“Hey, it’s a kind of magic!” -Connor Q u i c kening is the fo r ce that makes the • Sense Quickening immortals “special”: that mystical energy within Some immortals gain this ability eve n them, that makes them immortal and gives them before they suffer their first death, since they still their powe r s. In this ch ap t e r, we will discuss are considered to have a Quickening of 1. This wh a t Quickening means in the ru l e s , and how ability is similar to the level 1 Prime spell Sense immortals increase in power. Quintessence (see M age) : using this ab i l i t y, a n i m m o r tal will sense another immortal nearby. No specific info rm ation on the immort a l ’s identity is give n , nor is the location of the Th r oughout the discussion of the va ri o u s i m m o r tal know n , m e re ly that the immortal is p owe rs , mention will be made of ro l l i n g near. Quickening to perform some feat. This behaves Sense Quickening also allows the immortal exactly as with Spheres of power in Mage: roll a to sense a Node (“holy ground”). Likewise, an number of dice equal to your Quicke n i n g , immortal can sometimes sense other beings with against a difficulty of six. Count successes to f ree quintessence in them (such as Mages and find how much benefit has been gained. K i n d re d ) , although a perc eption roll may be necessary for this. Usually, no roll is needed for sensing holy gro u n d , and sensing other i m m o r tals is usually left to Story t e l l e r ’s discretion (to pick a dramatic moment.) “You can’t drown, you fool! You’re immortal!” • Breathe Water With this ab i l i t y, i m m o r tals may surv ive -Ramirez i n d e fi n i t e ly underwat e r, d r awing ox y g en fro m the water.This is not the same as not breathing: The powe rs listed below are based off of it has been shown that immortals do breathe, and va rious powe rs shown in the Highlander m ov i e t h at poison gas will affect them (although it and TV series. Th ey are loosely based off of cannot kill them). Total absence of air will va r ious powe r s listed in the M a ge b o o k , a n d reduce the immortal to incap a c i t a ted after a o c c a s i o n a l l y make mention of the power they certain length of time, and he won’ recover until were most similar to. he can, once more, breath. Next to each power is a mark of what level of Quickening is necessary to fi r st exhibit this •• Empower Weapon power. Often in both movie and series, the clash of swords during a battle between two immortals is accompanied by electrical discharge. Using their •• Heal Self Quickening, immortals can enfuse their weapon In Chapter Four, the “normal” healing chart with raw powe r, causing them to do more for immortals is given. Using their Quickening, damage, and also causing the discharges shown. h oweve r, an immortal may choose to heal eve n An immortal can empower any edged melee faster from wounds received. By taking a round we a pon in this way (axe, swo rd, k n i f e). One and rolling Quickening, an immortal may heal a additional damage success is scored per success number of wound levels equal to the successes rolled (see Quickening Dice above for details). ro l l e d. Note that this is done once per wo u n d Note: The extra damage done by Empower only, the rest must heal normally. Note also that We a pon is aggravat e d , although the norm a l if an immortal is taken to incap a c i t a ted (or damage done by the weapon is not. beyond) before he has a chance to heal, he must Example: Duncan swings his trusty katana fi rst heal to cri p p l e d , then roll his dice in Heal (difficulty 6, Strength + 5 damage), and hits. He Self. Also, aggravated wounds may not be healed rolls Str 3 + 5 = 8 dice for damage, difficulty 6 in this manner, and must heal according to the (using the Va m p i r e 2nd edition ru l e s ) , t o chart. d e t e r mine damage. Since his katana is Example: Richie the new immortal gets in e m p owe re d , h oweve r, he rolls an additional 5 a fight with an unsuspecting group of ga n g dice for his 5 Quickening, also against difficulty toughs, and after finishing them off he begins to 6. A n y successes scored on this roll count as re c over from his wounds. Th ree wounds (3/1/2 aggravated damage. The defender gets one soak levels) for a total of six wound levels (crippled). roll against both damages, and soaks aggravated He rolls his Quickening of 2, healing 1 from the first. fi rs t , healing the second, and getting no successes on the third wo u n d , over a period of three rounds. The remaining four wound levels scene. As with Empower Self, the immortal will must heal normally (which means he’ll be fully feel weak for some time after using this power. healed in little over a half hour). ••••• Ignore Wounds ••• Empower Self At this leve l , the immort a l ’s re c u p e r at ive Using his Quicke n i n g , an immortal may p o we r s have become so potent that they no increase his physical attributes, by one for every l o n g er need spend time to heal. One wo u n d success ro l l e d . The effect lasts for an entire level is healed each round, with no roll required s c e n e , and is usually done only duri n g (although an immortal may still take a round to ch a l l e n g es. After using Empower Self, a n heal more, using the level 2 power Heal Self). immortal will feel weak (-1 to dice pool) for an Also at this leve l , an immortal may heal hour or more. aggravated wounds as if they we r e norm a l E x a m p l e : Connor squares off with Fa s i l , wounds, using Heal Self above. and the battle begins. Connor rolls his E x a m p l e : The Ku rga n , after ending the Q u i c kening of 7, gaining four successes, a n d pitiful Ramirez’s life and taking his Quickening, puts two points into Stamina and two in stops to rest. Ramirez had one lucky swing that Dexterity. Fasil is in trouble. n e a r ly took the Ku r ga n ’s head, doing fo u r n o r mal wounds and one aggravat e d. The fo u r •••• Speed of the Stag n o rmal wound levels healed over the next fo u r L i ke Empower Self, an immortal may use rounds, and the Kurgan takes a round to heal the his Quickening to increase his actions in a turn aggravated wound after the battle is over. A scar ( mu ch like the va m p i ric discipline of Celeri t y ) . is left on his thro at , h oweve r, to remind him of One ex t r a action may be gained per success how close Ramirez’s blade came... ro l l e d , and the ex t r a actions last for an entire a n i m a l , a n d , in this way, he can feel wh a t the animal feels, and, at higher levels of Quickening The “Sense Quicke n i n g ” p ower is re l at e d ( 5+ ), he may be able to catch glimpses of what the animal is actually seeing and heari n g . to another powe r, wh i c h has been dubbed the “Last”. The massive amount of Quicke n i n g However, the animal must be nearby. present in an immortal means that they are able This power is an unre l i a ble one, a n d to “tune in” to their surroundings, and to the life m a n i fests itself irreg u l a rly and in stra n ge way s . fo r ces around them, e ffe c t ive ly giving them a This power is designed to help negate the advantage that Garou and Kindred have, through sixth sense, similar to the “ D a n ger Sense” gi f t f r om Va m p i re. This manifests itself in many possessing Gifts and Disciplines, and is aimed at ways. In the film, the examples we saw included p roviding the immortal ch a racter with a useful, Mac Leod and Ramirez “tuning in” to the stag’s yet erratic source of information.