I'm going to have a WHAT?

[Michael Hopcroft]

If you are running a HERO System campaign and you decide that one of the female PCs is going to concieve and go through pregancy, what are the game effects? Is a pregnant woman weaker or less dextrous than normal? How are superhuman abilties affected?

[nexus]

There was actually a thread about this a while ago. It kind of went up in flames though.

Edit: Here's the link http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27830&highlight=Pregnancy+Pregnant

[Karmakaze]

It's going to depend a lot on the tone of the campaign, the woman's powerset, and the baby's powerset.

By and large, in the first trimester, there's a metabolic drain, but nothing too dramatic. In real life, it's perfectly possible for a woman to go the first trimester and not even know she's pregnant.

By the second trimester, there's more of a metabolic drain and the additional weight can shift the center of balance. A brick might still be fine, but a martial artist might start having trouble.

Third trimester varies a lot among individual women. Some women are able to do anything short of active acrobatics right up to birth, some are functionally immobilized.

I always thought it would be fun to run a superheroine going through menopause instead. Given all of the comic books devoted to what the metabolic changes of adolescence do to superpowers...

[lemming]

From my experience, the PC tends to go to another dimension, have the kids, raise them, and then come back. ;)

[Narratio]

What Kamikaze said.

The metaboic changes might be truly wierd for the energy users and psionics. An awful lot of a womans stores of trace elements get depleted with a baby. (That's part of why they get the odd cravings. My mother, a non-smoker, needed cigarette ash for some reason with my sister...) Anyway, energy levels will fluctuate on a daily basis, and even become impossible to control.

Same with psionics. At some point the child and the mother are starting to communicate, get wrapped up in each others existence. Maybe the precognition / astral projection, whatever will just stop, or they'll sink into a mind meld with the child for the duration of the pregnancy?

Childbirth is an arduous process. Will the mother loose control? Will the baby be a multiplier of area effect for abilities? Will every person in the hospital suffer the pain and distress? Either / both mother and childs?

I can't remember the comics handling it much, even the dark graphics.

[phookadude]

In game terms wouldn't it be duplication with a long activation time and a dependant NPC?

[Vorsch]

In game terms wouldn't it be duplication with a long activation time and a dependant NPC?

You mean like summon,

[Black Lotus]

There was actually a thread about this a while ago. It kind of went up in flames though.

Edit: Here's the link http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27830&highlight=Pregnancy+Pregnant

ROFL....

In that thread, as per the usual, everyone and their mother decided to get upset and offended by everyone else. God bless America, if there's one thing we're good at, it's getting pissed and offended.

[Hawksmoor]

In my wife's solo games we have had lots of pregnacies. What is it about female Plumber archetypes that make them want to have the experience of motherhood in games? Wait a sec don't answer that. I already know the answer. I've been her GM for 13 years. Believe me I *know* the answer.

Back on topic. What ever your player is willing to put up with is the answer. If she thinks a Sue Storm "Gee if I have another contraction again the universe will explode!" pregnancy or a Rowena Jaws-of-Death Get of Fenris Ahroun "Oh a pup? Who knew? Ah well more killing to do!" pregnancy is the way to go that is what you as a GM have to do. As Nexus's flame war thread points out people have certain expectations when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. In the end the player gets the final say on what is acceptable. YMMV.

Hawksmoor

[Markdoc]

ROFL....

In that thread, as per the usual, everyone and their mother decided to get upset and offended by everyone else. God bless America, if there's one thing we're good at, it's getting pissed and offended.

Hey, as an American, you have the constitutional right to be offended any time you damn well feel like it.

cheers, Mark

[Captain Pants]

As an expectant father in 4 months, one thing I'm quite surprised hasn't been addressed is the danger to the fetus. Barring the obvious exception of self-defense, a pregnant superheroine could, conceivably, be brought up on charges of child endangerment, as well be harrassed by children's rights activist groups.

A superheroine may be able to take a lot of damage and put up with only a few minor penalties to DEX, but the fetus is another story. Even a metahuman fetus wouldn't believably have the same defenses as its mother. And even if the mother had a lot of defense, merely the act of taking knockback or falling several feet could conceivably cause a miscarriage.

For those reasons, I think it would be unacceptably reckless for just about any pregnant superheroine to stay on active duty. I'm not saying they need to stay in the kitchen without shoes on, by any means -- it's just that going into combat pregnant would be like playing Dodgeball with your favorite bunny rabbit strapped to your chest. It's just... not a good idea.

- Cap

[Hawksmoor]

Actually the fetus is quite well protected from normal falling and bumping and bruising etc. 12" of Knockback might be another matter entirely. Just do what seems appropriate at the time and realize that the situation will change as the pregnancy continues.

Oh and don't forget about the moodswings! Pregnant women are notorious for moodswings.

Hawksmoor

[yamamura]

If you are running a HERO System campaign and you decide that one of the female PCs is going to concieve and go through pregancy, what are the game effects? Is a pregnant woman weaker or less dextrous than normal? How are superhuman abilties affected?
Well, first I make sure that I have plenty of cover as that PC's player goes berserk that I am doing that to her/his character without consulting them first...:)

[Captain Pants]

Actually the fetus is quite well protected from normal falling and bumping and bruising etc. 12" of Knockback might be another matter entirely. Just do what seems appropriate at the time and realize that the situation will change as the pregnancy continues.

Oh and don't forget about the moodswings! Pregnant women are notorious for moodswings.

Hawksmoor

Agreed. Most of what I brought up can be addressed in-game. Speaking personally, none of my PCs are ever going to get pregnant. I would feel very bad if one of my PCs had a miscarriage, but if a pregant PC is in combat, it would be totally unrealistic if the possibility of miscarriage didn't exist.

- Cap

[Hugh Neilson]

Well, first I make sure that I have plenty of cover as that PC's player goes berserk that I am doing that to her/his character without consulting them first...:)

Well, I would hope the PC was consulted before she was impregnated...what kind of campaign are you running?

But seriously, this is a serious change to the character, so I would want to be certain the player was reasonably OK with this development.

[AlHazred]

Because of all the complications it causes to combat (which seems to be an important reason my PCs play, anyway) I'd never have any of my PCs get pregnant in game; plus, as Karmakaze said, in the third trimester it could be hairy coordinating the effects. Between cycles of the campaign, however, is a different story, especially if the composition of your player pool is changing - adding a child superhero as an NPC or new PC happens all the time in comics, and we rarely have to see the mother go through the difficulties of real-life pregnancy. Just make sure you give yourself, say, five months of intermission (three for the third trimester and at least two for Danger-Room-style physical training to recuperate) and you can retrofit a pregnancy into your story line easily enough.


I always thought it would be fun to run a superheroine going through menopause instead. Given all of the comic books devoted to what the metabolic changes of adolescence do to superpowers...

Yeah, but comic book authors put their characters through adolescence to gain superpowers because when we go through that phase, things are growing, hormones cause us to think we're invincible, and so on. It seems natural to have certain superpowers stem from these things; the children in The Incredibles seem to be the perfect examples of this. But with menopause, you get a different sort of physical reaction. What sort of superpowers would those changes bring?


In that thread, as per the usual, everyone and their mother decided to get upset and offended by everyone else. God bless America, if there's one thing we're good at, it's getting pissed and offended.

I don't know if I like your tone! I think I'm rather offended by it, actually!

;)

[Samaritan]

Wouldn't it just go from a Physical Lim: Pregnant (per the Master List of Disads), and then switch the disad pts to DNPC: Infant son/daughter (assuming the baby's not a PC)?

[Karmakaze]

But with menopause, you get a different sort of physical reaction. What sort of superpowers would those changes bring?

Hot Flashes (http://www.breastcancer.org/bey_cope_meno_hotFlash.html) spring to mind...

I wasn't so much thinking of a character whose powers were triggered by menopause, but a long-standing superheroine whose powers are affected by the trip through menopause.

[McCoy]

Never GM'ed a pregnant character in Hero. Time in comic books moves so slowly. A player either uses starting a family as a reason for retiring a character, or time is manipulated so the entire pregnancy takes place "off panel."

Did GM a character through a full pregnancy in RuneQuest. Her familiar was in a jellious snit the entire time, and had to be spoken to sharply to get her to do anything (except protect the character). In the third trimester she was at 2/3 DEX and CON, and could only travel half as far per day (the campagine area was roughly the size of the 48 states, and characters could normally travel 40 miles a day without remounts). On the upside, being a Priestess of a Fertility Rune Goddess, she added the baby's Power to her own for resisting hostile magics.

[McCoy]

Hot Flashes (http://www.breastcancer.org/bey_cope_meno_hotFlash.html) spring to mind...

I wasn't so much thinking of a character whose powers were triggered by menopause, but a long-standing superheroine whose powers are affected by the trip through menopause.
An energy projector expierencing a hot flash while using her power? Aid, all powers of the Sx, no concious control?

[Karmakaze]

An energy projector expierencing a hot flash while using her power? Aid, all powers of the Sx, no concious control?

Something along those lines, yeah.

"Sweetie? Sweetie, wake up."
"Huh? *mumble* Wha?"
"Sweetie, you're singing holes in the sheets, and my socks are on fire."
"Well, that's what you get for warming your tootsies on my back."
"Usually you're just... warm..."
"Good thing you're invunerable then, isn't it?"
"I guess this gives a whole new meaning to 'the burning bed'!"
"Watch it, buster, this menopause thing comes with mood swings, too!"

[zornwil]

From my experience, the PC tends to go to another dimension, have the kids, raise them, and then come back. ;)
Sheesh, what kind of slack GM would allow that? :D

To echo other comments, it would depend on the character, the situation, and the player's input.

[Mutant for Hire]

From my experience, the PC tends to go to another dimension, have the kids, raise them, and then come back. ;)
In all seriousness, that comic book cliche happens because comic books happen in a strange "no-time" where characters hit 20-something or at worst 30-something and then they stay fixed at that age permanently. Franklin Richards has proven to be one of the few rare exceptions to this.

In gaming worlds, it's actually possible to have all the characters aging at normal rates, though in most gaming worlds, the characters aren't around long enough for kids to grow significantly.

[Hermit]

From my experience, the PC tends to go to another dimension, have the kids, raise them, and then come back. ;)

Guilty.
Varying temporal paralels are the superheroine's friend when it comes to pregnancy.

[nexus]

In all seriousness, that comic book cliche happens because comic books happen in a strange "no-time" where characters hit 20-something or at worst 30-something and then they stay fixed at that age permanently. Franklin Richards has proven to be one of the few rare exceptions to this.

In gaming worlds, it's actually possible to have all the characters aging at normal rates, though in most gaming worlds, the characters aren't around long enough for kids to grow significantly.

IIRC, lemming or someone else on the board had a PC actually go to another dimension and raise their family in quick time.... funky but creative solution, I think. :)

[Nadrakas]

Oh and don't forget about the moodswings! Pregnant women are notorious for moodswings.
Amen to that! My lovely, sweet wife at times turned into a Black Fury Eat the Man Garou during her 9 month ordeal.

Thankfully it went well and we have a lovely (Thanks to my wifes beauty) 9 month old. (See my Avatar...that's her at 5 months. Cute huh?)


Nadrakas..."A proud daddy...and already teaching his little girl to game."

[Super Squirrel]

I'd simplify superhero pregnancy.

Match off an advantage with a disadvantage.

I'd give a temporary Physical Limitation: Pregnancy that would encompass a couple of small special effect disadvantages. I put it under Physical only because it easier encompass all of the small, valueless limitations under Physical. This would cover mood swings, morning sickness, distinctive belly, social limitations, and the schedule of going in for doctor's appointments. I would also include a Vulnerability on the character sheet for x1.5 Stun on all attacks to Stomach Target Area in that. This is not because blows to the belly should cause more damage, but the maternal instinct to move the incoming blow to a different location to protect the baby.

To compensate the Physical Limitation I would give equal points in powers of things like the Reputation Perk (for angry Pregnency PRE attacks and for things like people opening doors).

[Super Squirrel]

Of course, I also just might have VIPER kidnap the baby or maybe a time travelling superhero to bring back an angry son/daughter who has no idea who his/her real mother is when in fact the person they are trying to defeat so happens to be it.

[prestidigitator]

All I have to say is that the baby had better have some high defenses, and/or the docter had better have a nice springy Entangle. :D

[Amused]

Depending onthe character, pregnancy may not even be an issue. I know I have a character who was born in a rose bud and delivered to her mama by a butterfly (she's a fairy). :D

Also maybe the super heroines doesn't get pregnant like normal women. Maybe when pregnancy comes, the dex and and such goes down, but the defenses go up. (Super human body working to protect the fetus), Not sure how you would translate it, but it's just food for thought. :)

[Karmakaze]

It probably also depends on whether superpowers have a unified origin in your universe.

In the superhero LARP I occassionally cruise by, superheroines basically need to have their powers suppressed in order to get pregnant in the first place (something about high-DEF ova...), so they're de-powered during the whole pregnancy process. We have not gotten far enough into the story to find out what happens post-partum.

[zornwil]

IIRC, lemming or someone else on the board had a PC actually go to another dimension and raise their family in quick time.... funky but creative solution, I think. :)
Pardon the threacromancy, but I was researching something and came across this thread - I never confirmed, but, correct, nexus, in fact, the PC who did this was Nexus! Played by Lamrok of these boards in the game I GM that lemming has played in.

[Lamrok]

Pardon the threacromancy, but I was researching something and came across this thread - I never confirmed, but, correct, nexus, in fact, the PC who did this was Nexus! Played by Lamrok of these boards in the game I GM that lemming has played in.

As long as I'm here, I might as well comment.

Nexus and his wife, Ayla, were originally played by my wife and me. My wife left the game when she got pregnant with our third child. The game explanation for Ayla leaving the team was that Ayla was now pregnant herself. In-game, she stayed home while pregnant, since it would have been far too dangerous to a pregnant mother to face the murderous slime the Justice Squad deals with on an ongoing basis, (not to mention the villains).

Since she was a retiring player, she wasn't really a DNPC, and wasn't approached that way by the GM. Nexus did his best to keep her safe and well-protected (though this certainly caused a few issues over the course of the pregnancy). As my wife was going through her third pregnancy, I had no problems portraying her actions in a fairly accurate way, I'd think. Once she gave birth, the real problems started, as Nexus was fighting even tougher villains, and was having a lot of problems with a teammate who didn't share his fairly absolute view on keeping his family safe.

At first, Nexus sent them into hiding, but then he realized that the best way to deal with it would be to just be done with it, so he packed up the family and moved to a non-super-powered dimension in which time moved rapidly, and did twenty years of family dedication in about five minutes of time. I wrote up an installment of those adventures and Zornwil posted it here under something like "adventures in the sitcom dimension." Problem solved - for now.