While browsing around, I came across a rather interesting discovery that I couldn't help but laugh it. Take a real quick peek at this item...
Rod of Security (61,000 gp)
This item creates a nondimensional space, a pocket paradise. There the rod's possessor and as many as 199 other creatures can stay in complete safety for a period of time—up to 200 days divided by the number of creatures affected. All fractions are rounded down. In this pocket paradise, creatures don't age, and natural healing takes place at twice the normal rate. Fresh water and food (fruits and vegetables only) are abundant. The climate is comfortable for all creatures present. Activating the rod (a standard action) causes the wielder and all creatures touching the rod to be transported instantaneously to the paradise. Members of large groups can hold hands or otherwise maintain physical contact, allowing all connected creatures in a circle or a chain to be affected by the rod. Unwilling creatures get a DC 17 Will save to negate the effect. If an unwilling creature succeeds at its save, other creatures beyond that point in a chain can still be affected by the rod.
When the rod's effect expires, is dismissed, or is dispelled, all the affected creatures instantly reappear in the location they occupied when the rod was activated. If something else occupies the space that a traveler would be returning to, then his body is displaced a sufficient distance to provide the space required for reentry. The rod's possessor can dismiss the effect whenever he wishes before the maximum time period expires, but the rod can only be activated once per week.
Yea, basically by using this rod...you will never age (well, that's not technically true...you WILL age...just at a very...VERY slow rate).
I suppose if you combine this with some sort of divination ability (something that basically allows you to gaze upon the material plane so you can keep up to date with current events) you could stay inside the pocket paradise until you find an event that is 'worthy' enough to risk your life for (as well as your precious 'time'), and then basically re-enter the world in order to 'fix it' (or take advantage of it, depending on how your character feels).
With this method, you could basically become a 'time warrior' (either as a savior, or as a tyrant who conquers the land, then heads off to 'sleep'...while still keeping an eye on the world)
Lots of fun roleplay applications, and the best part is...you're entire party can use it.
So yea, just figured I'd throw that out there in case anyone wanted the secret to 'immortality' :P
Hehe. Awesome. I am always looking for new paths to character immortality if they make it to the high levels. This one is easier and cheaper than most. I like the idea of a wizard with this rod coming back to the "mortal" plane every now and again to solve problems or resupply. Good find, Duskblade. I may use that as a plot device in a future campaign.
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Unfortunately, the rules for timeless dimensional spaces is that when creatures leave the space all accumulated time catches up with them.
"Timeless: On planes with this trait, time still passes, but the effects of time are diminished. How the timeless trait affects certain activities or conditions such as hunger, thirst, aging, the effects of poison, and healing varies from plane to plane. The danger of a timeless plane is that once an individual leaves such a plane for one where time flows normally, conditions such as hunger and aging occur retroactively. If a plane is timeless with respect to magic, any spell cast with a noninstantaneous duration is permanent until dispelled."
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i actually like the idea of the 'immortal tyrant' myself. ya know, basically a villain who people 'think' is immortal...and he has ruled his kingdom for centuries...and no one knows where to find him...or why he is immortal...and he can basically use scrying and such to stay in touch with the material world.
I mean....seriously...it only takes you like...a couple seconds to reactive this thing...and in the meantime you live a life of luxury (well...there is one drawback...no meat....bad times)
still, if u wanna get a cheap way to be 'immortal'...well, this is your fix.
Also, if anyone gets a chance, you should check out the antipaladin archetype Knight of the Sepulcher from the ultimate combat.
As a capstone, you become undead...which is basically the same as 'immortal'. there are other classes that do this obviously, but I actually enjoy the thought of an 'eternal undead' 20th level antipaladin.
oh, and this also brings up an interesting point...
If you ever get a hold of the 'mummification' discovery for an alchemist...you will be surprised to learn that being immune to nonlethal damage actually gives you A LOT more benefits.
Basically, you don't need to eat or drink ever again (because you are immune to the nonlethal damage of dehydration or starvation).
You also gain 'endure elements' (since the nonlethal damage of heat and cold don't work on you anymore) and you can walk on a forced march or hustle without penalty.
Being buried by an avalanche doesn't hurt you (again, it's nonlethal), you can swim forever and never worry about being exhausted, and smoke and slow suffocation will do nothing against you.
so yea...that's a lot of immunity :) (sorry, I know it's a bit off topic, but I still found it immensely interesting.
it's a good thing that 'non-dimensional space' doesn't count as a timeless plane :P
also, you could argue that a lot of 'intelligent' characters would actually do this...
For example, a Paladin who wishes to protect people throughout time, and only intervening with his powers only when he is 'truly' needed.
Or basically ANYONE who wants to survive some sort of apocalyptic event.
Or a big bad villain who sees that his plans have been foiled, and thus retreats into the 'paradise world' and simply waits for the heroes to 'die of old age' before returning and reclaiming his power once again.
all those are good options.
Or makes for a good plot when the adventurers have to break into this space in order to free one of its inhabitants and must figure out who has the rod to escape...
Or better yet, have the BBEG do that to try and get an ingredient for his evil plot...
lol, for anyone who cares, i just crunched the math on this item...
If we assume that it takes 1 round to reactive it (one round = 6 seconds to basically reused the standard action to activate the rod again), and assuming that there is only 1 person using the rod...we basically have these results.
By the time a character aged by '1' year in the normal world (basically by going back and using his '6 seconds' to reactive the rod), then approximately 17,280,000 years would have gone by for the rest of the world.
In other words...1 year of aging for you equals over 17 million years of aging for everyone else.
If that's not immortality...i don't know what is.
Okay, I've got a question about this. How does a character figure out what that rod does? I mean, it's all fine and good for us to have a great mechanical breakdown with numbers of days, DC for a Will save, etc. But unless you were gifted this rod by a person who had been using it, and knew exactly what it did, or crafted it yourself, it would be a pretty serious trial and error process before you figured out: time moves the same pace on the material plane while your in the "pocket dimension;" you can bring people with you if they are touching you when you go; you can activate it once a week, but once there you can stay for a long time (unless you bring 199 other creatures with you then you can only stay for one day). The first one could be the hardest to figure out. If the character stayed for say 185 days (just over half a year), and everyone they knew had aged ever so slightly, but they hadn't, would they even be able to tell? The way I read it time is passing normally, it's just not aging you. So the character would know they were gone for 185 days, would they necessarily be able to tell that they hadn't aged as much as everyone else over that short of a period of time?
I mean aging is a slow process, and the subtle changes that did (or in the character's case--did not) happen in that time span might not even be noticeable.
Also, does the "week" mean a week from the last time you used it? In which case you could stay in the paradise indefinitely because after 200 days you could dismiss it, and then just reactivate it again (since it's been well over a week since the last activation). Or is it that you have to wait a week after returning to the material plane before you can use it again?
I can definitely see all kinds of plot hooks there, especially if the PCs just happened to find the rod in the hand of some long dead king.
Since the Rod goes with you into the dimensional pocket, time slows down for it as well. One could argue that it must rest for a week after it exits the dimensional paradise. This would keep players from abusing the instant escape quality of this thing, while still letting them use it for a one time save.
That's how I've run it before anyhow. Giving PC's the ability to heal up to full in the middle of every fight is a bad idea. Once a week isn't so bad. Therefore, any "immortal" would have to age and survive a week every 200 days. That still provides a huge longevity, but as LazarX brought up ....
Who would enjoy such an existance? There is no growth for you in the pocket. Works great for some creepy "come follow me to paradise" villian that basically hunts you in his dimensional prison. But Lichdom makes way more sense than this for immortality. Heck, the Sun Orchid elixir makes better sense.
True, but as a way for a wizard /alchemist/oracle/monk to get more time to work towards their 20th level immortality feat it's not a bad option.
If that's not immortality...i don't know what is.Being incapable of dying, as per the definition.
I sense...sarcasm :P
but yea, time doesn't 'slow down' or anything. It passes as normal, but you are just unaffected by the aging process while in the little 'pocket paradise'. Moreover, because this pocket dimension isn't a plane with the 'timeless trait', you don't have to worry about time 'retroactively' catching up with you either.
Here are a couple of questions. What about bringing things in with you in portable holes and/or bags of holding?
Could you enter the rod and then summon people to you to get around the time limit?
"Oracles can become immortal?" - Time Oracle yes