Everything I Know About Immortals...

[Immortal Methos]

...I learned from HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES.

I'm not sure where to post this, but since I mean it as a role-playing tool, I thought this might be okay here. I've been slowly re-watching the series and taking notes, which will be updated/added to as I get more. Anyway, this is what I have so far. Discussions welcome!

1): The stated, agreed-upon rule for battle between Immortals is One-on-One. Generally the warriors identify themselves and their indication to fight. Once the fight is engaged, no one else should interfere. However, there is no way to enforce this rule, and no penalty for rule breakers. ("The Gathering")

2): The "buzz" of an approaching Immortal is meant as a warning. It is not a "signature", as in "Ah, I can feel the approach of my old friend MacLeod." All "buzzes" feel alike. ("The Gathering")

3): "In the end, there can be only One." A "truism" passed from teacher to student as long as the Game has been in play, but the fact is no one really knows anything. Accordingly, the winner will have all the power of all the Immortals that ever were, thus being strong enough to rule over the world. ("The Gathering")

4): No Immortal can fight on Holy Ground. Not just consecrated ground, but truly holy. We're talking lay lines as well. If any gods-fearing people worshiped or felt that a spot was holy, apparently Immortals can feel it. We don't know what punishment can be meted out for breaking this most important rule, but apparently it is dire. Even the most depraved and evil Immortal will not break this rule. ("The Gathering")

5): While injuries heal completely, wounds to the face and neck sometimes scar. ("The Gathering")

6): Immortals can sense foundlings destined to become Immortal upon their First Death. Until their death, they are mortal, can be sick, injured, heal normally, but all are foundlings with no birth history. Some pre-Immortals die of old age and never reach their Immortality. ("Family Tree")

7): An Immortal can sense the death (beheading) of another Immortal if close by. ("The Road Not Taken")

8]: Though a minority, women are also found among the ranks of Immortals. Like their male counterparts, they are infertile. ("Freefall")

9): Immortals are immune to disease and tooth decay, but a pre-Immortal must die to become Immortal. ("Freefall")

10): Sometimes pre-Immortals are drawn to Immortals before their death, so they can have a teacher. ("Freefall")

11): The Quickening of another Immortal gives you their strength, possibly their knowledge. It can also make you way horny and charged with energy once you recover. ("Freefall")

12): The more severe the mortal blow, the longer it takes an Immortal to "revive." Head wounds take the longest, especially if they don't actually "kill" you. ("Deadly Medicine")

13): If an Immortal is beheaded in an accident, say... by a ship's propeller, the Quickening looks for the nearest Immortal to attack. ("The Sea Witch")

14): The "buzz" is not a beacon. When one feels it, it indicates another Immortal is near, but it does not pinpoint his location. To pick a direction, one must play a little "Hot, Hot, Cold." ("Revenge Is Sweet")

15): Holy Ground is useful as neutral territory where Immortals may talk without fear of being attacked. ("Band Of Brothers")

16): Poison gas can kill an Immortal, but once he revives he has acclimated to the new environment and can breath as naturally as if it were air. No "second death" occurs when switching back from toxic gas to normal air. ("For Tomorrow We Die")

17): As an added protection for when the Immortal is most vulnerable, a dead Immortal has no "buzz" or Quickening until he revives. ("For Tomorrow We Die")

18]: Some Immortals are "born" handicapped: ie: Ursa (various physical deformities, simple minded, perhaps a bit hard of hearing); Mikey (retarded); Lord Byron (club foot) ("The Beast Below")

19): The Amazing Amanda can pull a sword out of thin air. (Don't try this at home!) ("The Lady Or The Tiger")

20): A pre-Immortal experiencing First Death gives off an unusual "buzz" before dying. ("Avenging Angel")

21): Immortals can suffer from mental illness, just like mortals. ("Avenging Angel")

22): Quickening energy can spark from swords as Immortals fight, causing one to assume that the sword at that point truly is an extension of the Immortal's arm. ("Nowhere To Run")

23): If an Immortal is beheaded and there is no other Immortal around, the Quickening is lost. Forever. ("The Hunters")  

[Immortal Ghost]

I made the thread sticky since it brought up many good points, hope no one minds

 

[Gaston Marceau]

Not at all, this is a pretty good place for it, since the guild members can draw from it during their roleplay.

Told you Methos is a know it all. mrgreen  

[Immortal Methos]

Yup, I'm a smug smarty-pants. Just ask anyone! mrgreen

I'll be updating this periodically as I find time to watch more episodes. I'm glad you're finding it helpful -- I know I am!  

[Immortal Methos]

24] The Watchers are a secret society of mortals who believe they've been around as long as there have been Immortals. (This is debatable.) Their stated mission is to Watch, Record, and Not To Interfere. In the beginning Watchers had cells, with no central headquarters. A Watcher is assigned an Immortal to keep tabs on. Now there are headquarters and archives and even computer data bases. The Watchers have a "museum" where artifacts from defeated Immortals are kept, and they identify themselves to one another by a symbol tattooed in blue on their left wrist. ("The Watchers")  

[Immortal Methos]

25] Though it's rare, not all Immortals have 20/20 vision, and these unfortunates have to wear glasses. ("Turnabout")

26] If a dead Immortal is buried before he can revive, he'll stay buried and dead until someone digs him up -- thus allowing air into his lungs. ("Turnabout")  

[Immortal Methos]

27] The universe that the Highlander series takes place in assumes that some people have one or more Gifts: certain psychic powers. (Ex: seeing the future, psychometry, telepathy, hypnosis, etc.) Though it is rare among mortals, it even more rarely happens that a pre-Immortal has one or more of these Gifts. ("The Darkness")  

[xFTHMx]

some notes: not all buzzes feel alike, indicated by the different sounds used to indicate when Macleod was feeling the buzz. Before Duncan received his dark quickening, he knew his friend "felt" funny. Also, relative strength can be determined (Kalas assumes Duncan took Methos' head because he could feel Methos nearby and misinterpreted the feeling when Duncan revealed himself.)

Not all immortals can sense all pre-immortals all the time. it's kinda hit or miss. Before Richie was shot, no one else seemed to have any clue about his true nature.

Immortals must have some way of dampening their own aura when they're trying to be sneaky. Sometimes Duncan feels immortals from a long way off. Other times he doesn't feel anything until just before they leap around a corner to attack him.

Holy Ground is not entirely safe. Supposedly, Mt. Vesuvius erupted because a head was taken on holy ground (Joe mentions a legend to Richie in one episode), but in Highlander: Endgame, Jacob Kell takes about 12 heads in a row on holy ground, then proceeds to pick a fight with Connor in the cemetary.

It is thought that when a third party interferes in a Quickening, some of the third party's power transfers to the head-taker also. When Amanda Interferes, some lightning shoots from Duncan into her, and afterward he appears rather drained.

The Watchers are a fragmented organization, with rules being broken all the time. They never fully recovered from the James Horton fiasco, and it's unknown how many Watchers he had converted to his cause. Later in the series, they're even willing to put Duncan on trial alongside Joe and would have beheaded him. The fate of the watchers after that point is unclear, as they do not play a very large role in the last two seasons.  

[Immortal Methos]

Beg to differ a bit: If they intended for Methos' buzz to be different, they abandoned that idea after the episode "Methos." After that, Mac was just as unable to recognize him by his buzz than anyone else. And I suspect ANY Immortal who had been "swallowed by The Dark Side" would have a funny taint to his Quickening. It wasn't Koltec's Quickening buzz that Duncan was uneasy about, but the evil taint on it.

As for pre-Immortals, I suspect there is an unwritten agreement among "right-thinking" Immortals not to enlighten premmies about their potential. Since Conner, Amanda, etc. all knew Richie was a premmie, and they knew Duncan knew it, there was really no need to discuss the issue before the boy died.

There is a range for the buzz, and there is no way to dampen it. Some of the writers have been a little sloppy with it, but there's no need to screw up our RPs because of it. Roland Kantos sensed Cassandra in Mac's loft from the ground floor because they are both psychic. Mac and Kantos shouldn't have felt each others buzzes because they were out of range.

Holy Ground: the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was a punishment for the taking of a head on Holy Ground. It CAN happen, but the consequences are so dire that no one wants to risk it. (Ask Methos about Atlantis some time.) Jacob Kell was wearing boots that somehow defiled the Holy Ground upon which he stood, allowing him to attack. I'm not sure what was in the writers' minds on that one -- just plain goofy.

Interference: I'm sure there's some bleed-over when a Quickening is released. Good point.

The Watchers are never the same after the James Horton nightmare, it's true, but they do play a part all the way until Highlander: The Source, where Joe says they no longer exist. I often imagined that dedicated Watchers might band together with like-minded Immortals to keep the journals going, but that's just me.  

[Immortal Methos]

28] Apparently Immortals can leap down from great distances (approximately 2-3 stories) and remain unhurt enough to run off, whereas a mortal would have shattered leg bones. ("Epitaph For Tommy")  

[Kratos Krisna]

In the first Highlander Movie (which I saw, today) it showed the prize as being the ability to grow old, have children, and have the thoughts and knowledge of everyone on Earth in your mind.  

[Immortal Methos]

Kratos Krisna

In the first Highlander Movie (which I saw, today) it showed the prize as being the ability to grow old, have children, and have the thoughts and knowledge of everyone on Earth in your mind.

Yeah, that was when the movie was considered a one shot. In the series, Conner shows up to visit Duncan afterward. It's clear that they still considered it is the Time of the Gathering, that the Game was still going on.

Joe Dawson even tells Duncan that Conner did the world a favour by killing the Kurgan.

So we are going on the assumption that Conner was euphoric for a while but after he "came down" he realized that he wasn't the last, and that the Immortals still do not know what the Prize really is.