Immortality

[Ethrael]

My next campaign might be involving some very, very, very old people, and I was wondering about the theme of immortality in D&D 3.5e.

Are there specific rules? Is it simply a researchable spell? Are there magic items? Or is it simply up to me to determine how and/or why these characters are immortal?

Thanks very much in advance for all your help.

[toddex]

Spell wise I have limited knowledge but for non cheese im pretty sure lich transformation is the only way to go for immortality.

[metagaia]

Does reincarnate work? You appear in a young adult body after all, so you can always just kill yourself when you reach the 'venerable' catagory provided you have someone to resurrect you.

[Kesnit]

You could make it an Epic spell, or one that requires divine ranks to cast. Is it supposed to be a curse, because you could set it up as "this group of people really pissed off the gods and were cursed to walk the earth until XYZ event occurs."

[Satyr]

If you want immortality, there is nothing better than the Dorian Grey way.

[Myou]

There's an epic feat that increases your lifespan.

Extended Life Span: Add one-half the maximum result of the character’s race’s maximum age modifier to the character’s normal middle age, old, and venerable age categories. Calculate the character’s maximum age using the new venerable number. This feat can’t lower the character’s current age category.

A character can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.

[Ethrael]

So I take it it's mostly up to creative ways of the DM to work something out. Thank you all very much, especially the epic feat and the curse idea. I think I've got a good idea of what I'm going to do...

[hamishspence]

Dragon mag 354 had Ancient PCs article, covering the really old and the immortal.

True immortality is harder to get than merely not aging, without being a construct or undead- most notable PRC to be truly immortal is the Cloud Anchorite in Frostburn

[Myou]

So I take it it's mostly up to creative ways of the DM to work something out. Thank you all very much, especially the epic feat and the curse idea. I think I've got a good idea of what I'm going to do...

Happy to help.

[Flickerdart]

The Elan base race is immortal. There's even fluff that says they're created from existing adventurers, but lose all class levels when they do so. It's a reasonable plan.

[Noneoyabizzness]

epic feat, epic magic, undeath (lichdom, vampirism, or necropolitan. none fear death by age.)

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080428 for 3.5 epicdestines.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Please, PLEASE don't give your NPCs Extended Life Span. It's the ultimate in 3e's tax form-like stat minutiae BS. If you want your NPCs to be immortal, then they are. You don't need to justify it with a rule...even less than a DM ever needs to justify anything with a rule. There's no mechanical advantage to immortality, so just be creative and justify it with whatever fluff you want.

TS

[hamishspence]

Interestingly their Immortality is not reflected in the initial version of XPH- they have normal aging penalties and an upper limit of 2000 years (1000 = 10 d%) This was, I think, errataed later though.

[kamikasei]

Druids and Monks have a timeless body class feature that says from that point, aging bonuses (to mental stats) continue to accrue, but no physical penalties are gained beyond what the character already has; in effect, they become ageless, though they still die when their time is up. Eldritch Disciples from Complete Mage get the same feature without the line about dying when maximum age is reached - so they're forever young (or middle-aged, or...). The Elan race have no maximum age, so they gain bonuses and penalties as normal but once they're venerable they can remain so forever.

That's the "biological immortality" end of it - you can live forever without dying of old age. Since it's available as a class feature, it wouldn't be too crazy to just make it a feat requiring some ritual players don't have access to (if you want it to be unavailable to them, of course. Otherwise, it doesn't even have to be a feat).

Immortality as in immunity to death is a different kettle of fish.

[Tengu_temp]

Immortality as in immunity to death is a different kettle of fish.

Unless you're playing 4e, of course, where one of the epic destinies is the Immortal Warrior, who's exactly what it says on the tin - his defining feature is that he can't die, ever. No, no magic is involved, he is simply that badass.

[Starscream]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080428 for 3.5 epicdestines.

I had no idea those existed. They're pretty sweet, and next time I play or DM an epic campaign I'm definitely using them. Thanks!

[Noneoyabizzness]

I had no idea those existed. They're pretty sweet, and next time I play or DM an epic campaign I'm definitely using them. Thanks!

no prob was just checking wotc site to try and find if any reasonable epic spell for immortality or longlivedness had been put up for 3.5 found that and updated some of my other article downloads.

[Jack_Simth]

Spell wise I have limited knowledge but for non cheese im pretty sure lich transformation is the only way to go for immortality.

A ghost with 15+ Hit Dice gets it too - about the only way to kill him for good is an obscure PrC (Hunter of the Dead), or an antimagic field (it's a Su ability that restores a ghost).

There's no mechanical advantage to immortality, so just be creative and justify it with whatever fluff you want.

Mild correction: There's no mechanical advantage to agelessness (unless you've got a bunch of 3.0 mechanics running around that age you, anyway), but that's different from true immortality. Someone who gets a free True Resurrection X or XdY days after they're killed has a notable mechanical advantage (doesn't need to pay the 25k in material components for True Resurrection, doesn't need to pay the level loss for Resurrection, Raise Dead, Reincarnate, or Clone).

[chiasaur11]

Wouldn't Warforged be an option for some immortally guys?

Just a thought.

[martyboy74]

Immortality as in immunity to death is a different kettle of fish.

Actually, there's an 8th level cleric spell in the SpC that grants immunity to death (Veil of Undeath). Really.

\/\/ I know, but it's more fun this way. Besides, it's supposed (read: use DMM) to have a relatively short duration.

[Tsotha-lanti]

If you want immortality, there is nothing better than the Dorian Grey way.

The picture can be found in ... Champions of Ruin, I think? An artifact.

[hamishspence]

Given the spell is citied as granting you Undead Immunities, the usual interpretation of that use of "death" is "death effects" As in, Finger of Death spells and spell like abilities. You still die from being chopped up or blasted with the right kind of magic.

[Collin152]

The picture can be found in ... Champions of Ruin, I think? An artifact.

Wait, really?
I was planning on making a Prestige Class like that one of these days... You have some work of art created in your likeness, and as you progress in the class, it takes on certain things for you...

[FMArthur]

Mechanus will rape you if you try.

[SilentNight]

There's a spell in the aforementioned Dragon 354. 9th level, it binds a creature's soul to a piece of nonmagical jewelry of at least 5,000gp value. As long as it is worn the creature does not age.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Mild correction: There's no mechanical advantage to agelessness (unless you've got a bunch of 3.0 mechanics running around that age you, anyway), but that's different from true immortality. Someone who gets a free True Resurrection X or XdY days after they're killed has a notable mechanical advantage (doesn't need to pay the 25k in material components for True Resurrection, doesn't need to pay the level loss for Resurrection, Raise Dead, Reincarnate, or Clone).

Yes, yes, of course unkillability is a mechanical advantage but generally when someone mentions "immortality" that's not what they mean. The first line of the OP mentions "really old NPCs" and nothing about unkillable NPCs, so I think it's safe to assume that we are not discussing unkillability here. If I'm wrong, I hope Ethrael will correct me.

TS

[Belial_the_Leveler]

The 12th hour of the 12th day of the 12th month get a 12th level victim and cast Steal Life on them. Drain their stats to 0. Assuming stats of 11, you get 66 weeks younger.

Repeat the process once per year and you will never age. You'll also grow younger if you're already old.

[Kobold-Bard]

1. In a 3.0 book that I can't find anymore there was a spell called Immortality. 9th level Sor/Wiz and Cleric. It burned 5000xp and had a 10,000gp diamond as a material component. Essentially the Timeless body class feature but no maximum age, so no death.

2. Fluff up an Epic Spell.

3. Go undead.

4. Get the players to worship each other devoutly, thus making each one a God of Divine Rank 0. No power to grant spells, no need for sustenance via mortal worship, but Deific immortality and a nice story aspect. (This one is not so good for clerics, Paladins etc.)

Just some options.

[SurlySeraph]

Mechanus will rape you if you try.

Eh, Maruts aren´t so tough.

[Prometheus]

4. Get the players to worship each other devoutly, thus making each one a God of Divine Rank 0. No power to grant spells, no need for sustenance via mortal worship, but Deific immortality and a nice story aspect. (This one is not so good for clerics, Paladins etc.)

Yeah, but then you have to get the Book of Erotic Fantasy, and its awkward because you are all RL friends, and you're pretending...