Hi.

I have been trying to google this but all I get is either things like "age of strife", age of darkness" and so on, or I get things like warhammer 40k is a game for 12 years and up.

So my question:

How old can a human become in the 40k universe? If i remember correctly Eisenhorn is somewhere around 100-200 at some point no? a

And the lord general in the book of judgement was 108 at some point in his career.

So how old can you get?

And why can humans get so much older? is this because of evolution or because of some sort of treatment?

in the case of a treatment, is it something that only the rich can afford? and how does it work? Is there a maximum age?

and in case of evolution what would the equivalent of a 70-80 year old be ?

Thanks for any replies.

Lightbringer did a nice summary of the varying average life expectancies different groups within the Imperium might have (darned if I can find it right now, but perhaps your search would be more fruitful).

In a nutshell, those who can afford rejuvenation treatment can go on into their second century whilst still appearing to be a robust sixty-something. There are certain NPCs who are even older (such as the Venerable Cal, who drives around in a bath-chair, though I can't recall his exact age right now).

For those who cannot afford rejuve, you might expect a normal human lifespan modified by the risks they face in the environment in which they live (so quite low for a feral worlder, and perhaps higher than average for a reasonably well-off Administratum worker on a civilised Imperial world).

There are also exceptions such as Navigators, whose natural lifespans are 400 years plus.

Hopefully that is a helpful start. Finding Lightbringer's thread will give you some more exact figures and nice fluff around them.

I would say the canon provides examples up to ten thousand years depending on your definition of 'alive'.

It's all a matter of technology and what suits your campaign.

Niqvah said:

Thanks very much, Niqvah, glad you liked it! Here it is again:-

Rejuvenat treatment

The Imperium of man is, for the average citizen, a harsh environment. Whilst there is of course tremendous variation from world to world, for the "typical" citizen (if such a hypothetical individual could be said to exist) life expectancy hovers around three score Terran years and ten. There are of course so many exceptions to this rule that the rule is often invalid, however.

Hive world lifespans

Generally, Hive worlders are lucky to make it into their fiftieth Terran year. These environments are often inimicable to human life. For example, on Malfi, in the larger slums, every third child dies in infancy from a combination of massive industrial pollution and the dreaded "hive viruses," horrific diseases which sweep hive worlds with depressing regularity. On any one hive world at any time, there are generally at least a dozen pandemics infecting the populance at large. Overcrowding, poor hygeine, lack of sunlight and slim food supplies all contribute to a lifestyle that kills the vulnerable, often before they are even born.

Then of course there are the external, non medical risks of hive world life: gang wars, civil wars, hivequakes, fires, groundcar accidents…

Of course, humans are resilient, and evolution has, over thousands of years, weeded out the infirm. Most hive worlders have incredibly aggressive immune systems, a defence mechanism inherited from ancestors who managed to survive childhood in the pestilential slums. Of course, there is a trade-off for such an evolutionary survival trait: an over aggressive immune system can attack the body’s own organs, resulting in heart problems, diabetes and other life-shortening condiditons.

Imperial world lifespans

To a lesser degree, many of the problems of hive worlds affect other, “civilised” Imperial worlds. However, as the populations of these worlds have not assumed such gigantic proportions, these are alleviated, and the “”typical” lifespan approaches seventy years.

Feral World lifespans

Like hive worlders, feral worlders rarely make it into their 50s. Competition from hostile local lifeforms, tribal warring and environmental hazards tend to shorten the lives of these individuals. However, they tend to enjoy a better level of general health, as their hunter-gatherer lifestyle seems curiously more suited to human well-being than slaving away in dim factoria for the Emperor.

There are exceptions of course: cultural traditions can have a tremendous effect upon lifespan. On Vedracache, a feral world in the Drepana sector, a man is only allowed to marry and sire children when he is 90 years old. This rigorously enforced, illogical tradition, has led to a peaceful, calm society where everyone simply concentrates on staying alive and healthy for as long as possible. Life has carried on in this way for thousands of years, and as a side effect of this tradition, the population has naturally selected traits which encourage long life. The average lifespan is 135 Terran years for both male and female inhabitants. (This may all be due to change, of course. The Adeptus Terra is dissatisfied with the pacifistic, peace loving population, and has marked the world out for colonization by more aggressive people from the nearby hiveworlds.)

Void born lifespans

A life in deep space is inherently unhealthy: fewer vitamins than “dirt born” humans, exposure to tremendous sources of radiation, a lack of consistently safe sunlight, and the obvious risks of warp travel.

However, curiously, it would appear that while mortality rates amongst void born are higher than on “safe” Imperial worlds, the void born do, for some reason not yet fully understood, live longer than the “average” Imperial citizen. Whilst often physically frail compared to “dirtgrubbers,” the average lifespan is in the region of 80-90 Terran standard years.

Many explanations have been offered for this apparent discrepancy: the close sense of community aboard spacecraft, the potentially lower gravity levels, the respect for the elderly and experienced aboard ship…However, it is felt in many quarters that the warp plays a larger part. Voidborn spend more time in the warp (albeit protected by a Gellar field) then anyone else, and it is theorised by certain members of the Ordo Malleus that some poorly-understood scientific mechanism is at work here…

Medicene in the Imperium

There is no single body or agency which licenses medical practice across the Imperium. As a result there are a bewildering array of Chiurgeons, Medics, Barber Physicians, Witchdoctors, Medicae adepts and other sawbones at large in the galaxy, each practicing to a different level of skill utilising different technology. Broadly speaking, the Adeptus Terra takes a relaxed view of medical practice, provided that it does not stray into certain heretical areas, such as live human cloning, xenomedicene or cybernetics implanted without the knowledge and consent of an appropriately authorised representative of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Typically, each Planetary Governor will be responsible (if he or she deems it necessary) for enforcing standards of practice amongst the Doctors on his or her world. It is generally felt that local authorities are best placed to licence these personnel, if they care to do so. After all, the competence of a planet’s medics is only a concern of the Administratum if it has a bearing upon the ability of a Governor to acheive the tithe…

As such, the standard of medical practitioners varies tremendously throughout the Imperium. On some worlds, every single citizen is guaranteed top quality state enforced healthcare “from the cradle to the resyq vats.” On others, beggars die in the street of easily treated minor medical conditions.

On civilised Imperial worlds, for the rich and influential, medicene can acheive wonders. Over the millenia, vast quantities of pristine jungle worlds have been raided for unusual drugs and chemicals. Pre-Imperial medical treatises are among the rare books from that era widely available. Ten thousand years of practical experience has been dutifully recorded and taught in established colleges.

For the Imperial Elite, they can expect, if they maintain a close loyalty to Terra, to enjoy robust health, cures for all common ailments, and a vastly extended lifespan.

Extending lifespan

There are a variety of treatments available to extend a human lifespan, but they are generically known as “rejuvenat” treatments. Specific treatments include:

Transplant:- there are a lot of people who die young in the Imperium. War is widespread, murder is commonplace and the sick need replacement parts…A thriving black market exists in organ trading, and many are not too picky about where the kidney that saved their life came from… Transplants from unknown sources are fraught with risk, but a well timed transplant can extend a lifespan by decades.

Organ cloning – by ancient charter, cloning of a complete human is forbidden. However, numerous exceptions have been successfully litigated over during the millennia, and it is now quite legal to clone an individual’s organs, and indeed to transplant those organs into a living human being. Vatgrown organs of this type are relatively common amongst senior Imperial servants, and are often used to replace aged or damaged body parts. Such treatment can extend a human life by decades, but it is often noted that the human body is a complex machine that thrives only when all parts work in harmony: one cannot ensure true immortality through the use of such techniques.

Meelangiar – One of a variety of differently named chemicals which have a similar effect, although by far the most famous, Meelangiar was discovered on the jungle world of Redressia in the Segmentum Obscurus, and as a result of its discovery the Redressia Sector is now one of the richest in the Imperium. Meelangiar is a complex and normally highly toxic chemical compound found in the purple blooms of the Redressian viper-orchid: it has a dramatic effect upon human physiology. It is as close to a “fountain of life” as any medical treatment in human history. It has properties that cleanse and purify the human body of oxidant and free radical damage to an unprecedented degree, whilst also stimulating the body to repair damage caused by aging, UV rays and other adverse effects. It also appears to alter the DNA of the user to reflect his or her initial DNA template. In effect, if properly administered, it returns a human body to its “prime,” and can be used for almost a dozen successive treatments before the body builds up a tolerance for the chemical. Careful use of the drug can extend a human lifespan to over 200 years if used sparingly, though Imperial servants who need to remain physically active tend to need more treatments, and usually build up a tolerance within 150-170 years.

The Drug has minor cosmetic effects, but generally if one wishes to appear to be in one’s prime, one must pay extra for cosmetic surgery to accompany the drug regime. It is said however, that no matter how adept the surgery, it is impossible to hide one’s age as shown on one’s elbows…

Use of the drug and its derivatives is common in the Inquisition and amongst senior Imperial servants. Its side effects include paranoia, obsessive compulsive disorder, impotence, depression and monomania, those these side effects are well understood and are often counteracted by other drugs.

Cybernetics – in “mainstream” Imperial society, the use of bionics and cybernetics is extremely common, and is often worn as a badge of pride. The Adeptus Mechanicus claim a monopoly over the creation of such devices, but have no real interest in policing who implants them into patients. Large numbers of “stock” bionic parts, usually characterised by their robust simplicity, are available to all Imperial servants who suffer an injury in the service of the God-Emperor. These stock parts make a useful replacement for – say – a missing limb or eye, but they are not designed with aesthetics in mind! Many cybernetic parts are able to extend a lifespan, and indeed the Adeptus Mechanicus draw themselves closer to the machine God through the use of such devices. Generally, if combined with Meelangiar, cybernetic treatment is able to extend a human lifespan to perhaps 300 years in a relatively active state.

In addition, the Adeptus Mechanicus are said to be able to create cybernetic devices of such complexity and sophistication that they can extend a human lifespan by centuries, provided that the brain of the individual remains sane.

Life support systems – such is the level of sophistication achieved in many Imperial worlds that a lifespan can be extended for almost a thousand years if the subject is willing to be suspended in a life supporting vitae-tank in a state of immobility for the duration. Whilst the subject may be able to communicate with the outside world, they can no longer claim to be truly “human” in the normal sense of the word, free as they are from the normal limitations of desire, hormones, or other bodily functions. However, such is the fear of death inherent in the human condition that many sufficiently wealthy individuals are willing to place themselves at the mercy of the Adeptus Mechanicus in order to guarantee their continued existence. These devices could almost be said to guarantee immortality, but the Adeptus Mechanicus are keen to point out that they cannot guarantee that the mind of the individual treated will last indefinitely. A variety of unpleasant and well documented forms of brain damage strike even the most robust individual after 750-1000 years in the tank…

Dreadnoughts – many insane individuals have, over the centuries, sought to attain immortality by having themselves transplanted into the holy body of an Imperial Dreadnought. It is certainly true that the unbelievably sophisticated life support system that maintains the occupant’s life is able to keep an individual alive for centuries, but the true “immortality” attained by the Dreadnoughts of the Adeptus Astartes eludes those rare individuals capable of capturing a dreadnought body if they themselves are not fully fledged marines. After a thousand years or so, the same types of brain damage that affect vitae-tank occupants creeps in, driving the (often heavily armed) occupant irrevocably insane.

Stasis fields – these are the only way to guarantee immortality, though it is always in the form of an endless sleep. Now immensely rare, these ancient devices freeze time completely within their sphere of influence, provided a constant power source is fed to their output generator. Now unbelievably rare, only a handful of forge worlds now claim to still have the ability to manufacture these, principal among them Belacane in the Calixis Sector. They are typically a measure of last resort for dying plutocrats, who freeze themselves in the hope that at some future date technology will have advanced to a degree that will enable the condition they are dying from to be cured. Given the state of technological progress in the Imperium, this is usually a doomed hope.

Systems: If your player is old, he may want to have his or her lifespan extended. If he, she or the Imperium can pay for it, go for it!

Treatment

Transplant
Heart – 500 thrones

Kidney – 250 thrones

Lung – 100 thrones

Other vital organs – 100 thrones
Extends life by: Varies. No more than 25 years.

Organ cloning
5x transplant costs
Extends life by: Varies. No more than 35 years.

Meelangiar
250,000 thrones per treatment
Extends life by 20 years, for each treatment, effectively returns body to its physical prime, though not in appearance. Can only be used 2d10 times before the body rejects further treatment

Cybernetics
500,000
Once a player has had at least 5 Meelangiar treatments, they may opt to pay the Adeptus Mechanicus 500,000 throne gelt to arrange a careful screening on a medicae forge world. Once this is done, a carefully designed program of cybernetic organs will be introduced to the character. This has no effect on the players profile, but adds a further 50 years to his or her lifespan once the body rejects Meelangiar.

Life support systems
1 million per century the player intends to survive in it, up to a maximum of ten centuries.
The player chooses how long he wants to stay alive and buys a tank for this price on this basis. After 500 years an INT test must be taken every century: a failure indicates slow brain death.

Thank you all for this, it really helped.