I've been having some problems with how the age of characters actually works, it's quite probably that I'm just being daft but bear with me....

The rules presume that starting characters are born in 465, so I presume that means in the "Winter Phase" of that game year.

I also presume that when someone is born they start at age 0.

So in the Winter of 466, those starting Knights became 1.

And so on and so forth up until 485 which sees them turn 20 in it's Winter Phase.

However the Knights are meant to be Knighted in 485, for which they must be 21. And given as how I've worked them out as turning 20 in 485's Winter Phase means that they will in fact be just 19 for most of the gaming in year 485.

I've clearly got it wrong somewhere, what am I doing?

Gee, you are making things difficult for yourself. ;D

485-21=464

If indeed the rules state what you say they are obviously wrong.

Just consider them born early in 465. That way they are 21 in time.

I'm happy enough to fudge away the "hang on how old was he?" questions, I think that my real worry was/is that I might be being too harsh on my players and be making them roll an extra time on the childhood survival table.

Basically am I right in thinking that if a child is born in the Winter Phase of 485 he turns 1 in the Winter Phase of 486 and therefore 21 in the Winter Phase of 506 and thus is ready to be Knighted in the game year 507?

If he is 21 in 507, he is born in 486. Don't worry about birthdate. It may be that he is 20 for part of 507, but he'll turn 21 during that year.

Some of what happens in the winter phase is an abstraction of events that occur throughout the year. If you roll a child birth in the winter phase of 486, it means that a child was born some time in 486 - maybe January, maybe December.

I'm happy about their being an abstraction with the winter phase.

The way I've been working it, and will be working it again in a new campaign that I'm starting, is that a there is there might be a birth in the Winter Phase of a year if there has been the "opportunity" during the game year.

So the way I see it a birth in the "Winter Phase of Game Year 485" means that the child was born at some point between Autumn in the year 485 and the Spring of 486. So I describe it as being roughly from October through to February or March.

Yes that does mean that there aren't any children born to Player Knights over the summer months but I'm happy with that, it means that a Knight isn't busy doing his duties around Salisbury and somehow doesn't notice that his Wife had a child in the summer until Winter comes around.