Cabbage Patch Baby

Description

This creature is commonly found under a head of cabbage, hence the name. There have been reports of a virtually identical creature being found in storks' nests, and both types of creatures will behave as described here. When found the baby will be wrapped in fine cotton blankets, holding a silver spoon in one hand and a rattle in the other. Nearby there will be a small silver platter and (50% chance of) a pair of bronze baby shoes.

The cabbage patch baby appears to be a healthy human infant of approximately one month age. Although varying in exact features, these babys are generally very adorable. It will develop a strong affinity for one member of the party that finds it, based on the characters charisma modified as follows:

The person with highest total adjusted charisma will be designated the baby's parent. The baby will expect its parent to care for it, wailing piercingly whenever the parent is out of its sight. Other party members may tend the baby, but it will scream and fuss and generally make life miserable for all concerned until the parent returns. There is a 20% per hour cumulative chance that the baby will wake at night, requiring the parent's attention for 1d6 turns. This cycle will repeat for the duration of the night, or for 12 hours, whichever is less. During the day, the baby will take 2-3 naps, each 1d6 + 2 turns in duration. While awake, the baby will demand constant attention, either in the form of feeding, changing diapers, or amusement. If the baby feels slighted, it will wail until its demands are met. A check must be made every hour to determine if the baby is happy.

If threatened, the baby will emit a shriek which will empower the parent with a defensive reaction, known as the Maternal Instinct. This will cause the parent's strength to rise to 18/00 and the constitution to rise to 18, with all bonuses applicable regardless of class for 1d4+1 turns. The parent will then come to the baby's defense and fight until their hit points drop below -18, at which point they drop dead on the spot.

While in the presence of the party, the baby will drain 1 point of constitution per night from the parent and 1 point of constitution per week from the remainder of the party. Once a party member's constitution has been dropped to 3, the drain will affect strength at the same rate, while for exceptional strength it will be 50 percentage points at a time. If a member's strength has dropped to 3, the drain will affect intelligence, followed by dexterity, wisdom, and charisma, in that order. All bonuses will be lost as points are drained, including hit points gained from constitution bonus. During each night with the baby, all spell casters in the party must make a saving throw vs. death at +2, -4 if the parent, or suffer a 20% chance of spell failure during the next day.

If abandoned for more than 1d6 turns, the baby will re-appear in the parents arms. The only way the baby will agree to leave the parent is to be turned over to the care of a nanny or wetnurse. Once the baby has left the party properly, the lost points are gained back at a rate of 1 point per day, but not 1 point per score per day. So if a parent has lost 5 constitution points and 2 strength points, it will take 7 days to fully recover.