Aging

Aging: Because each term of service is four years in length, a character can potentially age twenty years or more before venturing into the adventure portion of the game. This aging may even have a detrimental effect on a character's Strength, Dexterity, Con.
When a character reaches middle years of age, aging begins to take its toll. At that age, and at each five-year interval thereafter, a check must be made for each of the listed attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Con), to determine if it is reduced due to aging. Roll 2D6 versus a target number equal to the tens digit of the character's age. If the roll is less than or equal to that target number, reduce the attribute by one point.

Aging Crisis

If, as a result of aging, any characteristic is reduced to zero, the character is considered to have had an aging crisis and become quite ill. A Con roll against DC 15 (modified by the medical expertise of any attendant) is needed to avoid death. If the character survives, recovery is made immediately (under a slow drug, which speeds up the body's chemistry). The character ages immediately (one die equals the number of months in added apparent age under slow drug), but also returns to play without delay. The characteristic that was reduced to zero automatically becomes 1 . This process occurs each time a characteristic is reduced to zero (and for each characteristic so reduced). In the event that a slow drug is not available, the individual is incapacitated for the number of months indicated if the roll is successful.

Stat gain Int, Wis, Cha

Remember to check when you get to add to these stats for your ages too.
For people born on this planet following applies:
Middle age (40�59) �1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha Old (60�79) �1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha Venerable (80+) �1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha

THE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF AGING

All characters age and whilst these rules describe the effects of aging on characteristics, they do not describe the effects on appearance that are associated with aging. The simple rules below are provided so that Referees and players can more accurately represent the effects of aging in characters.

Aging & Height

As humans age they tend to shrink so that, from the age of 40, 5 cm of height is lost every 8 years. To replicate this, simply reduce your character’s height by 5 cm at the end of terms 6, 8 and 10 (if your character survives that long!). The Height, Mass & Aging table is a guide to when height should be reduced due to aging.

Aging & Mass

Humans tend to put on mass as they get older unless they maintain an active lifestyle. Mass can increase until the mid 50s, then reduce again as aging continues. To replicate this for your character, add 4 kg of mass for each complete term served onto your character’s mass up to and including term 8, then deduct 4 kg for each complete term served from your character’s mass, starting in term 10. There is no mass loss or gain at the end of term 9. The Height, Mass & Aging table is a guide to when mass should change due to aging.
Height, Mass & Aging Height Mass End of Loss Change Term Age (cm) (kg)

End of Term	Age	Height Loss(Cm)	Mass Change(Kg)
1	22		+4
2	26		+4
3	30		+4
4	34		+4
5	38		+4
6	42	-5	+4
7	46		+4
8	50	-5	+4
9	54		0
10	58	-5	-4
11	62		-4
12	66	-5	-4
13	70		-4
14	74	-5	-4

Skin Skin naturally loses its elasticity over time and prolonged exposure to high levels of ultraviolet radiation accelerates skin aging. Anagathics can slow down or reverse this effect. Cosmetic surgery and, at higher Tech Levels, skin replacement therapy or synthetic skin can provide a less wrinkled or smooth skin appearance. Skin tone does not tend to fade due to aging, although surface anomalies such as ‘liver spots’ (which are actually the result of exposure to UV radiation) appear from age 40 onwards.

Vision

The amount of light received by the eyes of a 20 year-old is 16 times more than the light received by the eyes of an 80-year-old and characters may require glasses, implants or other medical or technological intervention (depending on the available Tech Level) to maintain good eyesight.
Alternatively, implement a –1 DM for every 10 years from age 60 onwards (–2 at 70, –3 at 80, etc.), in addition to any aging effects arising from the aging table. The DM should be applied when characters attempt tasks that involve vision or hand-to-eye coordination, such as firing a weapon, throwing a knife or object, forging documents, looking for animal tracks, moving in dimly lit or dark environments, and so on. Apply the DM only if the character’s vision is not being assisted or improved in some manner (i.e. by glasses or by medical or technological intervention).

Eye Colour Intensity

It is perfectly possible for a person to have the same intense blue eyes at 70 as at 18, but equally eye colour can fade over time. This process is very gradual and is affected by multiple factors, such as the amount, intensity and composition of light that the eyes are exposed to over time. There are no hard and fast rules about eye colour and aging. Referees and players should decide for themselves if a character’s eye colour changes due to aging.

CAREERS & FITNESS

Characters that pursue physically active careers can counteract aging mass gain by staying fit whilst in a career. Indeed, for most of the military and law enforcement careers, staying physically fit and healthy is a requirement of the job. The following careers allow characters to ignore the 4 kg per term mass gain until the end of term 5. At that point the character will start to gain mass at 4 kg per complete term served, then cease gaining mass at the end of 9, then lose mass from term 10 onwards. Characters in the following careers may use the physical skills rules, below.
Physically Active Careers Agent Army Citizen (Colonist, Worker) Drifter Entertainer (Performer) Marines Navy Nobility (Diplomat) Rogue Scholar (Field Researcher) Scout (Exploration) Career Book 1 Adventurer Bounty Hunter Colonist Space Patrol Worker (Labourer) Athlete Field Researcher Inheritor Wastelander
Changing Careers: Changing from a physically active career to a more sedentary one (say, from being a Marine to being a Scholar) restarts aging mass gain at the end of the first term in the new career, and changing from a sedentary career to an active one will stop age-related mass gain at the end of the first term in the new career

Skills that help with aging and mass gain: Acrobatic Survival Handle Animal Swim Climb Ride
if have 5 ranks in any of these skills can reduce mass gain by 1 kg per skill.