The Dawn of Time
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 it's 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 of
other Immortals. The primeval Immortals have a vast experience
-- however, they often have more enemies.
The Quickening
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.
The Nature of the Immortals
and the respect for the mortals
"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.
The Price of Immortality
"It's only forever
Not long at all"
-- David Bowie, "Underground"
Infertility
"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
life, 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 begun 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 sperate 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.
Traditions
"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.
Single Combat
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 Immortal 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 healthlevel/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."