Immortals walk among us, both Undead and Breathers.
NEXT: Setting Up
Species
There’s a lot more than Humans, Vampires and Lycans out there. Fae, Dragons, Angels, Witches, Demons, even Gods and Devils to name but a few. You choose your species, which has certain strengths and weaknesses, or choose a hybrid of two Species.
Vitae
Death is but an inconvenience for them. A big one, granted, but for the Immortals, it’s simply a matter of time. Time and Vitae – the life force that powers immortals. Vampires think its in the blood. Angels consider it to be divine light. But they all have it. And some of them want more. The Undead need it to stay vital and since they lose some every night and consume it to fuel their greater strength, for them it is a hunger that never ceases. Fortunately the Breathers regenerate some Vitae each night, just as the Undead are drained a little each night.
Mortals
Those who are not registered with the system are Mortals. They can be preyed upon by the Undead if they agree to it, but they can also battle Immortals using any weapon which fires a fast enough projectile (e.g. guns).
Mystics
Those who are registered with the system but do not have a HUD are Mystics. They can interact with Immortals to a greater extent than Mortals can, down to choosing their species and accessing the sacred objects of the Immortals which allow them to heal and regenerate.
Assess
It takes an Immortal to know an Immortal. One of your abilities is to detect the Species, Vitae and other characteristics of those around you, Mortal, Mystic or Immortal.
Combat
Of course, Immortals won’t always see eye to eye. Battles will occur and each character has their strengths and weaknesses. An Immortal Human, with careful planning, may take down a God in combat.
You will choose your abilities, selecting four from the list. Some will work only against the Undead, some only against Breathers. Some will work only against those who are virtuous, some only against those who walk a darker path. Some are attacks, whilst others will heal or perform other mystical actions.
Virtue
Good, evil – your Virtue is all about what you do. Steal souls, feed upon the living, or allow the Undead to feed upon you and your virtue will drop. Liberate souls and your virtue increases. Curse or Praise another and both of your Virtues will be affected. The opinion of an Immortal carries weight, as a Virtue score of -100% (absolute evil) or +100% (absolute good) leads to Enlightenment, which carries everlasting benefits as the only way to attain Level 6. The path to Enlightenment, however, is obscure and difficult as you will find it very hard to perform only good or only evil acts. Total neutrality however is also a difficult path but has its own benefits, as you will be immune to those attacks which only affect those of negative or positive Virtue.
Groups and Levels
There’s also power in numbers. Immortals have the option of forming into groups. Clans, Packs – the terminology is up to you. The size of a group determines the level of its leader. The leader determines the level of their group members with Enlightenment being the only exception.
Balance
The world of Immortals is one of balance. No power comes without consequence. As a Vampire or Lycan, you have greater strength in battle, but at a terrible price – more of your precious Vitae is consumed to fuel your increased strength and, if you are a vampire, you lose vitae on a nightly basis or, in the case of Lycans, you regenerate slower. As a human, you may arm yourself with stakes, holywater and sanctity to be a slayer of evil vampires, but find these attacks ineffective against a Lycan of virtue, whereas a punch, which does less damage but has little cost may be the most powerful weapon in a sustained battle.
In creating this system we have worked to some fundamental principles:
- Be as true to myth and lore as possible, given the contradictions that exist between stories
- Maintain balance – no power without consequence – no upside without downside
- No species is good or evil – it’s up to the character who plays them and what they decide to do
- A self contained system. You should not have to keep paying to play. Vitae Gems are made by the players. Attacks are built in, not purchased
- Make it configurable. Adding a new species or a new attack is just a matter of the admins making a config change
But most of all, make it fun! I hope you enjoy the Immortals system.
NEXT: Setting Up