Immortal

Two men stand in a nameless field, swords drawn, ready to slay one another. The snow drifts obscuring their movements from prying eyes, they slash and hack at one another with a fervor seen in few mortals. When the dust clears, the victor stands above his defeated foe and shouts. "There can be only one!"

Live Forever

Immortals are just that, immortal humanoids. After they experience their first death and are confirmed to be an Immortal, they no longer age and do not suffer the effects of old age in the same way that mortals do. Immortals can't produce offspring but are born to Human parents.

Masters of the Blade

Immortals are artisans of swordplay and warfare. Many great blademasters, generals, and men at arms have been secretly Immortal, playing at their great game.

This is not an innate skill but every Immortal goes through the training at some point during their lifespan, lest they become easy prey for the other players.

The Game

Every Immortal is a player in the great game. The rules are not known to mortals and the game itself is kept a closely guarded secret.

The object of this brutal contest is to be the last Immortal standing. This one individual will receieve all the power and knowledge of every player in the great game that was unfortunate enough to have lost.

Roleplaying an Immortal

When playing an Immortal there are a few factors you should take into account.

Where does your Immortal hail from? Immortals carry the culture and art from their first life with them forever, these things changing slowly over time to fit the current era.

Who was your mentor? All Immortals get their knowledge from somewhere and it is the norm for an Immortal to have been mentored in swordsmanship and the art of combat by another Immortal of like mindset.

How did you discover your immortality? No one is sure they are Immortal until they die unnaturally and are returned to life. Your first death should be a memorable event that you keep as a closely guarded secret, lest your weaknesses be revealed.

Immortal Names

Immortals have many names and even more identities. An Immortal keeps their namefrom their first life but may choose to don a cover identity that fits in better with the locals or allows them to travel unimpeded. Because of this, Immortals are widely varied in culture and nomenclature with many choosing to use variants of names they have had in the past.

Immortal Traits

Immortals greatly resemble humans but are quite different from them.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1. Your Wisdom and Intelligence scores increase by 1.

Age. As an Immortal, you do not age but you retain the appearance that you had when you first died unnaturally. You suffer no ill effects from having been in your old age when you died although most immortals experience death some time after reaching the age of 20.

Alignment. Immortals come from various backgrounds and their alignments are widely varied. Their adherence to the Rules of the Game tends to make them lean more towards Lawful alignments.

Size. Immortals are reliatively similar to humans in height. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages. Your long life has afforded you time to learn many languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and two additional languages of your choice.

Time Worn Existence. You have proficiency with the History skill.

Immortal Weapon Training. You have proficiency with any weapon type that deals slashing damage as part of its' damage calculation.

Quickened Healing. When you recover health using hit die during a short rest, you always recover a minimum of 5 hit points per die used.

Immortality. You are functionally immortal but that does not mean you are immune to death. When you die, you resurrect after 2d4 hours with 1 hit point and you suffer three levels of exhaustion. You cannot die from exhaustion in this way. If your death comes by way of decapitation, your character is permanently dead. You also cannot permanently recover from any injuries you sustain to your neck. In addition, you are unaffected by spells that return your character to life. This includes the Reincarnation and Clone spells.

The Quickening. Whenever you decapitate another Immortal in one on one combat you are overwhelmed by The Quickening. You immediately gain any significant memories the slain Immortal possessed and, in addition, you gain half proficiency in one skill they were proficient with.

The Buzz. You possess the ability to sense other nearby Immortals. When you come within 500 feet of another Immortal you are immediately aware of their presence. Your DM decides how accurate this awareness is but the more powerful you are, the stronger the accuracy. If you have met this particular Immortal before, you are aware that the sensation is caused by him or her.