WotC WotC needs an Elon Musk

[Vaalingrade]

One day, we too Vaalingrade will be playing some sort of old-school style of roleplaying and be ridiculed for using DMs, dice and grids.
And they will be asking for acid and lots of it I suspect.

There is nothing inherent to 'Old School' that says 'and now your character is pregnant. No agency'.

 

[Gradine]

No, I think it's completely anomalous.

It's certainly not unique, at least. I'm pretty sure FATAL had fertility tables

 

[Gradine]

I also think we're embarking upon the distinctions between "old school gameplay" and "old school attitudes" which is the kind of thing the modern OSR has been trying to distance itself from

 

[AnotherGuy]

There is nothing inherent to 'Old School' that says 'and now your character is pregnant. No agency'.

It is based on die rolls, EVERYTHING is based on die rolls.
You roll the dice and see if you can play that class. You roll the dice to see if you are of noble birth...you roll the dice to see if you made someone pregnant. I see it as there is an attempt to remove impartiality and let the dice decide.

 

[jgsugden]

I can understand the appeal of a multigenerational, decades-long campaign. I would handle those types of situations very differently, but whatever makes the players at the table happy, neh?

No, I have some pretty freaky players that have sat at my table. I am not doing whatever makes them happy.

 

[Faolyn]

Do people agree to die? But you agree that is a possible consequence.

Yes.

Depends how you value pregnancy and children.


Or equally rewarding I suspect.

"Rewarding"

<bursts into hysterical laughter>

Sure, hormone changes, unwanted physical changes, sometimes permanent physical damage, chance of death... all very rewarding. You really are AnotherGuy, aren't you.

And so rewarding that half of Lanefan's examples handed their kids over to nannies and left.

You're assuming all fathers do not provide for their young.

So far, Lanefan has neglected to say what happens to male PCs who impregnate a female NPC. So, yes, I'm going to assume that there are no consequences for male PCs.

I just asked my gaming group what they felt about the whole thing. I got four face palms and one suggestion that it sounds like sexual harassment.

 

[Faolyn]

It's certainly not unique, at least. I'm pretty sure FATAL had fertility tables

And you had to roll for your sperm count!

 

[Lanefan]

Geek fallacies are a thing.

And I notice you didn't respond as to what you force the men to do when they get someone pregnant. Your third example has a men decide to settle down.

It's up to the father what he does.

So if someone were to say "no I'm not pregnant, I used protection and engaged in non-procreative sex," you'd be just fine with it?

If they say the bolded ahead of time in a future or present-tense manner, of course I'm fine with it. Afterwards, though, it's too late - retcons to declared-and-resolved actions are never an option be it in this area or any other.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not Lanefan but I believe that is why there is one percentage roll which represents taking into account all factors instead of tracking minutia.

And it's a very long-odds roll at that.

 

[Lanefan]

"Rewarding"

<bursts into hysterical laughter>

Sure, hormone changes, unwanted physical changes, sometimes permanent physical damage, chance of death... all very rewarding. You really are AnotherGuy, aren't you.

And so rewarding that half of Lanefan's examples handed their kids over to nannies and left.

Sigh. Any adventuring character is extremely likely to have access to Clerics and healers (if not already one herself, which two of my four examples were), thus the physical damage etc. piece becomes considerably less likely - to the point of calculus-level near zero - than in the real world. It's completely up to the player of the mother whether she wants to role-play the hormone changes (one did, to a point). Also worth noting that only one of the couples was fully Human; the others were Part-Elf/Human, Elf/Human, and Elf/Elf; and I'll freely admit I've never given much consideration to the hormonal influences of pregnancy on or caused by Elves or Part-Elves.

And of the two who handed their children over to nannies, in one case it turned out to be a very wise decision in that the mother perma-died a few adventures hence; while in the other the nanny was a temporary thing only and the child now is and remains with her mother (that's the only one of the four in a still-ongoing game, the others are from games that ended ages ago).

So far, Lanefan has neglected to say what happens to male PCs who impregnate a female NPC. So, yes, I'm going to assume that there are no consequences for male PCs.

I just asked my gaming group what they felt about the whole thing. I got four face palms and one suggestion that it sounds like sexual harassment.

Given how you probably phrased the question, that response isn't very surprising.