Aging

In Ars Magica, aging is a consideration for all characters. Unlike many other role-playing games, characters' careers can span years or decades.

Aging Rules in General

The exact rules for aging vary considerably from edition to edition. Regardless of the particulars of each edition, the aging rules always have certain general features:

• Beginning at a certain age, typically about 35 years, a character must make aging rolls at specified intervals. Depending on the outcome of the aging roll, the character suffers more or less detrimental effects, or no effects at all
• Aging rolls become increasingly likely to have bad effects the older the character gets
• Aging has no good effects. Its bad effects include declining scores in Characteristics, accumulation of Decrepitude, and, possibly, sudden death.
• Magi use Longevity Rituals (which, before ArM5, were called "Longevity Potions") to greatly slow the effects of aging and extend their lives beyond the normal mortal span

Aging in Fifth Edition

The Fifth Edition aging rules are given on pages 168-170 of the rule book. In accordance with our copyright policy, we provide only summaries here and refer to the details by reference.

Onset of Aging

All Fifth Edition characters start making aging rolls in the Winter season after they reach 35 years of age.

Aging Roll

Characters make aging rolls once per year, in the Winter season. An aging roll uses a stress die. The Aging Table determines the effects of aging for that year.

Typical modifiers to the aging roll include a mandatory modifier for the character's current age and a Living condition modifier. Decrepitude does not modify aging rolls in ArM5. Certain Virtues, such as Faerie Blood, can also influence the roll.

In ArM5, the bad effects of aging can include:

• Accumulation of #Aging Points, which leads to Decrepitude
• #Aging Crisis

Apparent Age

In ArM5, every character has an apparent age, which is simply how old the character looks. An especially good result on the Aging Table yields no increase in apparent age, so the character ends up looking younger than he is. This is especially likely to happen for fairly young magi who have a good Longevity Ritual.

Aging Points

A moderately bad outcome on the Aging Table is for the character to gain Aging Points in one or more Characteristics. Once the character has more Aging Points than the absolute value of the Characteristic, the Characteristic drops by one point and the Aging Points associated with that Characteristic reset to zero.

Every Aging Point also counts an experience point in Decrepitude. Decrepitude causes the character to become frail and limits his activities, but does not affect aging rolls.

Aging Crisis

An especially bad outcome on the Aging Table is an Aging Crisis. An aging crisis has a chance to kill the character outright, and even if it does not, non-magical recovery from the crisis takes an entire season. Virtues that affect aging rolls do not affect rolls to recover from a crisis.

The rules don't say what exactly an Aging Crisis is, but for role-playing purposes it could be nearly anything: a stroke or heart attack, acute illness, even a nasty fall and broken hip.

Aging for Animals

For aging as it affects animals, see HoHMC, p. 42.

Analysis of the Fifth Edition Aging Rules

An Ars Magica fan has posted a thorough analysis of the ArM5 aging rules at The Ultimate Aging and Twilight Simulation.

See also

• Decrepitude
• Longevity Ritual
• Wizard's Twilight

Legacy Page

The history of this page before August 6, 2010 is archived at Legacy:aging