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mastermustard
Seeker
USA
78 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Apr 2022 : 22:17:17
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On Earth, a world where skills and stats aren't so easily quantifiable, there's a direct correlation between general health and lifespan. A more robust, healthy person is less likely to experience at any given time the events that commonly kill people in old age, and more likely to survive if they do experience them.
So it follows that a person whose vitality is enhanced by stats would suffer even less from things like heart attacks, cancer, strokes, etc and this should translate into superhuman lifespans even without the use of life extension magic.
So my question is whether this logic actually reflects observable reality within the realms?
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Azar
Master of Realmslore
1309 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2022 : 22:19:51
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| I think any salubrious benefits granted by higher Constitution are - in the long run - balanced out by the omnipresence of monsters. |
Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think. |
Edited by - Azar on 24 Apr 2022 02:51:50 |
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Gelcur
Senior Scribe
523 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2022 : 01:42:21
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Better stats mean you are less likely to die an early death.
I always like to imagine d&d characters with lives like the strands of the Fates in Greek mythology. Every strand is of a fixed length, when I DM I secretly roll a drop dead date for each PC. Now those strands can get cut early disease or monster, better stats can prevent those. Or those strands can be used up faster life draining magic, magic item creation or they can be elongated life extension magic. Or in the odd case a cut strand can be knotted back together or even picked back from the cutting room floor and knit back into the tapestry, raise dead versus say a true resurrection hundreds of years later.
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The party come to a town befallen by hysteria
Rogue: So what's in the general store?
DM: What are you looking for?
Rogue: Whatevers in the store.
DM: Like what?
Rogue: Everything.
DM: There is a lot of stuff.
Rogue: Is there a cart outside?
DM: (rolls) Yes.
Rogue: We'll take it all, we may need it for the greater good. |
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Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
958 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2022 : 01:46:58
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Higher Constitution means better chances to survive system shock (1st and 2nd editions), better Fortitude saves to shake off diseases and poisons and of course more hit points to survive injuries.
In that sense, higher stats mean greater longevity, all other factors such as monsters being equal. |
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bloodtide_the_red
Learned Scribe
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2022 : 04:35:48
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Well......we don't really see it in the fiction. But then again we see few "old" people in general.
The vast majority of Realms fiction and stories are about young people and young adults. And even the few old people....like say Mirt...cheated using epic health magic.
The few adventurer type people in the Realms that die do so of combat. Most just retire or "don't get mentioned again".....or get killed in the dumb edition resets. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2022 : 04:59:14
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High enough (superhuman) Constitution score gives a person regeneration. Wounds heal themselves with amazing speed, missing or severed parts regrow anew.
But characters with extremely high Constitutions (and self-regeneration) still age. They still show the effects of age. It seems reasonable to expect they'd still die from old age if nothing kills them earlier.
I don't recall any Realmslore describing "immortals" who don't age and don't die simply because they have amazing stats. The "ageless" and "deathless" and "immortal" folks are usually granted the power from magical items or from divine favour.
I imagine that if you live too long and stay young too long without any acceptable explanation - like being half-elven, an alchemist, a Druid, a Chosen of Mystra, etc - then superstitious folk will eventually assume you're some sort of undead or monster or other danger. |
[/Ayrik] |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2428 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2022 : 19:38:16
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quote:
Originally posted by mastermustard
So it follows that a person whose vitality is enhanced by stats would suffer even less from things like heart attacks, cancer, strokes, etc and this should translate into superhuman lifespans even without the use of life extension magic.
RAW (mostly in AD&D2), age categories including maximum are randomly determined. Constitution matters in its own rolls, which obviously affect chances to see that maximum age.
But premature death chances are obviously context dependent, and AFAIK there were no specific rules anywhere. Likely because those are never needed in the game. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2022 : 22:24:52
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I seem to recall some of the very old advanced rules taking Constitution into account to determine maximum age.
Similarly, the rules for elves stats and advancing beyond racial maximums seem to suggest that for them, extended life spans and high ability scores go hand in hand (though this is likely age increasing abilities and not abilities responsible for life span).
To the extent that it matters for game play, I would say the answer is no. There are dozens of magical means that would instantly trump whatever influence they had by magically altering age, so it seems to be a mute point. |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4689 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2022 : 23:57:29
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Just taking a look at 3.5 SRD because I had recalled an early Edition had age effect stats. The older you become the wiser, however physically weaker. So at least third edition stats did not increase ones life span, age only changed your stats if the character lives that long. Copy and paste quicker then pulling out the books from library. So 3.5:
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age
quote:
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
When a character reaches venerable age, secretly roll his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections, or violence before getting to venerable age.
For the possible rule that a stat changed maximum life I would need to look at the dead tree file, though I do not have all the splat books. A search online clearly harder these days with so many editions and almost D&D rules. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3243 Posts |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 24 May 2022 : 00:38:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Kentinal
Just taking a look at 3.5 SRD because I had recalled an early Edition had age effect stats. The older you become the wiser, however physically weaker. So at least third edition stats did not increase ones life span, age only changed your stats if the character lives that long. Copy and paste quicker then pulling out the books from library. So 3.5:
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age
quote:
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
When a character reaches venerable age, secretly roll his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections, or violence before getting to venerable age.
For the possible rule that a stat changed maximum life I would need to look at the dead tree file, though I do not have all the splat books. A search online clearly harder these days with so many editions and almost D&D rules.
If I had to guess, it was way back in 1st E. One of the overly complex rules Gygax wrote in the era with Cavaliers. |
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Do stats affect lifespan?
