Sixth-Level Spells

Age Creature (Alteration) Reversible

Sphere: Time

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M

Duration: Permanent

Casting Time: 1 round

Area of Effect: One creature

Saving Throw: Neg.

This spell ages the targeted creature one year per level of the caster. Unwilling subjects may attempt a saving throw to resist the spell. Subjects affected by age creature must make a successful system shock roll to survive the change.

Subjects cannot be aged beyond their natural life spans. If the priest's level indicates that a creature would be aged beyond this level, the creature is aged to one year short of his maximum age. The spell cannot cause a subject to die.

Human and humanoid characters affected by the spell experience changes in appearance associated with increased age, such as gray hair and wrinkles. More significantly, they suffer losses in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution when they reach certain age levels. These are summarized in Table 12: Aging Effects in the Player's Handbook. The Player's Handbook also provides rules for determining a character's base age.

Nonmagical monsters can be affected by age creature. The DM determines a monster's current age and natural life span based on its description in the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM or based on his own judgment. To determine the effects of aging on a monster, assume the following: a monster is middle-aged when it reaches half its natural life span; a monster reaches old age at two-thirds of its natural life span; a monster reaches venerable age in the last one-sixth of its years. A monster suffers the penalties which follow when it reaches these age levels. The penalties are cumulative and permanent (unless the affected monster becomes younger).

Age	Penalty
Middle Age	-1 to all saving throws
Old Age	-1 to all saving throws
	-1 to all attack rolls
Venerable	-1 to all saving throws
	-1 to all attack rolls

The material component is a pinch of powdered emerald.

The reverse of this spell, restore youth, permanently restores age that has been lost as a result of magic (such as an age creature spell). Restore youth reduces the age of the targeted creature by one year per level of the caster. The subject must make a successful system shock roll to survive the change. Subjects who become younger regain the lost ability scores described above. A subject cannot become younger than his actual age as a result of this spell.

The material component is a pinch of powdered ruby.

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