Conception is an interesting spell.
With the casting of this spell, you guarantee that on your next attempt, you and your partner will conceive a child. Conception overcomes sterility or infertility in either you or your partner, whether natural or due to an injury, illness, or curse, as well as herbal remedies that normally block conception. Alchemical or magical means of blocking conception, such as block the seed, counter conception and make the spell ineffective. (…)
This spell came up during an intrigue-related game. One of the players wants to guarantee that the queen will get pregnant from her lover to further their schemes. They planned to trick the lover into drinking a Potion of Conception, in the hopes of jumping over the barriers related to the queen's supposed infertility.
That's all good and fine.
Except the queen and her lover aren't exactly from compatible species.
They don't know yet, but the queen is actually a synthetic construct – a warforged-like being made to look exactly like a human being at any external inspection, with most of the functioning bits and pieces (she can eat, go to the toilet, cry, have carnal relationships, salivate, etc) while being effectively immortal, able to replace any part that is breaking down due to old age or damage by a quick visit to her automated repair chamber.
Obviously, if it was the queen the one to drink the potion, I would just rule that her anatomy is too alien and the potion has no effect. However, it is her lover that is drinking the potion. By a RAW reading of the rules, this synthetic, infertile replicant will end up getting somehow pregnant after the next session with her lover, even if no viable offspring was possible between then.
I can't even rule that she "doesn't have the proper equipment", because the spell overcomes sterility/infertility, be it natural or caused by some source. Since the queen is a synthetic being that is "naturally" infertile, the spell appears to work at a first glance, but I might be missing a nuance somewhere.
So:
- If my players proceed with the plan, will the Replicant Queen get pregnant?
- If she does, what would be the race of the child?
- Would the queen still get pregnant if she was actually a Lich in disguise?
About the "Attempt" angle: If "willingness to conceive" from the part of the spell recipient is necessary, consider it present.
Best Answer
It does what you want
You are, based on this text, the GM and responsible for deciding on how rules and edge cases work...
As well as attempting to foster a fun environment.
You, then, must decide if this spell, which may or may not work in a given situation that doesn't seem to use RAW Paizo rules, works in this instance.
So ask yourself...
Once you have the answer to most of these, you should be able to decide for yourself if it works.
But if you really want another GM's answer
Assuming the creature has the ability to attempt* to make a child (as is indicated by their ability to have a carnal relationship), then this spells seems to "supply" everything else. Infertility specifically seems to address this, being defined broadly as "inability to conceive children or young." It doesn't seem to matter if she or her lover drank the potion; either is a valid target of the spell.
Whatever you want, but probably either fully the race of her lover or something like an Android or a her lovers race modified by the Race Builder Half-Construct trait.
Yeah, probably. It's a weird spell that will likely have weird results
*Here, attempt may mean just having intercourse or it may mean that one or both of them would need to intend to have a child. The spell doesn't clarify if intent matters.