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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 5785723" data-attributes="member: 8461">I think there are some problems with that supposition though; for example, that it's dying in labor that's the root of prejudice against women - I always thought it had more to do with the incapacitating effects of pregnancy during the later months, rather than the possibility of dying in childbirth.Having said that, there's a lot of problems with the idea of "magic would be used towards." As shown previously, if childbirth does deal Constitution damage, rather than hit point damage, then only higher-level adepts are likely to be able to help.That shifts the burden onto local clerics, druids, and paladins. Now, it's nice to say that the burden is so universal that any magically-assisted care would be offered free to the local populace. However, I personally find that unrealistic; people haven't been that free with things that are for the community's benefit ever - food isn't free, and in many countries even today, healthcare isn't free.Hence, your local cleric or druid (I don't have the 3.5 DMG with me, so I can't comment on the population tables, but in rural areas I recall that paladins are pretty rare) is going to charge for spellcasting when using lesser restoration, which (being a 2nd-level spell for them) will cost a minimum of <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spell" target="_blank">60 gp</a>. That's per casting, and since it only restores 1d4 ability points, multiple castings could conceivably be needed.3.5 doesn't have rules for the cost of living, but <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html#cost-of-living" target="_blank">Pathfinder does</a> (and so far, everything else rules-based that I've posted has been the same for both systems; the one exception being the reference to the 3.5 population tables), and they paint a pretty bleak picture for paying those costs, since being able to pay 100 gp a month is considered "wealthy."So yes, quality magical-healthcare for a woman in labor may be more than can be afforded for most families in a typical D&D world.Hm, now this is an interesting way of looking at it, though it'd need to be modified slightly on the duration, how much damage is inflicted at what rate, and how long the pregnancy lasted. But yeah, I can see this being how it's done.That said, this one is more of a roll of the die (pun intended). A commoner of even <a href="http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/d&d-calibrating.html" target="_blank">5th-level</a> will have a +1 Fort save bonus; +2 if their racial bonus went towards Constitution (presuming a standard array wherein all ability scores are 10 or 11). So most commers have awful Fort saves.In this case, using another person's Heal check is certainly more viable, since it's far easier to inflate a skill bonus for even a low-level character. That said, depending on the DC, the number of checks necessary during labor, and how much Con damage would be taken...a few bad rolls can still lead to things getting very bad very quickly. Presumably, however, cost wouldn't be an issue (I imagine such a midwife would fall under the "trained hireling" heading, costing only 3 silver pieces per day, which is affordable even for a family of modest means).</blockquote>

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