Elder PCs

[Mark CMG]

How often do you play (or get asked to play) elder PCs? Do PCs ever get very old in-game? Do they age naturally or due to some magical means? Do you use stat adjustments for age?

 

[Agent Oracle]

Occasionally, I'll play a PC who starts at an advanced age. My last monk was 35 at the start of the campaign (ten years older than me). It's not a terribly appealing option for starting characters, because it imposes a significant penalty for a slightly increased starting mental stats.

 

[Dog Moon]

I tried playing an elder Wizard once [like around 70, I think]. Thought if fit the Wizardly, bearded stereotype perfectly, but after being bugged about it by the DM who thought I was just trying to find another way to min-max the Wizard, I stopped [after that character, of course].

 

[Nellisir]

How often do you play (or get asked to play) elder PCs? Do PCs ever get very old in-game? Do they age naturally or due to some magical means? Do you use stat adjustments for age?

I've never aged characters in-game. The last character -I- played was an old human, who actually would have worked incredibly well with the Elder PC article in Dragon. Wizard, naturally. Brought into an existing party at 12th(?) level. His backstory was, in essence, that once upon a time he was an incredibly powerful mage, and then he did -something-. It cost him most of his levels and his memory, so even he's not very clear on what he did, but as a result of it the elven leaders love him and eladrin watch over him through his coure eladrin familiar.

He was pretty much completely min/maxed, but he had personality (although not Charisma). His Strength was abyssmal, but if he was in melee, something was very, very, wrong anyways.

Hoping to get another chance to play him soon. I still haven't made the DM cry.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I've recently played a number of older characters as PCs; I happen to really like the archetype. Father Leopold (cleric of St. Cuthbert) was in his 50s. He was a retired warrior/crusader/adventurer who now had his own small parish church, and resumed adventuring when the city developed devil problems.

Theolaine (last name unknown for plot reasons) is in his low 50s as well. He was a professor at one of Eberron's universities, his traveling/adventuring days long behind him, who recently came out of retirement for other unrevealed plot reasons.

I dunno why; it's just an archetype that's started to appeal to me.

That said, when starting a character at that age, we don't bother with stat alterations; we just assume such alterations are already accounted for in his starting stats. Only if a character were to change age categories in game would I, as either a player or a DM, even consider bothering with the age modifiers.

 

[Woas]

That said, when starting a character at that age, we don't bother with stat alterations; we just assume such alterations are already accounted for in his starting stats. Only if a character were to change age categories in game would I, as either a player or a DM, even consider bothering with the age modifiers.

Yoink. Thats a wonderful idea.


As for myself. Games I run tend to have long runs of down-time that I use to set up adventures and plots. So a party could adventure around for a in-game year or two, then settle down for 5 or 10 years and come back. So sometimes yes the characters do age.

 

[The Grackle]

How often do you play (or get asked to play) elder PCs? Do PCs ever get very old in-game? Do they age naturally or due to some magical means? Do you use stat adjustments for age?

i've played a couple old spellcasters. I don't like the stat adjustments for age, actually. It keeps people from playing the older/veteren warrior, which is a cool archetype.

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

One of the problems with D+D and healing is that you can get to 20th level (and beyond) very, very quickly. So there isn't much point to making an older character; you really don't get much of a bonus or anything. He's level one just like everyone else. There's no mechanical reason to do it.

It somewhat also depends on the campaign. My midnight campaign has gone on for 2 and a half years now (In game), simply because of travel/rest/not actually adventuring times.

But the only reason to play an older character is roleplaying-wise. People who don't mind playing an older adventurer should be given credit! They make an unusual and deeper choice than most 16y/o bishy fighter/thief/mage/warlock whatever with a brand new rod of lordly might and a boatload of anger.

Once I made a wise paladin who had a back story of quite a few years. This made him in his early 40's - level one like everyone else, mind. But it made sense with the story (Resisted the call for many years, etc etc.)

Funnily enough, people tended to respect him for his wisdom and moral code, which he didn't force on other people, though he may mention it. I had several wanna-be PC squires!

After all, its about Role playing.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I played an old elven bard. He had never really been a adventurer, instead he owned a music hall. He had made a promise to the grandfather of another PC and joined the armed forces to furfill his promise. He turned the hall over to his adult elven daughter and became a corpral in a small squad. He decided he liked the thrill of actually having his own adventures, even if the sergeant was Leeroy Jenkins! started at 4th and campaign ended at 6th

 

[khyron1144]

I was contemplating starting one of my PCs rather old, but after looking at how it would negatively affect all my physical stats, I decided against it.