I Think I've Failed an Aging Check or Two

Most RPGs have aging tables, typically for long campaigns, where a character's ability scores over time. Often there's a bit of a balancing act where older characters tend to have more experience and influence, at the cost of diminishing ability scores. In games like Pendragon, your first character is pretty much doomed to die - even if he survives every battle, the length of a Pendragon campaign spans multiple generations. One of your first goals in Pendragon is to have a son and heir who will take over upon the death or retirement of your first character.

I've had a few rude surprises over the past few years as I've entered my mid-40s. As my optometrist predicted a few years back, my improving distance vision was not a good sign but rather one that my near vision would begin declining. I'd reached the point where I'd find myself removing my glasses to read really small print. I'm now wearing progressive eyeglasses which improve my reading vision as well we my distance vision. Of course, the computer screen is right in between. My younger daughter wanted to show me something funny on her phone a few weeks ago. When I looked at her phone, I could barely see anything, as she had the brightness turned way down. Somewhere along the line I'd begun upping the brightness on my phones and computer screens.

I still have Pendragon on my list of games I need to play someday. Maybe in the gamers' retirement home I hope to build... While my eyes aren't quite what they were and flexibility isn't quite what it used to be, I've learned a thing or two in my life too. As the saying goes, old age and treachery always overcomes youth and skill...