Editing Immortal (section)

==Paths==
Regardless of which Sphere a prospective Immortal wishes to pursue, mechanically the pursuit is always the same. They must undertake a '''Quest''' to discover a specific artifact, that will then be used to help them complete a '''Trial'''. Then the prospective Immortal must erect a '''Testimony''' to their might, and finally perform a last great '''Task'''. Once this Task is completed, and they return to where they met their sponsor to inform them of their success, they ascend to Immortality.

Whilst the steps are universal, each Sphere has its own unique philosophy, and thus its own expectations as to how to complete the steps. Thus you have what are called the four Paths to Immortality. Each Path is easiest to walk with a specific character class; characters of the associated class need to acquire less EXP as part of their labors to prove their worth (400,000 instead of 600,000), and gain a +1 bonus to their initial sponsorship check.

'''The Dynast:''' Associated with the Sphere of Time, and favoring the [[Cleric]] and [[Druid]] classes.
::''Quest:'' Find an artifact that will let the user travel through time.
::''Trial:'' Travel through time to three different points in the future. In each visited future, assist a descendant in maintaining their kingdom and perpetuating the dynasty.
::''Testimony:'' Create a realm with a population of 50,000 (human) or 10,000 (demihuman) people, as well as a capital city designed and built by the Dynast.
::''Task:'' Rule over the realm created for at least 20 years, facing at least four major challenges, and pass the rulership down to an acknowledged grandchild or later descendant (by blood or adoption).

'''The (Epic) Hero:''' Associated with the Sphere of Thought, and favoring the [[Thief]] and [[Mystic]] classes.
::''Quest:'' Track down a Major Artifact belonging to the Sphere of Thought.
::''Trial:'' Permanently destroy an artifact belonging to the Sphere of Entropy.
::''Testimony:'' Find and train a successor as well as create a new legendary weapon.
::''Task:'' Complete an epic quest taking at least 5 years to complete, such as driving all dragons from a given realm or creating a castle in the sky.

'''The Paragon''' Associated with the Sphere of Energy, and favoring the [[Wizard]] class.
::''Quest:'' Locate and acquire a Lesser Artifact belonging to the Sphere of Energy.
::''Trial:'' Create an entirely new magical item with a research cost equal to the Paragon's total experience points and incorporating some fanciful component, such as the roar of a lion or the footfall of a cat.
::''Testimony:'' Take at least six apprentices, who must gain at least 12 levels under the Paragon's study, and transform the land within a 100 mile radius of the Paragon's home, giving it a unique appearance and range of inhabitants.
::''Task:'' The Paragon must be acknowledged as the superior spellcaster by all other magic users within a 1,000 mile radius, whether this is achieved by winning magical duels or simply driving them out of the contested territory. This should entail defeating at least 8 20th or higher-level spellcasters.

'''The Polymath:''' Associated with the Sphere of Matter, and favoring the [[Fighter]] class, this is the most unique of the classes because its ''Quest'' and its ''Task'' are one in the same. Once the Polymath has tracked down an artifact, their sponsor will appear and reincarnate them on the spot, causing them to become a 1st level character in an entirely separate class. The Rules Cyclopedia talks about a human fighter becoming a human cleric, thief or wizard, but presumably race-classes would be valid as well. Once the Polymath has been "reset" for the first time, they must reach at least 5th level in their new class, and then quest to find the same artifact again. Once they find it, they will be reincarnated again, and must repeat the previous steps - get to 5th level, find the artifact. They will then be reincarnated into their fourth and final incarnation; once this incarnation has found the artifact again, they will have their memories of their past lives restored and can undergo their ''Trial''.
::''Trial:'' In their fourth incarnation, the Polymath must adventure alone until they reach 12th level. In this final incarnation, the Polymath retains the abilities of all the character classes from their previous incarnations and advances in all of them equally.
::''Testimony:'' In all four artifact quests, the Polymath must be accompanied by a party containing at least one member of each human character class, who must be of equal or lower level; if any of these "witnesses" are slain, the Polymath '''must'' resurrect them. Once they attain the artifact for the fourth time, before the ''Trial'' begins, the Polymath must erect a monument to their adventures (at least 100 feet tall) that must stand for at least 10 years.

Certain Paths are modified by aspiring immortals who belong to unique races. For example, would-be [[Therianthrope]] Immortals, as covered in [[Creature Crucible]], have to specifically direct their Path along a route relating to their shapechanging; the Therianthropic Dynast must found an empire of at least 10,000 therianthropes; the Therianthropic Hero must "pass on" their mantle to a successor of the same therianthropic strain; the Therianthropic Paragon must teach multiple shapechanging [[mage]] apprentices how to master their beast-man forms, and must be acknowledged as the alpha werebeast by all other werebeasts within 1000 miles; finally, the Therianthropic Polymath must contract a different form of therianthropy in each of its different lives.

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