True Sorcery question

[JohnSnow]

Also, the Defy Time feat....at each Magnitude, it says "as previous level".

If one magnitude lets you add Con Bonus x 2 in years to each age category, and then the next magnitude says "as previous magnitude plus XYZ", does that mean you add the bonus from the previous magnitude twice? So, if your CON is 10, then at Magnitude 1, your middle age might not be until 55. But if you reach Magnitude 2, does that mean your Middle Age is now 75, or is it still 55, plus the new Magnitude 2 effects, whatever they are?

Since your other question was already answered, I'll take this one. No, it doesn't mean you add the bonus from the previous magnitude twice. I can best illustrate what it means by example:

Amber is a spellcaster with the Defy Time feat and a Constitution of 10. At character creation, the DM determined she would die of old age when she turns 100 (if she lives that long). She is 25 years of age when she reaches First Magnitude. At this point, she adds 20 to her middle age, old, and venerable age categories (for purposes of determining when penalties occur). Barring future changes, she will suffer the penalties for being middle aged when she turns 55 (30 years from now) and so on. Her maximum age also increases by 20 years (from 100 to 120).

If Amber reaches Second Magnitude before she turns 55, she will never suffer any physical penalties from aging (although bonuses will still accrue at the normal age categories). She will also be immune to magical aging.

When she reaches Third Magnitude, subtract her current age from her maximum age. She will live twice this number of years before she suddenly dies of old age. So if her maximum age is 120, and she's 50 when she reaches Third Magnitude, she will die when she is 190 years old (50 + 70 x 2)...unless she reaches Fourth Magnitude. If she reaches Fourth Magnitude, she'll cease aging completely, and will never die of old age (although she can still be killed).

Put another way, any First Magnitude or greater caster won't look Middle Aged until he gets to be (35 + Twice his CON) - his youth is prolonged. From there, he'll age at the normal rate until he becomes old, then venerable, then dies. If he becomes Second Magnitude, he'll continue to look older at the normal rate (and die at his normal max age), but his ability scores won't change.

If he makes it to Third Magnitude, the rate of his physical aging will be cut in half, and he'll double the number of years he has left. If he makes it to Fourth Magnitude, he'll stop aging and never die of old age.

As written, that's how it works.

 

[Banshee16]

If he makes it to Third Magnitude, the rate of his physical aging will be cut in half, and he'll double the number of years he has left. If he makes it to Fourth Magnitude, he'll stop aging and never die of old age.

As written, that's how it works.

As weird as it sounds, I find this part of the True Sorcery system pretty cool. So much fantasy fiction has these wizards who are hundreds of years old and such...preserving themselves through magic, but there are few means in D20 to accomplish that. This is a pretty elegant way to accomplish that goal. So it's only the very powerful wizards who extend themselves to the longest lifespans.

FR has many wizards like this, though many of those are Chosen, not all are....but you've also got Merlin, you have the "Old Ones" from the Dark is Rising trilogy, the channelers of the Wheel of Time, etc. It gives a very neat feel to the game.

Thanks for the answers!

Banshee