coming of age

[Svartalf]

Unless the GM wants to bother with varying attributes to take age into account, it's better to choose an age which is reasonably close to adulthood (growth done &s o) ... I'd say that 16 would be fair.

[Rpgpunk]

I start my characters around 18-23.

[J. Lionheart]

I use 16 as "of age", but start my characters 18-19.

[Cranus]

16 is generally the 'age' for me in regards to fantasy settings. As for what age I start them at, it varies. Of late, my characters have been starting at around 16 - 18 due to intentionally playing "young" characters.

[Nekira Sudacne]

I tend to think of 14 as "of age"

[drewkitty ~..~]

Coming of age....humm

Humans
-drink: 12ish
-concidered an adult:13-14
-magariage: 13-16
-seen as really grown up:16-20

Elves
-drink: 20ish
-concidered an adult:26-28
-magariage: 26-32
-seen as really grown up:50ish
Remember elves take twice as long to mature as humans.

Dwarves
-drink: 12ish
-concidered an adult:20ish or after slaying their 1st orc or winning a fight aginst a pansy elf
-magariage: 40ish
-seen as really grown up: 50ish

Gnomes
-drink: 14ish
-concidered an adult:13-14
-magariage: 13-16
-seen as really grown up:16-20

[drewkitty ~..~]

You could go by the Klingon test of manhood. If the boy (gal) is grown enough to use a knife, they are adults.

hehe...

[The Immortal ME]

Historically Age was not the issue for adulthood. Puberty was the 1st true sign of manhood. Tended to be the time you Married, or even got an apprenticeship.

Alot of people/authors use 13-14 as that is when we consider most people to have reached puberty. It's also easier than discussing puberty, or recognizing the fact that there are semi-rare 8 year old girls having their menses. All of which are Semi-Taboo, or embarassing subjects to our culture.

Don't forget the occasional for year old that managed to bear children.

[Borast]

For example in "Horseclans" it's illegal to rape a child under the age of 14.

Actually...sex without the female's consent in Horseclan's society is rape (a slave can not refuse, but that is another story...), and seriously punished.

Further, sexual contact with ANY female under 14 (a child of a slave is part of the clan, and therefore FREE) is strictly forbidden on pain of serious doo-doo... (I read and re-read my HC novels at least once a year... )

Rape in an intaking or for the purpose of "testing" a new slave under their laws is not rape. Doncha love flexible morality?

On a side note, under horseclans law/tradition/custom, the WOMAN chooses her partners - the man has no say, and (although the woman/girl usually allows the man to think it was his idea) spouse. After all, most of the clans do (up to the rebuilding of Eliah(?) by the Shining Sea) count descent through the mother.

[Borast]

Generally, anyone over 14 (Human) would be considered "adult," even if they were under an apprenticeship until 16 or later.

As for marriage, using Feudal Europe as an example, if he is lucky, a "man" could marry as early as 14 if he could afford it, and could find parents willing to let him marry thier daughter. A woman in this instance could marry at 12, but 14-15 would be a more typical age, and depending on several items, would generally marry a man in his late 20's or more (typically 35+). This tended to occur, because women died in droves from birthing babies at 14, blood poisoning (a "doctor" coming from an hour earlier cutting into a cadaver straight into putting his hands into her vagina to take the baby out), botched C-sections, complications at birth that killed mother AND child, or from a beating from a husband who's orders were not answered fast enough...