D&D 5E Effects of Aging

Lidgar · Feb 8, 2016

So our party ran into our first ghost this weekend. Of course one of the PC's failed their save against the ghost's horrifying visage (or whatever its called) by more than 5, and he was aged by 40 years(!), making him a half-orc bard in his mid-60's.

Looking through all the books and a brief search on the interwebs yields no information on the effects of aging in 5e (unlike prior editions, which had losses and gains in abilities as you aged). That's fine - we are comfortable winging it, and it makes for some fun role play, but just curious if others have run into this.

Also, given there are no hard and fast aging rules, it seems like the real impact of the aging effect (outside of role play) is if you are already old and therefore could die outright from old age - something a DM would have to adjudicate.

So note to self, don't run into more than one ghost in your career if you often fail saves by 5 or more. And if I'm getting up there in age, run away screaming the moment I see anything vaguely resembling the ethereal, like patchy fog or steam from a cup of tea.

Sunseeker · Feb 8, 2016

Well, it's a wisdom save and your wisdom goes up with age, so you should turn into a crotchety old coot who looks the grim reaper in the eye and says "took ya long enough!"

Lanliss · Feb 8, 2016

I am just imagining a half-orc saying "When I was your age" and his friend yelling "I'm two years older than you!". Anyway, there are no losses or benefits to aging, or being young, by RAW. You can start adventuring at 70 as a Barbarian if you feel like it, or as a creepy 8 year old sorcerer kid. The ghost ability is probably just for the purpose of killing PC's through old age, and much like taking damage, there are no down sides up until the moment you croak.

CapnZapp · Feb 8, 2016

I wouldn't want the old penalties back.

Better to simply say wisdom replaces eagerness as you age.

Of course there is a cut-off age when you notice you can't do your job properly anylonger. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're about to croak, just that it's time to retire.

So I'd leave it up to the player to decide how old "old" is, and run the character without penalties until that time. If the player decides to become a pensioner, that's perfectly alright: the character becomes an NPC, retired.

If the player insists on staying the course, then of course death will catch up to the character at the age indicated.

But getting someone to cast Greater Restoration on you within twenty-four hours is probably the best way to avoid the issue...

Lehrbuch · Feb 8, 2016

Lidgar said:
Looking through all the books and a brief search on the interwebs yields no information on the effects of aging in 5e (unlike prior editions, which had losses and gains in abilities as you aged). That's fine - we are comfortable winging it, and it makes for some fun role play, but just curious if others have run into this.

I would just deal with this via role-playing.

Plus giving advantage or disadvantage as appropriate. Probably an advantage if you're trying to disguise yourself as an old woman. Probably a disadvantage if you are trying to seduce the princess.

The Myopic Sniper · Feb 8, 2016

I would treat it as cosmetic and roll on unless the DM's campaign is built around themes about aging, time and century long historical campaigns. That sounds like fun though.

Lidgar · Feb 9, 2016

Thanks for all the responses, and agree with the approach. I for one was also not a big fan of the attribute adjustments for age from prior editions. Just another little tidbit about this edition we found interesting.

And yeah, given we are 4th level and stuck wandering around in the underdark (playing OotA), I don't think that Greater Restoration spell is coming anytime soon. But man, that half-orc bard with the high charisma is now quite the silver fox! ;P

Lanliss · Feb 9, 2016

Lehrbuch said:
I would just deal with this via role-playing.

Plus giving advantage or disadvantage as appropriate. Probably an advantage if you're trying to disguise yourself as an old woman. Probably a disadvantage if you are trying to seduce the princess.

It might be an interesting little bit of fluff if you got Advantage on seducing the princess as an old man. You never know what those princesses will be like on the inside.

Lehrbuch · Feb 9, 2016

Lanliss said:
It might be an interesting little bit of fluff if you got Advantage on seducing the princess as an old man. You never know what those princesses will be like on the inside.

Yes, a silver fox is a thing; he says looking at his greying hair.