PATH OF VOODOO
  by Kenneth Madsen (94944@udd.aalborgspsem.dk)

Description
     The Path of Voodoo originates from the Caribbean islands. Most Cainite
scholars point to Haiti and Jamaica as the two most likely places of
origin mainly because of the high concentration of Voodoo Cults on the
two islands, but also because of the way in which Voodoo affects all
stages of life there. A so widespread vital importance of Voodoo, could
not have been achieved if the Art had not been present from the very
primeval youth of the islands.
     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.


Voodoo Vocabulary

     Agwe: Sovereign of the Sea.

     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.


The Powers of Voodoo

* The Mark of Guede
     The target of this Power unknowingly becomes Marked for Death, and it
is primarily used to mark the way for more powerful Voodoo Powers.
Guede is the Loa of the Dead and is usually the one whom Houngans,
Mambos or Bokos address when they wish to curse someone. Papa Legba and
Guede's Acolyte Baron Samedi are also used for such purposes, as the
Opener of the Gateways and the Lord of the Cemetery, respectively.
However, when the Gateway has been opened, the cursed character seems
to attract malicious Spirits which follow him and torment him by
hindering to some degree his actions. These Spirits do not however
follow the cursed character constantly, but turn up with unnerving
frequency.
     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)

** Ask of the Dead
     This Power allows the practitioner to learn secrets from Spirits of the
deceased. This Power is well-known in the Caribbean, and both True
Voodoo followers and the Followers of Set, go to great lengths to
ensure that any dead ally is destroyed in such a way that nothing can
be learned from the corpse.
     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!

*** Summon Snakes
     This power allows the character to summon all the natural snakes in the
vicinity. While this power does not place the snakes under the control
of the character, the use of the second 3rd level Power Control Snakes
will. The snakes called will move toward the place from which the
character issued the summons. The snakes will move towards the spot
unless stopped by impassable obstacles (water, fire, etc.), or threats
to their existence (a highway, sub-way rails, etc.) -- in which case
they will revert to normal behaviour. The summoned snakes will behave
normally as soon as they reach the point of the summoning, and the
character will have to react fast to control them as they will most
likely begin to move away. They are not likely to attack anyone unless
they feel threatened. However, if the snakes are summoned to a place
filled with people, they are very likely to feel threatened. Even if
the snakes are merely summoned as a means of distraction, the snakes
are unlikely to attack the character (unless of course he botched).
     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.

*** Control Snakes
     With this Power, the character will be able to control the snakes he
has summoned with the above described Power Summon Snakes, or any other
snakes for that matter.
     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.

**** The Curse of Samedi
     With this Power the character can gain the assistance of Baron Samedi,
and will be able to kill his victims without actually being near them.
However, the character must have inflicted a wound on the target (i.e.
caused a loss of Health Levels) with a Ku-Bah-Sah for this to work.
When this has been done, and the Curse cast, Baron Samedi sinks his
claws into the victim, and a mystical wasting disease from beyond the
grave will attack the victim, destroying his blood, and eventually
killing him after a period of excruciating pain. This Power is often
used as a warning, either killing the offender straight off, or merely
letting him know the terror of being in the practitioner's Power!
     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.

***** Create Serviteur
     The ultimate secret of the Path of Voodoo, and the ultimate power as
well! At this level, the character may create a Serviteur -- in this
case a Kine or an animal possessed by a Spirit, and not just a helper
or an acolyte which are sometimes also called serviteurs.
     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).


Voodoo Rituals

Level One Rituals:

"Tongue of the Spirit"
     This Ritual enables the caster to communicate on a very basic level
with the spirits of the dead, as well as those low-level spirits of the
Loa world. The caster can only ask very simple questions to the spirits
and they cannot, of course, answer questions to which they did not know
the answers when they were alive -- of course they might lie.
     Those spirits which are contacted can either be ones known to the
character by name or the spirits of corpses which are found -- for
example if a character wanders into an area of a recent shoot-out,
finds lots of bodies and destruction and wishes to know what happened in
detail.
     In case of an unknown spirit to be summoned, the character must be in
possession of the body's head (lowers the difficulty by 1 in the case of a
known spirit) or the entire body (lowers the difficulty by 2 in the case of
a known spirit and by 1 in the case of an unknown spirit).
     Any attempt spirits which have been outside their body for more
than 7 days (i.e. dead for 7+$ days) will have their difficulty raised
by +2 in the case of a known spirit, and by +3 in the case of an
unknown spirit.
     Attempts to summon spirits which has been gone for one or several
centuries, will have their difficulty raised by an additional +1 for
every century.
     In order to use this Ritual, the caster must draw a circle around
the site of contact -- a circle which has a diameter of at least 1 meter
-- and inscribe the symbols for Water, Fire, Earth, Air and Ether at
their correct positions around the circle and in the center of the
circle the Veve of Guede must be drawn; If part of the body is available
it must be placed in ther center and the Veve of Guede drawn on top of
it; If the body is burried beneath the circle, a hole must be dug
through the Veve of Guede and blood poured into the hole to give the
spirits the power to manifest and the ability to talk. If the remains
are present above the ground, the blood must simply be sprayed over the
remains. In the case of an unknown spirits, the first procedure
described must be used. Then the caster must position himself outside
the circle and chant "The Song of Returning Spirits" which will take 2
hours to complete. The completion of the Ritual demands the expenditure
of 5 points worth of Vitae. The Vitae must be from a human, but never
from the caster -- if so the spirit will possess the caster!
     Roll Perception + Occult (Basic difficulty 5) -- the number of
successes indicates the number of minutes the spirit will stay. If the
caster wishes for the spirit to stay for an extended period of time, he
must expend an additional 5 points of Vitae, and the spirit will then
stay to answer questions for another x turns, equal to the number of
successes the caster rolled originally.
     The spirits must answer any question put to them by the caster,
although the Storyteller must judge what they know and how correct it
is.

Level Two Rituals:

"Gaze of Erzulie"
     This Ritual calls for the caster to expend 2 Blood Pool Points,
which must be bled into a bowl and mixed with three dried and crushed
plants associated with love and potence. The caster must then draw the
Veve of Erzulie -- in her aspect as the Loa of love -- on his forehead
and above his heart. Several other symbols of love and potence must be
drawn on various parts of the body, while the caster chants for a full
hour. At the end of the Ritual the character places two rubies over
his eyes and chants the final words, after which both the rubies and
the symbols drawn with blood on the caster's body will disappear.
     Now the caster can use the "Gaze of Erzulie" to make a person fall
in love with him. The caster establish eye contact with the target,
concentrates shortly and the power of the Ritual is released. He rolls
Charisma + Leadership (Difficulty is target's Willpower in case of
supernatural creatures, and Willpower -2 in the case of "normal"
mortals). If 3 or more successes are achieved, the target enters a
state which is very similar to that of a Blood Bond and believes
himself to be truly in love with the caster. For the effects of the
Ritual to be broken, the caster can either dispell the Ritual, or if
the target character is treated very bad, it may be broken as
described under "Blood Bond", in Vampire: The Masquerade.

"Tongue of Damballah"
     This Ritual enables the caster to communicate with snakes in their
own language. The caster must have the tongue of a Boa Constrictor in
his possession, which must be washed over with 1 point worth of the
caster's Vitae, while the caster chants for a two-hour period and
scratch the Veve of Damballah into the tongue with his nails. At the
completion of the ritual, the caster places the snake tongue on top of
his own and will thus be able to communicate with all snakes within
earshot. While the caster can continue to talk with the snakes for as
long as the snake tongue remains in his mouth, something which could
theoretically go on forever, the caster will not be able to talk to
anyone in anything but "snake tongue" for as long as he uses the
effects of this Ritual (Telepathy and writing are, however, still
possible). Note that all snakes will behave in a friendly way towards
the caster while he uses the effcts of the Ritual -- unless, of course,
ordered to do otherwise by hostile users of magick or Disciplines.

Level Three Rituals:

"Voice of Sobo"
     This Ritual enables the caster to deafen and confuse his enemis
temporarily, as the Loa of Thunder -- Sobo -- lets roll his mighty
voice. The caster must have a handful of flintstone dust in one hand,
and the same amount of dust from a magnetic stone in the other. The
caster must chant for 10 minutes and upon saying the last word of the
incantation, he must clasp his hands together will screaming the name
of Sobo at the top of his voice. When this happens, a deafening roar of
thunder will roll out from the caster. All within a 3 meters radius
will have their eardrums severely damaged and lose 4 dices from all
hearing perception rolls until the eardrums have regrown, as well as a
loss of 4 dices from any dice pool roll for the following 2 hours --
due to the shock and confusion isuing from being the victim of the clap
of thunder. Anyone standing more than 3 meters away from the caster,
but less than 15 meters, will also suffer a half an hour's loss of 4
dices from any dice pool tests -- in the case of an animal (Or Protean
form, or Auspex use) the loss will be of 6 dices and for a 2-hour
period. In addition, any glass or similar brittle material within 3
meters of the caster will virtually explode. As the clap of thunder
emits from the caster, he is not affected as he is -- so to speak -- at
the eye of the storm.

Level Four Rituals:

"Protective Grasp of Grans Bwa"
     This Ritual allows the caster to call upon the help of Grans Bwa
-- the Loa of the forest. Many a wielder of Voodoo have used this
Ritual to escape from their enemies. The caster must take branches,
leaves, straws, berries and similar things from the forest, and braid
them in the shape of the Veve of Grans Bwa. While braiding, the caster
must chant for a full 2-hour period and at the end of the preparation,
he must wash the Veve in 2 points worth of his own Vitae. When the
incantation has been completed, the braid will remain fresh and usable
for infinity -- which is why some Houngans, and Mambos, carry several
seemingly fresh braids of this type on their person.
     When the times arises for the braid to come into use, it is simply
thrown down on the ground in a forest area (it is completely useless
anywhere else), and the name of Grans Bwa is spoken out aloud. Note
that only the caster can use the braid, as his blood has been used to
prepare it with. When the braid is used, the area will "awaken"
slightly to aid the caster in his escape. Whereever he goes, bushes and
branches move aside -- allowing the caster to move at full running
speed even in a very dense forest -- anyone following him, will not be
as lucky. Branches seem to lower themselves to obstruct the pursuers'
path, roots grab for their feet, thorny bushes seem to lash at their
faces and both the ground and the grass hide the footprints of the
caster. The pursuers must make a Dexterity + Strength roll at
difficulty 8, to continue to move at half their normal speed. Failure,
means that the pursuers have become entangled in the forest, until
such a time as they make a successful Strength roll at difficulty 8 and
scores a minimum of 3 successes.

Level Five Rituals:

"Create Zombie"
     This Ritual allows the caster to create the dreaded undead
servants of the Voodoo priests -- the Zombies! The caster must have
available to him a dead body, which has been dead for no more than 7
days. The body must be placed inside a circle drawn with a mixture of
blood from a goat, dust from a cemetery and the powdered body of a
special poisonous tropical fish. The Ritual also requires 3 horus of
chanting -- during which Guede and his servant Baron Samedi are called
upon to favour the caster with success and grant him control of one of
their subjects. While chanting, the caster must also inscribe the dead
body with the Veves of the two Loa and dreaded runes of black magick,
as well as spray the blood mixture out towards all four corners of the
world -- in honour of Papa Legba, the Lord of the Ways.
     Once the Ritual is completed, the eyes of the corpse will once
again roll open and it will rise to do the bidding of the caster. The
Zombie will have its traits halved to what they were when it was alive
-- except for physical attributes  which are doubled. The Zombie will
only be able to exactly as the caster tells it to do. It will fucntion
until decomposed or damaged beyond use. For even though forces of dark
magick now animates the corpse, it will still decay as though it was
still a normal dead body. But besides that, the caster now has a most
effective servant; It fears nothing, never tires and only dismemberment
or utter destruction can stop it.
     The caster may destroy the Zombie, by flinging a handful of bone
dust upon it and shouting out the names of Guede and Baron Samedi
backwards.

Level Six Rituals:

"The Doll"
     This Ritual gives the caster access to one of the most feared
powers of the Voodoo priests -- namely that of the Voodoo Doll!
     To make a doll, the caster must gather a number of special things;
A special wax made from human fat, bone dust mixed with the powdered
remains of three secret plants, the handbones from any human, black
stones from a crossroads for the eyes of the doll, 1 point of his own
Vitae mixed with charcoal, hair from the head of the victim and an item
of personal value to the intended victim. While slowly forming the doll
from the collected ingredients, the caster must chant continously. The
process takes 4 hours. At the completion of the ritual, the caster must
engrave the doll with the Veves of Papa Legba and Erzulie -- in her
aspect as the Loa of Revenge -- and expend 2 points of Willpower. Now
the caster will have a doll whcih is effective against a single,
specific individual only.
     At this point, the doll can only be casued to inflict minor damage
and pain upon the victim. The caster can pierce the doll with ritual
needles made from silver -- thus causing immense pain (and the loss of
2-4 dics from the victim's dice pool for the next half hour to 2-hour
period, depending on the way in which the pain is inflicted). The pain
will feel as if someone is cutting in the victim with red-hot knives,
or equivalent to collossal muscle cramps or similar nasty experiences.
But these pains will not in themselves be lethal. The caster must roll
Manipulation + Intimidation (Difficulty 8), which is resisted by the
victim's Willpower (also at Difficulty 8). If the caster scores 3 or
more successes than the victim, the victim will faint for a period of
time equal to 30 minutes - Stamina, one or more botches on the part of
the caster means that he becomes the target of his own dark magick.
     For "real damage" to be inflcited by the use of the doll, it must
be further enchanted. This takes an additional two hours of chanting,
during which the doll must be kept in a circle drawn with chicken
blood, and the caster must also wash the doll over with 5 points worth
of his own Vitae -- which will be absorbed by the doll. At the end of
the enhantment, the caster must also expend 2 points of Willpower. Each
time the doll is enchanted (which can be done for a maximum of 8
times), the caster will be able to cause 1 Health Level of damage to
the victim for every success, note however that the caster need not use
the maximum amount of possible damage each time, he decides how much
damage the victim should receive. A closer physical bond is forged
between the victim and the doll each time it is enchanted further. This
also means that the damage inflicted upon the doll will be visible to a
greater or lesser degree upon the victim body (Storyteller's
discretion).
     Each time the caster wishes to use the doll, he must make a 10
minutes chant and spend a point of Vitae, after which one attempt may
be made. However, if the caster wishes to continue inflicting damage
upon the victim and has made the chant, he may simply spend another
point of Vitae and give it another try. These extra attempts can be
made for a number of times equal to the number of additional times the
doll has been enchanted. Thereafter the chant must be made again.