Skills:
Select the following skills to describe your character

• One skill is D5 (not melee weapons)
• Melee weapons is a D4.
• One other skill is D4
• History is D3
• Three other skills are D3
• Most other skills if you think you have it are D2.

Wealth
By default you are well off. One to three houses, can buy most things you want. Not quite a millionaire

Specials:
You get one 'special'

• Talk to me if you want something exotic within the bounds of the TV series
• Another skill at D5 (not melee)
• Your D5 is a D6
• Change melee from D4 to D5 (needs very solid backstory, this must be the focus of your character)
• Another 2 skills at D4
• Wealth level: rich

Disadvantages

• Melee is only a D3
• Wealth level is Poor
• You don't have a D5 skill, it's a D4 instead

In exchange for a disadvantage you can have (as long as it makes sense):

• A level of wealth
• Another 2 skills at D4
• Another skill at D5
• Your D5 is a D6
• A more powerful 'something exotic'

Skill list
Not complete. If you want something just ask.

• Melee weapons
• Strength (gives you unarmed combat as well)
• Unarmed combat (for those that want unarmed combat w/o the strength)
• Firearms
• Noticing things (perception)
• Outdoor skills (tracking, stealth, survival, climbing)
• Social skills by being nice (persuasion, charm, fast talk...)
• Social skills by being impressive/scary (command, leadership, intimdate)
• Academic skill: physics
• Academic skill: chemistry
• Academic skill: etc
• Medicine
• Driving vehicles
• Riding animals
• Breaking and entering
• Being a detective
• Gambling (games of chance)
• ... others at this kind of level of granularity
• ... very specialist and rare skills such as safe cracking

This message was last edited by the GM at 12:23, Wed 29 Nov 2023.

Is usually optional. If you and another player want to just freeform it, just do it.

If you are fighting a big bad, we can discuss in PMs what will happen and that will happen. If you want a system this is it. It is designed to be very light weight. I have put examples in, which makes them bigger. I never know whether that's a good idea, because it makes them harder to read. But hopefully easier to understand.

Difficulties:

• Most difficulties that are enough to need rolling for are a 2 (don't roll for first aid to put an plaster on, do if it is 'abdominal wound organs protruding').
• 'Make do brain surgury' outside an operating theatre' might be a 3 or 4.
• Opposed rolls: you both roll, the winner is the higher number. A draw is a draw

Immortal die rolling

• Immortals get two die not one. One based on their 'mortal self'. This is fixed at character creation time. The other is called 'the immortal die' and is based on their history and current level of practice
• Out of combat: roll both and take the best. Probably you just need to get a 2 to succeed
• In combat: roll both. The opponent must beat both to harm you. You get a success for each die that beats the opponents score

The second immortal die
If you are spending three hours five days a week currently doing something, you get a D5.
For example:

• Teaching martial arts in dojo (solo practice doesn't cut it).
• Being a doctor
• Running a shop selling antiques
• Selling used cars
• Professional gambler

If you do this as a regular hobby more than five hours a week, you get a D4.

• This is the default level for immortals with melee.
• Just decide your week..

Most things if you are more than a hundred years old:

• You can have a D3. Explain where it was acquired. Perhaps you were a pirate, or a hunter, or in the army or...
• You can change a D3 to a D4 with just a few hours practice (but you need to keep it up or it drops to D3 again)

If you don't think you have done it...

• You still get a D2

This message was last edited by the GM at 12:24, Wed 29 Nov 2023.

Flavour:

• Immortals are just better than mortals...
• Fights between immortals take a while
• Usually immortals give each other nasty wounds before beheading
• It is common for a fight to end undecisively
• Weapons matter
• Note that a player can only be beheaded when they choose to leave the game...

REMEMBER YOU ONLY NEED THE SYSTEM IF YOU WANT IT. IF YOU WANT TO FREEFORM AND THE OTHER PERSON DOES THATS FINE.

Having the wrong weapon
e.g. having no weapon, having a knife in a sword fight
Reduces die size. Cannot reduce below d2

Nasty Wounds/grappled
Reduces die size. Cannot reduce below D2
Note that to do a nasty wound with unarmed combat takes an extra token

Melee Combat:

• For each success you get a token.
• If you get a success any grapples are broken
• By breaking from combat for a while all tokens are reset

vs Immortals

• You can spend two tokens to erase all their tokens or pick up your weapon
• You can change two tokens to inflict a nasty wound, or grapple, or disarm them
• You can use four tokens to inflict a finishing wound, or pin
• You can spend six tokens to behead in one go

vs Skilled Mortals

• You can spend one token to erase all their tokens or pick up your weapon
• You can change one tokens to inflict a nasty wound, or grapple, or disarm them
• You can use two tokens to inflict a finishing wound, or pin
• You can spend three tokens to behead in one go

vs Unskilled Mortals

• You can spend one token to erase all their tokens
• You can change one tokens to inflict a nasty wound, or grapple
• You can use one tokens to inflict a finishing wound, or pin
• You can spend two tokens to behead in one go

Firearms
Typically the difficult is just a two. If the person is in cover will be more

• If the other person goes 'all out' to avoid can use their best of melee weapons/unarmed/other relevant skill to avoid but must be running away/diving for cover
• Obvious a firearm can't behead
• 'Light' firearms (pistols)
• Military weapons: need one less token

Example:
Freda is an immortal currently working as a surgeon at a main hospital
Her  medicine skill is a D4, but because of the level of practice she has, she gets a d6 for her immortal die. Her melee skills is a d4. She hasn't been practicing her sword fighting much: a few times a year. It's a D3.

Out of combat simple check

• She comes to a car crash and needs to do live saving first aid.
• She should only roll if it is felt that she might have a problem: not for putting a plaster on a childs scrapped knee, but some nasty injuries
• She rolls two die a D4 and a d6. As you can see it's very unlikely she will fail (one in 24 approx 4%). A two or more on either die is enough. The better she rolls the more impressive.
• You don't add the two numbers, you take the best

Combat example
She is in a fight with another immortal. Her foe has melee D4 but has been practicing for more than three hours every day so has D4+d5

Round 1

• She rolls D4+D3 and gets a 3 and a 2. This doesn't exceed her opponent's roll: no successes
• Her opponents rolls D4+5 and gets a 3 and a 5: The first die is a draw. The second is a success
• Result: her opponent gets a single success

Round 2

• She rolls D4+D3 and gets a 3 and a 3. Both of these exceed her opponent's. She gets two tokens
• Her opponents rolls D4+D5 and gets a 1 and a 2. Neither of these are successful.
• Result: she gets two successes.
• She spends the two successes to give her opponent a nasty wound.

This message was last edited by the GM at 12:24, Wed 29 Nov 2023.

As an immortal you stay the same age you were at your first death

Most wounds heal quickly.

You can only be killed by another immortal who removes your head in a fight. Being bombed, burned, blown up, fed into a wood shredder, guilotined doesn't do it.

Occasionally wounds that happen in a fight in accordance with the rules last: this is a GM call. Example: the Kurgan nearly had his head cut off...kept the scar. It is rare and unusual and won't happen to a player unless they want it. Wounds in a fight with another immortal that are inflicted on an immortal that breaks the rules flagrantly and deliberately are much more likely to be serious

Environmental

• You can breath water
• You aren't going to die of cold, although if the story benefits you could freeze solid for a bit
• You can starve to death (then are reborn)

Resurection
Happens when appropriate. The precise rules are capricious and whatever the GM or player feels is right

• If you were hung by the neck, you would not ressurect until it was 'safe to do so'. Probably after being buried
• If you were stabbed and left for dead, a few minutes later

The Rules
In order of severity:

• No fighting on Holy Ground
• One vs One
• It's not for mortal eyes (i.e. not a public spectacle)

These are taken very seriously by almost all immortals. It is known that violating these results in very bad things for the person that violates them. Many immortals feel is is unwise to push the limits


Opinion is divided on whether shooting someone with a firearm then beheading them is violating the rules. It is certainly 'pushing the limits'. Sniping someone at a long range, or poison gassing them, then beheading them certainly is a violation.


For example: dragging people out of holy land using mortals to do so, tying them up and beheading them... is not a winning strategy. Might work once or twice, but then the immortal that was doing it is dealt with in some way. This is a 'World Law'.  Meaning that it is not enforced by mortals or immortals but by the World. Which doesn't help the immortals that were killed, but does serve as an example for anyone considering following that path

It is beleived by some that Pompei was caused by an immortal killing another on Holy Ground
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:36, Wed 29 Nov 2023.

Sense:
All immortals sense the presence of another immortal.

This cannot be masked or hidden.

The range is about a hundred yards.

Quickening on death
In this game the quickening has no in game mechanics other than property damage, and perhaps some memories. And a glorious light show which leaves you useless for a few minutes afterwards

These are the chances of 'winning' i.e. 'you get more than they do'. Note that a draw is not a win. They are an experiment with AI so I haven't validated them properly, but they look 'kind of right'. Note that they assume both players have the same second die. That's not so realistic but gives some feeling.

Why are they here? Some people object to games because the percentages don't work. The fluff and the crunch don't match. I am using this to see if the resulting percentages match watch I expect to happen. I want there to be a benefit from a bigger die, but not for it to be a 'I win button'.

With the second die a D2

With the second die a D3

With the second die a D4

With the second die a D5


Summary
Most fights are with Melee. If your melee skill is the default D4 then if you are fighting 'most immortals who are just chilling' (D4+D3), then training a few hours a week adds around 10% to your chance, and training three hours a day adds another 11%.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:37, Wed 29 Nov 2023.