Immortality

     Description:  When a Nova dies usually all that's left is a dead body with residual amounts of Quantum.  The body of a dead Nova usually retains one point of Quantum per dot in the Node background, but even this energy leeches off into the environment at a rate of one point per week.  This power allows you to store and recover Quantum Pool while dead.  While the Nova is dead this power keeps his Quantum Aura cohesive and stores his consciousness and memories in a Quantum energy form within the Quantum Aura Matrix.  Quantum Recovery is handled differently once the Nova is dead since the Node is also dead and incapable of retaining or accumulating Quantum.  The Quantum Aura is not as efficient as the Node and recovers Quantum at the rate of one point per day per level of the power.  This Quantum, along with the residual Quantum in the body plus whatever Quantum the Quantum Aura managed to retain at the moment of death, is used primarily to restore the body back to working condition.  A Nova with Immortality has to add four Health Levels to his track just below Dead to reflect the state of his body.  These levels in order are Despoiled, Desecrated, Destroyed and Dust.  These levels are a descriptive indicator of the condition of the body rather than the actual amount of damage the Nova suffered at the time of death.  These health levels come into play after the Nova is dead and reflect the state of the body after all damage is accounted for.  In general Bashing damage will Despoil a corpse while Lethal damage can Desecrate a corpse.  Aggravated damage can by itslef Destroy a corpse.  Further steps taken to damage the corpse will add one level to the destruction.  Such methods as dividing body parts from one another, burning or driving nails through the flesh.  Unless extreme measures are taken only Aggravated Damage along with extra measures can reduce the body to dust.  (Example:  Bashing=Despoiled, Lethal=Desecrated, Aggravated=Destroyed, and extra measures add one level up to Dust)  Along with Dead these health levels must be restored before the Nova can 'come alive' again.  It costs five points of Quantum to restore one Health level from the categories of Dead and beyond.  Novas with the Regeneration enhancement cannot use it to restore Health Levels once dead because that is a function of a living body.  Immortality is not a quick fix and Novas who die are likely to remain out of play for quite some time.  Furthermore the body may incur further damage if left in a place that would continue to harm it after it is restored (such as a volcano or a pit of acid).  However at character creation the player can state that his Quantum consciousness is 'roving' and does not stay with the body once dead.  The disadvantage to this is that the Nova with a roving Quantum consciousness must always restore his body from the Dust level even if the means of death left his original body in better condition than that.  A Nova with Parasitic Domination and Roving Immortality can 'jump' bodies to escape death.  A roving Quantum consciousness moves one meter per turn per level in Immortality. A sedentary Quantum consciousness always stays with the body or at the last place the body was before reduced to Dust.  Also a sedentary Immortal can store more Quantum.  A sedentary Quantum consciousness can store an amount of Quantum equal to four times the level of the power + Quantum, whereas a roving Quantum consciousness can only store power level+ Quantum as his Quantum pool.  In general sedentary Immortals return from the grave faster than roving immortals But roving Immortals are able to recover from any situation.
     The powers a Quantum Aura can use by itself depend on the nature of the power and the Attunement background possessed by the character.  No Mega Attributes or Enhancements can be used by a Quantum Aura.  No Quantum Power that affects the physical body or alters the body of the Nova through direct biological or physiological change can be employed either.  These include Armor, Bodymorph and Shapeshift among others.  To use a Quantum power on his own body the Quantum Aura must have enough Attunement to affect the remains as if it were an inanimate object and the power must be something that can affect an external object (such as Telekinesis).  Quantum Powers that have External effects cannot be used unless the Nova can attune the object or person to be affected.  In other words Telekinesis cannot be used to lift a knife unless the Nova can attune the knife first.  Mental powers such as Mirage, Telepathy and Domination can be used without restriction as can mental defenses such as Psychic Shield or arcane senses such as ESP and Intuition.
     Ways to kill an Immortal:  If the Damage is purely mental (such as from Mental Blast) and exceeds the Willpower + Quantum + Power level of the Immortal then he dies irrevocably.  If Quantum Vampire is used to rob the Immortal of this power just before he is killed, he dies irrevocably.  If Quantum Leech is used to drain the last residual Quantum from the Quantum consciousness and exceeds the Willpower + Quantum + Power level of the Immortal, the Immortal dies irrevocably. And if the body or area occupied by the Quantum consciousness is inundated with a substance or energy to which the Nova has a Vulnerability and the damage exceeds the Willpower + Quantum + Power level of the Immortal, then the Immortal dies irrevocably.  Some Immortal Novas may have specific ways necessary to kill them or may be immune to one or more of the methods listed previously.  The actual mortality of the Nova depends on the individual Storyteller and the Player.