Should potions of longevity be put back in the game?

[Mark CMG]

This sort of thing should be built back into the game in some manner, along with the aging effects and damage from some quarters, IMO.

 

[pawsplay]

From a pc perspective, it doesn't matter. From a world perspective it matters a lot.

If high level character can become effectively immortal they will. That means the world will start filling up with these immortal high level characters. I mean, what's to stop them otherwise?

Other high level characters.

 

[GSHamster]

I think you guys are overthinking this. I think they just removed all magical aging effects. Haste, ghosts, etc. And when they culled magical aging effects, they culled this as well.

Personally, I don't miss the craziness of ghosts and haste, and having to keep track of physical age and mental age. If losing potions of longevity as a printed item in the DMG is the price, that's a price worth paying.

Besides, stuff like Fountains of Youth and immortality are better as a plot device for the DM.

"You are not ready for immortality," - Ambassador Kosh

 

[Banshee16]

My chioce in campaign flavor right now is that there should be options than just more and more undead. Why make life too easy for the PC's? After all, the undead "heavy sacrifices" come with little flags to tell the players "I'm Evil (pronounced eeeee-vil)! Kill me for the XP!"

I voted "Yes". Fantasy literature (and even the RPG) is full of examples of characters trying to cheat death by remaining eternally young. Fistandantilus, the Seven Sisters, Elminster, and plenty of others in the game have found ways to extend their lives, without becoming Liches.

The Midnight setting describes, in the fluff, several instances of NPCs, both good and bad, artificially extending their lifespans.

The book "The Complete Guide to Fey" by Goodman Games references an alternate means of achieving eternal life, referring to spellcasters who use a spell or ritual to become Fey, rather than becoming Undead. Being a satyr, dryad, or pixie would be much better than being a walking corpse.

The Witch's handbook, by Green Ronin, also has the potion of longevity, reintroduced.

The Black Company Campaign Setting and True Sorcery both have the "Defy Time" feat, which allows a spellcaster to slow their aging, and eventually stop it. It would have to be reworked to function in a game with regular sorcerers and wizards.

My last campaign ran over about 8 years of campaign time, so human characters who started the game in their mid-20's are now facing the prospect of entering middle age. I think the aging rules and the desire to extend aging becomes more important when things like training time and downtime are taken into account.

Banshee

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I think you guys are overthinking this. I think they just removed all magical aging effects. Haste, ghosts, etc. And when they culled magical aging effects, they culled this as well.

But yet they kept the aging rules for natural aging, which saw/see even less play once you remove aging effects, and yet still require you to keep track of ages and mental/physical ability changes, which seems rather odd to me (especially when, as I noted elsewhere, they don't seem to bother following the aging rules when it comes to their own official NPCs). Why didn't they simply throw the whole system out altogether, or at least just OD&D it (where there were no affects to ability scores, but you could generate the maximum ages of your characters all the same).

 

[William Ronald]

Taking away potions of longevity just increases the number of non-evil liches in the world, IMO.

I'd say revising the aging system makes more sense than tossing away magic that speaks to one of humanity's most enduring dreams.

I agree and in one group that I was in, anti-aging magic was something that was retconned in. The quest for long life is part of many stories, myths, and legends. So, it should be part of the core rules. (Heck, a lot of D20 products have spells for extending life, such as Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed.) Trust me when I say that a powerful, long lived character will likely have enough foes to keep life interesting.

Should it be cheap? No. For one thing, in most game worlds, people capable of casting such magics will not be all that common. Also, there are other considerations. For example, most clerics will reach a point where they wish to pass on to their god's home plane. Similarly, some people may wish to be reunited with their loved ones.

Immortality could be seen as a burden, as one could easily outlive one's family and many friends. This was the case with an epic level mage which I once played, as I was one of the mainstays of a very long lived gaming group. He had seen generations of change, and felt motivated by duty to his country, his god, and his world to keep alive. (A humorous side effect of this is that he also ended up adventuring with or advising characters who were the descendants of other characters. This made for some great role playing, as some of the newer characters felt that they had a family reputation to uphold and it was amusing for the old man to relate a few stories to the youngsters.)

As for my take on lichdom, I see it as an effort by spellcasters to make themselves immortal and almost invulnerable. Perhaps everyone who creates a lich's phylactery thinks that he has figured out the right formula or ritual to achieve immortality and invulnerability --- and does not succeed. (Heck, if Vecna ended up as a demilich, this might give people a clue as to how hard it is. However, most characters who follow the path to lichdom are not exactly known for humility about their own capabilities.)

 

[William Ronald]

This sort of thing should be built back into the game in some manner, along with the aging effects and damage from some quarters, IMO.

Additionally, in my old group, the aging bonuses reflected actually living the amount of time and the benefits of experience. So, aging a character did not help increase intelligence, wisdom, or charisma. (This avoids the aging a spellcaster to benefit from aging bonuses. Heck, most dragons would not want to be magically aged as some of their abilities depend on their gaining greater intelligence, wisdom, and charisma with time.