[Child of the 7th Age]

I have two questions that need some clarification before I can go forward with Child's background.

QUESTION ONE: I really need to know what year of the Fourth Age our adventure starts in. I'm trying to think about Child's background, who she is and where she is from. Since some of the points of Child's background touch upon Bilbo's life as well as the Scouring of the Shire, I need to know how old Child would be at those times.

My impression is that we're in the first 20 years of the Fourth Age when we start out. If I had a preference, I would say 10 years into the 4th Age. What do others think?

Mith, I think this would effect you somewhat as well, since you have a reference in your introductory statement that you were in your 20s during the Ring War.

It's not that I plan to announce the exact year in the story, but I need some chronological guidelines to make sure I'm being realistic in discussing my character's past. E.g., Child could not have "studied" with Bilbo at the age of two years!

QUESTION TWO: Did hobbits ever marry as 'tweeners or did they have to be "of age", i.e 33, to get married? This is in relation to the late Third Age.

(This is an interesting point even outside this RPG. If they were always 33 or older, even for the girls, you'd have to assume that their fertility cycle was different than that of Man, since they seem to have had large families.)

sharon