Highlander.pdf

Highlander:

The Gathering

Rules Supplement for the World of Darkness v2.1

By Hank Driskill & John Gavigan

Contents

Prologue

1. Introduction

2. Character Creation

3. The Quickening

4. Systems

5. World of Darkness

Appendix/Afterword

Prologue

"No one has ever known we were among you... Until now..." - Ramirez

"Sit down, lad, and listen. I know that you have many questions about what has

happened to you, and, probably about me as well...

"Aye, I know all about what happened - the car crash, and how you woke up to find

yourself lying in the hospital's morgue, your wounds gone, as if they were never there, and

you're walking around as if nothing happened.You did the smart thing, running away like

that... If you'd stayed, they'd never have left you alone, running tests and such stuff. As it is,

you are officially dead. 'Tis better that way, son, both for you and those you knew... You see,

we're not like them. You were, but you're not anymore.Yes, I know you don't understand! Just

listen, and be still! This is hard enough to explain without you interrupting every second

minute!

"Before you 'died', you were just like any other man... You could be wounded, you grew

older every year, you needed to go see the doctor when you were sick. Just like any normal

person. Except for one thing. You had inside you a spark of life bigger and brighter that

anyone else's. All that's changed now - when you 'died', that spark burst into flame, and it's

power and strength cured your wounds, and brought you back to life. I know it sounds weird,

but just trust me, ok?Who else you gonna listen to?

"The Quickening is the name given to that flame that burns inside of you. It could be

described as your life force. Every living thing has this force inside of them, and it ties them

together, heals their wounds, keeps them alive. However, it can be extinguished all too easily.

When a man's life force dies, he dies with it. When you were wounded in the car crash, your

life force was pushed down to no more than a tiny spark, and you appeared dead to the

medics... Then it exploded, and grew, until it was bigger than any mortal man's. A million

times more powerful. So powerful that it can heal wounds that would kill any mortal man. So

powerful, it could bring you back from the very brink of death.

"Aye, I said 'mortal man', son. Why? For the simple reason that you are not mortal

anymore, son. Neither am I. The same thing happened to me as happened to you - I was killed

and reawoke again.. Here, take this sword, and draw it across my arm. Go on! Do it! Good and

deep! Don't worry about me...

"Now see this wound? What would you normally do if you got a wound like this? Go to

the hospital or some such thing, and get stitches and a massive bandage. Am I right? Well,

watch... Already, the blood's stopped flowing. In a few minutes, it'll begin to heal, and before

the end of the day, you'd never know I'd been hurt at all.Why? It's the Quickening! The same

thing would happen if I got shot, or if I was burnt. It works the same way with you as well!

Your Quickening healed the wounds you sustained in the car crash...

"I don't know why it happens. It just does... I'm not an expert - I'm just like you - I was

living a normal life, until I was killed in battle against a raiding party of Vikings. Aye,Vikings,

son... No, I'm not from Scandinavia, I'm from Ireland. I was born at a place called Brugh na

Boinne, near the Hill of Tara, in the Kingdom of Midhe, in Ireland. I was taught all this, just as

I am teaching you, by a man called Liam Mac Dara... He was well over three thousand years

old by the time I met him.

"Now? He's dead... Aye, I know I said we're immortal, but there is one way we can die - If

your head is removed from your body, you'll die. Now, listen carefully, because this is the most

important part. You asked me why I carry a sword. I'll tell you. When one immortal kills

another, by beheading his opponent, the defeated immortal's Quickening flows into the victor,

and he become more powerful. All the dead immortal's strength, power, knowledge and

experience transfers itself into the one who beheaded him. That's what happened to Liam Mac

Dara. He was killed in France, by a German immortal, who I killed two hundred years ago.

"How many of us? I don't know... Perhaps one man in a million is born an immortal, perhaps

even less.We come from every race, creed, religion, and region. The Quickening doesn't seem

to discriminate between black, white, or, indeed, any other skin-color. I have fought and killed

immortals from Europe, China, and South America.

"I have also fought other creatures.

"We are not alone in being different from mortal man in this world of darkness. There are

other supernatural creatures, who you shall meet in the course of your life. I have lived among

the Garou a lot - Werewolves, shapeshifters... Both man and wolf, or a mix of both.. Ferocious

creatures... There are other shapeshifters as well - the Corax, who could be described as were-

ravens, the Bagheera, werecats, and many others... None are as common as the Garou, though,

and all are mortal, and age and die naturally, although they are much more robust than mortal

men, and can heal faster then normal, though not as fast as we can. But there are others who

can live for as long as we can; the Kindred, for instance - Vampires, are they, undead creatures

who must drink the blood of mortals to survive. They can live for many centuries. They do not

age, but they can die from normal wounds, even though, like the Garou, they heal at an

advanced rate. There are Magi, who wield Magick, twisting reality with their incantations

and spells. There are faeries, ghosts, Spirits, I've been told, and evil, horrible things from places

other than this Earth of ours. You may encounter them, as you travel. Most will be either

friendly, like many of the Garou, or simply neutral, unless you enroach upon their turf... But

other will try to kill you. It is truly aWorld of Darkness we live in, with many secrets that are

hidden from mortal man. Of all these supernatural creatures, we are the least common, and,

some would say, the most powerful, as all the rest can either grow old, or die normally. A two-

thousand year old Vampire will still die if you burn it, whereas I have heard of an immortal,

who, accused of being a witch, was burnt at the stake, and survived. Just remember that, no

matter how badly wounded you are, you will always totally recover, without scars or

permanent injury, but remember that if you are lying unconscious, or unable to move, it can be

very easy for someone to come along and take your head.

"Ah, whisht, lad! So many questions! You'll get your answers in time...You'll have to

learn all you can about this world, and the creatures you'll encounter. You'll have to learn how

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: