and the game will run as such - no big deal. Just want to assess how other people would do it because it is a very, very interesting topic, I think. I've posted many, many threads on adventuring pregnant or attempting to raise a child as an adventurer... as a female that plays female characters that are, on occasion, sexually active, it's a very interesting aspect to role playing that is fun to explore.

 

[Shadeus]

I think that's pretty much understood by all present.

The problem, however, is "How do you feed a baby when you don't have a wetnurse and it can't eat solid food?" A ring of Sustenance seems to fit the bill to a "T." Now, of course, later on in the kid's life, he'll need to be taught how to eat, but that's neither here nor there, as far as the immediate, life-threatening situation goes.

Right. The point being that the ring would address one aspect of the problem of keeping a child alive. It does not address them all though. Although it could be interesting to try to find a way to have magic take care of it all. A magic diaper with a "clean" cantrip or something. Since magical "armor" resizes to fit the wearer, it would be one diaper fits all.

Does it show that I have an 18-month old?

This does have the makings of a great character background...