Half-elf appearance changing via aging

[Belladonna Took]

Hey guys, I'm making a half-elf for my next campaign. As we all know the PHB says "Half-Elves mature at the same rate Humans do and reach Adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than Humans, however, often exceeding 180 years."

My question is do they age in appearance as humans do or as elves do? I plan to have her be 75, my question is does she look like a 75 year old human in age? Or does she look more middle-aged (75/180=41ish)?

It doesn't effect the character or campaign in any way, just looking for fluff and curious on your thoughts.

[Warder]

5e has no rules for aging or anything even resembling previous aging tables, but previous editions did, and they placed half-elves as getting middle-aged (human equivalent 35 yo) at 62, old (human eq. 53) at 93 and venerable (human eq. at 70) at 125. So your character would indeed be middle-aged.

However, 5e extended the maximum lifespan of half-elves a little ("often exceeding 180 years", when that was the top end of life spans in earlier editions) so the scale could probably shift a bit higher. It'd make sense for your character to look like they'd be early middle age, I'd say.

[solidork]

My half elf was 52 and looked like he was in his late 20's. You could have them age progressively like a human in mathematical proportion to their maximum age, or have them age up to a certain point and then 'pause' there for a long time.

And I mean, it should affect the game at least a little - not in a strictly game mechanical way, but in how you think about your character and how other characters react to her. If she looks 75 she might be accorded more respect as an elder by some, or underestimated by others who expect her to be frail. Does she have to worry about aches and pains sleeping rough on the road more than she did when she was young? My half elf was older than everyone in his party by 20 years and that definitely colored our interactions. These don't have any actual mechanical effect, but thinking about this kind of stuff is what brings a character to life.

[Anonymouswizard]

The generally accepted practice with elves or half-elves is to either have them age at the same relative rate (so your Half-elf would be middle aged) or to remain looking like young adults for the vast majority of their lives (more common with elves). Weirdly dwarves never get the latter style despite getting various increases to their health.

The other option you suggested (aging as a human) is problematic. It implies a human-equivalent healthspan, meaning that a Half-elf would be dealing with the issues of old age for over half their life. Depending on their activity level and the luck of the draw this could easily lead to being bedridden for over 90 years, over a hundred years of arthritis or dementia, or some combination of the above.

[Unoriginal]

Hey guys, I'm making a half-elf for my next campaign. As we all know the PHB says "Half-Elves mature at the same rate Humans do and reach Adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than Humans, however, often exceeding 180 years."

My question is do they age in appearance as humans do or as elves do? I plan to have her be 75, my question is does she look like a 75 year old human in age? Or does she look more middle-aged (75/180=41ish)?

It doesn't effect the character or campaign in any way, just looking for fluff and curious on your thoughts.

In my setting, I would say it depends on the half-elf.

Some could age half as fast as humans, others remain young-looking until ages catch up with them in their final years, others still could appear to not age for a decade then overnight morph to look five years older, some could look younger at 120 than they did at 60, etc.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

In my setting, I would say it depends on the half-elf.

Some could age half as fast as humans, others remain young-looking until ages catch up with them in their final years, others still could appear to not age for a decade then overnight morph to look five years older, some could look younger at 120 than they did at 60, etc.

Agreed. I think half elf thing gives more leverage to play about with it. Maybe no arthritis but hair that turns white?

Elves generally come off as human but better. Half elves should have half of that?

[Polyphemus]

In my setting, I would say it depends on the half-elf.

Some could age half as fast as humans, others remain young-looking until ages catch up with them in their final years, others still could appear to not age for a decade then overnight morph to look five years older, some could look younger at 120 than they did at 60, etc.

Basically this is how my table plays it. The elf trait of "looks young basically until they die of extreme old age" is heritable, but not universal. Which means tough luck to my half-elf Wizard, who's 151, has looked like a surprisingly spry man of his late 60s-early 70s since his centennial, and by the end of his life will have looked elderly far, far longer than he ever looked young, or even middle-aged. :P

[Chronos]

Quoth Anonymouswizard:

The other option you suggested (aging as a human) is problematic. It implies a human-equivalent healthspan, meaning that a Half-elf would be dealing with the issues of old age for over half their life. Depending on their activity level and the luck of the draw this could easily lead to being bedridden for over 90 years, over a hundred years of arthritis or dementia, or some combination of the above.
Eh, I've known some humans who seem to follow those rules. Like, one of the professors when I was in grad school: He was in his 80s and looked like it, and had officially retired a decade earlier, but was still the most prolific member of the department. When the department organized a hike up to a nearby mountainside, when we got there, he wanted to extend the hike all the way to the peak and then the entire ridgeline. He commuted by bike every day, at least ten miles and with some significant hills. Heck, maybe he was actually a half-elf.