Do undead age?

[CALCIUM]

Just asking since I have am wondering if Gael became old and grew that long beard before or after he became undead.

[CALCIUM]

I'm serious here. Do undead age or not after they get cursed with it?

[CALCIUM]

So... No one knows the answer to this?

[[NG]Giuls The Original]

https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/fwhn3p/question_about_gaels_lore/
theories here

[CALCIUM]

This did not answer my question.
Do undead age after getting the curse?
Yes or No?
That is what I am asking not how long Gael has been out there. Not the state of the dark soul. I just want to know if undead get old before or after getting the curse.

I know I have repeated myself but that's what I am asking.

[[NG]Giuls The Original]

I don't know, I shared to you what I found about it

[CALCIUM]

Ok, well thanks for helping.
Hopefully the answer will pop up soon.

[Moff]

To be undead means to have died and been reanimated. As in DS1, most undead were sent to the asylum and they would be imprisoned there FOREVER, until the world ended. So, it's likely that they do not age, as undeath can be seen as a curse/disease to people still alive, because it means one cannot truly die.

If they were to age, wouldn't they inevitably die of old age, or get to the point where it is impossible for them to move any longer? If those types of undead existed, wouldn't we have seen them in the Undead Asylum? Surely there were prisoners that were there MUCH longer than us.

Although it is impossible for me to give you a 100% certain "yes" or "no", I strongly believe that undead do NOT age, and are locked at the age they became cursed.

[CALCIUM]

Originally posted by Moff:

To be undead means to have died and been reanimated. As in DS1, most undead were sent to the asylum and they would be imprisoned there FOREVER, until the world ended. So, it's likely that they do not age, as undeath can be seen as a curse/disease to people still alive, because it means one cannot truly die.

If they were to age, wouldn't they inevitably die of old age, or get to the point where it is impossible for them to move any longer? If those types of undead existed, wouldn't we have seen them in the Undead Asylum? Surely there were prisoners that were there MUCH longer than us.

Although it is impossible for me to give you a 100% certain "yes" or "no", I strongly believe that undead do NOT age, and are locked at the age they became cursed.

Thank you.
Main reason I asked was because of Gael but also the pigmy lords.
Yes I know they are not undead but they are naturally immortal like them as seen with the crucifex of the mad king, and they became waaaay to old at the end of ds3.

[Moff]

It made me question the whole curse a lot too, but I think it has something to do with the blood of the dark soul in that whole mix. Speaking solely of the curse itself, undead likely cannot age, glad I could help.

[Miromett]

Undead and un-aging doesn't mean they can't become enfeebled or decrepit. Just look at gwyn in ds1. Bling lord was a god but wound up a far-cry from what he once was. Sic. Gods were immortal and certainly didn't know death of simple aging. Just look at the timeline of ds1 to ds3. Nameless king is still fit as a fiddle through who knows how many ages.

[CALCIUM]

Originally posted by Miromett:

Undead and un-aging doesn't mean they can't become enfeebled or decrepit. Just look at gwyn in ds1. Bling lord was a god but wound up a far-cry from what he once was. Sic. Gods were immortal and certainly didn't know death of simple aging. Just look at the timeline of ds1 to ds3. Nameless king is still fit as a fiddle through who knows how many ages.

Those folks were not undead though. Look at patches. For being one of the two oldest known humans in ds3, they do not look enfeebled or decrepit.

[Sinsear]

They... decay?... but I dont think time works for the game setting, besides some story and cutscenes. Also its like watching a movie, gonna be some plot holes and things that were not correctly conveyed or end up having some contradictions.

[CALCIUM]

Originally posted by Sinsear:

They... decay?... but I dont think time works for the game setting, besides some story and cutscenes. Also its like watching a movie, gonna be some plot holes and things that were not correctly conveyed or end up having some contradictions.

...Excuse me what? Sorry but what you have just stated has confused me.

Undead do not decay, patches as an undead from ds1 to ds3 has no signs of decay, Gael has no signs of decay, your character has no sign of decay in ds1 and ds2 since you are not undead in ds3. Undead do not decay in dark souls, the only creatures even close to that are the sludge monsters but that is a side effect of cannibalism in dark souls.

Cutscenes are always rare and usually short in dark souls. Even then there really isnt much of a 'movie'.

Time works like this in dark souls. There are multiple realities/time lines, this is how players interact. In all 3 games you could go back in time and in all 3 there are signs that you the player did those things already in the past (The last giant in ds2, The fabrication of Artorias legend in ds1, the person who defeated gundyr and the old lady if you never talked to her until after the past version of FLS in ds3.
In ds3 however you start traveling to the future. First to the kiln of the first flame/ ringed city dlc, and then again at the final boss fight with Gael.

[Miatrox]

Undead have the ability to be ressurected again and again, but they lose part of their humanity each time they do, in the form of memories and such. With that, bodily decay also kicks in. You can extend your undead lifespan by being determined and having a goal, like Anri had, for example. She eventually succumbs to the curse after fullfilling her life purpose, her goal.
Gael, as we find him, has existed for countless millenia and is clearly showing signs of mental deterioration, but his purpose kept him going until then. He then regains his senses during the fight and manages to stafe of his madness, atleast long enough to fight us and take the blood of the dark soul from his body.
Patches is a interesting character, since we also find him in bloodborne, for example, so it is to question how much of a actual character he is, he might just exist as a fan service character for From Software in a sense. If I were to take him at face value, I would have to guess that he has a incredibly strong will, which is what keeps him going.