Immortal: The Gathering
The Unofficial Sixth and so far Smallest Game in the Storyteller Series By Krister Sundelin and Rasmus Hansson
The Storyteller System was created by Mark Rein*Hagen
Dedication: This game is dedicated to Gregory Widen, author of the script for Highlander, on which this game is more than obviously based.
Introduction
The Dawn of Time
The Quickening
The Nature of the Immortals and the respect for the mortals
The Price of Immortality
Traditions
Single Combat
The Quickening
Character Creation Outline
Step One: Character Concept
Step Two: Choosing Attributes
Step Three: Choosing Abilities
Step Four: Advantages
Step Five: Last Touches
Enemies
Proficiencies
Air Walking
Focus
Form Control
Healing
Illusion
Living Blade
Quickness
Teleportation
The Watchers
The Three Branches
Defense Branch
Administration Branch
Observation Branch
The World of Darkness
Other Supernaturals
Vampires
Werewolves
Mages
Wraiths
Combat Maneuvers
Decapitate:
Quick Draw:
Quick Draw Parry:
Parry:
Shield Parry:
Shield Attack:
Thrust:
Riposte:
Disarm:
Lock hilts:
Kick:
Punch:
Distract:
Taunt:
From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you....until now.
Ages
All Immortals are born like any other living being. Their parents are always mortal -- Immortals cannot reproduce themselves. Thus there is no "immortality gene" to be passed on to future generations. The Immortals are simply that -- immortal. There are no differences from mortals but their inability to die a natural death. The Immortals have the same emotions as every other living human being, the same fears, the same wants and needs, and the same experiences. Being Immortal is, however, a long experience, and this magnifies every aspect of the human life from birth and forward. The time of this birth is not yet set -- there's no specific age when all Immortals are created. They appear -- and disappear -- one by one through the ages.
The Modern Age
The Modern Age starts with the Industrialisation and has not yet ended. The Immortals born in this age are still young, compared to other Immortals. They are the most flexible, and also those who holds the least on the Traditions.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance begins with the ending of the Middle Ages and ends with the Industrialisation. Renaissance Immortals tend to look upon themselves as the flower of manhood -- born in a time between two ages of barbarians. They are quite arrogant, since they are old enough to be more experienced than younger Immortals and young enough to be able to learn modern sciences.
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages ends with the Renaissance and begins with the landmark of the Norman conquest of Britain. Those born in this age often refer to it as the Age of Faith. Medieval Immortals are usually more faithful than others -- "humble before God" is a phrase that very well describes medieval Immortals. They also have a more strict code of honor and chivalry than other Immortals.
The Dark Ages
The Fall of Rome is the landmark to the beginning of the Dark Ages, and the Battle of Hastings marks its end. Those born in the Dark Ages tend to be barbaric and brutal. There are exceptions, of course -- need we remind you of the Knights of the Round Table?
The Dawn of time
All times before the Fall of Rome is usually referred to as the Dawn. There are very few Immortals from this time. Those few who remain are usually civilized and think themselves superior to other Immortals. The primeval Immortals have a vast experience -- however, they often have more enemies.
The moment when the Immortality is realized is called the Quickening. This is not a pleasant experience -- when the mind gets aware of the Immortals true nature, the body flows with the life energy of the Immortal. The life force takes form in an enormous energy discharge, often manifested in electrical atmospherical phenomena -- lightnings, thunderstorms, aurorae and the like. In this moment, the Immortal stops aging. From now on, he cannot die save from losing his head.
This experience occurs to a lesser degree when a non-quickened Immortal meets another Immortal. Although it is not a pleasant experience, it is still something that one will survive. Unless, of course, the other Immortal takes your head. It is possible that a non-quickened Immortal never experiences the Quickening. In such cases, the Immortal grows older and eventually dies of extremely old age. Though he cannot bear any offspring, it is still possible to die of old age. This does seldom occur; if it does, it is seldom heard of. Most Immortals are not even aware that it is possible to age and die if you never experience the Quickening.
"Mom!" -- The Kurgan Man
The Immortals fight in a Game, fight for a Prize. They are powerful and dangerous, but still they do not involve themselves in matters of the mortal world. Some of respect, some of fear, and some because they understand the human ways. No one will understand the words of an Immortal, no one will follow his or here lead. The mortals are good allies, but an Immortal must always look over his or her shoulder to make sure that the ally do not turn to enemy in the blink of an eye. Mortals are dangerous, even to an Immortal. The mortals can destroy an Immortal, sometimes by accident (there was an Immortal present in Hiroshima at the time of the nuclear bomb-drop there) and sometimes on purpose (there are cults that hunt Immortals, hoping to absorb some of their knowledge and wisdom by killing him or her, just as another Immortal would). That is why most Immortals stay away from the mortals. That is the nature by which the Immortals live and die.
"What won't please Heather, I can tell you that for nothing."
-- Conner MacLeod
No Immortal may ever have a child of his own flesh and blood. They are completely infertile. Some of them never realize this and keep trying to produce children, an impossible task, one of the few for an Immortal. It is said that the Last Immortal, the one to survive the Gathering, will be able to grow old and have children, like any mortal. Fascinating thought, but not a very likely one. Some Immortals find the infertility to be a blessing in disguise, while others see it quite the other way.
Loneliness
All Immortals are feared. It is in the human nature to fear the unknown. And Immortality has always been unknown to the human society. That is why most Immortals choose to be alone in their lives, to avoid being spotted as Immortals. Having a family or friends will sooner or later point you out for what you are, and you are different. Some Immortals try to avoid being alone, but they soon find out that the burden of having outlived all your friends and relatives soon overpowers even the most healthy mind. All you really can do is stay away.
The Game
The life of an Immortal is very much like the life of a mortal. It is a struggle to survive, but for the Immortal, survival becomes a bit harder than you would suspect. All Immortals have one, unifying goal; to be the Last Immortal, to kill all the other Immortals. This is called the Game. The Game began at the dawn of time, when there were few mortals in the world, and even fewer Immortals. The Game ends with the battle between the two final Immortals of the Game. In order for this battle to occur, a Gathering is called. This is described below. When the final battle is over, there is only one Immortal left, and he or she receives something called The Prize. The Game isn't a single Game, with every Immortal pitched against every other Immortal, but several, completely separate Games, each with a separate Gathering and a separate Last Immortal. It is said that on the final night of the world, all the ones that have been, or is, the Last Immortal of a Game shall meet in a gigantic battle to determine who will be the Final Immortal. But these are just rumors.
Enmity
Because of the Game, all Immortals are enemies with a series of other Immortals. Some Immortals might not be enemies, they may be friends like the mortals, but most are enemies. Would you not rather be enemy with an individual that could destroy the only thing you had; your life, or would you rather trust this person, and hope that you may live another day? So, most Immortals are generally unpleasant with other Immortals, even on Holy ground, where there may be no fighting. This is the Enmity.
The Gathering
When only a few of the Immortals in a Game remains, they will feel an urge to travel to a far-away land, to fight for the prize. This is called the Gathering and is normally called when there are between ten and twenty Immortals left in a Game. The Gathering ends with the Final Conflict, where the two last Immortals fight for the prize, fight until only one remains.
"No one ever breaks that rule. It's tradition."-- Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez
Sanctuary
The Tradition of Sanctuary is the oldest traditions and also the strongest. Since Immortals are as susceptible to religions and beliefs as any other human being, they are as strong in Faith as any human being, and perhaps more, since they are often born in times when religion is strong.
Faiths have resulted in the Sanctuary -- no violences on consecrated ground. The nature of the consecration matters not. A church is considered as holy as a mosque, a synagogue or a Buddhistic shrine. Few Immortals questions claims of consecration, since breaking this rules creates enemies and breaks the friendship with the few friends an Immortal gets.
The Tradition of Single Combat dates from the Dark Ages. It is the tradition which is most broken, especially by younger Immortals who do not follow the codes of honor from the past. This tradition is almost always followed by ruthless and powerful Immortals, since they know that less powerful Immortals will band together and destroy elder Immortals if this tradition would not stop them.
Challenge
No Immortal ever strikes in the back. This Tradition dates from the Middle Ages and the chivalry. Very young Immortals sometimes break this rule, as the most ruthless Immortals of the Dark Ages. Others does not dare to break the Tradition of Challenge -- a Barret M82-A caliber .50 sniper rifle at 800 meters breaks the spine as good as a sword, and if you break the Tradition of Challenge, you are most likely to become target for such a weapon.
Shadow War
The most recent Tradition is that of the Shadow War. First invented in the beginning of the Renaissance, it has grown more strong as time has passed and the control of the masses has become more efficient. The secrecy and the seclusiveness of the Immortals is a self-defence -- what would a ruthless mortal not do to gain immortality? And who wants to live imprisoned forever?
Effects of the Quickening
Rapid Healing: The Immortals can still be hurt by any means that will hurt a mortal, but they heal one health level/round. If the Immortal acts in any way, for instance moves, fights etc. must he succeed with a Stamina-roll with a difficulty of 8 with to heal that round.
Rapture: If the spinal column between the head and the heart becomes completely severed, the Immortal enters the Final Death. One tenth of the deceased Immortals Accumulated Experience passes to all nearby Immortals (line of sight) in an impressing pyrotechnic show.
Influences: These are supernatural powers gained after the Quickening. They may be of any nature; magic, extra-sensory, or other.
The Gathering: When only a few in a Game are left, the Gathering will call all the remaining Immortals to one place, and none may resist. There they will fight until only one is left, and this is the Last Immortal, holder of the Prize.
The Prize: The Prize is the thing that all Immortals strive for. It is first of all the ability to love, grow old, have children, be a mortal. Second of all the Last Immortal knows everything, knows every thought and dream of every mortal and Immortal, and can help them to understand each other. This makes him or her truly very powerful, and this Prize can be used for much good, and much evil, if it should fall into the wrong hands.
On the following pages there is described how you make an Immortal character, and how this character should work in his or her Game, until "(...) the time of the Gathering, when the strike of a sword and the fall of a head shall release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one."
· Step One: Character Concept
Who are you?
Choose Age
· Step Two: Select Attributes
What are your basic capabilities?
Prioritize your three Categories; Physical, Social & Mental
· Step Three: Select Abilities
What do you know?
Prioritize your three Categories; Talents, Skills & Knowledge
· Step Four: Select Advantages
In what ways are you unique?
Choose Backgrounds
Choose Influences
· Step Five: Last Touches
Filling in the all-important details
Record Accumulated Experience
Record Base Willpower
Spend your Freebie points to raise any Trait
Create your Enemies
Before you start to think of numbers, you need to develop a concept for your character. This concept does not need to be detailed. You only need a general idea to start with. This concept will probably change during the character creation process, but at least it is something to start with. The concept could be something like; "I'm an English knight who fought the Crusades. I'm proud, chivalric and strong in the faith, but seclusive since immortality doesn't spread to one's friends." The concept needs to be unique and should be approved by the Storyteller. The concept usually gives one thing away; the character's Age. The Age is important, since it is from this Age you draw your experience. The older you are, the more experienced you get. On the other hand, the longer you live, the more enemies you make.
There are five choices of Age: Modern, Renaissance, Medieval, Dark Ages and Primeval times. A Modern Immortal has not lived very long; a century or two at the most. Thus, they have not had the time to make enemies with other Immortals. A Renaissance Immortal are more experienced, but has had the time to gather an enemy. Medieval Immortals have even more experience, only have two enemies but also have difficulties to learn modern sciences. Dark Age Immortals have three Immortal enemies, and Primeval Immortals have four enemies of the Immortal kind.
This is done in the same way as in any other part of the Storyteller-system. The Immortal may place points like any other mortal.
Attributes: 6/4/3
The amount of dots you have depends on your age. The older you are, the more experience you gather. However, there is a limitation to this. If you are of another age than the present one, you may have difficulties in 'keeping up' with the present. This is called a 'Limitation'. If you wish to have an ability and you are of an age that makes that ability limited, you may not have more than three dots in it, from the beginning, not even with Freebie-points. The Limitations are listed with the age, along with the number of dots you get to place on abilities. This is worked out just like in any other part of the Storyteller-system.
Abilities: varies with age
Age Dots Limitations (cumulative)
Modern 11/7/4 None
Renaissance 12/8/5 Streetwise, Repair, Security, Computer, Politics, Science
Middle Ages 13/9/7 Bureaucracy, Subterfuge, Medicine
Dark Ages 15/10/8 Firearms, Drive, Finance, Law
Primeval 17/11/9 Etiquette
Example: If you are an Immortal born during the Middle Ages, you get to spend 13/9/7 points on abilities, but may not start the game with more than three dots in any ability listed as Limited for the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, or the Modern Age. (If you were born during the Primeval times, the Dawn of Time, you would get 17/11/9 dots to place, but with even more limitations.)
Backgrounds: 5
Influences: 3
Backgrounds
This is the history of the character. The Backgrounds may be taken from the other Storyteller-systems, or you may choose one or more from the ones below. Some Background-traits from some of the other parts of the systems may not work for an Immortal, like the Generation, or Status-trait of the vampires, for example.
Lineage
There are different Lineages among Immortals, different ways of approaching the Game, the Gathering, and the Immortal life. A character may spend Background, or Freebie-points on his or her Lineage. The lineage tells you how much is known about the characters Lineage, and how it is viewed by other Immortals. The Lineage depends on your Mentor, and his or her Mentor, and the one before that, and so on, in addition to what they, you, and others of this Lineage have done, or haven't done.
- Unknown.
* Few but solid facts. Your lineage is almost unheard of.
** Somewhat known -- Other Immortals sometimes mention your lineage.
*** Known -- Most Immortals know about your lineage.
**** Well known -- Your lineage is respected among the Immortals.
***** Famous -- No facts are known about your lineage, only rumors. However, other Immortals parts to let you pass.
Mentor
You can also spend some of your Background, and/or Freebie-points on your Mentor, the one who taught you about the Immortal life, the Game, and the Gathering. If you spend points on this, you get a Mentor that might be known to other Immortals, and perhaps even feared. If you do not spend any time at all, you have still had a Mentor, but he or she is insignificant in the Game.
* MacLeod 1537
** Fasil
*** Ramirez
**** Kurgan
***** MacLeod 1984
Wisdom
As many abilities as you have dots in this trait are excepted from the Limitations of Age. This could be useful if you want to create, for example, a civilized Roman Immortal with sense of law and bureaucracy. If you do not spend anything on Wisdom as Background, you are at the mercy of the Limitations of Age.
Influences
The Influences are the supernatural powers that comes with an Immortal life. They are very similar to the Disciplines that the Vampires learn, and they work according to the same system. A Immortal get to spend three dots on Influences, and may spend Freebie-points on Influences as well, seven points per dot.
Unworldly Senses
This is the ability certain Immortals may develop to sense the world around them, all other Immortals, other supernatural (or over-natural) beings like vampires and werewolves. One can never get more than four dots in this Influence, the fifth dot is awarded the Last Immortal, the one to survive the Gathering. The effective range of this Influence is Perception multiplied with the amount of dots you have in this Influence.
* Sense Immortal being
** Sense Supernatural being
*** Sense Mortal Presence
**** Sense Danger
***** (Know Everything) -- only available for the Last Immortal
Quickness
This works just like the vampires Celerity, giving you an extra action in a turn per dot in this trait.
ESP
Extra-Sensory Perception gives the character abilities beyond the human senses, power to read minds, move objects by thought alone, and seeing auras. For every dot the character possesses in this Influence, the more powers he or she can use. These are listed below.
* Tele-empathy: The character can read the mind of another from a distance in order to feel his or her emotions. This may be very painful for the ESP'er if the subject being read is under emotional stress or being harmed in some way.
System: The character rolls Perception + Empathy (difficulty 6) in order sense the emotions of a specified target within visual range.
** Pyrokinesis: This power gives the character the ability to set fire to an object within sight. Flames burst out of the object and, if it is naturally flammable, it catches fire. Otherwise, the fire trickles away. One can set fire to a person, but this is very hard.
System: If the character wishes to set fire to an inanimate object, then roll Manipulation + Occult against a difficulty of 7. At least two successes must be obtained in order to set the object on fire. If you wish to but fire to a being, natural or otherwise, the difficulty is 9 and you must obtain more successes than the targets current Willpower.
*** Aura-reading: With the use of this power, the character may see the aura of power that every thing, living or dead, creates. The color indicates what the being is, its mood, and its identity. There are many color an aura can have, and they tell you a lot about the being around you. For example; a person in love will have blue aura, an angry person a read aura, and an angry vampire a pale, red aura. If you do not have a list of the different colors, it won't matter, the mere fact that the character can see the aura will tell him or her a great deal about the person, just male up a color.
System: The player rolls Perception + Empathy against a difficulty of 7. The number of successes indicates how much of the aura can be seen.
1 success: Can only distinguish between pale or bright.
2 successes: Can also distinguish color
3 successes: Patterns can be seen (identity of subject)
4 successes: Subtle shifts in color or patterns can be seen (detailed information)
5 successes: Can identify mixtures between colors and patterns (near-complete information)
**** Telekinesis: With this power the Immortal may attempt to move object by sheer thought. The stronger your will, the heavier and bigger the objects you can move. The movement may be straight or curved, fast or slow, all according to the user's wishes.
System: Roll Manipulation + Occult. For each success beyond the first one, the speed may be increased by one hundred percent. The base-speed is ten meters per turn. The object must be within visual range. The character's current Willpower determines the weight of objects movable.
Current Willpower Maximum Weight
* One pound
** 10 pounds
*** 20 pounds
**** 100 pounds
***** 200 pounds
****** 350 pounds
******* 500 pounds
******** 1/2 ton
********* 1 ton ********** 10 tons
***** Telepathy: The power grants the character the possibility to read another's mind, and communicate with beings by thought. Messages may be thoughts, emotions or images. Only willing targets can normally be affected.
System: The player rolls Charisma + Empathy against the difficulty of four for a willing target. The difficulty for a unwilling target is his or her current Willpower. The range is virtually unlimited, only the Storyteller's restriction. A mind can be scanned for information, poked in for details, or communicated with.
Virtues: 7
Freebie Points: 21
Calculate Accumulated Experience
Attributes: Only the sum of all used experience and/or freebie points.
Abilities: If a ability has one dot it is worth 3 points.
Two dots: 5 points
Three: 9 points
Four: 15 points
Five: 23 points
Influences: If an Influence has one dot it is worth 7 points Two dots: 10 points
Three: 16 points
Four: 27 points
Five: 39 points
Willpower, Humanity, Virtues and True Faith:
One dot is worth 1 point
Two dots are: 3 points
Three: 5 points
Four: 8 points
Five: 12 points
Six: 17 points
Seven: 23 points
Eight: 30 points
Nine: 38 points
Ten: 47 points
while being alive, you make others your enemies. If these are mortals, you can just avoid them and they will die of old age. If the enemy is another Immortal or another supernatural being, you might not be able to get rid of him or her as easily. Depending on what age you were born in, the amount of time you have been alive that is, you get a number of Immortal enemies. These should be outlined with a brief history and their strengths, working with the Storyteller.
Below is the list of the number of enemies. This table is not cumulative (thank God for that one, those of the Dark Ages or the Dawn of time!).
Age Enemies
Modern 0
Renaissance 1
Medieval 2
Dark Ages 3
Primeval 4
And I ain't in it for the power
And I ain't in it for my health
I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all
And I sure ain't in it for the wealth
-- Jim Steinman, "Wasted Youth"
When an immortal is awakened, the Quickening begins to flow through her body for the first time. This process causes changes in the immortal's body. One is the halting of the aging process. Another is the formation of one or several Proficiencies. Proficiencies are abilities possessed only by immortals. They are "magic" (not sphere magic) powers; that even the immortals themselves do not understand. A beginning character has three dots to spend in any of the Proficiencies and can spend Freebie points to start with more. An immortal can advance to any level in a Proficiency he already has one dot in, but the only way to learn a new Proficiency after the character has been created is to behead an immortal who has that Proficiency.
This Proficiency allows the character to alter the effect of gravity on her own person. Air walking creates an anti-gravity field around the immortal and any thing she is wearing or carrying. Thus, a character using the level three Proficiency Spider Dance will not find her trench coat hanging about her ears. The field will not, however, extend to cover another living being.
* Frog Legs
With this ability, an immortal can leap higher and farther than any normal human. A character who acquires his Frog Legs does not find any extra strength in his legs (sorry, no bonus to damage when kicking) but rather that when he jumps, he can temporarily make himself become light as a feather. System: No roll is necessary to jump maximum height or distance, but to land on a specific target, such as a window ledge, would require a Dexterity + Athletics roll. The immortal can leap 15 feet vertically and 30 feet horizontally for each level he possesses in Air Walking.
** Like a fly on the...
This power allows a character to alter her field of gravity so that she is pulled more towards a vertical wall than downward. She can climb slopes that would be impossible otherwise, just by willing herself to it.
System: Roll Dexterity + Climbing. Any slope of less than 80 to the ground has a difficulty of 3 no matter what the surface is made of. The difficulty for vertical and near-vertical surfaces is as follows:
Surface Difficulty
Rock Wall 4
Brick Wall 5
Wet, Smooth Surface 7
Oiled, Smooth Surface 9
Frictionless Surface 10
*** Spider Dance
Same idea as above, but with this, the immortal can completely invert herself so that she can walk on the ceiling. This one is great at awakened parties. Just be careful not to leave any hard-to-clean footprints. System: Roll Dexterity + Air Walking to initiate flip up to the ceiling (difficulty 6) Costs 1 point of quickening per round to maintain inversion.
**** What goes up...
The immortal can increase dramatically the effect gravity has on his person. Thus, he can make himself so heavy that he is nearly immovable. This power can only be maintained so long as the character is concentrating on it, so no other action may be taken while the Proficiency is in use. If this ability is used while the character is not grounded (such as while on the third story of a building or in an airplane in flight) there will be a chance that the floor beneath him will collapse.
System: Roll Stamina + Air Walking (difficulty 7) The character will resist any attempt to move him with a strength of 10d10 and any surface that supports him must make a comparative strengths roll versus 10d10 or be destroyed.
***** Levitation
The character has such control over her own gravitational field that she can levitate her person and move through the air by force of will. System: Roll Dexterity + Air Walking (difficulty 7) to change direction or initiate. Costs 1 point of quickening per round to sustain flight. Top flying speed is equal to the character's top running speed.
Focus allows an immortal to channel her quickening through her sword and propel it as a burst of destructive energy. For each level the character has in Focus, she can convert one point of quickening into 2d10 of aggravated damage. So, if a character has Focus at level three she can fire 3 points of quickening for 6d10 of damage, 2 points for 4d10 of damage, or 1 point for 2d10 of damage. The energy bolt must be focused through the immortal's sword and has an effective range of the immortal's line of sight. To hit, roll Dexterity + Focus (standard difficulty 6 variable depending on range). You may use Quickening stored in your Sword without reabsorbing it for this Proficiency.
With this the character can use his quickening to control the shape and substance of his body. Unlike Air Walking, this power does not extend to the character's clothing nor to any objects on his person (unless the Garou ritual of Dedication has been performed on him). Therefore, if an immortal uses the level three Proficiency Body of Stone, only the actual flesh of the immortal gains extra protection against damage. So, while he may have no difficulty surviving the explosion, his clothes may be completely incinerated.
* Body of Light
The immortal who uses this Proficiency finds his body surrounded by quickening. The mystical energy dances around him in a tangled web of bright, deadly lightning. This energy field causes aggravated damage to any living thing that touches the immortal while this power is "up". System: Roll Willpower + Form Control (difficulty 6) Costs 2 points of quickening to initiate. After that the power is on until someone touches the immortal or he chooses to turn it off. No roll is needed to turn Body of Light off. The spent quickening is not regained if the immortal chooses to turn the Proficiency off before someone touches him. Any one who does touch an immortal using Body of Light takes 6d10 of aggravated damage. Upon being touched by a living thing, the energy dissipates. At this time the character can choose to use his next action to reactivate it without rolling by simply spending two more points of quickening. If a round goes by where the power is not active, a new roll must be made to use it again.
** Body of War
You can cause your arms to change into sword-like metal blades. You can choose to declare one of your arms (must be specified) to be your personal blade as per the rules on such, described later. This power eliminates the problem of concealing your weapon to avoid panicking the general public. Also, this weapon causes aggravated damage, which saves you the trouble of getting your sword enchanted.
System: Roll Willpower + Form Control (difficulty 6) to create blade. Each arm requires a separate roll. To use the weapon roll Dexterity + Melee(or Melee Parry) + Sword (if applicable). The difficulty is 5 and the damage is Strength + 4d10 aggravated.
*** Body of Stone
Your body is as tough as rock. You do not suffer any penalties for this extra endurance, nor do you have any change of appearance. The only difference is that when rolling to soak damage you get an extra five dice added to your Stamina. You don't have to be conscious for this power to be active. It is simply "on" forever, starting the moment you acquire it. This applies to both physical and energy damage (but not to mental or emotional.)
**** Body of Water
You can cause your body to dissolve into a liquid form. You are a formless puddle on the ground (or the ceiling if you use this power in conjunction with Air Walking) and you can move at half of your normal speed. The liquid form you inhabit is clear with a slight bluish tinge. In this form, you suffer no damage from physical attacks. The resistance to energy attacks granted you by Body of Stone is temporarily lost to you while in this form. If part of you is somehow separated from another while you are in this form (a significant part, not a drop) you are effectively beheaded.
System: To enter this form roll Willpower + Form Control (difficulty 7) and spend one point of quickening per round that you remain in liquid form. To return to your human body roll Willpower + Form Control (difficulty 6) If you run out of quickening before you are able to return to human form, you may choose to spend two willpower points per round to prolong coherence. After that, you will lose one health level per round. If you are reduced to crippled, your body disperses and you die.
While you cannot suffer a loss of health levels from any physical attack made on you while in liquid form, if one quarter to one half of you is separated from the rest of you by a physical barrier, you are considered beheaded. This separation must be complete and you are granted one round to find the separate pieces of yourself and reemerge with them. To do this, decide which severed part your essence is in and that part after the other. For one round, that part will act as though it is whole. To randomly decide how much of you is cut off roll one die.
0-4 less than 1/4
5-9 more than 1/4
***** Body and Soul
Using this power puts an immortal into "God Mode". It acts like a combination of Body of Light and Body of Stone. Your body is surrounded by quickening as in Body of Light and your become pretty much invulnerable. Since this requires intense concentration on the part of any immortal attempting it, you cannot move while Body and Soul is activated. However, if you split the dice pool, you move using Air Walking. System: To activate this power spend five points of quickening and roll Willpower + Form Control (difficulty 8) it requires two successes to work. After that, spend two quickening every round you want power is up. While you are using this power add another five dice to you ability to soak damage. Anyone who comes within two feet of an immortal who is using Body and Soul suffers nine dice of aggravated damage. To deactivate this power you must roll Willpower (difficulty 6) and get two successes. If you run out of quickening before you can turn the power off, you suffer the nine dice of aggravated damage (and you don't get the extra five dice to soak it either.)
Immortals with this Proficiency can use their Quickening to heal others. For every dot he possesses in Healing, an Immortal can convert one point of Quickening to one health level in an injured individual. The Immortal must be in Physical contact with the person he is trying to heal. Once an Immortal has healed someone, he must wait a full day before that person's (or animal's) system can take another dose of Quickening.
In addition, at level five the Immortal learns an extremely powerful ritual that allows the creation of a new Immortal. If a mortal (not necessarily an unawakened one) is present at an Immortal duel, the victor can use this Proficiency to transfer the loser's Quickening to the mortal, making him immortal. The new Immortal is then treated like the victor in a three-person immortal battle in which the Immortal with this Proficiency was involved (see the chapter on The Rules).
This proficiency allows an immortal to fool the senses of those around him. Any manifestation of this proficiency can be detected by someone rolling Perception + Alertness (difficulty 8) and achieving two successes.
* Sleight of Hand
Using the power of you mind, you can manipulate small areas of light to create small illusions. This power only works on objects smaller than a bread box. So, you could make your eyes glow, make a weapon seem to disappear, or produce a rabbit out of thin air.
System: Roll Perception + Illusion (difficulty 6) and spend one quickening. If anyone or anything (besides the immortal using the power) touches the object being manipulated, the illusion is disrupted. You must be able to see or be in physical contact with the object for as long as you want the illusion to last. (If you have made an object invisible, you don't have to see it, just see where it is.) Once the mirage is created it will remain indefinitely, until it is touched or the immortal uses Slight of Hand again to put the light back the way it was.
** Cloak of the Chameleon
This Proficiency affects only the immortal using it and her immediate possessions (such as her cloths and objects she is carrying.) With this power, you can stand against any large surface, like a wall, and blend into it. You will be completely invisible as long as nobody bumps into you and you don't move a muscle.
System: Roll Perception + Illusion (difficulty 7) and spend two quickening points. As long as you don't move you will be rendered undetectable to sight, smell, and sound. The surface you blend into must be at least twice your size; anything smaller and the disguise will be incomplete.
*** Veil of Shadows
With this proficiency, an immortal can cause a cover of total darkness to descend upon an area, confusing enemies. This power greatly benefits immortals who can see in the dark (or do not need to see to fight.) Night vision goggles will not benefit a wearer under the Veil. Goggles amplify the ambient light that is present in any naturally dark space. The use of the Veil causes complete blackness. Absolutely no light is present, similar to the effect caused by a black hole.
System: Roll Perception + Illusion (difficulty 6) and spend one quickening point. For each success the area the Veil affects increases by ten feet in every direction. The range is limited to places the immortal could possibly see (by turning around in a circle and looking up and down.) So, if you are inside a room with opaque walls, the effect is limited to the room, but if you are in an open area or a glass room, the effect is limited only by the number of successes. No form of natural vision can be used in the darkness. The Garou gift, Sense Wyrm, the Kindred Detect Aura, and other such supernatural abilities can allow a character to "see" his/her opponent under the Veil. Those without supernatural sight are out of luck. Flashlights and torches do not work. Their light is absorbed as soon as it is emitted. Magic spells that create light, like Spawn Lesser Forces, are another story. Roll for the light generation the same as normal. Every success cancels out one success of the Veil of Darkness roll.
**** Invisibility
This Proficiency grants the immortal invisibility. System: Roll Perception + Illusion (difficulty 7) and spend one quickening point for every round you remain invisible. This renders you undetectable to all forms of sensing that use reflected light. You can still be heard, felt, smelled, tasted (?) and detected using the supernatural methods described above. This power also causes your clothes and closest effects to become invisible.
***** Behind Another's Eyes
You can change your appearance so that you look like another person completely. You must have seen at east an image of the person you wish to impersonate. This changes only your visual appearance, so the illusion is only complete if you keep your mouth shut. If you are impersonating someone you have never seen except on T.V. the deception will not be as effective as it would be posing as your best friend. System: Using this power requires two rolls. First the Storyteller rolls in secret (if she wouldn't have done that anyway) your Intelligence + Alertness to see if you remember exactly what this person looks like. The difficulty is as follows:
Person impersonated Difficulty
You have never seem him in person 9
You have seen him one or a few times 8
You know him well 7
He is present (either conscious or unconscious, it doesn't matter) 6
If you failed the first roll, you will not be recognized as the person you are trying to be, but you will not know this unless somebody tells you (since you look like what you think you should.) If you botch the first roll, you will get the person you are trying to disguise yourself confused with someone else.
The second roll determines if you can duplicate the image you recall. Roll Perception + Illusion (difficulty 8) and spend one quickening point for each round you maintain the illusion. If you fail this roll, you will know it just by looking at yourself.
With this power, an Immortal instills his sword with a small amount of his quickening. This allows the blade to become somehow "alive". This Proficiency can only be applied to the weapon you have declared your sword and cannot be applied to a weapon created using Body of War.
* Blade Retrieval
If the blade is within a Immortal's line of sight, then by concentrating on it she may call it her hand. This will not work if there is any object obscuring the sword from view. An enemy could prevent her from using this power simply by placing a sheet over the weapon. On the up side, it does work through glass and other clear objects. An Immortal with this power may not manipulate the sword in space to do anything other than fly directly into her hand.
System: Roll Willpower (difficulty 6) while the sword is in sight. No Quickening need be spent to accomplish retrieval. If something is preventing retrieval (like somebody holding on to the weapon) use the Immortal's Willpower as Strength to resist. This also applies to crashing through things, like the aforementioned glass.
** Man's Best Friend
Now the Blade doesn't have to be in you line of sight. In fact, you don't even have to know where it is. All you have to know is that your sword is missing and it, sensing your distress, will find its way to you. This is not as blatant as Blade Retrieval. The weapon will not move directly to you in a straight line. Instead, it just shows up. Somehow it falls off a passing truck, or you trip over it in tall grass. The Storyteller is encouraged to be creative in coming up with ways for the sword to get back to its master.
System: No roll needs be made. The sword must have Quickening stored in it. It spends one point as soon as the Immortal realizes it's gone. If someone has stolen the sword, it will make a break for it as soon as his back is turned. For every mile separating the sword from its master roll 1d10 and divide by two. This is how many hours it takes for the Man's Best Friend to find its way home.
*** Blade Telekinesis
An Immortal with this Proficiency can control the path of the blade as it flies through space using the power of his mind. Again the blade must be in the Immortal's line of sight. This requires immense concentration, so an Immortal using Blade TK can't perform any other actions.
System: The Immortal must be holding the sword to attempt Blade TK. Roll Willpower (difficulty 8) and spend one point of Quickening. One success is needed to put the blade in flight. This takes one round. Next round, the immortal may move the blade anywhere he chooses by rolling Willpower (difficulty 6) and spending another point of Quickening. If he gets one success, the blade moves. If the roll fails the sword simply does not move. If he botches the roll, the blade fall to the ground and must be returned to the Immortal's hand before another attempt can be made. Use the Immortal's Willpower rating as the blade's strength and speed.
**** Soul Sword
For the Immortal with this Proficiency her Sword is so much a part of her that it cannot even exist outside her presence. When the Immortal puts her weapon down (and is not using Blade Retrieval, TK or of Fury) it simply ceases to be. When it is needed, the Immortal can call her Sword to her hand and, in a small burst of Quickening, it will appear.
System: Just Spend one point of Quickening to make the sword appear. Quickening can still be stored in the blade as normal because it does not really cease to exist, it just goes to some "other" place. However, the sword must still be in the Immortal's hand for the Quickening to be reabsorbed.
***** Blade of Fury
"Say hello to my little friend!" This Immortal can sic his Sword on opponents while he does better things. The blade will mindlessly attack one person or thing until it is dead or 'till the blade runs out of gas. This is great for evening odds or for turning them in your favor. If you fall unconscious or die while the blade is busy attacking somebody, it immediately returns to your side. You can recall the blade at any time by using Blade Retrieval.
System: The blade must be in the Immortal's possession (either in his hand or in a telekinetic grip) for Blade of Fury to be used. Roll Willpower (difficulty 8) and spend two points of Quickening. Two successes are needed to sic the blade. Every round after that, the blade itself must spend one of the Quickening points stored in it. The blade has Strength, Speed, and Dexterity of the Immortal's Willpower. If the roll is botched the blade will attack the Immortal himself once, the fall to the ground.
You knew it was coming. Quickness is very similar to the Vampire Discipline Celerity, except it's even better. For every point an Immortal has in Quickness, he can perform extra actions.
Dots No. of actions per round
* 3
** 4
*** 5
**** 7
***** 9
This Proficiency allows an Immortal to move from point A to point B without the bother of traveling through physical space. When a character buys this power, she creates her own, small horizon realm, supported by the power of her Quickening. She can transport herself there briefly and reemerge in different place. When an Immortal teleports there is a soft "pop!" and a soft flash of blue light about the size of a fist where the center of here torso was. If she wishes to take another person or an object that is to large to wear or hold in her hand with her add one to the difficulty and an extra point of Quickening must be spent.
* Line of Sight
You can teleport any where you can see. This works through transparent objects, but anything you can't see through is an effective barrier. it doesn't matter if you know a place is there. If you can't see it, you can't go there..
System: Roll Perception + Teleportation (difficulty 6) and spend one point of Quickening. With one success you make it. This takes one round. No other actions may be taken that round.
** Home Sweet Home
When an immortal buys this Proficiency she chooses one place on earth to declare her home. This place must be a node and if the Immortal does not start with this ability she must be at the node when she buys the power. Then the Immortal can teleport back to that node from absolutely anywhere.
System: Roll Teleportation (difficulty 4) and spend one point of Quickening. Only one success is needed. Once the character is there. she is there. She can't teleport back.
*** Now You See It. . .
This is like any other teleport, except when an Immortal uses this power she can extend the mount of time she spends in her horizon realm. This can give her a chance to rest and heal in the middle of a battle or escape discovery by prying eyes. While in the horizon realm the Immortal is not conscious, so no actions may be performed while this Proficiency is in use. All she can do is heal and hide. This must be used with one of the other Teleportation Proficiencies. The role for that Power is used, the only difference is that more Quickening is spent.
System: Declare that you are going to use Now You See It. . . in conjunction with another power. Make the required roll for that power and spend the necessary Quickening. Then, for each extra point of Quickening spent, you can remain in you horizon realm for one round. Example: Amanda has learned Now You See It. . . She has just been wounded in a duel and needs time to heal or she will lose her head. She decides to teleport behind her opponent, but to also spend extra time in her horizon realm. She rolls Perception + Teleportation and spends one point of Quickening. She succeeds the roll so she can teleport to the place behind her adversary. Then, she spends three more points of Quickening which causes her to spend three rounds in stasis in her horizon realm where she heals three health levels (because Immortals heal one level per round). After three rounds she reappears in the place that was behind her enemy when she first teleported (which is not behind him now because he moved while she was away).
**** Been There, Done That
This allows an Immortal to teleport anyplace he's ever spent more than five minutes. The chance of being able to get there is dependent on how familiar the character is with the place to which he wishes to go.
System: Been There, Done That requires two rolls, both of which must get two successes. The first roll is to determine how well the Immortal recalls the place he is teleporting to. Roll Intelligence + Alertness. The difficulty depends on how many times he has been there or how much impact the place had on him (He may have only been to that street corner once, but if his parents were killed there, he will definitely remember it (unless, of course, he has repressed it)
Familiarity with location Difficulty
He goes there everyday. 4
He was once went there every day, but hasn't been in a while. 5
He's only been there a few times but something big happened there. 6
He's only been there a few times. Period. 8
He was there once and spent at least five minutes there. 10
If this roll is failed the Immortal realizes that he can't remember the place well enough. If the roll is botched, he thinks he remembers it but accidentally goes somewhere else. When deciding where be creative and be cruel. Next, roll Intelligence + Teleportation (difficulty 7) and spend two points of Quickening. If this roll fails he simply fails to enter the horizon realm and stays where he is. If this roll botches, it has the same effect as the first roll and God help you if both rolls botch. If that happens you have to roll your Willpower (difficulty 8) and make two successes. If you fail this roll, you discorporate and you are dead. If you botch this roll you rip a hole in the space-time continuum. Now the Storyteller has to roll your Teleportation. That number times ten is how many meters away from you in all directions the rip extends. The rip destroys anything in its path. After it reaches full size it immediately closes, leaving a large spherical gap for air to fill. The air rushing into the gap tries to pull everything it touches with it. The winds have a Strength of twenty times the Immortal's Teleportation rating and is divided by two for every fifty meters distance from the edge of the gap. Needless to say, this is not likely to happen.
***** Umbral Shift
This Proficiency allows an Immortal to transport herself into the Near Umbra. She takes with her only objects that are dedicated to her and her Sword which is a part of her. Everything else drops in the place she teleported from. She does not need a mirror or anything to teleport, she just does it.
System: Roll Teleportation (difficulty of local Gauntlet). See Werewolf: The Apocalypse (pg. 175) for the results of successes, failure and botching.
So far most of the world doesn't have a clue about the existence of immortals. The information on them possessed by the Arcanum, Project Twilight and other such organizations is sketchy at best. Most who associate with those groups assume any the Immortals they have encountered to be members of the supernatural races they have already encountered. There is, naturally, one notable exception. Only the watchers themselves know how long the group has existed. Others who know of the society (and there aren't many) only know that the group is ancient. Most watchers themselves are taught that as long as the Immortals have existed there have been mortals who have watched them (which may be true, but that still doesn't tell you how long the organization has been around). In truth, knowledge of the exact date of the Watcher's founding is reserved for the continental heads of the group.
Organization
This is not the way the organization has always been run. Although the purpose of the Watchers has remained constant, their methods have adapted as required by the times. This is the way they conduct business now. This system has not been amended since a minor change in the powers of the chapter leader in 1957. The Watchers are run by a council of seven. Six of the councilmen (or women, of which there has only been one) each oversee the Watcher activities of one continent. Antarctica does not have an active chapter since not very many people live there. The seventh councilman is the chairman and president of the organization. All council members are elected by the regional heads of their continent and serve for life or until they voluntarily retire. When a new chairman needs to be elected the remaining council members elect a new one from among themselves who is then replaced by a vote of his continent's regional heads. The council convenes in Paris annually to discuss major changes in policy, recent appointments as region heads and to review the travel and demise of immortals across continents.
The hierarchy of power looks like this:
Chairman of the Council
Continental Heads
Regional Supervisors
Chapter Leaders
Chapter Cabinets
Watchers
Initiates
Associates
Regional supervisors report directly to their Councilmen. They are also appointed by their councilmen. The regions are basically divided by political boundaries. The tri-state New York-Pennsylvania-Ohio area is one Watcher region. Regional supervisors serve for life, until they retire, are dismissed by a vote of the council, or are promoted. Regional supervisors meet together with their continental heads quarterly.
Chapter leaders report to their regional supervisors who also appoint them. They serve only as long as the regional supervisors want them to. A chapter consists of a city and its surrounding areas. A regional supervisor can call a meeting of his chapter leaders at any time, but generally does so only after every continental meeting. Every chapter leader appoints a cabinet to oversee and advise him on specific aspects of Watcher affairs. The regional supervisor then approves the leader's appointments. Specific cabinet positions vary from chapter to chapter (being decided upon by the leader and approved by regional supervisor). Typically there is a Treasurer, a Record Keeper, a Defense Minister, an Overseer of Recruiting, a Public Relations Minister (who is responsible for keeping the public unaware of the existence of both Watchers and Immortals), and an Overseer of Watchers (he who watches the Watchers). In areas with a large population of other supernatural beings, a cabinet position may be created to handle issues specifically with that situation.
A Watcher is a full member of the group. Upon being granted this status, a Watcher is tattooed on his wrist with the "w" symbol of the Watchers. He is given a specific duty in one of three areas. He either joins the Defense Branch, the Administrative Branch, or the Observation Branch. Full Watcher status is granted by the regional supervisors. He most often leaves the actual selection process in the hands of his advisors and signs off on any decisions they make. A Watcher can be removed from the organization for any major or repeated violation of the Watcher Code. A termination notice is signed by the regional supervisor, but can be challenged at the next meeting of the Council by anyone who is still a Watcher in good favor.
Initiates are trainees. These are the people who wish to be Watchers, but are still learning the ways of the organization. To gain access to the group, a potential member must have a sponsor who is a full member in good standing. Very often Initiates have a long history of family membership in the association and are sponsored by a parent or the sibling of a parent. However, being a Watcher does not allow much time for a family life and most Watchers die childless or estranged from their families. This means that new members must also be sought out from outside the society.
Finally, there are Associates. Associates are friends of the organization. They have no official standing and no desire to become Watchers, but they are sympathetic to the cause and will aid the group when they can. Associates are usually persons with influential positions in government and business, or people with specific scientific or occult knowledge (Duncan MacCleod is considered an Associate).
All for one and one for all!
-- Alexander Dumas, "The Three Musketeers"
However distasteful, every large congregation of diverse peoples will include several paranoid, warlike individuals. Thankfully, given the passive goals of the Watchers in general, this is the smallest of the three branches. Defense branch has three functions.
One, they maintain a standing defense force. This is not a organized army. It is run more like the F.B.I. Each chapter is assigned several agents who live in the area and provide muscle for any Watchers who need it. Agents usually report to the chapter Defense Minister. These Watchers are trained as initiates by Watchers who are in this Branch. They are taught, in addition to the rules of the association, how to use weapons, martial arts and sometimes learn numina.
Two, they maintain the veil of secrecy that prevents the human and supernatural populations from knowing of the group's existence. Watchers in this service get jobs in government, business, and the media where they can control (or, rather, stop) the flow of information regarding the group. These agents are periodically contacted by the Public Relations Minister.
Three, they maintain internal security. This is the internal affairs division of the Watchers. In the same way a Watcher follows an Immortal, it is not uncommon for her to find herself being followed by another watcher. The overseer of Watchers assigns these agents someone to watch, usually at random. If they discover any violation of the Code, the Overseer reports it to the Defense Minister who "takes care of it." Agents for this service are usually former members of other services or branches with training in different areas. No Watcher, even the Chairman of the Council, is immune from this division's eye. Note: The Overseer of Watchers is primarily responsible for the Observational branch. This service is possibly better suited to be a part of that Branch, but because it is a distasteful duty to spy on your own, these agents are considered part of the this Branch.
This Branch is responsible for record keeping, managing funds, and recruitment. The Chapter Leader spends much of his time conferring with his Treasurer, Record-Keeper, and Overseer of Recruiting running this Branch. This is what keeps the Watchers going and is arguably the most important of the Branches. However, administration is boring and Immortal characters are less than likely to encounter a Watcher secretary, so this section will be brief. Suffice it to say that this Branch is run in a businesslike and professional manner.
These are the watchers, the men and women who are responsible for information gathering about the lives of Immortals. This Branch is run by the Overseer of Watchers. He confers with the record keeper concerning what immortals in the area need a watcher and assign appropriately. Once a Watcher is assigned to an Immortal, she follows him until she is taken off the assignment by the Chapter Leader, the Overseer, or most often another Watcher with word from the Overseer. Thus, a Watcher from New York may find herself traveling to Paris in pursuit of her quarry. On arriving in Paris, however, she will take the first opportunity to contact the local Leader and will be relieved by another Watcher. She will then return to New York and wait for another assignment.
Another duty a member of this Branch may be chosen for is tracking down the location of a "lost" Immortal. As efficient as the Watcher Organization is, they sometimes loose track of an Immortal as he dies and resurfaces with another identity. A watcher with this duty has almost unlimited resources at her command. She can travel the world in search of her prey and will not stop until she finds him or is reassigned. Recently, though, with the coming of the Gathering, most lost Immortals are found when they encounter another Immortal who is being followed.
Author's Note
If many people wish, after I finish this book I will work on a Year of the Hunter style supplement detailing the Watchers. For now, anyone who wishes to play a Watcher character should follow the rules for creating a mortal in The Hunters Hunted and The Halls of The Arcanum. If you want me to write the Watchers sourcebook write me at the address at the front of these pages.
One of the most intriguing things about the Immortals in the World of Darkness is that literally anyone can be immortal and never know it until they "die". This means that it is possible, although extremely rare for a character that has already harnessed some other supernatural ability to turn out to be immortal too.
This can be used as a plot device over a long term campaign. Maybe there is an immortal character in your campaign who hangs out with the other characters who are all werewolves. None of them know it, but the real reason he spends time with them is so he can watch over a member of the group who is an immortal still living their original life. Storytellers can also use this idea as a way to save an important character from a series of horrific dice rolls. Author's note: I once ran a campaign that involved one werewolf and several mages. I had planned a series of adventures in which the mages had to interact with Garou society. Their only connection to these adventures was the werewolf character. We were running the opening sequence to the first adventure which took place in a diner. The werewolf got mad over something the waitress did and hit her in the face. Usually this would mean the adventure would sidetrack briefly into the realms of the Los Angeles law enforcement community. Unfortunately the roll to hit the waitress failed pathetically (two 1's the rest 2's and 3's--- a botch). The werewolf missed and swung so hard that he broke his hand on the pillar behind the waitress. His failure didn't deter the anger of his civic minded colleagues and one of them threatened to blast him if he didn't calm down. I guess the player of the werewolf was in a wacky mood, because he jokingly said that he would turn into a Crinos and um, well. . . urinate on the mage. As a gamemaster I am of the mind that when a player blurts out something stupid it may be funny but it detracts from the mood of the game. To prevent the players from doing this, I usually make them do what they said they would. In this case I split the werewolf's dice pool so he could both transform into Crinos and perform the other action. I rolled his Stamina + whatever-it-is minus one and succeeded. Then I rolled his Dexterity + Firearms minus one (making him spend a willpower point to overcome his natural tendency towards bladder control) and botched. I interpreted this botch to mean that he not only missed his target but hit himself pretty well, too. After I colorfully described the stench, the mage decided to attack with a lighting bolt. At this point the werewolf was standing in a werewolf sized puddle of. . . liquid. The last thing he needed was to be hit with several thousand volts of electricity. This took him down to -3 health level. He then decided to attack the mage that hit him with the lightning bolt. He lunged forward and the physically weak mage stepped aside and allowed him to impale himself of her wooden staff. One of the other mages attempted to heal him but ended up botching that roll and removing his Lower Intestine. The character was dead, and my plan for the next adventure was ruined. It may seem a little cheesy to bring a character back to life in this way, but if you really need the character then it's a little less cheesy than reincarnating it or bringing his long lost twin brother into the campaign (the trap I fell into after the situation above). If there is a human character in your campaign whom the supernaturals are pushing around, giving the character immortality is an interesting way to even the odds.
Since Immortals have existed almost as long as the humans they are born from, it would be impossible for them never to have run across the other denizens of the world of darkness. In fact, since the Immortal population is relatively low (approximately 6,000 and dropping fast) and looking for other Immortals during the Gathering can be dangerous, sometimes a Vampire is the only immortal company available. There is no organization subscribed to by all of the Immortals. They're attitudes regarding others vary drastically from individual to individual. Some may even still be fooled by the Masquerade. Since there is no way to generalize the feelings of the Immortals, what follows is a description of how other supernatural beings will often react to Immortals. Keep in mind two thing when reading this. One, unless the Immortal tells them, there is very little way for anybody to know he is an Immortal. Two, these are generalizations of the feeling of large, diverse groups. One may not subscribe to these prejudices.
To the Kindred an Immortal would be a dream come true: a supply of blood that never dies, a well that never runs dry. At least they would be if it weren't for certain drawbacks. Vampires can drink Immortal blood and it benefits them in the same way normal human blood would. However, the blood of Immortals is kept alive only by the power of the Quickening, a powerful energy that permeates every cell of their bodies. So, any Vampire who feeds from one takes two dice of aggravated, non-soakable damage for every blood point they take in (one is usually enough to get the point across). This has led to, at best, tenuous relations between the two factions. Following is a set of typical Kindred reactions to the "Bloodless Ones." Keep in mind that all characters (well, most characters) have minds of their own and are not bound by these prejudices.
Brujah: Conformists! None of them would even consider breaking one of their precious rules. They make me sick.
Gangrel: They are of civilization and thus do not concern us.
Malkavian: I made a pair of shoes out of turtles! The shoes were for the monkey, but monkeys don't wear shoes! Staring at the sun made us crazy!
Nosferatu: They make for interesting conversation, having lived as long as we, but better information can be obtained from their Watchers.
Toreador: Through this race much beauty has been preserved without the need for our intervention, but this was by random chance. They have destrayed as much as they have created. Appreciate them from afar.
Tremere: They have survived a great deal. They have proven themselves to be excellent tools.
Ventrue: Some of them would not be removed from my presence.
As far as the Garou are concerned, Immortals are no better (and no worse) than the humans they are born from. Their attitudes to them are they same as they would be if they were born 20 rather than 200 years ago.
Keep in mind that all Immortals were once believed to be human. It is possible that in their mortal lives they were mages, but they would have lost their ability to perform magick when they Became. Magick requires the use of Quintessence, a substance two unrefined for the Immortal system to process. The philosophies learned from life as a Mage, however, are not so easily forgotten.
Akashic Brotherhood: There knowledge is to be respected and their martial skill is unparalleled.
Celestial Chorus: Their individualism takes them far from the One. We must bring them back into the fold so all may be together.
Cult of Ecstasy: They tend to take things way too seriously. At least they stay out of our way.
Dreamspeakers: The fires that sustain them seem to keep them separate from Gaia. They are not against the earth, but neither can they feel her light.
Euthanatos: This tradition is very intersested in the Immortals. They expend great energies to gather information about them. They have not yet decided whether this race's existence is beneficial to the Ascension. They need to have more information about their exact nature. Fortunately, they have had very little luck indentifying Immortals to examine, but with the coming of the Gathering more and more Immortals will be out in the open.
Hollow Ones: They are individuals, like us. However, they are also very much a part of the modern world that strangles us. They may be appealing in many ways, but it is still always best to keep to yourself.
Order of Hermes: They remember the way things once were. If we again tell the world of our traditions, they will be there to confirm what we say.
Sons of Ether: Yes! Don't you see? Their existence proves everything we have been saying! The ether exists in all space. It ebbs and it flows. It flows through us and around us and if we channel it when it flows through us and around us and make the ether around go through and through go around, then we've got something! It's science!
Verbena: Their blood is supremely potent.
Virtual Adepts: They tend to stay on the cutting edge of mortal knowledge. They shouldn't be too difficult to bring around.
The Technocracy: Kill them. Kill them fast. Kill them now. Then study them, learn everything we can from them, and kill them some more.
They are not Immortal. Everything dies. They may take longer, but in the end, they will be no different from us.
This is a special attack in which the attacker tries to take the defenders head from his body by cutting his throat. If this attack is successful, the defender experiences Final Death. The roll is made using Melee only, and the difficulty is 9 minus the opponents current wound-level. This maneuver takes two actions to preform.
This is a swift maneuver in which the user draws his sword and attacks in one fluid motion. The roll is made using Melee only, and the difficulty id 6. If successful, therre is no action used to draw the weapon, and it inflicts normal damage as if used in a normal attack.
This is another swift maneuver, used to draw and parry in the same action. If you use Quick Draw Parry, you can not use Riposte on that parry. The roll is made using Melee only, and the difficulty is 6. If successful, there is no action used to draw the weapon to parry.
This is a block with ones weapon to avoid being struck. It is used the dame way as Dodge. Parry is rolled using Dex+Melee, and the difficulty is 6. Dodge: This maneuver is described in the Rules of any of the other five parts of the Storyteller-system. Dodge is rolled using Dex+Dodge, and the difficulty is 6.
If one does not wish to parry with ones weapon and has a shield, one can use that instead. It is worked out like a Parry. One can not Quick Draw a shield. This roll is made using Str+Melee, and the difficulty is 5.
If one has a shield he or she may use it for an attack in which the user smashes the shield into his or her opponent. This attack is made using Str+Brawl, with a difficulty of 6. The damage is the same as the attackers Str.
Normally attacks with swords are cuts and slashes, this is a stab. It does less damage than a full swing, but is harder to Parry (but not harder to Dodge). This attack is made using Dex+Melee, with a difficulty of 8. The damage is that of the weapon used, and the difficulty of parrying this attack is increased by two.
When one has succeeded in parrying an attack from another, an attack may be launched using the attackers own, parried, attack. It does not the full damage, but take up no action in a turn This manuever is rolled using Dex+Melee, and the difficulty is that of the number of successes the attcker rolled in the attack. It inflicts damage as the weapon used minus one, and takes no action to preform.
This maneuver is used to dislodge the others weapon so that it leaves his or her hand and falls to the ground a few meters away. This maneuver can only be used after a successful parry has been preformed This roll is made using Melee only. The difficulty is the number of successes the attacker rolled in the attack. If successful, the attacker's weapon becomes dislodged.
The opponents weapon is locked in position and cannot be used for attack or defence until the attacker chooses to release the opponents weapon, or if the opponent succeeds with an opposed roll vs. Strength. This roll is made using Str+Melee, adn the difficulty is the opponents Str+Melee.
If one does not wish to get ones sword blooded, one can choose to Kick ones opponent instead. This attack is rolled using Str+Brawl, and has a difficulty of 6. The damage is the attacker's Str+1.
If one does not wish to get ones sword or shoes blooded, one can choose to Punch ones opponent instead. This attack is made using Str+Brawl, and has a difficulty of 6. The damage is that of the attacker's Str.
This is not a maneuver used for attack, just to throw the opponent off balance for a second or two. If the maneuver is successful (throwing sand in opponents face, stomping his foot or something like that) he or she loses one action, the one closest to the Distract-maneuver. This maneuver is made using Man+Alertness, and the difficulty is the opponents Wit+Alertness. If successful, the opponents loses
one action.
This is a very special maneuver, not really a combat move, used to enrage the opponent so that he or she becomes over-aggresive and makes a mistake of some sort. If the maneuver is successful, the opponent must make a Frenzy/Rage check in order not to be affected. This maneuver is rolled using Man+Expression, and the dificulty is the opponents Wit+Self-Control. The effect is that the opponent must roll a Rage/Frenzy-check not to go into a blind berserker-state, an such a state normally ends in Death. This maneuver takes one Action, but if the opponents is already upset about something, the manuever may be preformed using no actions.
Death, and such
"Incapacitated" is not the same as "decapitated". However, an incapacitated Immortal is sort of simple to decapitate. One does not have to use the maneuver "Decapitate" to take the head off the opponent. If 7 successes are rolled on a normal attack the opponent becomes decapitated, and faces Final Death.