The Rules Of Highlander: Why There Can Be Only One

The most basic rule of Highlander is, of course, for these immortals to fight until only one remains. However, it’s a big world full of ageless warriors, so how do they find one another? As part of the Game (more on this soon), they have a kind of sixth sense known as the Buzz that helps them sense when other immortals are nearby, and all immortals feel a compulsion to seek one another out (this is known as the Gathering) once the global immortal population has been significantly thinned out.

However, just because the immortals feel compelled to seek one another out doesn’t mean they are compelled to kill everyone they encounter. In fact, Highlander protagonists such as Connor MacLeod and Duncan MacLeod often befriend fellow immortals that they encounter over the endless years. These friends can help them in certain ways, but the rules of the Game dictate that duels between immortals be one-on-one affairs, with other immortals unable to interfere with this in any way. 

That brings us to arguably the most mysterious aspect of Highlander mythology: the Game. This Game effectively dictates what the immortals can and cannot do to one another, but some of the rules are enforced more than others. For example, nothing seems to happen when renegade immortals gang up on other immortal targets, implying that this particular rule is more a matter of honor than anything else.

Other Highlander rules seem to be enforced by some unseen cosmic entity, including the rule to never fight on holy ground. While the franchise has played fast and loose with what does and doesn’t count as “holy ground,” we see evidence that violating this rule (like when Connor MacLeod and Kane battle on holy ground in Highlander: The Final Dimension) can have consequences such as the ground around them erupting into tremors. Meanwhile, the Highlander television show tells us of a legend that two immortals battling on holy ground led to the destruction of Pompeii.

Incidentally, the immortals in Highlander don’t know they are immortals until they experience a fatal wound (typically through combat). They die as seemingly normal humans and then wake up as immortal beings who can only truly be killed when their heads are removed (typically by another immortal’s sword). Otherwise, they can shrug off the things that would take out normal humans, as demonstrated by Connor MacLeod not having to breathe underwater or the villainous Kurgan surviving a series of gunshot wounds straight to his chest.

One of the reasons immortals in Highlander fight and kill one another is that the winner of a duel receives the Quickening, a process by which the victor absorbs both the knowledge and the power of the fallen immortal. The other big incentive to fight is that the last remaining immortal on Earth receives the Prize, which gives that immortal ultimate power and ultimate knowledge. It also makes them mortal again while giving the winner enough mental and physical power to lead the world into either a new golden age or an age of darkness.

Aside from what is listed above, the other small handful of Highlander rules mostly revolve around keeping secrets. For example, immortals are forbidden from openly fighting or even discussing their affairs where non-immortals may witness them. Additionally, while this is not always universally enforced, veteran immortals typically leave newbies alone long enough to get training from a seasoned warrior (like when Ramirez trained Connor).

Part of what makes the Highlander mythos so confusing is that while there are plenty of rules, there is very little consistency across the films and TV shows, and major concepts (including where the immortals originally came from and what the heck the Prize even is) go unexplained. Still, the entire concept of immortal warriors battling everywhere, from the Scottish highlands to the streets of New York City, remains one of the coolest ideas in fiction. However, until that Henry Cavill remake comes out, one Highlander rule remains in effect for those looking for a good film: there can only be the first one.