Prologue
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"No one has ever known we were among you... Until now..."
- Ramirez
"Sit down, lad, and listen. I know that you have many
questions about what has happened to you, and, probably about me as
well...
"Aye, I know all about what happened - the car crash, and how
you were pronounced dead by the paramedics... Multiple internal
injuries, eh? Yeah, nasty. And the worst thing is lying there,
listening to them try to revive you, and eventually give up...
"And, next day, your wounds are gone, as if they were never
there, and you're walking around as if nothing happened. You did the
smart thing, running away like that... If you'd stayed, they'd never
have left you alone, running tests and such stuff. As it is, you are
officially dead. 'Tis better that way, son, both for you and those
you knew... You see, we're not like them. You were, but you're not
anymore. Yes, I know you don't understand! Just listen, and be still!
This is hard enough to explain without you interrupting every second
minute!
"Before you 'died', you were just like any other man... You
could be wounded, you grew older every year, you needed to go see the
doctor when you were sick. Just like any normal person. Except for one
thing. You had inside you a spark of life bigger and brighter that
anyone else's. All that's changed now - when you 'died', that spark
burst into flame, and it's power and strength cured your wounds, and
brought you back to life. I know it sounds weird, but just trust me,
ok? Who else you gonna listen to?
"The Quickening is the name given to that flame that burns
inside of you. It could be described as your life force. Every living
thing has this force inside of them, and it ties them together, heals
their wounds, keeps them alive. However, it can be extinguished all
too easily. When a man's life force dies, he dies with it. When you
were wounded in the car crash, your life force was pushed down to no
more than a tiny spark. Then it exploded, and grew, until it was
bigger than any mortal man's. A million times more powerful. So
powerful that it can heal wounds that would kill any mortal man. So
powerful, it could bring you back from the very brink of death.
"Aye, I said 'mortal man', son. Why? For the simple reason
that you are not mortal anymore, son. Neither am I. The same thing
happened to me as happened to you - I was killed and reawoke
again.. Here, take this sword, and draw it across my arm. Go on! Do
it! Good and deep! Don't worry about me...
"Now see this wound? What would you normally do if you got a
wound like this? Go to the hospital or some such thing, and get
stitches and a massive bandage. Am I right? Well, watch... Already,
the blood's stopped flowing. In a few minutes, it'll begin to heal,
and before the end of the day, you'd never know I'd been hurt at all.
Why? It's the Quickening! The same thing would happen if I got shot,
or if I was burnt. It works the same way with you as well! Your
Quickening healed the wounds you sustained in the car crash...
"I don't know why it happens. It just does... I'm not an
expert - I'm just like you - I was living a normal life, until I was
killed in battle against a raiding party of Vikings. Aye, Vikings,
son... No, I'm not from Scandinavia, I'm from Ireland. I was born at a
place called Brugh na Boinne, near the Hill of Tara, in the Kingdom of
Midhe, in Ireland. I was taught all this, just as I am teaching you,
by a man called Liam Mac Dara... He was well over three thousand years
old by the time I met him.
"Now? He's dead... Aye, I know I said we're immortal, but
there is one way we can die - If your head is removed from your body,
you'll die. Now, listen carefully, because this is the most important
part. You asked me why I carry a sword. I'll tell you. When one
immortal kills another, by beheading his opponent, the defeated
immortal's Quickening flows into the victor, and he become more
powerful. All the dead immortal's strength, power, knowledge and
experience transfers itself into the one who beheaded him. That's what
happened to Liam Mac Dara. He was killed in France, by a German
immortal, who I killed two hundred years ago.
"Why'd I kill him? Well, partly to avenge Liam's death, but
there is also another reason. There is a legend, passed down from
mouth to mouth over the ages which tells of a time when all living
immortals will feel drawn to a particular place, to fight for the
Prize. We must fight until only two immortals remain. Then, they shall
duel for the Prize.
"I don't know precisely what it is... Some say that the winner
of the Prize would become a God. Some say it would mean the end of the
world. One thing that is certain - the winner of the Prize would have
all of the immortal Quickening that ever existed, and would be
powerful beyond belief. He would have all the strength, knowledge and
experience of every immortal that ever lived. So, down through the
ages, immortals have been fighting each other, looking forward to the
day of the Gathering, when a few of us shall remain, and we'll come
together in one place to fight each other for the Prize. The time of
the Gathering draws near, and you must prepare yourself to fight other
immortals, many of whom will have hundreds of years experience.
"How many of us? I don't know... Perhaps one man in a million
is born an immortal, perhaps even less. We come from every race,
creed, religion, and region. The Quickening doesn't seem to
discriminate between black, white, or, indeed, any other skin-color. I
have fought and killed immortals from Europe, China, and South
America.
"I have also fought other creatures.
"We are not alone in being different from mortal man in this
world of darkness. There are other supernatural creatures, who you
shall meet in the course of your life. I have lived among the Garou a
lot - Werewolves, shapeshifters... Both man and wolf, or a mix of
both.. Ferocious creatures... There are other shapeshifters as well -
the Corax, who could be described as were-ravens, the Bagheera,
werecats, and many others... None are as common as the Garou, though,
and all are mortal, and age and die naturally, although they are much
more robust than mortal men, and can heal faster then normal, though
not as fast as we can. But there are others who can live for as long
as we can; the Kindred, for instance - Vampires, are they, undead
creatures who must drink the blood of mortals to survive. They can
live for many centuries. They do not age, but they can die from normal
wounds, even though, like the Garou, they heal at an advanced
rate. There are Magi, who wield Magick, twisting reality with their
incantations and spells. There are Faeries, ghosts, Spirits and evil,
horrible things from places other than this Earth of ours. You may
encounter them, as you travel, and you must be prepared to combat
them, and cleanse them from the face of the planet. It is truly a
World of Darkness we live in, with many secrets that are hidden from
mortal man. Of all these supernatural creatures, we are the least
common, and, some would say, the most powerful, as all the rest can
either grow old, or die normally. A two-thousand year old Vampire will
still die if you burn it, whereas I have heard of an immortal, who,
accused of being a witch, was burnt at the stake, and survived. Just
remember that, no matter how badly wounded you are, you will always
totally recover, without scars or permanent injury, but remember that
if you are lying unconscious, or unable to move, it can be very easy
for someone to come along and take your head. There is only one part
of our bodies which will not heal totally - our neck will retain
scars, if we are wounded there. This scar of mine was caused by a
lucky swing by another immortal, who tried to take my head by surprise
in England, back in the middle ages. Luckily, I managed to jerk my
head back in time. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here...
"Ah, whisht, lad! So many questions! You'll get your answers
in time... You'll have to learn all you can about this world, and the
creatures you'll encounter. You'll have to learn how to live without
drawing attention to yourself. You'll have to learn how to hide your
immortality from normal people. I'll teach you everything I can, and
then I'll have to leave you. But the most important thing you'll ever
learn is how to fight. All immortals fight using swords, although I
met one who uses an axe. Aye, uses. He's still alive, and is my
friend. He saved me from a group of Hunters once. The Hunters are a
group of mortals who wish to kill us all off. They capture immortals
and behead them, allowing their Quickening to disperse into the ether.
"You'll have to learn how to use a sword, for that is the only
way you can defend yourself, and it's the only way you can defeat
other immortals. You can't cut a man's head off with the barrel of a
gun, you know. I was given this sword by Liam Mac Dara. It is
thousands of years old, crafted by blacksmith magicians over five
thousand years ago. It's a silver Celtic longsword, and is a part of
me. Get that bundle from over there. Bring it here, lad...
"This is an English Broadsword, crafted from steel in the
middle ages. I took it from an immortal I killed in London almost a
hundred years ago. Take it. It's yours. Make it part of yourself, an
extension of your body. And extra limb. When you do that, it will
become part of you to such an extent that your Quickening will embrace
it as part of you and make it stronger. Feel it's weight. Swing it
around a bit, get used to the feel of the blade... That's it...
"Before we start, there is one thing I must tell you. We have
certain traditions - laws, if you want to call them that... No
immortal will ever break them, for they are practical, and have a
sound reason for existing. The Golden Rule is this: We must never
fight on holy ground. If an immortal is beheaded on holy ground, his
Quickening will be drawn into the ground, and will be lost
forever. and holy ground means more than just churches and the
like. The spiritual places of the Garou, and the sites of Mage's
magical sites have the same effect. Don't worry, though. You'll be
able to tell when you are standing on holy ground. Much the same way
as you'll be able to know other immortals. Remember you were dizzy
when you first saw me? I call that the Buzz, and it's something
that'll happen everytime you meet an immortal. You're feeling it right
now, are you not, except that it's been suppressed because of the
amount of time we've spent together. Well, if another immortal came
near us, you'd get another buzz, and you'd know that there was one
nearby.
"Well, enough talk! It's time for you to learn something other
than theory. Come on, let's teach you the art of swordsmanship!
Without it, you won't last long. Before long, you'll have to face
immortals with hundreds, even thousands of years experience. To
survive, you'll have to defeat them in battle. If you don't kill them,
they'll kill you. The Prize awaits one of us, and the Gathering draws
near..."
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Foreword
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"With my sword and my head held high, Got to pass the test
first time..."
- Queen
Foreword to First Edition by Hank Driskill:
Ever since the introduction of the World of Darkness, the idea
of incorporating the immortals from the movie Highlander has seemed not
only interesting and appropriate, but almost necessary. The world
presented in Highlander (there should have been only one) and the
series closely mimics that of the Storyteller system: a world slightly
darker and more menacing than our own, with supernatural beings
wandering among us. In fact, the movie Highlander is listed as an
inspiration in the credits for the Storyteller games, so the
introduction of these characters seems vital.
Foreword to Second Edition by John Gavigan:
This is the revised and expanded edition of Hank's original
Highlander rules, including a combat system designed to support
complex sword duels. It is designed as a supplement to White Wolf's
World of Darkness series of games, and is compatible with any of White
Wolf's World of Darkness Storyteller games.
These rules are copyright of Hank Driskill and John
Gavigan. They are in the public domain and may be copied and
distributed, as long as our names remain here. The use of the
"Highlander" name and quotes from the film Highlander in these
rules is not a challenge to the ownership of the rights to the
Highlander movie, nor of the ownership of the rights to the Highlander
television series by Rysher Entertainment.
The pictures in this supplement are from the film Highlander and
the Highlander TV series, and are reproduced here without the consent
of the owners of either the film or series. The Storyteller series of
Roleplaying games is published by White Wolf Inc. and the use of their
trademarks in these rules is without their permission.
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