When we start playing characters younger than ourselves.

[Quasqueton]

When I first started playing D&D, I always played characters older than myself. But now, 24 years later, it has struck me to see how everyone I play with now plays characters younger than themselves.

At what Real World age does this change occur? When did you start regularly playing characters younger than yourself?

Quasqueton

 

[Style]

When starting a new character, I have always taken the idea that a 1st level character would be of a similar age to someone starting out in the real world today. Depending on the character, this has ranged from 17 to about 22. I can't think of anyone who started out older than that (talking about humans here, of course). So they started being younger than me as I aged past that range myself. I don't think that it's linked to real-world age. I think it's linked to a perception of "how old is a 1st level character?" For me, that perceived starting age has stayed the same since I began gaming as a young teen (I'm now 35).

 

[Thanee]

Has nothing to do with your age. Starting age for characters is usually around 20 (for humans or equivalent for non-humans). There is the occasional "kid" or "veteran", but on average, the starting age is the same.

So once your real life age grows beyond this starting age, you start playing characters, which are younger than yourself. Quite simple, really.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Algolei]

When I was 16, my characters were 36 because I thought that made them "grizzled veterans."

When I was 36, my characters were 16 because that made them "unmolded lumps of flesh."

I guess when I'm 52, my characters will start as newborns.

 

[diaglo]

i roll the dice and let them tell me how old i am.

currently i'm:

[dice] + 15 =

 

[Zappo]

I've recently started making characters younger than I am. This makes me feel so old.

 

[eabha]

I started to play D&D about ten months ago, and I made the first character I created the same age as me, 33. Then I realized that this made her nearly middle aged. I'm almost middle aged??? Very depressing indeed.

I wanted to change her age after I realized this, but I have since come up with a good back story to explain why this 'older' woman, now a second level Druid, decided on an adventurer's life. I still play her in occasional Saturday games but the character I play in our weekly games is just 21. A mere child...and I like it!

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Huh, this is interesting.

I've noticed the "characters younger than ourselves" phenomenon for a long while. Players age, their characters never seem too.

I'm 31, and I can see someone my age deciding to set out to adventure as a novice warrior, or wizard, or what have you. But it's rarely played that way in game - despite the fact that many characters in fiction are "old and grizzled", and despite the fact that most action heroes in film are in their 30's, or older.

In a way, it's rather funny. Given the age of most starting characters in campaigns, and given the relatively rapid speed of advancement, the ranks of adventures are filled with 23-year old Gandalfs and 20 year old Aragorns - in d20, adventurers are like women's olympic gymnasts, over the hill by the time they're 20.

I'm actually writing a PDF about aging right now, which will publish through Ronin Arts. It's called "Heroes In Autumn", and it's all about aging heroes - I've added unique racial penalties and benefits for aging, written new options to make the idea of playing older characters more attractive, and there's a section discussing roleplaying themes and hooks unique to older characters.

Patrick Y.

 

[WayneLigon]

I started gaming when I was around 16-17. Most characters I had then started at about that age, and have continued to start about that age. Unless there's some overriding in-game social or professional reason, generally 25 is about the top age I'll start a character.

 

[Wombat]

I'm half past 45

The only games where I can regularly play a beginning character my own age as a human are Traveller and Call of Cthulhu!

I've been playing characters consistently younger than myself at about 30; this was mainly due to the vagaries of games -- most of them assume your character is in their late teens (and some even younger).

Maybe this is why I like playing Ars Magica so much -- it is so easy to catch up and even pass my Real World age!