[Archonsod]

I quite like the aging mechanic myself. I just had a great run with an elderly prophet (lost both his eyes, an arm, had a never healing wound and a chest wound by the end) who still managed to lead our troops to victory over the infidel empire of C'tis.Just proves how inferior those heretic lizards actually are.
Ironically enough, he died when we discovered Inkpot End in one of the lizards' old provinces.

It would be nice if the afflictions possible were a bit more selective for old age though. It's rather amusing to see a mage who's never left the lab suffer a battle wound or similar.

I think balance might come into it though. The older mages could certainly gain from a little more magic or a research bonus over and above what they already have, to negate the fact that they tend to die in a couple of years (Disease seems to be a common affliction for age). On the other hand, you can always play a nation which doesn't have older mages, such as EA Ulm or Ermor.