Haste life-shortening if unaffected

adnd-2eagingmagic-items

I am playing Baldur's Gate, which has 2nd edition rules. My playstyle has both roleplaying and meta/munchkin elements.

The 3rd level Arcane spell haste gives the user increased movement speed and attack speed for some time, then bestows fatigue. I used the spell a lot.. until I read at a Player's Handbook that due to the speed bestowed to the user, this spells actually shortens their lifespan (I think for a few days).

Now I can't do this to my beloved party…so I only used it on summons afterwards. It's a little awkard to cast it and then run away from it to avoid it.

Now, my mage is wearing a Ring of Free Action (later renamed to Evendar's Gift). If I am "hit" by Haste, neither my movement nor my attack speed changes.

Would this ring, in pnp, also prevent the lifespan shortening?

I understand the question is strange because it's trying to bridge two partially alien worlds, but it is based on the fun aspect of roleplaying a bit… so I hope you'll see my point!

Best Answer

No aging occurs if the ring is worn when haste is cast

Per the 2E DMG entry for the Ring of Free Action:

Ring of Free Action: This ring enables the wearer to move and attack freely and normally even when attacked by a web, hold, or slow spell, or even while under water. The spells simply have no effect.

Note that it doesn't actually claim to stop haste, but given you're playing Baldur's Gate, where it self-evidently does block the effects of haste, the rest of this answer assumes a DM that rules that the Ring of Free Action has a broad effect on all movement affecting spells, not just the specific list given in the description.

Haste itself says:

Additionally, this spell ages the recipient by one year, because of sped-up metabolic processes.

Between "the spells have no effect" and the aging being due to sped up metabolism, it seems reasonable to decide that someone under the effect of a Ring of Free Action at the time the spell is cast is a target of the spell (Haste affects one creature/level, starting from the center of the area of effect moving outwards if more than that number of creatures are in the area of effect), but the Ring of Free Action provides immunity to the effects, both beneficial and harmful (they're not sped up, so their metabolism isn't strained to cause aging). If they're not wearing the ring when the spell is cast, they're both hasted and aged; donning the ring after that point would suppress the effect, but not undo the aging (no more than dispel magic or slow would undo the aging after haste had already taken effect).