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Chapter 2 - Character Creation I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings... -Queen The World of Darkness is populated with all manner of fantastic beings: vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, and magicians struggle and battle... and yet, it's also the world outside our windows. The world represented in Highlander is quite similar to the World of Darkness, from the dark misty streets to the secret powers hidden from human view. This chapter discusses the creation of immortals, a la Highlander, using the Storyteller system. Immortals We are the same, MacLeod! We are brothers! -Ramirez To run an immortal, a player must do a certain amount of soul searching... unlike the other players running Magi, Kindred, or Garou, immortals require more effort to make "real". Each of the others are normal people who discover they have a special destiny: in this, immortals are the same. The fundamental difference comes from time... often, immortals discovered their heritage hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Deciding why this person has survived, what beliefs they've brought with them, what makes them go on, brings a new dimension to the Storytelling experience. One might argue that this has already been explored with Vampire and Mummy. In Vampire, 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 Camarilla. They also tend to be much more powerful, and less human than their younger Kin. Likewise, although Mummies are in many ways human, their thoughts and desires are nothing like the mortals around them. What makes running an immortal interesting is their humanity: despite the centuries behind them, they are still human... alone among the mortals, hidden, but still human in mind and soul. This humanity makes them unique and interesting characters to explore. Concept To begin the creation process, settle on the concept for the immortal. Why have they survived? When were they born, where have they been and what have they seen throughout the centuries? Pick a strong nature, something that drives them and makes them cling to life, rather than just let go. They do not age, but without a will to survive they most certainly will lose their head... Attributes Immortals are shown to be in superhuman health, strong and fast, and also intelligent and perceptive. They are almost always fit, attractive, and charismatic... so, in the World of Darkness, they are far superior to the mortals in all their attributes. Give them 7 Primary, 6 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary attribute points, instead of the "normal" 7/5/3 split that Garou, Kindred and Magi all receive. Abilities Immortals start with 13 Primary, 9 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary abilities provided they are "young" (less than 100 years). Older immortals will have more abilities; fighting this to achieve "play balance" is a wasted effort in the Storyteller system. The storyteller is the ultimate judge; if he doesn't want 2000 year old immortals overpowering his game, then he shouldn't allow 2000 year old immortals at all: allowing them but restricting them to 13/9/5 is ludicrous. Also, as they age, their maximum ability score (5 for mortals) will increase, allowing scores of 6+ for various abilities. Use the chart below for a reasonable split of abilities based on age. Age Primary Secondary Tertiary Max 0-100 13 9 5 5 100-250 18 13 8 5 250-500 23 17 11 6 500-1000 28 21 14 7 1000-1500 33 25 17 8 and so on... Advantages You cannot die, MacLeod... accept it! -Ramirez The Quickening characteristic is the most important to an immortal... it defines their power, and is very useful in battles with other immortals. Beginning immortals begin with 1 Quickening; this may be increased by spending Freebie points, as discussed below. Immortals have no "virtues" in the Vampire/Werewolf sense. Like Magi, their only characteristic is Willpower, and like Magi, they start with a base Willpower of 5. Immortals begin the game with seven points in Backgrounds. Acceptable backgrounds include Allies, Contacts, Fame, Influence, Mentor and Resources (all outlined in Vampire), and Arcane (as outlined in Mage). Immortals tend to have a tendency to scatter headless bodies around them, yet they don't seem to draw attention to this fact: hence the Arcane. Finishing Touches Immortals get 18 freebie points to spend. Again, this gives them more points in attributes and abilities than their fellow players, but this is balanced by their inability to raise Quickening except through killing other immortals. Also, their very nature makes them hunted by the Technocracy, fellow Immortals, and of course the Watchers/Hunters (these are outlined in Chapter Five). Point Costs Quickening 7 points per dot Attributes 5 points per dot Abilities 2 points per dot Willpower 1 point per dot Backgrounds 1 point per dot Spark of Life 'Ya talk funny, Nash... where ya from?' 'Lots of different places...' -Garfield & Nash Most important to giving an immortal a "spark of life" is his origin. Detailing out how and where he has spent the centuries before the Gathering is essential to understanding him, and also makes the rest of the detailing process more productive. Appearance What does your immortal look like? How does he dress? Is he a classic member of the "trenchcoat brigade", or has he settled on another method of carrying his weapon (like the Kurgan and his briefcase)? These sort of decisions help determine a look, and also are useful for game play later. Contacts How long has your character been in his current home? What friends has he made? Unlike Vampires, Garou, or Magi, immortals live amongst the humans and (for the most part) treat them as equals. Hence, they make connections with the human race, which will come up during game play (either for help or for hostages, depending on Storyteller mood). Equipment The most important piece of equipment for any immortal is his weapon. It is a part of them, and is very important to them. Get ahold of a weapons catalog (Noble Collection is a swordmaking company that has a wide variety of swords and axes, for example), and pick a weapon. The immortal's weapon of choice helps define who they are: the Kurgan's two handed sword and Connor's white-handled Katana both helped define what kind of person they were. Quirks Immortals are often unusual individuals. Note from the series: Gregor's tendency to put mortals into danger to get a secondary rush from it, or Amanda's tendency to doublecross her partners. These things help define the character, and yet aren't shown in the characteristics above. Pick interesting quirks, and write them down; they will add greatly to the role-playing experience.