How do any non human or demihuman creatures die of old age?

[Khatoblepas]

I was looking up how to get the Venerable state on animals (because an unawakened Int 5 Wis 17 Cha 7 (http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080110155952/kingsquest/images/b/b5/Cedric.PNG) Owl companion would be kind of funny, regardless of the undefined type it would have), and I was sure that everything that wasn't expressly immune to age still had a lifespan and age categories. But it turns out, I can't find any rules for that.

The problem arises when creatures don't have an aging effects entry - you can only die of old age if you have one.


When a character reaches venerable age, secretly roll his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year.

Creatures without an aging effects table do not reach Venerable Age, as they don't have one, and so don't trigger the maximum age roll or even die of old age. They just exist in a timeless, ageless state - no need to be an Elan or a Warforged or a lich to gain immortality, you just need to be a creature that doesn't have an aging table. Like, for instance, a Goblin.

Are there any general rules for mortality in creatures that don't have age categories, or do all creatures (barring dragons) have the three age categories? Or do all creatures without a table entry simply persist for millennia until killed?

[Psyren]

Those rules only apply to characters - everything else dies when the DM says it does.

[Phelix-Mu]

There seems to have been a general, and generally unfounded, assumption that everyone stops doing whatever it is they do that is important long before they actually bite the dust. Between retirement and death from old age, people often become unimportant to the plot as anything more than quest-givers, advisers, or consultants. Despite the world being full of magic that actually could make anyone important functional right up until they bite it, the assumption is that 99% of everything that you meet is adult-to-venerable.

Any creature that does exist irl, btw, should age according to real-life standards. Animals, for instance, have normal animal lifespans as per wikipedia or the like, with perhaps a modest increase to account for magic or individual care that will fend off disease and infirmity for probably not more than 10-20% of the total normal lifespan in the wild (talk to a DM).

Remember that reincarnate and the other normal immortality/quasi-immortality tricks may work on followers and companions as well (though those results aren't always desirable, hehe).