Prologue "No one has ever known we were among you... Until now..." - Ramirez
"Sit down, lad, and listen. I know that you have many questions about what has happened to you, and, probably about me as well... "Aye, I know all about what happened - the car crash, crash, and how you woke up to find yourself lying in the hospitals morgue, your wounds gone, as if they were never there, and youre walking around as if nothing happened. !ou !ou did the smart thing, running away like that... If youd stayed, theyd never have left you alone, running tests and such stuff. As it is, you are officially dead. is better that way, way, son, both for you and those you knew... !ou see, were not like them. !ou !ou were, but youre not anymore. !es, !es, I know you dont understand# $ust listen, and be still# his is hard enough to e%plain without you interrupting every second minute# "&efore you died, you were 'ust like any other man... !ou !ou could be wounded, woun ded, you grew older every year, you needed to go see the doctor when you were sick. $ust like any normal person. (%cept for one thing. !ou !ou had inside you a spark of of life bigger and brighter that anyone elses. All thats changed now - when you died, that spark burst into flame, and its power and strength cured your wounds, and brought b rought you back to life. I know it sounds weird, but 'ust trust me, ok) *ho else you gonna listen to) "he +uickening is the name given to that flame that burns inside of you. you . It could be described as your life force. (very living thing has this force inside of them, and it ties them together, heals their wounds, keeps them alive. owever, it can be e%tinguished all too easily. *hen a mans life force dies, he dies with it. *hen you were wounded in the car crash, crash, your life force was pushed down to no more than a tiny spark, and you appeared dead to the medics... hen it e%ploded, and grew, grew, until it was bigger than any mortal mans. A million times more powerful. So powerful that it can heal wounds that would kill any mortal man. So powerful, it could bring you back from the very brink of death. "Aye, "Aye, I said mortal man, son. *hy) or the simple reason that you are not mortal anymore, son. either am I. he same thing happened to me as happened to you - I was killed and reawoke again.. ere, take this sword, and draw it across my arm. /o on# 0o it# /ood and deep# 0ont worry about me... "ow see this wound) *hat would you normally do if you got a wound like this) /o to the hospital or some such thing, and get stitches and a massive bandage. Am I right) *ell, *ell, watch... Already, the bloods stopped flowing. In a few minutes, itll begin itll begin to to heal, and before the end of the day, youd never know Id been hurt a t all. *hy) Its the +uickening# he same thing would happen if I got shot, or if I was burnt. It works the same way with yo u as well# !our !our +uickening healed the wounds you sustained in the car crash...
"I dont know why it happens. happe ns. It 'ust does... Im not an e%pert - Im 'ust like you - I was living a normal life, until I was killed in battle against a raiding party of 1ikings. Aye, Aye, 1ikings, son... o, Im not from Scandinavia, Im from Ireland. I was born at a place called &rugh na &oinne, near the ill of ara, ara, in the 2ingdom of 3idhe, in Ireland. I was taught all this, 'ust as I am teaching you, by a man called 4iam 3ac 0ara... e was well over three thousand years old by the time I met him. "ow) es dead... Aye, Aye, I know I said were w ere immortal, but there is one way we can c an die - If your head is removed from your body, youll die. ow, listen carefully, carefully, because this is the most important part. !ou !ou asked me why I carry a sword. Ill tell you. *hen one immortal kills another, by beheading his opponent, the defeated immortals +uickening flows into the victor, victor, and he become more powerful. All the dead immortals strength, power, power, knowledge and e%perience transfers itself into the one who beheaded him. hats what happ ened to 4iam 3ac 0ara. e was killed in rance, by a /erman immortal, who I killed two hundred years ago . "ow many of us) I dont know... 5erhaps one man in a million is born an immortal, perhaps even less. *e *e come from every race, creed, religion, and region. he +uickening doesnt seem to discriminate between black, white, or, indeed, any other skin-color. I have fought and killed immortals from (urope, 6hina, and South America. "I have also fought other creatures. "*e are not alone in being "*e be ing different from mortal man in this world of darkness. here are other supernatural creatures, who you shall meet in the course of your life. I have lived among the /arou a lot - *erewolves, *erewolves, shapeshifters... &oth man and wolf, or a mi% of both.. erocious creatures... here are other shapeshifters as well - the 6ora%, who co uld be described as wereravens, the &agheera, werecats, and many others... one are as common as the /arou, though, and all are mortal, and age and die naturally, although they are much more robust than mortal men, and can heal faster then normal, though not as fast as we can. &ut there are others who can live for as long as we can7 the 2indred, for instance - 1ampires, 1ampires, are they, undead creatures who must drink the blood of mortals to survive. hey can live for many centuries. hey do not age, a ge, but they can die from normal wounds, even though, like the /arou, they heal at an advanced rate. here are 3agi, who wield 3agick, twisting reality with their incantations and spells. here are faeries, ghosts, Spirits, Ive been told, and evil, horrible things from places other than this (arth of ours. !ou !ou may encounter enco unter them, as you y ou travel. 3ost will be either friendly, friendly, like many of the /arou, or simply neutral, unless you enroach upon their turf... &ut other will try to kill you. It is truly a *orld *orld of 0arkness we live in, with many secrets that are hidden from mortal man. 8f all these supernatural creatures, we are the least common, and, some would say, the most powerful, as all the rest can either grow old, or die normally. normally. A two-thousand two-thousand year old 1ampire 1ampire will still die if you burn it, whereas I have heard of an immortal, who, accused of being a witch, was burnt at the stake, and survived. $ust remember that, no matter how badly wounded you are, you will always totally recover, without scars or permanent in'ury, in'ury, but remember that if you are lying unconscious, or unable to move, it can be very easy for someone to come along and take your head.
"I dont know why it happens. happe ns. It 'ust does... Im not an e%pert - Im 'ust like you - I was living a normal life, until I was killed in battle against a raiding party of 1ikings. Aye, Aye, 1ikings, son... o, Im not from Scandinavia, Im from Ireland. I was born at a place called &rugh na &oinne, near the ill of ara, ara, in the 2ingdom of 3idhe, in Ireland. I was taught all this, 'ust as I am teaching you, by a man called 4iam 3ac 0ara... e was well over three thousand years old by the time I met him. "ow) es dead... Aye, Aye, I know I said were w ere immortal, but there is one way we can c an die - If your head is removed from your body, youll die. ow, listen carefully, carefully, because this is the most important part. !ou !ou asked me why I carry a sword. Ill tell you. *hen one immortal kills another, by beheading his opponent, the defeated immortals +uickening flows into the victor, victor, and he become more powerful. All the dead immortals strength, power, power, knowledge and e%perience transfers itself into the one who beheaded him. hats what happ ened to 4iam 3ac 0ara. e was killed in rance, by a /erman immortal, who I killed two hundred years ago . "ow many of us) I dont know... 5erhaps one man in a million is born an immortal, perhaps even less. *e *e come from every race, creed, religion, and region. he +uickening doesnt seem to discriminate between black, white, or, indeed, any other skin-color. I have fought and killed immortals from (urope, 6hina, and South America. "I have also fought other creatures. "*e are not alone in being "*e be ing different from mortal man in this world of darkness. here are other supernatural creatures, who you shall meet in the course of your life. I have lived among the /arou a lot - *erewolves, *erewolves, shapeshifters... &oth man and wolf, or a mi% of both.. erocious creatures... here are other shapeshifters as well - the 6ora%, who co uld be described as wereravens, the &agheera, werecats, and many others... one are as common as the /arou, though, and all are mortal, and age and die naturally, although they are much more robust than mortal men, and can heal faster then normal, though not as fast as we can. &ut there are others who can live for as long as we can7 the 2indred, for instance - 1ampires, 1ampires, are they, undead creatures who must drink the blood of mortals to survive. hey can live for many centuries. hey do not age, a ge, but they can die from normal wounds, even though, like the /arou, they heal at an advanced rate. here are 3agi, who wield 3agick, twisting reality with their incantations and spells. here are faeries, ghosts, Spirits, Ive been told, and evil, horrible things from places other than this (arth of ours. !ou !ou may encounter enco unter them, as you y ou travel. 3ost will be either friendly, friendly, like many of the /arou, or simply neutral, unless you enroach upon their turf... &ut other will try to kill you. It is truly a *orld *orld of 0arkness we live in, with many secrets that are hidden from mortal man. 8f all these supernatural creatures, we are the least common, and, some would say, the most powerful, as all the rest can either grow old, or die normally. normally. A two-thousand two-thousand year old 1ampire 1ampire will still die if you burn it, whereas I have heard of an immortal, who, accused of being a witch, was burnt at the stake, and survived. $ust remember that, no matter how badly wounded you are, you will always totally recover, without scars or permanent in'ury, in'ury, but remember that if you are lying unconscious, or unable to move, it can be very easy for someone to come along and take your head.
"Ah, whisht, lad# So many questions# !oull !oull get your answers in time... !oull !oull have to learn all you can about this world, and the creatures youll encounter enco unter.. !oull !oull have to learn how to live without drawing attention to yourself. !oull !oull have to learn how to hide your immortality from normal people. Ill teach you everything I can, and then Ill have to leave you. &ut the most important thing youll ever learn is how to fight. All immortals fight using swords, although I met one who uses an a%e. Aye, Aye, uses. es still alive, and is my friend. e saved me from a group of unters once. he unters are a group of mortals who wish to kill us all off. hey capture immortals and behead them, allowing their +uickening to disperse into the ether. "!oull have to learn how to use a sword, for that is the only way you can defend yourself, and its the only way you can defeat other immortals. !ou !ou cant cut a mans head h ead off with the barrel of a gun, you know kn ow.. I was given this sword by 4iam 3ac 0ara. It is thousands of years old, crafted by blacksmith magicians over five thousand years ago. Its a silver 6eltic longsword, longsword, and is a part of me. /et that bundle from over there. &ring it here, lad... "his is an (nglish &roadsword, crafted from steel in the middle ages. I took it from an immortal I killed in 4ondon almost a hundred hund red years ago. ake it. Its yours. 3ake it part of yourself, an e%tension of your body. And And e%tra limb. *hen you do that, tha t, it will become part of you to such an e%tent that your +uickening will embrace it as part of you and make it stronger. stronger. eel its weight. Swing it around a bit, get used to the feel of the blade... hats it... "&efore we start, there is one thing I must tell y ou. *e *e have certain traditions - laws, if you wan t to call them that... o immortal will ever break them, for they are practical, and have h ave a sound reason for e%isting. he /olden 9ule is this: *e *e must never fight on holy ground. one of us will break that rule. And holy ground means more than 'ust churches and the like. he spiritual places of the /arou, and the sites of 3ages magical sites have the same effect. effect. 0ont worry, worry, though. !oull be able to tell when you are standing on holy ground. 3uch the same way as youll be able to know other immortals. 9emember you were di;;y when you first saw me) hats the way we sense others of our own kind. !oull !oull feel it everytime youre in the same vicinity as another immortal. !oure !oure feeling it right now, now, are you not, e%cept that its been suppressed because of the amount of time weve spent together. together. *ell, *ell, if another immortal came near us, youd get another bu;;, and youd know that there was one nearby. "*ell, enough talk# Its time for you to learn something other than theory. "*ell, theory. 6ome on, lets teach you the art of swordsmanship# *ithout it, you wont last long. &efore long, youll have to face immortals with hundreds, even thousands of years e%perience. o survive, youll have to defeat them in battle. If you dont kill them, theyll kill you. he 5ri;e awaits one of us, a nd the /athering draws near..."
Foreword
"With my sword and my head held high, Got to pass the test first time..." - Queen
his version of ighlander: he /athering is a slightly updated and edited version of the Second (dition that Ive cobbled together especially for (uropean/en6on<=. It includes some of the stuff that will eventually make its way into the hird (dition, which will include a cosmology for the Immortals >ie. where they come from?, plus e%pa nded background, and may include 495 rules that will enable 3inds (ye heatre players to play Immortals. owever, were not sure whether or not well actually do a hird (dition, as the copyright owners, 5an;er and 0avis, recently asked ank 0riskill to not release any more editions of :t/, and to consult with hunder 6astle /ames on the design of the official ighlander roleplaying game. So, at the moment, everythings up in the air. owever, in the meantime, en'oy these rules, and please do get back to me, by mail or email, telling me what you think of them, along with any ideas you might have. 9emember - were not some huge, remote, impersonal games company7 were 'ust a pair of guys who like doing ighlander@Storyteller crossovers, whose rules happened to become very popular. :? - $ohn
Chapter One: Introduction "In the end, there can be only one."
- Ramirez
Immortals seem to appear at random from the human population. 8ne in a million perhaps, maybe less. hey are born of humans, raised as human, and >to most? appear quite human. hey age, living a normal life, until they first are killed. hen, they miraculously recover, and begin their lives as immortals. Immortals cannot have children. hey do not age, and do not get sick. hey cannot drown, or die from any conventional in'ury: they will always recov er, no matter how severe the damage >in the series, it was mentioned that one immortal was burned at the stake, and recovered from it?. he only way for them to die is to hav e their head removed from their body. 0own through the ages, a legend has been passed from mouth to mouth - that of the 5ri;e. he legend says that at a time when the number of immortals in the world grows small, the remaining immortals shall feel an urge to travel to a far-away land, where they shall fight until only one remains. he final survivor shall win the 5ri;e. o one kn ows e%actly what this 5ri;e is, but to win it is the goal of every immortal, as it is assumed that the person who wins it would be , in effect, a god.
he term +uickening refers to the lifeforce of an immortal. It is the sum of all his knowledge and power, all of his strength and e%perience. It is a life force so strong that it keeps the immortal from aging and heals his wounds at an advanced-speed. +uickening is what the immortals fight for: when they fight, they fight to literally absorb their oppon ents lifeforce into themselves, thus making themselves more powerful. &efore we can discuss the creation of immortals as characters, we must decide what +uickening means, and how to represent it in the Storyteller system. It shall be discussed in depth later on, but, for now, a simple e%planation will suffice.
Quickening in the World of Darkness "The sensaon you're feeling, is the Quickening."
- Ramirez
+uickening is the power of an immortal and represents their life force. In the Storyteller system, all living things have a 5attern whioch defines their very being. In immortals, this 5attern is more tightly woven than with other living beings. he +uickening is therefore also similar to +uintessence, the magical "raw power" that fuels 5atterns and also is used by 3ages to do their magick. 8nly when they die is their +uickening released. 3ages cannot pull +uickening from an immortal, nor can they alter an immortals 5attern in any way. *ithout their +uickening, an immortal is nothing. It is what keeps them alive. he total loss of +uickening is directly related to death. *hen an immortal dies, it is not because his head is no longer attached to his shoulders - it is because he has lost his +uickening - his life force. 3ages hold +uintessence within their bodies because of their Avatar. o the supernaturallytrained eye, immortals will often be confused with 3ages: they have an e%cess of raw energy within them. he /arou likewise store mystical energy within them, according to their /nosis. Immortals are therefore occasionally mistaken for /arou as well. nlike /arou or 3ages, however, immortals do not "spend" their +uickening, it is a permanent part of them. In the Storyteller system, we keep track of the "power" of an immortal with an attribute called >surprisingly enough? +uickening. 3uch like 1ampiric disciplines, /arou gifts, or a 3ages spheres, +uickening allows immortals to perform superhuman feats. he higher the immortals +uickening, the more abilities he has and the more powerful he becomes. +uickening is a "catch-all" attribute, and has many powers associated with it, no t all of which are related.
Gaining Quickening "If your head comes away from your neck, it's over."
- Ramirez
nlike 1ampires, /arou, or 3ages, there is only one way for an immortal to gain +uickening: through fighting and killing another immortal. his makes it more difficult for them to increase in power, as time alone does not make them more powerful. As you will see in 6hapters wo and hree, they receive compensation for this limitation.
*hen two immortals fight, their +uickening becomes "loosened" somewhat, as the combatants focus all their energies on the duel. *hen one wins the battle >by removing the others head?, he absorbs the +uickening of the loser, gaining the losers power and kn owledge. owever, a small part of his opponents +uickening escapes, and this, combined with the parado% caused by the transfer of +uickening, haoc on the surrounding area, causing the e%plosions, lightning, etc. associated with duels between immortals. *hen an immortal emerges victorious, slaying another, he absorbs most, but not all of his opponents +uickening. he e%cess +uickening is released into the ether, where it is, in effect, raw power. he most common manner in which power e%ists and is channeled on our planet is as electricity. herefore, usually >but not always?, the released +uickening will find that the easiest way for it to disperse is to transform into electricity, and disperse through conducting materials in the vicinity. his results in massive overloads, which cause the e%plosions, lightning, etc. associated with duels between immortals.
The Rules "Holy ground, Highlander !emember what !amire taught you"
- Kurgan
he immortals have rules of engagement: these rules are traditions, with a basis in common sense, and all immortals follow them. hese rules are each based around +uickening, and the gain and loss thereof. he /olden 9ule for immortals is that they must never fight on oly /round. one will violate this rule, for they have too much to lose. hus, oly /round can become a haven or sanctuary for immortals7 a place where they retreat when faced with an impossible opponent. It is not known precisely why this is - it is known that it is physically possible for immortals to fight one another while on oly /round, but no immortal has ever beheaded another in such a duel. Some say that the earth itself will not allow the death of an immortal, and that an immortal who attempted to behead another would be swallowed up by the earth, although this seems strange when one considers that mortals can be killed freely on oly /round. Another theory is that, were an immortals +uickening to be released on oly /round, it would be absorbed into the earth itself, instead of passing to the vistor. &ut, what e%actly is "oly /round) 8bviously, churches and graveyards fall under this description, but so also do &uddhist shrines, ancient sacred sites and the caerns of the /arou. It is safe to say that any site which would be considered to be a ode by a 3age is holy ground to an immortal. his includes many sites which would not normally be considered h oly or sacred, such as haunted houses and occult libraries. 4uckily, immortals automatically sense whether they are standing on holy ground or not, as they e%perience a sensation similar to that which they e%perience upon encountering another immortal. he second of the two main rules is that the immortals always fight one on one. *hy is this) A pair of immortals, with their centuries of e%perience, could work quite effectively together to whittle down the "surplus population", as it were. *hy do th ey not team up) In the first episode of the series, 6onnor and 0uncan >who are friends and even 6lansmen? refused to team up to battle the decidedly evil Slan +uince... he answer to this riddle comes from the way the +uickening transfers itself upon its release - If two immortals are present, and there are no other factors involved >such as being on holy ground?, the +uickening will transfer into the person who actually took the dead immortals head. In one episode in the series, 0uncan duelled with another immortal, but Amanda stepped in at the last moment and took the other immortals head, thus gaining the +uickening. hus, if two immortals battle an enemy, only one of them will receive the +uickening from the battle. ot only will they receive their own +uickening, and that of the loser, but also a fraction of their allys. his stealing of an allys knowledge and p ower is not a pleasant thing for the ally, to say the least, and is therefore something that no immortal desires. ence, the rule "always fight one on one" has developed.
hese are the only two real rules. (vil immortals will stop at nothing else to gain +uickening: friends and loved ones are often pulled in as pawns in the battles, as are helpless innocents who have nothing to do with the /athering... no one is truly safe, although it is only a particularly evil immortal who would take the head of a new immortal, who hasnt yet learnt how to defend himself.
The Gathering "#rom the dawn of me we came, moving silently down through the centuries, leading many secret lives. $truggling to reach the me of of the %athering, when the few who remain, will ba&le to the last."
- Ramirez
he legend of the /athering has been passed down from immortal to immortal, through the ages... he /athering is the name given to the time when but a few immortals remain. hey shall feel "an irresistible pull towards a far-away land... o fight for the 5ri;e." In this respect, immortals are doomed to fulfill a pre-determined role. It is their destiny to battle one another until a single immortal emerges victorious. According to the series, the time of the /athering is upon us, and the 5ri;e is waiting to be won.
The Prize "I know I know everything I am everything"
- Connor
The immortals bale for "The Prize": either for themselves, or to keep it from falling into evil hands. Mankind would suer an "eternit of darkness", as the movie said, if the Prize !ame to an evil immortal. *hat is the 5ri;e) Its not really necessary to define it in game terms, since the immortal who gains it will become in essence a god. he film left the sub'ect slightly vague, e%cept to say that 6onnor could read peoples thoughts if he concentrated, and could also have children, grow old and die. his much is for sure - the winner of the 5ri;e would possess all the +uickening from every immortal that ever walked the earth. 3illennia worth of e%perience and knowledge, from immortals of every race, all over the world wou ld be his. e could well be the most powerful single being in the world. 8n the other hand, it may well be that the legend of the 5ri;e is simply a tale, and that the /athering will never take place. 5erhaps, new immortals will continue to be born forever, thus ensuring that there will never be a single victor. In any case, for Immortals, the /athering is similar in many ways to the Apocalypse for the /arou, or /ehenna for the 2indred - a fate that
no one really believes in, or as some /arou might say, something that will never happen "in our lifetime". he big difference for immortals is that a lifetime can last forever. o an immortal, it matters little whether the 5ri;e is but a legend. e must battle on, for if he stops, he will surely lose his head.
Chapter Two: Character Creation "I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings..."
- Queen
t ma seem appealing to run an immortal in a #torteller $hroni!le, espe!iall as it is, in was, an e%tremel powerful !hara!ter tpe. &owever, in m opinion, it is more di'!ult to !reate an immortal !hara!ter than an of the others !reated so far. (hen ou are genera)ng a Mage, *arou or +ampire !hara!ter, there are plent of traits su!h as gis, ba!kgrounds, dis!iplines, spheres and so on to pla with, and the mthos is alread set out in the rule-book. n ee!t, the whole thing is presented to the plaer in a neat lile pa!kage, and all the have to do is follow the rules, write down a few gures and the !an pla their !hara!ter. Immortals are different. (ach one is unique. here is no pre-designed backgroun d for immortal characters. heir very nature prohibits the type of society that ho lds so much of the role-playing potential for /arou, 3ages and 2indred. 4ike these characters, the immortal is a normal person who discovers that he has a special destiny. owever, unlike /arou and 2indred, they ca n see no reason why they and not someone else, have been chosen to be immortal. In some ways, they are similar to 3ages in this respect, but the one ma'or d ifference between immortals and other characters is time - often, immortals discovered their heritage hundreds or even thousands of years ago. 0eciding how this character spent those years, and working out the beliefs, knowledge and outlook that he has brought with him from this time, is a task the player must carry out before he should be allowed to roleplay an immortal in a 6hronicle.
8ne might argue that this has already been e%plored with 1ampire and 3ummy. In 1ampire, however, one is encouraged to begin with a young vampire, so as not to unbalance the game: elder vampires, while a curiosity, do not often "adventure" with their younger brethren, but instead are embroiled in the politics of the 6amarilla. hey also tend to be much more powerful, and less human than their younger 2in. 4ikewise, although 3ummies are in many ways human, their thoughts and desires are nothing like the mortals around them. here are other disadvantages to playing an immortal - like vampires, they cannot enter the spirit world under their own steam, but must use a portal or be "pulled" in by another supernatural. heir supernatural powers are often less powerful than those of v ampires and other supernatural creatures. Also, every immortal must be on his guard at all times, lest another immortal come searching for him, something which few other supernaturals have to do. And, finally, immortals must labour to conceal their true nature from mortals without an organisation such as the 6amarilla or the Sabbatt to aid them. hus, we feels that the advantages associated with playing an immortal are balanced out by the disadvantages. Immortals are a very unique character class, due to their humanity: despite the centuries behind them, they are still human... along amongst mortals7 hidden7 but still human in mind and soul unlike most of the other supernatural creatures. his humanity makes them unique and interesting characters to e%plore and roleplay. As in 1ampire, we reccomend that players new to Storytelling or ighlander play a new immortal character - ie. one who only discovered his true nature quite recently, in game terms. owever, we do not want to discourage e%perienced roleplayers from playing older immortals, and have included rules to allow players to generate immortal characters up to one and a half millenia in age. owever, in order to prevent munchkinous or twink characters, we reccomend that Storytellers should make it a condition for any immortal character, no matter what age he is, that the player fully flesh out the character by givinghim a full background, and documenting their entire life. his will generally deter players who wish to play an immortal simply because he is immortal, mainly because most munchkins will baulk at having to document a B,=CC year long life.
Concept To begin the !rea)on pro!ess, sele on the !on!ept for the immortal. (hen and where was he born/ (hat was his life up un)l his rst death like/ (hat was their profession/ &ow did he e%perien!e his rst death, and what was the rea!)on to his mira!ulous revival/ 0id he have an older immortal to a!t as his mentor like 1amirez did for $onnor, or did he have to learn for themselves what it means to be an immortal/ 0id he leave his some and famil, or sta and wat!h them grow old and die/ f so, how did it ae!t him/ (here has he been in the intervening ears/ (hat has he been doing/ &as he been involved in an histori!al events/ &ow mu!h does he know about the other supernatural !reatures, like the 2indred and *arou/ 0oes he even know that the e%ist/ (here has he seled and live toda, or is he a wandering, travelling from one pla!e to another, never staing in one pla!e for long/ (hat does he do and how does he !on!eal his true nature from those around him/ Pi!k a strong nature, something
that drives him and makes him !ling to life, rather than 3ust let go. mmortals do not age, but without a will to survive an immortal will almost !ertainl will lose his head...
Attributes mmortals are shown to be in superhuman health, strong and fast, and also intelligent and per!ep)ve. The are almost perfe!t spedimens of humanit - t, ara!)ve, and !harisma)!... so, in the (orld of 0arkness, the are far superior to the mortals in all their aributes. *ive them 4 Primar, 5 #e!ondar, and 6 Ter)ar aribute points, instead of the "normal" 47678 split that *arou, 2indred and Mages re!eive.
Abilities mmortals start with 98 Primar, #e!ondar, and 6 Ter)ar abili)es provided the are "oung" ;less than 9<< ears=. >lder immortals will have more abili)es? gh)ng this to a!hieve "pla balan!e" is a wasted eort in the #torteller sstem. The storteller is the ul)mate 3udge? if he doesn@t want A<<< ear old immortals overpowering his game, then he shouldn@t allow A<<< ear old immortals at all: allowing them but restri!)ng them to 98776 is ludi!rous. Blso, as the
age, their ma%imum abilit s!ore ;6 for mortals= will in!rease, allowing s!ores of 5C for various abili)es. Plaers should be allowed to !hoose Bbili)es from an of the games, but obviousl, there are restri!)ons. Dor e%ample, it seems unlikel that an i mmortal would have the PrimalErge or 1ituals Bbili)es from (erewolf. 5layers should be encouraged to think up their own abilities, thus helping make their character unique. or e%ample, the 2nowledge istory might be a common one among immortals >and is in fact included on the character sheet? - remember 6onnor relating the significant events of BD
Primary
0-100 100-250 250-500 500-1000 1000-1500 and so on...
13 18 23 28 33
Secondary
Tertiary
9 13 17 21 25
Max
5 8 11 14 17
5 5 6 7 8
Advantages "ou cannot die, (ac)eod... *cce+t it"
- Ramirez
he +uickening characteristic is the most important to an immortal... it defines their power, and is very useful in battles with other immortals. &eginning immortals begin with B +uickening7 this may be increased by spending reebie points, as discussed below. Immortals have no "virtues" in the 1ampire@*erewolf sense. 4ike 3ages, their only characteristic is *illpower, and like 3ages, they start with a base *illpower of =.
Backgrounds mmortals begin the game with points in Fa!kgrounds, a!!ording to the !hart below. #ee the se!)on on Bbili)es to see the arguments regarding age vs. pla balan!e.
Age 0-100 100-250 250-500
Background Points 7 9 10
500-1000 1000-1500
11 12
he following backgrounds are possibilities for immortal characters. See 1ampire for e%planations of most of these backgrounds >e%cept for Arcane, which comes from 3age?.
Allies: Driends who !an be !ounted on to help the !hara!ter out. The probabl know of his immortalit.
Contacts : The number of informa)on sour!es the !hara!ter possesses.
Fame: The !hara!ter@s renown in the mortal world.
Infuence: The !hara!ter@s poli)!al or so!ial swa or power in the mortal world.
Mentor: Bn older immortal who advises and, to a !ertain e%tent, looks aer the !hara!ter: *
Mentor is less tan a undred !ears older tan !ou. Mentor is "et#een 100 and 300 !ears older tan !ou.
** ***
****
Mentor is "et#een 600 and 1000 !ears older tan !ou.
***** ******
Mentor is "et#een 1000 and 1200 !ears older tan !ou. Mentor is o$er 1500 !ears older tan !ou.
Mentor is "et#een 300 and 600 !ears older tan !ou.
Storytellers should bear in mind the possibility that an immortal characters mentor might be killed, unless they have "retired".
Resources : (ealth, belongings, and monthl in!ome. Arcane : ; #ee Mage: the Bs!ension = mmortals tend to have a tenden! to s!aer headless bodies around them, et the don@t seem to draw aen)on to this fa!t: hen!e the Br!ane. Blso, isn@t it strange how the manage to hide su!h large swords inside those tren!h!oats of theirs/
inishing Touches mmortals get 9G freebie points to spend. Bgain, this gives them more points in aributes and abili)es than their fellow plaers, but this is balan!ed b their inabilit to raise Hui!kening e%!ept through killing other immortals. Blso, their ver nature makes them hunted b the Te!hno!ra!, fellow mmortals, and of !ourse the (at!hers7&unters ;these are outlined in $hapter Dive=.
Point Costs:
+uickening ......... D points per dot Attributes ........... = points per dot Abilities .............. F points per dot *illpower .......... B point per dot &ackgrounds ...... B point per dot
!park of "ife "a talk funny, ash... where ya from-" ")ots of dierent +laces..."
- Garfeld & Nash
This is a ver important part of !hara!ter !rea)on, and, unfortunatel, one that is skipped over far too oen. This is a role-plaing game, and the #torteller sstem is designed so that plaers !an immerse themselves in their !hara!ter. &owever, ou !annot do this if ou don@t know our !hara!ter.
Appearance "/ho cut your hair-" "I am in disguise... this way, noone will recognie me."
- Connor MacLeod and Kurgan
(hat does our immortal look like/ &ow does he dress/ s he a !lassi! member of the "tren!h!oat brigade", or has he seled on another method of !arring his weapon ;like the 2urgan and his brief!ase=/ These sort of de!isions help determine a look, and also are useful for game pla later.
Contacts "Hi, 0renda. I did what you asked. I s+ent all night going through the old deeds to ash's house on Hudson $treet, right back to the original owner, (ontague, in 1234..."
- Rick
&ow long has our !hara!ter been in his !urrent home/ (hat friends has he made/ Enlike +ampires, *arou, or Magi, immortals live amongst the humans and ;for the most part= treat them as eIuals. &en!e, the make !onne!)ons with the human ra!e, whi!h will !ome up during game pla ;either for help or for hostages, depending on #torteller mood=.
#utlook ")ove is for +oets."
- Connor MacLeod
(hat kind of personalit does our immortal have/ s he dark, mood and unfriendl, or bright and e%trovert/ (hat drives them, keeps them going/ s the ambi)on to win the Prize the thing whi!h !onsumes their lives, or do the revel in life generall/ The things that have happened to an immortal down through the ears !an oen ae!t his outlook on life - love and war are probabl the most !ommon ones, but other things !an greatl inJuen!e the wa a person views life.
Quirks "I have something to say... It's be&er to burn out, than to fade away"
- Kurgan
mmortals are oen unusual individuals. Kote from the series: *regor@s tenden! to put mortals into danger to get a se!ondar rush from it, or Bmanda@s tenden! to double!ross her partners. These things help dene the !hara!ter, and et aren@t shown in the !hara!teris)!s above. Perhaps our !hara!ter has a phobia or a hatred of some par)!ular thing. Perhaps our !hara!ter is afraid of heights, and has a hatred of +ampires... Pi!k interes)ng Iuirks, and write them down? the will add greatl to the role-plaing e%perien!e. #ee also the Merits and Dlaws se!)on below. 8ne of the most important things to remember when writing up your characters background is that, unlike the /arou and the 2indred, >and the 3ages, to a certain e%tent?, immortals are human. hey may live for e%traordinary lengths of time, but they are still very human, with the very same feelings and thoughts as us.
Personalit$ Archet$pes +ampire introdu!ed Personalit Br!hetpes to help dene !hara!ters@ personali)es. B !hara!ter has two ar!hetpes - his Kature and his 0emeanor, and the ke to using Br!hetpes ee!)vel is understanding the dieren!e between the two. A characters ature is her true personality - that which she is, but will not necessarily reveal to other characters in the Story. 5eople do not bare their soul to everyone they meet, and thus they develop false fronts.
A characters 0emeanor is this false front. *hile a characters ature would only change in e%ceptional circumstances, her 0emeanor can b e as consistent as their ature, or it may cha nge frequently. Also, if the player so chooses, a characters ature and 0emeanor may be the same. 5ersonality archetypes are also a method of >re?gaining *illpower, as the Storyteller will award *illpower when a character lives up to their ature@0emeanor.
%erits and la&s +ampire also introdu!ed the Merits and Dlaws sstem, whi!h is a method of reall making our !hara!ter seem alive and individual. Merits and Dlaws are pur!hased 3ust before ou spend our freebie points. The !ost or give between one and ve freebie points - ie. pur!hasing a ve point merit would mean ou had ve less freebie points to spend, while taking a ve point Jaw would mean that ou had an e%tra ve freebie points to spend. Merits and Dlaws are also )ed to (illpower, but less so than the Katures and 0emeanors. he full rules for 5ersonality Archetypes, and 3erits and laws can be found in the 1ampire, *erewolf and 3age 5layers /uides but here are some 3erits and laws from (lysium, *hite *olfs elder vampire sourcebook, which adapt well to ancient immortals.
Mummy Companion ;6 pt Merit= Lou have a Mumm as a !lose !ompanion. Paranoia ;A pt Merit= Lou are slightl paranoid about !on!ealing our true nature, and avoiding su!h groups as the (at!hers and &unters, and ou are alwas on the lookout. -9 di'!ult to spong ambushes, et!. Code o Honor ;9 pt Merit= Bgainst supernatural persuasion to violate !ode - C8 di!e7CA di. to opponent ;#T !hoi!e=. Emoonal Isolaon ;9 pt Dlaw= Lou seem !old and without feeling. Lou have a C9 modier to all #o!ial rolls involving emo)ons, and !annot spend %p points on the Nmpath Talent. Ennui ;9 pt Dlaw= Lou are world wear and rarel pa aen)on to those people ou know - C9 modier to an Per!ep)on rolls involving people ou know. 0ue to belief in the predi!tabilit of others, ou also a C9 modier to the di'!ult level of the rst a!)on taken following a surprise ;ambush, et!.=
Anachronism ;A pt Dlaw= Lou have been an immortal for some )me, and are unable ;or unwilling= to keep up with the !hanging )mes. Bn ntelligen!e roll is needed whenever ou have to deal with something from a later period than our own mortal das. f the rollis failed, total the net failures, and use this total as a nega)ve modier to our aempts. Roune ;A pt Dlaw= #eled into 1ou)ne - go to same pla!es at the same )me of da, week, month, or ear. The #torteller ma lower the di'!ult for anone tring to surprise ou b 9-8 points. Curiosity ;A pt Dlaw= Msteries irresis)ble.To resist tempta)on, make a (its roll vs. di. 6 for simple, undangerous things, up to di. for dangerous things. Liesaver ;8 pt Dlaw= &uman life is sa!red, won@t take a person@s life. Kever willingl endanger the lives of inno!ents, but will kill evil or inhuman !reatures. #enseless death repulses ou.
Chapter Three: The Quicening "Hey, it's a kind of magic"
- Connor
+uickening is the force that makes the immortals "special": that mystical energy within them, that makes them immortal and gives them their powers. In this chapter, we will discuss what +uickening means in the rules, and how immortals increase in power. Quicening !ice
hroughout the discussion of the various powers, mention will be made of rolling +uickening to perform some feat. his behaves e%actly as with Spheres of power in 3age: roll a number of dice equal to your +uickening, against a difficulty of si%. 6ount successes to find how much benefit has been gained.
Quickening Po&ers "ou can't drown, you fool ou're immortal"
- Ramirez
he powers listed below are based off of various powers shown in the ighlander movie and 1 series. hey are loosely based off of various powers listed in the 3age book, and occasionally make mention of the power they were most similar to. e%t to each power is a mark of what level of +uickening is necessary to first e%hibit this power. " Sense Quicening : Some immortals gain this ability even before they suffer their first death, since they still are considered to have a +uickening of B. his ability is similar to the level B 5rime spell Sense +uintessence >see 3age?: using this ability, an immortal will sense another immortal nearby. o specific information on the immortals identity is given, nor is the location of the immortal known, merely that the immortal is near.
Sense +uickening also allows the immortal to sense when they are standing on holy ground. 4ikewise, an immortal can sometimes sense other beings with free quintessence in them >such as 3ages and 2indred?, although a perception roll may be necessary for this. sually, no roll is needed for sensing holy ground, and sensing other immortals is usually left to Storytellers discretion >to pick a dramatic moment.? " #reathe $ater : *ith this ability, immortals may survive indefinitely underwater, drawing o%ygen from the water. his is not the same as not breathing: it has been shown that immortals do breathe, and that poison gas will affect them >although it cannot kill them?. otal absence of air will reduce the immortal to incapacitated after a c ertain length of time, and he won recover until he can, once more, breath. "" %mpower $eapon : 8ften in both movie and series, the clash of swords during a battle between two immortals is accompanied by electrical discharge. sing their +uickening, immortals can enfuse their weapon with raw power, causing them to do more damage, and also causing the discharges shown. An immortal can empower any edged melee weapon in this way >a%e, sword, knife?. 8ne additional damage success is scored per success rolled >see +uickening 0ice above for details?.
ote: he e%tra damage done by (mpower *eapon is aggravated, although the normal damage done by the weapon is not. Example !uncan s"ings his #rus#$ ka#ana %dicul#$ '( )#reng#h * + damage,( and hi#s .e rolls )#r / * + 0 1 dice 2or damage( dicul#$ ' %using #he 3ampire 4nd edi5on rules,( #o de#ermine damage )ince his ka#ana is empo"ered( ho"e6er( he rolls an addi5onal + dice 2or his + Quickening( also agains# dicul#$ ' 7n$ successes scored on #his roll coun# as aggra6a#ed damage 8he de2ender ge#s one soak roll agains# 9o#h damages( and soaks aggra6a#ed frs# Heal !el : n $hapter Dour, the "normal" healing !hart for immortals is given. Esing their
Hui!kening, however, an immortal ma !hoose to heal even faster from wounds re!eived. F taking a round and rolling Hui!kening, an immortal ma heal a number of wound levels eIual to the su!!esses rolled. Kote that this is done on!e per wound onl, the rest must heal normall. Kote also that if an immortal is taken to in!apa!itated ;or beond= before he has a !han!e to
heal, he must rst heal to !rippled, then roll his di!e in &eal #elf. Blso, aggravated wounds ma not be healed in this manner, and must heal a!!ording to the !hart. Example Richie #he ne" immor#al ge#s in a fgh# "i#h an unsuspec5ng group o2 gang #oughs( and a:er fnishing #hem o; he 9egins #o reco6er 2rom his "ounds 8hree "ounds %/<=<4 le6els, 2or a #o#al o2 six "ound le6els %crippled, .e rolls his Quickening o2 4( healing = 2rom #he frs#( healing #he second( and ge>ng no successes on #he #hird "ound( o6er a period o2 #hree rounds 8he remaining 2our "ound le6els mus# heal normall$ %"hich means he?ll 9e 2ull$ healed in li@le o6er a hal2 hour, Empo"er !el : Esing his Hui!kening, an immortal ma in!rease his phsi!al aributes, b
one for ever su!!ess rolled. The ee!t lasts for an en)re s!ene, and is usuall done onl during !hallenges. Ber using Nmpower #elf, an immortal will feel weak ;-9 to di!e pool= for an hour or more. Example Connor sAuares o; "i#h Basil( and #he 9a@le 9egins Connor rolls his Quickening o2 ( gaining 2our successes( and pu#s #"o poin#s in#o )#amina and #"o in !ex#eri#$ Basil is in #rou9le !peed o the !ta#: Oike Nmpower #elf, an immortal ma use his Hui!kening to in!rease his
a!)ons in a turn ;mu!h like the vampiri! dis!ipline of $elerit=. >ne e%tra a!)on ma be gained per su!!ess rolled, and the e%tra a!)ons last for an en)re s!ene. Bs with Nmpower #elf, the immortal will feel weak for some )me aer using this power. """"" Ignore $ounds : At this level, the immortals recuperative powers have become so potent that they no longer need spend time to heal. 8ne wound level is healed each round, with no roll required >although an immortal may still take a round to heal more, using the level F power eal Self?. Also at this level, an immortal may heal aggravated wounds as if they were normal wounds, using eal Self above. Example 8he Kurgan( a:er ending #he pi52ul Ramirez?s li2e and #aking his Quickening( s#ops #o res# Ramirez had one luck$ s"ing #ha# nearl$ #ook #he Kurgan?s head( doing 2our normal "ounds and one aggra6a#ed 8he 2our normal "ound le6els healed o6er #he nex# 2our rounds( and #he Kurgan #akes a round #o heal #he aggra6a#ed "ound a:er #he 9a@le is o6er 7 scar is le: on his #hroa#( ho"e6er( #o remind him o2 ho" close Ramirez?s 9lade came
The "ast he "Sense +uickening" power is related to another power, which has been dubbed the "4ast". he massive amount of +uickening present in an immortal means that they are able to "tune in" to their surroundings, and to the life forces around them, effectively giving them a si%th sense, similar to the "0anger Sense" gift from 1ampire. his manifests itself in many ways. In the film,
the e%amples we saw included 3ac4eod and 9amire; "tuning in" to the stags life force on the sea shore, 2urgans ability to guess 6onnors name, even though he had never seen him before, 6onnors knowledge that someone >&renda? was following him, and the way in which he knew of the gun and the tape recorder in &rendas apartment. his power is one that shou ld be administrated at the Storytellers discretion. At appropriate times - ie. when the Storyteller decides, not the player - the S should do a +uickening roll, and, depending on the amount of successes the player gets, he should reveal a certain amount of information. Also, the player can decide that his character is going to tune in to a particular animal, and, in this way, he can feel what the animal feels, and, at higher levels of +uickening > =G ?, he may be able to catch glimpses of what the animal is actually seeing and hearing. owever, the animal must be nearby. his power is an unreliable one, and manifests itself irregularly and in strange ways. his power is designed to help negate the advantage that /arou and 2indred have, through possessing /ifts and 0isciplines, and is aimed at providing the immortal character with a useful, yet erratic source of information. he Storyteller should use her discretion in the dispensing of such information.
Gaining and "osing Quickening Immortals can only increase +uickening by taking another immortals head. *hen they have successfully finished their opponent, they gain the op ponents level in +uickening % F in "+uickening (%perience". 4ike study points in 3age, these are spent equally with e%perience to increase an immortals +uickening. As outlined in the (%perience 6hart >6hapter our?, it costs 6urrent 4evel % H to increase +uickening. his is the only way to increase +uickening. he victor also gains one point in an ability, for each point of +uickening the loser had. hese ability points come from the knowledge of the loser, and must be placed in abilities that the loser had at a higher level than the victor. If the victor has higher scores in every ability of the loser, the victor gains nothing. Example Brank Col# 9eheads Du#ra #he assassin( and #akes his Quickening Brank has a Quickening o2 4( and Du#ra had a Quickening o2 / Brank ge#s /x4 0 ' Quickening Experience( "hich he uses "i#h ' normal experience #o raise his Quickening #o / %"hich cos#s =4 poin#s, .e also gains #hree poin#s in a9ili5es( one each in #hree areas "here Du#ra had more skill #han him
There is one !ondi)on under whi!h an immortal ma lose Hui!kening. f two immortals ght a third and take his head, then one of the immortals who has emerged vi!torious will absorb all of the Hui!kening from the e%perien!e: all of the loser@s and one of his partner@s. Thus, he gains ;loserC9=%A in Hui!kening N%perien!e, and his partner loses one point in Hui!kening ;if he onl has one, he dies from the e%perien!e=. The partner also l oses one point in an abilit, whi!h also goes to the vi!tor ;the storteller pi!ks whi!h abilit, but it has to be one that the vi!tor is inferior to his partner in=. This loss of power and knowledge keeps even the friendliest of immortals from agreeing to be a partner...
The !ide 'ffects of Quickening +uickening is the lifeforce of an immortal, and can only be taken by removing his head. In the *orld of 0arkness, there are many other ways to remove someones power, none of which will easily succeed against an immortal. Some e%amples include:
+ampires gain no sustenan!e from drinking the blood of an immortal, and !annot kill him b doing so ;although the !an drive the immortal to in!apa!itated=. The blood is worthless to them. Kor !an an immortal be Nmbra!ed and be!ome a +ampire. Mages !annot use Prime ee!ts to remove Huintessen!e from an immortal, or to destro it ;a la Dlames of Puri!a)on, Prime =. Bn immortal@s paern is immutable. The immortal gains his Hui!kening in automa)! !ountermagi!k su!!esses to resist an Prime ee!t dire!ted against him. The one e%!ep)on is when an immortal loses his head: if a
Mage with talent in Prime is present, he !an in fa!t poten)all be!ome the "vi!tor", stealing the loser@s Hui!kening as Huintessen!e ;one point of Huintessen!e per point of Hui!kening=, and gaining a point of the winner@s as well. The Mage rolls his Prime versus the winner@s Hui!kening in a !ontested roll. The Mage gains no abilit from the e%perien!e, but the @winner@ s)ll loses one point in some abilit. Example F2 Brank Col# 9eheads Du#ra #he 7ssassin in #he presence o2 a Mage "i#h a score o2 / in his rime sphere( Brank and she "ould con#es# #o see "ho ac#uall$ a9sor9ed Du#ra?s Quickening F2 Brank los#( #he Mage "ould gain 2our poin#s o2 Quin#essence %#hree 2or Du#ra and one 2rom Brank,( "hile Brank "ould lose = Quickening %#aking him #o =, and = poin# in some a9ili#$
Oikewise, mmortals are pra!)!all immune to an ee!ts of the Oife sphere, or the healing dis!ipline of >beah ;see Mage and the +ampire Plaer@s *uide, respe!)vel=, whether the ee!t is bene!ial or not. Bssume their Hui!kening in automa)! su!!esses, to resist an ee!t or !ounter an su!!esses rolled against them. Bn immortal@s mind, spirit, and bod are )ghtl held b their Hui!kening. Blthough mind ee!ts ;the Mind sphere, 0ominate, or Presen!e= ma ae!t the immortal, his mi nd !annot be pulled from his bod, nor ma his spirit be removed without his head being removed rst. This is not a !ontested roll, this is automa)!.
Chapter Four: Systems "ou've the devil in you"
- !ougal
This !hapter details how immortals gain e%perien!e, how the heal, and details the new !ombat sstem for sword duels.
'(perience "ou've no knowledge whatsoever of your +otenal"
- Ramirez
An immortals, like (lder 1ampires, finds it harder to improve her skills through e%perience as she ages, reflecting the difficulty an immortal has in gaining new ab ilities as she becomes more and more set in her ways.
Age 1001-1500 Trait
100-250 1,501+
251-500
501-1000
4
5
'()3
'()3
'()2
'()2
'()4
'()4
Experience Cost
%e# A"ilit! 3 7 &irtue '()2 '()4 '()4 A"ilit! '()2 '()3 '()3 Attri"ute '()4 '()5 '()5 (CR = Current Rating)
6
The e%perien!e !ost for in!reasin an immortals Hui!kening is eIual to her !urrent ra)ng % 5, half of whi!h is normal e%peirien!e, and half of whi!h is Hui!kening e%perien!e.
)ealing "/ho wants to live forever-"
- Queen
Immortals recover from wounds much more rapidly than mortals. In 6hap ter hree, using +uickening to heal was discussed. *ithout the use of +uickening, however, immortals still recover from crippling wounds in a short period, although the pain and immediate effects suffered from the wounds are the same as would be e%perienced by a mortal. or e%ample, if the wound suffered would cause a mortal to become unconscious, then it will generally cause an immortal to fall unconscious. (%amples of serious wounds suffered by immortals in the series include immolation, falling from a cliff, being shot in the head, and others. *ithout the use of +uickening, immortals heal using the following chart. Bruised +urt ,nured /ounded Mauled 'riled ,ncaacitated
-
*ne (ound *ne Minute #o Minutes i$e Minutes irt! Minutes *ne +our #o +ours
Co*bat "5on't lose your head"
- Ramirez
$ombat is a fa!t of life for an immortal. (hether he or she likes it or not, unless the learn how to use a sword, and, more importantl, are prepared to use it, the will surel lose their head. Lou !an@t run forever, and if ou tr hiding, ou@ll eventuall be found b another immortal. >nl b killing our fellow immortals in !ombat !an ou hope to survive and have an !han!e of winning the Prize. *hen two immortals meet, they sense each other through the +uickening. hey dont have to do battle, >we have seen in both the movie and the series how two immortals may become friends?, but it is the time of the /athering, and it is their destiny to battle until only one remains. hey have no choice in the matter. he normal Storyteller combat rules are basically pretty useless when it comes to staging detailed sword duels. It is desirable to be able to play out duels between immortals as detailed fights, with each combatant able to choose different tactics, moves, etc. or immortal player characters, these duels are often the clima% of the story, and 'ust running a simple combat sequence can be frustrating for the player involved. 9emember that, in these duels, the player is fighting to increase his power, in a battle where he has a very real chance of dying... he player is fighting for his knowledge and power, pitting it against another to the death. hus, we recommend that the following combat system be used for duels between immortals.
!tage #ne+ ,nitiative n normal !ombat, the !ombatants will normall tr to be the rst to aa!k, in the hope of inJi!)ng damage rst. &owever, in sword !ombat, things work a lile dierentl. #ome)mes, one !ombatant ma ele!t to tr and surprise the other, b ambushing them and aa!king them before the have a !han!e to draw their weapon. n su!h !ases, use the normal rules for ni)a)ve and #urprise, although note that an immortal !an pra!)!all never be taken !ompletel b surprise b another immortal. The Hui!kening sees to that. *ith sword-duels, the round takes on a new meaning - &asically, a sword combat round is the length of time it takes for one person to attack the other. his system splits sword combat up into a series of bouts. A bout is a series of rounds, during which there is no pause in combat. At the start of a round, both players roll for Initiative. hen they an nounce what their actions are going to be. &ecause sword combat is reactive - ie. you dont know what youre going to do until your opponent has done something - the player with the higher Initiative must announce what they intend to do first. ormally, the player with the higher Initiative will decide to attack, and, if so, his opponent must either defend or dodge. Alternatively, the character with the higher Initiative may decide to either
do some other kind of action, such as leaping onto a table, or they may decide to wait and see what their opponent is going to do. If they do either of these things, combat has basically stopped, and they must begin another bout. A bout begins with both combatants facing each other, weapons at the ready. It is up to the players themselves who actually moves first and initiates combat. 8nce one of the combatants announces theat they are attacking, both players make a standard Initiative roll - *its G Alertness, against a target number of four. owever, instead of deciding who acts first >as this has already been decided?, the difference between the two combatants number of successes achieved is added to the dice pool of the player with the higher Initiative. Example Connor and #he Kurgan are 2acing o; 8he$ circle each o#her 2or a 2e" minu#es( 9e2ore Connor makes an a@ack .e rolls Hi#s %/, * 7ler#ness %I,( and ge#s ' successes 8he Kurgan rolls Hi#s %I, * 7ler#ness %/,( ge>ng 2our successes 8hus( Connor ge#s an ex#ra #"o dice #o add #o his 7@ack roll
Ber this ini)al round, ni)a)ve is rolled as normal, but, its role during the bout is slightl dierent than the one it has in normal !ombat. The !hara!ter with the higher ni)a)ve gets to a!t rst, presumabl aa!king, and the other person must defend. Foth plaers make their respe!)ve aa!k and defense rolls and that !ombat round ends, and the !ombatants roll their ni)a)ve for the ne%t round. The following modiers appl:
The use of the Hui!kening power, #peed of the #tag !onfers an e%tra three ni)a)ve di!e upon the immortal using it. The person who Ba!ked during the last !ombat round gains an e%tra die to add to their ni)a)ve roll for this round. f a !ombatant su!!essfull repelled an aa!k b his opponent in the last round ;ie. b geng an eIual or greater amount of su!!esses on his defense roll than his opponent got on his aa!k roll=, then he also gets an e%tra ni)a)ve die. Dor ever three su!!esses b whi!h a !ombatant@s aa!k7defense roll e%!eeds his opponents roll, the gain an e%tra ni)a)ve die.
hese rules may seem very complicated right now, but will become clearer later on.
Lou struggle for a moment, then the ght sparks anew. Q $ecapitaon : This is an Bimed Ba!k at the ne!k, reIuiring a Per!ep)on C Melee versus a di'!ult of our
opponent@s 0e% C 0odge. To de!apitate, ou must redu!e our opponent to one level past n!apa!itated. %&PE' Ba!k $IFFIC(L%&' >pp. 0e% C 0odge IMA)E' (ith Juid-like agilit, ou swing our sword around, and, before our opponent !an
blo!k ou, our blade sli!es through his ne!k, and his head falls to the ground. >ote that, quite often in the duels fought in ighlander, the two immortals fight until one of the combatants is disarmed and driven to their knees, admitting defeat. It is rarely a lucky shot that chops off the head, but more often a defeat of the spirit.? his is by no means meant to be an e%haustive list of all the possible maneuvers, but more a guide to help Storytellers decide the types of rolls and difficulties which should be applied to various maneuvers. Ideally, combat should take the form of a semi-live action roleplay combat scene, with the players describing what their character does, and demonstrating >safely, of course? if necessary. he Storyteller then decides what rolls should be mad e and against what difficulties.
!odging :
8n some occasions, it may be necessary to dodge a blow rather than parry it. 8n these occasions, the target rolls his 0e%terity G 0odge against a target number of si%. he successes on this roll are subtracted from the successes of the Attacker. If the attackers successes are eliminated, the target manages to dodge the blow.
!tage Three+ Resolution 0amage is resolved as normal - The aa!ker rolls the 0amage di!e pool for that weapon, against a target number of si%, ea!h su!!ess !ausing the target to lose a health level. The target makes a #oak roll, rolling his #tamina ;di'!ult 5= and subtra!)ng his su!!esses from his opponent@s. 67am+le of 8ombat
Connor is squaring off against the Kurgan (See the Appendix for their respective stats). he! circ"e each other for a fe# moments$ Kurgan ma%es his first move - a norma" attac%. &oth p"a!ers ro"" for 'nitiative$ Connor getting six successes$ and the Kurgan gets five. Kurgan ma%e his attac% ro"" - ex*e"ee - getting five successes. Connor tries to parr! the Kurgan+s attac%$ and ma%es his efense ro"" - ex*e"ee p"us an extra die$ ass he got more one more success on his 'nitiative ro"" than Kurgan. Connor a"so ro""s five successes$ and manages to parr! the Kurgan+s ,"ade.
&oth ro"" 'nitiative for the next round$ and ,oth have an extra die to add to their 'nitiative poo" he Kurgan ,ecause he attac%ed "ast round$ and Connor ,ecause he managed to successfu""! parr! Kurgan+s attac%. Kurgan gets four successes$ and Connor gets six$ #inning the 'nitiative$ and getting t#o dice to add to his dice poo". Connor decides to tr! a eint$ and ma%es his ro"" *anipu"ation *e"ee p"us his t#o 'nitiative dice against a target num,er of nine - his #eapon+s norma" difficu"t! p"us three. e gets t#o successes. &ecause a feint can+t ,e parried$ Kurgan is "eft #ith no option ,ut to tr! and dodge. Ro""ing exterit! odge against a difficu"t! of six$ he gets five successes - Connor+s ,"ade s"ices through thin air. he third round of com,at starts$ and ,oth p"a!ers ro"" for 'nitiative. he Stor!te""er dec ides that$ seeing as Kurgan+s odge successes exceeded Connor+s Attac% successes ,! three$ Connor #i"" ,e s"ight"! off-,a"ance at the start of this round$ due to having s#ung his s#ord through thin air. hus$ Connor+s difficu"t! is five instead of four$ to ref"ect this. Connor decides that he needs get #or%ing and thus uses his Quic%ening to get the Speed of the Stag$ #hich gives him an extra three 'nitiative dice$ in addition to the die he receives for having attac%ed "ast round. he Kurgan ro""s his /its A"ertness and gets five successes. Connor fo""o#s suit and gets seven successes$ #hich means he has t#o dice to add to his dice poo". e decides to tr! to disarm the Kurgan$ and ro""s exterit! *e"ee against a difficu"t! of six$ not forgetting his extra t#o dice$ and gets a massive seven successes. Kurgan ro""s ex *e"ee ,ut gets severa" ,otches$ and can on"! manage three successes. Connor manages to f"ic% the Kurgan+s s#ord from his hand. Kurgan+s in trou,"e. his is primarily an arbitrary combat system, designed to aid the S toryteller and players in Storytelling the duels which occur, rather than restricting them to a framework of rules. As ever, if you dont like part of these rules, dont use them. *e dont come around and inspect how you play these games. *ell, not too often, anyway...
Weapons he sword is the traditional weapon of an immortal. he reasons for this are fairly simple - the sword is the oldest weapon with which you could efficiently decapitate someone, and the first immortals would have used them. hey would have passed the tradition on to the immortals who followed them. ntil relatively recently, the sword was the main personal weapon. Its only within the last few hundred years that we have begun using guns, and you cant chop a mans head off with a gun. In fact, not counting the battle a%e, there still is no practical weapon
which can be used to decapitate someone in a duel, and because immortals always learn their ways from other immortals, it is only natural that the sword has beco me the traditional weapon for immortals. An immortal will often have a weapon which he has used for many centuries. 9amire;, for e%ample had has his katana for over two millennia by the time he met 6onnor. o an immortal, a sword is more than 'ust a piece of steel. It becomes an e%tension of their body - they keep it with them most of the time, and it becomes an old friend, in effect. here are no hard and fast rules for weapons as regards weapons difficulties and damage, etc. A rough guide is that the bigger and heavier sword is, the harder it is to use, but the more damage is inflicts. he 2atanas used by 6onnor, 0uncan and 9amire; are all 0ifficulty H, 0amage: Strength G =. &ut the 2urgans twohanded sword is 0ifficulty D, 0amage: Strength G H, b eing, as it is, both heavier and more difficult to use. 2astagirs Saber is 0ifficulty H and 0amage: Strength G , reflecting that it is normally used with only one hand. Its a good idea to describe your weapon in detail, as part of fleshing out your character. If possible, get hold of a weapons catalog, from a company like oble 6ollection, for e%ample, which sells a wide variety of swords and a%e s, and pick a weapon >oble 6ollection is one of many distributors for 3arto SA, the suppliers for the ighlander movies and 1 show?. An immortals choice of weapon helps define who they are. 6onnors 2atana reflects his honor an d values, and the way in which he uses skill, more than brute strength to win duels, while the 2urgans two-handed sword reflects his harshness and brutality. Also, how do you carry your weapon) In a long coat, like 6onnor, or have some other method, perhaps) All these details help to flesh out your character, and enrich the role playing e%perience.
Chapter Fi&e: The $orld o' !arness "#ighng to survive, in a world with the darkest +owers..."
- Queen
ighlander-style immortals fit perfectly into the *orld of 0arkness. he movie ighlander is listed as one of the inspirations for the *orld of 0arkness - a world where supernatural beings walk among us without our knowledge. owever, immortals are very different from other supernatural creatures in one very important way - nlike the 2indred, /arou and 3ages, immortals dont have their own society, for very obvious reasons. In a world where various groups such as the Sabbat and the echnocracy vie for power, immortals are wildcards powerful individuals7 mavericks who can be useful allies or dangerous enemies. hey have no clearly defined role, unlike the /arou, for instance, and instead, follow their own destiny, towards the 5ri;e.
Immortals dont go around in groups, for very obvious reasons. herefore, there will normally only be a single immortal player character in a 6hronicle, and the other 56s will presumably be one of the other character types detailed in the Storyteller games released so far - 2indred, /arou, 3age or *raith. his brings up the interesting topic of what the other characters actually know about the immortal character. /iven that immortals are probably the rarest of all the supernatural beings >e%cepting 3ummies?, its reasonable to assume that its not e%actly c ommon knowledge that these guys are immortal, and can only be killed if their head is chopped off. If assessed using supernatural powers, an immortals aura will look very similar to a 3ages, or perhaps a 6hangelings - hey store within them a large well of power, not unlike +uintessence. owever, it will soon become obvious that an immortal cannot manipulate mag ick, nor does he possess powers like that of a aerie. ormally, an immortal wont reveal his true nature to people, without a very good reason, and it is very unlikely that he will reveal the method by which he can be killed. Although immortals are, after all, immortal, and dont necessarily need to eat, sleep, and so on, failure to do so will result in them becoming weak, although they can never die of hunger or e%posure. owever, hunger and cold make immortals as uncomfortable as they do mortals, and therefore, it is desirable to have a roof over ones head, and money, in order to make your life more comfortable. nlike other supernatural beings, immortals dont have 6aerns, odes or 6rypts. Instead, they will most probably live amongst mortals. 0uring their e%tended lifetimes, immortals are likely to amass huge amounts of wealth. owever, like 1ampires, immortals must maintain a masquerade - the illusion that there is nothing strange about them. his can be difficult, and can involve having to leave worldly assets behind. In the film, 6onnor used to leave his goods to children who had died whilst very young, and "die", only to return after a suitable interval to assume the identity of the dead person and claim their inheritance. his is probably the best way of ensuring tha t an immortal doesnt have to give up whatever worldly possessions he has earned when he has to move on, in order to prevent his true nature being discovered. 0oubtless, there are immortals who travel around quite a bit, but its likely that, after several centuries of travelling, an immortal may wish to stay in one place for a while. 8bviously, if an immortal has settled down in one place, they will need to have some way of paying for their lifestyle on a day to day basis. 0uncan, for instance, has e%tensive stock holdings, but he is also an antique dealer, as 6onnor was. *hat better 'ob for a man who was alive when many antiques were new) 8ther professions which require a k nowledge of the past may also attract immortals, like a history professor, for instance. *ho better to describe the 6ivil *ar than someone who was actually there) Immortals supernatural abilities mean that they are practically perfect as soldiers, or something similar. *hat could be better than a soldier who isnt 'ust simply unafraid of dying, but is actually unable to die) 3ost immortals will no doubt have been involved in some sort of conflict at some point in their lives, unless they actively avoided it. *ere an immortals secret to become known, the results could be potentially disastrous. Imagine what would happen were a company such as 0evelopment eogenetics Amalgamated or 5ente% Inc. to discover that immortals e%ist - they would stop at nothing in an attempt to discover the
secret of immortality. herefore, an immortal character must be careful to guard his secret, and maintain the facade of normality.
Antagonists "How do you 9ght such a savage-" "/ith heart, faith, and steel..."
- Connor( Ramirez
In this section we will discuss how Immortals are likely to interact with the other supe rnatural beings in the *orld of 0arkness, as well as other individuals and organi;ations, such as the Inquisition.
-a*pires mmortals are Iuite likel to run up against the 2indred of an !it the visit - 2indred feed o mortals, while mmortals are more likel to tr and prote!t the them. 2indred seek to !ontrol and the will normall tr to destro that whi!h the are unable to !ontrol. mmortals don@t oen t into their s!hemes, whi!h makes them dangerous. &owever, as mu!h as an immortal !an be a powerful enem, the !an also be a powerful all. t is possible that individual immortals and vampires !an be!ome friends and allies, for both have one ma3or trait in !ommon - both have the poten)al to live for an inordinate length of )me. Foth understand what it is like to live for mu!h longer than mortals. Bdded to this is the fa!t that, unlike mortals, immortals have nothing to fear from +ampires - as has been stated before, immortal blood holds no sustenan!e for +ampires, and immortals !annot be Nmbra!ed, nor made into *houls. &owever, unlike man 2indred, mmortals are s)ll innatel human, and the bes)al nature of man 2indred will repel them. f an immortal has a +ampire as a friend, it is l ikel that the +ampire will have a high &umanit.
Were&olves mmortals are more likel to 3oin the *arou than the 2indred. The *arou ght for a simpler )me, a )me the immortal ma well remember. The *arou also ght against the dese!ra)on of *aia, and, as P$ immortals are likel to follow in the hero mold of $onnor and 0un!an Ma!Oeod, it is e%tremel likel that *arou and mmortals would !onsider ea!h other to be brothers, gh)ng on the same side, against the destru!)on of a mother earth the mmortals have wat!hed being dese!rated over the !enturies. Bdd to this the fa!t that *arou $aerns are &ol *round, and a refuge for immortals, and it be!omes obvious that the *arou and mmortals are ver likel allies.
owever, there is a possibility that some immortals may come up against the /arou, especially if they have amassed great wealth, and control portions of mans world which the /arou do not appreciate. Such immortals may be considered by the /arou to be agents of the *yrm. In general, however, Immortals are much more likely to form friendly relationships and allies the /arou than anything else.
%ages mmortals and Mages don@t mi% well. This isn@t be!ause of an dire!t !onJi!t, but be!ause Mages will oen wish to a!Iuire the immortal@s Hui!kening, in order to empower their own node. Blso, Mages, like the 2indred, are oen distrusRul of that whi!h the !an@t !ontrol, an immortals@ immunit to magi! of both the Prime and Oife spheres makes them a danger. >n the other hand, immortals make useful allies, powerful and et not beholden to an !lan or tribe. Blso, the Mages@ nodes are &ol *round, like the $aerns of the *arou. &owever, what immortal is likel to feel !omfortable in a pla!e surrounded b people who !ould gain a lot of power for themselves b beheading him/
Wraiths : t@s likel that mmortals and (raiths do not normall intera!t ver mu!h, due to the simple fa!t that while mmortals inhabit the mundane world, (raiths dwell in the 0eep Embra and rarel manifest themselves on Narth. t should be noted, however, that be!ause of the manner in whi!h the Hui!kening binds an immortal@s being together, mmortals !annot be possessed.
Changelings : Oike the *arou, the #idhe are likel to form strong allian!es with mmortals, as the are, in man was, kindred spirits - human, and et wielding powers whi!h no mortal !an possess. Foth mmortals and $hangelings strive towards a goal whi!h is their des)n to pursue - mmortals strive to win the Prize, while the #idhe dream of returning to Br!adia, to 3oin with their faerie kin. The #idhe@s rela)onship with the *arou ;espe!iall the Dianna=, is also likel to result in $hangelings and mmortals be!oming friends and allies. $ertain members of the De ma also hold !lues to the origins of the mmortals...
The W$r* : Minions of the (rm, su!h as Domori and the Fla!k #piral 0an!ers are ver likel to aempt to kill an mmortals the !ome a!ross, as mmortals are likel to be !onsidered to be of neither the (ld nor the (eaver alone, but of both - their role as wild!ards and maveri!ks is a trait of
the (ld, et the (eaver holds their bod and spirit together. #u'!e to sa that the (rm would !onsider mmortals to be enemies.
Govern*ents : t is highl unlikel that the *overnment knows, or even suspe!ts that there are immortals out there, although there ma be a se!)on of the DF or some similar organiza)on whi!h is !arring out an inves)ga)on into the possibilit that there is a serial killer going around, !hopping people@s heads o. (itnesses of mmortal duels are likel to be given the same amount of !redibilit as the e%-Marine was in the movie - ie. none at all. >n the other hand, mmortals are likel to have to tread !arefull, and take e%tra !are, when tring to hide their immortalit from individuals in government departments, and so on. &owever, immortals are mu!h more likel to run into trouble when tring to deal with the poli!e. Par)!ularl if the are murder suspe!ts, like $onnor was in the lm. Bn immortal had beer make sure that his !over is unshakable if he !omes under inves)ga)on b the poli!e or DF.
The ,n.uisition : The nIuisi)on is likel to have en!ountered immortals during the 0ark Bges, when the would have been !onsidered to be wit!hes, or "in league with Ou!ifer", as 2ate said. The punishment for su!h heres was burning at the stake, and at least one immortal in the series has survived su!h an ordeal. t@s ver unlikel that the nIuisi)on knows of the e%isten!e of mmortals. &owever, see the informa)on on the (at!hers below.
The Watchers : The (at!hers are a group whi!h predates the that Br!anum, and, although the have links with the Br!anum, the Br!anum proper is unaware of the e%isten!e of mmortals. The (at!hers are. The have spent !enturies studing the immortals, !hroni!ling their e%ploits, but not interfering. The keep a!!urate re!ords of all new immortals, who has taken who@s head, and ;like the immortals themselves= wonder as to who will gain the Prize, and what this Prize is. (at!hers are mortals, and are !hosen for their "normalness". The don@t stand out in a !rowd, the blend. The don@t trigger the immortal@s senses, and are trained to observe. Their onl dis)nguishing feature is a taoo on their wrists, a !ir!le with a hol smbol of their order within. This allows them to easil re!ognize one another, and to remind them of their mission.
The )unters : n re!ent ears, a rogue bran!h of the (at!hers has formed. This group has links with the nIuisi)on. Dueled b paranoia, it@s members have de!ided that the !annot wait and hope that the immortal who gains the Prize is a good person. The a!)vel hunt and kill immortals, removing their heads and allowing their knowledge and power to be lost to the Nther. n this wa, the seek to stop an immortal from a!hieving the power of the Prize. These "&unters" view immortals as the greatest danger ever to fa!e mankind... both the (at!hers and the &unters are detailed in the series, and some of the main !hara!ters in the se!ond season are members of these groups. Blthough the other supernatural beings, su!h as (erewolves and +ampires aren@t men)oned in the series, it@s possible that in the (orld of 0arkness their mission ma have e%panded to in!lude +ampires, Magi, and an other beings the per!eive to be a danger.
!tor$telling 9unning a 6hronicle with a group with an immortal is something of a challenge. 5hysically, Immortals are among the most powerful characters in the Storytelling system, but there are disadvantages to playing an immortal, when compared to a 1ampire, a *erewolf, or a 3age. All three possess powers which an Immortal cannot match. 3any 1ampiric 0isciplines and /arou /ifts bestow advantages which the +uickening is unable to match, and the 3agick wielded by 3ages, while Immortals are immune to the effects of the 4ife and 5 rime spheres, can be very dangerous indeed. Another ma'or difference is that Immortals are bound to the mundane world, and cannot pierce the /auntlet to travel to the mbral Spirit *orld. he 4ast is designed to help even out these differences, and the Storyteller should actively be thinking about what an immortal may sense through the 4ast throughout a Story. ote that an immortal player character should not have to ask whether he senses anything through the 4ast - it is designed to be a random way of giving the Immortal knowledge which he couldnt normally know, and isnt an ability or a /ift to be activated at will. 6onsider the v arious instances in the film where an immortal knew something he really shouldnt have - 6onnor finding &rendas gun and tape recorder7 2urgan knowing that "there is one among them named 6onnor"7 6onnor sensing 9achels presence and asking what she was looking at7 and so on. It is also necessary to keep in mind the aims and desires of the various characters in a group obviously, the aims of a /arou, for e%ample are different from that of a 1ampire. he *erewolf may wish to increase his 9enown by combatting the *yrm, while the 1ampire might want to e%tend his power and influence. owever, an immortal has but one aim - to win the 5ri;e. he only way of doing this is to kill other immortals and take their +uickening. he Storyteller should always make sure that there is a reason for the Immortal characters presence in the group, and for him aiding the other characters. he 3ages and the /arou may have teamed up to thwart the echnocracys plans, as it is in both their interests, but, a player with an Immortal character could quickly discover that he is 'ust riding a long in this situation, with no advantage to his
character being readily apparent. It is important to ensure that the actions of the group as a whole dont conflict with the aims of any of its individual members. It can be advantageous if the Immortal character has ties to other members of the group, instead of 'ust being an e%tra member of the team, whom no one really knows. e might be kin to a /arou, or an ally of a 1ampire or a 3age. *hat is important is that he is actually part of the team, and not 'ust an add-on. opefully, this supplement will bring a new dimension to your *orld of 0arkness games, and will provide even more en'oyment for both Storyteller and players.
Appendix: Immortals "He is immortal, and he is not alone." - !a"son
hese are simply the authors interpretations of the immortals from the movie and series. If you disagree with part or all of it, change it.
Connor Mac(eod
"I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I was born in 1518 in the village of Gleninnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. nd I am immortal." - Connor Mac Leod, 1985
5layed by: 6hristopher 4ambert ature: 9eluctant Immortal 0emeanor: Autist &orn: B=BE Attributes: Strength J, 0e%terity , Stamina , 6harisma , 3anipulation , Appearance J, 5erception , Intelligence , *its Abilities: Alertness J, Awareness , Athletics J, &rawl J, 0odge , Intimidation J, Intuition J, 4eadership B, Streetwise F, Subterfuge , 0rive B, (tiquette J, irearms F, 3elee H, Stealth , Survival J, &ureaucracy F, 6omputer B, inance J, Investigation F, 4aw J, 4inguistics J, 3edicine F, 8ccult B, 5olitics F, Science F.
&ackgrounds: Allies B, Arcane F, 6ontacts F, 9esources = +uickening: D
*illpower: D
*eapon: 2atana >difficulty H, StrG=KE dice?
)amire*
"I am !an Sanche# $illa Lobos %amire#& chief metallrgist to 'ing Charles $ of S(ain. nd I am at )or service." - Ramirez, 1541
5layed by: Sean 6onnery ature: 3entor 0emeanor: /allant &orn: E
*illpower: <
*eapon: 2atana >difficulty H, StrG=KE dice?
The +urgan
"*he 'rgans were an ancient (eo(le from the ste((es of %ssia. +or amsement the) tossed children into (its with hngr) dogs to ight for meat. h& the 'rgan... he is the strongest of all the immortals. ,e is the (erfect warrior." - Ramirez, 1541
5layed by: 6lancy &rown ature: 0eviant 0emeanor: &ravo &orn: ) Attributes: Strength =, 0e%terity , Stamina =, 6harisma F, 3anipulation , Appearance F, 5erception , Intelligence J, *its Abilities: Alertness J, Awareness , Athletics J, &rawl D, 0odge =, Intimidation H, 4eadership , Streetwise =, Subterfuge F, 0rive , irearms =, 3elee E, 9epair , Stealth F, Survival H, 6omputer B, inance J, Investigation F, 4aw J, 4inguistics =, 3edicine F, 8ccult , 5olitics J, Science F. &ackgrounds: Arcane J, 6ontacts F, ame B, 9esources J +uickening: E
*illpower: E
*eapon: wo anded Sword >difficulty D, StrGHKBB dice?
!uncan Mac(eod
"I am -ncan MacLeod born // )ears ago in the ,ighlands of Scotland. I am immortal& and I am not alone." - Duncan
5layed by: Adrian 5aul ature: $udge 0emeanor: 9eluctant Immortal &orn: circa B=
