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