Kickstarter Highlander, The Board Game

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Connor MacLeod, of the clan MacLeod. Highlander is coming to Kickstarter on the 12th of January, make sure to check it out!

Born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan, on the shores of Loch Shiel, Connor MacLeod grew to manhood in the rolling highlands of Scotland. As a youngster, he was headstrong and impetuous, a known rascal and thiever of sheep. Kept from the worst of trouble by his kinsman, Dougal, Connor was a favourite of his uncle, the Clan Chief, Angus MacLeod. Here, he learned to wield a claymore and temper his rougher edges. A few skirmishes with cattle reivers and rival clans (especially the MacLeod’s longtime rivals, Clan Fraser) saw Connor acquit himself well enough to gain a reputation as a courageous warrior. A handsome man, he had no shortage of interested women, and he married his childhood sweetheart, Kate, at the village Wishing Stone.

In Highlander, The Board Game, Connor is a strong choice for the early portions of the game. His high influence (owing to his charming personality) allows him to find the allies he needs to keep his unique ability in use. Connor is the immortal that most relies on his allies, his friends, and when he loses them he can harness his pain into a weapon that can be used against his enemies.

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The Kurgans were an ancient people from the steppes of Russia, but the warrior drawn to America for the Gathering was far older than even those tribes. He was raised with the name Victor, and taught to be the perfect warrior; powerful, strong and ruthless. Trained to beba killer from an early age, the tribe hardened its youngsters by hurling them into fighting pits with starving dogs. Only the strongest survived, and these were exactly the kinds of warriors the Kurgan tribe wanted.

The Kurgan is not the character of choice for those of great subtlety and is most effective at the beginning and ends of the game. His high starting power keeps enemies at bay, though the Kurgan will find it hard to upgrade it due to his other lower stats. At the very end of the game the Kurgan gains a great boon in four quickening tokens, enough to give Victor victory and allow him to claim the prize?

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In Fasil’s twisted worldview, he must be the one to win the Prize and fulfill his grand destiny. He slew many immortals over the centuries, taking part in some of history’s most notorious massacres simply to kill a single immortal living secretly amongst mortals. In 1535, Fasil fought against the Anabaptists in the German city of Münster during their brief and ill-fated rebellion. When the mad immortal, Jan Matthys, charged from Münster’s gates with only thirty men at his side, it was Fasil who fought and beheaded him. Fasil later travelled to Spain, where he studied under the great swordsmiths of King Charles V and forged his infamous Toledo Salamanca. The sword was a thing of beauty, with a gold plated hilt and pommel, ivory grip, and velvet ricasso detail inset with precious stones. Fasil was in Paris during the French Revolution and hastened many of the city’s nobles to the guillotine, believing a few of the city’s aristocrats to be immortals.

Vasilek is always able to find the cards he needs in whichever deck he looks in, often allowing him to grab the life cards he needs at that moment, then using his ability to throw them away when he doesn't need them anymore. Vasilek is possibly the immortal that will change most during the game and may become powerful in each of the three stats as it suits him!

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Sunda Kastagir escaped slavers and made his way to Florida in the 1700s. Sunda learned of the modern world here and taught himself how to fight with the sword he had carried all the way from Africa. He served Montiano until 1745, when he travelled north, eventually meeting Connor MacLeod in Richmond, Virginia, on the eve of the Revolutionary War. Recognising kindred souls, the two became fast friends, fighting together during the many battles of that bitter conflict. They parted company after Connor’s drunken duel on Boston Common, and would not meet again until 1985, when the pull of the Gathering drew them both to New York City.

Kastagir's ability may seem not entirely interesting at first glance but it can be a powerful way to deny your enemies the cards they need. Be careful however as using your ability will deplete the deck quickly, and if you aren't ready to face your foes you might need all the time you can get!

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He lived many lives and took many names, drawn by some unknown instinct to take part in some of history’s most pivotal moments, as though fulfilling some ancient and unknowable task. He learned of his immortal heritage from forbidden books, raving lunatics, and ancient inscriptions carved into the pillars of lost desert cities. He met other immortals, and, for a time, sought them as companions. Most rejected him or sought his death for their own gain, and reluctantly, he was forced to kill them.

Over the course of his many courtships, Ramirez, as he would later call himself, had married three women, but each time brought intense heartache. In the end, after the death of his third wife, Shakiku, the daughter of the great swordsmith Masamune, he swore he would never again allow himself to fall in love with a mortal, for the resultant pain is too great. By 1541, he was living in Madrid, under the name Juan Sánches Villa-Lobos Ramirez. Here, he was the chief metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain and it was said by many that the sharpness of his blades was matched only by the sharpness of his wit.

But immortal instincts drew Ramirez to the highlands of Scotland, where he was to meet Connor MacLeod, the immortal whose fate would forever be intertwined with his own."

Ramirez is one of the oldest of the five immortals available in the base game of Highlander, The Board Game, and over the years he has gain cunning and skills that take lifetimes to master. Ramirez' extra quickening at the beginning of the game reflects this and can be used to gain an early advantage or saved to use in a duel, either way you are going to have a tough time getting one up on Ramirez!

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ighlander is a game of elimination. It is short and furious, where the fate of your game relies on your wits as well as the whims of fate. Before the game you choose an immortal to play, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.


An immortal has three important stats: Cunning, Power and Influence, each is represented by a die value, the lowest being a D4 and the highest being a D8.

Cunning represents an immortal's ability to out think their opponents and gives you a better chance at going first in a turn or avoiding duels that are not favorable for you.

Influence represents the immortal's social and economic capital and allows you to look at more cards whenever you are laying low or on the hunt.

Power. At some point you are going to need power to destroy your opponent, power wins duels and duels are how you defeat other immortals to become the one to claim the prize.

Finally each immortal has a unique special ability that gives them an edge over their opponents

Each turn immortals roll their cunning to see who goes first, if two immortals roll the same number a duel occurs! The immortals that are not dueling may then take actions, either delving into the era deck in search of upgrades or into the encounter deck to hunt their fellow immortals.

These actions will give you access to different cards which give them new abilities or upgrades (and downgrades!) to their three stats.


Weapon and ally cards are slotted into your immortal card vertically and give you a special ability.

Life cards represent a life spent towards a single pursuit, be it justice, war or even indulgence. Life cards upgrade and downgrade your main stats and allow you to roll D10s or even D12s, giving you a better chance to defeat your enemies.

All things must come to an end however and when the era deck runs out the game enters the Gathering phase. Gone is the opportunity to hide from duels, gone is the orderly turn taking - each immortal must duel until only one remains.


Each immortal in a duel must roll power, the immortal that rolls highest draws a fate card and activates it. Fate cards can be bonuses to the victor or penalties to the vanquished but hidden within the fate deck is the behead card which ends the game for your foe and brings you one step closer to victory. The behead card is always shuffled back into the fate deck so as the game goes on your chances of survival get lower and lower. If you are the last immortal standing, you claim the prize and win the game!

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