Is there max age canon for True Dragons in Golarion?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


Beyond the age chart in the Bestiary, which sets Great Wyrms at 1201+ years, with no defined maximum age, I was wondering if there is any reference about it in Campaign Setting books, such as Dragons Revised/Unleashed, which I haven't read, or others.
Are there references to the maximum age a Dragon can reach, or just hints at formidably high ages? Something like, for example: "Draconixus witnessed the Earthfall with his own eyes; today he sleeps inside an active volcano", which would mean that Dragon has over ten thousand years and is still going on, and, unless he's using magic to prolong his life, any other Dragon has the potential to reach the same age and further.
Or even hints at virtual immortality, as long as their life doesn't end in violence?


Well, the existence of Raveners suggest that dragons can die of old age, and aren't naturally immortal. No clue as to a maximum age though.

Liberty's Edge

Daralathyxl, estimated at over 2,000 years old (and observed for over 1,700), is described as being one of the "largest, oldest, and most powerful dragons in all of Golarion."


The Ravener entry doesn't explicitly say death from old age, only that they sense that "the end is near". Though I do agree it has that implication.

Personally, I would say dragons have a maximum age of plot.

Quite frankly, if a 20th level wizard can figure out the secret to immortality, I feel like the dragon who has been alive for about 1200 years longer should have probably figured it out as well.

I mean an ancient red dragon casts a 15th level sorcerer. A great wyrm red dragon should probably be casting as a 20th level sorcerer. Which means Wish is on the table. A Great Wyrm that wants to be immortal, has probably found a way to be immortal.


Alright, thanks, I "needed" this info to set a random table, I guess I'll set the max at 3500, for now.


There's information in the Dragons Revisited that also shows that Daralathxyl is an outlier. It's brought up repeatedly at the Conclave of Dragons of 'what to do about Daralathxyl' because he's so old... and none of the other dragons understand how because he should be dead of old age.

None of the other great wyrms, from Mengkare, to Aashaq, to Derybrujan, etc., are anywhere even close to as old as he is. Arantaros was only ancient and was striving to discover how to make the Sun Orchid Elixir because he was terrified of old age and became a ravener to cheat time.

I imagine dragon old age is probably closer to 1500. Which is why every dragon is confused and worried about Daralathxyl.


They've been retconning most of, if not all of Dragons Revisited since they switched to pathfinder rules tho so I wouldn't put much stock in what that book says.

Paizo Employee Developer

I agree with Claxon's maximum age of "plot" within reason. In my mind--not printed canon, but a personal guideline--I assume that dragons die of old age by the 2,000 year mark. To live any longer than that would require some extraordinary context to support its living longer.


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

*suddenly imagines the reason Thuvia is so... arid... is because the dragons have been yoinking all the long-life flowers so there's only the one left, because it doesn't bloom fast enough...

Silver Crusade

Hmm...I always treated dragons as functionally immortal as far as aging is concerned. By official standards...I've no idea.


For what it's worth, the Dragonslayer's Handbook says their lifespans stretch "beyond the bounds of a millennium". ...Which kind of implies they don't usually live to see two. XD

It later notes that the lifespan is "over 1,200 years", which does fit in with their aging table. Given that they advance an age category every 200 years after hitting adult, I suppose you could say that 1,400 years old is the normal lifespan for a dragon (give or take a few decades), and anything beyond that has probably employed some sort of anti-aging power.

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