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 Psienesis wrote:
The Forge World's atmosphere is probably radioactive, and filled with industrial pollutants.

Yes but they probably also have air filters and such. All world types have their own hazards. I am sure that Aggri Worlds employ some radically large plows and other various machines for harvesting that are sufficiently 40k-ized with skulls, spikes and other dangerous bits.

But my point is, all the world types are hazardous in their own way. I don't think that the jumps between them are so significant that they would much alter the life of people living on them. Especially given the technology available to humans. Also, you'd think Forge Worlds more than any other would have some hyper advanced medical facilities since they do so much surgical augmentation within the Mechanicum.

The Planetary Governor probably has an air filter. The average citizen? He's got a piece of plastic-wrapped cotton that you can buy, in the real world, from Home Depot for $3 per pack of 100. On the Forge World, though, this is a relic that has been handed down from parent to child for 10 generations.

In short... it's gak-worthless.

Even in the real world, the life-expectancy of people living in heavily polluted areas, without access to advanced medical care, *is* radically different from those who do not live in such areas, or do have access to such medical care. We need only look to coal towns and incidents of "Black Lung" to show that, yes, living and working in such conditions is terrible for one's health.

While, yes, you might get run over by a combine harvester on an Agri-World, that's an occupational risk that is relatively minor compared to living on a world where factories the size of cities belch pollutants into the skies every hour of every day, where the local sun is hidden behind layers of toxic smog and acidic rain, and has been for a thousand years, and you spend 3/4ths of the day bent over a smeltery that works with radioactive isotopes, dressed in a leather apron.

Before this continues, I'd like to point out that many recorded "ages" of noted Imperial Characters do not take into account that warp travel has strange time-jump effects.
For example, The IOM records that "Commander X" was born in 500.M40, and died in 750.M40. So they see him as dying at the grand old age of 250 years old. However, he could have actually died at age 20 if he travels through the warp, and experiences a time-jump.

I believe this is one of the reasons for the BA guy's recorded age.

Anyways:
Orks are pretty much immortal, as their fungal systems regenerate their body too fast for natural causes to kill them. But they are not indestructible, and the average Ork will likely come down with a mild case of exploding head, at the grand old age of 11 years old.

Human life span probably varies greatly.

Spess Muhreens are functionally immortal, i.e. they will die of being killed before nature can take them (And can last hundreds of years). Also, the studs are a mark of 100 years of active service, marking them as a veteran of the marines.

As for the Kayoss Spess Muhreens, they can gain true immortality by becoming daemonic. And just as the warp can slow down time relative to them, it can also speed it up. So somewhere there is a 40,000 year old chaos marine.

Yeah, there is a way of expressing one's true age and then how old one appears to be. IIRC, total age from birth to current year is "sidereal", so if you were born in 750.M40, spent 25 years doing your thing, then jumped on a ship and spent the next 200 years in the Warp before popping out in 975.M40, your sidereal age is 225, though you appear to be only 25, as the passage of time does not affect you while in the Immaterium, and it does not magically "catch up" to you once back in Real Space.

Asmodai Asmodean wrote:
Doesn't the Imperium have access to tech to indefinitely extend your lifespan?

No they don't. Otherwise High Lords would surely be immortal.

Also, how the hell is Dante 1300 years old and still hasn't succumbed to the Black Rage/Red Thirst?

Because he is a Blood Angel, who are noted having longer lifespan than other marines. This pretty much proves that marines are not immortal.

Depending of the source, Dante is either 1100 years old, or been leader of BA for 1100 years. I like to imagine that under that pretty golden mask he is a horrible wizened mummy.

Not indefinitly, but they can exponentially extend your life. if you've got the coin for the treatment.

A human that would normally only live for 80 years may be able to live for 400 with Juvnats and/or augmetics.

The Ad Mech could extend your life even longer but thats reserved for senior members.

 Grey Templar wrote:

The Ad Mech could extend your life even longer but thats reserved for senior members.

Yes, but at that point you're probably just a brain in a jar.

Not even a brain, most of your conciousness has been downloaded at that point.

Regarding Forge Worlds and averages in Imperial citizen's life expectancy... one has to factor in the increased risk of death-by-warfare, due to the hightened strategic value of said worlds. Whereas 90% of the average people would live and die without seeing war, you're far more likely to fall into that 10% and suffer at the hands of an Ork Waaagh! or Chaos incursion, etc if there's an Imperial Forge World up for grabs.