Chapter 2 - Character Creation

I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings...
-Queen

The World of Darkness is populated with all manner of fantastic
beings: vampires, werewolves, demons, ghosts, and magicians struggle
and battle... and yet, it's also the world outside our windows.  The
world represented in Highlander is quite similar to the World of
Darkness, from the dark misty streets to the secret powers hidden from
human view.  This chapter discusses the creation of immortals, a la
Highlander, using the Storyteller system.

Immortals

We are the same, MacLeod!  We are brothers!
-Ramirez

To run an immortal, a player must do a certain amount of soul
searching... unlike the other players running Magi, Kindred, or Garou,
immortals require more effort to make "real".  Each of the others are
normal people who discover they have a special destiny: in this,
immortals are the same.  The fundamental difference comes from time...
often, immortals discovered their heritage hundreds or even thousands
of years ago. Deciding why this person has survived, what beliefs
they've brought with them, what makes them go on, brings a new
dimension to the Storytelling experience.

One might argue that this has already been explored with Vampire and
Mummy.  In Vampire, however, one is encouraged to begin with a young
vampire, so as not to unbalance the game: elder vampires, while a
curiosity, do not often "adventure" with their younger brethren, but
instead are embroiled in the politics of the Camarilla.  They also
tend to be much more powerful, and less human than their younger Kin.
Likewise, although Mummies are in many ways human, their thoughts and
desires are nothing like the mortals around them.

What makes running an immortal interesting is their humanity: despite
the centuries behind them, they are still human... alone among the
mortals, hidden, but still human in mind and soul.  This humanity
makes them unique and interesting characters to explore.

Concept

To begin the creation process, settle on the concept for the immortal.
Why have they survived?  When were they born, where have they been and
what have they seen throughout the centuries?  Pick a strong nature,
something that drives them and makes them cling to life, rather than
just let go.  They do not age, but without a will to survive they most
certainly will lose their head...

Attributes

Immortals are shown to be in superhuman health, strong and fast, and
also intelligent and perceptive.  They are almost always fit,
attractive, and charismatic... so, in the World of Darkness, they are
far superior to the mortals in all their attributes.  Give them 7
Primary, 6 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary attribute points, instead of the
"normal" 7/5/3 split that Garou, Kindred and Magi all receive.

Abilities

Immortals start with 13 Primary, 9 Secondary, and 5 Tertiary abilities
provided they are "young" (less than 100 years).  Older immortals will
have more abilities; fighting this to achieve "play balance" is a
wasted effort in the Storyteller system.  The storyteller is the
ultimate judge; if he doesn't want 2000 year old immortals
overpowering his game, then he shouldn't allow 2000 year old immortals
at all: allowing them but restricting them to 13/9/5 is ludicrous.  Also,
as they age, their maximum ability score (5 for mortals) will increase,
allowing scores of 6+ for various abilities.
Use the chart below for a reasonable split of abilities based on age.

Age		Primary		Secondary	Tertiary	Max
0-100		13		9		5		5
100-250		18		13		8		5
250-500		23		17		11		6
500-1000	28		21		14		7
1000-1500	33		25		17		8
and so on...

Advantages

You cannot die, MacLeod... accept it!
-Ramirez

The Quickening characteristic is the most important to an immortal...
it defines their power, and is very useful in battles with other
immortals.  Beginning immortals begin with 1 Quickening; this may be
increased by spending Freebie points, as discussed below.

Immortals have no "virtues" in the Vampire/Werewolf sense.  Like Magi,
their only characteristic is Willpower, and like Magi, they start with
a base Willpower of 5.

Immortals begin the game with seven points in Backgrounds.  Acceptable
backgrounds include Allies, Contacts, Fame, Influence, Mentor and
Resources (all outlined in Vampire), and Arcane (as outlined in Mage).
Immortals tend to have a tendency to scatter headless bodies around
them, yet they don't seem to draw attention to this fact: hence the
Arcane. 

Finishing Touches
	
Immortals get 18 freebie points to spend.  Again, this gives them more
points in attributes and abilities than their fellow players, but this
is balanced by their inability to raise Quickening except through
killing other immortals.  Also, their very nature makes them hunted by
the Technocracy, fellow Immortals, and of course the Watchers/Hunters
(these are outlined in Chapter Five).

Point Costs
Quickening		7 points per dot
Attributes		5 points per dot
Abilities		2 points per dot
Willpower		1 point per dot
Backgrounds		1 point per dot

Spark of Life

'Ya talk funny, Nash... where ya from?'  'Lots of different places...'
-Garfield & Nash

Most important to giving an immortal a "spark of life" is his origin.
Detailing out how and where he has spent the centuries before the
Gathering is essential to understanding him, and also makes the rest
of the detailing process more productive.

Appearance

What does your immortal look like?  How does he dress?  Is he a
classic member of the "trenchcoat brigade", or has he settled on
another method of carrying his weapon (like the Kurgan and his
briefcase)?  These sort of decisions help determine a look, and
also are useful for game play later.

Contacts

How long has your character been in his current home?  What friends
has he made?  Unlike Vampires, Garou, or Magi, immortals live amongst
the humans and (for the most part) treat them as equals.  Hence, they
make connections with the human race, which will come up during game
play (either for help or for hostages, depending on Storyteller mood).

Equipment

The most important piece of equipment for any immortal is his weapon.  It
is a part of them, and is very important to them.  Get ahold of a
weapons catalog (Noble Collection is a swordmaking company that has a
wide variety of swords and axes, for example), and pick a weapon.  The
immortal's weapon of choice helps define who they are: the Kurgan's
two handed sword and Connor's white-handled Katana both helped define
what kind of person they were.

Quirks

Immortals are often unusual individuals.  Note from the series:
Gregor's tendency to put mortals into danger to get a secondary rush
from it, or Amanda's tendency to doublecross her partners.  These
things help define the character, and yet aren't shown in the
characteristics above.  Pick interesting quirks, and write them
down; they will add greatly to the role-playing experience.
