textfiles/rpg/hghlndr1.txt

Chapter 1 - The Gathering

In the end, there can be only one.
-Ramirez

Immortals seem to appear at random from the human population.  One in
a million perhaps, maybe less.  They are born of humans, raised as
human, and (to most) appear quite human.  They age, living a normal
life, until they first are killed.  Then, they miraculously recover,
and begin their lives as immortals.

Immortals cannot have children.  They do not age, and do not get sick.
They cannot drown, or die from any conventional injury: they will
always recover, no matter how severe the damage (in the series, it was
mentioned that one immortal was burned at the stake, and recovered from it).
The only way for them to die is to have their head removed from their body.

Immortals have a legend passed among them, that they will eventually
feel a call to battle, and will be forced to fight one another until
only one remains.  This one will get "The Prize", some power that none
of them know or understand.  Down through the ages, awaiting "The
Gathering", immortals fight, kill one another, and absorb each other's
Quickening. 

The term Quickening refers to the lifeforce of an immortal.  It is the
sum of all his knowledge and power, and is what makes him different
from the mortals around him.  Quickening is what the immortals fight
for: when they fight, they fight to literally absorb their opponent's
lifeforce into themselves. 

Before we can discuss the creation of immortals as characters, we must
decide what Quickening means, and how to represent it in the
Storyteller system. 

Quickening in the World of Darkness

The sensation you're feeling, is the Quickening.
-Ramirez

Quickening is the power of an immortal.  In the Storyteller system,
this "inner power" is quite similar to the Pattern of any living
thing; in immortals, this Pattern is more tightly woven than with
other living beings.  The Quickening is therefore also similar to
Quintessence, the magical "raw power" that fuels Patterns and also is
used by Magi to do their magic.  Only when they die is their
Quickening released (except in special circumstances, see Rules
below).  Magi cannot pull Quickening from an immortal, nor can they
alter an immortal's Pattern in any way.

Magi hold Quintessence within their bodies, because of their Avatar.
To the supernaturally-trained eye, immortals will often be confused
with Magi: they have an excess of raw energy within them.  The Garou
likewise store mystical energy within them, according to their Gnosis.
Immortals are therefore occasionally mistaken for Garou as well.
Unlike Garou or Magi, however, immortals do not "spend" their
Quickening, it is a permanent part of them.

In the Storyteller system, we keep track of the "power" of an immortal
with an attribute called (surprisingly enough) Quickening.  Much like
vampiric disciplines, garou gifts, or a mage's spheres, Quickening
allows immortals to perform superhuman feats.  The higher the
immortal's Quickening, the more abilities he has and the more powerful
he becomes.  Quickening is a "catch-all" attribute, and has many
powers associated with it, not all of which are related (except that
they all are demonstrated in the movie or series).

Gaining Quickening

If your head comes away from your neck, it's over. 
-Ramirez

Unlike vampires, garou, or mages, there is only one way for an
immortal to gain Quickening: through fighting and killing another
immortal.  This makes it more difficult for them to increase in power,
as time alone does not make them more powerful.  As you will see in
Chapters Two and Three, they receive compensation for this limitation.

When two immortals fight, their Quickening is mingled into an
electrical lightshow around them, in direct proportion to the power of
the two.  When one wins the battle (by removing the other's head), he
absorbs the Quickening of the loser, gaining the loser's power and
knowledge.  The rules for this are covered in Chapter Three.

When an immortal emerges victorious, slaying another, he absorbs only
a fraction of the energy flowing around them.  The excess energy from
the battle discharges into the environment, causing glass to shatter,
electrical devices to explode, and in general making a mess.

The Rules

Holy ground, Highlander!  Remember what Ramirez taught you!
-Kurgan

The immortals have rules of engagement: these rules are traditions,
with a basis in common sense, and all immortals follow them.  These
rules are each based around Quickening, and the gaining and losing
thereof. 

The first of the two main rules is that the immortals always fight one
on one.  Why is this?  A pair of immortals, with their centuries of
experience, could work quite effectively together to whittle down the
"surplus population", as it were.  Why do they not team up?  In the
first episode of the series, Connor and Duncan (who are friends and
even Clansmen) refused to team up to battle the decidedly evil Slan
Quince...

The answer to this riddle comes from the way immortals fight.  When
they battle, the Quickening begins to flow between them, mingling and
flowing around them.  When one of them defeats the other, the
Quickening flows into the nearest receptacle: because of the mixing,
and the natural tendency of an immortal's Quickening to return to him,
his Quickening and that of his opponent flow into him.

If two immortals battle an enemy, only one of them (most likely the
one who actually removed the head) will receive the Quickening from
the battle.  Not only will they receive their own Quickening, and that
of the loser, but also a fraction of their ally's.  This stealing of
an ally's knowledge and power is not a pleasant thing for the ally, to
say the least, and is therefore something that no immortal desires.
Hence, the rule "always fight one on one" has developed.

The other main rule of the immortals is in regard to holy ground.
Immortals will not battle on holy ground, and in fact retreat to holy
ground whenever they are faced with an impossible enemy.  This rule is
similarly based on the flow of Quickening.

What is "holy ground"?  In Mage, there are places called Nodes, where
magickal power converges.  In Werewolf, these same locations are
called Caerns, and are viewed as holy ground.  It's a simple stretch
to assume that many churches and "holy sites" are likewise built on
these locations of power: for this discussion, these places of power
will be called "holy ground".

When two immortals battle on holy ground, the site itself is always
assumed to be the victor.  When the victor takes the loser's head, the
loser's Quickening flows into the site, as does a portion of the
victor's as well.  This loss of power and knowledge is sufficient to
dissuade even the most vicious of enemies from attacking on holy
ground.

These are the only two real rules.  Evil immortals will stop at
nothing else to gain Quickening: friends and loved ones are often
pulled in as pawns in the battles, as are helpless innocents who have
nothing to do with the Gathering... no one is truly safe.

The Prize

I know!  I know everything!  I am everything!
-Connor

The immortals battle for "The Prize": either for themselves, or to
keep it from falling into evil hands.  Mankind would suffer an
"eternity of darkness", as the movie said, if the Prize came to an
evil immortal.

What is the Prize?  It's not really necessary to define it in game
terms, since the immortal who gains it will become in essence a god.
The movie left it deliberately vague, and in keeping with that
tradition no specific rules will be given for it.  Suffice it to say
that an evil immortal gaining it would pose a danger to kine and kin,
garou and mage alike.