3.P - Benefits of Eternal Youth/Peak Fitness?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Assume you've already got immortality down-pat (as that's quite easy, especially in 3e). Even "not reaching further age categories" isn't terribly difficult.

However, just because you aren't aging doesn't mean you're necessarily at your prime.

What benefits would "permanently stuck in the prime of your life, both physically and mentally" impart over the course of an immortal life?

Obviously, you would look your best, being a young, fit buck or doe. It would probably have a number of other benefits, such as resistance to certain genetic diseases [such as cancer and senility]. Although it's quite clear if RL is anything to go by that this isn't immunity.

What are your thoughts on a feat that granted "peak fitness for your entire life"? Especially if you take into account actual immortality? How would those translate smoothly into a d20 feat*?





*A decent one like Ancestral Relic, not Weapon Focus.

[Crake]

Decline of your prime is demonstrated by the penalty to ability scores in the higher age categories. Removing aging penalties and being kept in the adult age category forever is effectively what you're describing. Getting fat and lazy, or losing muscle mass from lack of exercise isn't actually something that's mechanically expressed in d20, I guess because the developers never really thought about when such things would occur to adventurers, so any such effect would essentially be "Prevents DM fiat of my ability scores from being lazy".

That being said, being kept in your peak physical prime... does that mean you can't starve yourself? Sounds like it might result in the loss of the need to eat.

Peak mental state might also confer an immunity to mental ability score damage/drain/insanity? Which, I suppose could also be looked at conversely as peak physical state also means immunity to physical ability score damage/drain, as that would reduce your peak state.

Maybe a bit powerful for just a feat though.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I suppose your physical stats could increase as you increase in age category, just like your mental stats do, rather than decreasing. Your telomeres don't degrade, and you actually become healthier as you age, much like those lucky bastards who only seem to get sexier as they get older. Stupid sexy Flanders Sean Connery.

If you'll notice, in the rules, this is yet another way for the devs to screw over martial characters. They actually get weaker as they mature, whereas casters just get stronger. I mean, this kind of thing happens IRL, but that doesn't make it good for martial characters to get another screw-job in the game. Unless they're dragons. Dragons are the Sean Connery of the D&D world.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dragons/images/4/40/Draco.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151031201353 (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dragons/images/4/40/Draco.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151031201353)

[Jack_Simth]

If I were writing it up as a feat, I might have it include something jack-of-all-trades-ish - grant the ability to make all skill checks untrained or some such (you've been doing a lot for a long time, after all, so yes, you've probably tried that a few dozen times before....).

[MaxiDuRaritry]

They're not normally applicable, but how about immunity to genetic diseases and those caused by advanced age? Cancer, arthritis, senility, telomeric degeneration, death by old age...

It's more fluff than anything, since those things aren't (usually) crunch-based (cancer mage excepted), but I'm sure that just about anyone IRL would love to take the feat.

[Telonius]

If you're making a new feat for it, beyond preventing ability score loss due to age, maybe it could grant some sort of resistance to other forms of physical ability loss (damage or drain), or give a faster recovery mechanic (double healing maybe).

[icefractal]

If it actually prevents aging penalties, then it's effectively +3 Int / Wis / Cha, like Dragonwrought, so that's worth a feat in itself, IMO.

If that's not a factor (already immune to aging, or acquired mid-campaign), then maybe mash together Endurance and skill boosting:
+4 on physical ability checks (Constitution checks to continue running, for example)
+4 on Fortitude saves to resist hot or cold environments or suffocation.
+2 on Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Swim, and Tumble checks.
At 10 ranks in a skill, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.

Despite being theoretically 3-4 feats, this still feels like it might be weak, depending on the campaign. To enhance it, add one or both of:
* The skill bonus applies to Hide and Move Silently as well
* +1 or +2 to Fortitude and Reflex saves

[NichG]

'Peak fitness' is an interesting phrase, because it sort of implies that you'd be physically as fit as you could be even if you didn't exercise. I might run this as something like a gradual regeneration effect that not only restores ability drain and damage over a period of hours (which would effectively make most non-magical diseases irrelevant, since you'd heal their effects faster than the effects apply), but also your physical stats (prior to modifiers from LA/race/etc) rise to at least 12 regardless of what they were at character gen. It's beyond what I'd want a normal feat to do, but it'd be weak for an epic feat, so maybe some kind of feat chain (first gives you immortality, second gives you immunity to aging penalties, third gives you the regen and stats).

Actually, the kinds of builds that could actually take advantage of those free 12s are somewhat limited, since generally those are stats you want either high or 'don't bother' except Con which you want high no matter what. So maybe even just as a single feat could be fine.

[Rater202]

So I made a "super-soldier" template based on Captain America for 3.5 a little while back.

I went with the comics depiction, which includes eternal youth and constant peak human condition.

This is how I handled it.
Clinical Immortality.: A super-soldier does not Age and does not have a maximum life span. They still accumulate bonuses from progressing through age categories, but do not suffer penalties and any penalties acquired before the template is applied are reversed. Furthermore, a Super Soldier cannot be permanently diminished. They cannot be permanently maimed by anything short of amputation, and any ability drain they take is converted to ability damage, which heals at the normal rate. They cannot be inflicted with permanent ability damage. Any permanent level loss is treated as a temporary negative level and they recover at the normal rate.

[Ramza00]

In Dragon 354 there is a 1st level feat Wedded to History which makes you very old, but your body is trapped in some form of "endless" adulthood where you never gain middle age, old, or venerable with its benefits and penalties and then gives you one of 7 benefits which you choose.

One of the 7 benefits is you can use you may your Will save for Fort and Reflex saves but each time you use this feat in this way all of your will saves receive -1 penalty that keeps on stacking. (Note I seen several people mis-describe this "Survivor" background on this forum in an incorrect way.)