Monday, May 23, 2011

San Francisco Rough and Pirates of the Bronze Sky "Beta"

I just got this color rough from Felipe Gaona, another fine shot of San Francisco 2107. Felipe seems to be following Alex's guide in terms of Rhinehart Tower's look- spikey, dangerous and hightech. I can't wait to see what he's going to do with this! At this point, I'm still waiting on the cover piece by Alex Garcia, this image by Felipe, and two other similar images from him as well depicting future Boston and Pensacola.

So.... Otherverse America is almost good to go, and it will be absolutely incredible. Over the last few days, I've also added about 20 pages of text to the draft of Pirates of Bronze Sky I originally turned into Louis, before taking it over as an Otherverse Games release. Right now, I'm shooting for a 200-220 page core rulebook and related splat-books. A bit smaller than Otherverse America, but still weighty and cool.

Right now, if anybody wants to take an early look at Pirates, send me an email at chrisfieldotherverse@hotmail.com with "Pirates of Bronze Sky" in the subject line, and I'll send a copy of the working draft. Let me know what you think, and give me some suggestions for future releases.

Talk to you later,
CHRIS

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Just Saw This....


You know, the only problem with satire is that sooner or later, somebody actually takes you seriously.

Just saw this on ObviousWinner.com and thought I'd post it here. Enjoy.
CHRIS

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

New Email Address

My email account got hacked last week, and I'm abandoning Christopherafield@hotmail.com.

In the future, if you need to get in touch with me, go to chrisfieldotherverse@hotmail.com. I've sent a mass email to everyone I work with, if you get it, please send me a reply so I know I've got you in contacts.

In happier news, "The Wiccae" just hit at RPGnow, and I'm curious how it'll be received. Amanda, Felipe and Alex Garcia should have the last of the Otherverse America artwork in soon, and my biggest and coolest release of the year should be out soon! Finally, I'm working hard on the revised draft of Pirates of the Bronze Sky- I've already added a few new factions- a sky-spanning prostitute's guild and something like the Boxer Rebellion going on in the setting's Fu Manchu flavored China-analogue, as well as a bunch of new gear. I'll post some previews and design notes on PotBS pretty soon.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Art is trickling in....

Some of the last art for Otherverse America is slowly trickling in. I should have the book out within a few weeks! Anyway, as I'm waiting on art I've stayed busy. As you've seen over at RPGnow, I've put up several smaller PDFs- 10-15 pagers- for Psi-Watch, detailing various bits of cool equipment, I've also got a new advanced class on deck, and recently released "The Ancient's Armory" which is a nice collection of Pathfinder RPG equipment inspired by He-Man, one of my all-time favorite fantasy cartoons.

I've got some new Otherverse America material coming soon. I think I mentioned the Wiccae which are a pulp sci-fi version of Gerald Gardner's witch-cult theory. they'll be up soon and should be alot of fun. Right now, I'm working on a follow up to Coven of Bast entitled "The Techno-Magic of Bast". I'm only about 2k words into it, as I just started late last night, but this will be a fun tech book for Bastian characters. I might go back and re-tweak the Black Osiris Supersoldiers described in Coven of Bast a bit, expand their culture and give some roleplaying hints for the race.

I've also got another new player race for the setting. These guys are basically time travellers from the utopia that the year 3107- exactly one thousand years after the campaign began- gone back in time to 2107, to the worst of the war, to make sure their future gets built. I might release these guys first as a Free20 Product and later fold them into a follow up or revision of Guide to the Known Galaxy.

Both the Techno-Magic of Bast and the "Temporal Angels" will come out sometime after the core book does.

On the Pathfinder front, expect a short PDF of new familiar abilities, entitled Unfamiliar. It's going to be a fun, short PDF that'll be a nice companion to Fursona. Speaking of Fursona, I might end up doing a sequel or supplement. If you're interested, drop me a line in the comments here letting me know anything you'd like to see.

Finally, I'm sorta letting Pirates of the Bronze Sky simmer until Otherverse America comes out. However, I've already had a few ideas for the setting. I might add a couple of additional races to the campaign and add some more content to give it both more of a 'piratey' or 'early Industrial Revolution feel'. I'm also considering making it the ultimate in high-magic / magic as technology settings..... how would you feel either as a GM or a player about a setting where we cut the last digit off the price of all or some magic items? Instead of a magic sword costing 1000 GP, it'd cost 100? Nothing else changes, but magic of all kinds becomes WAY more common? Even the middle class can afford 'utility' magic items?

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Thor!


I went to go see Thor on opening night. As both a comic book geek and a pagan, I had to go see one of the few pagan superhero movies out there on opening night and show the love. After the first Iron Man, Thor is probably my favorite of the Marvel movies- and that's only because I've always liked Iron Man more as a character and I'm a sucker for powered armor.

Anyway, it's worth seeing and makes me wish I owned a 52 " plasma TV and Blu Ray player. Anyway, as a standalone superhero movie, it rocked hard. Even somebody who'd never seen the comics, and knows nothing about the myths which inspired it, could enjoy the film. Honestly, it reminded me alot of the Dolph Lungren He-Man film, which to me is a very, very good thing. You've got a handsome, powerful heroic god from an alternate dimension filled with Kirby-tech come to Earth and forced to befriend the locals.

Most of the movie's humor comes from Thor bumbling through early interactions with the film's three humans: Jane Foster, Erik and Darcy. And as much as I love Natalie Portman (one of my top three celebrity sex fantasies, joining Nicole Kidman and Courtney Love) the actress who played Darcy really stole the show. Every scene she was in was awesome, and in addition to sucessfully tasering Thor, she got some great lines.

Visually, the film cleared up a problem alot of the earlier Marvel movies had (especially the FF movies): Thor brought me the Kirby. The movies version of Asgard was incredible, and the design of the buildings, the costumes, and the incredible Rainbow Bridge was pure Kirby. The Destroyer is one of the most beautiful, comics accurate creatures I've ever seen on film. That thing was fricking gorgeous. The ice dragon that Thor killed in Jotenhiem was equally incredible, and certainly wouldn't look out of place on Kirby's Monster Island. The one gripe I had visually was the Frost Giants: they looked more like the Na'Vi from Avatar than the icy elemental beasts of the comic. Still, being able to summon ice weapons was a pretty cool ability, and something I'll definitely steal for Pathfinder.

One thing that comic fans go to these movies to see are Easter Eggs. Thor had plenty- I saw the Eye of Ammagetto and the Infinity Guantlet in Odin's artifact vault, but I was more pleased at the mythological cameos. There were a few elements from the original myths that got snuck in, elements not present in the comic book version of Thor and Asgard. When Thor overturned the banquet table, I got a glimpse of the golden apples of immortality, which I don't think have ever appeared in the comics. Likewise, on our first glimpse of Odin's throne room, we see two ravens perched on either side of the throne, and we get a glimpse of Odin's 8-legged gallows horse Slepinyr (not sure how you spell it, honestly). I can't remember either the Ravens nor the Horse appearing in the comics, so it was gratifying to see them.

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/09/thor-pagans-norse-gods/

This article really blew me away, especially its description of the fundamental loneliness of being pagan in Christian America. However, unlike Eric Scott, I don't believe the commercialized, comic book Thor is necessarily a bad thing. The bold, primarily colored and unfailingly noble and heroic Thor is a great take on the ancient god, and I can see the movie awakening an interest in Norse mythology in alot of kids who go to see it. And hopefully, for some, that interest will turn into a love of Asatru. Like Star Foster, who rebukes Erik's point, I believe that a heroic and positive description of pagan myth, even a very surface level reading of the myth, like the other work Star Foster cited, Charmed, can show Christian America and its citizens something transdescent.

For me, my introduction to Wicca came from fiction. When I was 14, my mom bought me a copy of Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. She knew nothing about it, except it was about Aurthurian myth and it was like 3 inches thick- long enough to satisfy her voracious reader of a son through a few days of summer vacation. At that point, I'd already figured out I sure as hell wasn't a Christian of any kind, and I had no interest in being Jewish, Muslim or anything else. I'd heard of Wicca, but had no clear idea what it was, what it stood for, or anything else. All I'd seen was the idiocy on Geraldo or Donahue during the morning talk show hour. (Remember, this was the early 1990s, and mainstream exposure to the faith was all but non existent).

So I read this book, and I saw the same contrast in Mists that I did in Thor (though I may of been looking specifically for it). You've got the drab, sexless, ugly and oppressive Christian world contrasted with the free, sexually open, beautiful and colorful pagan world. I wanted to live as free as the pagans in Mist, and when I found out that the book was based on a modern, real-world religion, I wanted to know more. So I got some (non-fiction) books on Wicca, and put on the pentacle. I'm hoping the same thing happens- I want to see some kids who lay down the foam Mjolinr from Wal-Mart and put a Mjolinr charm around their neck.

Anyway, Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Cover!


I just received this color rough of the cover to the Otherverse America Unlimited Edition from Alex P. Garcia. I'm just staring at his vision of San Francisco in absolute awe. This art, it's as good if not better than something you'd see on a Charles Stross or Richard K. Morgan novel. I cannot wait to see the finished product and I hope you all feel the same way.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Friday, May 6, 2011

On Torture.....

Okay, my local redneck newspaper just printed one of Bill O'Rielly's columns, like it does most days out of the week. Now, ignoring for a moment that O'Rielly's lying ass should be in prison getting butt raped by an Aryan Nations thug for his role in the death of Dr. George Tiller, I want to talk about his editorial. In the editorial, O'Rielly said that since torture at Gitmo lead to valuable intel on Osama Bin Liden, its use is both effective and morally justified, and should be continued as an American military strategy.

First off, who gives a shit if torture is effective in gathering intel? There are lots of military tactics that are effective (at least in the short term) that the US doesn't use on moral grounds- child soldiers, suicide bombers. Torture may be super fucking useful, but know what, I don't care. It's a tactic the bad guys use, and America is supposed to be the good guys.

Second, I'm a witch. Now, I'm not the kind of Wiccan who believes in a hereditary witch cult stretching from pre-Christian times to now, and I know that most of those killed during the Burning Times /Inquisition were Christian heretics and free thinkers, the insane and those who simply had something the Christian power structure wanted. Very few 'witches' in the modern sense of the word, but they were tortured and died as witches, and I consider them family.

Now, aside from all the other lessons the Inquisition taught humanity, one lesson that should of been drummed into every military officer's head is this: Torture does not fucking work. Read some trial transcripts of the era- the Inquisition tortured people until they confessed to kissing the devil's rump. The lesson, you torture somebody enough he's going to confess to anything you want, up to and including giving a rimjob to a major mythological figure.

The Wikileaks documents prove that lesson again. Even if we got a few scraps of actionable intel from those imprisoned at Gitmo, the torture used to glean that intel also gave us ten years worth of bad intel, ten years worth of wild goose chases. As far as I can tell, no intel we received at Gitmo was substantially more complete or useful than that would of been gained by standard, Constitutional interrogation methods.

Anyway, I usually like to confine my politics to my books, but as a former intelligence analyst, and a member of a faith that was basically forged in a crucible of torture, I figured I had to comment on a particularly stinky piece of bullshit I stepped in today.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Two Questions for Gamers


First, do any of my readers know of good downloadable character generators for Pathfinder or D20 Modern? Coming up with stat blocks, checking the math over and over, and keeping track of skill points is my least favorite part of designing for D20 based systems. Does anybody know of a good character generator for either of the systems that I can purchase? I'd love to just be able to plug in my numbers, assign some stats and import the results.

Second, since I use alot of stock illos in my releases, I've become more aware of stock illustrations used in other works. Whether I'm reading an article in Newsweek and realizing I've seen that illustration before, or looking through some of my favorite big name RPG releases, I feel like I can spot stock art better.

I've loved RIFTS since I started gaming- it was my intro the hobby. Today, I was flipping through the core book at the breakfast table and I noticed something. First, some of the art in the original corebook didn't really seem to fit. (Especially the picture of the "cyberknight and his D-bee companion" and English druidess color plates... .those I can tell were just left over from a Palladium Fantasy RPG product and reused. There's nothing high-tech or Rifts specific in either illo, they're just pure fantasy illos. Pretty pagefillers, but that add nothing to the look and feel of the world). Second, Larry MacDougall's artwork is excellent, but again, fairly generic. His stuff illustrates a decent near-future post-apoc setting, but there's nothing specifically Rifts about it, no magic, no d-bees, no trace of the Coalition's unique visual style, nothing. Just cool looking guys and girls with guns. Some of it (especially MacDougall's awesome powered armor images, of which I can't find copies of anywhere on line) even resembles the very, very short lived Captain Power tv series.

My question: was MacDougall's art commissioned specifically for the game? Or is this older and awesome B&W artwork available as stock art somewhere? Because if it is, I want to use it for Otherverse America!

Oh, and one final note. I realized I should of cleared this up a long time ago. Despite the level to which Rifts has influenced me, I didn't name the Coalition for Life (usually referred to as the CFL or Lifer nation) in my setting after their Coalition States. Instead, the CFL got its name from the real world anti-abortion political organization/lobbying PAC called the American Coalition of Life Activists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coalition_of_Life_Activists

Anyway, Blessed Be, and enjoy Thor tomorrow.
CHRIS

First Preview of May


Today, I want to preview some more of the Game Master's Guide to Otherverse America.

The Ubasti, originally presented in Coven of Bast and migrating to the revised core book, are among the favorite races I've come up with for the setting. Sentient, talking lions right smack in the middle of a military/sci-fi setting.... for some reason it cracks me up, like Battle Cat showing up for a cameo in Clear and Present Danger. Anyway, here's a sample Ubasti character from the strike file.

Ubasti Mauler: Hetshutset or “Hetty” (CR 6)
Strong Hero 2, Powered Hero 4
Large Aberration- Ubasti
Init +4 Senses lowlight vision, scent Aura none
Languages English, Egyptian
Allegiances The Coven of Bast, protecting the weak
Defense 15, touch 10, flat-footed 14 (-1 size, +1 DEX, +5 equipment)
Fast Healing 1
HD (6d8+18) (45 HP)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1

Speed 25 ft (30 ft unarmored)
Melee Space 10 ft x 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft
Base Atk +6; Grp +14
Atk Options +10 melee (talons 1d8+4 slashing) or
+10 melee (bite 2d6+2 bludgeoning)

Abilities STR 19 DEX 17 CON 16 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 11
Starting Occupation Clinic Defender
Additional Class Skills Balance, Jump, Tumble
Talents Ground Fighter, Regenerator I, Regenerator II
Feats Armor Proficiency (light, medium), Simple Weapons Proficiency, Combat Reflexes, Cleave, Power Attack, Run
Affiliations None
Skills Balance +7, Climb +9, Intimidate +4, Jump +8, Knowledge (streetwise) +8, Tumble +7
Possessions A couple of nice, cozy blankets, Escort’s Vest with Medi-comp (worn as barding)
Cyber Implants and Smartlights None
Action Points 40 maximum (15 +1d8 remaining)

“We’ve been leaving food out for that big cat [Hetshutset] for a few weeks now. I don’t think we’re the only business who does, but I know we’re the only Bible believing Christians who do, and I don’t feel bad about doing it at all, even if that cat was made by Chooser genetech. When we were getting robbed, every other night it seemed, the cops just didn’t care. But that cat- it turns out she was waiting hidden behind those bushes over there, and as soon as those fool kids ran out with the deposit Saturday night, she pounced. Just knocked the Hell out of them both, and we haven’t been robbed since.

So we’ve left her some food, and I’m not sure if she understands, but my son told her that Jesus loves her very much, and she must have had Jesus in her heart to help a stranger like she did. He said she just sorta growled, like laughed, and says she likes to fight bullies.”

-Pro-Abortion War Lion Protects Christian Business: Can She Be Saved?, article in the La Jolla End Days Report, May 22, 2105

Appearance
The leonine creature is the hard grey and black of oil stained pavement. Her lean flanks are protected by a colorful and obviously heavy orange vest held to her body with quick release snaps. In contrast to her drab fur, the orange vest is eye-blisteringly bright, and is decorated with hundreds of cheap pro-choice buttons that click and clack as the big cat hunts. Despite her animal like appearance, the big cat’s green eyes are obviously intelligent.

Campaign Use
Hetshutset is a simple and good hearted creature, who spends as much time protecting the humans who live in her barrio, regardless of faith, as she does accompanying Bastian special forces teams on deniable missions. She’s tough and shockingly street savvy, and is a local hero to even SoCal’s Lifer population, despite her impressive war record. She has no animosity to the Lifer nation, and really doesn’t understand the theological basis for the War. She fights only to protect her friends and adopted human pack, and because as she says, she ‘likes to fight bullies’.

Quadruped (EX): As a Large four-legged creature, the Ubasti’s lifting and carrying limits are three times those of a Medium biped with a similar Strength score. Willing Ubasti can carry great weights and can even serve as mounts if they wish. The creatures are very stable, receiving a +4 racial bonus on saves and checks made to resist being Bull Rushed or tripped.

Using its semi-prehensile forepaws and mouth, an Ubasti can manipulate tools and items, though the quadruped might have trouble manipulating especially tiny or delicate objects, such as picking up coins or dice, opening a stoppered flask or writing.

The Ubasti suffers a –2 penalty on skill checks requiring delicate manipulation, and such activities are always full round actions, which provoke attacks of opportunity against the quadruped. The time necessary for Taking 10 and Taking 20 is similarly doubled (requiring 20x and 40x the normal time, respectively).

Beloved (EX): Ubasti are revered in Bastian culture. They receive a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks made when interacting with any creature who claims a Bastian allegiance. They receive a +2 bonus on attempts to requisition equipment from the Covenant or any Bastian organization.

Ground Fighter: Hetshutset can make a melee attack from the prone position and suffer no penalty on the attack roll. If her attack roll is successful, Hetshutset may regain her feet immediately as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Ability Push (EX): Once per day, Hetty focuses her willpower, using intense concentration to briefly enhance her already superhuman metabolism.

Using her Ability Push is a full round action which provokes attacks of opportunity. If Hetshutset suffers damage when attempting to activate the Ability Push, the daily use is wasted without effect. Hetty’s Ability Push provides her with a +2 inherent bonus to her CON score, which lasts for 1 hour.

Regenerator Talents (EX): Hetty automatically stabilizes when reduced to 0 HP or below. She gains a number of bonus HP equal to her Powered Hero class level, and possesses Fast Healing 1.


Also, let me preview some of the plug n' play rules modifications found in the Game Master's Guide. These short rules modifications affect different aspects of the campaign and can be inserted for a few game sessions or an entire campaign. Which rules mods your home group uses will decide what kind of flavor your campaign has: do you want the battles in your campaign to look more like Bubblegum Crisis or Blackhawk Down? Right now, there's about 30 different optional rules found in the GMG, and that number will likely grow before I go to press. As I get cool ideas for rules modifications, I add them to the file.

Take a look at a couple of randomly chosen rules mods and see if they're a good fit for your home campaigns.

Heroic Endurance
Though they can injured badly during battles, the heroes recover quickly.
Modification
Characters automatically heal between encounters, without needing medical care or active involvement.

Characters who ended an encounter with more than half their maximum HP are restored to full HP at the beginning of the next encounter.

Characters who ended an encounter with between 25% and 50% of their total HP are restored to half maximum HP at the beginning of the next encounter, and must take some action to recover additional hit points normally.

Characters who ended an encounter with less than 25% of their total HP are restored to 25% maximum HP at the beginning of the next encounter, and must take some action to recover additional hit points normally.

When to Activate this Mod?
This mod makes the action more cinematic, but less realistic. Here, Hit Points measure luck and vitality as much, if not more than they represent blood loss and organ damage. By healing completely between battles, the heroes gain more endurance and flexibility. They can adventure longer before needing to pause the action to rest. This mod does not make any individual battle easier, but makes the campaign as a whole easier and a bit faster moving.

When to Deactivate this Mod?
If you or your players like Hit Points to be a purely physical statistic, not a story element, don’t use this mod. If you feel automatic healing makes the game too unrealistic, avoid this mod. Finally, this rule mod makes a great set of ‘training wheels’ for new gamers, or players without any medics in their group. Groups with access to dedicated healers and savvy gamers probably don’t need the extra help.

Next-Gen Weapons
Energy weapons are exponentially deadlier than conventional firearms.
Modification
All energy based ranged weapons and ranged powers inflict an additional dice of damage.
When to Activate this Mod?
As the basic rules stand, Otherverse America’s slug-throwers and energy weapons are just about equal in terms of damage output. Choosing between them is as much a stylistic choice as a statistical one. Add Next-Gen Weapons to the campaign to make slug-throwers seem outdated. This rules mod makes the Lifer military, which uses more ballistic weapons than the Choicer nation, seem even lower tech, which might emphasize their nature as scrappy underdogs.

When to Deactivate this Mod?
Activating or deactivating Next-Gen Weapons is purely a style choice. Do you want advanced energy weapons to dominate the battlefield or not?


Severed Supply Lines
It doesn’t matter how much money you have to spend, or how good your connections are when there just aren’t any supplies to be found.
Modification
At the beginning of each session (or discrete period in the game world, such as a month of game time), the game master secretly rolls D20 to determine what type of equipment will be available for the session. Items in categories higher than the D20 result are almost impossible to find. Unavailable gear can’t easily be found for purchase, or for requisition. Effectively, add a +5 or +10 modifier on all skill checks made to acquire the gear, and add +2 to +5 to the Wealth check DC to purchase the items…. If they can be found at all.

If players want a piece of unavailable gear, they must steal or scavenge it.

D20 Target Number Type of Gear
8 Extremely basic supplies (Food, water, first aid kits, cheap booze, commercial batteries)
10 Skill kits, specialty gear, consumer electronics, luxury items, prescription medicines, most illegal drugs.
12 Ammunition, firearms, explosives, gasoline or other fuels, military power cells or energy clips for weapons. Civilian ground vehicles. Commercial cybernetic implants or OTC genemods.
14 Energy weapons, military heavy weapons, civilian aircraft. Reloads for military grade weapons, grenades. Military ground transports, industrial equipment, civilian-grade powered armor.
18 Military grade genemods and combat cybernetics. Military aircraft, military grade powered armor. Forcefield systems, ECCM systems or other extremely high-tech military hardware. Space vehicles capable of intra-system travel. Medicines tailored to alien or Lifechained biologies.
20 Lifechained genetic material or mutagens, weapons of mass destruction, ITF capable starships.

When to Activate this Mod?
This modification is best used as a situational modifier. Are the players pinned down a city cut off by a prolonged Lifer siege? Add this modification to make things a little worse after a few days of fighting. Players in War-era campaigns will likely have to conserve ammo, jury-rig equipment and make do with less if you choose to activate this mod. Activating this mod is also a great way to shake gadget-happy players out of their comfort zones and force them to solve problems in new days, and gives characters with a connection to the black market a chance to shine.

When to Deactivate this Mod?
The decision to deactivate this mod is a story one. Have situations on the ground improved enough that regular supply lines can be re-established? If so, turn off this mod. Players might also feel especially rewarded if their in-game actions led to the reestablishment of supply lines, and will feel extra satisfaction when new gear and spare ammo clips start rolling in again.

Stories of Pregnancy

In a setting where abortion drives the conflict, pregnancies, both meticulously prepared for and unplanned, should pop up fairly often. The only problem is that pregnancy rules in role playing games fall into at least one of the following three categories:
1. Ill advised add on rules from third party publishers.
2. Deeply misogynist.
3. So complex and difficult to use they take all the drama, romance and suspense out of a character’s sexual adventures.

Modification
These pregnancy rules focus less on probability and biology and instead focus on the story potential of a pregnancy. Assume an unmodified human who takes no precautions to prevent a pregnancy conceives when rolling the highest result possible on a random die roll. The size of the die rolled is determined by how interesting a potential pregnancy in the situation would be.

Characters who take even basic precautions against pregnancy (condoms, birth control pills, or standard contraceptive bionics or genemods) don’t randomly conceive. Conversely, many genemods and cyber-systems allow women to control their fertility consciously- if they desire to conceive, they will.

Pregnancy Dice Size The mother’s relationship status…..
D20 In a committed relationship, in good health and actively trying to conceive. Trying to conceive at a Beltane revel.
D12 In a committed relationship but not actively trying to conceive.
D10 In a casual relationship or one night stand with someone who is not an active threat to the mother’s life, career or social status.
D8 In a casual relationship or one night stand with someone who is an active threat to the mother’s life, career or social status.
D6 If the mother’s lifestyle or metahuman powers would make a pregnancy difficult or dangerous, or if the father’s metahuman genome would do the same.

Obviously, realism is sacrificed for playability and drama, but when cyborgs are shooting rail-guns at each other, realism probably isn’t a prime concern. Likewise, while pregnant characters can play out any form of complication they want, there aren’t really any ability score or attribute penalties for pregnancy.

Towards the end of pregnancy, the mother might be considered fatigued if the pregnancy is especially difficult. The reason is simple: even if pregnancy would justify an ability score penalty in ordinary women, the heroes and villains of Otherverse America aren’t ordinary. They are in excellent health and usually equipped with enough gene-tech to make pregnancy all but painless. The one exception are Half Grey characters and Couriers. Women of these species are specifically described as being infertile- unable to conceive and carry a child to term without multi-million dollar medical assistance. Even if a pregnancy is possible, the mother is likely to be sickened for the entire term, or suffer even worse complications.

Miscarriages
Entering combat while pregnant can be deadly, but sometimes there’s no choice in the matter. Anytime an attacker beats the pregnant character’s Defense score by 10 or more, there is a chance she will suffer a miscarriage. The character must succeed at a FORT Save (DC 10 + ½ the damage inflicted) or immediately begin miscarrying. In addition to losing the pregnancy, the woman suffers 2d4 points of temporary CON damage.

Receiving immediate medical care (Treat Injury DC 20 + 1d6) within 10-15 minutes of the injury can save the pregnancy. This requires a surgical kit.

Pregnancy and Experience
Pregnancy is a life changing experience, and in game terms life experience is represented by XP. After a woman’s first pregnancy ends, by any means, by her own choice or not, she gains a level of experience.