Life stage
A life stage (or just stage) is a period in your creature's life, whether they are a norn, grendel, ettin or geat. Their needs will change as their life stage changes; some breeds, like the MerNorns, gain or lose abilities as they age.
The seven life stages are:
- Baby
- Child
- Adolescent
- Youth
- Adult
- Old
- Senile
The change between one of these stages is called a life event. Most sprite sets - including those shipped with the games - do not contain separate sprites for each life stage. In the case where there is no sprite set for the current life stage, the previous set is used.
All the world's a game,
And all the norns and grendels merely creatures:
They have their birth events and their death events;
And one norn in her time plays many parts.
Her act being seven stages. At first the baby,
Rocking and cracking on the birthing hot-plate.
Yearning for the light of life.
And then the curious norn-child, bright-eyed
And hungry, devouring cheese without a pause;
Save to bounce the ball. Then the adolescent,
Kissing and pulling, running and hiding,
Exploring and learning, laughing and wailing;
Extending her bounds. And then the youth,
Touching and fleeing, giggling at a push;
Pursued, caught, and kiss-popped at last.
Seeking the egg's immortality
Even o'er the piranah pool. Then the adult,
Burdened with children, laying and playing,
And laying again. Crafty in battle,
Beloved of the hand. The sixth stage warps
Into the graying and old-age'd norn,
With uneven gait and failing organs
Her youghful hair, a faded mop
Atop her bowed head; and her musical voice
Now cracking and failed. Last stage of all,
That ends this tortured fearful parody,
Is second egg-hood and mere senelity.
Sans fur, sans cheese, sans life, sans everything.
-- GreenReaper (apologies to Shakespeare :-)
External links
Miscellaneous Creatures 2 Genetics Information - contains information on life stages