The Curse of the Immortal

[Sivitri]

Boredom.

Yup. You're alive for all eternity, what do you do for fun? I imagine the lines of good/evil would blur, as short-lived races would become something you distance yourself from. I read a book a while ago where an immortal watched a human strung up and tortured, his organs 'played' in such a way that his screams became musical. Sounds Evil. Later, he entered a peasant's house and cradled a crying child to sleep. Sounds Good. Wish I could remember that book.

Anyway, any suggestions on what an immortal might do for....Fun? I ask because my Pathfinder campaign is going to have immortal beings, and I'd like to make them seem...Unique.

[Alex12]

Depends on their exact nature.
For example, I suspect older Elans spend a lot of time meditating and exploring the nature of psionic powers and whatnot.
Necropolitans and other sapient undead probably do similar things with necromancy or whatever magic they have available.

[BWR]

Go around insulting people? (http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Bowerick_Wowbagger)

[TheMonocleRogue]

Make them arrogant whenever someone challenges them or says they can do better. It's the hallmark of any immortal.

[Gulnar]

Well, once you're immortal you have to work on taving off things that mighty enderage your immortality, like the heat death of the universe, the various elder evils bent on universal destruction, and so on. Then, a good immortal would probably try to spread his own gift, while a evil one would try to limit the number of other immortals. Then it could work toward godhood.

[Crake]

Make them arrogant whenever someone challenges them or says they can do better. It's the hallmark of any immortal.

No, it's the hallmark of someone blindsighted by their own superiority, that's not something immortals hold exclusive. Any real immortal would have learned never to judge someone, because they've seen the tables turn enough times to know it could quite easily happen to them.

[Slipperychicken]

Procrastinating?

[Sivitri]

Procrastinating?

Lol. That'd be funny. A bunch of immortal mages too lazy to actually do anything.


Go around insulting people? (http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Bowerick_Wowbagger)

This is actually really funny, and I'll probably use it.

I'm thinking other things, like...Collecting humans to study, like a kid collects bugs, or working into a position of power and undermining kingdoms from the inside, just to see what happens.

Evil-type things that someone who's seen just about everything would end up doing. Good-type things, too.

[Leviting]

Study (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Divayth_Fyr) contagious cancer (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Corprus)?

[Eisenheim]

I think the most interesting way to make immortals unique (depending on how the immortality works) is to showcase their ability to be so much more focused on a particular skill or task or interest than a mortal. It ought to be fairly trivial for an immortal being to organize things so that they devote essentially no time or effort to whatever basic material needs they have, at least assuming a society advanced enough to have invented interest.

Now, they can afford to devote fifty or a hundred years to mastering whatever skill or subject they like, without having to worry about missing out on anything else. Even a really dedicated student, of let's say history, probably only spends about 10% of their lifetime actually studying history. They have to spend the rest on doing a job, perhaps teaching, on having friends, a family, on doing anything else that interests them, even if history is their favorite thing. When you're immortal, the opportunity cost of pursuing any one thing to the exclusion of everything else basically disappears.

[AuraTwilight]

Alternatively, they're basically the same as they were before. The hero who protects the innocent does so forever, and their hypothetical boredom is never a priority that would derail that. The wizard has eternity, and an infinite amount of secrets to study and master and explore. The villain continues to pursue his ambitions.

[Slipperychicken]

Lol. That'd be funny. A bunch of immortal mages too lazy to actually do anything.


It's really easy to procrastinate when you literally have eternity to put things off.

[weckar]

Eventually, they could probably watch a whole human life pass from beginning to end the way we watch a TV program. Chunks of time become relatively smaller and smaller that way, and experience reflects it.


Then, a good immortal would probably try to spread his own gift, while a evil one would try to limit the number of other immortals.
I'd see it the other way around. Being immortal sucks.

[Sivitri]

Eventually, they could probably watch a whole human life pass from beginning to end the way we watch a TV program. Chunks of time become relatively smaller and smaller that way, and experience reflects it.


I'd see it the other way around. Being immortal sucks.

I like this. Just...watching different things happen around you. An entire life, from birth to death, and then decay. Just studying, perhaps.

[weckar]

It's one of those psychological facts that a year is mentally MUCH longer to a 4-year-old than to a 40-year-old. It's just a greater ratio to their total life. If you apply this to beings that live for near-infinity, a lifetime could be said to pass almost literally in the blink of an eye.

[Elderand]

They could spend weeks or months doing one thing and not realise how much time has actually passed.

[Alex12]

They could spend weeks or months doing one thing and not realise how much time has actually passed.

This is probably especially true of liches, necropolitans, warforged, and other creatures that don't need to sleep, eat, or drink. Even elans have to trance periodically to regain PP, even if they're only spending it on keeping themselves nourished.

[Karmea]

As others have said, depends heavily on their nature. What kind of immortal beings are they? Humanoid or something else? Are they born into it or is the immortality gained later? Do they get resistance to the various hazards that might kill them or are they just ageless? Environment? Neighbours? Is the society immortal or are they just one of the few living amongst mortals?

A relatively humanoid mortal-turned-immortal? Perfect various crafts (magic, psionics, arts, whatever floats your boat). Travel. See things. Experience things. Maybe sow some seeds in the various mortal cultures and watch them grow according to your design. You'd probably come to view mortals a bit like dogs or some other such creatures: you can love them and they can be delightful company, but for meaningful discourse you'd probably seek out other immortals.

Once you've done that enough to be bored with the one world, go to the planes (assuming they exist in your campaign) or other worlds. Don't know how? Plan, build, figure it out. Life doesn't exist outside your planet? Seed it. You're patient. You think in the big picture. You can take the time to enjoy life, plan and perfect things and not worry too much about the little passed opportunities, since countless new ones will probably come your way anyway. Watch out for the universe-destroying stuff though.

An immortal society? Add intrigue and political games that span for centuries or millenia. Or maybe that's just me and my love for the fey & such. :smallamused:


I'd see it the other way around. Being immortal sucks.
Yeah, because growing old and feeble and dying is such a picnic.

(As you can probably see, I really don't get that boredom angle against immortality, unless it's a medieval stasis world with no access to anywhere else and no chance to change things at all. :smallyuk:)

[weckar]

It's not the boredom angle that makes being Immortal suck. You can never really bond with people, because they die (on your timescale) as soon as you get to know them. There's no point in building a legacy because, guess what, you'll be here anyway. No point in learning much because having children to pass the knowledge on to is out of the question: No one wants to see their kids grow old and die while they keep wandering the earth alone. And, while you're wandering, what if a wild animal attacks you and bites your legs off? You'll be in everlasting agony, have nowhere to go or any way to really get anywhere without extreme exertion and the wounds will refuse to actually end your misery because remember: you don't die.
I repeat: Being immortal sucks.

[Slipperychicken]

(As you can probably see, I really don't get that boredom angle against immortality, unless it's a medieval stasis world with no access to anywhere else and no chance to change things at all. :smallyuk:)

Even then, you could still practice music, or make lots of art, or go fishing all the time.


And if you're a high-level spellcaster in dnd, you really have no excuse to be bored. You can go anywhere, do anything, be anything, make anything, change everything. All the universes and all their glories and wonder lie wide open for adventures beyond count.

[Angelalex242]

I'd think most immortals would simply get themselves plane shifted to their appropriate plane of alignment. An immortal Paladin has more in common with Trumpet Archons and Astral Devas then he does regular people. Alternatively, he could befriend metallic dragons, who live long enough that even an immortal has time to get attached.

[RegalKain]

I've been following this thread through out the day at work, and now that I am home, can finally post! I have a on-going story that I've been co-writing with a friend (via text-based RPing) since I was a young child, now around the 15 year mark I'd say. Some of our oldest and original characters are more or less the gods that run said universe now, they decided to become self-proclaimed keepers of balance, they shift sides as often as need be to ensure "good" and "evil" never completely vanquish each other.

In addition, they started an academy for outcasts, criminals, people others considered hopeless or to stupid etc, this academy teaches them the fundamentals of power (In our particular world most magic is done via control of the elements, there's alot of demonic/angelic power and vying, with the usual mix of werewolves, vamps etc.) and eventually grants them the same gift of pseudo immortality that the people who ran said academy have. (I said Pseudo immortality because technically the "All-Father" our story's version of Ao/Io, can still unmake and kill you.) There's a great deal of political intrigue with other immortal factions, the academic side of advancing magic, machinery etc, building personal legacies through the mortal realms, yadda yadda.

It also kind of depends on the type of "immortal" you're talking about here, D&D to my knowledge only has one such being. Ao/Io, even the gods can be killed by one another etc. Do you count immortal as never dying of old age? In which case there are base races that do this very same thing, like the WArforged. If you mean cannot die of old age, starve to death, be killed etc, that's a very different category, that's the type of being that inevitably ascends to god-hood and beyond, even "evil" immortals like that, will get bored of a lack of challenge from others like him, once you can end worlds in a wink, the do-gooder Paladin waving a sword doesn't excite you anymore as an evil person, it's just another wink to wipe out the entirety of his planet, so you seek other avenues to climb the ladder of power etc (In this case god-hood and beyond.) At least that's my take on it, so again it depends on the type of immortals, people who never die of old age are going to act very differently then people who cannot be ended in anyway, afterall if there is no repercussions for your actions, you're going to be alot more risky then the person who doesn't die of old age, but can still be beheaded afterall.

[Erik Vale]

The true curse of the Immortal?
F***** Level Draining little S****! I can destroy stars at a whim one day, the next I'm effectively a pauper who people know a lot about and knows more than most... Except I've lost my knowledge skill ranks!

Every now and again, you might do it yourself to relive the adventure and such. Other times, you've gotta crawl back up to the top just so you can remember your own history, assuming you don't give up.



As for fun.
Deleveling to relive the adventure relearn things [keep a thought jar for when you need it.]
Deleveling, then releveling using a thought jar to suddenly curbstomp someone, because it's funny.
See Everything. All the cultures. All the lifestyles...
Be the person at all the momentous events.
Out-waiting dragons/other really long lived but not immortal creatures.
Mastering a science... and then another... and another...
Correct people about the good old days.

[RolkFlameraven]

If your immortal shouldn't you be running around and cutting the heads off all the others like you because "there can be only one!"? :smallbiggrin:

[Slipperychicken]

The true curse of the Immortal?
F***** Level Draining little S****! I can destroy stars at a whim one day, the next I'm effectively a pauper who people know a lot about and knows more than most... Except I've lost my knowledge skill ranks!

Every now and again, you might do it yourself to relive the adventure and such. Other times, you've gotta crawl back up to the top just so you can remember your own history, assuming you don't give up.


Why not just create a level 1 body, and use Magic Jar (or a similar possession effect) to control it instead, while your normal form hangs out in a safe place?

Then you can have all the adventure and fun associated with being a weak level 1 noob, but still get to return to your all-powerful state if necessary. Almost like you're playing some kind of perverse game where you control the actions of another character and force it through danger for your own amusement...

[AvatarVecna]

They could spend weeks or months doing one thing and not realise how much time has actually passed.

Didn't this happen in OOTS? (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0498.html)

[Seclora]

I think it varies by immortal. A cleric of Olidmarra would probably just keep travelling, while a Githzerai(or is it Githyanki?) likely has his/her hands full staying below level sixteen, or otherwise not angering his Queen.

I would also point out the solutions of the Dragons and the Fey. Fey engage in a grand societal soap opera, wheeling and dealing with each other and occasionally dallying with a mortal. Dragons have Xorvintal (Calvinball), the great game; in which they do things that award them points ad compete with other dragons to have the biggest numbers. I think most immortal societies, or at least those without a dedicated purpose or moral compass, would likely gravitate in this direction.

Or you could do what all the other dragons do, acquire things and prevent other people from doing the same to you.

[Blackhawk748]

Correct people about the good old days.

Be the most crotchety old man to have ever existed

[Slipperychicken]

Be the most crotchety old old crotchety man to have ever existed

Fixed that for 'ya.

[BWR]

while a Githzerai(or is it Githyanki?) likely has his/her hands full staying below level sixteen, or otherwise not angering his Queen.


It's the Githyanki that have the crazy jealous paranoid queen

[Lightlawbliss]

IT wouldn't be out of place for an immortal to just always want to be there when ____ (insert major event) happened. Throw in some ranks in autohypnosis just cause you can and memorize random facts like what color the guy guarding the door had on.

edit: maby even an immortal rivalry. two immortals hell bent on besting the other at ___.

[Eldariel]

Depends on how their mind works, I figure. I could see some eternal pursuits, such as study of nature or magic, driving some to endless discovery on paths you can tread forever. I could certainly see some decide how lesser beings are not worth their attention or even that lesser beings should be subservient to them. Some might be motivated by perfecting one art and some might just be interested in self-improvement and learning everything there is to learn. These are all fairly human motivations, of course; more alien creatures might function differently.

[Vaz]

They could spend weeks or months doing one thing and not realise how much time has actually passed.

The curse of the immortal is watching Netflix?

[manny2510]

Smoke weed erry day.
Create rod of Wonder factories.
Curse magic items.
Give out dragon hoards of gold and treasures in return for odd and obscure favors.
Become an institution.

[ZamielVanWeber]

I am going to go with Quinn on this: eventually you will have done everything BUT die, which you cannot do. Activities will slowly lose their luster and new things will seem to come out more rarely. In the end you will become a bored, boring, person.

[Alex12]

See, lots of people say immortality would get boring after a while. The thing is, I'm pretty sure none of those people are immortal. Also, to quote TVTropes, have you seen the past hundred years? Things aren't going to just stop changing.

[weckar]

I don't think it would get boring. It would just be utter torture to see everything around you constantly wither and die.