I would like to request that the age brackets and descriptors be reviewed. As the game ages, and we age alongside it, I've heard more than a few people remark how their (typically but not always human) character who had an age set comparable to the player behind them is suddenly starting to age up into brackets that are, well, not at all comparable to how people actually look and feel.

In addition, the age brackets also seem to be very heavily skewed toward specific descriptors, with very little wiggle room when a character passes from one bracket to the next. That's.. not really how aging works in real life, with people constantly being mistaken for a different age, be it younger or older. The system, as it stands, has 2 out of 11 age brackets that reference primarily youthful age descriptions, 1 that references the youthful to prime of life transition, 1 that references that prime of life transition to being considered old, and 7 out of 11 that state, in varying ways, "he old".

I'd like to propose a complete rework of how the age brackets work, with an end result of fewer brackets overall, more descriptions available per bracket, and more overlap between brackets.

For the purpose of this, I'm going to reference the human age brackets as a baseline for comparison. Right now, a human character can have their age set to anywhere between 20 years and 80 years old. Within that 60-year age difference, there are a total of 11 age brackets, where each of the 11 brackets has a total of 5 descriptions. Of those descriptions, 3-4 are unique to that age bracket, and 1-2 are identical to the two age brackets that are immediately adjacent to it with fewer or more years.

For a full rundown, check the wiki at: https://gswiki.play.net/Verb:_AGE

(I actually find it odd that there is such a variety in the lowest possible age that a character is able to select, with not all being 20 as the youngest. There are even two races that allow an age to be <18 for selection in game!)

Going back to my request regarding descriptions.. I'd like to propose that instead of 11 brackets, there are just 3 (or possibly 4) brackets, each with a much longer list of available descriptions to be selected, and each also with multiple overlapping descriptions.

For example, for a human, I would suggest that the brackets be broken down to the following, based on the ages that can be selected:

Age 20-40 : Younger
Age 40-60 : Mature
Age 60-80 : Older

For the "younger" age bracket, it would then have a list of, say, 25 or so descriptions that would be plausible for someone who is age 20... all the way up to age 60, to allow for the individual's apparent age (description seen via LOOK) to truly be appropriate for that character, their life, and their experiences. Some in their 20s experience premature greying of the hair or balding and appear to be far older than their peers; others definitely both look and act their age.

For the "older" age bracket, it would again be a list of 25 or so descriptions that would be plausible for someone who is age 40 to 80. Again, some individuals in their 60s have led a very active or fit lifestyle and both are and appear to be in the prime of their life. Not everyone with that number of years is going to be "in their declining years" or "bent with age" or "ancient" (actual descriptions available across three age brackets, starting at age 56 through 73). But others may truly look as if they have one foot in the grave.

Lastly, for the "mature" age bracket, the list would be (at least) 25 or so descriptions, some of which would be unique to this bracket, but also including many overlapping descriptions from both the "younger" and "older" brackets. Yes, that means that someone who is age 40-60 could be mistaken for any age range whatsoever. That seems accurate - and, honestly, allows for greater RP for those who want to utilize the system either for a stagnant apparent age for the duration of their character, or to show their character visibly aging with the years.

As for all other races, use the same three age brackets and scale them accordingly as needed.

TL;DR, I'd like age brackets to be reworked. The reality is most players pick the most youthful 2-4 age brackets because the idea of playing an adventurer "decrepit with age", while appealing for some builds, is more the exception than the rule. This would allow for more flexibility in character design and add more of a touch of realism to aging in the game.

- EK

>You now regard Eorgina with a warm demeanor.

I have been whining about this for years, and threatening to make a forums post. Thank you, EK, for doing it for me. :)

The shorter-lived races suffer from this particularly. By the age of 44, any human character becomes officially "old":

1. appears to be long in the tooth
2. appears to be in her golden years
3. appears to be advanced in years
4. appears to be past her prime
5. appears to be stooped with age

The majority of these options make no sense for someone in their mid-40s. (In fact, the 'long in the tooth' one creeps in at 38.) It would be great to see some of these realigned to make more sense with actual human aging and acknowledge that our productive and healthy years don't suddenly end because we've hit the big 40. A lot of us rolled up "very young" characters, but it was a long time ago and they've aged through several age brackets by then. I'd prefer to not have to use an age reset potion in the next five years, just to prevent my character from suddenly turning into a little old lady.

Signed,
Raelee and her Strings

>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."

All of this is good, and I fervently agree that the brackets need a better look and EK's suggestion is a fantastic springboard.

-- Amalexia and Others.

Please implement this. My poor character should never be 'hoary with age' and unlike elf-played folks, I've had to buy multiple age potions to prevent that from happening.

> the only current option would be to change their age via a potion ~Menos's player

Just grant everyone a one-time age reset with the new plan and let them re-choose what they want to look like. Staff does the same with a fixskill associated to large-scale mechanics releases.

---

Some lady softly says, "Naamit is over-rated."
You reply, speaking to the lady, "At least I have ratings."

>> Yes please. Make me young again, baby! ~Land Pirate Maylan~

I hear that consuming large quantities of rum can help in this area.

On a different note, I am pretty sure there were some certificates of some sort circulated at an event a few years back (by few I mean closer to 8) where you could literally reset your birthdate. I've started digging through a few lockers to see if I can provide some additional detail on these.

-- Robert

>> A mongrel kobold points at you and yells, "Mine! Chasin!"

>I reset Maylan's age once to match my own, and the fact that 40 is right around the corner surely has nothing to do with my interest in changing that descriptor so as not to appear old and decrepit. Nope, totally unrelated.

I agree. Totally unrelated! (Same...)

Signed,
Raelee and her Strings

>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."