Two of my players had a baby over the summer. (Well, one of them had the baby; the other participated in the creation and now in the parenting. You all know where babies come from—I don’t need to explain it.) Recently, they’ve expressed interest in returning to the table, baby in tow. Having played a few board games with them with the baby on board, I think it might actually work.
Inspired by my recent run of What Child is This, I’m working on some baby-at-the-table mechanics tied between the physical child and a magical baby in the game itself that the party would have to care for.
Right now I’m thinking:
If the real baby cries, the game baby does too, generating some in-game event.
If the real baby needs to be fed, so too does the game baby, generating another in-game event.
If whatever is going on with the actual baby necessitates a player stepping away from the table, the in-game event occupies their character in such a way that they are unable to interact with anything or fully know what is going on for the duration, but it also potentially grants the rest of the party some kind of bonus—it’s a magical baby, after all.
Each event could have an associated random table of… things—Wandering encounters, miraculous events, etc.
Anyone have any experience with babies? At the game table?!
I have minimal experience with a baby at the game table but I love the way you’re approaching it. My first thought was giving the parents grace and just accepting a bit of chaos. But actually incorporating it sounds really fun if everyone’s on board. Random ideas that this post sparked for me:
Party stealth/sneaking depends on if the baby is quiet
Magical boons for laughing baby
Something fun related to diaper changes (and possibly the suspense of which kind of diaper change )
Best of luck and I’d be curious how this goes if/when you run it.
Golden ideas here of incorporating a sleeping baby/parents into a game of d&d. I feel specialy targeted as I got a baby boy recently and was thinking how he is going to change my gaming. Boardgame night with friends work great so far! Next RPG Night.
What I discovered on one of my first trips after the babys birth to the local game store was this little gem called Diapers & Daycares It was a must buy with him dangling in his baby bjorn
I still have to get it to the table, but I totally see myself adding your ideas on top of an already baby heavy theme!
I have some experience with babies at the game table, though none with trying to incorporate them in play. How workable it is depends very heavily on the personalities of both the baby and the parents, as well as the exact age of the baby. Some will be able to hang with minimal disruption, others much less so. On some of these ideas, depending on the baby and their mood, these events could get a little out of hand. A cranky baby might trigger events every 5-10 minutes. Feeding is hopefully at fairly predictable intervals, so you’ll be able to plan around that… unless it’s not. Sounds like a fun thing to try! Report back on how it goes.
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