Age

Alrik:Handicraft describes articles, which explain old school roleplay as was common in the 70s or 80s. Overall these are things missing from OSRIC™.

[+] Age German: Alter

To model the effects of aging, different age groups must be determined for each race.

Race	Starting age by class type
	_	_	_	_
Lizardman	012+1d4	000—	000—	020+2d4
Elf	130+5d6	500+10d10	150+5d6	100+5d6
Gnome	060+5d4	300+3d12	100+2d12	080+5d4
Half-elf	022+3d4	040+2d4	030+2d8	022+3d8
Halfling	020+3d4	040+3d4	040+3d4	040+2d4
Half-ogre	015+1d4	020+1d4	000—	000—
Half-orc	013+1d4	020+1d4	000—	020+2d4
Aquatic half-elf	022+3d4	040+2d4	000—	022+3d8
Lokathah	012+1d4	000—	000—	017+2d6
Merman	015+1d4	020+1d4	024+2d8	020+1d4
Human	015+1d4	020+1d4	024+2d8	020+1d4
Aquatic ​​elf	130+5d6	500+10d10	000—	100+5d6
Dwarf	040+5d4	250+2d20	090+4d6	075+3d6

Race	Age group
	Youth	Mature	Middle	Old	Venerable
Lizardman	13-16	17-44	45-80	81-120 (40)	121-250 (130)
Elf	101-175	176-550	551-875	876-1200 (325)	1201-1600 (400)
Gnome	51-90	91-300	301-450	451-600 (150)	601-750 (150)
Half-elf	24-40	41-100	101-175	176-250 (75)	251-325 (75)
Halfling	22-33	34-68	69-101	102-144 (43)	145-199 (55)
Half-ogre	12-18	19-40	41-80	81-110 (30)	111-140 (30)
Half-orc	12-15	16-30	31-45	46-60 (15)	61-80 (20)
Aquatic half-elf	24-40	41-100	101-175	176-250 (75)	251-325 (75)
Lokathah	11-14	15-32	33-50	51-70 (20)	71-99 (29)
Merman	14-20	21-40	41-60	61-90 (30)	91-120 (30)
Human	14-20	21-40	41-60	61-90 (30)	91-120 (30)
Aquatic ​​elf	101-175	176-550	551-875	876-1200 (325)	1201-1600 (400)
Dwarf	35-50	51-150	151-250	251-350 (100)	351-450 (100)

If a character reaches the respective age group, their ability scores ​​are modified as indicated, whereby the specified modifiers for all age groups reached are cumulative. The modifiers are usually given in whole numbers, so that even a fighter with exceptional strength of 18 [XX] will be reduced to 17 as a result of a −1 penalty (exceptions only apply to middle-aged characters).

Age group	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS
Youth	±0	±0	+1	±0	−1
Mature	+1	±0	±0	±0	+1
Middle	−1	±0	−1	+1	+1
Old	−2	−2	−1	±0	+1
Venerable	−1	−1	−1	+1	+1

No modification can exceed the maximum ability scores ​​of the race or fall below the minimum ability scores ​​of the race or class. The exception thereto is wisdom, which is the only ability that can exceed the maximum value of the race through aging. Charisma does not change with age.

There are obviously children of every race, but they typically do not go on adventures and have not yet completed their education. They are therefore not relevant for the considerations presented here. How children should be represented in the game world is therefore up to the Game Master.

Unnatural aging

Some monsters, such as ghosts, cause unnatural aging, as do various magical factors. The following magic reduces lifespan and causes the affected person to age as indicated. A potion of longevity or other magical means can reverse unnatural aging to a limited extent.

Causes of magical aging	Aging (years)
Imbibing a potion of speed	1
Under a Haste spell	1
Casting Resurrection	3
Casting Limited Wish	1
Casting Alter Reality	3
Casting Gate	5
Casting Restoration	2
Casting Wish	3

Determination of the maximum age

If the player character does not die from other causes, they will live to old age. The maximum age given for each race serves as a guideline to determine the exact age at which the character will die of old age using the following tables.

The baseline age is the lower or upper interval limit of the specified age group. The variable age limit is then rolled and added to or subtracted from the baseline age.

d20	Baseline age		Variable age limit
	Age group	Interval limit
01-02	Old	lower	+1d8 time spans
03-05	Old	upper	−1d4 time spans
06-12	Venerable	lower	+1d6 time spans
13-18	Venerable	upper	−(1d10−1) time spans
19-20	Venerable	upper	+(1d20−1) time spans

Depending on the interval length of the determined age group, the time span of the variable age limit is determined as follows:

Interval length	Time span	Additional variation
<100	Year	—
100-250	Decade	±(1d10−1) Years
>250	Score	±(1d20−1) Years

The additional variation is always given in years and is calculated in the same "direction" as the variable age limit. If the variable age limit is subtracted from the baseline age, the additional variation is also subtracted; if the variable age limit is added, the additional variation is also added.

Example: Alrik on his deathbed

After a long life full of adventure and romance, Alrik feels that his body will soon fail him. A 16 is rolled on the d20, so Alrik lives as a human until a baseline age of 120 years. To determine the variable age limit, a second roll is made on a d10. This shows a 3, so 2 years are subtracted from Alrik's baseline age. Alrik passes away at the proud age of 118 surrounded by family and friends, who bid farewell to the hero who enriched their lives so much. If Alrik had been a dwarf, however, the same dice results would give a base age of 450 years minus 2 decades, since the interval length of venerable dwarves is 100. Another d10 would also need to be rolled to determine the additional variation. So a result of 4 would mean that 3 more years should be abstracted, resulting in a maximum age of 427 years.

Death from old age

Death from old age is almost impossible to stop. Unless the character's lifespan is somehow extended, even a revived character will soon die again.

Unless a spell or magical item explicitly extends lifespan or is a wish, death from old age will not be averted. Once a character's actual maximum age is reached, then it is final.

Thus, characters who are confronted with death from old age will have to look for forms of immortality, either by becoming a lich or by living on in the loving memory of their children.