Family

Mating Offer

Mating can only be requested when the following conditions have been met:

• Both characters are at least 20 years old
• Both characters are not incapable
• Both characters are not from the same account
• Neither character has an unhealed or permanent groin injury
• One character is male and the other is female
• Both characters are from the same race.
• Both characters are in the same locaton
• Both characters are not infertile (the age of which is 25% subtracted from the race lifespan)
• It has been at least 10 real days since the last mating between the two specific characters. (This does not affect mating with other characters)

When selected a request is sent to the other character through an alert that they can accept if both characters are in the same location or reject. The requester is notified of their response via a global message (meaning all those present can see that the pair have mated), but a mating cooldown is only set if accepted. A mating will technically fail if the female is already waiting for a child (with the same or a different male) when a mate offer is accepted, but one will never know if this happens before a child is born, making the father unknown. Attempting multiple matings does nothing to increase probability. The female will not know it was successful until a child is either spawned with her in 48 hours time. It can fail if there is not enough children in queue, in which case the mother will sense life growing but will receive a failure message when the child is supposed to spawn, or it can fail from the start and the mother will only know because they have no received any life sensing messages.
Note: It is possible to summon life without officially requesting to mate. For example, life might be summoned either through gods, quests, or excessive ERP.

Genetics

The genetics of a child are decided by averaging the skills, and experience of the parents while attributes are set for base levels with racial bonuses. This means that characters interested in a strong legacy or bloodline will want to look for mates with equal or better skills. Children learn at the same rate as adults but they drive down the pace of projects; any effort that would have been done in that hour is halved when any child is present on the project. A child can be spawned with natural talent in magic. The base chance of getting magic is 10%, but if the parents have magic (natural or learned) it can be more easily passed down to their children. If one parent has magic, it's a 50% chance the child will have magic, but if both parents have magic the child will have 100% chance to inherit. The type of magic is not inherited, only the chance of having the skill.

Inbreeding

If the parents of a child are too closely related, there is a chance they will be mechanically defined as “inbred.” Children may be inbred if their parents are within two vertical steps (parents or grandparents) or two horizontal steps (siblings, cousin) of the same family branch. The chance for cousins to produce an inbred child is 50%. All other relations listed above result in a 100% chance of producing an inbred child.

If a child is inbred, they will begin with lowest possible stats (no benefit from genetic inheritance or from racial bonus). Additionally, one attribute (and all of its related skills) will forever be stunted at its lowest level (it cannot gain experience). Finally, the child will only receive the basic 10% chance to have magical ability, regardless of whether one or both parents have magic. An inbred child is indicated by looking at the Character menu near the racial description, other characters cannot see this status. The attribute and its associated skills which have been stunted will be indicated on the character skills sheet as having grey labels.

Gestation

The waiting period between an attempted mating and child arrival lasts 48 hours. If your mating was successful, you will see green success messages about sensing life. The first message appears on the 16th hour since the mating occurred, so if you do not see it within a day, then the mating did not work and you will have to try again after your option to mate has its cool down period. If you do see the life sensing messages, it means that the mating was successful, but, depending on various factors the life could still be lost. This can happen if the tier didn't have any suitable children waiting to be born to begin with and/or if no appropriate players join the tier following a related demand notification. If that happens, you will not know until the end of the gestation that it failed. A child will not appear, and a red failure message will post saying the life was lost.

Child Arrival

The spawning of a child is announced with a message all present can see when they arrive, after a wait of 48 hours after a successful mating. They will always arrive in the same location of the mother (even while in a road or a full vehicle), and they will be able to see who their child is via a label on the child's description. Children will have an indication of their mother when they spawn, via their first event with their mother's description and name. Only mothers can set the true name of a child (the child may rename themselves when they are 18); others will nickname them, which is just a name your own character knows the other char by. Once the child is spawned, it is the equivalent of a 5 year old physically and mentally. Children will always arrive slightly hungry. You cannot be born to parents on your own account.

Child Behavior

Children are limited in the following behavior:

• Children cannot kill an incapable person.
• Children cannot start their own projects.
• Children slow down project progress by 50%.
• Children are able to be dragged by their mother at any time (others must make them incapable first), or by other members in a group they are part of.
• Children are able to be turned around on the road by their mother as if they're incapable if they are within the requirements.
• Children cannot drag anyone ever.
• Children cannot heal grievous injuries.
• Children cannot bring other children into existence.
• Children can only turn around whilst travelling if there is no adult present on a cart or mount with them, or if they are not on either.
• Child limitations lift at age 14.

Child Queue

From a technical standpoint, the lines for children to be born are all separated by race. Characters will sit in line and will wait for a breeding pair of a specific race to be ready for a child. When that happens, the game will match the child to the parents based on their place in line. When character to be born is fully matched to parents, locking them into the birth with a message saying "spawning imminent" and you will not be able to remove yourself from the tier. See adoption if you are born post "lock-in" but no longer have the time to commit to this role. In some circumstances, a child character will be skipped for matching, such as if the child account is the same as the parents, or if the accounts of the parents are being avoided by the child account.