Becoming Immortal

[RangerDiddly]

So as the title suggests, I'm looking for the opinion of others on a couple questions.

Question 1: Is there any feasible way for a player to become permanently immortal? (Doesn't have to be granted immunity to any sort of damage, just stop the aging process. I expect to still have to eat and sleep.)

Question 2: If I had a sorcerer in my party, capable of casting such spells as permanency, what sort of options do those present me with?

As with any thread on GitP, I am open to any and all ideas, even the notion that it is not possible.

I look forward to hearing all the suggestions and opinions you guys might have!

[Arael666]

1: wedded to history feat. Alternatively, just cast pao every other decade to be virtually immortal.

2: not sure exactly what you meant. All available spells to be permancied are described in the permanency spell. If you want to persistent other spell is "ask your dm", that is also described in the spell

[Oracle71]

Kissed by the Ages spell from Dragon#354. 9th level spell cast on a magical ring costing a few thousand gp, but you would have to have someone else cast it to give the ring to you. (you can't cast it to benefit yourself).

Or you could go back to the old D&D/BECMI days and actually quest for Immortality.

Or maybe find some ritual that transforms you into an outsider.

Of course the simplest would be just to be an elan.

[flappeercraft]

You can become a deity either by the Epic Destiny that makes you a deity, the ways detailed in Deities and Demigods or by taking the Dragon Ascendant Prestige Class and getting to level 12

Also, there was some kind of potion or elixir in Maure Castle that made you immortal although some way to remove aging penalties such as some form of Timeless body would be useful.

[RaiKirah]

If you're feeling rather self-loathing you could take 10 levels of Green Star Adept. There's a bunch of builds in the Iron Chef Archives that make this not totally suck. You could also maybe combo it with UrPriest to actually still get 9s if you're clever (I think this can be done)

[Zaq]

I know there was a list of ways to stop aging somewhere. Maybe someone can dig it up. I'll at least try to stick to methods that haven't been discussed too much in the current thread.

The semi-obvious method is undeath. Necropolitan is the mechanically simplest method of gaining the Undead type, and it has relatively few drawbacks if you're cool with being undead.

If you're attached to your CON score, I know that several PrCs offer agelessness of varying quality. I have a vague memory that Cloud Anchorite (from Frostburn) is one of the best (speaking strictly from the perspective of "best agelessness" and not "best PrC that offers agelessness," mind you), but I don't recall if it's considered to be uniquely good or if it's just got some of the fewest questions asked. Feel free to slap a [citation needed] on that, honestly.

[Goaty14]

Just "being an outsider" is the most common way not to die of old age. If you just have to start as a humanoid, there are multiple ways to become one, such as monk 20 (blech) (Perfect Self doesn't actually make you an outsider. It just makes you treated as an outsider for certain things) Incarnate 20 (meh) and casting Polymorph Any Object (<Outsider>) onto yourself twice. Or, just start the game an elan. You could probably fluff it into your backstory that your character was chosen to become an elan from a human (which is RAW fluff).

Alternatively, you could slow time to the point where aging is irrelevant, such as if you had a horde of Living Zombies (Faerun?) under your beck and call. (Each living zombie that is bound to you reduces the amount you effectively age by 50%. So if you had 1 Living Zombie, you'd age 0.5 second in 1 second, 10 living zombies would age you 0.0009765625 seconds/second, 1000 zoms = 9.332636e-302 seconds/second, etc).

Oh, and the dragonlance "River's Curse" spell can reduce your age, to a minimum of <the minimum age of your current age group>.

I know there was a list of ways to stop aging somewhere. Maybe someone can dig it up. I'll at least try to stick to methods that haven't been discussed too much in the current thread.

*cough*

[Telonius]

I know there was a list of ways to stop aging somewhere. Maybe someone can dig it up. I'll at least try to stick to methods that haven't been discussed too much in the current thread.

The semi-obvious method is undeath. Necropolitan is the mechanically simplest method of gaining the Undead type, and it has relatively few drawbacks if you're cool with being undead.

If you're attached to your CON score, I know that several PrCs offer agelessness of varying quality. I have a vague memory that Cloud Anchorite (from Frostburn) is one of the best (speaking strictly from the perspective of "best agelessness" and not "best PrC that offers agelessness," mind you), but I don't recall if it's considered to be uniquely good or if it's just got some of the fewest questions asked. Feel free to slap a [citation needed] on that, honestly.

Yeah, that one is from Frostburn, pages 52-54. It gives what's probably the clearest-cut "you live forever unless you get killed" ability: it flat-out states you have no maximum age, and you never die of old age. Unfortunately what it does not give is immunity to aging; you would still age to Venerable as normal unless you have some ability to ignore aging, independent of Cloud Anchorite. It's a great way to model the 900-year-old guru living on the mountaintop, but he's still going to be eating those -6 penalties to physical stats.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Create a demiplane using genesis for a plane where aging stands still. Cast astral projection. Now your astral body ages, but if you ever die (including via old age), you pop back into the demiplane in your younger body. Astral projection again to repeat the process.

Plant an oak tree in the above demiplane and cast plant growth to make it grow to maturity. Cast acorn of far travel to carry the timeless trait with you for standard-issue eternal youth. If you make the demiplane timeless in regards to magic, the acorn will never expire, and neither will any of your buffs.

Cast polymorph any object into an immortal race (elan, for instance), or repeat every few years into a young adult body.

Contingent reincarnation whenever you die. If you're getting into old age, off yourself so you don't die from ye olde age. If you come back as something you don't like, repeat the process until you're happy with your new body.

(True) mind switch with something immortal, or just swap into younger bodies occasionally. You could always craft a really powerful golem, force it to don a psychoactive skin of proteus (or build the effect into it), force it to turn into something non-mindless, and perform the switch. Now you're an immortal golem, as constructs typically don't age.

Use divine squirrels to gain divine ranks, a la Pun-Pun:

Divinity:
Pun-Pun has the Ice Assassin spell as a spell-like ability at-will. He uses it to copy an arbitrarily high number of gods. Pun-Pun then commands a god clone to make him a proxy. This makes Pun-Pun a rank 1 demigod. Pun-Pun then makes another creature (Lokiyn, the originator of the trick, used squirrels) a proxy. This lowers Pun-Pun to divine rank 0. Pun-Pun then orders another ice assassin god to make him a proxy. At divine rank 1 again, Pun-Pun invests another squirrel with a divine rank. Pun-Pun repeats this process a NI number of times.

Then, he uses a standard action to recall each divine rank back from the squirrels. A NI number of squirrels with 1 divine rank invested equals a NI number of divine ranks recalled and gained by Pun-Pun. This gives Pun-Pun a NI divine rank.

Since Salient Divine Abilities are based on divine rank, Pun-Pun has a NI number of salient divine abilities. (That is at least all of the ones in the book and includes the awesome Alter Reality.)

There are lots and lots and lots of ways to become immortal in D&D. Fewer ways to become invulnerable, but even that is possible.

[Crichton]

Here's a fun one, for you epic leveled folk: Ioulaum's Longevity, an epic spell from Lost Empires of Faerun, p43. It's like Disintegrate, in a 120ft radius, but it gives you a year of life for every living creature it kills. Thing is, those living creatures don't have to be sentient, so there's no reason you couldn't fill a 120ft radius sphere with mosquitoes, or better yet bacteria, and let fly, and suddenly have a lifespan of millions, if not billions of years.

Drawback is the Spellcraft DC on this one is 152, but I'm sure some clever Playgrounder could come up with ways to reach that...

[flappeercraft]

Drawback is the Spellcraft DC on this one is 152, but I'm sure some clever Playgrounder could come up with ways to reach that...

Someone braindead could optimize to 152 spellcraft in epic with enough preparation.

Also the spell Steal Life from BoVD can extend your lifespan.

[gomipile]

So as the title suggests, I'm looking for the opinion of others on a couple questions.

Question 1: Is there any feasible way for a player to become permanently immortal?

Anyone who can make players immortal would get a Nobel prize. Making characters immortal is a lot easier.

My favorite is becoming an elan, as mentioned above.

[Stoic]

Ten levels of Urban Soul & taking the city-bonded substitution, as long as you stay within the boundaries of your chosen city, you do not age.

[Crichton]

Someone braindead could optimize to 152 spellcraft in epic with enough preparation.

While that's true, that throwaway comment doesn't help the OP. Care to contribute some useful tips?

My favorite is becoming an elan, as mentioned above.

While they don't have a maximum age, and so don't DIE from old age, Elans do suffer aging penalties(and the associated mental gains.) -6 STR, DEX and CON, and +3 INT, WIS and CHA, at age 1000.

[Gemini476]

Somehow this hasn't been mentioned yet, but lichdom is always an option for an Evil arcane spellcaster. The level adjustment might be painful, but it gets you a pretty good variant of immortality.
And it's not like you were going to keep levelling after dying of old age, anyway.

[Feantar]

Just "being an outsider" is the most common way not to die of old age. If you just have to start as a humanoid, there are multiple ways to become one, such as monk 20 (blech) (Perfect Self doesn't actually make you an outsider. It just makes you treated as an outsider for certain things) Incarnate 20 (meh) and casting Polymorph Any Object (<Outsider>) onto yourself twice. Or, just start the game an elan. You could probably fluff it into your backstory that your character was chosen to become an elan from a human (which is RAW fluff).

Alternatively, you could slow time to the point where aging is irrelevant, such as if you had a horde of Living Zombies (Faerun?) under your beck and call. (Each living zombie that is bound to you reduces the amount you effectively age by 50%. So if you had 1 Living Zombie, you'd age 0.5 second in 1 second, 10 living zombies would age you 0.0009765625 seconds/second, 1000 zoms = 9.332636e-302 seconds/second, etc).

Oh, and the dragonlance "River's Curse" spell can reduce your age, to a minimum of <the minimum age of your current age group>.



*cough*

Wait, don't Elan's have a maximum age of a couple of millennia?

[frogglesmash]

Wait, don't Elan's have a maximum age of a couple of millennia?

The errata removes their max age iirc.

[flappeercraft]

While that's true, that throwaway comment doesn't help the OP. Care to contribute some useful tips?

Ahem. I did, and you also ignored the second part of the post you quoted.

You can become a deity either by the Epic Destiny that makes you a deity, the ways detailed in Deities and Demigods or by taking the Dragon Ascendant Prestige Class and getting to level 12

Also, there was some kind of potion or elixir in Maure Castle that made you immortal although some way to remove aging penalties such as some form of Timeless body would be useful.

Someone braindead could optimize to 152 spellcraft in epic with enough preparation.

Also the spell Steal Life from BoVD can extend your lifespan.

Addressing the actual topic of the thread. Temporal Stasis/Imprisonment can make you not age while under their effects. While not exactly what you're looking for, it can work to preserve someone for the future.

The Clone spell should work.

Also according to the putrefaction spell from Dragon Magazine #300 which kills you by aging you, a carefully worded wish or miracle spell could potentially let you be affected by regular resurrection methods which should allow you to extend your lifespan.

Dragonborns are always created as adults so becoming one could make you younger, there was a wizards web archive that explicitly stated you may gain a template multiple times if you qualified for it but I can't find it currently, will edit link in when I find it. There is nothing in the prerequisites for being a dragonborn that would prevent this.

Edit: Found the link to the web archive

"You can add a template more than once to the same creature as long as it continues to qualify."

[lylsyly]

The errata removes their max age iirc.

Nope, I just looked, it doesn't. Official Errata published in 2006.

Venerable is 1000 years, Max is + 10d% per the EPH

[lylsyly]

The errata removes their max age iirc.

Nope, I just looked, it doesn't. Official Errata published in 2006.

Venerable is 1000 years, Max is + 10d% per the EPH

And here is a link to the Immortality Handbook without the snark!

[hamishspence]

Nope, I just looked, it doesn't. Official Errata published in 2006.

Venerable is 1000 years, Max is + 10d% per the EPH

My copy of the Errata was (Feb 2006);

"Page 16: Table 1-3: Aging Effects: Elans have no Maximum Age."

[Crichton]

Ahem. I did, and you also ignored the second part of the post you quoted.

My apologies for not being clear, and no snark intended. I was hoping you'd contribute specific advice for making the DC152 check possible.

Nope, I just looked, it doesn't. Official Errata published in 2006.

Venerable is 1000 years, Max is + 10d% per the EPH

No, they removed the maximum age for Elans in the official Errata to the EPH found here: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/errata

Quote from linked errata:

Page 16: Table 1–3: Aging Effects
Elans have no Maximum Age.

[flappeercraft]

My apologies for not being clear, and no snark intended. I was hoping you'd contribute specific advice for making the DC152 check possible.

Oh sorry for misinterpreting, I'll give a breakdown in spoilers of how I would do it, let's say at level 21.

Spoiler: Hitting Spellcraft DC 152

Show

Assuming a straight wizard 21 Grey Elf
Feats:
Leadership (Artificer Cohort)

24 ranks
+2 Synergy from 5 Ranks in Spellcraft
+14 Int (18 +2 Racial +5 Leveling +3 Venerable +6 Enhancement +4 Profane from Possession)
+30 Competence from Item
+2 Circumstance from Masterwork Tool
+25 Insight from Moment of Precience (21 base CL +1 Ring of Arcane Might +1 Orange Ioun Stone +2 Spell Enhancer)
+2 Aid Another from Cohort
+30 Perfection from Item affected by Item Alteration from Cohort
+30 Luck from Item affected by Item Alteration from Cohort
+4 Greater Heroism
Take 10

Gets you to a Spellcraft of 173. That is without many other things like being a Spellscale which gets you to +13 Int but gets you a +10 Racial, using Power Leech to boost your intelligence on an Ice Assassin of a Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon for an intelligence score of 86 if combined with Spellscale which gets you a +38 bonus or specializing in spellcraft by taking Skill Focus, and this also could be further incremented via theurging and using Surge of Fortune. If you were to implement that instead of being a straight wizard 21 you would get a total spellcraft of 220 without even using the various methods to reduce the DC of the Epic Spell.

[lylsyly]

No, they removed the maximum age for Elans in the official Errata to the EPH found here: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/errata Quote from linked errata:

My bad, just looked again and I apparently blew right by it :0