Hello everyone, how are you all doing today? I decided I'd ask this after doing some reading on the lifespans of Mer - including the information provided via ESO.

As it says, "200 for an Elf is old, and 300 is very, very old" and then it mentions anything longer than that is through magic. Now, I'm just wondering how this would fit for each of the known Mer races. Would this be the same or even the standard for an Altmer - or do they have 100 extra years due to Phynaster and the shorter stride he taught them? And what about the Orsimer - surely this wouldn't apply to them despite being Elves (cursed as they may be)? Although, I also remember hearing of a curse in the lore of the Nords involving a deity known as Orkey - about a curse that was placed on the Atmorans to cut their lives down to a few years only for Shor to move the curse to the Orsimer (bit of a bias, eh Shor? ;P) after defeating Alduin in the spirit plane, who was summoned originally by Orkey to feast on the lives the Atmorans were allowed to live before said curse. However, I take that Nordic belief with a grain of salt - it also goes about saying the Atmorans lived as long as the Elves did, which makes me think it's a drunk Nord's tale.

However, there's something else I need to ask regarding aging and the Elves - taking this "normal" lifespan into account, how would this affect the biology of a 200 or 300 year old Mer? We know that a Mer of any type ages like a regular human until advlthood, then the aging process slows to a crawl - but how does this affect them once they reach those points in their long lives? Do commoners among the Elven population show their age more while nobles can retain signs of being in their prime even at the age of, say, 250-300 years?

I did check something that had me curious about this subject originally, and it involves a certain Necromancer. Mannimarco, the almighty King of Worms himself, was born around the year 210 in the Second Era. Then, the events of the Elder Scrolls Online occur, still in the Second Era but in the year 582. This makes Mannimarco 372 years old when he shows up and works for Molag Bal - yet looking at him in the game, he looks to be at his prime, barely showing a single sign of his age and going well past the 300 mark. Sure, it could be from magic and his past as a Psijic, but there might still be some sort of merit to this - afterall, it's only 72 extra years added onto the maximum age that's 'typical' lifespan listed for Mer - yet he still appears untouched by time (looking far better than he did during the Oblivion Crisis of the Third Era...time was not kind to that particularly aspect of the King of Worms.).

So...what do you all think?

There are enough examples of mer living for longer than 300 years to indicate that the 200-300 year lifespan quoted isn't really accurate. My assumption is that it applies to lower class mer - those with harder working conditions, poorer nutrition, less access to healthcare, etc. In other words, all the things that impact lifespan in the real world. A mer who comes from a privileged background or lives a good life can easily exceed those numbers, up until the thousands if they've got access to magic.

This also applies to how it affects them. While everyone will eventually look old, people who are able to take better care of themselves and not work as hard don't show those signs as fast. Here's a snippet from the http://www.imperial-library.info/content/interviews-alvur-relds, released prior to Morrowind, and likely the source of ESO's lifespan number:

To contrast with that, take a look at Barenziah who has white hair and plenty of wrinkles at 430, but is still completely healthy and lucid, or Brand-Shei, who is just over 200 but looks around 50 in human terms.

Barenziah was born in 2E893. Her Daughter Morgiah was born in 3E384 - i.e. 387 years later. That's a fair amount of preservation.

There's also the Dunmer in Darkwater Crossing who stated that he's been mining ore for centuries, Sarethi whose still tending to crops and minding her sister, actually was alive back when Vivec city was still around. Granted, she sounds oldish, but it can't be that bad if she's still willing to tend to crops and contemplating opening up a potion store.

As is, its sorta inconsistent. I agree with Lady N on that its mostly due to social standing being a fairly large factor in how old a Mer can live. I expect the Altmer to be on the very far end of the spectrum, by in large.