From the dawn of time we came; moving silently down through the centuries, living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering; when the few who remain will battle to the last.

No one has ever known we were among you... until now.

---

Welcome to the city of Guilford.

To those in the know, it is something of a gathering place for Immortals and those who follow in their footsteps. While it is not the final place of the Gathering, it has still seen a fair share of combat from those who seek The Prize. These clashes between Immortals usually go unseen by Mortals (with the exceptions of the Watchers), but sometimes a Mortal might get caught in the middle of a duel between two Immortals and will either soon learn about The Game or may just begin investigating what they've witnessed by themselves. While the Watchers are more than happy to observe and record these battles from the shadows, a handful of Watchers have splintered off of the order and instead of observing Immortals, they would rather see Immortals wiped from the face of the earth. Calling themselves Hunters, these men and women kill Immortals not for sport, but out of the fear that should one Immortal grow too powerful, he might take over the world, and naturally a few have recently set up shop in Guilford to try and thin the numbers of the numerous Immortals within the city.

The city of Guilford is about to become a very interesting place...

---

Well, that's the introduction out of the way, and welcome to my little take on the Highlander universe in an RP format. For those of you familiar with the setting, we'll be working with a continuity similar to that of the earlier seasons of the TV series (the Kurgan's deader than disco, the Watchers are a thing, etc.). For those of you unfamiliar, but don't want to watch through an entire season of a 20+ year old TV show (or catch the first film), here's a synopsis; Immortal warriors are battling through the ages in order to be the last one standing and gain the accumulated power and memories of all other Immortals. Some mortals, known as Watchers, have taken to recording the lives of various immortals through the ages (with each known immortal being assigned a Watcher who naturally changes as the previous Watcher dies or retires) while at the same time not interfering in the affairs of Immortals. Occasionally Immortals will clash swords in the shadows, far out of sight of most mortals, but sometimes someone will witness a duel between Immortals, leading them down the rabbit hole so to speak (usually this involves the mortal in question becoming close friends with one of the Immortals they've witnessed or joining the Watchers).

Immortals have a few rules when it comes to how they operate:

• There can be only one: Immortals must fight to the last man standing, though they may make friends with their fellow immortals and even enjoy peaceful lives. However as their numbers eventually dwindle they will be drawn to fight with each other until only one remains (this is what is known as The Gathering).
• No fighting on holy Ground: This is a pretty big one. Immortals cannot fight on Holy Ground, be it a Church, Temple, Mosque, Synagogue or even an ancient ritual sites such as the Stonehenge. To put it into perspective, the last time two immortals clashed on holy ground, it lead to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. When two immortals begin to break this rule, they may notice warning signs that things are about to go poorly for them. However, this rule does not apply to Immortals battling Mortals and vice versa.
• One on one fights: Fairly self-explanatory. While this is more of a code of honour than an actual rule (which has lead to it being broken on a handful of occasion by less than scrupulous Immortals), it is followed by most Immortals nevertheless.

Should you want more details, the Highlander wiki has a more in-depth article here

Additionally, Immortals are slightly more powerful than Mortals in that they are both quicker and stronger (though not to the extremes of say, a superhero, think more of being slightly above the strength and speed of an expert martial artist).

As for the setting of this game, the city of Guilford is located in the north-eastern corner of New York State and has a fairly sizeable population (not on par with NYC, but still a large city) and the year is 2017. The city is fairly typical in that it has various districts focused around various forms of business (Retail, white collar, etc.) as well as a fair few factories and museums.

And just a few GM notes; please refrain from making a MacLeod, there have been 5 different MacLeods who were immortal depending on your continuity, and we don't need any more in this continuity. I'm okay with your character having interacted with canon characters at some point, but I'd prefer if it was kept to crossing paths (or swords) with said characters.

---

Sign up sheets

Do excuse all the reading involved in the immortal sheet.

Immortals:

• Name: Immortals usually have multiple names, depending on their age, feel free to include as many as you see fit.
• Gender:
• Age: Immortals under 100 are extremely rare, but not unheard of in the continuity we're working out of.
• Appearance: Pictures or descriptions are fine by me.
• Alignment: [[labelnote:Lots of reading on Immortal alignments]] Immortals tend to generally fall into two categories, good and evil. Good Immortals are going to generally be decent human beings who obey laws and generally only fight when provoked (Canon example: Duncan MacLeod). On the other end of the spectrum, Evil immortals are basically supervillains, using their immortality to wreak havoc on the mortal world and will usually go around trying to pick fights with their fellow immortals (Canon example: The Kurgan). Naturally, not all evil immortals are going to be twirling their moustaches and cackling maniacally all the time, just like how good immortals aren't all going to be paragons of the light, shades of grey are definitely a thing in the Highlander universe. Additionally, when facing an immortal who happens to be on one of the extreme ends of the alignment spectrum opposite their own, an immortal might absorb a light or dark quickening, which essentially forces an alignment shift (Under absolutely no circumstances will I make a PC change alignment, if you want to include it in a backstory or have it happen in game, feel free). The effects of these quickenings can be staved off, though it isn't an easy task by any stretch of the imagination (for more info, I'd recommend the wiki, apologies for forcing all this reading). [[/note]]
• Equipment and assets: Stuff that your character might own that wouldn't be considered a weapon (cars, buildings, stores, etc.)
• Weapon(s): Please keep it somewhat grounded in reality. I won't object to something that's somewhat stylized but still could be used as a practical weapon (Like Connor and Duncan's katanas or the Kurgan's broadsword), and do keep in mind that this has to be a weapon capable of removing a head. While firearms aren't against the rules of The Game to use, they're generally frowned upon.
• Skils/Abilities:
• Personality:
• Bio: Please include the details on how your character discovered their immortality.
• Misc: Anything that you think needs to be added that the rest of the sheet missed.

Mortals

• Name:
• Gender:
• Age:
• Appearance: Pictures or descriptions are fine by me.
• Equipment and assets: Stuff that your character might own that wouldn't be considered a weapon (cars, buildings, stores, etc.)
• Weapon(s):
• Skils/Abilities:
• Personality:
• Bio:
• Misc: Anything that you think needs to be added that the rest of the sheet missed.

---

And that's that! If you have any questions at all, do ask me!

edited 9th Jun '17 12:07:40 PM by Eachiunn

I call dibs on remaking Clayton from Armies of the Night as a Watcher.

Yo I'm barely on the grid right now, I'll post someone once I'm back in town and on wifi.

• Name: Ray Wayne Holmes, Heide
• Gender: Male
• Age: 180
• Appearance: Heide's tall, standing about 6,8 with a lanky build and arms that almost reach down to his knees. He has greyish-brown hair that reaches down to his shoulders. He seems to be mid-thirties with blue eyes.
• Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, leaning towards evil.
• Equipment and assets:
• Beaten up toyota
  • Well over a million dollars on several accounts, all stolen.
• Weapon(s): Heider carries around a briefcase full of 'toys'
  • DIY Machete made from a lawnmower blade. Heide calls it 'Vanessa'
  • Hacksaw
  • Sawwed off shotgun
  • Cattle hammer
• Skils/Abilities:
  • Brutal Fighter
  • Strong
  • Combat Pragmatists
  • Skilled with guns
• Personality: Heide is an attention whore, quick and simple. He will not hesitate to commit any act, vile as it will be, though he tends to give the facade of a polite, genteel, southern country bumpkin. Heide does have doubts and second thoughts, and if willing to listen, will engage in a civil discussion with another immortal-though this may be a trap. He is addicted to oranges.
• Bio: Some people discovered immortality from a heroic act. Heide found it the first time he was executed for war crimes. From there, Heide's been a wandering vagrant, trying his hand at immortality, trying all there is to do when a woman tried to kill him, her name was Sheba and she told Heide of the game. Now, Heide's fascinated with the concept of quickening and is here to either win or simply have fun.

edited 15th Jun '17 1:48:15 AM by TroyandHawk

Good to be back

• Name: Born Andrei Khabalov, then Antonio Cavata, then Anthony Carbler, then Andrew Khabalov, has always wanted to be known as The Snake but never really had the confidence to introduce himself as such.
• Gender: M
• Age: 129
• Appearance: Posing a little. He hasn't moved very far past the looks of the 90s. He's about 5'7.
• Alignment: Evil by nature of wanting to win The Game in kind of a dickish way?
• Equipment and assets:
  • A lot of steel wire and cabling of different lengths
  • A good stock of old and extremely unsafe lighter fluid
  • Tools for the maintenance and modification of swords and firearms
  • A small apartment downtown over a gun shop
• Weapon(s):
  • A Shashka, refined with modern metallurgy techniques to keep it sharp and effective, with a channel in it instead of a hollow.
  • A Steyr TMP with that SPP modification listed on the Wikipedia page.
  • Handcuffs. Lots of them.
• Skils/Abilities:
  • Andrei is fluent in English, German, Italian, and Russian, though the Russian especially ends up sounding a little outdated.
  • Talented at the modification and maintenance of modern firearms.
  • Andrei is actually still a damn good cop! He knows how to deescalate a situation and how to disarm and arrest someone.
• Personality: Andrei likes to think of himself as someone fairly pragmatic and no-nonsense, but he's fairly melodramatic and sometimes kind of dumb. He gloats if he gets the drop on someone, and he likes to flaunt that he doesn't play by the rules of the Game. He's loved getting into big important photos over the years to mess with people, making sure to make the same pose every time and hold up progressively more fingers in different crowd shots.
• Bio: Andrei was a rich kid who always wanted to be known for something beyond his own privilege. He grew up in luxury, but joined the Gendarmes and led a... relatively successful career, for a time. Then the February Revolution came about. Known as a heroic and straightforward kind of guy Andrei stepped toward a protesting crowd to attempt to calm them down; he was immediately impaled and hoisted up on a pike as a demonstration, dying minutes later from massive blood loss. When Khabalov discovered his immortality shortly afterwards, he tested it extensively, dying multiple times and testing his own ability to be injured before death as well. As Russia moved forward, he kept to himself and watched how people fought, fascinated with the course history was taking without him. He had died during the twilight years of the blade, and as the gun overtook it he started to take interest in it. Andrei took up the name Antonio and moved to Italy to study their army's weaponry, and it was here that he met another Immortal, who finally explained the Game to him at the late age of 35 only to immediately attack him. With no blade at hand, Khabalov was forced to fight back under a hail of gunfire, only to eventually still defeat the Immortal with the sheer quantity of bullets forcibly tearing the guy's head from his body. It was formative for him, because this was the second guy he'd known who'd died holding onto honorable traditions, like only using a sword, and giving him the rules of the game beforehand (he guessed, because the first was HIMSELF, HA!). Finally taking up the name Andrew Khabalov and coming to America, he resolved to win the Game by any means necessary.

WIP

• Name:Sir Geoffrey Donadieu, originally. Will often use some localization of that name depending on where he's staying. To other immortals, he's known as the Poor Knight of Christ, or the Last Templar
• Gender:Male
• Age:950
• Appearance:Just under six feet tall with a sturdy, corn-fed build. Little on the hairy side for a man his apparent age, bearing a bushy black beard contrasted by a head shaved nearly bald. His are brown, made only regular by inflicting a slightly sad, but kind look. Shallow lines carved into his face sometimes betray an unintended severity. By necessity, he's more often than not found in clothes better suited for work or hard travel.
• Alignment:Lawful Good
• Equipment and Assets:
  • A 1979 Ford LTD
  • A few very small houses and cottages across Western Europe and the Eastern United States
  • Various odd and ends good for long-distance trips (changes of clothes, first aid kit, jumper cables, et cetera.)
  • Set of 12th century maille armor
  • About 200,000 in funds. Centuries of relative austerity has its long-term benefits.
• Weapons:
  • Longsword, of similar age to the armor, though remade with modern day techniques. Can be used comfortably in one hand or two
  • A dagger, about a foot long
  • Ballistic Shield, sized well enough to carry in one hand and protect from the head to the waist.
• Skills/Abilities:
  • Accomplished fencer and knife fighter, trained well in multiple schools of Western swordsmanship
  • Trained in conventional boxing and grappling, applying them in tandem with fencing
  • Intermediate repair skills from odd jobs he's taken while travelling. A little carpentry, a little car work, a little plumbing. He can keep what he has from wearing down, and make a little spending money.
  • Skilled Equestrian and driver. Comes with the lifestyle, in this millennium and the last.
• Personality: A regular knight in shining armor, in our very age; though the truth of what that really entailed still weighs heavily on an otherwise powerful conscience. Despite the worst of times and his undoubtedly strange situation, Geoffrey retains the faith. In God, in His creation, and his own place in both. His mission is to serve and defend the good things in this world against the bad, and more often than not, the bad exists in the form of other Immortals and their human servants. Keeping in mind the tenets of chivalry and the code of all Immortals, he intends for his crusade to carry on for many centuries more. Old habits die hard. Of course, this almost Quixotic struggle of his could also be a means of distracting himself from a world that has changed massively. And in an old man's opinion, not always for the better.
• Bio: Sir Geoffrey was born in the latter half of the eleventh century, the first son of middling French nobility. A young man as pious and martially inclined as he was might have been a boon to many others in the same situation as their parents, but the leaders of the Donadieu family had recently taken to more cultural, artistic, and political tendencies than militaristic ones. His younger brother, Jacobi Dondieu, was much more the mind to carry on the family's ideal legacy. In another time, or another climate, or another situation (one where Geoffrey had no love for his family as he truly did) this might have become a problem. But when Pope Innocent declared a pilgrims' war against the Turks and in the defense of the Christian Byzantines, both Geoffrey and his family saw ample opportunity for this awkwardness to be resolved nobly. If all went well, there was the possibility that Geoffrey may attain lands and titles his very own, though like many young knights of his kind, the material rewards for reclaiming the Holy Land were dwarfed by the call to religious service.

All did not go well. The first crusade was, by the standards of most, a success. But Geoffrey witnessed much slaughter in the meantime, not just of the enemy but of those he saw as innocent as well. Regardless, he fought valiantly still to reclaim Jerusalem, having seen the causalities of war as an acceptable cost of a holy end. The violence he witnessed (and partook in) at Jerusalem challenged his assertion strongly. So much so, that when the Seljuks came to reclaim the city, he fought bearing a years-long turmoil that one can rarely afford when one's life is on the line. He escaped the city, but not before what some might call 'dying'. He got better, discovering a new life and strength while barely managing to escape a shallow grave in Lebanon. He was greeted by a cheeky and obsequious Arab, who went on to explain exactly why he wasn't surprised to see a fully armored knight escape the grave, before attempting to send him back sans a head. Under differing identities, the Templar was a constant presence in the manifold attempts at reclaiming Jerusalem, though any real hope of achieving this died with the disastrous Fourth Crusade. Despite what the knight felt as his life's original calling being all for naught, Geoffrey never stopped fighting. The evils of and in the world took on many faces and professed many creeds, and some of the Devil's servants lacked the temerity to have their life of sin end naturally. The risk of any of the Evil Immortals gaining the means to rule the world was too great for him to give up despite his many errors. He would commit his life to repentance, as he was taught as a boy.

edited 19th Jun '17 1:31:04 AM by goodisgood

To the law and for the good of man. All I need to live by.

DONE

Name: Clayton Masterman

Gender: Male

Age: 56

Appearance: Of average height, with a wiry body of a professional soldier though slightly stooped by years of age. Clay possesses a craggy face with dark eyes, and favors a trimmed beard, while his salt-and-pepper hair kept neat and swept back, though he occasionally shaves it off if the mood is on him.

All in all, he looks like some senior citizen enjoying the twilight of his life, were it not for his careful movements, the way he tilts his neck to take in a room, and the easy practiced way his large hands can move.

Equipment and assets:

• Technically a senior with plenty of time on his hands, Clay owns a little shop that sells and repairs classic clocks and watches, along with spare parts for said mechanisms for the hobbyist.

• A cozy ground floor apartment and all that such entails; taxes, a pension, and a safe place. It comes with a gun vault and his Library of Immortal lore.

• A Buick Lucerne◊, a gift from a ward who did well for himself.

Weapon(s):

• Senor◊, an ancient revolver that looks ostensibly like a classic Smith and Wesson. Known for the brand's reliability, the barrel and handle also bear intricate markings.

• A Mossberg Super Shorty◊ for when things get serious.

Skils/Abilities: Thanks to his status as Watcher, Clay is well-versed in the secret history of the immortals. However, he still has a ways to go before he can unlock some of the deeper secrets of this secretive race.

Formerly an SAS officer during Vietnam, the old-timer is a sterling scout and light infantryman. Though his bones creak in the damp, Clay is inured to hardship and still moves with a trace of his old expertise, though he isn't as handy in prolonged close quarters as he used to be. An outdoorsman by hobby, he has retained plenty of his old outdoor skills.

Lastly, Clay has come to be very fond of fixing mechanisms like clocks and wind-up machines. In a heartbeat, he can reset broken gears and make them tick and whir like new.

Personality: Metaphorically, Clayton is perpetually a month or so away from retirement. But it's hard to keep a good detective down. Especially if they've been a soldier for most of their life. Prone to workaholic tendencies, Clay's dedicated and avuncular manner hides a lonely hero worn out by time and experience.

Bio: An old expatriate now based in Guildford, Clayton Masterman has served the United Kingdom as a former SAS captain and has now taken up the Vigil. A young man during the Vietnam conflict, his unit had been involved in the last ugly battles in Saigon to keep the NVA away from the lanes of retreat when they had borne witness to The Gathering.

Most of those who returned chalked it up to adrenaline and battle madness. But the memories haunted Clayton. To the point where he thought he really was losing the plot until one of his superiors began to induct him into the great mysteries of the Immortals.

Now a Watcher, Clayton is based in Guilford as the Gatherings begin once again. And as is his duty, he must bear witness and observe. And maybe even advise.

Misc: The man who inducted him into the Watchers have been missing, 10 years to the day when the local news media began to report the strange occurrences.

edited 25th Jun '17 8:25:59 PM by KR_Vandal

Heide: Rejected for now, need more details on the backstory and maybe a slightly more fleshed out personality, don't have a lot to work with here.

Andrei: You're in. Bring that real soviet quickening.

Geoffery: Loving it so far, unless you make some drastic changes you're in.

Sorry folks but I think I'm gonna have to call this one DOA due to an apparent lack of interest.