Chapter Two: Character Creation

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

It may seem appealing to run an immortal in a Storyteller Chronicle, especially as it is, in ways, an extremely powerful character type. However, in my opinion, it is more difficult to create an immortal character than any of the others created so far. When you are generating a Mage, Garou or Vampire character, there are plenty of traits such as gifts, backgrounds, disciplines, spheres and so on to play with, and the mythos is already set out in the rule-book. In effect, the whole thing is presented to the player in a neat little package, and all they have to do is follow the rules, write down a few figures and they can play their character.

Immortals are different. Each one is unique. There is no pre-designed background for immortal characters. Their very nature prohibits the type of society that holds so much of the role-playing potential for Garou, Mages and Kindred. Like these characters, the immortal is a normal person who discovers that he has a special destiny. However, unlike Garou and Kindred, they can see no reason why they and not someone else, have been chosen to be immortal. In some ways, they are similar to Mages in this respect, but the one major difference between immortals and other characters is time - often, immortals discovered their heritage hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Deciding how this character spent those years, and working out the beliefs, knowledge and outlook that he has brought with him from this time, is a task the player must carry out before he should be allowed to roleplay an immortal in a Chronicle.

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.

There are other disadvantages to playing an immortal - like vampires, they cannot enter the spirit world under their own steam, but must use a portal or be "pulled" in by another supernatural. Their supernatural powers are often less powerful than those of vampires and other supernatural creatures. Also, every immortal must be on his guard at all times, lest another immortal come searching for him, something which few other supernaturals have to do. And, finally, immortals must labour to conceal their true nature from mortals without an organisation such as the Camarilla or the Sabbatt to aid them. Thus, we feels that the advantages associated with playing an immortal are balanced out by the disadvantages.

Immortals are a very unique character class, due to their humanity: despite the centuries behind them, they are still human... along amongst mortals; hidden; but still human in mind and soul unlike most of the other supernatural creatures. This humanity makes them unique and interesting characters to explore and roleplay. As in Vampire, we reccomend that players new to Storytelling or Highlander play a 'new immortal' character - ie. one who only discovered his true nature quite recently, in game terms. However, we do not want to discourage experienced roleplayers from playing older immortals, and have included rules to allow players to generate immortal characters up to one and a half millenia in age. However, in order to prevent munchkinous or 'twink' characters, we reccomend that Storytellers should make it a condition for any immortal character, no matter what age he is, that the player fully flesh out the character by givinghim a full background, and documenting their entire life. This will generally deter players who wish to play an immortal simply because he is immortal, mainly because most munchkins will baulk at having to document a 1,500 year long life.

Concept

To begin the creation process, settle on the concept for the immortal. When and where was he born? What was his life up until his first death like? What was their profession? How did he experience his first death, and what was the reaction to his miraculous revival? Did he have an older immortal to act as his mentor like Ramirez did for Connor, or did he have to learn for themselves what it means to be an immortal? Did he leave his some and family, or stay and watch them grow old and die? If so, how did it affect him? Where has he been in the intervening years? What has he been doing? Has he been involved in any historical events? How much does he know about the other supernatural creatures, like the Kindred and Garou? Does he even know that they exist? Where has he settled and live today, or is he a wandering, travelling from one place to another, never staying in one place for long? What does he do and how does he conceal his true nature from those around him? Pick a strong nature, something that drives him and makes him cling to life, rather than just let go. Immortals do not age, but without a will to survive an immortal will almost certainly will lose his head...

Attributes

Immortals are shown to be in superhuman health, strong and fast, and also intelligent and perceptive. They are almost perfect spedimens of humanity - 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 Mages 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. Players should be allowed to choose Abilities from any of the games, but obviously, there are restrictions. For example, it seems unlikely that an immortal would have the Primal-Urge or Rituals Abilities from Werewolf.

Players should be encouraged to think up their own abilities, thus helping make their character unique. For example, the Knowledge History might be a common one among immortals (and is in fact included on the character sheet) - remember Connor relating the significant events of 1798 to Brenda?

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 Mages, their only characteristic is Willpower, and like Mages, they start with a base Willpower of 5.

Backgrounds

Immortals begin the game with points in Backgrounds, according to the chart below. See the section on Abilities to see the arguments regarding age vs. play balance.


       Age                       Background Points 
0-100                             7
100-250                           9
250-500                          10
500-1000                         11
1000-1500                        12

The following backgrounds are possibilities for immortal characters. See Vampire for explanations of most of these backgrounds (except for Arcane, which comes from Mage).

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

This is a very important part of character creation, and, unfortunately, one that is skipped over far too often. This is a role-playing game, and the Storyteller system is designed so that players can immerse themselves in their character. However, you cannot do this if you don't know your character.

Appearance

"Who cut your hair?" "I am in disguise... this way, noone will recognize me."
- Connor MacLeod and Kurgan

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

"Hi, Brenda. I did what you asked. I spent all night going through the old deeds to Nash's house on Hudson Street, right back to the original owner, Montague, in 1798..."
- Rick

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).

Outlook

"Love is for poets."
- Connor MacLeod

What kind of personality does your immortal have? Is he dark, moody and unfriendly, or bright and extrovert? What drives them, keeps them going? Is the ambition to win the Prize the thing which consumes their lives, or do they revel in life generally? The things that have happened to an immortal down through the years can often affect his outlook on life - love and war are probably the most common ones, but other things can greatly influence the way a person views life.

Quirks

"I have something to say... It's better to burn out, than to fade away!"
- Kurgan

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. Perhaps your character has a phobia or a hatred of some particular thing. Perhaps your character is afraid of heights, and has a hatred of Vampires... Pick interesting quirks, and write them down; they will add greatly to the role-playing experience. See also the Merits and Flaws section below.

One of the most important things to remember when writing up your character's background is that, unlike the Garou and the Kindred, (and the Mages, to a certain extent), immortals are human. They may live for extraordinary lengths of time, but they are still very human, with the very same feelings and thoughts as us.

Personality Archetypes

Vampire introduced Personality Archetypes to help define characters' personalities. A character has two archetypes - his Nature and his Demeanor, and the key to using Archetypes effectively is understanding the difference between the two.

A character's Nature is her true personality - that which she is, but will not necessarily reveal to other characters in the Story. People do not bare their soul to everyone they meet, and thus they develop false fronts.

A character's Demeanor is this false front. While a character's Nature would only change in exceptional circumstances, her Demeanor can be as consistent as their Nature, or it may change frequently. Also, if the player so chooses, a character's Nature and Demeanor may be the same.

Personality archetypes are also a method of (re)gaining Willpower, as the Storyteller will award Willpower when a character lives up to their Nature/Demeanor.

Merits and Flaws

Vampire also introduced the Merits and Flaws system, which is a method of really making your character seem alive and individual. Merits and Flaws are purchased just before you spend your freebie points. They cost or give between one and five freebie points - ie. purchasing a five point merit would mean you had five less freebie points to spend, while taking a five point flaw would mean that you had an extra five freebie points to spend. Merits and Flaws are also tied to Willpower, but less so than the Natures and Demeanors.

The full rules for Personality Archetypes, and Merits and Flaws can be found in the Vampire, Werewolf and Mage Players Guides but here are some Merits and Flaws from Elysium, White Wolf's elder vampire sourcebook, which adapt well to ancient immortals.

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There Can Be Only One! . . . . . . 1