Difficulties for Mother and Child During the Pregnancy

- Arcane Magic/ Psionics

What is magic? depending on the way magic is handled, magic will influence the child differently:

- Magic as an external force, used by the magic user: Magic is something, that surrounds everything. A magic using character manipulates this force through his spells. The force stays outside of the body of the magic user. The only effect on the child could be a directly targeted spell or the strain on the mother when casting a spell.

- Magic as an external force, channaled by the magic user: as above, but the magic user draws this force inside his body, to form and manipulate it and doing the apparent magic when this force leaves the body. Because an external force intrudes on the body, even if invited, the child may mutate severely, gaining an inherent talent, for magic or even becoming a magical creature on the good side. On the other side, the child may mutate to a monster, be stripped of all mental capacity or even its body. The possibilities are endless and depend on the good naturedness of the magic force (and the game master).

- Magic is an inherent force: Magic runs through the veins of a magic user (or even through the veins of everybody). The magic user has either learned to use it or has a talent for it. The actual use or a backlash may cause strange effects upon the child, because of the increased level of magic in the body. But it could just be natural for the child to withstand these forces. A negative effect may occure when a spell is cast because the level of magic in the body is reduced. The reduction of magic may harm the child.

- Magic is not a force per se, but a use of ones bodyly energies in a special way: When using this kind of magic, the casting of the magic will reduce the energy-level in the body, exhausting or even doing harm to the mother. This may harm the child, if the energy level is reduced to much.

- Age of the Mother

The mothers age may play an important role during the pregnancy. Human mothers above 30 that are pregnant for the first time, have a higher percentage chance to carry a baby with the down-syndrome. Miscarriage becomes more probable. On the other side, they have a greater experience and may not do some of the stupid things, younger woman may do.

- Damage to the mother

The unborn mammal will experience all damage caused to the mother via the hormones or a neural connection.

- Deseases

- Different Gravity

According to some sources, a birth in space would be difficult, to say the least (the child will probably not turn around, so that it's head comes out first). During the pregnancy, the effect of gravity upon the mother is quite simple: Reduced gravity will help the woman to withstand the heavyness of her body longer. while increased gravity will increase all difficutlties for the woman.

- Divine Magic

Divine magic is very different from arcane magic or psionics. A deity will grant magical power to his follower. This may come in two different ways:

- A prayer causes divine magic to happen: The cleric prays for a spell (casts it): the spell-effect happens out of divine benevolence, without touching the cleric even once. The cleric will not feel anything from the divine might and therefore, the child will not get effected.

- A prayer fills the cleric with divine energy, that he uses for a spell: The body of the cleric is filled with divine energy. A good aligned deity will not overcharge the cleric or fill her with energy not good for her or the child. An evil or chaotic aligned deity may do just that, causing mutations in the child, even filling the child with to much energy, causing the child to become a half-fiend. A good deity may do this too, but only on purpose, for the higher good (that there are not that many half-celestials and half-fiends around shows, that the deities will not do this very often). Considering the nature of deities, a deity might just cause any change it wants in the child.

An additional danger exists for mother and child. If a deity is strictly against pregnancy or children, praying for a spell could cause immediate abbortion or the death of either mother or child or of both.

- Drugs/ Alcohol

Every drug consumed by the mother will effect the child. Some drugs will harm the child by damaging the brain or the growth.

An addiction on side of the mother will cause an addiction on side of the child, with most drugs. Newborn children with an addiction are very unhappy indeed.

Magical drugs may have positive side effects.

- Health of the Mother

Parents with allergies got a high chance to get children with allergies, too. Woman, who suffer from some illness, may transmit this illness to their children, because the resistance of the children totally depends on the mother's. Psychologically, humanoid male tend to be attracted to woman, they regard as healthy (red lips and cheeks, wide hips (because for these women giving birth will be easier), large breasts (they can nurish their child) and thin (faster runner)). The most direct effect of the health of the mother on the unborn will be the ability to run or defend from predators. In a society, that depends on movement by thought, the most brilliant mind may be the most attractive.

- Heat

Extensive heat to the body of the mother may cause an abortion.

Heat damage is treated as described under “Damage to the Mother”.

- Hygiene

As is apparent, hygiene will prevent some diseases, that may harm the child. For humanoids coming from very civilized cultures, this would mean, that the chance to get ill will increase while adventuring.

- Love/ Care

Mothers, who very much care for their children are rewarded with brighter children. These children may re-roll one die when rolling for intelligence, wisdom and charisma.

It is said, that women, who are very happy about being pregnant, will get a bigger belly, than mothers that do not.

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- Magical Aging/ Age Reversal

Depending on the way, a person is magically aged, this will effect the child differently. Aging caused by a drain of life-energy would mean, that the child is protected by the mother, who will first die, before the child is effected. This kind of aging may have a side affect, because the nourishment is changed and may become bad. If the aging is an effect of some time-magic, the woman may find herself giving birth realy fast. Depending on the speed of the spell, mother and child may starve, because the nourishment is insufficient.

- Mind-Effecting Spells and Psionics, Empathy

Doing things to the mind of a child may cause weird things to the child. Normally, the brain of the child will not be fully evolved. Reading the thoughts or using empathy on the child's brain will not harm the child, because it is a passive use of magic on the mind.

Casting a charm spell may harm the evolution of the brain causing it to stagnate. The spell may even become permanent. Using a compulsion spell may even be deadly, because the child may not be able to follow this compulsion.

A child will have a modification of -10 to any mind-affecting spell, because it's mind is very much open.

- Negative Energy

If the mother is energy-drained, the child might be slain. Normally the mothers body will protect the child and the energy drained will come from the mother. If she receives more negative levels than she got levels her own, the level, that would normally slay her, will be given over to the child. The child receives an immediate saving throw with the modifications of her mother. If the child succeeds the negative level dissipates and both, child and mother are save (this time). If the child does not succeed, it will die. In this case, the mother must succeed at a last save to save the child from becoming a wraith. If she fails, she got 24 hours to find a cleric, who prevents the child from becoming a wraith.

- Planar Travel

According to the official planar topology a planar travel in itself will normally have no effect on either mother or child (except, when the travel is done by using a method, that changes the body (look at shapechange)). Most often, the effect will occure, when a mother reaches the other plane, because of different gravity, different types of energy and magic.

- Poisons

Normally, poison will effect the child, as it effects the mother. The effect should be halfed on the child, because it's ability scores are probably much lower. The child will succeed it's save automatically, when the mother succeeds at her save. The child still gets her own save. In some instances, the game master may allow a child to build a poison resistance.

- Positive Energy

As stated in the some source books, positive energy will cause a creature to heal, even gaining the fast healing ability as long as it is treated with positive energy. But if the energy exceeds double the normal hit-points, the character will explode. A mother will share this exceess energy with her child, absorbing all environmental effects to protect her child, first. If the child got some deficiencies, these may be healed by the positive energy, absorbing some of the damage

- Shapechange: Forced

Some shapechanges are not natural. They are either caused by spell magic or curses (lycanthropes).

Because the spell effects only one person at a time, it strongly depends on, if the child is a person already, if it is changed with the mother.

- Shapechange: Natural

Natural shapechangers do no harm to their child when shapechanging. There may be differences between these shapechangers, because the child may or may not change shape when the mother does. Most natural shapechanger will be able to hide signs of pregnancy while in a changed form. If the shapechanger keeps any sign of his old form, though (like some Gods keeping their eyes) they will keep the signs of pregnancy, too, or will show signs of pregnancy of the race they turned into.

- Undeath

If the mother is slain through negetive levels, and the child does not die first, or if the woman is slain and raised as an undead, it strongly depends on the type of undead, if the child will survive or simply die.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 645