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Now that the functionality of the Quickening iscovered, it’s time to move onto how an Immortalgains and loses Quickening. The concept behindthis is simple: if an Immortal is beheaded, she loseseverything that she is and ever was. Her lifeenergy quite literally flows out of her body. If thereis another Immortal nearby, this life energy—theQuickening—will burst forth in a violent stream oflightning, fire, and explosions, engulfing thesurviving Immortal and pouring into them, makingthem stronger and more powerful.If there is no Immortal nearby, the Quickeningsimply flows silently back into the Ether, withbarely a crackle of energy to mark it. Such anevent is tragic, and many believe that theknowledge and power of Immortals killed in sucha fashion is forever lost. There is, however, the asyet unexplained fact that new Immortals continueto appear even now, in the time of the Gathering,and in perhaps even greater numbers than everbefore. One possible theory that takes this intoaccount is the idea that a new potential Immortal,or even multiple ones, are born whenever anotherImmortal’s Quickening is lost to the Ether. Such amonumentous event would depend upon the rawpower available from the killed Immortal, whichwould be divided evenly among new Immortalscreated. The theory makes more than a little sense,given that more new Immortals seem to beappearing than ever before, and the populationexplosion has occurred close to the time when theHunters first appeared on the scene.DecapitationRegardless, it’s what happens when twoImmortals battle to the death that concerns us here.So now we turn to the mechanics of combatbetween two Immortals. As has been stated, to diepermanently, an Immortal must be beheaded,generally with a sword or melee weapon of somesort. This is not an easy task, for an Immortal’sthroat is naturally (or perhaps supernaturally)tougher than the rest of her body. In game terms, aDecapitation maneuver performed on an Immortalworks the same as a Through the Heart maneuverdoes on a Vampire. Multiply base damage fromthe attack by five, and if this damage is enough tokill the Immortal, her head comes off and the lightshow ensues. If it’s not enough to kill her, shemerely suffers base damage (not multiplied forslash/stab). Immortals also suffer half damagefrom all slash/stab attacks. It’s not easy to just goaround cutting off the heads of Immortals. Hence,the flashy swordplay. This half-damage should beapplied before any modifiers for attacking specificbody parts are figured in.For example: Ramirez slashes at the Kurgan’sthroat, a hit with 5 success levels that wouldnormally deal 16 points of base damage, plussuccess levels (so 21 total). Normally, hitting thethroat (decapitation) would figure to 105 points ofdamage; however, the Kurgan is an immortal. Thebase damage is halved, to 10 points, and Ramirezinflicts 50 points to the Kurgan’s throat. Notenough; the Kurgan suffers only 10 points ofdamage to his neck for the failed decapitationeffort.Given the above, It’s usually a good idea towear your opponent down a good bit before youtake their head off. There’s also the matter of honorinvolved. Immortals don’t just fight to kill; they fightto win. A clear victory is always important, andoften an Immortal will not perform the decapitationuntil her opponent yields the battle. Of course,there are always exceptions…Combat maneuvers for a swordfight betweenImmortals are unaltered from those described inthe core rulebook, with the exception of15
Decapitation, as described above. However, fordramatic effect, the Director should encourage theplayer to be as descriptive and detailed aspossible when stating which maneuver she’susing. Don’t be afraid to award a Drama Point for awell-fought battle, if and only if the player wasextra descriptive. Also, since the battle betweenImmortals is the event around which everyImmortal’s life revolves, Directors are encouragedto use full (not Quick) character sheets forImmortal nemeses, and play out the combat withall die rolls involved. It may drag out the battle, butit will be more dramatic and satisfying in the end.Yielding the BattleDuncan: You can walk away, if it ends here.Clay: It’s what we do.Duncan and Clay, 5:2, End of InnocenceWhen engaged in a swordfight with another,it is highly unusual that an Immortal will actuallylose consciousness. Rather, when reduced to zeroLife Points or below, the Immortal falls to theirknees and is unable to act any further. At this pointshe is at the mercy of her better, who may utterthose famous words, “There can be only one,” andperform the coup de grace, or who may offer mercy(though the latter is unusual at absolute best).Note that this rule is in place only for dramaticpurposes, and applies only to single combat withswords. It allows the defeated to make a finalspeech before the end, or to beg for their life, andis similar to the final moment rule in the CoreRulebook.There Can Be Only OneKronos: You still don’t understand, do you? Iam the end of time!Duncan: You’re history.Kronos and Duncan, 5:12, Revelation 6:8This is the part you’ve been waiting for. Thebattle is over, your opponent is on his knees. Heslowly raises his head to look you in the eyes, andsays, “Do it.” Your sword flashes in the sun, swingsdown in a blur of motion, and it’s over. The calmbefore the storm.Slowly, gently, a breeze sweeps in, ticklingyour hair. Then it builds to an almost gale forcewind. The body of your opponent glows, rises offthe ground. Electricity arcs from the neck, leapingto whatever minor or major conductors arenearby. It’s coming for you. Everything stops, forone split second, then it hits you like a millionhammers, flashing into you, through you, lifting youoff the ground, then dropping you to your knees.All around you, explosions erupt, windowsimplode, fires leap into existence. It lasts aneternity of seconds. Then, it’s over. You’re weak,exhausted, and filled with new powers andmemories to integrate. You stagger away,knowing that the knowledge and power you’vejust absorbed must soon be defended and used,when the next challenger arrives at your doorstep.But for now…you need a drink.Killing another of his kind in combat is the onlyway an Immortal can increase his own power andstrength. In game, when an Immortal emerges fromcombat victorious, several things happen. First, theImmortal takes Bashing damage from theQuickening, equal to the sum total of all of hisopponent’s attributes. This damage can neverresult in unconsciousness, although it is possible toalready be unconscious when the Quickening hits.When the bashing damage occurs, the Immortalmust succeed at a Constitution (doubled) roll at -3or fall to his knees under the onslaught. Thisdamage heals normally, and can be healedthrough the use of the Quickening Healing power ifthe Immortal possesses the ability.16
- Page 3 and 4: There Can Be Only OneSecond Edition
- Page 5 and 6: Table of ContentsDesigner’s Prefa
- Page 7: sequel is universally considered to
- Page 10 and 11: disarray, they are still out there,
- Page 12 and 13: crossfire, a suicidal Immortal can
- Page 14: down to your Quickening. Your soul
- Page 20 and 21: Second, the Immortal receives his r
Now that the functionality of the Quickening iscovered, it’s time to move onto how an Immortalgains and loses Quickening. The concept behindthis is simple: if an Immortal is beheaded, she loseseverything that she is and ever was. Her lifeenergy quite literally flows out of her body. If thereis another Immortal nearby, this life energy—theQuickening—will burst forth in a violent stream oflightning, fire, and explosions, engulfing thesurviving Immortal and pouring into them, makingthem stronger and more powerful.If there is no Immortal nearby, the Quickeningsimply flows silently back into the Ether, withbarely a crackle of energy to mark it. Such anevent is tragic, and many believe that theknowledge and power of Immortals killed in sucha fashion is forever lost. There is, however, the asyet unexplained fact that new Immortals continueto appear even now, in the time of the Gathering,and in perhaps even greater numbers than everbefore. One possible theory that takes this intoaccount is the idea that a new potential Immortal,or even multiple ones, are born whenever anotherImmortal’s Quickening is lost to the Ether. Such amonumentous event would depend upon the rawpower available from the killed Immortal, whichwould be divided evenly among new Immortalscreated. The theory makes more than a little sense,given that more new Immortals seem to beappearing than ever before, and the populationexplosion has occurred close to the time when theHunters first appeared on the scene.DecapitationRegardless, it’s what happens when twoImmortals battle to the death that concerns us here.So now we turn to the mechanics of combatbetween two Immortals. As has been stated, to diepermanently, an Immortal must be beheaded,generally with a sword or melee weapon of somesort. This is not an easy task, for an Immortal’sthroat is naturally (or perhaps supernaturally)tougher than the rest of her body. In game terms, aDecapitation maneuver performed on an Immortalworks the same as a Through the Heart maneuverdoes on a Vampire. Multiply base damage fromthe attack by five, and if this damage is enough tokill the Immortal, her head comes off and the lightshow ensues. If it’s not enough to kill her, shemerely suffers base damage (not multiplied forslash/stab). Immortals also suffer half damagefrom all slash/stab attacks. It’s not easy to just goaround cutting off the heads of Immortals. Hence,the flashy swordplay. This half-damage should beapplied before any modifiers for attacking specificbody parts are figured in.For example: Ramirez slashes at the Kurgan’sthroat, a hit with 5 success levels that wouldnormally deal 16 points of base damage, plussuccess levels (so 21 total). Normally, hitting thethroat (decapitation) would figure to 105 points ofdamage; however, the Kurgan is an immortal. Thebase damage is halved, to 10 points, and Ramirezinflicts 50 points to the Kurgan’s throat. Notenough; the Kurgan suffers only 10 points ofdamage to his neck for the failed decapitationeffort.Given the above, It’s usually a good idea towear your opponent down a good bit before youtake their head off. There’s also the matter of honorinvolved. Immortals don’t just fight to kill; they fightto win. A clear victory is always important, andoften an Immortal will not perform the decapitationuntil her opponent yields the battle. Of course,there are always exceptions…Combat maneuvers for a swordfight betweenImmortals are unaltered from those described inthe core rulebook, with the exception of15
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