Characters below the starting age [Archive] - Wizards Community

Characters below the starting age [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
simon_tage
06-23-05, 01:09 PM I was tinkering with the idea of having characters start in the 12-13 year old group. Any ideas on attribute adjustments?
J Milburn
06-23-05, 01:42 PM There is the forever young template (races, templates, forever young OR +0 templates) but i dont like it. As a player i would just dump my lowest score in strength, and kids are not normally that tough either.

As a DM, i would just make sure my players were making appropriate characters.
JollyElephantDeathWizard
06-23-05, 01:47 PM I had a player play a 10-year-old once, as sort of an oracle.

I think that stat penalties would be in order for a 12-year-old character. Off the top of my head, I would suggest:

-2 Strength
-2 Constitution
-4 Wisdom

This is in addition to the penalties and bonuses for being Small-sized, if the kid character was considered Small.

I don't think this is the sort of thing that should have any stat bonuses for "balance", since playing a kid is essentially a role-playing decision, and is only going to have a negative effect on your character in game terms. Which is not to say it's not a good idea, because you could have a truly memorable character. You could even have a decently effective one, if you went with a class that minimized these penalties, like rogue.
Seeker95
06-23-05, 02:01 PM Just treat their age as flavor. Don't make stat adjustments. This is a recommendation based on game balance. CR is calculated assuming "standard" characters. Adventure level categorization is based on "standard" characters. The only adjustments I would recommend are size modifiers -- assuming the kids are one size category smaller than adult versions of their respective races.

If you look at 13 year olds these days, even that is questionable.
I blame the growth hormones in America's high beef diet.
simon_tage
06-23-05, 03:27 PM Well, I wanted the campaign to take place over several years. This is what I came up with at work.

Initially have all physical stats reduced by 2 and all mental stats reduced by 1. After 1 year of game time, have the physical stats go up one. At "adult age" (i.e. 16) have all their stats go up one point. Side note: none of them are so young as to be small.
simon_tage
06-24-05, 01:40 PM any comments about the above idea?
Druidsrule
06-24-05, 01:51 PM I think it would be fun to have one kid in the group, just for the flavor of the roleplaying.
Archangel_James
06-24-05, 02:17 PM I think a bonus to Dexterity would be wise, either +2 or +4 depending on what you penalized the other stats for. I wouldn't penalize each stat, however. Just Strength and Wisdom. A child wouldn't really be more or less charasmatic (more against people who think he's cute, less to those who find him inferior), and if he's been studying an adult class like wizardry, he wouldn't be any less intelligent. Constitution is a grey area. Sure, they would have a weaker body, but I don't know that it's really worth it.

Just make sure that you adjust the ages as appropriate for other races. A 12 or 13 year old elf?
weasel fierce
06-25-05, 02:48 AM Just treat their age as flavor. Don't make stat adjustments. This is a recommendation based on game balance. CR is calculated assuming "standard" characters. Adventure level categorization is based on "standard" characters. The only adjustments I would recommend are size modifiers -- assuming the kids are one size category smaller than adult versions of their respective races.

If you have children outperforming adults in areas such as raw strength or endurance, suspension of disbelief is going to suffer badly. Unless, you're playing an anime style game, in which case kids should double all ability scores of course :)
J Milburn
06-25-05, 03:47 AM My personal child character concept involves a high con due to a masochistic attitude. A child can not take as much as an adult, trust me. Their immune system is weaker, they feel pain more acutley and their bodys can not take a hit so well.
Wisdom is a good point, i forgot about that. But, once you make it into a race type thing and not just for flavour as me and seeker recommended, you will start thinking about skills...
Probably best not to adjust anything, and just make sure people dont abuse it. However, if you are having the whole group as children, some will inevitebly be fighters with high strength, so it could get awkward.
Sylvaroth
06-25-05, 04:05 AM For another discusion related to this thread look here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=298767).
Btw Horizon put up the book Grimm (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/hr02.html) that has Character Archetypes which are like special classes for kids, might want to look that up.
Escef
06-25-05, 06:01 AM Star Wars d20 had age modifiers for young children. At least the older printing did... Yup, on page 104. Young Adult is -1 to all stats (12-15 years old for a human), and children get an additional -3 to str and con and -1 to everything else (for a total penalty of -4 str and con, and -2 on all others).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
simon_tage 06-23-05, 01:09 PM	I was tinkering with the idea of having characters start in the 12-13 year old group. Any ideas on attribute adjustments?
J Milburn 06-23-05, 01:42 PM	There is the forever young template (races, templates, forever young OR +0 templates) but i dont like it. As a player i would just dump my lowest score in strength, and kids are not normally that tough either. As a DM, i would just make sure my players were making appropriate characters.
JollyElephantDeathWizard 06-23-05, 01:47 PM	I had a player play a 10-year-old once, as sort of an oracle. I think that stat penalties would be in order for a 12-year-old character. Off the top of my head, I would suggest: -2 Strength -2 Constitution -4 Wisdom This is in addition to the penalties and bonuses for being Small-sized, if the kid character was considered Small. I don't think this is the sort of thing that should have any stat bonuses for "balance", since playing a kid is essentially a role-playing decision, and is only going to have a negative effect on your character in game terms. Which is not to say it's not a good idea, because you could have a truly memorable character. You could even have a decently effective one, if you went with a class that minimized these penalties, like rogue.
Seeker95 06-23-05, 02:01 PM	Just treat their age as flavor. Don't make stat adjustments. This is a recommendation based on game balance. CR is calculated assuming "standard" characters. Adventure level categorization is based on "standard" characters. The only adjustments I would recommend are size modifiers -- assuming the kids are one size category smaller than adult versions of their respective races. If you look at 13 year olds these days, even that is questionable. I blame the growth hormones in America's high beef diet.
simon_tage 06-23-05, 03:27 PM	Well, I wanted the campaign to take place over several years. This is what I came up with at work. Initially have all physical stats reduced by 2 and all mental stats reduced by 1. After 1 year of game time, have the physical stats go up one. At "adult age" (i.e. 16) have all their stats go up one point. Side note: none of them are so young as to be small.
simon_tage 06-24-05, 01:40 PM	any comments about the above idea?
Druidsrule 06-24-05, 01:51 PM	I think it would be fun to have one kid in the group, just for the flavor of the roleplaying.
Archangel_James 06-24-05, 02:17 PM	I think a bonus to Dexterity would be wise, either +2 or +4 depending on what you penalized the other stats for. I wouldn't penalize each stat, however. Just Strength and Wisdom. A child wouldn't really be more or less charasmatic (more against people who think he's cute, less to those who find him inferior), and if he's been studying an adult class like wizardry, he wouldn't be any less intelligent. Constitution is a grey area. Sure, they would have a weaker body, but I don't know that it's really worth it. Just make sure that you adjust the ages as appropriate for other races. A 12 or 13 year old elf?
weasel fierce 06-25-05, 02:48 AM	Just treat their age as flavor. Don't make stat adjustments. This is a recommendation based on game balance. CR is calculated assuming "standard" characters. Adventure level categorization is based on "standard" characters. The only adjustments I would recommend are size modifiers -- assuming the kids are one size category smaller than adult versions of their respective races. If you have children outperforming adults in areas such as raw strength or endurance, suspension of disbelief is going to suffer badly. Unless, you're playing an anime style game, in which case kids should double all ability scores of course :)
J Milburn 06-25-05, 03:47 AM	My personal child character concept involves a high con due to a masochistic attitude. A child can not take as much as an adult, trust me. Their immune system is weaker, they feel pain more acutley and their bodys can not take a hit so well. Wisdom is a good point, i forgot about that. But, once you make it into a race type thing and not just for flavour as me and seeker recommended, you will start thinking about skills... Probably best not to adjust anything, and just make sure people dont abuse it. However, if you are having the whole group as children, some will inevitebly be fighters with high strength, so it could get awkward.
Sylvaroth 06-25-05, 04:05 AM	For another discusion related to this thread look here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=298767). Btw Horizon put up the book Grimm (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/hr02.html) that has Character Archetypes which are like special classes for kids, might want to look that up.
Escef 06-25-05, 06:01 AM	Star Wars d20 had age modifiers for young children. At least the older printing did... Yup, on page 104. Young Adult is -1 to all stats (12-15 years old for a human), and children get an additional -3 to str and con and -1 to everything else (for a total penalty of -4 str and con, and -2 on all others).