Mechanic · time & pacing

Character aging

A game advances characters' ages and may use age to determine their abilities, risks, or deaths.

draftAlso: aging, character age, lifespan, character lifespanUpdated 2026-10-22
On this page
  1. Related
  2. Games
  3. References
  4. Sources

Character aging advances a character’s age and can lead to death. In Genghis Khan, every person ages one year each spring, and anyone who reaches the end of a lifespan dies1. In Genghis Khan II, old characters may die, and low Body Points or serious illness make death more likely2. The sequel also says that Body Points may decrease as a character ages3.

See also

Games

GameYearHowNote
Nobunaga's Ambition1986Lifespaneach spring adds a year and takes a point of health; a hidden lifespan ends a life, and high health can stretch it
Genghis Khan1987Lifespaneveryone ages each spring and dies on reaching the end of a lifespan
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf1992Condition-modified riskold characters may die, with low Body Points or serious illness raising the risk
Every claim about this mechanic, by game (5)
Nobunaga's Ambition 1986Health falls every spring and whenever there is an epidemic, and a daimyo whose health reaches zero dies. A healthier daimyo is less likely to fall ill, and a sick daimyo can't give some commands.Manual
Every spring each daimyo grows a year older and every health value drops by one point, and a daimyo whose time has come dies of old age then. High health can lengthen his life.Manual
The PC-98 manual says each daimyo's lifespan is fixed in advance and never shown. In spring an old daimyo may die when it runs out, but a high health value can save him.Manual
Genghis Khan 1987Every person ages one year each spring, and anyone who reaches the end of his life span dies.Manual
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf 1992Old characters may die, sooner with low Body Points or serious illness, and the death of a ruler, governor, or advisor calls for a successor.Manual

References

  1. ^ abEvery person ages one year each spring, and anyone who reaches the end of his life span dies.ManualKoei, Genghis Khan NES manual · Koei, Genghis Khan Famicom manual (JP)
    How we know
    Every person grows one year older. Anyone who has reached the end of his life span will die.
    p. 22, Game Events, Spring · archived copy ↗
    国王・将軍・子ども等の年齢がそれぞれ１つ増えます。ここで寿命となった者は死亡します。
    p. 40 (PDF p. 42) · archived copy ↗

    The quote matches our archived copy.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-27.

    In the claim ledger

  2. ^ abOld characters may die, sooner with low Body Points or serious illness, and the death of a ruler, governor, or advisor calls for a successor.ManualKoei, Genghis Khan II SNES manual
    How we know
    Old characters may pass away. A character with a low Body Point count or serious illness is more likely to expire. When a Ruler (see Successor on page 13), Governor, or Advisor passes away, you must select a Successor.
    p. 40, Demise of Characters · archived copy ↗

    The quote matches our archived copy.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-21.

    In the claim ledger

  3. ^ abBody Points run from 0 to 15; illness and injury can lower them for a time, and they may decline with age.ManualKoei, Genghis Khan II SNES manual
    How we know
    Body Points (0-15) … Illness and injury may temporarily lower this number. It may also decrease as the character ages. … As one gets older, Body Points may decline.
    p. 20, Body Points; Age · archived copy ↗

    The quote matches our archived copy.

    Checked by a second AI model, 2026-10-21.

    In the claim ledger

Sources

Primary

  • Corporation, Koei. 1990. “Genghis Khan: Instruction Manual (NES-GX-USA).” Koei Corporation (Burlingame, California). original · archived · licence, all uses
  • Koei. 1989. “蒼き狼と白き牝鹿・ジンギスカン 取扱説明書 (Aoki Ōkami to Shiroki Mejika: Genghis Khan, Famicom manual, KOE-GX).” Koei (光栄). original · archived · licence, all uses
  • Corporation, Koei. 1993. “Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf, Super NES instruction manual.” Koei Corporation (Burlingame, California). original · archived · licence, all uses