How old is the PC?

[Ruben]

Just wondering as I look at various romances, the fact the 3 BG romances are all either elves or half elves. Which leads me to the conclusion that technically some of them could be old enough to be your mother, as well as possibly already HAVE children running around.

Viconica - I really as far as I could find never saw how long she lived in the Underdark before she was chased out and started worshiping Shar.

Jaheria - Half Elf, but the fact that she is a good friend of Gorian means they when they were adventuring together they must of been more than simple wet behind the ears adventurers. (On the other hand, that theroy really dosn't explain why they start at a relativly low level in BG1, especially for being harpers)

Arie - Is probally the only potential character that actually could seem yonger even for a full elf. She is incredibily naieve especially for an elf, so while she could be physical mature from a human stand point, she may be seem like a mere child as an Elfish stand point.

PC - It really depends on the race you choose? But how long could Gorion keep you at Candle keep. Were a younger age seems a heck alot more logical, very few of those portraits actually seem to depict a younger person. They all seem to look around atleast 25 or greater. But technically from the story line Gorion was still treating you as a child, so 16 - 17 could be belivable regardless of your race.

Which just leads to rather disturbing thoughts come to mind when you think of the possible age gap in some of these romances.

[Mongoose87]

*cues long unsolveable debate*
This has been asked before.

[WolfCatBot]

There's nothing disturbing about it.

[Ruben]

Well okay from my view its kinda of disturbing, and as for a long unsolveable debat, I just want to see different peoples insight into this question. If the powers that be thing this is just a spam thread I'm sure they will just lock it up anyway.

[jcompton]

If memory serves, the literal interpretation of what the game tells you is that the PC is about 20 at the outset of BG1. The length of time between games is indeterminate but many (including myself) believe it to be less than a year.

So the PC is in his/her very early 20s at the oldest. This does not wash terribly well for longer-lived races such as elves, but it's where the "it's a story" aspect kicks in and we just go play and have a good time.

[JPS]

Well, this is third-hand information at best (that is, someone said that one of the game developers said it. I don't remember where I read it, sorry), but the official line seems to be that the main character, Imoen and Jaheira are all 20 at the beginning of BG 2. My personal opinion is that this is a bit old for Imoen, a lot too young for Jahiera and complete rubbish for any main character who isn't human*, but that's what I've heard. This would mean either that Gorion was in the habit of sneaking out of Candlekeep to adventure with the Harpers, or that Jaheira started her career at a very early age.

I also seem to remember that David Gaider has said that Viconia is "a lot older than Drizzt"**, which is probably a bot more useful if you know how old he is...

No Idea about Aerie, but she's probably older than 20.

This means that there is an age difference in at least two cases, but I don't really see that as a problem. It's not like the main character is a child or anything, it's just that the age of potential love interests registers on a different scale.

---
That's right, this post has footnotes. Just because I can.

*These days, I solve that problem by only playing human and half-elven characters just to avoid the glaring inconsistency, just like I avoid playing monks or barbarians or any other class not likely to grow up in Candlekeep

**Try lookig for that in the "Official information" thread on the Unfinished Business forum. I think that's where I read it.

[discharger12]

20, according to Bioware

[Kish]

I avoid playing monks or barbarians or any other class not likely to grow up in Candlekeep

Monks are unlikely to grow up in Candlekeep?  You're surrounded by them.

I also seem to remember that David Gaider has said that Viconia is "a lot older than Drizzt"**, which is probably a bot more useful if you know how old he is...

In the tale Viconia tells, her brother kills the Matron Mother of House DeVir.  That must be a different person from Matron Mother Ginafae (sp), who was killed by Zaknafein, and who was the last Matron Mother of House DeVir.  Considering that, I'd say that in all probability, Viconia is of Drizzt's mother's generation; Valas killed Viconia's mother, causing her sister Ginafae to become the new Matron Mother.

[JPS]

I avoid playing monks or barbarians or any other class not likely to grow up in Candlekeep

Monks are unlikely to grow up in Candlekeep?  You're surrounded by them.

Yes, but as far as I understad, that's another kind of monk...

[Kish]

Even if that's true, is it relevant?  A monastic library is still one of the most suitable places in the Realms for a monk to grow up.

[JPS]

Even if that's true, is it relevant?  A monastic library is still one of the most suitable places in the Realms for a monk to grow up.

Alright, let's just pretend I wrote "just like I avoid playing rangers or barbarians or any other class not likely to grow up in Candlekeep" instead. It's not something I really want to argue about...

[neriana]

Arwen was about 3000 years old when she met Aragorn.

Jaheira's supposed to be 20? That's just plain silly! I always picture her as around 60, about 1/3 of the way through her life as a half-elf.

[Alarielle]

Jaheira is plainly much older than the PC, particularly since she was a trusted friend of the PC's father and is, in effect, the PC's foster mother after Gorion's death.

I'd say that the PC would be no older than 24(ish), but definately not younger than 20

[JPS]

Arwen was about 3000 years old when she met Aragorn.

Jaheira's supposed to be 20? That's just plain silly! I always picture her as around 60, about 1/3 of the way through her life as a half-elf.

Well, I went and looked it up, and it seems to be a fairly trustworthy source, as second-hand information goes.

But I agree – it doesn't make any sense for Jaheira to be that young. I always imagined her to be in her late 50s, at least, and that she adventured with Gorion before he took care of the main character and settled down in Candlekeep.

[neriana]

Arwen was about 3000 years old when she met Aragorn.

Jaheira's supposed to be 20? That's just plain silly! I always picture her as around 60, about 1/3 of the way through her life as a half-elf.

Well, I went and looked it up, and it seems to be a fairly trustworthy source, as second-hand information goes.

But I agree – it doesn't make any sense for Jaheira to be that young. I always imagined her to be in her late 50s, at least, and that she adventured with Gorion before he took care of the main character and settled down in Candlekeep.

I was complaining that Bioware is silly if they say Jaheira's supposed to be 20, not that your post was silly .

[JPS]

Yes, I suspected as much. But since it really wasn't too much of a problem to look it up (luckily, nobody else had posted "Jaheira is 20" over at FWS, so the search was quite easy), I thought I'd make it clear anyway. If the smileys here weren't so ugly, i would have included one or two...

EDIT: Apparently, David Gaider thought that Jaheira being 20 was silly as well. Makes you wonder who came up with her age in the first place.

[jester]

Another proof that developers never read their base material.

OK, they are a bunch of merry twens. Male PCs have a hunch for older women which is fine, since they lacked a proper mother in their childhood and grew up surrounded by funny smelling old people. Same goes for female PCs for the very same reason.


... which really bothers me is the question and it has not been thoroughly answered in the past: Did Imoen rape Irenicus??

[Ruben]

... which really bothers me is the question and it has not been thoroughly answered in the past: Did Imoen rape Irenicus??

Ack not this discussion again......


Oh I read that wrong. never mind

[Grim Squeaker]

... which really bothers me is the question and it has not been thoroughly answered in the past: Did Imoen rape Irenicus??

No, Imoen raped Sarevok.

[discharger12]

All of you are wrong! Aerie raped Korgan! Imoen doesn't have to do with anythin'!

[BigRob]

In a (probably meaningless) attempt to drag this back on track for a second, it is possible that one of the longer lived races might be 20 and still be effectively an adult member of thier race. The rate at which real world humans mature is influenced by many factors, including the culture in which they live.

Information from stone-age sites has indicated that the average age of death in those times was 18. This is roughly the same lifespan as chimpanzees today (40 is OLD for a chimp). As cultures develop, children need to learn more and more in order to become functioning adults and they spend a lot more time growing up. An elf (normally takes over 100 years to reach adulthood) might become an adult in a mere 20 years if reduced to living in a primitive human culture.

It's a good enough excuse for me, anayway. 

[discharger12]

Wait.. people died at 18 

[jester]

Quick question about theses statistics. A white middle class male at 40 travels to a country in which the average life expectancy is at 38.

(a) Does he drop dead immediately, because he exceeded his lifespan in his (new) surrounding culture?
(b) Does he not age anymore, because he exceeded the age cap (no, removers for this are not in UB9)?
(c) Is his race a factor how long s/he lives (Sorry for dragons who life among short-lived folks ) ?

Though I see the basic scientific approach behind this, I fail to see why an earlier demise speeds up your development in general. It is your game and your explanations have only to work for yourself, don't get me wrong on this. Following this explanation should seriously keep any elf from adventuring.

[BigRob]

Yup, when you've gotta dig roots out of the ground and hunt deer with a pointy stick, you get old REAL fast. 

[WolfCatBot]

Why is Candlekeepy primitive?