What If? Fertility Control

[JRScott]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

The greatest consideration would be how the Gods and Goddesses would react.

 

Anyone using contraception is going to immediately become the enemy of the Goddess or God of Fertility. Indeed they could decide its such an affront as to strike anyone that uses them with infertility, no woman that used it could ever bear a child, nor any man that used such ever sire a child.

 

Without consequences from sex you'll see the breakdown of the traditional family. As such the God/Goddess of Love is going to be offended. If their is a Hearth goddess she will be offended. Since a breakdown in the family generally also corresponds to a breakdown eventually in Culture, Society and Empires then any Gods/Goddesses associated with Culture, Society, Kingdoms, Domains etc are going to be offended.

 

If you stave off Death unnaturally to long the God of Death is going to be offended. He may send his minions personally to ensure there is a steady supply of souls to his domain.

 

Gods of Nature would look at as a disruption of the natural order, and move to rectify it. After all the cycle of life is that something is born, lives its time, dies and replenishes the earth.

 

If continued unchecked such a society would probably resemble O Brave New World or 1984 where love is absent and children are wards of the state. There is no love, joy or happiness in the lives of the average individual. Needless to say the Gods/Goddesses over those are going to be offended.

 

This doesn't mean certain evil gods might not tempt mortals with such. A God of Lust for instance (Lust not Love) may well embrace contraception. However such would be far more outnumbered by those who would be offended. I"m sure such usage as such would be kept low in order to make sure a balance is not breached or a Divine War could well develop. Thus any society that so developed would probably not last more than a few decades or centuries before Divine Retribution wiped it out with the more numerous and populous neighbors reinforced by Divine Will at the same time those same gods/goddesses withdraw their power from the offending nation.

[Mister E]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

The greatest consideration would be how the Gods and Goddesses would react.

 

This reminds me of Plato's Euthyphro.

 

"Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious? Or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"

[Steve]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

This reminds me of Plato's Euthyphro.

 

"Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious? Or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?"

 

The Book of Job would seem to be the answer to that one.

[Vondy]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

One major point of concern is how ubiquitous and affordable fertility related magic is?

 

If it requires difficult to obtain components, is exhausting for the caster, or is expensive for whatever reason you will see a stratification in society. The wealthy, influential, and powerful will be able to avail themselves of it, while the poor will be churning out babies. This will favor more modern (or roman) style armies that don't rely on mounted nobility for its elite striking power. Indeed, I would think money and land ownership - plutocrats - would supplant the traditional spurs and swords aristocracy.

[Steve]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

If conception is a matter of will and magic exists, a question arises in how the two relate.

 

Is the will effect purely internal on the mother's part, not actually magical, and the father only thinks he has a say in it? That could be a biological/hormonal change that is controlled by conscious thought but can also act on its own (like controlling breathing, since you'll also breathe when you aren't thinking about it).

 

If magic is enabling sentients to reproduce, and conscious thought causes it to happen, even if irregularly, then sterility or fertility could be related to a being's magical ability. Those who are sterile may be sterile because they lack magic ability entirely. And there could be wizards or witches who specialize in fertility magic, imposing their will on another and causing couples to be more fertile or less. Wizards and witches may have to be partially or fully abstinent because sexual activity drains their magical abilities.

 

Sentience and fertility could be a linked gift from the gods, and cross-breeds with animals (like centaurs) exist because of a being with magical ability matingwith an animal.

 

Different races like Elves or Dwarves could also be a result of magic and conscious desire affecting reproduction. Magic could thus enable a form of mutation and evolution. Maybe Dwarves evolved from members of the original race needing to be more effective miners, and over time they became the Dwarves. They can still mate and reproduce with other races, but the result will likely be another Dwarf because Dwarves are all determined to perpetuate their species. Orcs could have beeen a result of evil wizards imposing their will on others over generations and desiring the creation of a soldier race.

[Manic Typist]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

The greatest consideration would be how the Gods and Goddesses would react.

 

An important consideration, surely, but how important depends on how present/powerful the gods are in a setting.

 

Anyone using contraception is going to immediately become the enemy of the Goddess or God of Fertility.

Not necessarily.

 

 

Without consequences from sex you'll see the breakdown of the traditional family. As such the God/Goddess of Love is going to be offended.

Not sure where you're getting this at all, because that isn't necessarily the case and it doesn't necessarily follow that a deity of love would object to the control of child birth.

 

If you stave off Death unnaturally to long the God of Death is going to be offended. He may send his minions personally to ensure there is a steady supply of souls to his domain.

A very good plot thread.

 

Gods of Nature would look at as a disruption of the natural order, and move to rectify it. After all the cycle of life is that something is born, lives its time, dies and replenishes the earth.

I doubt that, since in this instance it appears to be an inherent and therefore natural ability. If anything, they would (in this setting) object to uncontrolled fertility or forced sterility. That life cycle, also, is only necessarily true if the setting says it is true.

 

If continued unchecked such a society would probably resemble O Brave New World or 1984 where love is absent and children are wards of the state. There is no love, joy or happiness in the lives of the average individual.

Whoa. That's a stretch.

 

 

I see this is your first post. Thanks for joining and welcome to the boards!

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

The greatest consideration would be how the Gods and Goddesses would react.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the game world. There may not even be any gods or goddesses, much less one of something like fertility.

 

And I really don't see how you draw the connection between this system and Brave New World. How would planning to have children make them unloved and wards of the state? It's nonsensical.

[Markdoc]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the game world. There may not even be any gods or goddesses, much less one of something like fertility.

 

And I really don't see how you draw the connection between this system and Brave New World. How would planning to have children make them unloved and wards of the state? It's nonsensical.

 

It's also the opposite of what happens in real life: planned children tend to be cherished and are actually less likely to end up wards of the state. However, most fantasy games don't have states far-reaching enough to run large orphanages - so unwanted children will more likely simply be sold or abandoned.

 

cheers, Mark

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

It's also the opposite of what happens in real life: planned children tend to be cherished and are actually less likely to end up wards of the state. However, most fantasy games don't have states far-reaching enough to run large orphanages - so unwanted children will more likely simply be sold or abandoned.

 

cheers, Mark

 

Yeah ... I forget some people run worlds where people can be bought and sold.

[Markdoc]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

Yeah ... I forget some people run worlds where people can be bought and sold.

 

We live in a world where people - especially children - are bought and sold.

 

cheers, Mark

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

We live in a world where people - especially children - are bought and sold.

 

cheers, Mark

 

Yes, and it's nauseating, so that doesn't happen in my game worlds.

[Badger]

Re: What If? Fertility Control

 

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the game world. There may not even be any gods or goddesses, much less one of something like fertility.

 

And I really don't see how you draw the connection between this system and Brave New World. How would planning to have children make them unloved and wards of the state? It's nonsensical.

 

If the gods are like most ancient pantheons, they'll be too busy shagging their sister.

 

*cues dueling banjos*