The Path to Immortality!

In Vastonia one must follow a strict path to become Immortal. There are four paths to Immortality which are open to player characters although any intelligent creature can become Immortal. Player characters should be restricted from following the path of Entropy, thus preventing the promotion of ultimate destruction which would ruin your campaigns.

Prerequisites

Before a character of the druid, fighter, magic-user, thief or otherwise can set out on a path to Immortality, they must first reach at least 30th level as a Mortal; mystic or demi-humans must have earned at least 1,000,000 experience points.

Next, a character must have knowledge of an Immortals existence, along with the understanding that they used to be Mortals themselves. The character should also learn that Immortality is a closely guarded secret and that sharing information with another character will permanently damage their chances of reaching Immortality. It seems best to me that characters should have NO knowledge of this level of existence until reaching at least 25th level, and within Vastonia that has not yet been attained.

How Characters Gain Knowledge of Immortality!

Once any character has attained the necessary level to become Immortal, it is now time for the DM to send them on a lone quest which should lead to the character's chance of gaining such knowledge. For example; a character who models themselves after a mortal fighter, set in the path of goodness, might attract the sponsorship of an Immortal Paladin or maybe a Cleric will attract the attention of an Immortal healer or helper of the people, who looks over that specific character's church.

If the character continues to advance his/her goals closest to that Immortals heart or bidings, they will eventually be considered to become Immortal and set upon the appropriate path.

What The PC Finds Out

No matter what the PC first learns about the path to Immortality, it is essential that they gain the following information:

The must select a sphere

Since all Immortals serve an draw their powers from one of the five Spheres of Power, the PC must learn what the Spheres are and which one will with receive their allegiance. The PC will learn that specific Spheres favor certain classes and that all Spheres favor Paladins, Clerics and other classes of strict devotion. Next the PC should learn that it is possible for fighters to gain power from Spheres that favors magic-users and vise versa. Finally the PC must learn about the fours paths in which they must follow, including the Quest, Trail, Testimony and Task, that eventually lead to Immortality.

The PC must find a sponsor or mentor

This is a must, and any character that seeks to become Immortal must gain the sponsorship of an Immortal in which Sphere they have chosen to serve. Some PC's may decide that attracting a sponsor takes priority over choosing a Sphere, and that whatever sponsor they attract will gain their allegiance. Keep in mind though this may take years of a PC's time and he/she must be absolutely true to their path, long before an Immortal will grace them with the gift of eternal life.

Finding the site!

The PC in question must now seek out the sacred place in which their sponsor entertains petitions. Each and every Immortal will have such a place, but they are always well hidden and extremely difficult to locate. Patriarchs of the Immortal's clerical order may give a deserving PC a tip on which way to go, but never the definite location. The site could be a mystical grove, a temple high atop a mountain or perhaps a shrine, far below the surface of an ocean. Wherever this place of divinity rests, it is sure to be hidden from unworthy people and may in fact be guarded by the likes of other Immortals who seek to hinder PC's from attaining success of serving an opposing Sphere.

The PC must bring a gift

Once he or she has discovered the location of petition, the PC must bring or create a gift of particular relevance to the Immortal or the Sphere in which they seek to serve. The gift must be especially beautiful and can NOT be less than 25,000 gp in value. Eg. A tome of great knowledge and superior script may be given to an Immortal who serves the Sphere of Thought.

The PC must be alone

The PC who seeks out the final destination of petitioning for the Immortal in which they strive to gain acknowledgment from, must travel alone. It is considered a great insult to bring others to an Immortals site of petition, unless they also have attracted his/her attention and thus are equally deserving.

The final journey!

Once a gift is prepared, the site known and the sponsor has been selected, the PC must now embark on a tremendous journey which will inevitably lead to the Immortals final site of petition. The journey must be difficult and the PC should be provoked to betray their paths to Immortality. Many side adventures may occur and many hardships must befront the PC before reaching his/her goal. The should earn no less than 120,000 XP before reaching the Immortals final place of petition, in which they must face one final encounter of awesome power before making their offering to divinity.

The Seven Tests

Once any PC has found out where the Immortal meets worthy candidates for Immortality, found a gift of great significance to that specific Sphere and has taken the dangerous voyage to the sacred site, it is time for the PC to challenge the "Seven Tests". This must all occur within the last few miles of the place of petition (the final tests of Immortal devotion). They are as follows:

-Honor and Trustworthiness

-Dedication to the Sphere of Power

-Resourcefulness

-Bravery

-Persistence in the face of adversity

-Mercy and charity of the heart

-Wisdom

Most of these occurrences should be roll-playing events, not combat and thus will determine the fate of a worthy player characters, not just a player who uses their character's sword to hack their way through life. These final tests should remove any doubt of whether your players are true roll players and not just players that come over to ravage your realm.

The 4 Paths

Collective Divinate Matter

This is the path to the Sphere of Matter. This path does not favor any character class; it attracts members of all classes and is the path which most monster-race candidates attempt.

Collective Divinate of Energy

This is the route to the Sphere of Energy. This Sphere favors the magic-user and elf classes.

Collective Divinate of Time

This is the route to the Sphere of Time. This path favors clerics, druids, paladins, knights and dwarves

Collective Divinate of Thought

This is the route to the Sphere of thought. This path favors the fighter (including the paladin, knight, avenger, ranger, gladiator, undead slayer, dragon slayer, giant killer, cavalier, ninja), halfling, mystic, and thief classes.

Remember each Sphere has 4 different paths to Immortality and each path must be completed successfully by the PC before becoming Immortal. There are as follows:

- Testimony ( the creation of something magnificent, a city, realm etc.)

- Task ( An appropriate task in which the PC must complete during his/her accention to Immortality. Eg a PC seeking to serve the Sphere of Time, may be asked to form a dynasty that lasts no less than 20 years and at the end they must have at least one dominant heir to pass this dynasty to.

- Quest ( The PC must be sent on a quest to recover an artifact or other object of great power specific to his or her Sphere of Power. The quest must also somehow involve the use of that specific Sphere. Eg some use of Time must implemented in a character seeking this object for an Immortal devoted to the Sphere of Time, a time limit perhaps etc.)

- Trail ( A task in which the PC decides the fate of something greatly significant to the Sphere in which they seek to serve. Eg a PC attempting to walk the path of time may be sent into the future to complete a task, if they fail; the paths of time are rewritten for the worse, if they succeed; the paths of time shall bring their Spheres prosperity and the events of time would go unchanged.

When the PC Becomes Immortal

Whatever path the PC follows, once he/she has completed their Quest, Trail, Testimony and Task assigned to them, he or she has now earned the right to become Immortal and serve the appropriate Sphere of Power. The PC now has one year to complete all of their Mortal affairs, and after such time has passed the PC will be retrieved by their Immortal mentor (sponsor) and taken to that Immortals place of rest and divine living......Eg Odin would take candidates to Valhalla, his home and eternal place of grand fortitude. Zeus would take a PC to Olympus etc.