Can Immortalities overlap?

atkindave · Unread post by **atkindave** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:05 pm

I'm with darkmax (for once)

Once you achieve one sort of immortality, there is little reason to seek another. If you've got the ginseng, your not going to sell your soul or spend decades meditating or remove your own organs or whatever. Or, once you've removed your organs, you're not going to worry about ginseng, and you can't "die" to become an undead immortal. Etc.

Sgt Anjay · Unread post by **Sgt Anjay** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:29 pm

There are many cases where it wouldn't work out, but the overall point is solid; some methods could overlap logically within the lifespan of an immortal.
A Yin Immortal in the last stages who realized they were going to die could be desperate enough to try most anything. In fact, in their description it says "a few Yin Immortals turn bad and, desperate in an attempt to cling to life, try whatever other pathways to Immortality they can find!" They would be the most likely to have overlapping immortalities.
An alchemical immortal who was involved with alchemy, or who became interested in alchemy after becomming an alchemical immortal (since most of these immortals were actually test subjects who got lucky), may very well be interested in the properties of a ginseng. In fact, anyone who's involved in alchemy and was evil would be interested in capturing a ginseng, whether they're immortal or not.
A living dead-immortal who has reached the more unpleasant stages of decay might make deals or go to odd measures to restore themselves. I could see them possibly falling for the promises of possesive spirits or infernals and such, becoming an odd hybrid of living dead and possessed or damned immortal.
Then of course, the companion immortal isn't so much a path as just being the companion to a fallen deity, so any of the other paths with the possible exception of immortals of sleep could become companion immortals.

Speaking of immortals of sleep, I do have one question I'd like to throw out there for opinions. While in their Profound Sleep, these immortals live out entire dream-lives, where they gain real skills, powers, and abilities. So what happens if they, for example, study the path of internal alchemy and become an enlightened immortal? Their spirit has actually become enlightened even if their real body is asleep is a hiding spot. Maybe this is the source of the rumored "divine powers" that really ancient Immortals of Sleep are supposed to have?

Sgt Anjay · Unread post by **Sgt Anjay** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:26 pm

Darkmax wrote:yeah, but when they switch they usually die shortly after.

How do you figure? And in which case?

atkindave · Unread post by **atkindave** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:29 pm

Well, one could have their immortality replaced in that fashion, but would probably lose most (probably all) of the abilities of their previous immortality. So, not really overlapping, just replacing. IMO anyway.

Sgt Anjay · Unread post by **Sgt Anjay** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:24 pm

Conversion to Yin immortality wouldn't be a bright idea. Conversion from Yin immortality is not only a very good idea, but something the book says that some Yin immortals desperately seek.
I'm hearing alot of generalities, but nothing that would actually prohibit two simultaneous immortalities.

Ginseng immortals can use alchemy to create elixirs from ginseng (and so could develop an alchemical immortality), and alchemical immortals who are interested in alchemy would be interested in the properties of a ginseng plant. An overlap of these two immortalities seems extremely logical, since there is motive for an immortal of one means to seek out the other. I could see these types of immortalities replacing; the ginseng "healing" the alchemical immortality, or the alchemical immortality "flushing" the ginseng.

Living deads, having degraded to one of the more disgusting states, and already in trouble with the infernals, would be very amenable to a deal with possessing entities (possessed immortal) or with the infernals themselves (damned immortal). I'm not sure being infused with a negative chi spirit or infernal power would neccesarily make you not living dead anymore, or wipe out other abilities of that state. Would those forms of immortality bring your dead body back to life?

I'm still fond of my immortals of sleep idea.....they live entire lifetimes in their dreams, where they gain real experience, power, and abilities. What exactly stops them, during one of those dream lifetimes, from reaching enlightenment? Nothing stated in the book that I can see. Though, they would probably remain an immortal of sleep in the real world even if they did reach enlightenment, continuing to live dream lives, even as their enlightened abilities grew.

Then of course, there's the companion immortal....you just dont age because you're a companion to a fallen deity. This would almost certainly be an overlap situation unless someone can point out how being around a fallen deity would cancel out the other immortalities, and could theoretically happen to anyone or anything.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:05 pm

I'd hand out some hefty consequences in those events of overlap...you might think you've cheated death for awhile, but karma or bad biochemistry will conspire to make sure your new lease on life is anything BUT what you had planned....Like that alchemitic concoction freezing you in place as a statute for perpetuity, or the demon cursing you to forever wear its visage for the rest of eternity...
In those situations, you might well beg for death, because nothing short of a personal reprieve from the kami is going to get you off...
You're playing with cosmic forces, after all....

Sgt Anjay · Unread post by **Sgt Anjay** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:00 am

I could definately see nastiness coming your way if you play with your body and soul to the point some of these immortalities do. It wouldn't be something you'd aim for or really want outside of the most desperate of circumstances. Of course, Yin Immortals and Living Dead Immortals easily find themselves in these desperate circumstances; one is realizing that after centuries of work they're still doomed to die, while the other is trapped in a rotted and decomposing corpse.

And I'm still sticking by my Enlightened Immortal of Sleep.

eliakon · Unread post by **eliakon** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:33 pm

I can see that some forms would replace other forms, and some would overlap and some would be mutually exclusive. This all goes back to the comment that Immortals are unique individuals and that the stats are just generalities. So you really need to make a case by case decission. For one example I have in a game a person that has abilites from the catigories Alchemical Imortal, Heartless Imortal, and Companion Imortal. He was a test subject for an infernal chi sorcerer (Alchemical Imortal, who had his heart removed to control him, and as part of a test to see if the spell formula the demon had was the correct, now he's heartless) the demon is destroyed by some heros working for a god. The poor slob has no were to go back to (his village was destroyed 1,500 years ago) so the heros allow him to tag along. He ends up as the companion/aide/friend to one of the gods children. *shrug* I would say that ANY immortal in a campain needs to be there for a reason, and should be fully fleshed out.