GURPS Highlander Introduction The Immortal genre is one rich in gaming possibilities. It spans the ages, from the beginning of mankind to far in the future. So long as the Gathering is still in the future, the world and maybe even beyond are there to be explored. Highlander Advantages / Disadvantages "You can't die, you fool. You're immortal!" - Ramirez Immortals have the advantages Empathy (15 points), Immortality (140 points), Sense Immortal (15 points), and Unusual Background (100 points), and the disadvantages Code of Honor (Immortal) (-10 points), Flashbacks (Severe) (-15 points), Secret (Immortal) (-10 points), and Sterile (-3 points). Code of Honor - Will not violate holy ground, will not use 'modern' weapons Secret - Immortals, if exposed, would be sought after by most major world governments and underworld organizations. To play an Immortal costs 232 points. An immortal should be based on 400 - 450 character points. Common Advantages / Disadvantages Allies, Animal Empathy, Combat Reflexes, Contacts, High Pain Threshold, Wealth, Bad Temper, Bloodlust, Overconfidence Character Creation To create an Immortal character, picking their nationality and period of birth is a good first step. Adventure Styles For an extended campaign, Immortals, being loners by nature, will rarely mingle with the others for long periods of time. Instead of a group of Immortals grouping together, I suggest playing one Immortal at a time, making them the center of the adventure rather than the group. The other players could be characters from the time period of the adventure. After the end of an adventure, the focus and possibly the time period can change, with another player playing their immortal. Game Masters may also rotate, so that someone with a penchant for suspenseful roleplaying could GM a Horror crossover, while someone with a more Nordic bent could GM in a Viking setting. From time to time, two or more Immortals may meet for good or ill. Sometimes they may walk together, talking about past parties. Other times they may duel atop a wind-swept tower. As a piece of advise for GM's who want more than a bloodbath, think carefully about any "Kurrigan" characters. Any time they come into contact with anyone vaguely interesting, they either ignore them, insult them, rape them, and/or kill them (right, Julian?). After a while they lose their appeal. Genres Cyberpunk The Gathering may not occur until well into the 21st century. Immortals find themselves mingling with a mix of humanity and machine, but more than that, they can see the despair of the world as progress races forward, leaving the human race behind. Horror Immortals have remained hidden from humanity's view, who knows what else has done the same? From ghosts to vampires to demon-summoning cults, anything is possible. A particular favourite idea of mine is the GURPS Vampire crossover, as the Immortals discover the Cainites. Sci-Fi Space exploration gives an Immortal a whole new dimension to wander through and explore. For those of you who were less than ecstatic about Highlander II, think instead of a space opera setting, with space stations, starship combats, traders, and alien races. Historical Pick a time period, an Immortal has been there. A number of settings are detailed in various GURPS supplements, such as Viking, Ancient China, Feudal Japan, and the Ice Ages. Adventures Old Friends Two or more Immortals meet Discovered! Somehow someone has discovered the existance of Immortals. If this is a government, they may try to recruit them or simply watch them. Or perhaps a cult had some means of divination and are bent upon sacrificing them to their being of choice. Either way, the Immortals will be thrust into a maelstrom of problems. The Gathering "There can be only one!" - The Kurrigan For a one-shot adventure or tournament, the Gathering has no equal. It can occur at any time, "in a far-away land". This could mean America, in a self-contained underwater Cyberpunk city, or on Arcturus. If you're looking for an new and potentially never-ending campaign setting, you might want to give Highlander a try. It's flexible, and I've found it to be a great place to try ideas that would only really fit in a 1-shot campaign. Well, that's all folks. noble@io.com