Himsati Immortals

There was a time when gods walked among mankind, took part of their folly and fought alongside them in the battlefields. A time of legend and myth, which spawned hundreds of mythologies and tales, which lasted for centuries and millennia. Men have since long forgot that time, as they also forgot that before their gods were human, they had been elemental and pure: the fire, the water, the beasts, all these had been their gods. And that the gods changed and evolved to better accommodate their worshippers, for there is nothing as desirable and addictive as the adoration of the mortal. However, these gods still walk among us – and still keep the powers of old: the lightning still beckons their call, the winds still are their mounts and weapons, and the earth still shudders when their rage is freed. Millennia ago, these gods were plants, beasts and elements that assimilated a piece of the Mad God Sanguinary, who crashed into our world and shattered into a thousand shards. These shards – called the Vox – are the centre of power of a Himsati Immortal – not only grants him immortality, but it also allows him to tune in with reality and change it to his whim. Mortal called this power Magic. Immortal call it Serenades, and it’s the ultimate weapon against the Sanguinary, who still fights to gather Its pieces and rise once again to take this reality for Itself.

 

Being a Himsati Immortal

An Immortal is created when a human is invaded by one of the gemlike shards of the Sanguinary’s shattered body. The shard always enters a wound, liquefying on contact with blood. Inside, it lodges in the throat, becoming a reed-like organ very similar to a vocal chord, called a "Vox." This new organ interfaces with the brain and the nervous system in order to process all sensory data from the host.

The word “Himsati” means “the form that kills” in Sanskrit. This expression refers to the original form of an Immortal: when the Shards of the Sanguinary rained all over the Earth, many of them infected all manner of creatures – the First Form of a shard will forever be contained in its Essence matrix, for when a shard takes a host for the first time it morphs into the Vox, the form under which it will exist until it is finally reunited to form the Sanguinary’s body once again – which, if depends on the Himsati, it will be later rather than sooner. Rumours say that Shards in the pure form still exist, but their whereabouts is unknown.

Outside the Immortal society, very few scholars have gathered enough information on the Himsati to actually draw any conclusions about them – the Lodge of the Undying and the Rosicrusians are the most likely to know something, especially since the few Himsati Immortals who join any other Covenant than the Perpetual Society are found mostly in these two groups – except when they are infiltrated, of course. Obviously, Himsati are drawn to the Gifted – for these are the only humans who the Immortal know that are not harbouring the Sanguinary in their minds, since their powers makes them immune to the Mad God’s consciousness – unless they invite It willingly – and their hatred for any Mad God makes them valuable allies. They tolerate other Supernaturals, but, alas, Immortals are irresistibly and utterly attracted to mankind – their auras burn brightly and their faith is one of the few things that can humble even the most powerful of the Himsati.

Immortality is a heavy burden, and ennui a constant companion, so it is not surprising that many Himsati undergo willingly the forbidden ritual of Lethe – where one suppresses temporarily all its memories,and restarts life anew as a mortal. In the last few centuries, for unknown reasons, dozens of Immortals entered Lethe – and many of them still are, for should an Immortal live a quiet, uneventful life nothing will make him remember his glorious past, except some strange, distantdreams. His body will simply expire of old age, and the Vox will create a new one, and the cycle will begin anew. Immortality will only kick in when the Himsati becomes self-aware– with all the problems that it will bring. For that reason, Immortals come from all walks of life – some may display a knack for doing whatever their Avatars – their former personalities – did, but one is as likely to find a former warrior working as martial arts instructor, as it is as a bureaucrat (although he’ll most probably feel unsatisfied and frustrated with such a job).

Whenever an Immortal awakens to his true self, he is suddenly engulfed by all his former memories: what he was, what he did and what he became, for everything is stored in the Essence matrix of the Vox, which is the actual brain and personality centre of an Himsati Immortal. This episode lasts for but a few minutes causing utter disorientation and even loss of consciousness, and happens usually between the age of twenty and forty, although there are known exceptions, due often to either mental or physical trauma. The young Immortal will be extremely confused by the unexplainable memories and visions that will haunt him for the next days. He will suddenly do things that he never knew he could do, we will remember times when he could not possible have been born yet, he will feel other voices inside his head, tugging for control. However this does not mean he will know he is an Himsati Immortal – many believe they are going insane, so they seek medical assistance – the Perpetual Society maintains a tight vigilance around doctors and clinics of the specialty in order to better locate and aid stray and recently risen Immortals

From this point on, their agtops entirely. They never grow sick (should they contract even the deadliest of diseases, they shrug it off in a matter of weeks), seldomlgrow tired, and even the deepest of wounds will close up in a matter of seconds.

 

Rogue Children of a Mad God

Sixty-five million years ago, the Mad God known as Sanguinary was cast out of its plane, a realm composed entirely of thought, and found itself adrift in Mekrath. Gigantic and unbearably beautiful, it plunged out of control throughour universe until Earth blocked its path. It crashed against our planet and shattered like glass into millions of shards that rained around the globe. The Sanguinary did not die when it shattered, for even her scattered parts had a life of their own and a fragment of its alien intellect. Slowly, they invaded the living biosphere of the Earth like parasites, seeking hosts among the animals that then dominated the world—the dinosaurs. The shards made everything they invaded immortal, to better protect the host while the shard sought to physically locate and merge with others of its kind.

The first race, reborn from the perishing dinosaurs, became even more sleek and deadly as the shards rewrote their DNA and transformed them. Men would later call them dragons, but when the intellect of these creatures grew to sentience, they called themselves the Abzulim. They grew in power, as they discovered how to use the power of the shards inside themselves, and used this magic to power their technology. They spread forth from Earth and started to walk between realms and beyond. They built slave races, also immortal, to manage their expanding dominions. As the Abzulim grew in power, they also began rebelling internally against the shards that possessed them. They became fiercely individualistic and unable to work together. Then, despite the mental conditioning, their slave races revolted. Eventually, in spite of all their power, the reign of the Abzulim was brought crashing down by countless far-flung rebellions. Abzulim who survived the holocaust hid themselves in distant fortresses and plotted their return to power.

The young Immortals, free of Abzulim oppression, divided the empires of their fallen masters. Yet they, too, became intolerant of one another and soon went to war. The rediscovery of humanity only exacerbated this conflict as the Immortals competed with one another for the worship of humanity. Worship became an insidious drug, and the Immortals were addicted. Their conflicts led to a terrible war, the Shouting War, when Immortals used their powerful voices to rip apart reality, in a vain attempt to control the entire race. Eventually, they fell prey to a new slave race of the Abzulim, an elemental race of shadows called the Shadowen. Serving their Abzulim masters, the Shadowen confined the other Immortals in a barren, dimensional prison.

The Sanguinary, during all of this time, had not been idle. It almost succeeded in its quest to rejoin the fragments of its body, but was thwarted when the master shard It was building was found by the young Immortals and smashed. On the verge of perishing for good, it abdicated from its corporeal body and instead found refuge in the collective unconscious of a newly emerging humanity, transferring its essence into the young race. At the moment it possessed the human race, the dream realm came into being, a lair in which the Sanguinary hides and plans its eventual resurrection.

Each shard had the same purpose: to reunite with others and thereby bring the Sanguinary back into a single, terrible body again.

The Immortals eventually freed themselves from their prison. Their guards, the Shadowen, were powerless to prevent the escape because they faced a new enemy in the form of the Progeny, Immortals loyal to the Sanguinary who embraced its hunger and selfishness.

The war has raged since then, all the way into the present time. Many fear that with the approaching of the Reckoning, the Sanguinary will be at last prepared to rise. It is up to the Immortals to stop it, or they will become Its avatars of destruction.

 

Playing Himsati Immortals

Playing an Immortal depends, obviously, on his age. Since all Immortals have been around for more or less the same time, the age of their host actively influences how they react to the world. Most Immortal are recently young, being part of the many Immortals who underwent Lethe in the last few centuries. They are at odds with themselves and still don’t control their powers fully. Like most normal Cast Members, they are only now starting to experience the paranormal first hand, and grasping their new existence.

On the other plate of the scales there are the elder Immortals, beings who have been conscious for centuries, if not millennia – they can be seen as jaded, hardened creatures, or as eager thrill-seekers who travel in search of novelty and amusement to stave off ennui. They might fear and mistrust technology, or they might revel in anything that is new and brings a flavour of surprise to their lives. Some may defend mankind out of true nobility and try to liberate it from the clutches of the Sanguinary, others can be as selfish as one can, wanting only to remain alive, capable of resorting to mankind-scale genocide just to assure the Sanguinary does not live on.

Humans are something of a paradox to Immortals. On one hand, humanity is a deadly race; any human could have the mind of the Sanguinary lying dormant in the subconscious. On the other hand, most humans are innocent pawns or completely harmless. However, Immortals realize that humanity may be instrumental in their victory over the Sanguinary. A human's faith, should his will be strong enough, can damage or even cripple an Immortal. Yet these are precisely the humans Immortals would like to bring into the fold. The tricky part is enlightening mankind to the beast that sleeps inside the world of its dreams. Ultimately, the Immortal still remember what it means to be human all too well – even if they mean little more than cattle, most Immortal recall the time when the faith and worship of mankind would grant them incomparable power… and what a rush it was. Thus, if destroying the Sanguinary will also help mankind by freeing them from its grasp, so much the better.

 

Creating Himsati Immortal Personas

Himsati Immortal use the Gifted character type, and, although they do not have to purchase the Gift, they must pay for the Metaphysic “Himsati Immortal” Quality (15 points), which grants them the common Himsati Immortal powers, and the possibility to purchase other powers. The rest of character creation proceeds as normal. Those with this Quality may purchase special powers as well.

Common Powers and Vulnerabilities

All Himsati Immortals possess the following advantages and drawbacks:

Immortality

It is nigh impossible to permanently kill an Immortal – they resist to all forms of damage, poison and disease (even terminal diseases disappear in 15 – Constitution days), although they are still subject to the same shock and unconsciousness rules as normal humans.

The worst setback that can happen to an immortal is to have his host body destroyed, but even that isn’t final, for the vox is set free to seek a new host. When at –30 Life Points or less, the Immortal must make a Survival Test with a – 1 penalty for each –10 Life Points below the first –10. Should the test succeed, the Immortal is merely knocked unconscious, and will recover his senses as soon as he reaches 1 or more Life Points, and on a high-level success, he remains conscious and active. On a failure, the host body is destroyed. In case of a critical failure (if the result of the test – after the bonus and penalties are applied – is equal or less to 1) not only the body is destroyed, but the Immortal enters Lethe as well: he loses all his past memories and his current personality becomes an Avatar.

When an Immortal’s host is destroyed normally, the body is consumed and explodes in a flash of crimson light, and the Vox will leave it as a thin red mist. With the body gone, the mind remains, however: it still retains the same sentience and intelligence, as well as use mind-related powers. The Immortal will manage to retain the red mist form for 1 hour per Willpower rating. Afterwards, the Vox will regain its gem-like appearance and start creating a new host body. If the Immortal falls to Lethe, however, things will be much more complicated – the Vox will remain wherever the body fell and can be carried away.

When left alone, the Vox will grow for itself a new mortal form, which will look very others who live (and dream) nearby – Immortals fallen in east Africa will look Nubian, while Vocci buried in Asian soil will grow Asian-looking bodies. This is a lengthy and strenuous task, however, since the Vox needs 30 Essence points to create a new body, and will only amass them by tapping into ambient Essence, since it has none of its own – that’s why some manage to form new bodies in a matter of hours (during certain Times of Power) while others take weeks, even months to be ready. Should someone find and destroy the new host before it’s complete, the Vox will escape on gaseous form once again. This gaseous form, however, is still bound by the precepts of normal physics laws. The Vox will take no chances that its body will be discovered before it’s fully formed – it emits telepathic signals to surrounding human minds, influencing them through their dream state to either stay clear or, if their minds are pliable enough, to defend the embryo. Despite this protective measure, Immortals or even humans not controlled by the Sanguinary find some of these Vocci. Even then, the Vox continues to ply its influence on the new owner, by sending him tempting dreams as rewards for seeing to its safety.

Manipulate Essence

Himsati Immortals do not need Essence Channelling, as they can gather and use Essence at the rate they wish it, as long as they have it in store.

 

Natures and Himsati

Most of the Immortals that exist were created intentionally by the Abzulim, who forcefully injected shards into them. Later, when humans evolved, Immortals were affected, against their will, by human spiritual faith. Their bodies took on human appearance to suit the expectations of their worshippers. Still, Immortals maintain the ability to revert to their more primitive Himsati ("the form that kills") at will, calling upon natural powers such as fangs, claws and wings, for each Vox maintains stored in its Essence matrix the original identity of its first body. Such natures are both a boon and a curse, for they grant the Immortals immense powers, but, at the same time, they give a leeway for the Sanguinary to control the Immortal. Each Himsati Immortal has only one Himsati form, which remains ever the same, no matter how many incarnations the immortal goes through. Each Himsati form grants special powers related to that form – the Natures. Natures can also be bought with either memory or experience points, but are usually restricted -- having Natures different from your Himsati type is possible, but only as a great boon granted by a Lord or another powerful Immortal, and the Chronicler has always the final word about it.

At this point, the player must choose the type and species of his Himsati form, be it a hawk, a dog or a piece of crystal. There are two sets of Himsatis: the Naturals (organic living beings) and the Elementals (elements in their pure form). All sets begin with 4 points to spend on Natures, and the Elementals have automatically the Nature “Wishgiving” for free. All in all, Elementals seem more powerful than their Natural counterparts, (see Superhuman Attributes, below), but their weakness is the fact that their Vox is not part of their body, like the Naturals’ is, thus they are always at – 2 penalty in the use of Serenades. Thus, when in humanoid form, they must wear their Vox somehow: as a necklace, a ring, a tie clip, etc. However, when they shapeshift, their Vox falls to the ground – which can be a very dangerous thing to happen.

Don’t Lose Your Vox!

If an Elemental’s Vox is not within acceptable range he’ll immediately lose all Vox-related benefits and powers, and will start losing 1 point in Primary Attributes per day, until one of them reaches 0. At this point he is risking truly Final Death – if any of the Attributes goes below this, the Immortal will effectively perish – the Vox will be clean of all Avatars, thus becoming a mere, lifeless Shard, until it is fused to a living creature. The furthest acceptable distance for an Elemental to be separated from his Vox is 2 miles per Willpower level. All the lost attributes and powers lost are regained at once as soon as the Elemental enters the actable distance.

Furthermore, the Immortals’ accelerated healing will only work if the Elemental in their human form (that is, with no natures activated). When an Elemental is shapeshifted, he can have this increased healing ability only if in contact with his element. On the good side, they are immune to damage caused by their element in the pure form (for example, an Earth Elemental Himsati would never be hurt by a thrown rock, but would take normal damage from a sword or bullet, even though such things are still part of the Earth element). See Chapter Five: Metaphysics, pp xx-xx, for further information on Natures.

Himsatis Shapes

Amphibian or Reptile
Example Species: Lizard, Snake, Alligator, Frog, Salamander.
Bonus: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +1 Perception, +2 Willpower.

Bird
Example Species: Raptor, Carrion Bird, Parrot, Sea Bird, Eagle.
Bonus: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +3 Perception, +3 Willpower.

Insect or Arachnid
Example Species: Wasp, Ant, Mantis, Cockroach, Grasshopper, Spider, Scorpion.
Bonus: +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +3 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +2 Perception, +2 Willpower.

Mammal
Example Species: Cat, Wolf, Rodent, Horse, Bear, Bat.
Bonus: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, +3 Intelligence, +2 Perception.

Marine Animal
Example Species: Fish, Octopus, Squid, Eel, Whale, Dolphin, Seal.
Bonus: +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, +1 Perception, +2 Willpower.

Plant
Example Species: Tree, Bush, Vine, Moss, Coral.
Bonus: +4 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +2 Perception.

Air Elemental
Example Forms: Air, Fog, Storm Cloud, Wind.
Bonus: +1 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Perception, +2 Willpower.

Earth Elemental
Example Forms: Stone, Metal, Gem, Jewel, Weapon, Sculpture, Sand.
Bonus: +5 Strength, +3 Constitution, +2 Perception, +2 Willpower

Fire Elemental
Example Forms: Fireball, Lightning, Heat, Diffuse Glow, Pillar of Flame.
Bonus: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +3 Perception, +2 Willpower

Shadow Elemental
Example Forms: Silhouette, Dark Cloud, Shadow.
Bonus: +1 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +1 Intelligence, +2 Perception, +3 Willpower

Water Elemental
Example Forms: Ice, Mist, Stream, Pool, Rain.
Bonus: +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, +3 Intelligence, +3 Perception, +2 Willpower

 

Himsati Immortals in the Unisystem™:

The Himsati bonus in the “Immortal: Millennium” are slightly different (and much more earth-shattering). Instead of a balanced distribution among the six Primary Attributes, they have been joined into three aspects of a Himsati’s form: BODY, MIND and SPIRIT. The Himsati receives a set number of points to place in these three aspects. Each of the aspect comprises two Primary Attributes, and the player may allocate the bonus points between these two Attributes as he wishes: BODY comprises Strength and Dexterity; MIND comprises Perception and Intelligence; and, finally, SPIRIT comprises Willpower and Constitution. The Bonus Points are the following:

Regeneration

Immortals recover lost Life, Endurance and Essence points much faster than humans do. The regeneration rates are as follows: Life Points: 1 point per Strength + Constitution level each turn.
Endurance Points: 2 points per Constitution level each half-hour of sleep, or one hour of rest.
Essence Points: 2 points per Willpower level each minute

Restrictions

Immortals cannot have or use any Gifted abilities – when the vox creates a host body, it has no human soul, thus denying the source of magical power. They have to use their own form of magic – the Serenades. Other powers, such as Miracles, Tao-Chi, Necromancy, Disciplines of the Flesh or the Sight are forbidden as well.

Serenades

Over time, the Immortals learned to make the vox work for them. Because the vox opened their senses to the true nature of the universe, they used it to imitate the celestial din. This is the origin of the Serenades, the ability to change reality with a whisper, a muttered word, or a song. The discovery of this ability nearly destroyed the Immortals, as serenades became the ultimate weapon. Refer to Chapter Five: Metaphysics for further detail on Serenades.

Shapeshifting

All Immortals may call upon their Himsati, and draw out all manner of abilities related to that form, such as wings, claws, etc. – these are called the Natures. The complete information on Natures can be found on pp. xx-xx.

Shapeshifting is a complicated business, however – the lure of one’s wild side is strong: after all, it’s one’s true nature. For that same reason, undergoing partial shapeshifting (i.e. activating any number of natures) only takes an action – reverting to mortal shape, however, requires a Simple Intelligence Test. If the Immortal takes his time, and reverts one nature at a time he must make one test per nature activated, and that’s it. But if he tries to revert from all natures at the same time, he must one single Simple Intelligence Test, but with a –1 penalty per each nature activated. In case of undergoing a complete shapeshift (when the Immortal takes his Himsati form – a wolf if his Himsati is a wolf, a shadow if it is a shadow elemental), one action is required as well, and all natures are considered activated. Of course, the Immortal suffers the limitations of its form – a shadow can’t be hit by bullets, but it cannot speak or pick up an object – however, all five senses are at the Immortal’s disposal (for instance, a rose can hear, a rock can see, and so on) and all objects that cannot be held by the current form – such as clothes, shoes, etc. – fall to the ground – things such as jewellery may be kept if the animal form allows it (for instance, a necklace around an Immortal’s neck may remain around his wolf form, whereas it could not if his form was a shadow). When the Immortal wishes to revert back to his mortal from a complete shapeshift, he must pass a Difficult Intelligence Test.

In both partial and complete shapeshift, reverting back to human form is the most dangerous moment, however, as the Immortal is at his most vulnerable: should he fail critically the changing test (a final result of 1 or less, after all bonuses and penalties are applied) he is possessed by the Sanguinary, who takes over his mind, and it will be only a matter of time before his Vox is retrieved by the Sanguinary’s minions.

Superhuman Attributes

Immortals are stronger, faster, more resilient and more beautiful than humans, as a result of the influence human faith exerted upon the vox, and, therefore, they reach any level in any attribute they desire – even with the expenditure of experience points. An Immortal may go well beyond the limit 6 for humans.

Secondary Attributes, Endurance and Speed are calculated as normal, but to determine an Immortal’s Essence and Life Points, the following formula should be used:

Life Points: ((Strength + Constitution) x 5) + 15. An Immortal can have up to 15 levels of Hard to Kill.
Essence Points: All Attributes summed together + 25. Increased Essence Pool is also allowed.

Min-Maxing:

This expression was created to designate a “trick of the trade” many players resort to – especially when bonus points are involved – in order to make a character as powerful as possible. If you tell your players to make a Himsati Immortal character you have to be ready for the possibility that they will try to compensate the character, i.e. during the character creation, they will try to cram as many points as possible in the Primary Attributes that will receive low (or no) bonuses from their Himsatis. You should discourage this as much as possible – this is not a superhero slugfest game, after all. It’s not about knowing who’s stronger or smarter or faster. Therefore, you should ask your players to create the human host and choose their Himsati before letting them receive the bonus points. Heck, they should have the character done before even being allowed to see the bonus points chart!

Unaging

Like other Immortals, the Himsati stop aging completely when their Vox awakens, and they remain freezed in that age for eternity (or until they either enter Lethe or possess a new body). Most changes occur between the early 20s and late 30s, but this can happen outside this range if some traumatic event triggers the Vox response.

Vox, Avatar and Fugue

The Vox represents the soul of any Immortal. More, it contains the minds and personalities of the Immortals former incarnations. Since the Vox is the actual “brain” of the Immortal, even when the host perishes, the Immortal will have the same knowledge, memories and personality it had before. However, immortality can often be a burden, so many Immortals undergo the forbidden ritual of Lethe (see p. xx), where they seal their personality, reset the Vox, and begin a new life with no memories of the past and of their immortal condition. Even when they get this knowledge, their former personality is forever lost – it’s but another Avatar stored away in the Vox’s complex matrix. This matrix is also a source of power – not only does is the source of the Serenades but it also contain the records of the Immortal’s past lives (with memories and powers included).

These past lives are known as the Avatars – each Avatar is a mythological figure which is now stored within the Vox. King Arthur, Zeus, Horus, etc. are examples of Gods and Deities that were, in fact, Immortals, and all Immortal characters begin automatically with an Avatar of the player’s choice. Each Avatar (i.e. this includes the first Avatar, which is mandatory) grants 10 Memory Points and add + 1 to the beginning Fugue Rating (the starting Fugue Rating is 1, representing the first Avatar). The Memory Points work like bonus points usable to purchase Skills and Metaphysics only, but with the particularity that they can be spent at once or stored for later use (tales of young Immortals who had never even picked up a knife, but who, in the middle of a fight, start using a sword like they had done so their entire life, are not uncommon). They represent the knowledge and the power of the Immortal’s Avatars and so they should reflect their personality. The choice of Avatar(s) should be carefully made, (the Chronicler should be wary not to have two different characters with the same Avatar), and as usual the Chronicler has the final word concerning what is or is not allowed.

Huh, So What Do We Do Now?

Here’s something totally unexpected: no rules are given to create of an Avatar. Not even a list from which to choose from. Many players will rejoice at this, and dive headlong into books of mythology to find the coolest story possible. Others will be scared – especially those whose Mythological knowledge isn’t so great. The Chronicler should be ready to help such players, by having at least a superficial knowledge of a few of the greater Pantheons and their better-known representatives. The Greek/Roman Pantheon is a must, and the Norse is one of the favourites, as well. Arthurian legend also gives many interesting possibilities, and for those who fancy something more obscure, there’s nothing like Mayan, Aztec or even Egyptian myths. In order to make things easier for the players, the Chronicler can decide to choose himself which Avatar is attributed to which Cast Member – the player will explain what kind of character he would like to play, and the Chronicler will find a suitable Avatar for him.

Furthermore, since an Immortal is constantly accompanied by his former lives in the form of his Avatar(s), he can resort to the skills of his predecessors, in a way similar to the Old Soul Quality (see WitchCraft, p. 88). When faced with a situation where the Immortal must make an unskilled attempt, he can instead make a Willpower and Intelligence test. If he passes, he can make the test as a normal one, with the skill level equivalent to number of Avatars. Of course, this only works with the skills known by his former selves.

The Vox constantly vibrates to the hum of the celestial din that it imitates when making serenades. This constantly causes a background voice, as the vibrations continually keep the sparks of the essences of the various avatars alive and well inside the Vox. This background voice is usually so quiet that it is no more than a mere whisper, and many immortals do not even notice it. However, as time marches on, the voice can become louder as more avatars are added to the chorus of voices and during times of depression, extreme boredom, or confusion, the immortal actually begins to hear them. Added to this confusion is the fact that the voices are alien, and have memories and thoughts that do not match what the immortal has within his organic brain (which has no knowledge of the avatars). This can bring on a form of madness known as Fugue.

The Fugue Rating determines the possibility of being possessed by avatars. When a Fugue Trigger is activated (all immortals have at least one Fugue Trigger per Avatar, and some immortals have more than one if they have particularly strong avatars), a Fugue Test must be made: the player rolls a D10 and compares it with the character’s Fugue Rating. If he rolls higher than the Fugue Rating, the character passes the test and won’t have to make that test again for the remainder of the scene, even if confronted with the same Fugue Trigger. If he rolls equal or lower, then he failed the test, and the Character will be dazed, as old memories (which are not his) will engulf him – he’ll be at -3 at all tests for the remainder of the scene, and all tests that involve Perception will be at -5. If a 1 was rolled, repeat the test. If the Character passes the test this time, then he’ll simply be dazed, as above. However, if he fails the test, a critical failure has occurred. On a critical failure, an avatar takes control over the Immortal, up to the point of physically changing the appearance of the Immortal to that of the avatar (though the avatar must use the attributes possessed by the current Immortal). At this point, the player loses control over his Character, and the Character becomes an NPC (with its own agenda and goals) – which may or may not involve aiding the Main Cast – until the player regains control.

Fugue Tests – Fast and Furious:

If for some reason you feel that this Fugue test does not fit the usual WitchCraft standards, simply have the players make a Simple Willpower test with their Fugue Rating working as a penalty. If the final result is 1 or less, then a critical failure has occurred, and the Avatar takes over.

Fugue Triggers

Fugue triggers are incidents that are recorded on the immortal's Vox as memories, which also reverberate within one of the avatar's memories, causing its spark to become active. This can cause the avatar to begin speaking with the immortal from the Vox, the avatar to manifest, or even for the immortal to go into periods of madness or worse. Sometimes, things can happen which cause one of the avatars to awaken. Usually this is the immortal perceiving an event (for example, a child being slaughtered), or being involved in a circumstance in which the avatar knew well (the thrill of the hunt, for instance). As the Vox is recording this experience, the vibrations can strike a chord of memory within one of the older personality matrices. This can also cause the avatar to manifest in the background, speaking to the immortal above the other voices. In the worst case, (when critically failing a Fugue check) the avatar's spark suppresses the immortal's own spark, pushing it back into the Vox while it comes out to attune to the auras. This can cause the immortal to physically transform into the avatar. When the avatar finally is too tired to keep the immortal suppressed (usually when the host body runs out of Endurance Points, or needs to sleep), the current immortal re-emerges and the avatar sinks back into the Vox. Fugue Triggers should be decided with the aid of the Chronicler, and represent mildly uncommon situations, but not nearly impossible ones – for instances, having the Fugue Trigger “Seeing a girl being hit” is a good choice. Now, if it were “Seeing a red-haired girl in a toga being slapped by six men” would be absurd for its impossibility and no Chronicler should allow it. However if it were “Seeing a girl” it would be too common, and the poor player would have to be making tests every two minutes (unless he actually took the Drawback “Common Fugue Trigger”.

Examples of Fugue Triggers:
Seeing a person who looks like an ancient lover/enemy
Drinking/eating a certain type of wine/food
Being in a certain place
Being confined
Seeing a hail/thunder storm
Hearing a type of music/instrument
Seeing an eclipse/natural disaster
Watching the sunset/sunrise
Watching a murder/birth.

Special Powers and Vulnerabilities

Chimera

5-point Power

Prerequisite: A Natural Himsati.

Your Himsati is not an animal, nor an elemental. Your First Form was created, not born. You were a product of the Abzulim, who made you a hybrid – and as a hybrid, although you have a main Himsati, you can choose any Natures you desire – however, you are restricted to Natural Natures.

Combat Reflexes

1-point Power

This power is often found among Slayers and Guardians of the Perpetual Society, the best warriors of all. It represents the ability to draw one’s weapon as a reflex action, without even thinking of it. Characters with this power can draw up to two weapons (one for each hand, obviously) – both Guns and Melee weapons – without having to spend an action.

Combat Mastery

3-point Power / level

Prerequisite: Either Brawl, Martial Arts or Hand Weapon with a rating of at least 4.

A warrior with this power has practiced the Art of War for long that he excels in it – he dances in the battlefield seeming almost impossible to hit. When using any of the above skills, if he has in it a rating equal or above 4, he has a free attack action every turn, per level bought.

Common Trigger

Variable Drawback

An Immortal with this Drawback is much more susceptible to his Avatars than most other Immortals. His memories are far more common; therefore it is much easier for him to enter Fugue. The easier it is to be in a Trigger situation, the more points this Drawback grants. Common Triggers could be, for instance, “Seeing someone falling” (as a 2-point Drawback), “Seeing someone smiling” (as a 4-point Drawback) or “Seeing a bird” (as a 5-point Drawback).

Iron Will

4-point Power

Immortals with this power have conditioned themselves with an extraordinary discipline, to the point of being completely in control of their emotions and feelings. This translates as a +3 bonus to resist any attempt (magical or otherwise) to mess with the character’s mind (be it a Gifted power or a seduction attempt). If the power cannot be resisted, then the person trying to influence the Immortal has a -2 penalty to do so.

Multiple Triggers

1-point Drawback

One (or more) of your Avatars has a tighter grip over you – and that reflects in the fact that that Avatar’s awakening can be set off by more than one thing – increasing the possibilities of it controlling your body eventually. This Drawback can be bought multiple times, for one or more Avatars, and can be combined with the Common Trigger Drawback as well.

Powerful Avatar

4-point Drawback

All Avatars hunger for control, but some are stronger than others, and therefore much harder to resist. When one (or several) of your Avatars is this powerful, you will have a hard time keeping it in check – not only do you have 2 Fugue Triggers for that Avatar, but one of them will be at least a Level 1 Common Trigger (if you choose to make it even more common you receive the extra points, as in the drawback – for instance, if instead of a level 1 Common Trigger you wish to make it a level 2, you will receive 5 points total = 4 from the Powerful Avatar Drawback, plus one for the increase in the obligatory Level 1 Common Trigger).