Immortal

The Immortals are the entities that fulfill the role of gods in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Mystara. Unlike "normal" D&D deities, all Immortals were once mortal beings, but managed to uplift themselves to a god-like status through one of four Paths that require tying themselves to one of five Spheres - and so can you!

Mortal apotheosis typically requires the aid of an existing Immortal to act as a Patron. The original Immortals were uplifted by a mysterious race of powerful precursors called The Old Ones, and very few know that those even exist.

Gods vs. Immortals

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Allow Mr. Welch to explain the basics on the difference between gods and Immortals himself over here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqNKXTl7BKY

Spheres

Five Spheres, representing the five foundational elements of reality itself, serve as the ultimate power behind the Mystaran Immortals. These Spheres are Matter, Energy, Time, Thought, and Entropy. Mystaran fey claim that, in a distant age, Matter/Energy/Time/Thought were actually a singular Sphere called "Life" whilst Entropy was the one broken into four components; the fey are remnants of that cosmic era, and are confident that one day the change will reverse and the Spheres will shift in nature once again.

Energy is heavily associated with the Element of Fire and the Chaotic alignment. Its purpose is to create more activity and energy; Immortals of Energy favor change, revolution, innovation, rebellion and upheaval. This Sphere is strongly aligned with magic, which is in many ways its purest expression. Energy opposes Thoughts efforts to control it and seeks to transmute Matter into more Energy, so it might hold off the ravages of Time.

Entropy is heavily associated with the Element of Void and the Chaotic alignment. It is the ultimate balancer of the other four elements, existing to tear down and destroy whatever they have created, but at the same time only able to exist because it has the other Spheres to define itself against. Another way to describe it might be as the Sphere of Death. It seeks to destroy Matter, dissipate Energy, cause Time to stagnate and stop new Thought. In practice, Entropy is treated as the "Evil Sphere" and PCs aren't allowed to become Entropic Immortals, who basically fill the roles of Demon Princes and Archdevils in the other versions of the D&D multiverse.

Matter is heavily associated with the Element of Earth and the Lawful alignment. It stands for sturdiness and stability, and exists to withstand disruption and decay. Matter is the Sphere that governs the physical aspects of creation, and culturally is associated with law, stability, hierarchy and tradition. Ironically, it is easily transmuted into new forms and so is also the Sphere of Variety. It opposes Time's efforts to cause change and provides Thought with existing order.

Time is heavily associated with the Element of Water and the Neutral alignment. As well as the obvious role of defining and safeguarding time, so chronomancers or other idiots can't undo all of causality, it seeks to promote change in all things; like water, it ebbs and flows, recycling the lessons of the past to remind the present. As a Sphere, Time is the force of creation and shaping, manifesting itself through aging and rebirth. It is opposed to Matter's efforts to withstand change, depletes Energy, and teaches Thought the lessons of history.

Thought is heavily associated with the Element of Air and has no specific Alignment affilitations. This Sphere seeks to categorize all of existence and to subvert the other Spheres into its tools with which to do so. In many ways, the Sphere of Thought is the very essence of the Immortals; realization, philosophy and understanding all in one. Thought seeks to analyze everything. It opposes the chaotic excesses of Energy, and attempts to manipulate the effects of Time to create order and form in Matter.

Becoming an Immortal

Mechanically, becoming an immortal requires you either reach 30th level (if a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Druid or Rogue) or 1,000,000 EXP (if a mystic or a race-class). That's when you can start down the path to immortality. This requires you to first find out that Immortality is something that you can achieve, then you need to pick which of the four Spheres - Matter, Energy, Time or Thought - you want to become an Immortal of. This is important because, whilst the fundamental mechanics of attaining Immortality are universal, the specific things you need to do depend on which Sphere, and thus Path, you choose. Finally, once you've picked a Sphere, you've got to pick an existing Immortal to be your patron and try to win their approval. Handy tip; Immortals of a different Alignment to your PC are much less likely to even give you a chance to petition them (-5 penalty to the contact check)!

This is where things start getting mechanical again. First, you've got to find a place where you can contact your would-be Sponsor. Second, you've got to prepare them a bribe - sorry, gift. This should be something very spectacular; you want a gift worth at least 25,000 gold pieces, because a) that gives you a +1 bonus to see if the Immortal will agree to be your sponsor, and b) you suffer a -2 penalty to that check if it's worth less than 25,000 gold pieces. In fact, every doubling of value past 25,000 GP adds a +1 to that final sponsorship check, and making your gift an Artifact adds good bonuses to whether the prospective sponsor will actually show up in the first place, so go for broke!

Third, you've got to journey to the place where you can contact your prospective Sponsor. As you travel there, you will face seven trials that test seven character attributes; honor & trustworthiness, dedication to your chosen Sphere of Power, resourcefulness and ability to resolve things without combat, bravery, persistence in the face of adversity, mercy & charity of the heart, and wisdom. Each test passed is a +1 to the contact check, and each one failed is a -3 to the check. Oh, and you want to go at it alone, because each companion with you when you make the contact check is worth a -3 penalty.

Finally, when you've reached the contact spot, you need to make a Contact check by rolling a d10 and adding the appropriate bonuses or penalties after spending 1d6 days in meditation. This determines whether or not the potential sponsor shows up at all, and how long it takes, which could be anywhere from d100 days to 1d6 days. Don't get discouraged and leave early, because that requires another Contact check with a -2 penalty.

Once the sponsor shows up, you present them with the gift and roll another d10 in a Reception check. Haughtiness is another big no-no (-5 penalty) here. If the sponsor agrees, your character is now taking the first step on their chosen Path to Immortality.

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 an train a successor, and 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.