THE QUICKENED

By Douglas Yee (eaterofsouls@hotmail.com)

Author's note

Okay, yeah, this must be about the quadribillionth version of rules for the Highlander-style immortals in the WoD, but I'm doing it again because I don't really like any of the other rules very much. Don't get me wrong; many of the Immortal and Highlander games created so far have a great deal of merit and are quite good, but I don't believe they maintain the spirit of the Highlander movies. In most of these games, the Immortals have all sorts of preternatural abilities. This is fine and all, because it helps to integrate them into the World of Darkness and puts them on an equal playing field with other supernaturals. However, in the Highlander movies and the few Highlander television shows which I have seen, the Immortals displayed few, if any, sort of obvious supernatural powers, with the notable exception of Nakano and Kane in The Final Gathering. So I have endeavored to create a new set of rules that stays more true to these sources, and most especially to the first film (which, in my opinion, should have been the only one - pun intended). Okay, that aside, on to the meat of the matter.

The World of Darkness

The Immortals or as they are sometimes known, The Quickened, of the World of Darkness are, for the most part, mortals who have a special gift. Imbued in them is the spiritual force known as The Quickening. The nature of the Quickening is an enigma. Vampires who drink the blood of an Immortal experience a rush almost as powerful as when they share blood with another Kindred. Garou are intuitively aware of some innate connection that they have with the Umbra. The very few mages who have studied or met Immortals note that the very flesh and blood of the Immortals sings with Quintessence. Wraiths can see their presence pulsing through the Shroud. Changelings know that these are powerful Dreamers indeed. The most important thing to remember about Immortals is that they are alone. More than any other supernatural being, they are outcasts, without even their own subculture or society to call their own. Immortals do not often associate with each other, except to find and occasionally act as mentors for the newly Quickened. They are forced to live outside mortal society or else be cursed to watch their friends and lovers slowly grow old and die.

The Quickening

The Quickening vitalizes the Immortal and gives her the gift and curse of eternal life on earth. It enhances her physically and mentally. It gives her the ability to recover from nearly any wound in a fraction of the time it would take a mortal to. The only exception is decapitation; some few Immortals or other supernaturals theorize that there is a powerful mystical and symbolic importance to the heart and brain involved. The only way to slay an Immortal, short of complete bodily destruction, is by decapitation.

Strangely enough, though, there is only one thing that is not enhanced by the power of the Quickening: reproduction. All Immortals are, without fail, sterile and barren. One hypothesis is that the Quickening fills the Immortal with life until she is overflowing, and their virility and fertility flow up, over and out. There are others as well.

No one knows where the Quickening comes from. One day, the mortal is normal, just going about their daily business, and the next, they are Quickened. Often this occurs during a near-death experience, but not always. Once they are Quickened, they are drawn invariably into the eternal Game that the Immortals play.

The Game

Though they are granted the boon of eternal life, the Quickened, like the Kindred, cannot truly enjoy it. The existence of the Immortals is not a peaceful one; they are at war. Like the vampiric Jyhad, they maneuver and battle amongst one another to be the last of their kind. They call this war The Game. When an Immortal is killed by another Immortal, his Quickening rushes out of them in a flash of light, electricity and sound. It immediately flows into the nearest strong source of Quickening, most often, his killer. The killer absorbs the Quickening of the slain -- and more. This is the heart of The Game: the Immortals fight each other for the power of the Quickening. The very souls of the slain Immortals are bound into the Quickening and they come along, too. The life experience and memories are integrated into the minds of the slayers. Even the pain of their deaths comes with it. Not only this, but the souls of all that the slain have taken go into the killers as well, with all of their memories and pain. For the Immortal with a sense of compassion and humanity this is an extremely painful thing, carrying along all those deaths inside of him. It causes many to go mad. Other become addicted to the pain and death and turn twisted and evil.

If there is no other Immortal nearby when an Immortal dies, then the Quickening quietly slips into the Umbra and disperses.

Like any Game, the Game of the Quickened has rules. These rules are not formal, but in their current form, have been circulated among the surviving Quickened since the time of Christ. Tradition, sometimes, is more powerful than law. The first is that battle shall be one on one. The second is that there shall be no fighting upon holy ground. The last is that in the end, there can be only one.

The first rule is almost always followed out of practicality. Immortals generally follow the Rule of Shadow (see below), so outside help is rare. Two or more Immortals will not often gang up to take down one Immortal, because the power of the Quickening can only go to one of them. Inevitably, arguments will erupt over who gets to be Quickened when and betrayal is always the end result of alliances such as these. It should also be noted that most Immortals take this last rule to mean hand-to-hand combat. Swords are the favored weapons, although anything that can decapitate will do.

The second rule is one that is followed out of courtesy. During the height of the Roman Empire, under the reign of Augustus Caesar, there was a concentration of Immortals in Rome such as there was never seen, and has never been since. All roads led to Rome, after all. But in the alleyways, the blood of the Quickened flowed, and lightning erupted in the night. They became seriously threatened when they were discovered by the Lasombra and Malkavian vampires, who coveted their blood, and the Roman mages who wished to harvest their Quickening for Quintessence. A meeting of Immortals occurred, and they agreed not to war in the temples and leave those as safe havens. This rule has lasted ever since.

The third rule is not a rule so much as a reminder and a warning. Until the end, there will always be the threat of other Immortals hunting you for your Quickening and even old friends may be driven mad by the weight of centuries. The Quickened will never know peace until the rest of their brethren are gone. It is said that near the end of The Game, the remaining Immortals will feel pulled to a place and there they will battle, and the one who wins will receive The Prize.

What's the Prize? Who knows? Certainly not the Immortals; for them it is only an abstract sort of concept. Certainly, the Last Quickened will have the memories and thoughts of all those who came before, making her truly a power to be reckoned with, at least.

One Dreamspeaker Master, Calls-To-Light, has met many Immortals over his long years and he says that the Avatars of the Quickened are fragments of a greater spirit. This spirit, he continues, must have been shattered, through desire or force, and the fragments float through the Umbra until they find a soul to settle into. Slowly, through the long Game, these fragments are pulling themselves together into a whole once more. When asked about the nature of this spirit, Calls-To-Light merely shrugs as says that it is powerful and that he knows nothing more. Perhaps, this then, is the prize. Other theories run rampant.

The Rule of Shadow

Mortals will always seek to destroy that which they cannot understand or that which they envy. Vampires turn all that they touch to death and ash, like a dark Midas. The rage and strength of the Garou knows no bounds. The power of the Mages is like unto that of the gods. The dead would be especially envious of the ever-living. And the fae would bring them into a wondrous world, but one that ultimately, the Immortals do not belong in. For all of these reasons, the Immortals follow what is referred to as The Rule of Shadow. Immortals will rarely, if ever, reveal their true natures. They do not talk about their "condition." After living in one place for a decade or two, they depart and change their identities so the natives don't get suspicious about a man who does not age. The Quickened step from out of the light of the normal world and hide in the deep shadows of the World of Darkness.

Character Creation

In Storyteller system terms, the Quickened are basically mortals. The statistics for a newly Quickened Immortal are as follows:

Attributes: 7/5/3

Abilities: 13/9/5

Backgrounds: 5

Willpower: 3

Memory: 10

Quickening: 1

Freebies: 15

If the Storyteller wishes his players to make older Immortals, they may take the background Age from Elysium, a supplement to Vampire: the Masquerade, in a slightly modified version, shown below.

Applicable Backgrounds: Age (new), Allies, Arcane, Artifact (new), Contacts, Fame/Legend (new), Influence, Notoriety (new), Resources

New Traits

This is the essential energy that give the Immortal their power. Beginning characters start with a Quickening rating of one which may not be raised with freebies. Quickening comes in two varieties: permanent and temporary. Just like Willpower. Temporary Quickening may be used to instantly heal a wound level, even in the midst of combat. Any number of Quickening points may be used this way per turn. They cannot be used to prevent damage that causes decapitation. Quickening may also be used, like Willpower, to add automatic successes to a roll. Also like Willpower, one Quickening per turn may be spent to add one automatic success this way, but it may be spent in addition to any Willpower spent on the same roll. Quickening can also be used to power any Numina that require the expenditure of Willpower. Finally, Quickening may be used to temporarily raise physical attributes. For each point of Quickening spent in this fashion, a single dot is added to any physical trait for the duration of the scene. Only one point per turn can be spent this way. It is recovered at a rate of one temporary Quickening per day (at sunrise). Important Note: There is no maximum for Permanent Quickening! It may go much, much higher than 10, as described below in the section "The Kill."

This trait represents the overall mental stability of the Immortal. It starts at its highest possible rating, 10. It is similar to the Humanity of vampires. As it diminishes, so does the mental health of the Immortal. See the section on The Kill, below, for the first way to lose Memory. The second way to lose Memory is through the passage of time. For every century that passes, the Immortal must roll their Willpower, difficulty 6. Failure results in the loss of a Memory point. Botching results in the loss of a permanent Willpower and a Memory point. If the Memory rating of an Immortal drops to zero, then she eventually disappears from the world, never to be seen again. No one is sure what happens to them. The relative levels of sanity are rated here:

Rank	Description	Derangements
**********	Completely stable	0
*********	Mostly stable	0
********	An especially creative artist	0
*******	Slightly neurotic	0
******	Sort of eccentric	0
*****	Pretty eccentric	1
****	Downright mad/Extremely eccentric	2
***	Mildly delusional/schizophrenic	3
**	Clinically insane: schizophrenic and/or delusional, mildly psychotic	4
*	Totally psychotic	5
0	Look at the purple elephants	All

This new background costs no points to purchase; instead I have already counted the cost in the extra freebies which are gained. The Memory loss which occurs may not be repurchased with freebie points; they are gone for good and may only be regained through role-playing and the good graces of the Storyteller. The Storyteller has the right to restrict this background in his chronicles, limiting either the maximum amount this background may be purchased, or banning it altogether.

Rank	Age (years)	Memory loss	Additional Quickening	Extra Freebies
*	50-100	-1	+1	+15
**	100-250	-2	+2	+30
***	250-400	-3	+3	+45
****	400-600	-4	+4	+55
*****	600-1000	-5	+5	+60

Artifact (new background)

The Immortal in question owns a supernatural artifact of some sort. It may be a form of magickal talisman, fetish, or something else entirely. Regardless of its origins, it is very valuable and often powerful.

*	Very Minor Artifact: gives a very small bonus to traits.
**	Minor Artifact: gives a small trait bonus.
***	Major Artifact: seriously affects one trait or performs some miscellaneous effect
****	Powerful Artifact: serious affects a number of traits or performs a number of miscellaneous effects.
*****	Legendary Artifact: Excalibur, The Holy Grail, Poseidon's Trident, stuff like that.

Fame/Legend (new background)

This background may be applied in one of two ways, from which the player must choose one. Fame is being well known as a personality in the modern world. It is just like the Fame background in the Storyteller books. The Legend background represents the actions of the character in times past. She has had some serious effect on human history and is well remember for her actions.

*	Obscure, recent or not well-known: William Burroughs.
**	Fairly recent and strong influence: Malcolm X.
***	Students study about you in high school: Benjamin Franklin.
****	National hero: George Washington
*****	A myth or god known across the world: Hercules

Notoriety (new background)

You are well known and feared among other Immortals for your deeds. You are not necessarily a bad person or have made a large number of kills, yet the perception of you is one of a powerful Quickened.

*	You are one to be watched.
**	You are considered to be an accomplished headhunter.
***	You are a truly formidable adversary.
****	Your name strike fear into the hearts of other Immortals.
*****	You are a legend among the Immortals, feared and reviled.

Special Powers of the Quickened

• Immunity to Age: The Quickened cease to age from the moment of their first Quickening. They will not visibly grow older as the Quickening constantly regenerates the body.
• Immunity to Death: The only way in which a Quickened will die is decapitation or total body destruction (e.g. being thrown into the sun). However, they still feel pain and even when put through the worst of tortures, they remain alive and mostly conscious (see regeneration). Some fates can be worse than death. Please note that Immortals still need to eat, drink and breathe if they want to stay mostly healthy. Failure to eat and drink enough leads to all the normal symptoms of starvation and dehydration, but will not die from this. Not breathing causes damage, so see Regeneration below and the Drowning rules in any of the main Storyteller books.
• Regeneration: The Quickened regenerate one Health Level per turn so long as they are not engaged in strenuous physical activity such as combat or running. Just like a mortal, there is no such thing as an aggravated wound to a Quickened: wounds are wounds. Immortals who take wounds past Incapacitated are knocked unconscious for a scene. They continue to heal while unconscious. If they spend one Quickening point, they may revive themselves immediately.
• Quickening: This is the essential energy that gives the Immortal their power. Beginning characters start with a Quickening rating of one, which may not be raised with freebies. There is no upper limit for the permanent Quickening rating. For details on the use of Quickening, see above.
• No Trait Limits: Over the course of time, Immortals may raise their traits past the normal human limit of 5. The maximum rating in any trait for an Immortal is 10.
• Sense Quickening: The Quickened can sense the presence of their brethren within a few hundred meters. This power is automatic: it requires no roll. The Immortals cannot sense the exact location of the other, only their presence. However, when an Immortal sees another Immortal, she knows his true nature immediately. And when an Immortal is slain by another Immortal and undergoes the Quickening, any Immortal within a kilometer or so will be immediately alerted to the exact location of the battle.
• Numina and Hedge Magic: A few very rare Immortals have mortal Numina or learn Hedge Magic. These abilities may be purchased with freebies or experience and are handled as they would be for a normal mortal. See the Year of the Hunter and Year of the Ally series, as well as WoD: Sorcerer for details. Storytellers may restrict the availability of Numina and Hedge Magic for their Immortal Chronicles.

The Kill

A number of things happen in game terms when one Immortal kills another. First of all, the killer gains any abilities that the loser had, at the rating the loser had them at. If the killer already has an ability that the loser had, the killer keeps the higher rating of the two. This includes Hedge Magic Paths, but not Numina. So if Connor MacLeod and Kane fought, and Connor won, Connor would absorb Kane's hedge magic abilities in illusion, as well as Kane's abilities of Melee 6, Mage Lore 3 and Torture 2. Before he killed Kane, Connor had a Mage Lore of 1 and a Torture of 0, so gains these abilities at the level at which Kane had them. However, Connor's Melee skill was 7, so he keeps his own, superior rating.

Secondly, the killer adds the loser's permanent Quickening rating to her own and keeps the sum. Then, the killer must roll his Willpower with a difficulty equal to his opponent's permanent Quickening. Failure results in the loss of 1 point of Memory. If the difficulty is higher than ten, it is considered to be ten. Returning to the above example, Connor had a permanent Quickening of 6. Kane had a permanent Quickening of 12, having slain many opponents. Connor's new permanent Quickening is 18. Now he must make a Willpower roll with a difficulty equal to Kane's Quickening, a 12. The difficulty is higher than 10, so it is considered 10. Connor rolls his Willpower of 9 and fails, so he loses a point of Memory.

Third and last of all, the experience of the Quickening replenishes the killer's temporary Quickening and Willpower pools and heals all wounds.

Interaction With the Rest of the WoD

Immortals are not a well-known group among the other denizens of the World of Darkness. The Rule of Shadow is very important to them, and plus, they are relatively rare. However, complete non-contact is impossible, and so some few know about the existence of the Quickened.

Vampires: Caught up in their eternal Jyhad, the Kindred know next to nothing of the Quickened, but some few Elders know of their existence. The blood of an Immortal is charged with power, so it is strongly coveted by those who know its power. For this reason, Immortals tend to steer clear of the Kindred, despite their relatively similar states of being. In game terms, each blood point of an Immortal counts as 2 blood points. Furthermore, a vampire drinking Immortal blood gains one level of Potence, Celerity and Fortitude for every 5 points of permanent Quickening that said Immortal has. This lasts so long as there is Immortal blood in the vampire's system. Immortals cannot be Embraced. Period. In order for mortals to be Embraced, they must die first. To kill an immortal, decapitation is necessary. Unfortunately, headlessness is also a state which prevents undeath.

Garou and Changelings: Except for the odd personal contact or family member, these two groups have little to do with the Quickened.

Wraiths: The vitality inherent in Immortals shines through the Shroud like a miniature sun. Using Lifesight, Wraiths can immediately recognize an Immortal as unusual though they may not understand exactly what they are. On another note, Immortals never become wraiths; their souls are absorbed and assimilated into the souls of their murderers.

Mages: For the most part, Mages, in their hubris, dismiss Immortals as hedge magicians or other sorts of unusual mortals. A few mages know of the Immortals and covert their vaunted state, but most have little success in attempting to duplicate or steal the power of the Quickening.

Mummies: Mummies make ideal counterparts and companions for the Quickened. Unlike other Immortals, one does not have to worry about being immediately attacked when around them. They, too are beyond the ravages of time and have some understanding how to deal with the passing centuries. Unfortunately, they often leave for the Underworld for long periods of time after their deaths in the physical world.

Demons: Any Demon in Hell would love to get their hands on the soul of an Immortal. Those souls, besides having great power in their own right, are like soul banks, containing the souls of many other deceased Immortals. It would be like a buy-one-get-thirty-free sale. However, the bizarre nature of Quickening prevents the soul-stealing and psychic lobotomies that Demons need to perform in order to harvest souls. Immortals may never sell their souls, but they may still become infernalists by performing favors for demons and making deals to get the souls of others for their demon masters.