By Kenneth Madsen (94944@udd.aalborgspsem.dk)
The practise of Voodoo has been greatly feared up through the centuries, and with just reason. Although some scientists believe that they have revealed Voodoo as a hoax, a few have begun to suspect that the ceremonies they have observed the inhabitants of the Caribbean perform may only be a smoke screen erected by the True Priests to ward off nosy intruders, thereby allowing them to practise their Dark Arts undisturbed. The Path of Voodoo involves using the Spirits of the dead to do one's work or to use one's powers as a mediator between the world of Spirit and the world of Flesh, attempting to create harmony. Such motives defines what sort of practicioner you are dealing with. While many of the seasoned practitioners (Voodoo Priests and their like) are more interested in spiritually harmony, there are those who desire power over the World of Spirit for the most mundane of reasons: Power, Wealth and Fear.
To the unwary, the Path can be a dangerous one, as failure to command the Spirits may very well gain the enmity of one of the Loa -- such as Papa Legba or Baron Samedi, but even the hostility of a less powerful Spirit can be a most unpleasant experience. The Spirits and Loa are not entities which just hover around and wait for someone to summon them! They are sentient, and it is rare to meet a sentient being who likes to be bossed around, especially so if the ones who are doing the "bossing" are inferior to one self! If a character fails in the use of the Path, he of course loses a point of Willpower and gains the enmity of an entity from the plane of the Loa. The Storyteller should decide what type of Spirit the would-be user offends. Note that a higher ranking (and thus more powerful) Spirit could very well interfere with the character's plans if it judges its underlings to be unable to deal properly with the offending character. This is of course determined by the level of failure the character attains as well as what the character demands of the Spirits; little failure would probably only be dealt with by a Spirit similar in power to a poltergeist, with a correspondingly short period of punishment, while failure of apocalyptic levels will attract the hostile attention of a Loa.
The Path of Voodoo is a rare one and is usually only possessed by Cainites who were either members of Voodoo Cults when they were alive, or who were Embraced by Cainites to whom the practice of Voodoo would come as a natural Path of Thaumaturgy, such as the Followers of Set and the Serpents of the Light. Unlike the Path of Spirit Thaumaturgy, to which this Path is related, contacting the Spirits of the dead come relatively easy for the Kindred, as they are already attuned to the Plane of Death.
Note that a character wishing to learn and use the Path of Voodoo, must have the Voodoo Lore Knowledge. Otherwise he will not be able to communicate properly with the Loa and their minions: not knowing the proper way to address the Loa, failure to make the proper incantations or inscribing the proper signs, etc.
Futhermore, if the character has a Voodoo Lore rating less than 3, each point less is added to the Difficulty of any Roll involving this Path, and other veteran users of Voodoo.
Scholar's Notes: Although amongst the most numerous users of The Path of Voodoo, the Setites did not create it; they copied it from an already existing source. The True Voodoo is far more powerful and creepy than the Path of Voodoo, and far older too. Just like the Tremere had to change their True Magick to Rituals and Paths in order to still wield some Magick, so have the Setites transformed the Voodoo until they were able to use it themselves, attuning it, so to speak, to the ways of the Undead. Just as Path of Corruption comes naturally to the Setites from other parts of the world, so does the Path of Voodoo come naturally to Setites (and a few other Kindred) who originate from the Caribbean. As to who-what-where-why, two points of view are currently battling for dominance:
1) As a means to terrorize and corrupt, the Path of Voodoo is a powerful tool for the Setites. Used outside the Caribbean, it might be even more powerful. There the ignorance and fear of the supernatural add to the effect of the Path. Whereas many a Kine might say that Voodoo is mere superstition, their voices grow less certain and more trembling when they find a Doll hanging in a noose on their door, or strange signs drawn on their doorstep. The Kine of the Carribean have lived with Voodoo all their lives and know where to turn for help -- the Kine of the Western World know not where to turn, and choke on their on fear as the Houngans chant in the Darkness. This is why the Setites have chosen to develop the Path of Voodoo. It gives them the powerful tool of terror, enables them to corrupt yet another pure religion which forms a vast part of the basis of Carribean society (remember: The Setites want to corrupt the World of Darkness both physically and spiritually), and allows them to blend into the folklore of the Carribean, and play Gods as well -- all very pleasing if you are a Setite.
2) The Loa of the Carribean are Dark Creatures, more attuned to the Darkness than to the Light. The streak of darkness runs deep, and many of the Loa have two faces (like many of the South-American deities) which coexist in harmony. What upholds this harmony is the practice of Voodoo by the Kine of the Caribbean, who use both sides and thus keep them balanced. When the Loa are asked to assist in deeds of Good, then too must a deed of Evil be made to balance the nature of the Loa. It is believed that if one of the Loa's "faces" won the upper hand, the other face would make the balance swing back in favour of itself, and that may ultimately destroy the Loa, and turn it into a truly terrifying Spirit, who is bereft of its nature, of its soul. But even as the practice of the Caribbean people uphold the balance, so do some of the Loa attempt to destroy it. Some Loa have a streak of darkness so deep, that they are the Dark Loa which may be the final result when a Loa becomes unbalanced. Damballah, Baron Samedi and Guede are such spirits, and they try ever to draw others with them. Given that they hold vast influence in the Caribbean society because they are worshipped as Gods, and their powers actively sought and used by the Kine, the Dark Loa are as dangerous as any Daemon, and perhaps even more so. The Dark Loa, are actively responsible for the Tonton Macoutes, and maybe also for the Setites developing the Path of Voodoo. To the Dark Loa, it is more attractive to have true creatures of darkness call upon one, than a mere corrupted and twisted Kine. It enhances their Dark Side, as the Setites call upon them for murder, terror and similar assignments. I imagine that the Dark Loa actively supported the Setites in their endevour to create the Path, and maybe they even give them a longer leash, and do not strike out as violently when the Setites fail in their use of the Path, as they do under normal circumstances. The plan of the Dark Loa, is to be able to corrupt the True Houngans. Powerful as the Setites may be, and great in numbers as they may be, they are still only practicing pale shadows of the True Voodoo. The True Houngans imprint some of their minds and way of thinking on the Loa when they call upon their assistance. Unlike the Setites, the True Houngans know what will happen if the balance is not maintained, and thus their Voodoo destroys a little of the Dark Loa's evil intent every time they call upon them. But if the Dark Loa can make enough Setites and other evil creatures practice the Dark Voodoo, perhaps they could begin to imprint their desires upon the True Houngans.
Ayida Wedo: Image is a Rainbow, Mate of Damballah Wedo. She is the antithesis of Dark Sorcery, and her name is often envoked when trying to lift such Sorcery.
Ayizan: Patroness of marketplaces, Mate of Loco.
Baron Samedi: Protector of the Cemetery, servant of Guede. Baron Samedi usually materializes as a tall muscular black man with the right side of his head painted white in a skull pattern. His colour is -- ironically enough -- white, the white of skulls and bones. Also depicted as wearing a heavy white cross of a simple craft in a chain around his neck, as well as wearing a white tophat. A pick or a white cane topped by a skull is usually to be found in his left hand. Dress varies from none at all, over heavy robes to a white dresscoat (although the latter was not depicted before ca. 1960).
Boko: A sorcerer who work for the secret Voodoo Societies which are at times called "red cults" and at times "black cults." It may be that there exists two sects which wage war on each other and it is not always clear who are good and who are evil. Life is never black and white, but when dealing with Voodoo the shades of grey are many indeed! Whatever the case, the Boko are closely tied in with such things as ritualistic murder, cannibalism and black magick. Bokos will, for a suitable fee, call on the help of Baron Samedi to cast deadly curses upon the living, and perhaps even more dreadful curses upon the recently deceased, as they are the ones who can be turned into Zombies, Snakespirits, and even worse things.
Damballah Wedo: Spirit of Snakes, a source for virility and power, Mate of Ayida Wedo.
Erzulie: Spirit of Love, Jealousy and Revenge. This Loa is a dangerous one with which to trade! Even though she knows the secrets of seduction and love potions, her temper is unpredictable, and her wrath terrible indeed!
Grans Bwa: Spirit of the Forest.
Guede: Spirit of the Dead, Lord of the mysteries of Death and Dark Sorcery. This Loa is one of the most powerful of the Dark Loa, and the only Loa who is known to have lost his other "face" completely. The Loa is a mysterious one, and does not have any form, save that of darkness. When materializing, it speaks from the darkest of the shadows. Its voice is like that of the screams of a thousand angry unborn foetuses, and that of the dead in their graves. It usually acts through Baron Samedi, over whom it is ever gaining more influence.
Houmfor: Typically a temple in the deepest forests of Haiti. The Houmfor is usually composed of a small building in which the holy artifacts are kept, a room with open walls attached to it and finally a temple yard in which the believers can gather.
Houngan: Priest associated with, and in charge of, a Houmfor.
Loco: Spirit of Vegetation.
Mambo: Priestess associated with, and in charge of, a Houmfor. Ogoun: Spirit of Fire and Metallurgical Elements.
Papa Legba: Overlord of the Loa, Spirit of communication between all spheres, Lord of the Ways, Lord of the Crossroads. As the Lord of the Ways, Papa Legba is a Loa with many facets. He is both a Light and a Dark Loa, and the line between the two "faces" are so sharply drawn that it at times seems as if there are two Loa named Papa Legba. In his facet of Light, he is the advisor, the sage and the helper, trying to guide humanity and its fellow Loa unto their destined paths. In his Dark facet, he is a scheming, diabolical and often mistaken for Satan. This aspect of his Dark "face" may very well have been brought upon him by the Catholic touch the Voodoo religion received when the Englishmen and the Spaniards colonized the Caribbean area. Since crossroads are traditionally associated with Dark Deeds and Dark Sorcery, it is also a fairly easy line to draw when trying to frighten believers from their native deities and to the gates of the Holy Church. He appears as an elderly black man, slender of frame with a handsome face framed by the soft lines one gets from smiling and laughing a lot, and he sports a grey goatee. His is very charismatic, and persuasive in both his forms and only by their agenda can they be truly separated. When he appears, he is dressed as appropriate for a sage or a priest of the area in which he materializes.
Shango: Spirit of Lightning.
Sobo: Spirit of Thunder.
Tonton Macoute: Haitian term for wandering sorcerers, who are usually evil and only different from Bokos in the way that they do not work with a cult. The term was also used by the Dictator "Papa Doc" for his death squads -- a way to use the mythology to instill fear into the hapless citizens. The Tonton Macoute has black and red as the main colours of whatever garb he is wearing, and it is said that one can recognize such a person because the birds stop singing when a Tonton Macoute draws near.
Veves: Magickal symbols or Runes, which are specially associated with the Loa which the practitioner wishes to contact or summon.
Zaka: Spirit of the Earth.
System: The Cainite needs three things to use this Power. This first is a broad-bladed hunting knife with a serrated blade and its handle wrapped in the skin torn from a newly killed animal (sometimes this knife is known as the Ku-bha-sah, or the Knife of the Master of Ceremonies). Most Boko and Tonton Macoute prefer to wrap it in the skin torn from the still-warm body of an infant. The second object is a clay amulet engraved with the Veves of Guede, which resembles the stylized image of a white snake curling around a tombstone. The snake is normally perceived as the Snake Loa Damballah's mark, but it is believed that his Veves has been mixed with that of Guede, because he also represents Power. The amulet must be bound to the handle of the knife, using a leather-strap made from the skin of a one week old corpse. The final ingredient is 3 points of blood from a Cainite, which is used to baptize the knife and amulet, and which is mysteriously absorbed by the two items if the initiation ritual is correctly executed, and Guede approves.
The Cainite makes a Voodoo Lore + Intimidation roll (difficulty of the victim's Humanity/Path Rating). The number of successes equals the number of days in which the Mark of Guede will remain active. At the discretion of the Storyteller, the Difficulty of rolls made by the cursed victim may be raised at appropriate moments (such as when he really is in trouble, for remember Spirits of the Dead are attracted by turmoil and similar things which reminds them of the time when they were still alive). If the use of the Power is successful, the knife with the attached amulet must be placed in the door, or doorway, of the victim in order for the Spirits to find their way. Note, that once the knife has been placed, it matters not if the victim removes it, since the Spirits will already know the Way to their target.
This Power must be used prior to the casting of any of the Ritual Curses described below, else the Spirits will turn on the character (not known to those with less than 3 in Voodoo Lore)
System: For this Power to work, the head of the dead person must be relatively intact. If it has been severely damaged, this Power will yield no information. Furthermore, the person must not have been dead for any more than 7 days, for according to Voodoo Lore the soul does not leave this plane of existence until the end of the seventh day. Until then, it floats invisible in the vicinity of the corpse and is highly vulnerable to the Powers wielded by those who know of Voodoo! In fact, a number of special Voodoo amulets are available to the families of deceased persons. It is said that if one is buried with such an amulet, the magick of the Voodoo Priests can never harm the deceased.
The user recites the Praise of Samedi and inserts his fingers into the back of the deceased's head, past fleah and bone into the brain, while he gazes into his eyes. Then Perception + Voodoo Lore is Rolled against a base Difficulty of 7. For every second day beyond the first, in which the person has been dead, the Difficulty is raised by one, to a maximum of 10. Beyond the seventh day, this Power will be useless, as the Spirit of the deceased leaves this plane and the potential harm of any practitioner of Voodoo.
| Successes | Results |
| 1 | Know basic details about the deceased (name, place of residence, age, job, closets friends). |
| 2 | Knows of places where the deceased has been, up to a day before his death, as well as faces of people he has talked with. The information is somewhat hazy and for example street names and house numbers will not appear clearly, but the image of a building the deceased has entered will. |
| 3 | Knows exact location, address and details (if known by the deceased) of places the deceased has been, up to a week before his death, including names and facts about people he has talked with. |
| 4 | Knows all of the above, and learns secrets about the deceased that only a very close friend would know. |
| 5 | The practitioner smashes through all barriers of the deceased's mind, and practically everything known to the deceased while he was still alive is bared before the character. Desires, friends, business connections, religious conviction, loved ones, secret bankaccounts -- all that the deceased was, knew and felt is available to the practitioner. However, Storyteller's discretion is advised! Because the sum of an entire lifetime is made available, this does not mean that the character can absorb all of this knowledge. Pickings will have to be made, and useless (to the character but not to the deceased) information will have to be sorted through. Time is needed, and unless the practitioner has not made sure that he and the corpse are in a place where they will not be disturbed, time might suddenly come very short! |
Furthermore, the snakes will not arrive miraculously at the same time, as if by means of teleport! They actually have to travel their by own force, and therefore the snakes are likely to arrive in intervals.
System: Using this Power requires a Snake Charming + Leadership roll with a base Difficulty of 7. Each success allows the user to summon snakes from a larger area. There are two sets of distances listed; The former should be used when the Cainite employs this Power in a city (where the response probably will not be overwhelming), while the latter should be used when the Power is employed in a wilderness area.
| Successes | Effects |
| 1 | All summoned snakes within one city block/half a mile respond unless something actively prevents them from doing so (e.g. a large bird eats a snake). Ghoul snakes do not respond. |
| 2 | All summoned snakes within two city blocks/one mile respond, unless hindered by one of the above mentioned exceptions. Ghoul snakes do not respond. |
| 3 | All summoned snakes within five city blocks/two and a half miles respond unless hindered by one of the above mentioned exceptions. Ghoul snakes do not respond. |
| 4 | All summoned snakes within 14 city blocks/seven miles respond, unless hindered by one of the above mentioned exceptions. Even Ghoul snakes answer the summons. |
| 5 | All summoned snakes within 20 city blocks/ten miles respond. |
Note: If the character summons the snakes standing in a crowded place, there is bound to be trouble! If a lot of snakes answer the summons and they move into a crowded area, they will feel threatened by the people and start biting. Given the variety of snakes which will appear, it will be fair to assume that even though not all may be dangerously poisonous the sheer mass of bites will affect Kine, causing sickness and possibly even death! Cainites who drink off an affected Kine, will suffer the effects similar to Atropine (The Vampire Player's Guide 2nd Edition, p184) which, according to the Storyteller, may be more or less severe than those described there.
System: The Cainite rolls Snake Charming + Leadership with a base Difficulty of 10 minus the number of successes achieved using Summon Snakes. If successful, the character will be able to mentally command the snakes for a period of ten minutes per successes achieved using this Power. The commands the character issue must be very simple and straightforward in construction (as to avoid misunderstandings), as well as being minded for mentality of the snakes. As a rule of thumb, the commands should be of no more than 10 words. Another thing to keep in mind is the physical and mental capabilities and limitations of the snakes -- commands which are well beyond those of the snakes, will merely confuse the snakes, and the character may lose control of them (at the StoryTeller's discretion). Whether the snakes ultimately understands the commands and are capable of carrying them out is left to the StoryTeller to decide.
If the character desires to command snakes not summoned by means of this Path, he must roll Snake Charming + Leadership against a difficulty of 6 in case of a single snake, and 8+ in case of a horde of snakes.
When deciding how far the snakes will be willing to go in order to carry the orders of the character out, compare the number of successes achieved with the table in the Power. If only one success is achieved, the snakes will still withdraw from fire and lethal situations, while five successes would mean that the snakes would act without regard of their own safety.
System: For this Power to work, the character must previously have marked his victim using the Mark of Guede Power. The Ku-bha-sah, which is used for the wounding, may either be the one originally used to mark the victim, or one enchanted specifically for this purpose. The character need not personally cause the wound, as long as a serviteur of some sort uses the Ku-bha-sah which the character has enchanted.
Once the intended victim has been Marked and wounded, the Cainite makes a Voodoo Lore + Intimidation roll with a Difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower + 2. The number of successes represent the immediate number of Health Levels the victim loses. Furthermore, the blood of the victim has been corrupted and filled with energies of Death, strong enough to affect even the Cainites. Kine will lose additional Health Levels at the rate of one Health Level per 12 hour period, as their blood is destroyed and their body slowly and painfully mummified. This process continues until the Kine in question has no more blood and dies.
Kindred suffers a somewhat different fate. Their blood no longer "runs" naturally in their bodies, but are stored for the purpose of "animating" their dead bodies, and employing the Vampiric Disciplines. The number of successes indicate the number of Blood Points corrupted, and if more than three successes are attained, the entire Blood Pool of the Cainite will be destroyed by the Curse. The Cainite does not immediately feel anything, nor is his body harmed. However, every time a Cainite, who has been cursed, uses a point of Vitae, he loses a Health Level -- no matter what the Vitae is used for -- and loses it under agonizing pain as the Curse makes itself known! Thus, healing using such Blood Points will only cause additional damage until the point where the Cainite is forced into Torpor. Drinking more Vitae to heal the loss of Health will merely prolong the agony, as the new Vitae will become corrupted by the "bad blood" already in the Cainite's system, and the process can start all over again, inevitably with the same result. The only way to stop this magickal disease, is to remove all Vitae from the Cainite's system. This will effectively remove any foothold for the disease. Unfortunately, this threat to its host will cause the Beast to rise in all its Frenzied splendour, which may ultimately put the Cainite in more danger than he faced when he was threatened by the Curse of Samedi.
The True Serviteurs are probably one of the most feared servants of the Voodoo Priest (this being any of the seasoned practitioners). The Serviteurs are possessed by supernatural strength and abilities, and have no fear. Even Cainites fear these creatures as none of the mental Disciplines work on the True Serviteur (i.e. Domination, Presence, etc.); they are like fighting robots of flesh who will not deviate from their orders, nor will they not stop until their physical forms are utterly destroyed!
System: The True Serviteur is created by forcing a Spirit into the body of a human or an animal. If the process is successful, the character is left with a very powerful and loyal servant: a servant who is capable of thought, but who does not have the mindlessness of Zombie, nor the independent mind of a Kine or Cainite servant.
For this Power to work, the Cainite must previously have marked the target who is to be turned into a serviteur with the Mark of Guede Power described above. First the character must cast out the Spirit (soul) of the creature to be used. The cast out Spirit may become a ghost at the Storyteller's option or may simply disappear into the afterworld as if the person, or animal, had died. If the target is unwilling, which is usually the case, a roll of Manipulation + Occult with a difficulty equal to the victim's Willpower. When the body is bereft of its Spirit, the Cainite is ready for the next stage in the creation of his serviteur. The character must score at least one success against the known Spirit, which he intends to force into the now-empty body, in a resisted Willpower roll. The difficulty of each participant's roll is equal to the opponent's Willpower. If the character loses the test, the Spirit is free to leave and may not be re-summoned. If the character wins, he manages to force the Spirit into the vacant body and he has created a True Serviteur. The True Serviteur is a powerful creature and usually a match for any Neonate. The problem is though, that the Voodoo Priests usually use packs of these creatures, sometimes even as supernatural death squads, and then the score changes completely. A True Serviteur adds two points to all physical characteristics, has four Health Boxes more than normal due to the driving power of the possessing Spirit and the equivalent of three points of Celerity and Potence. The standard True Serviteur has a Power Pool of 15 points from which to activate its "Disciplines" and can use two Power Pool points per turn to activate its Disciplines or boost characteristics. Serviteurs are also capable of seeing in complete darkness, as if they were using the 1st level Protean Power Gleam of Red Eyes.
In addition the True Serviteurs feel no pain or fear, and the Spirit powering the body will not stop before the host body has been mauled beyond use. Reports state that it is not uncommon for True Serviteurs to fight on after the severing of several limbs but that destruction of the head usually ends their existence. When this happens, the Spirit is freed and the serviteur becomes a normal creature again. Also, True Serviteurs are immune to the effects of the Dominate and Presence Disciplines. The Spirit will inhabit and power its host body until the Voodoo Priest sets it free or the host body is destroyed. It is completely loyal and will not try to destroy its host body on purpose. Although the True Serviteurs are loyal, they are not mindless automatons but are quite capable of independent thought and most Spirits have access to the memory and abilities of the former inhabiting Spirit (the original soul).