Probably the most popular topic of a new born child is its sex. Roll percentile dice to determine the race of the child. Generally the probability of having a female is slightly greater than a male. Thus there is a 52% of having a female and a 48% of having as male child. Note that GMs may wish to adjust this number in their campaigns for the various races. Also, the GM may let the character influence the chance one way or the other through magic, divine intervention, etc.
This system will give you the attributes that the baby will have once he reaches adulthood (which is usually a few years after puberty). Of course, as a child the baby will show potential or problem areas if stats are high or low; especially in areas of intelligence and wisdom. To figure out the attributes, the first step is to average each attribute of the parents which will give you the "genetic" bases. To make the baby a bit different from its parents, a random factor is added to the process. First, add 1d4 to each genetic base and then subtract 1d4 to that number. This means that each of the baby's stats can be up to 3 above or 3 below its parents' average. If the result isn't an integer, there is a 50% chance to round up and a 50% to round down.
Example: A baby is to be born, but what will his Strength be? His father's Strength is 17 and his mother's Strength is 14. This averages to 15.5 which becomes the genetic base. Before figuring in the random factor, we know that the baby's Strength will fall between 12.5 - 18.5.
On the first 1D4, a 3 is rolled and added to the genetic factor giving us a 18.5. On the second 1d4, a 2 is rolled and subtracted from the 18.5 giving us a Strength 16.5. Well decimals are unacceptable so on the percentile roll, a 23% is rolled causing the Strength to be rounded down to 16. The baby's Strength will be 16 when it reaches adulthood.
The same process is followed for the remanding attributes.
Note that the baby's attributes must still obey its race's minimum/maximum limits. For example, no human can be born with more than 18 or less than 3 in any attribute.
To figure out what the baby's adult height will be, the first step is to average the parents height (in inches). Next, add the modifier based on race found on the height table below. Finally, add the adjustment found on the height table if it is a male, subtract the adjustment if it is a female. The result is the baby's adult height in inches.
| Race | Mod. | Adj. |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf | 1d6 | 1 |
| Elf | 1d6 | 2.5 |
| Gnome | 1d4 | 1 |
| Half-elf | 1d6 | 1 |
| Halfling | 1d8 | 1 |
| Human | 1d10 | 1 |
To figure out what the baby's adult weight will be, the first step is to average the parents weight. Next, add the modifier based on race found on the weight table below. Finally, add the adjustment found on the weight table if it is a male, subtract the adjustment if it is a female. The result is the baby's adult weight.
| Race | Mod. | Adj. |
| Dwarf | 2d10 | 12.5 |
| Elf | 2d6 | 5 |
| Gnome | 2d4 | 2 |
| Half-elf | 2d8 | 12.5 |
| Halfling | 2d4 | 2 |
| Human | 2d20 | 20 |
This system emphasizes the relationship between the sex of the child and the size of the parents. Big men with small wives will have small daughters and strapping sons. Small men with big wives will have large healthy daughters and puny sons. To summarize, this system will have daughter's size favor mothers and son's size favor fathers.
Although this system for figuring out height and weight is good, it is given as an alternative. Unless the GM plans the size of the parents ahead of time, a small mother would have a small daughter and a small father would have a small son. This seems reasonable, but if players are looking for player characters out of the baby, having the baby small might not be a good idea.
To figure out what the baby's adult height will be, the first step is to calculate height in inches as per your RPG rule book. Take the height of the parent that is the same gender as the child and multiply it by 1.5. Take the height of the other parent of the child and multiply it by 1.5. Add those three numbers then divide by 3. The result is the baby's adult height in inches. To summarize:
ht = [calc. ht. + (1.5 x same gender parent) + (.5 x other parent)] / 3
To figure out what the baby's adult weight will be, the first step is to calculate weight in inches as per your RPG rule book. Take the weight of the parent that is the same gender as the child and multiply it by 1.5. Take the weight of the other parent of the child and multiply it by 1.5. Add those three numbers then divide by 3. The result is the baby's adult weight in inches. To summarize:
wt = [calc. wt. + (1.5 x same gender parent) + (.5 x other parent)] / 3
Sooner or later, the parents will learn that the baby has a distinct personality. The player should roll on a personality table of his GM RPG rule book. The GM may wish the player to roll on the table once the baby reaches childhood, reaches puberty, and finally reaches adulthood. Of course, once adulthood is reached, the "baby" may be considered a PC rather than a NPC if the player desires to pursue this avenue. Thus, the player develops the character as desired. It should be emphasized here that role-playing personality is only relevant if the baby is intended as an NPC. Babies who are to become PCs shouldn't roll this so the player may have absolute freedom in creating the character.
A female child should has a percentage chance (60 + her Charisma - father's Wisdom) of charming her father. The charmed father will always think of his daughter as pure and innocent. He will always protect her and blame everybody else for anything that happens to her even if it is obviously her fault.
When these baby rules were being developed, GM Mizar and one of his players started to roll up the baby's stats and due to a sequence of unbelievably lucky rolls they created a wonder girl:
P. Strength: 18
Intelligence: 15
Dexterity: 17
Wisdom: 16
Constitution: 18
Charisma: 12
Attractiveness: 17
Luck: 14
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Ch12-Baby-Charistic.php -- Revised: January 27, 2021.