Immortality? Canon ways to get it?

[MaxxSterling]

I'm running an epic campaign and I need a way to grant immortality to a character. I don't want Gods involved. What are some canon ways to make this happen. The character is an elf, so already has a decent life span, but not immortal. I know of the crown of darkness or whatever, but I don't want the character to have to change alignments or turn into a monster (vampirism, etc). Have you come across anything in your readings, I have all books and all rifters. I'd like to keep it within the PFRPG system, but I'd consider branching out to Rifts, etc if necessary.

Any input is appreciated.

[MurderCityDisciple]

You're the GM, it's always within your power to come up with what best suits your narrative.

You don't want the Gods involved you say, so I'd come up with something biological. How biological is up to you. If I were in your shoes I'd make it permanant regeneration...the character in question can seem to die, but no matter how damaged will eventually regenerate.

How he/she got that way, I'd either make it something in the bloodline or even better a complete mystery. You can make the quest for the reason why part of the storyline.

Possible How's.
Immortal faery ancestry or a God's blessing in the bloodline.
Alien bio-technology from a Rifted abductor.
Mutation.
Trapped in the Matrix.

Have fun with it...don't worry so much about canon. You are the canon...BOOM...Grapeshot to the face!!

[drewkitty ~..~]

There is the path of immortality in Mystic China. And a few false paths also.

[MaxxSterling]

There is the path of immortality in Mystic China. And a few false paths also.

That's the type of stuff I'm looking for. I wish it were PFRPG, but I can branch out if needed. Thanks for the input.

Anything else?

[Armorlord]

There is the path of immortality in Mystic China. And a few false paths also.

That's the type of stuff I'm looking for. I wish it were PFRPG, but I can branch out if needed. Thanks for the input.

Anything else?

Besides the paths to immortality, you could look through the Immortal Mega-Hero power category in one of the Power Unlimited books, most involve turning them into a supernatural force, but you can still mine it for ideas, and differing examples of 'immortal'.

[FreelancerMar]

Ninjabunny is correct. The Circle of Immortality is in Book3 Adventures on the High Seas. Also in book 2 the old ones(1st edition) There is either the Circle of youth/Rejuvination(i'll have to reread the book) Using that circle about every 20 years or so can confer a type of Immortality upon a character without turning them into a supernatural creature. There are some others but I cannot think of them at the moment.

[The Dark Elf]

As above have all said but also included bonding with Mindprancer.

[pblackcrow]

You're the GM, it's always within your power to come up with what best suits your narrative.

You don't want the Gods involved you say, so I'd come up with something biological. How biological is up to you. If I were in your shoes I'd make it permanant regeneration...the character in question can seem to die, but no matter how damaged will eventually regenerate.

How he/she got that way, I'd either make it something in the bloodline or even better a complete mystery. You can make the quest for the reason why part of the storyline.

Possible How's.
Immortal faery ancestry or a God's blessing in the bloodline.
Alien bio-technology from a Rifted abductor.
Mutation.
Trapped in the Matrix.

Have fun with it...don't worry so much about canon. You are the canon...BOOM...Grapeshot to the face!!

I have actually done something like that...A bad guy who could regenerate back from the dead and was exactly as young as he when they first killed him, with all of his digits, arms, legs, head, etc. They tried locking him in a prison to starve, cutting off his head, cutting out his heart, a silver nail spike in his coffin, etc. NEVER THOUGHT OF CREMATING THE BODY AFTERWARDS! So, 24 hours later, he was completely healed. Finally, the mage wised up and said that they needed to destroy the body completely and she had taken the spell "Bonfire of Purification" in a previous game because there were going up against vampires.

[Zamion138]

there is that necro spell that gives you undead life, takes a month to cast ...but you basicly become a vampire with out all the negatives or controling AI on your back to spread your dark ways around all day and night.

[MaxxSterling]

Thanks for all the input, I have to look into each of these. I'd actually prefer if there were some minor drawback. But going vampire is too much drawback. I looked at the flawed immorality circle, but the problem is getting the character to it. I want this to happen almost by accident, so they aren't even aware of it until, everyone around them dies and 800 years have passed and they are still kicking.

[MurderCityDisciple]

You're the GM, it's always within your power to come up with what best suits your narrative.

You don't want the Gods involved you say, so I'd come up with something biological. How biological is up to you. If I were in your shoes I'd make it permanant regeneration...the character in question can seem to die, but no matter how damaged will eventually regenerate.

How he/she got that way, I'd either make it something in the bloodline or even better a complete mystery. You can make the quest for the reason why part of the storyline.

Possible How's.
Immortal faery ancestry or a God's blessing in the bloodline.
Alien bio-technology from a Rifted abductor.
Mutation.
Trapped in the Matrix.

Have fun with it...don't worry so much about canon. You are the canon...BOOM...Grapeshot to the face!!

I have actually done something like that...A bad guy who could regenerate back from the dead and was exactly as young as he when they first killed him, with all of his digits, arms, legs, head, etc. They tried locking him in a prison to starve, cutting off his head, cutting out his heart, a silver nail spike in his coffin, etc. NEVER THOUGHT OF CREMATING THE BODY AFTERWARDS! So, 24 hours later, he was completely healed. Finally, the mage wised up and said that they needed to destroy the body completely and she had taken the spell "Bonfire of Purification" in a previous game because there were going up against vampires.

The funny thing is I've taken the 'regen no matter what' concept even further with a superhero character I once came up with...THE VICTIM.

His only power was as long as there was some piece of him left anywhere in the world, be it a dandruff flake, a dried booger in a hankie or any other tiny bit of DNA, he would respawn from whatever part was nearest and then come back for more.

[MaxxSterling]

Looked into all of these canon ideas and they all have dire negative consequences, which will not work. Why can't elves just me immortal in this game... Looks like I'll have to make some crap up, unless anyone else has any ideas. I hate having to make stuff up like this, it's so stupid to me.

[Hotrod]

#1. Rifts Mercenaries has a potential solution. In it is a female NPC who is a member of a human-looking psychic immortal race. She can still die from violence and such, but not from natural causes or age. I don't remember her name, but she's in one of the mercenary groups (Not Larson's... Braddock's, perhaps?) Since the character is already created... you could try some kind of variation on this with #2.

#2. You could psychically transfer the character's consciousness permanently (psychic possession?) into an immortal body, or into a clone (but the latter would kind of defeat the whole fantasy angle).

#3. Sleeping in a magic pyramid adds a day's life expectancy to the sleeper. That would kinda sorta work, except that rules out travel. Make a pyramid where the character can retire... a difficult-to-reach Shangri-La of sorts.

#4. You could have some powerful entity use his soul in the creation of a rune weapon/item.http://palladium-megaverse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=81278 Click this link for a related idea; it might just be what you're looking for.

[Armorlord]

Thanks for all the input, I have to look into each of these. I'd actually prefer if there were some minor drawback. But going vampire is too much drawback. I looked at the flawed immorality circle, but the problem is getting the character to it. I want this to happen almost by accident, so they aren't even aware of it until, everyone around them dies and 800 years have passed and they are still kicking.

Well, the method for Lord Coake was that during his adventuring days they had found an artifact of great power which a friend tried to use to wish them all into gods, the item flashed out of existence and nothing seemed to happen, no great powers or returning from the dead, but he found that, as the centuries started to roll by, that he aged at a much-reduced rate and he believes that event to be the cause.

Not aging or aging very slowly is something that will take a long time to notice in an adult. This could just be something that happened, or combination of things, over the course of an adventuring career that could have lead to it. Perhaps prompting adventure centuries later to attempt to retrace his steps to figure out just what caused it.
Was it the experimental potion he drank? Was is the fey-well that he drank from during his recovery from the previous? Was the golden lightning the nearly killed him as he claimed the macguffin they sought? The energies unleashed as they foiled the great enemy they needed the macguffin for? Who knows!

[FreelancerMar]

All things Considered you must Remember that


THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!!

[MaxxSterling]

I also found a fountain in Silvereno in the New West book, under the Sheriff's description that can grant lasting life, but it's a prolonged thing, not a one shot deal.

[Zamion138]

fountain of life down in south america...the spanish didnt find it but hey PC's are luckier than the inca's and the spanish conquistadors right?

[The Beast]

#1. Rifts Mercenaries has a potential solution. In it is a female NPC who is a member of a human-looking psychic immortal race. She can still die from violence and such, but not from natural causes or age. I don't remember her name, but she's in one of the mercenary groups (Not Larson's... Braddock's, perhaps?) Since the character is already created... you could try some kind of variation on this with

She's know as The Dreamer (IIRC) and she's in the Demon Busters.

[Omega6]

The Lhotse Elixir, in LotD 1: Chaos Lands page 38, is another way.

[Nekira Sudacne]

It is important to note that, when looking through mystic china for immortals, all immortality that is not enlightened is a false path. even a supernatural being like a demon who is naturally immortal is on a false path, and they have an even longer way to go for enligtenment than mortals. But in general, any sentient being of any race can acheive enlightenment.

in fact, many of the false paths listed there are perfectly fine paths for most game's purposes, although some have major drawbacks.

[MaxxSterling]

Omega 6, that is getting closer to what I'm talking about and I may end up using that. I just wish every path wasn't flawed in some way.

[Long Shadow]

The Alchemical Immortal is Immortal, in that they don't die naturally. The heartless immortal is easy too.
The Real problem is that Mystic China Doesn't really include stats you could use in 2e Style games
You want to look at Rifter 3 which converts Mystic China into Rifts. Rifter 17 Does this as .

Mystic China is directly compatible with 2nd Ed. Palladium Fantasy. It's got SDC and PPE.

[13eowulf]

There is the Super Power of Immortality, and there are different ways of gaining super powers....

[Long Shadow]

The Alchemical Immortal is Immortal, in that they don't die naturally. The heartless immortal is easy too.
The Real problem is that Mystic China Doesn't really include stats you could use in 2e Style games
You want to look at Rifter 3 which converts Mystic China into Rifts. Rifter 17 Does this as .

Mystic China is directly compatible with 2nd Ed. Palladium Fantasy. It's got SDC and PPE.

Mystic China is more compatible with 1st ed / Revised games with how "minor" everything is.

It's not, It uses the BTS 1st edition mechanics with everything with really low SDC and really low PPE.
the revised stats give every type/stage bonuses.

1st Ed Palladium Fantasy didn't have PPE and I believe characters didn't have SDC. Since we are talking about Palladium Fantasy, I assumed your reference to 1st Ed. was towards Palladium Fantasy.

[FreelancerMar]

BTS 1st Ed was the very first Palladium product to use the PPE Setup.

This means that BTS and Mystic China ARE compatable with the Megaversal system, which means that you should be able to drop them into almost any other Megaversal game and hit the ground running.

[13eowulf]

You do not understand, they are mathematically compatible, but not thematically. They are written on a different power scale.

Yes, they are on a different power scale.... and?

Being on a different power scale does not make them incompatible, thematically or otherwise.

In fact, it could even be the theme of the game, a rifted group, lost, found by a few local Rifts denizens, who help them learn to survive this harsh new world...

Isn't that practically the essence of Rifts? Seems thematically appropriate to me...

[Long Shadow]

You do not understand, they are mathematically compatible, but not thematically. They are written on a different power scale.

If we were talking about Mystic China in Rifts, I could understand that there is a different power scale, but we are discussing using Mystic China in Palladium Fantasy (as per the OP and forum) which are both SDC level world neither of which are high powered.

[13eowulf]

You do not understand, they are mathematically compatible, but not thematically. They are written on a different power scale.

If we were talking about Mystic China in Rifts, I could understand that there is a different power scale, but we are discussing using Mystic China in Palladium Fantasy (as per the OP and forum) which are both SDC level world neither of which are high powered.

Apologies for my Rifts comments above, I did not realize that this was about systems so close together. Although this confuses me more as to why there are questions as to compatibility.

[13eowulf]

There is also plenty of available material converting N&SS and Mystic China to the other systems as well.

[X'Zanthar]

1st Ed. PF had a Psionic Ability that would turn you into a psionic entity.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Because Palladium fantasy is one of the Chi-less systems (There is a Rifter Article that covers Palladium fantasy/Heroes conversions into Mystic China.

There is chi in every living thing. So it is just another stat like PPE that everyone has, but most do not use.

[Levi]

There are the Geo Immortals in Nightbane: Nightlands. It is basically a magic OCC. But it would be possible for a deific being to imbue someone with the powers and abilities of the OCC. If I remember correctly they just channel PPE from ley lines as a form of continuous super ley line regeneration eventually becoming immortal.

[flatline]

I've always wondered why there isn't a spell that halts or reverses aging. Seems like it would fit right into the Temporal Magic list or, really, any of the high level Invocations.

--flatline

[JuliusCreed]

I've always wondered why there isn't a spell that halts or reverses aging. Seems like it would fit right into the Temporal Magic list or, really, any of the high level Invocations.

--flatline

The easy answer... even magic, in all its splendiferous glory, is subject to the laws of Time, the one power even the greatest Wizards, Dragons, Demons, even the Gods themselves must bow to. Time marches ever forward. Even the so-called immortals are subject to its ever moving cycle, just in more subtle ways, as they continue to live and breathe and experience as they watch the world around them and all who inhabit it slowly crumble away. While the immortal may not 'die' per se, the mind suffers horribly when exposed for an eternity to its ever grinding millstone

[Long Shadow]

There are the Geo Immortals in Nightbane: Nightlands. It is basically a magic OCC. But it would be possible for a deific being to imbue someone with the powers and abilities of the OCC. If I remember correctly they just channel PPE from ley lines as a form of continuous super ley line regeneration eventually becoming immortal.

The geo-immortal does not age while on a ley line, so their immortality depends on them staying within the ley lines.

As far as immortality in Palladium Fantasy, I just remembered two options.

The first is the Life Fore Wizard. IIRC when they reach 9th level they stop ageing. The second option is an artefact in Northern Hinterlands (cant recall the name) but the cost associated is that the immortal must eat increasing amounts of gold.

I also remember a mention in one of the animal descriptions in the wolfen book or further adventures, that it's liver could be made into a potion of immortality.

Sorry to be vaguest vague, but I don't have my books with me. Will verify these as soon as I get access.

[Levi]

There are the Geo Immortals in Nightbane: Nightlands. It is basically a magic OCC. But it would be possible for a deific being to imbue someone with the powers and abilities of the OCC. If I remember correctly they just channel PPE from ley lines as a form of continuous super ley line regeneration eventually becoming immortal.

The geo-immortal does not age while on a ley line, so their immortality depends on them staying within the ley lines.

You're right. That does weaken them a bit. I would rule they that range would grow one mile per level and the duration by a day per level. That would grant some flexabilty. Although there would need to be catch for staying away.