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Thread: Fantasy Genetics
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2011-09-20, 10:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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Fantasy Genetics
FANTASY GENETICS
To determine the stats for a newborn baby:
1. Determine the baby’s kindred. Use common sense, the amalgam template from Green Ronin Advanced Bestiary, or some other template that can combine the two kindreds.
2. Roll 1d90 on the inherited ability score table.
3. For each ability score:
3a. If the baby’s kindred has a fixed score, use that.
3b. Otherwise, check the result from the Inherited Abilities Table. If the ability is in the ‘Mothers Score – Mother’s Racial Modifier’ column or the ‘Fathers Score – Father’s Racial Modifier’ column, calculate accordingly. If the ability is in the ‘Other’ column, calculate as described under ‘Determining Other Scores’, below.
4. Apply the baby’s race modifiers. If the kindred’s base score is below 10, use the Monster Player Characters’ Ability Scores table or the Monster Player Characters’ Intelligence Scores table, as appropriate. (These tables can be found in the DMG or the SRD.) If the result is higher or lower than is allowed by the rules, adjust until the result is appropriate.
5. Apply the baby template.
INHERITED ABLILITY SCORE TABLE
die roll Mothers Score – Mother’s Racial Modifier Father’s Score – Father’s Racial Modifier Other 1 Constitution, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Wisdom 2 Constitution, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Intelligence 3 Constitution, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Dexterity 4 Constitution, Charisma Strength, Dexterity Intelligence, Wisdom 5 Constitution, Charisma Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Wisdom 6 Constitution, Charisma Strength, Wisdom Dexterity, Intelligence 7 Constitution, Intelligence Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Wisdom 8 Constitution, Intelligence Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Charisma 9 Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom 10 Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Dexterity Wisdom, Charisma 11 Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Wisdom, Dexterity, Charisma 12 Constitution, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Dexterity 13 Constitution, Wisdom Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Intelligence 14 Constitution, Wisdom Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Charisma 15 Constitution, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Dexterity 16 Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence 17 Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Dexterity Intelligence, Charisma 18 Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Charisma 19 Dexterity, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Wisdom 20 Dexterity, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Intelligence 21 Dexterity, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Constitution 22 Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Constitution Intelligence, Wisdom 23 Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Intelligence Constitution, Wisdom 24 Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Wisdom Constitution, Intelligence 25 Dexterity, Constitution Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Wisdom 26 Dexterity, Constitution Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Charisma 27 Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom 28 Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma 29 Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma 30 Dexterity, Constitution Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Intelligence 31 Dexterity, Intelligence Constitution, Charisma Strength, Wisdom 32 Dexterity, Intelligence Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Charisma 33 Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom 34 Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Constitution Wisdom, Charisma 35 Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma 36 Dexterity, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Constitution 37 Dexterity, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma Strength, Intelligence 38 Dexterity, Wisdom Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Charisma 39 Dexterity, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Constitution 40 Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence 41 Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Constitution Intelligence, Charisma 42 Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Intelligence Constitution, Charisma 43 Intelligence, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom Strength, Dexterity 44 Intelligence, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Wisdom 45 Intelligence, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom Strength, Constitution 46 Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Wisdom 47 Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Wisdom 48 Intelligence, Charisma Strength, Wisdom Dexterity, Constitution 49 Intelligence, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma Strength, Dexterity 50 Intelligence, Wisdom Dexterity, Charisma Strength, Constitution 51 Intelligence, Wisdom Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Charisma 52 Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution 53 Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Charisma 54 Intelligence, Wisdom Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Charisma 55 Strength, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence Dexterity, Wisdom 56 Strength, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom Dexterity, Intelligence 57 Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution Intelligence, Wisdom 58 Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence Constitution, Wisdom 59 Strength, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom Constitution, Intelligence 60 Strength, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom Dexterity, Constitution 61 Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom 62 Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma 63 Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma 64 Strength, Constitution Intelligence, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom 65 Strength, Constitution Intelligence, Wisdom Dexterity, Charisma 66 Strength, Constitution Wisdom, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence 67 Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Charisma Intelligence, Wisdom 68 Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma 69 Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma 70 Strength, Dexterity Intelligence, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom 71 Strength, Dexterity Intelligence, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma 72 Strength, Dexterity Wisdom, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence 73 Strength, Intelligence Constitution, Charisma Dexterity, Wisdom 74 Strength, Intelligence Constitution, Wisdom Dexterity, Charisma 75 Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Charisma Constitution, Wisdom 76 Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Constitution Wisdom, Charisma 77 Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma 78 Strength, Intelligence Wisdom, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution 79 Strength, Wisdom Constitution, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence 80 Strength, Wisdom Constitution, Intelligence Dexterity, Charisma 81 Strength, Wisdom Dexterity, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence 82 Strength, Wisdom Dexterity, Constitution Intelligence, Charisma 83 Strength, Wisdom Dexterity, Intelligence Constitution, Charisma 84 Strength, Wisdom Intelligence, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution 85 Wisdom, Charisma Constitution, Intelligence Strength, Dexterity 86 Wisdom, Charisma Dexterity, Constitution Strength, Intelligence 87 Wisdom, Charisma Dexterity, Intelligence Strength, Constitution 88 Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Constitution Dexterity, Intelligence 89 Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Dexterity Constitution, Intelligence 90 Wisdom, Charisma Strength, Intelligence Dexterity, Constitution
If either parent has lacks the relevant score, treat it as 0 for averaging.
Ignore temporary changes to scores.
If a permanent score changes during the pregnancy, use the lower score.
1 Apply Baby template.Kindred Baby1 Child2 Adult3 Human 0 4 15 Dwarf 0 9 40 Elf 0 23 110 Gnome 0 9 40 Half Elf 0 5 20 Half Orc 0 4 14 Halfling 0 3 20
2 Replace Baby template with Child template
3 Remove Child template, remember that most character classes have a minimum age.
Determining Other Scores
1. Note how you would normally determine abilities for such an NPC.
2a. If you would roll each abilities separately: Do so.
2b. If you would make a number of rolls and then assign rolls to abilities:
2bi. Note how many abilities you are determining.
2bii. Multiply the number of rolls you would make by that number, divide by six, and round.
2biii. Assign the rolls to the abilities you are determining.
2c. If you would use a point buy system:
2ci. Subtract the points needed for already determined abilities from the number of points.
2cii. If the remaining points are insufficient to buy a 3 in all remaining scores, then place a 3 in all remaining abilities.
2ciii. If the remaining points are sufficient to buy an 18 in all remaining abilities, then place an 18 in all remaining abilities.
2civ. Otherwise, distribute remaining points amongst remaining abilities.
2d. If you would use an array:
2di. For each already determined score, in order if decreasing distance from 10.5, 'cross out' the closest score in the array.
2dii. Assign the remaining scores to the remaining abilities.
BABY
CREATING A BABY
“Baby” is an inherited template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Note that this template can be lost by means of ‘growth’. When this happens, undo the effects of this template and (probably) apply the effects of the “child” template.
A baby uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size: Reduce by two categories.
Hit Dice: Adjust for size by dividing by four.
Speed: The baby’s movement speed is divided by four, rounding up to the next multiple of 5 feet. The baby’s flight maneuverability drops two categories. If this makes it worse than clumsy, the baby cannot fly.
Armor Class: First divide natural armor by 4. Then adjust for size by reducing natural armor by 3 if base form Huge, or by 2 if base form Large, Gargantuan, or Colossal.
Attack Reduce damage of attacks by two steps each.
Special Qualities: The baby retains all the base creature’s special qualities, and gains the one described below.
Growing:
Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows:
Advancement: Babies do not advance by character class, even if the base creature does.Base Creature Size Adjustments Colossal -18 Str. -6 Dex, +2 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Gargantuan -18 Str. -4 Dex, +2 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Huge -18 Str. -2 Dex, +2 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Large -14 Str. -2 Dex, +4 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Medium -10 Str. -2 Dex, +8 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Small -8 Str. -2 Dex, +10 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Tiny -4 Str. -2 Dex, +10 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Diminutive -2 Str. -4 Dex, +10 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha Fine -2 Str. -6 Dex, +10 Con, -8 Int, -4 Wis, -6 Cha
Challenge Rating: As base creature -2.
CHILD
CREATING A CHILD
“Child” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Note that this template can be lost by means of ‘growth’. When this happens, undo the effects of this template.
A child uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size: Reduce by one category.
Hit Dice: Adjust for size by dividing by two.
Speed: The child’s movement speed is divided by two, rounding up to the next multiple of 5 feet. The baby’s flight maneuverability drops one category. If this makes it worse than clumsy, the baby cannot fly.
Armor Class: First divide natural armor by 2. Then adjust for size by reducing natural armor by if the base form is Medium, or by 1 if the base form is Large, Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal.
Special Qualities: The child retains all the base creature’s special qualities, and gains the one described below.
Growing:
Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows:
Base Creature Size Adjustments Colossal -10 Str. -4 Dex, +2 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Gargantuan -10 Str. -4 Dex, +2 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Huge -10 Str. -2 Dex, +2 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Large -10 Str. -2 Dex, +2 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Medium -6 Str. -2 Dex, +4 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Small -6 Str. -2 Dex, +6 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Tiny -4 Str. -2 Dex, +6 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Diminutive -2 Str. -2 Dex, +6 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha Fine -2 Str. -4 Dex, +6 Con, -6 Int, -2 Wis, -4 Cha
Advancement: Children do not advance by character class, even if the base creature does.
Challenge Rating: As base creature -1.Last edited by ideasmith; 2015-06-28 at 03:54 PM. Reason: Replaced Table, Added Clarification
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2011-09-21, 12:45 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
This is somewhat cool, assuming that you are intending to use Lamarckism Genetics. If that's your intent, the good for you.
It's the problem I've always had when trying to create heredity mechanisms in D&D. You have to take into account the character's basic traits, and then extrapolate from there. If you're using a point buy system, this is almost moot, because the main ability scores will not come out how you want. If you using a randomized system then that works better, but it's still not "realistic" in any fashion, because people normally don't have even a single ability score at 13. So, PCs are inherently better than others, making genetics unable to support them.
Now, if you go solely for inheritable traits, things become easier, but not that much. Some kind of system needs to be made to reduce races to their basic abilities, and then a real "genetic" system could be crafted from it.
Anyway, that's my take on it.Domriso's Homebrew Compendium - A collection of all of my homebrew, throwing in my own design philosophy and my conceptions for possible new things.
Geomancy, Runic Magic, probably more at a later date:
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2011-09-21, 04:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
I love your idea, it's pretty much brilliant! Are you developing it?
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2011-09-21, 04:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
I believe this a good idea; I'm not sure I'd go into using it, but if a situation called for it, I'd probably want a system like this.
I only question; why have the ability score change if the father's change AFTER the conception? Is this assuming his ability at child-rearing or stopping them from using 'performance boosters' during the act?It stands for 'At the Convenience of the Experimenter'.
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2011-09-21, 04:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 08:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 08:44 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 09:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 09:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
The one "fault" that I can see with this system is that unless d216s are common out there and I have just yet to come across one, a dicerolling program is pretty much required to utilize it fully.
While there's nothing wrong with that, it's still kind of a shame that it can't be used with paper, pencils, and dice like... just about everything else in D&D.Last edited by Realms of Chaos; 2011-09-21 at 09:57 AM.
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2011-09-21, 10:27 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
d216 can be constructed out of 3 d6 rolls, just as d100 can be constructed out of 2 d10 rolls.
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2011-09-21, 12:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Hmmm... I suppose that it would be possible (first dice 1-2=0, 3-4=1, 5-6=2; second dice even=0, odd=1; third dice normal). Even so, as this is the first time that I've ever heard of such a thing as a d216 and not many sources make reference to them, it might be nice to explain in the OP how one works.
Last edited by Realms of Chaos; 2011-09-21 at 12:43 PM.
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2011-09-21, 12:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
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2011-09-21, 01:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 01:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
I was almost thinking it was -really- odd to use 216, until the OP mentioned to use 3d6 and it all became clear that it was an elegent way of getting a base 6 number. 1-6 is instead 0-5, so a roll of 1, 2, 3 would be Base6 012, or base 10 6 + 2, 8. At the highest it would be 6, 6, 6, Based 6 of 5,5,5, base 10 of 36*5 + 6*5 + 5, 215; Meaning we have a range of 0 to 215, or 1 to 216.
Very, -very- clever Mr. OP. I salute you.
As for the actual content, it is, as said, Lamarkan. It relies on the premise that if one's father is a bodybuilder, then the son will have huge muscles. For a fantasy setting where you may in fact want this to happen, it makes a bit of sense, and might make a story more interesting if people are born to follow in their parents footsteps... but at the same time I can't help but think I'd like to see some real genetics.
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2011-09-21, 01:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
I'm seeing something that seems like an inherent problem in the system.
Since you're averaging three numbers...the father's score, the mother's score, and the randomly-generated score...then over time you're going to have a HUGE pressure towards mediocrity. That may well be exactly what you intended, but it still seems a bit weak.
The vast majority of the population will have 10/11 stats, and unless you start a program of very aggressive selective breeding, even the rare extraordinary stat will be bred out almost immediately.
(I'm assuming fractions are rounded normally, not D&D-style)
Gen 1: Mom's pretty good (14). Dad's exceptional (18). Roll's average (10). Result: 14
Gen 2: Mom's pretty good (14). Dad's pretty good (14). Roll's average (10). Result: 13
...
Gen X (continuous decline towards 10/11 complete). Mom's average (11). Dad's average (10). LUCKY roll (18). Result: 13.
Gen X+1: Mom above (13). Dad's average (11). Roll's average (10). Result: 11.
Good (14+) stats would require both good breeding AND good luck, which couldn't be sustained on a generational basis.
Also, the obvious issue with the lower stats (especially dad's) during pregnancy. Sorry guys...my wife's due in a couple of months...I don't dare help you fight the shadows or my kid will be a wimp. Not to mention the severe nerfing of a population due to widespread disease (though that, too, will be wiped out by the pervasive march of mediocrity in a few generations).
Related note: Two animals will amost assuredly give birth to a magical beast in the next generation. Int 1+1+roll of 6 or higher = Int 3.Last edited by Andorax; 2011-09-21 at 01:41 PM.
Whadda ya mean, Orcs got levels too?
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2011-09-21, 04:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
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2011-09-21, 04:10 PM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 04:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
I think I need new glasses, because I kept reading over the additional positive number, so it seemed like you were claiming 0 was a positive number.
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2011-09-21, 04:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-21, 05:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
As much as I appreciate the ridiculous base math, that's a tad too complicated for my tastes. If you want an even line between 1-18, roll a d20 and re-roll 19 and 20.
Otherwise, you could just roll stats 4d6b3 like we normally do, since that has worked for as long as it's been around.Last edited by YouLostMe; 2011-09-21 at 05:48 PM.
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2011-09-22, 08:03 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
While the similarity to Lamarkian Genetics is a result of my priorities here, similarity to Lamarkian genetics is not itself a priority.
The stats of children born ingame and PC stats need not be determined by the same method
To prevent ‘performance boosters’. And to make pregnancy a big deal for both parents.
Will add baby template.
Will add instructions for rolling d216 on polyhedral dice.
Not always true, and not true in this case. Your entire line of reasoning here is built on a false premise. (And a highly unlikely example: The chance of rolling a 108 on 1d216 is only one in 216. You have this happening twice in a row.)
Seems reasonable to me.
Try again, this time remembering the racial modifier.
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2011-09-22, 02:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-22, 07:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Baby template and instructions for rolling 1d216 added.
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2011-09-22, 07:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Why do babies get +10 Con? Why on earth would a newborn Chimera (for example) have many more hit points than its perfectly healthy mother? Can somebody explain this to me?
Last edited by Realms of Chaos; 2011-09-22 at 07:57 PM.
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2011-09-22, 08:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
To give babies better resistance to diseases and such than an adult does.
It doesn't. A Chimera with the baby template has 15 hit points, which is considerably less than the 76 hp a full grown Chimera has. Though I see that I need to explain what the miniature template does.
Edit: Fixed the Growing special quality so that it actually says what it does. Sorry about that.Last edited by ideasmith; 2011-09-22 at 08:38 PM.
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2011-09-23, 12:38 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Ok, couple of clarifications.
You're correct that getting a genuine "average" roll of 108 or 109 IS highly unlikely. But what is likely is that, over generations, the average will approach it. It doesn't really matter whether it's constantly 108/109 or if it's yawing above and below repeatedly, this system will drag the population down to average and hold it within a narrow range of it.
Still doesn't explain, at all, why an ability modifier that lowers the father's scores after conception would have *any* effect on the baby's genetics.
And yes, you're correct that I failed to account for racial modifiers. So I stand corrected....two perfectly natural animals only has around a 1/4 chance of producing a magical beast offspring.
1 (11-10) + 1 (11-10) + 6 (16-10) = 8/3 = 3 (magical beast, by definition).Whadda ya mean, Orcs got levels too?
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2011-09-23, 08:11 AM (ISO 8601)
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2011-09-23, 08:17 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Your claim here is highly implausible. And you have not given me reason to trust your math; quite the contrary.
I gave my reasons for this in my reply to Domriso in post#22 of this thread.
That is technically a way to adjust for racial modifiers. And it makes a superficial sort of sense; you weren't dividing by the racial modifier or taking the numbers to the power of the racial number.
It is not, however the method this fantasy genetics system uses, which can be found in the original post of this forum. It is a different method, which gets different numbers.
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2011-09-23, 11:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Fantasy Genetics
Oy. I get the sense here that you're more concerned with defending the elegant perfection of your concept than considering the potential conceptual flaws in it. I'll take one more stab at this, with as careful of math as I can muster.
Issue #1: Illogical post-conception fatherly stat modifiers (and how to break it).
First, we have simple logic. A father's genetic involvement ends at conception. A system that imposes an alternative premise makes no basic, fundamental, logical sense. It's denial of basic biology.
Then we have the issue of parents locking themselves in their house with a deck of cards and a Murlynd's Spoon for nine months, praying that neither one of them ever gets too tired (Exhausted condition: -6 penalty to strenth and dexterity) on one single day of the pregnancy.
To say nothing of the prospect of more wealthy parents taking out a loan of a +2/4/6 stat boosting item and simply never removing it for 9 months (hey dad, this is your pregnancy headband. Wear it so your wife will give birth to a smarter kid).
It's all well and good to make pregnancy a 'big deal' to both parents (and by a 'big deal', I'm assuming that one of your conditions is absolutely removing any chance either of them might go adventuring), but your rules as written border on the absurd in this particular case.
Sensible modification:
"The fathers ability score minus the fathers race modifier (and disregarding all non-permanent modifiers at the time of conception)"
"The mothers ability score minus the mothers race modifier (and disregarding all non-permanent modifiers over the course of the pregnancy). Ability penalties that extend over the course of multiple days have a % chance, equal to that of the % of the gestation period, to be applied to the mother's score."
Issue #2: Breeding magical beasts.
By definition, an animal has an Int score of 1 or 2. A creature with an intelligence score of 3 or higher cannot, by definition, be an animal (and most typically is classified as a magical beast).
"normal" Badgers have an Int of 2.
If you breed two normal badgers (and assume their intelligence scores remain unchanged throughout the pregnancy):
2a: Father's ability score minus racial modifier. 10-2 = 8, Therefore badgers have a -8 int modifier. Father's Int = 2--8 = 10
2b: Mother's ability score minus racial modifier. Also a 10.
2c: Random roll (result of 1-104) = 8 or less. 10+10+8 = 28/3 = 9-8 = 1 (a sub-standard badger). This is presuming that racial modifiers result in a minimum of 1, and you're not breeding coma-badgers on a roll of 73 or lower).
2c: Random roll (result of 105-109) = 9 to 11 = 29/3, 30/3, or 31/3 = 10-8 = 2 (a normal badger).
2c: Random roll (result of 110+) = 12 or higher. 10+10+12= 32/3 = 11-8 = 3 (a magical beast).
Explain, please, where I'm mathematically in err (using your system as writ), and Int 2 animals aren't breeding magical beasts almost half the time (and, under some rule interpretations, permament coma-babies more often than live, normal animals).
Sensible modification:
Some logical range-limiter (not sure what's best in this case), particularly in the corner-case of animals and int.
Other irrational absurdities (an 18-str human, +8 over norm, is reasonable. An 11-str housecat, +8 over norm, is not) can thus also be avoided. Extremes, particularly low-extremes, of ability scores should have a guard against the full range of variation provided by a 3-18 statrange intended for small and medium humanoids.
Issue #3: Long, slow march to mediocrity.
Let's start with the extreme. A pair of ingenious human wizards go on a breeding spree to populate a newly-created empty plane of existance.
Gen 1: Int 18, Int 18.
Let's assume a fairly even distribution of random numbers (for simplicity, rolls resulting in a 3, 5, 8, 13, 16, and 18 on your chart).
((18-0) + (18-0) + (roll) / 3 ) + 0 = Int of Gen 2 (grown to adulthood)
Gen 2: Int 18 (18+18+18)/3, Int 17 (18+18+16)/3, Int 16 (18+18+13)/3, Int 15 (18+18+8)/3, Int 14 (18+18+5)/3, Int 13 (18+18+3)/3.
Like tends to like, and each child of the original two wizards finds a mate of similar intellect.
Gen 3 (from Int 18s): 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13
Gen 3 (from Int 17s): 17, 17, 16, 14, 13, 12
Gen 3 (from Int 16s): 17, 16, 15, 13, 12, 12
Gen 3 (from Int 15s): 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11
Gen 3 (from Int 14s): 15, 15, 14, 12, 11, 10
Gen 3 (from Int 13s): 15, 14, 13, 11, 10, 10
Interesting corner-case: Two Int 17s (17+17+18)/3 cannot breed an Int 18. Over time, all 18s (and 3s for that matter) will be bred out of existance.
Arguably, after 2 generations, that's a fairly diverse, and generally smart, population...but overall you can see where this is going. Inevitably, the 18s will be bred completely out of existance (since 2 17s can't breed an 18). 17s will be bred into extreme improbibility. Even with the dramatic weighting you place on the outside ends of the chart, the fact that the chart itself swings the full span means that there's equal chance of an exceptional stat barely holding its own (two 17s producing another 17), or getting the other extreme and being dragged down to near-mediocrity in a single generation (two 17s producing a 12).
Let's look at the opposite case...a purely mediocre population.
A 10 and an 11 would produce: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (the "average range" if you will)
Any random high-low paring would produce the same result (8 with 13, 9 with 12), so already the majority will tend to reproduce this same range, and only the extremes (8 with 8, 13 with 13) have a likelyhood of a signficant variation.
13 and 13 would produce: 10, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15.
Even the extremes of breeding produce about half average, about two thirds in the "average range". This is the corner case out of a randomly-paired "average range" population.
Again, the rolls were simplified for the sake of this example, but the overall fact remains unchanged...the higher the ability score, the larger the portion of the random-factor range will tend to drag it down, and the smaller the 'beneficial' portion of the random-factor range left to bring it up.
Starting at average (a 10 and an 11), it would take a 17+ random roll to produce a 13 (roughly 1/4 of the time).
Two 13s (1/16 from a normal population) would have to be selectively bred together to have a 1/12 chance of producing a 15.
Two 15s (1/2304 from a normal population) would have to be selectively bred together to have a 1/4 chance of producing a 16.*
*Arguably, a 15 and a 14 would also have a 1/12 chance of producing a 16.
So a 16-stat is representative of maybe 1 in 6000 individuals, and even if selectively bred with another 1/6000 individual, has a better than 50/50 chance of dropping back towards mediocraty.
With that said, this does provide the possibility for a fair amount of diversity (see above note about 3s and 18s being bred out of existance), so it's not a completely unworkable model, but the biggest flaw it has is that the higher you go, the more the pressure is against you to drag you back towards the center.
Sensible modification:
Your existing model shows a lot of thought and consideration, so I feel you could "tweak" it a bit more and get an even better end result. In some manner, you need to remove the weight from both ends when both parents are already at one extreme or the other...allow the "center of mass" of the chart to drift towards the side that favors the average between the parents.
That bright Int 18 wizard is doomed by her charming, but average husband (Int 10) to at BEST have an Int 15 kid...no chance the kiddo will truly take after his or her mom...that is, unless she makes her husband a proper "pregnancy headband" to wear for nine months ;)Whadda ya mean, Orcs got levels too?