Lets work on an idea... (long)
Ok...I think there were a few misunderstandings over the "death" topic. To clarify...
1) Yes Immortals "die" from any wound that would kill a Mortal, such as a sword through the heart, being shot, being poisoned, etc. This was shown a number of times in film and TV Episodes. An immortal can be found as a "body" and diagnosed as "dead" and shipped off to the morgue, making it oh so fun for the immortal to disappear. This is one of the reasons why they try to never die in public - like when Richie dies on the Racetrack and then has to go into hiding. Thousands of people saw him "dead" so he cant just go back and say "Hi, Im back". Another example is the immortal (dont remember name) that died commiting suicide off a high-rise and claimed amnesia. When they "awaken" it is actually a bit painful and take the immortal quite some time to get back to full strength. Also, the more powerful the immortal, the faster they awaken. Some immortals it is a matter of minutes, others it can take hours, (other days?).
2) No Immortals do NOT die from the Quickening. They are severly weakened by it however. The stronger the Quickening, the more weakened they are and thus the longer it takes to shrug off the effect, though the more powerful the immortal, the quicker they heal.
Another point I would like to make is that I feel that Immortals can be used in a D&D setting but they have to be "toned" to the power of the system. With that said, there also has to be SOME new mechanics thrown into the mix. Also note that D&D makes a decent explenation for Immortals like Kayless (Spelling) who could Mentally Communicate with and control dogs.
Some Notes on Template Qualitites and Mechanics: Since we're gonna discuss it, lets work on it.
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Template Acquisition: Immortals are born, not created. However, the “Immortal” template is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid, or monstrous humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The creature’s type changes to Immortal. To acquire the Immortal template, the creature must die to be reborn into immortality. This is refered to as First Death. This death can happen as any death short of dying of old age. The specifics of the creature's first death should be recorded.
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Ability Scores: The Series (if this is true canon) does not indicate that immortals are any faster or stronger than mortals. Yes the statement is made in "episode Reasonable Doubt," however, there is no indication of this in reality. If you do give a STR & DEX buff it should be no more than +2.
Constitution on the other hand should increase by +4 as immortals do become more resistant to toxin, disease, etc. They also gain the ability to absorb much more damage than mere mortals (thus all of the immortals being able to jump from 3rd+ story windows and then run away).
These could then increase as follows.
CON: +1 for every 5 points of current quickening points.
STR/DEX: +1 for every 10 points of current quickening points.
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Timeless Body (Ex): When becoming immortal the base creature gains the ability of no longer physically aging. They suffer no ability penalties from aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties they may have already suffered, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue as the Immortal ages, but they now gain the +1 bonus to INT, WIS and CHA for every 100 years of life. It must also be noted that Immortals cannot reproduce and will never have children of their own.
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Sense Quickening (Ex): Immortals can sense other Immortals. This begins with a range of 30' and is automatic anytime an immortal is within range. A Fortitude Save (DC 10) must be made or become Nauseous for 1d4 rounds when the quickening is sensed. The Immortal cannot locate the source of the quickening in a crowd however, they only sense the presence of an immortal. This does not negate surprise rounds, as either Immortal can still be caught flat-footed against another immortal with the aid of ambush, concealment, invisibility, etc. This increases by 10' range for every 5 current quickening points.
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Sense Holy Ground (Ex): Immortal have a canny sense for detecting Holy/Unholy Ground and can do so a standard action, at will, with a range of 120'. This increases by 40' range for every 5 current quickening points.
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Fast Healing (Ex): Immortals heal miraculously from most of their wounds but they do not regenerate lost body parts, thus Fast Healing. The power of the Fast Healing should increase with the power of the immortal. This could be reflected as starting at a base of Fast Healing 1. Note that wounds to the neck will only heal as Natural Healing and will always scar. This increases by 1 for every 10 current quickening points.
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Death & Resurrection (Ex): Each time the Immortal "dies" (reduced to -10), they will be Raised (as the spell, including the level loss/Constitution loss - this will help to balance the growing power of an immortal) within 6 hours of their "death". This down time is reduced by 1/4 for every 5 current quickening point.
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Quickening Fatigue: This is most easily reflected in D&D through using the HP system and Fatigue Rules. Quickening is a Lightning Attack. Give them Energy Resistance to Lightning (they are not immune as they can "die" by electrocution). The Quickening does electricity damage based on the power of the slain immortal, the Immortal takes this damage. The more damaged, the more fatigued. Simly say that the immortal is "Fatigued" until they heal (through Fast Healing). A good start is Electricity Resistance 5. This increases by 5 points of ER for each 10 current quickening points.
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The Quickening: This is the tough mechanic.
Each immortal must track the number of Quickenings they have had (Call these Quickening Points for now).
Receiving the Quickening: This does damage to the receiving immortal. A base idea to start is 1d6 Electricity Damage plus an additional 1d6 per Quickening Point the dead immortal had. A Fortitude save (DC 10+Constitution modifier of the dead immortal) for half damage. If the Immortal would be reduced to below 0hp they remain stabalized at 0hp (unconscious) until they heal.
Benefits of the Quickening: (the toughest part of all) This should be based on Quickening Points.
The Immortal gains 1/4 (round down, minimum 1) of the quickening points the previous Immortal had in addition to the one quickening point for the kill itself. The immortal gains in power based on their current Quickening points.
Example Table:
Code:
[color=white]
Current QP CON Str/Dex Skill Points Feats Fast Heal Elec.Resist Sense Quickening
1 --- --- +4 --- +1 5 +10'
5 +1 --- +8 +1 +1 5 +20'
10 +2 +1 +12 +2 +2 10 +30'
15 +3 +1 +16 +3 +2 10 +40'
20 +4 +2 +20 +4 +3 15 +50'
25 +5 +2 +24 +5 +3 15 +60'
etc.
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"Remember Highlander, Live, grow stronger. Live another day." - Methos
Skills: Immortals gain bonus skill points based on age as well as quickening. For each 50 years of life the Immortal gains 6+INT bonus skill points to spend on any skills they know.
Feats: Immortals gain bonus feats based on age as well as quickening. For each 50 years of life the Immortal gains 1 bonus general feat.
Alignment: There is aways the danger of the Light and Dark Quickenings among immortals. Repeated Quickenings from a good or evil alignment can have a profound effect on an Immortals alignment. Each immortal begins with an alignment rating as follows. If they are Good they begin as Good 100, If they are Evil they begin as Evil 100. If they are Neutral they begin at 0.
Each time they slay someone of the Opposed alignment (either Good or Evil for a Neutral) they acquire a number of Alignment Points equal to the quickening received.
Example: Good Immortal Joe (Good 100) slays Evil Immortal Tim and gains 5 Quickening Points from Tim. Joe's Alignment points are affected by -5 Evil Points thus dropping to Good (95).
When a good or evil immortal drops to 50 alignment points or lower, they must make a Will save (DC 15) each time they reduce their alignment rating or become neutral with a neutral (0) score. If their Alignment points ever drop to 0 they automatically change alignment.
When a neutral gains either 25 good or 25 evil points, they they must make a Will save (DC 15) each time they increase their alignment rating or become good or evil with a (100) score. If they ever reach a score of 50 in one alignment (good or evil), they they automatically change alignment.
To remove this alignment change, the Immortal must undergo a ritual similar to an Atonement, which will restore their alignment back to its original status.
The following are as the base creature:
Hit Dice, Speed, Defense, Attacks, Saves
Advancement: As class
CR/ECL: This is really tough... what would you rate this? I would say at least an ECL+3
Other information of use: modified from (
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/frodie69/myhomepage/Highlander3rd.doc) as a quick access resource. Needs yet more modification.
Rules and Conduct of the Game
"Holy Ground Highlander! Remember what Ramirez taught you!" - Kurgen
Duels
Multiple Opponents: Immortal duels are a one on one combat only. This is generally an honor issue, but it has been proven that if two or more Immortals team-up against a single Immortal in combat, the Immortal that actually takes the head receives all the appropriate Quickening from the dead Immortal. This does not always set well with other immortals.
Ranged Weapons: The use of any ranged weapons and/or spells is a dishonorable act but their is no rule against it.
Mortals: The Game and Immortals must not be reveal to mortal society. This is done for their own protection as well as for the protection of the immortals. It is believed that if the Game is revealed to mortals, then the mortals will hunt down the immortals and either kill them all or use them against their will. This is again an personal choice and some Immortals do choose to reveal everything to a mortal, if they truly trust that individual.
Holy/Unholy Ground
Immortals cannot harm each other on Divine Dedicated (Holy/Unholy) ground. Holy ground, as it is most often refered to, is a form of sanctuary for Immortals and allows them to parle freely with each other. This is rooted in tradition and honor, and is rarely broken even by the most evil of immortals. If a battle is fought on Holy Ground, all of the quickening released by a deceased immortal is lost to the "ether" and the immortal that took the head loses suffers 1d4 level loss (as per the level loss from a Raise Dead spell (canot be regained by any means including Wish/Miralce).
Holy ground is any area that has been affected by a Hallow or Unhallow spell (usually cemetaries, churches, shrines, monestaries, etc.).
The Watchers
"I am a Watcher, part of a secret society of men and women who observe ad record, but never interfere. We know the truth about Immortals. In the end there can be only one." - Joe Dawson
Description: A lawful good, secret organization, whose main objective is to keep records and histories on all supernatural creatures and events. The Watchers are divided into many different branches that oversee various supernatural events and creatures. There is a separate branch that specializes in recording the lives and events of the Immortals. This branch of the Watchers usually does not interfere with the events in an Immortals life or the Game; but from time to time, they have also been known to enforce the rules of the game. They prefer to remain in the background, observing and recording the events, but they will take action to protect the secrets they hold. The will also interfere with the game if the need arises. Now this "need" is open to interpretation and it could be used good as will as evil. The main headquarters for the Watchers, is based in Amsterdam, the Immortal branch is located in France.
History: The Watchers have some roots that go all the way back to the “Council” of Atlantis. After the fall, some of the survivors from Atlantis were scattered through out the world. A few members of the council were chosen to watch over those who were chosen to be sent forward to become Immortal. These members kept all the records on the “Game” and any other supernatural events. These records were stored at the great library at Alexandria. The library became the Watchers original main headquarters. Unfortunately, the forces of darkness destroyed the library at Alexandria, and all was lost and nothing remanded of the old records and events. So the true nature of the Immortals, (where they came from, and why they are here), was lost and forever forgotten. The Watchers did not appear again until the time of first Crusade near Leipzig, by a small group of knights. The knights found the chard remains of the library at Alexandria and began to reopen the lost knowledge of the past. This reawakening of knowledge brought the attention of the forces of darkness. A deadly war was fought to put an end to the knights and their findings. Many of the knights paid with their lives for the ancient knowledge. The knights that survive swore to avenge themselves and reorganized into a secret organization known as the “Watchers”. Their goal was to rid the world of the forces of darkness and once more record the events of the “Game”. The knights did not understand what part the Immortals played in world. It seemed that Immortals came in all forms of good, evil, and everything in-between. So they decided not to interfere with the “Game”, until it could understood fully. They took a vowed to only watch and record the lives and events of the ones called “Immortals”. The game must be watched over very carefully. If in the end, the minions of darkness win the final battle, humanity will suffer a great blow and darkness with triumph over the world. The Watchers try to keep accurate records on all the Immortals due to an old legend. The legend states that a “pure form of evil” will take on a physical form, once every 1000 years. Only an Immortal, (known as the chosen one), can defeat this supernatural being and return it back into remission. Which Immortal is the “Chosen One” remains unknown until after the “Great Evil” forms. If the forces of darkness were to win and defeat the chosen Immortal, they would gain the use of the fallen Immortal’s body and soul. The fallen Immortal would become an unstoppable force of evil.
Symbol: The symbol of the Immortal branch of the Watchers is a tattoo located on the left forearm and is used only in the Immortal branch. The various other branch orders also have their own unique symbol. The main symbol for the Watchers as a whole is a monocle with a rim of silver suspended from a fine silver chain. The immortal branch uses the attached symbol.
Membership: The original members of the Watchers were only knights and monks, but as time grew on, the need for people from all walks of life was also needed. The Watchers are made up from all cultures and time periods. Watches characters may be from any region, class, or background.
The Sanctuary
This is an area built on holy ground were an Immortal can retire from the game. The Watchers control and protect sanctuary and any Immortal is free to “drop out” of the game. The Immortals are sedated with drugs and restraints and kept under guard. This maybe considered brutal, but is sometimes the only peace an Immortal can have.
Obviously, YMMV.
