Aging

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Class Dwarf Elf Gnome Half-elf Halfling Half-orc Human
Starting Age for Character Classes by Race
Assassin 27+1d4 14+2d4 20+1d4 16+2d4 na 37+1d6 20+1d4
Bard na na na 33+1d4 na na 25+1d4
Cleric 57+2d4 38+1d8 48+1d10 28+1d6 na 30+1d6 20+1d4
Druid na na na 30+1d6 36+1d8 na 22+1d4
Fighter 16+1d4 15+1d4 15+1d4 18+1d4 17+1d4 25+1d6 14+1d4
Illusionist na na 21+2d6 na na na 29+2d8
Mage na 22+2d4 na 23+2d6 na na 24+2d8
Monk na na na na na na 23+1d4
Paladin na na na na na na 19+1d4
Ranger na 18+1d4 na 21+1d4 na na 17+1d4
Thief 25+1d4 12+2d4 18+1d4 14+2d4 29+1d6 35+1d6 18+1d4

When player characters are generated, it is necessary to establish the character's age. I usually do this with my character background generator, but in case I have to do it manually, and so that players understand the formulas for calculating age, I include the table shown on the right. Where "na" appears, it is because that class is "not available" to that character race.

My game does not recognize the extended lifespans that are given to non-human characters in AD&D, so all character races are adjusted to fit the traditional human lifespan. The translation from AD&D has resulted in some characters being unusually old (dwarf and gnome clerics) or somewhat young (elven assassins and thieves). I consider that this disparity depicts a cultural prejudice against training individuals until they have reached a certain age, or the speed with which training can be mastered by one race as opposed to another.

Characters that are multi-classed should begin with the highest base number of the two or more classes chosen, then add the total modifiers of both classes to that characters age. For example, a half-elven fighter/mage would have a base age of 23, adding 2d6+1d4 to that base age. This would make the multi-class half-elven's age an average of 32-33.

Non-player characters of a character class will generally be older; we assume they have been out and about in the world for sometime, while the numbers shown indicate the player character at approximately the moment they have been released from their training. A general guideline of 1d4 years can be added per level of the NPC to indicate the amount of time spent in gaining levels, so that a 5th level NPC human mage would ordinarily be 24+2d8, +4d4 (four levels gained past 1st), for an average age of 43 years. As a guideline this can be ignored in special cases, because it can certainly take less than four years to gain four levels if the NPC has spent that time adventuring, while at the same time there's nothing to say that a 5th level mage cannot be 70+ years old.

Age Adjustments to Ability Stats

Depending on the age category into which a character's age falls, the character's ability stats are adjusted to reflect the character's generation. These categories are shown on the Age Adjustment table. When the character is first created, the player makes adjustments according to the "New Character" column. When a character ages during the game, moving from one age category to the next, the player makes adjustments according to the "Grown Older" column.

Age Category Range in Years New Character Grown Older
Age Adjustment
young adult 13 to 20 -1 wis, +1 con -1 wis, +1 con
mature 21 to 40 +1 str, +1 con +1 str, +1 wis
middle aged 41 to 60 +1 int, +1 wis -1 str, +1 int, +1 wis, -1 con
old 61 to 90 -1 str, +1 int, +2 wis, -1 con, -1 dex -1 str, +1 wis, -1 con, -1 dex
venerable 91+ -2 str, +2 int, +3 wis, -2 con, -2 dex -1 str, +1 int, +1 wis, -1 con, -1 dex

For example, the player rolls up a 1st level dwarven fighter that is 20 years old. Using the New Character column, the fighter's wisdom is reduced by 1 point, while the fighter's constitution is increased by 1. As the campaign continues, the dwarven fighter advances to age 21. Now, using the Grown Older column, the point of wisdom is restored and the character gains 1 point of strength. Once the character aged to being 41, the adjustments made for being middle aged would be applied to the character's stats.

Death Due to Age