This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Author Topic: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!  (Read 1389 times)

SHARK

  • The Great Shark Hope
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5039
Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« on: August 01, 2022, 02:02:08 PM »
Greetings!

This is a very cool music video, by Heilung. Childbirth features prominently in the video, though there are a lot of other thing going on as well. Lots of interesting, Dark Ages mystical details, spirituality, and Germanic culture.



Have you had pregnancies and childbirths in your campaigns? Creating families can be a huge development for the campaign, and very dramatic. Sweeping changes tocharacter's motivations, goals, and ambitions.

In one of my game groups, composed of four women players, the concern of pregnancy often comes up. I often have their girlfriend's get pregnant, which also creates lots of drama. Interacting with a tribal priestess, having the right magical rituals performed, attending naming ceremonies, all of which provide lots of opportunities for spinning off into adventures. Such episodes are also good for prophesies and dream interpretations. I have had some epic adventures develop precisely from such details!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

rytrasmi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1075
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2022, 02:09:27 PM »
Oh, wow, Great idea. One of our PCs recently had a rendezvous with a high-ranking cultist woman. Pregnancy would very much complicate things. Haha!
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling down your snout
Be merry my friends
Be merry

SHARK

  • The Great Shark Hope
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5039
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2022, 03:26:36 PM »
Oh, wow, Great idea. One of our PCs recently had a rendezvous with a high-ranking cultist woman. Pregnancy would very much complicate things. Haha!

Greetings!

Definitely, my friend!

Lots of potentials there for drama! The cultist woman being pregnant with the child. What if the child is blessed by the gods? The child could look like the mother or father, or some combination.

What if twins are born to the mother?

If you really want to get crazy--what if the twins are identical and conjoined? ;D

So many possibilities!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Hzilong

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 120
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2022, 03:30:55 PM »
Funny enough, while my party has flirty characters, none of them have actually gone through with the deed. So pregnancy and babies have never come up in our adventures. Honestly, as the GM, I think it would be interesting to play around with.
Resident lurking Chinaman

SHARK

  • The Great Shark Hope
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5039
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2022, 03:44:53 PM »
Funny enough, while my party has flirty characters, none of them have actually gone through with the deed. So pregnancy and babies have never come up in our adventures. Honestly, as the GM, I think it would be interesting to play around with.

Greetings!

Good to see you, Hzilong!

Indeed, there could be drama between the couple and various family members. One set grandparents insist that the child or children be brought to them for a visit--or an extended stay. Then, of course, the grandparents on the other side expect equal treatment! Depending how far apart such family members live, these journeys themselves could be very interesting!

Uncles and Aunts can also be powerful figures, and hugely influential as well. Imagine if you had three aunts on your mother's side--that were all doting, tight, and involved with you throughout your life. What if your father ha two brothers that have been heavily involved with you for *Years*. That would just be *one side of the family* Then, you have the mother's family, that they, too, have lots of desires, plans, and expectations.

In our modern era, families are often more casual. in past times, however, families could be very demanding of their children--and daughters/sons in law. At any age, even as an adult. Such parents would potentially have eye-popping expectations or demands. Of course, there could also be many traditions wrapped up in these expectations, as well as prominent gifts, awards, family treasures, extensive inheritances. Yeah, potentially lots of things that could make your head spin! ;D

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

rytrasmi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1075
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2022, 03:49:23 PM »
Oh, wow, Great idea. One of our PCs recently had a rendezvous with a high-ranking cultist woman. Pregnancy would very much complicate things. Haha!

Greetings!

Definitely, my friend!

Lots of potentials there for drama! The cultist woman being pregnant with the child. What if the child is blessed by the gods? The child could look like the mother or father, or some combination.

What if twins are born to the mother?

If you really want to get crazy--what if the twins are identical and conjoined? ;D

So many possibilities!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
Yep! It's ready-baked drama. And it helps that the PC is quite pious, and he just had a moment of weakness. Even better, the players will not expect this at all.
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling down your snout
Be merry my friends
Be merry

Visitor Q

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2022, 03:55:16 PM »
I play quite a lot of Rune Quest and Pendragon, so pregancy, childbirth and families are very much built into the game!

SHARK

  • The Great Shark Hope
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5039
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2022, 03:56:01 PM »
Oh, wow, Great idea. One of our PCs recently had a rendezvous with a high-ranking cultist woman. Pregnancy would very much complicate things. Haha!

Greetings!

Definitely, my friend!

Lots of potentials there for drama! The cultist woman being pregnant with the child. What if the child is blessed by the gods? The child could look like the mother or father, or some combination.

What if twins are born to the mother?

If you really want to get crazy--what if the twins are identical and conjoined? ;D

So many possibilities!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
Yep! It's ready-baked drama. And it helps that the PC is quite pious, and he just had a moment of weakness. Even better, the players will not expect this at all.

Greetings!

Oh yes!

Church Member To Pious Player Character--"Such a beautiful child! Who is the lucky mother again? (Introduced to cultist). Ahh. Yes...I see."

Just imagine the look on the Player Character's face! *laughing* The whisperings. The Player Character's family discussing the *mother*. Your player is going to be calling you on the phone! Or screaming about having extra sessions to sort this out, check on that, explain this to so and so. Oh, my god. *laughing*

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Wntrlnd

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • W
  • Posts: 180
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2022, 04:40:28 PM »
I used to run a campaign of Artesia: Adventures in the known world, which is the only game i've come across that features pregnancies as a part of the rules of "this can happen to you character. You can become a mother or father and raise a child" rather than Pendragons "This happens to your ladywife so that your line can carry on and you get to play it for the next generation"

It also rewards the players with a certain kind of xp based on the Tarot arcana for getting pregnant/having kids.

The very first session had the player characters run across a caravan with a single living survivor who was about to give birth (and then die, leaving the players with a adoptive son)   

David Johansen

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • D
  • Posts: 6222
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2022, 08:24:02 PM »
Where did childbirth happen before they had elevators?

Anyhow, imagine if all the TV pregnancy tropes had to be played out as rituals.
Fantasy Adventure Comic, games, and more http://www.uncouthsavage.com

jeff37923

  • Knight of Common Sense
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18318
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2022, 08:25:35 PM »
The Prodigal SHARK has returned!!

HUZZAH!!
"Meh."

Reckall

  • Junghian alchemist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2004
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2022, 06:30:51 AM »
"The Book of Erotic Fantasy" for 3E treated sex in D&D in a very mature, thoughtful and in-depth way (you just had to ignore the terrible photos of people cosplaying as nymphs or such). Part of the book was devoted to the relationship between concepts like sex and pregnancy to various forms of religion. IIRC (I don't have it with me now, but I do have it :) ) the book gave the player all the building blocks to build the "cultural beliefs" surrounding everything sex in your campaign.

I never used a single line from this book (maybe the concept of the "campaign rating: PG, PG-13, R...) but it was an interesting read. What happens if a centaur and a pixie fall in love, maybe homosexuality is not a taboo in your culture but a human having a relationship with a halfling is, and the like.
For every idiot who denounces Ayn Rand as "intellectualism" there is an excellent DM who creates a "Bioshock" adventure.

SHARK

  • The Great Shark Hope
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5039
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2022, 04:05:18 PM »
"The Book of Erotic Fantasy" for 3E treated sex in D&D in a very mature, thoughtful and in-depth way (you just had to ignore the terrible photos of people cosplaying as nymphs or such). Part of the book was devoted to the relationship between concepts like sex and pregnancy to various forms of religion. IIRC (I don't have it with me now, but I do have it :) ) the book gave the player all the building blocks to build the "cultural beliefs" surrounding everything sex in your campaign.

I never used a single line from this book (maybe the concept of the "campaign rating: PG, PG-13, R...) but it was an interesting read. What happens if a centaur and a pixie fall in love, maybe homosexuality is not a taboo in your culture but a human having a relationship with a halfling is, and the like.

Greetings!

Hey there, Reckall! I also have "The Book of Erotic Fantasy". I got it at Gen Con, and I managed to have it autographed by the author, and several of the nymph models, too. ;D Great group of people. Huge gamers and fans of gaming, too. The book is excellent, and a great contribution to the D&D gaming hobby.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
"It is the Marine Corps that will strip away the façade so easily confused with self. It is the Corps that will offer the pain needed to buy the truth. And at last, each will own the privilege of looking inside himself  to discover what truly resides there. Comfort is an illusion. A false security b

Iron_Rain

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • I
  • Posts: 161
Re: Pregnancies, Childbirth, and Mysticism in the Campaign!
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2022, 11:42:56 AM »
Ars Magica has this as a built in part of the game because of the long time scales.  Some rule support for pregnancies, but much left to the GM.

Rogue Trader can also have long time scales and family events can play into the game too.

Wandering murder hobos, not so much.