Regeneration and old age

[Dark Sorcerer]

Can a creature with Regeneration(ex) die of old age?

[SkyHaussmann]

I can't find a hard and fast yes or no on this, but my feeling would be that yes they can, based on the fact that some monsters have regeneration AND immunity to aging (Titans), while some monsters with regeneration do NOT have immunity to aging (Troll).

Also, even true resurrection, a 9th level spell, cant bring back to life those who died of old age, so I doubt that you could get around old age with something as easy to come by as regeneration.

[Dark Sorcerer]

I don't consider Regeneration (ex) easy to come by. I am not talking the spell (even if made permanent) or the ring, but the monster ability regeneration.

[HaraldKlak]

As I see it, regeneration does not circumvent the effects of natural aging. At least, I don't expect trolls to be born exactly as they are as adults.

If they have an aging process, they are also going to die. The organs growing frail from years of use, the chromosomes themselves wearing out over time. Regeneration does not change this, as it does not prevent aging penalties to occur. At some point the body is just going to stop functioning all together.

The worst fate I can imagine is actually regeneration keeping the creatures alive after they should have died of old age. Being kept alive in body that has deteriorated to the point where their entire existance is to die, over and over again.

[Whale_Cancer]

HaraldKlak wrote:

The worst fate I can imagine is actually regeneration keeping the creatures alive after they should have died of old age. Being kept alive in body that has deteriorated to the point where their entire existance is to die, over and over again.

I smell a quest: The sad old troll who couldn't die.

[Weirdo]

HaraldKlak wrote:

If they have an aging process, they are also going to die. The organs growing frail from years of use, the chromosomes themselves wearing out over time. Regeneration does not change this, as it does not prevent aging penalties to occur. At some point the body is just going to stop functioning all together.

Agreed. I see Regeneration as very fast healing of injuries due to speedy cell division. However, there's nothing that suggests that Regeneration fixes the kind of breakdown within cells that accompanies aging.

Of course, that's fluff, but it makes sense to me, especially SkyHaussmann's point about Immunity to Aging being a separate ability.

[Darth Grall]

While I would say RAW they can, as many of the few creatures who actually have regeneration(ex) don't have existing age categories or pre-existing age limits where they die; I imagine you won't kill them with time.

For example, lets say you fought the Tarrasque, they are NOT immune to aging. So by that line of thought the best way to kill the Tarrasque will be to outlive it or magically age it to death if you can. While inventive, in the text they're supposed to be "timeless" monsters who wait thousands of years before razing kingdoms. Trolls I would imagine would live terribly long lives too. Do you really think that aging them 100 years or even 1000 will be enough to put them down?

If the answer is no, then their essentially "immune" to aging in practice. In which case perhaps immunity to aging was meant to be added to every creature with regeneration? Idk, but aging seems a strange way to kill creatures like that.

[Ironballs]

Of course they do, regeneration is the ability to mend physical wounds, and that's it.
creatures with regeneration can still die due to: old age, Hunger, drowning, poison, freeze to death, coup de grace, death effect.

[Kazaan]

If regeneration represents accelerated cell division to repair damage anatomy, then it should actually reduce lifespan rather than increase it. Run any machine on overdrive and it wears out faster.

[8 Red Wizards]

Ironballs wrote:

Of course they do, regeneration is the ability to mend physical wounds, and that's it.

creatures with regeneration can still die due to: old age, Hunger, drowning, poison, freeze to death, coup de grace, death effect.

Coup de Grace doesn't mean it'll kill a regenerating monster you still have to by pass the regeneration such as for trolls you have to use fire or acid before you Coup de grace them or they'll get right back up.