Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 17flyingaxes Oct 14, 2008 22:09:28	(name is a reference to the Tleilaxu Masters of Dune, although this combo also reminds me of the Dosadi Experiment) So, I was reading the Druid spell Reincarnation, and I noticed the following: "The magic of the spell creates an entirely new young adult body for the soul to inhabit" So, "young adult" would imply that the new creature loses any aging penalties it may have had in its last body. At the same time: "Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores depend partly on the new body." but mental scores are never mentioned! This leads me to conclude that any aging bonuses to mental scores are retained in the new body. This makes sense... you've accrued years of wisdom and knowledge, which don't just go away because your muscles have been rejeuvenated. So... could a team of druids theoretically commit seppoku right before dying of old age, resurrect each other one at a time, and then age again, eventually getting really high mental ability scores? Also... I think reincarnation looks like a way to get impossible racial feat combos. (For instance: "my taer with Battle Jump was killed defending the forest, so a druid brought him back as a half-orc, and then he also learned Headlong Rush")
#2 jaronk Oct 14, 2008 22:18:47	Old trick, but yes, it works. JaronK
#3 sonofzeal Oct 14, 2008 22:26:56	Yup. It's in the list of tricks the Core Coliseum specifically bans though, so good luck getting it by any reasonable DM.
#4 17flyingaxes Oct 14, 2008 22:44:51	Oh good! My DM's never heard of Core Coliseum!
#5 atomickitkat Oct 14, 2008 23:38:49	More importantly, pick(or spike the dice to roll) an especially short-lived race(Thri-Kreen?). Core choice being the Half-Orc. Kobolds(?), Half-Ogres, and anything else that dies by the age of 60 are also good choices. The reasoning being that their (usually)improved physical scores(especially Constitution) will offset the aging penalties, while your aging bonuses offset the mental penalties(which are non-existent anyways, since you retain your own). Additionally, you will accrue bonuses at a ridiculous rate(and **** off the party elves) because it takes you a mere 20 or so years to accumulate them all(and then kill yourself) rather than a few centuries.
#6 necroramo Oct 14, 2008 23:50:12	Now all we need to figure out is the synthetic eyeballs
#7 17flyingaxes Oct 15, 2008 0:06:34	Now all we need to figure out is the synthetic eyeballs Ideas: -Hag eye -Third eye of awareness -Prying eyes Better yet, something like this: http://www.arcanacomics.com/comicdisplay.php?id=53
#8 brainpiercing Oct 15, 2008 9:12:34	And of course you face the risk of having to die twice because you're reborn in a puny form. The loss of single level isn't so bad, I guess, two levels start to hurt. I fail to see how this is a trick, though, it is rather a completely valid, even rather sensible way of living mostly for ever. To ban it you must ban the spell entirely, which is clearly bunk. Also, you clearly do not gain infinite aging bonuses. You gain them once, and then that's it. You lose your physical penalties, of course, every time you reincarnate.
#9 pithica Oct 15, 2008 9:32:50	You don't have to lose a level. Last Breath from Spell Compendium works just like reincarnate but doesn't require a lost level or XP cost, just Gold. It has to be cast within 1 round of your death, but that isn't a problem if you are planning your own death. (Even better is to just contingency it on yourself.) Also, you clearly do not gain infinite aging bonuses. You gain them once, and then that's it. You lose your physical penalties, of course, every time you reincarnate. Reincarnate clearly gives you an entirely new 'young adult' body. Which means you have a new 'lifespan' and maximum age, and therefore new age categories with their own bonuses/penalties. While I can imagine a dogmatic DM fiating that you don't gain the bonuses more than once if someone were to abuse it, it is RAW that you continue gaining them for the new 'life-span' and I believe it's even RAI. Having said that, it's fairly difficult to actually abuse this in game. I mean, what are you going to do, say, "I do nothing for the next 40 years." in play? How is that an 'adventure'? Unless you have a ghost companion running around with you, it's just not practical. Oh, wait, ghosts don't actually 'age' people anymore. Is there even anything that still does that?
#10 Krusk Oct 15, 2008 10:09:28	Also... I think reincarnation looks like a way to get impossible racial feat combos. (For instance: "my taer with Battle Jump was killed defending the forest, so a druid brought him back as a half-orc, and then he also learned Headlong Rush") Not so much, if you loose prerequisites for a feat by any means, you loose the feat until you meet the prereqs again. This could be used as a very round about retraining method (PHB2) but thats about it
#11 atomickitkat Oct 15, 2008 11:37:26	What's sillier is that RAW, if Ghosts/Haste aged you(back in AD&D), you didn't gain the bonuses, but still got the penalties. However, if they aged you to within one year(1 day?) of the next age category, I'm pretty sure you still qualify for the bonuses once you roll over to said category.
#12 17flyingaxes Oct 15, 2008 11:47:11	Well, my solution for fast aging would be to use alternate planes. But yeah, it's still not great. I guess you could sit and craft stuff for 40 years at a time, and at the end have a gigantic fortress made out of rocks and sticks or something. As for mental bonuses stacking each time, it makes perfect sense; a character who's lived through 10 lifetimes has 10x the accumulated knowledge/wisdom of a character who's only lived through one.
#13 yawar Oct 15, 2008 17:23:11	I posted this in previous thread in the Spells, Invocations and Magic Items Forum ¨Easy, pick up a thoughtbottle, save your exp, and harakiri yourself until you reicarnate in the desired race. It may take a while and cost a lot. Also you can abusive this if you´re a sorcerer, just make the spellscale transformation ritual then suicide and have yourselve reincarnated and take the ritual again and again and again .... Adding a nice +2 non-magical, untyped bonus to charisma in each cycle. Also each cycle would take about a week due to the duration of the ritual.¨ Humbly yours, Yawar Supa