Shortest Lifespan

[Larbek24]

So I was thinking about what (playable) creatures have the shortest lifespan and which reach aduldhood the fastest. As I know this informations aren't really known for non playable races.
As of I informations right now the shortest lifespan have Thri-Kreen in XPH with 29 years. The Nezumi from OA beat them im reaching adulthood by one year (5 instead of 6) but life up to 40 years.
Do you know races that life shorter/mature faster?

[Feantar]

Well, since you can technically play an awaked animal, a Labord’s Chameleon lives 4 to 5 months. If you could awaken vermin, then a mayfly lives 24 hours.

[Tzardok]

If we include the WoW RPG, hobgoblins have a lifespan of roughly 3 years.

If you take homebrew into account and can convince your DM to let you play a leydenculus (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25891279&postcount=143), you have only one year. Make it count. :smalltongue:

[awa]

Do hobgoblins count? I was under the vague impression they were like a mutation made to an adult goblin not a natural species that grows up and has children.

[Buufreak]

5e Planeshift Kaladesh has the Ætherborn, which are adult from creation and live only a few years (barring them discovering vampiric tendencies). Orcs also have very short life expectancy, but that is far less about reaching a maximum age and more infighting war tribes and chiefdom challenges to the death.

[Tzardok]

Do hobgoblins count? I was under the vague impression they were like a mutation made to an adult goblin not a natural species that grows up and has children.

Yes, they are alchemically created. And they die two to three years after bring mutated.

[ShurikVch]

Myconids: Junior Worker starts at mere 4 years, and those of Myconids who don't advance into Myconid Sovereign are die at 24 years

If 3rd-party stuff is OK, Quicklings from The Tome of Horrors I (Revised) are adult at mere 2 years, and venerable at 15

[Maat Mons]

Warforged are another race that skips right to adulthood.

[loky1109]

I think illithids are also adult from the start.

[Tzardok]

Depends on how you count the larval state, I guess.

[Feantar]

Depends on how you count the larval state, I guess.

Well you don't count sperm towards the lifespan of a creature, and you don't get an illithid without the ceremorphosis of the host who takes the place of the ovum. So it wouldn't make sense to count the lifespan of larvae towards the illithid.

[SirNibbles]

Well, since you can technically play an awaked animal, a Labord’s Chameleon lives 4 to 5 months. If you could awaken vermin, then a mayfly lives 24 hours.

Child of Winter (Eberron Campaign Setting, page 51 allows you to affect any vermin with a Druid spell that normally only affects animals.

Master of Flies (Savage Species, page 80) gets Awaken Vermin as an SLA at 9th level.

___

Races of Faerun, page 132 says that Centaurs have the same age categories as half-orcs but then says they reach adulthood at the age of five and usually live to the age of forty.

[liquidformat]

I was under the impression that goblins in general were super short lived, adulthood in like a year and only living to like 20 years but I am not able to find where that was coming from. Maybe it was homebrew for a game I played. Does anyone have anything official on goblin life span and aging?

[Buufreak]

Yes, they are alchemically created. And they die teo to three years after bring mutated.

So am I to understand that after being created they started true breeding, or that some jack is out there consistently creating these things? Because I now have such thoughts of motivations, initially and continued. Who would want to be the guy know for doing this?

I'm thoroughly confused by this entire concept. Today I learned.

[Dalmosh]

I think illithids are also adult from the start.

Physically yes... but according to Lords of Madness they are mentally and emotionally "infantile" immediately after ceremorphosis, and take on average 20 years to reach the Stat block of a normal Mind Flayer.

In game terms, an infant Mind Flayer would be represented via the Monster Class in Savage Species.

[Tzardok]

So am I to understand that after being created they started true breeding, or that some jack is out there consistently creating these things? Because I now have such thoughts of motivations, initially and continued. Who would want to be the guy know for doing this?

I'm thoroughly confused by this entire concept. Today I learned.

Goblin society in WoW is a mixture of Mad Science and highly capitalist merchant culture (to the point that they don't organize into nations or tribes, but cartels, each ruled by a trade prince). One day an alchemist, who wanted to solve the problem that goblins aren't exactly physically powerful, developed the mutagenic formular that makes goblins into hulking, ogre-like, but kinda... simple and very short-lived hobgoblins. Either he or his investor thought "Good enough" and started selling that stuff. Now anybody rich can have his own hobgoblin bodyguards. Poor schmucks willing to sell themselves are always available.

That guy is also the same guy who's to blame for the gillblins. He wanted to make aquatic goblins so they could dive for sunken treasure. The experiment was a complete success... ignoring the side-effect that the test subjects lost all higher thought and now are ruled by instincts, specifically the most important goblin instinct: greed. They are now breeding true and raid goblin ships. He's pretty unhappy about that and still tries to find a way to profit from it.

[Buufreak]

That's great for warcraft, but how does that relate to dnd lore?

[AnonJr]

Warforged are another race that skips right to adulthood.

They reach adulthood quickest, but are only short-lived in the sense that their usual occupation skews the "average lifetime".

[Tzardok]

That's great for warcraft, but how does that relate to dnd lore?

??? You asked about it. Follow the chain of comments to the beginning and you'll see that it started with the hobgoblins in the WoW D20 RPG. What did you think you were asking about?

[ShurikVch]

Warforged are another race that skips right to adulthood.
If we mentioning artificial creatures, then Black Orcs - from Kingdoms of Kalamar - should be mentioned too: they're appear already "adult", and their life expectations are limited only by the usual orc lifestyle :smallwink:


I was under the impression that goblins in general were super short lived, adulthood in like a year and only living to like 20 years but I am not able to find where that was coming from. Maybe it was homebrew for a game I played. Does anyone have anything official on goblin life span and aging?
From the Races of Faerûn:

Goblinoids are all short-lived. Most meet a violent end long before they reach old age. They are pressed into service as adults at just 10 years of age. They rarely live to be older than 40, although some few lucky or wily individuals have been known to make it to 60 years of age.
Goblinoids have the same life expectancy and age categories as half-orcs.

[atemu1234]

I remember finding at least two third-party templates for Quicklings (Quickened and Quickling), which in the Tome of Horrors version of the titular creature (giving the only age categories for it in published material for Pathfinder) they reach Adulthood at age 2 and reach venerable at 15. Each of the templates halve the lifespan of the creature it's applied to, so it wound up reaching adulthood at 6 months, and venerable by 5.75 years. No maximum life expectancy is given, but still...

Also worth noting is that the resultant creature moved at something like 960 ft. per round, but what would you expect from a Quickened Quickling Quickling?

[Metastachydium]

Out oöf the official, 1st party stuff, Kir-Lananse.g. RoF also deserve a mention as quick agers, maturing fully around hitting the 1 year mark. As for short lives, while probably not a record holder, Taers (the hairy ape Giants from UE) are also at the lowest end of the "reasonable numbers" section of the spectrum, reaching adulthood at 10, venerable at 50, I believe, and having +2d10 for maximum age.

[H_H_F_F]

Out oöf the official, 1st party stuff, Kir-Lananse.g. RoF also deserve a mention as quick agers, maturing fully around hitting the 1 year mark. As for short lives, while probably not a record holder, Taers (the hairy ape Giants from UE) are also at the lowest end of the "reasonable numbers" section of the spectrum, reaching adulthood at 10, venerable at 50, I believe, and having +2d10 for maximum age.

These are not plants nor birds. I feel betrayed.

[Buufreak]

??? You asked about it. Follow the chain of comments to the beginning and you'll see that it started with the hobgoblins in the WoW D20 RPG. What did you think you were asking about?

I really need to stop half reading things while I'm half asleep.

So that is warcraft exclusive, and nothing to do with dnd. Got it.

[Remuko]

I really need to stop half reading things while I'm half asleep.

So that is warcraft exclusive, and nothing to do with dnd. Got it.

most ppl colloquially call anything under the D20 umbrella as "dnd" just like how there was a diablo d20 system afaik etc. its perfectly compatible with 3.5, so most people assume it "counts".

[Tzardok]

*shrug* This is the d20 forum. All kinds of 3rd party are free game here, unless specifically excluded by the OP.

[ShurikVch]

I remember finding at least two third-party templates for Quicklings (Quickened and Quickling), which in the Tome of Horrors version of the titular creature (giving the only age categories for it in published material for Pathfinder) they reach Adulthood at age 2 and reach venerable at 15. Each of the templates halve the lifespan of the creature it's applied to, so it wound up reaching adulthood at 6 months, and venerable by 5.75 years. No maximum life expectancy is given, but still...

Also worth noting is that the resultant creature moved at something like 960 ft. per round, but what would you expect from a Quickened Quickling Quickling?
Which "Quickened" template you used?
The only one I found is in the Book of Templates. Deluxe Edition - but it doesn't affect lifespan
(PF has Alchemically Quickened (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/alchemically-quickened-cr-1/) - but, despite saying about some "unwanted side effects", there is nothing about it impacting longevity)

Also, if you like such combinations, there are possibilities to play as Changeling Changeling (template from Urban Arcana, and base creature from Eberron/MM3 or Dragon #304 - and yes, the latter does differ from the former), or Redcap Redcap (or Red Cap) - template is from Blood and Shadows: The Dark Elves of Tellene, base creatures are from Monster Manual III, Denizens of Dread/Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey, and Polyhedron #147 (Red Cap)

[Chronos]

Quoth ShurikVch:

From the Races of Faerûn:


Goblinoids are all short-lived. Most meet a violent end long before they reach old age. They are pressed into service as adults at just 10 years of age. They rarely live to be older than 40, although some few lucky or wily individuals have been known to make it to 60 years of age.
Goblinoids have the same life expectancy and age categories as half-orcs.


That's consistent with the goblins in Order of the Stick, who refer to 50 as a ripe old age that one might hope to reach (but probably won't).

[atemu1234]

Which "Quickened" template you used?
The only one I found is in the Book of Templates. Deluxe Edition - but it doesn't affect lifespan
(PF has Alchemically Quickened (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/alchemically-quickened-cr-1/) - but, despite saying about some "unwanted side effects", there is nothing about it impacting longevity)

Also, if you like such combinations, there are possibilities to play as Changeling Changeling (template from Urban Arcana, and base creature from Eberron/MM3 or Dragon #304 - and yes, the latter does differ from the former), or Redcap Redcap (or Red Cap) - template is from Blood and Shadows: The Dark Elves of Tellene, base creatures are from Monster Manual III, Denizens of Dread/Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey, and Polyhedron #147 (Red Cap)

I don't remember exactly where I found the templates. Unfortunately, it's been about a decade since I first statted that up - it's written down somewhere in a notebook I had as a junior or senior in high school.

[Metastachydium]

These are not plants nor birds. I feel betrayed.

Think about it this way: if some of the very fe playable BIRDIES and PLANTIES would be so depressingly shortl lived that bringing them up here would have a point, would I draw attention to the fact?