In my game the characters are starting at ages below starting age. The idea is they are starting as children and they will be aging throughout the campaign.
There is a 24 year old dwarf, two 13 year old humans, and an 18 year old halfling. The Humans and Halfling are two years away from starting age, while the dwarf is just a bit past half way to it. The Dwarf argues he has lived the longest so therefor is more mature physically and mentally.
The question is, what dictates the starting age? Is this when the are considered mentally or physiologically mature? Is it by the view of their culture?
By raw, Physically(young template hurts str and con) but the argument can be made that it affects mental too( some classes have recommended starting ages longer than other since its infered they take longer to master).
Personally I hate that though. It infers a lot of things I Don't agree with about aging races. If your dwarf wants to be "mature" for his age, go for it. But stat wise he's still not at the minimum age so... he' d arguably still have the young template.
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Well... let's compare real world creatures...
A human matures in roughly 16-some odd years...
a chimpanzee matures in, what 2 years...
a 4 year old human is not more mature than a 3 year old chimp...
maturity is a combination of physical and mental abilities. It seems alien to us now but at one time teen aged boys commanded armies and ruled nations.
Anyway, my point is that dwarves are as different from humans and elves and halflings as humans are to chimps. The age of maturity for one has nothing to do with the age of maturity for another.
The dwarf in the example, being half-way to maturity, would be about the same physically and mentally as an 8-year old human- roughly. That should be his model for capabilities and maturity level. In other words, he loves fart jokes...
Well... let's compare real world creatures...
A human matures in roughly 16-some odd years...
a chimpanzee matures in, what 2 years...
a 4 year old human is not more mature than a 3 year old chimp...
maturity is a combination of physical and mental abilities. It seems alien to us now but at one time teen aged boys commanded armies and ruled nations.
Anyway, my point is that dwarves are as different from humans and elves and halflings as humans are to chimps. The age of maturity for one has nothing to do with the age of maturity for another.
The dwarf in the example, being half-way to maturity, would be about the same physically and mentally as an 8-year old human- roughly. That should be his model for capabilities and maturity level. In other words, he loves fart jokes...
Pull my finger.