Hit points of a baby during childbirth?

[hal]

For those who might be interested, this is a PDF useful for generating family trees for player characters and NPCs alike. I've found it to be useful from time to time.

FAMILY TREES

This is a direct download linke from Lythia.com - home to a lot of things related to HARN WORLD. My main regret is that this wasn't available to the author of HARN WORLD back in the 1980's. Had it been so, we would have had the fun of trying to tie up loose ends in the various kingdom modules as people tried to figure out who was related to whom by blood and by marriage. :)

Now, if I could only find such a tool in existence, I'd be a somewhat happier man. ;)

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Nothing in the rules we worked out turns on "how often did you do it?" That sort of detailed bookkeeping didn't seem likely to add anything to a campaign other than ribald humor.

Well, if it matters, try making the 3d roll a 4 or less for each act, which means about 5 times a month to fit the LTC1 rate, which seems like a normal average. Or, one in 54 copulations, without protection or precautions, results in pregnancy. At some point, you'll need to be +1 in the first part of the month, +2 around ovulation, -1 after ovulation or during menstruation.

Or, go with this for a monthly roll:

Acts	Roll
1	4
2-3	5
4-7	6
8-12	7
13-21	8
22-32	9
33+	10

Then adjust for other stuff, but there's going to be differences in the value of birth control. Going with pregnancy on a 3 for one act makes 21 acts the midpoint for a roll of 6, which seems, well, wrong, but I'm no obstetrician.

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Well, if it matters, try making the 3d roll a 4 or less for each act...

I am a bit amused/disturbed that this effectively makes conception a "crit."

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by martinl

I am a bit amused/disturbed that this effectively makes conception a "crit."

Given the size modifier of the target cell during the slam . . . Yes, I know Relative SM, Rapid Fire . . . I'm kidding.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by martinl

I am a bit amused/disturbed that this effectively makes conception a "crit."

For a species with concealed ovulation and sexual activity throughout the fertility cycle, I think that makes sense. If you have a species with obviously displayed fertility a normal success would be enough.

Bill Stoddard

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

Average newborn weighs 7.5 lbs. If we find the cube root of that and multiply it by 2, we come to 3.8, which rounds off to a nice even 4. So four hitpoints.

If you wanted to see if it survived, just roll against the baby's HT (which is probably 10, but might be lower for a premie)

I'd have said 1/3 the mother's HP myself... on the HT I'd take all the modifiers to the conception roll (using Low Tech's rules) and apply that to 10

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Three HP would imply a birth weight of 3.375 lbs., which I think is pretty seriously low for a human infant.

Two pounds, fifteen ounces = a 2 months premature kid, to a mother with pre-eclampsia (low birth-weight babies are common with pre-eclampsia). Do you know how hard it is to find baby clothes for anything below 5 pounds? I was seriously looking in the doll-clothing sections of stores.

(Agreeing -- around 5-11 pounds is reasonable for a full-term, or close to full-term, baby.)

Originally Posted by whswhs

Birth reportedly is incredibly painful—comparable to passing a kidney stone, and for rather similar reasons

My mom would debate that! With proper breathing exercises, apparently no-anesthetic birth can be -- at least for some -- incredibly uncomfortable, but not agonizing. (My mom had four kids, three of them at home, including one who was 10 pounds 8 ounces with elbow presentation; that one was... dangerous. Not even any tearing, though, because of the moderate pace of labor. Me, on the other hand, at 9 pounds, 3 ounces? She said I was so easy she could've had me every other week.)

It is entirely possible there should be a skill of Giving Birth, if you're going to get that crunchy about the subject; someone who is calm and has been taught (or figured out) practices to reduce tension and/or perception of pain may do better than someone who is freaking out.

(Further, breathing and visualization exercises intended for a traditional-route delivery are at least minorly useful even when having a c-section.)

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

Agreeing -- around 5-11 pounds is reasonable for a full-term, or close to full-term, baby.

Well, by the cube-of-ST function (which of course doesn't strictly apply to humans), ST 4 implies a weight between 3 lbs. 6 oz. and 15 lbs. 10 oz., which handily encompasses nearly all likely birth weights.

My mom would debate that! With proper breathing exercises, apparently no-anesthetic birth can be -- at least for some -- incredibly uncomfortable, but not agonizing.

That's not a subject on which I'll ever be in a position to testify. . . .

Bill Stoddard

[ULFGARD]

Finally -- I can stat out my newborn and calculate her cost as a dependent. I think I'm in the negative point total range...

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Well, by the cube-of-ST function (which of course doesn't strictly apply to humans), ST 4 implies a weight between 3 lbs. 6 oz. and 15 lbs. 10 oz., which handily encompasses nearly all likely birth weights.

Characters gives a 3 for this, assuming adult ST 10. I can see an ad hoc lowering; newborns are very fragile, and not just little adults. Their skulls won't have extra DR.