Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Just_Me 02-15-06, 10:44 PM	I am not sure where these questions should go, so I thought this was the best section. My questions regard ageing; 1). How long do familiars live? A normal raven only lives a decade tops, and a housecat lives for maybe twice that. Do familiars live as long as a normal animal of its kind? Or (what I think seems more likely) as long as its master, however many decades or centuries that might be? 2). Should an otherwise undying creature such as a lich or demon use Polymorph Any Object on themselves and turn permanently (or at least for years at a time) into a being that ages, such as a human or a lion, would they age, or would their naturally immortal state “carry over?” 3). Finally, can a person extend life by polymorphing themselves into a younger form?
Archangel_James 02-15-06, 11:42 PM	1 & 2) Don't know. 3) It's generally assumed in the RAW that death due to old age is caused by something besides the wearing out of body parts. This is very important in high-magic worlds to make sure everyone in the world doesn't do just what you said. Any time you have a class feature that prevents aging penalties due to age, it always concludes with something along the lines of "when your time is up, it's up."
Seeker95 02-16-06, 10:39 AM	1. Until they die. (They are magical beasts, so it is probably safe to assume they won't die of old age before you do. If it helps further a plot, go ahead and let one die of old age, thereby creating the hook needed for the adventure.) 2. If they lose their immortality, they lose their immortality. PAO really does turn you into the new form, completely. 3. With PAO, it is questionable. All other references to new forms (reincarnation, etc.) indicate that you cannot extend the original lifespan. But if you get PAO'd into a boulder (and somehow it is done "permanently") and then 1000 years later someone dispels the magic of the PAO, it doesn't seem fair that you would immediately die.
Giant Turtle 02-16-06, 05:57 PM	1). How long do familiars live? A normal raven only lives a decade tops, and a housecat lives for maybe twice that. Do familiars live as long as a normal animal of its kind? Or (what I think seems more likely) as long as its master, however many decades or centuries that might be? 2). Should an otherwise undying creature such as a lich or demon use Polymorph Any Object on themselves and turn permanently (or at least for years at a time) into a being that ages, such as a human or a lion, would they age, or would their naturally immortal state “carry over?” 3). Finally, can a person extend life by polymorphing themselves into a younger form? 1) Seeker covered this one all the way. 2) If you PAO yourself from a lich or other critter into something else, then you lose all properties of that previous form. 3) No, you cannot UNLESS during this polymorph any object, you also polymorph the age of your brain, removing all memories (Thus removing all levels, experience gained, and spells learned) gained during the time from when you de-age yourself. Also, when PAO is dispelled you retain all affects placed on you while you were polymorphed. So if you polymorphed yourself into a something that lived a long time, and 1000 years later it got dispelled, you would instantly age 1000 years, since you had technically aged, turning to dust in some dramatic scene. Also, if you died and then it got dispelled, you would still be dead, since you had actually been hurt. And it is questions like #2 and 3 that brought us to the removal of polymorph from the RPGA Mark of Heroes campaign. (No offense to you, just pointing that the complixety of the spell causing problems)
Just_Me 02-16-06, 11:28 PM	No offense taken Turtle, I asked those questions because I recognize the complexity of the Polymorph family of spells and wanted some clarification in case anything like I imagined were to come up in a game.