At the request of dediledi, I offer this overview of pregnancy, birth control, and STDs in the Dragon Age tabletop game, with some baseline rules to start from. None of this is covered in the book for a number of reasons, but since my own games tend to be open in these ways, it was worth some time and consideration. I tried to base everything on what I have seen and known in the video games but have had to extrapolate from relatively little, so most of this is my own invention. As always, your mileage may vary, and you should tailor everything to suit your group's desires.
CONCEPTION
BIRTH CONTROL
One herbal birth control method is mentioned in the video games in the form of fresh witherstalk sap, and it's likely that there are other herbs that will do the job with varying levels of effectiveness. Mages like Anders and Wynne mention knowledge of such things and mages are likely to pick up the lore because of their training, but any character who knows herbs can learn these secrets. Those who are trained in chirurgy tend to produce the best results when concocting birth control methods. Most common (tier 1) herbs will raise the TN for the encounter by 1 category. Medial herbs (and most barrier methods) raise the TN by 2 categories. Rare herbs or multiple methods will raise the TN by 3 or 4 categories at most.
Barrier methods involving sponges, leaves, cleaned intestines (the first condoms, historically) and gums could work when paired with natural spermicides like honey and lemon. All of these will probably fare better than relying on the withdrawal method (which raises the TN by 1 category but only prevents pregnancy if the Dragon Die reads 1-3). To keep things simple, only one Constitution roll needs to be made per encounter (whether it lasts the night or an hour) when using a birth control method other than withdrawal.
And if all else fails, there are bound to be natural abortifacients in the environment. Rashvine Nettle stimulates mother's milk when ingested in a weak tea, but could be used in high concentration to induce miscarriage (similar to silphium in the real world). Those trained in poison-making will produce the safest abortive methods, with fewer serious side effects. Weak abortifacients will generally call for a Constitution (Stamina) test TN 15. They only tend to work on very early stage pregnancies, however. Potent draughts like those created via poison-making can be anywhere from TN 9, 11, or 13 (for Master, Journeyman, or Novice recipes). Failure in this case means a continued pregnancy.
These methods might be openly available, open secrets, hidden, disdained or banned outright, depending on the era, location, and culture. Post-Blight dwarves, for instance, struggle for fertility, so any lost child is a blow to the community and abortion is a crime against a noble house. Elves tend to be similarly disapproving, except in cases of interspecies breeding or during slavery, when abortions were encouraged (but strictly forbidden by Tevinter masters). It is an ugly secret that mages under ruthless Chantry leaders have been encouraged or even forced to abort, out of fears that they will produce magic-using offspring. In Orlais, political saboteurs have been suspected of using abortifacients against pregnant enemies in order to strike at heirs or torment rivals. But even restrictive societies will provide the option if a mother is discovered to be tainted by darkspawn. Amongst the lower classes of places like Ferelden and Antiva, neither birth control nor abortifacients are forbidden or terribly rare; they are often regarded simply as personal business.
STDS
Sexually transmitted infections are referred to briefly in Dragon Age II, when Isabela is seen leaving Anders after having yet another need for a cure. There are no real specifics about the disease itself or the cure, except that it was sexually transmitted and curable. The core rulebook mentions that elves succumbed to human diseases after first contact, but besides the sickness of darkspawn taint, little is provided in the way of guidance about other diseases. This is in keeping with the video games, in which the main character was immune from such concerns. Either way, we can assume that infections and maladies similar to those in Earth's history are circulating in Thedas.
Since many STDs are asymptomatic in real life, it is reasonable to conclude that they will have few or mild symptoms in Dragon Age. Burning sensations, swelling, and/or unusual growths are likely to be the most common short-term problems that present themselves. These might impose small penalties to particular Ability tests until treated. A character can make a Cunning (Healing) or Perception test to notice if they or another character are presenting symptoms, with the difficulty determined by the symptoms in question. Asymptomatic characters cannot usually be detected. A GM can determine if a random NPC has an STD by rolling a Dragon Die. Results of 1-4 are generally clear, while rolling a 5 indicates a mild STD that is easily cured, and a 6 indicating a harsh STD that is harder to clear up. Feel free to adjust these numbers as needed.
Constitution (Stamina) checks are made to resist diseases and will apply here. STDs might not be that powerful in your games, or might only be strong in particular areas; the TN doesn't have to be set very high. The problem with some STDs is that they are common, so repeated exposure is likely. Thus, the TN for most STDs will be 11. Given enough encounters and partners and no precautions, it's only a matter of time before even a hale character is infected. But adventuring folk tend to be hardier, so they might make it through just fine, even if they have the occasional roll in the hay with strangers. Others may encounter rare and/or very strong STDs (TN 13 and up) that are easier to acquire with just one exposure. Likewise, common infections can be completely cured with one dose of the right remedy; rare or persistent ones might require an advanced test and rare herbs.
If cured within a season becoming infected, symptoms from most STDs will clear up in a few days. If diseases last too long before being treated, then infertility (1-2), miscarriages (3-4), and repeated outbreaks of growths (5-6) are the likeliest results (roll a Dragon Die and see the numbers here), and penalties to rolls might become permanent. The Regeneration spell cannot cure an STD outright but it can reduce symptoms for a limited time and repair organ damage. This is only a stopgap measure, however; a real cure is needed to negate the threat. For this, characters must rely on the land and healing skills. Thus far, magic has not been able to cure STDs or other illnesses.
Many people in Thedas take a dim view of people who acquire STDs, viewing them as reckless, disloyal, and unsavory. This is true regardless of their social standing. In some circles, such as Tevinter military forces, they are simply hazards of the road and are mostly laughed about. Orlesians can likewise be surprisingly casual and unconcerned about them. In Rivain, people are more concerned about future health and fertility than condemning someone on moral grounds. Places like brothels will punish prostitutes that hide their diseases harshly but will also provide remedies without resistance (though the prostitute in question will owe the house, which could present its own problems). Tevinter slavers might also be inclined to heal slaves that are kept for sexual purposes; other slaves will be out of luck unless one of their own has the knowledge and access to the needed herbs.
TAKING PRECAUTIONS
There are a number of decisions to be made before any of this is imported into your game. The first is how much or how little you want sex to be a possibility in-game. It could be relegated to dice rolls during downtime, or a bit more roleplayed out, or not raised at all, and so on. The next choice has to do with the consequences, such as whether or not you want STDs to be a risk at all, how much of a risk they should be, and how deleterious the worst ones are. Is it possible to die from an STD in your game? Is pregnancy possible for player characters, or just NPCs? If so, are birth control methods available? Will the players make their own rolls, or will all or some rolls be kept secret? Much of what I've offered here might be sloughed away in favor of few and simple rolls. What matters most is what works for your group.
All of this needs to be discussed with the entire group beforehand rather than sprung on players at the last moment, and everyone should be able to have a say in the final result. Groups don't have to ban all of it outright to feel comfortable with so many options available. If everything is reduced to dice rolls but risks are still there, it could reinforce a group's experience of the harshness of Thedas without making players uncomfortable. If romantic scenes begin with a bit of in-character banter and fade to black once a seduction roll succeeds or a mutual choice is made, this can keep the pace of the game from slowing down. If pregnancy and STDs are only threats to NPCs, then they will only be background elements. Feel free to explore the range in this game.
But keep in mind that the level of risk should be made clear up front to the players, so they can make choices accordingly. Their characters might not know how scary it can be to have sex in your version of Thedas, but the players should be on board before play begins. Some players (and their characters) will know the risks and indulge anyway, as we have seen in the real world - and fully informed consent is the key to a good time for all, as we can also see in real life.
No comments:
Post a Comment