The Haitian revolution was a turning point in Kindred history. As the fires of rebellion burned, Kindred fled from St. Domingue and scattered throughout the world, taking the religion of Vodoun with them. Any vampire can practice Vodoun. The religion is inclusive and not limited to any specific clan. While certain covenants (the Lancea Sanctum in particular) may find its practice disdainful or even threatening, the religion is still open to all — despite efforts by more traditional Kindred to contain its spread. Granted, there is a much larger concentration of devotees in New Orleans, the Caribbean and eastern coastal cities of the United States, but vampires find reasons to move to new cities, so isolated individual practitioners and small coteries of devotees can crop up nearly anywhere. Vodoun, as a religion, puts a great deal of emphasis on dealing with spirits called loa. The loa are spirits of divine origin who serve as intermediaries between Bondye, the Creator (who is both distant from and disinterested in the lowly affairs of creatures that crawl upon the earth), and practitioners of Vodoun. In Kindred Vodoun rituals, the ritualist summons loa to receive offerings and grant requests. Each loa demands a different type of offering or gift from the ritualist. If the loa finds the vampire’s offering sufficient, it possesses her body and grants her unique abilities in the process.
A devotee progresses in Vodoun by developing personal relationships and rapport with the loa. As such, a character’s rating in Rapport determines which rituals he may learn. For example, a character with two dots of Rapport can know an unlimited number of level one and level two rituals (provided the experience points are paid to learn each), but he may not study any level-three
Vodoun rituals until his Rapport level is increased to 3. Each time a character acquires a dot of Rapport (including at character creation), he gains a ritual of that level at no additional cost. New rituals can be bought at the cost of two experience points multiplied by the level of the ritual.
Kindred with a Rapport level of •• or lower are called vodouisants, and are able to call upon any loa.
While any vampire can practice Vodoun, and may call upon any number of loa, the end goal of most practitioners is to gain the patronage of a specific loa. Developing a personal relationship with a loa takes a great deal of time and energy, but once a loa offers its patronage, the houngan has access to much more specialized and formidable powers than those available to vodouisants.
When a player buys a third dot of Rapport, his character has become skilled enough to attract the attention of a specific loa, and must perform the ceremony of bat guerre (the battle for the spirits). Through physical exertion and mental concentration, against the hypnotic backbeat of drums, chanting and the clashing of ceremonial machetes, the initiate is possessed by a particular loa who offers its patronage. A character cannot ascend to a Rapport level of ••• without going through bat guerre.
If the vodouisant accepts the loa’s offer during the ceremony, he or she becomes a houngan (priest) or mambo (priestess) devoted to that specific loa, and may proceed to learn the higher level rituals (levels ••• and above) associated with that loa. Once a houngan completes bat guerre and gains the patronage of a loa, he can still call upon any of the other loa for lower level rituals (levels •• and below), but he can only perform higher level rituals (levels ••• and above) associated with his patron loa. A houngan may only accept the patronage of one loa, so he must consider his path carefully.
The Loa
Ghede
Ghede is the lord of death and the keeper of graveyards. He controls the eternal crossroads that mark the paths between life and death. His followers are said to have the ability to converse with the dead, and were rumored to create zombies from mortal corpses to attend as undead, speechless servants entirely without free will.
Loa characteristics: A vampire who calls upon Ghede takes on a visible death mask. His cheeks become hollow and sunken, dark circles appear beneath his eyes, and his skin stretches taught across his face — giving him a skeletal appearance.
Ritual Offering: Rum, cigars and food (Ghede is a glutton and a well-prepared feast is a sure way to gain his favor).
Papa Legba
In Haitian Vodoun, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the spirit world and humanity. He is guardian of the gateways to and from the spirit world and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits. Papa Legba is believed to speak all human languages, and is said to facilitate communication, speech and understanding. According to the Vodoun tradition, Papa Legba is depicted as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a broad brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe.
Loa characteristics: A vampire who summons Papa Legba walks with a noticeable limp, as though a leg bone is broken.
Ritual Offering: Black coffee, tobacco, and roasted corn or peanuts
Kalfou
According to Vodoun tradition, Kalfou is the loa of bad luck, evil charms, black magic and misfortune. He represents the malevolent side of chaos and destiny. As such, he is able to lend his dark influence over fate to Kindred who serve him loyally. Like the loa, Kalfou’s followers tend to be fascinated with destiny; they may be fortune tellers, soothsayers or dark prophets. A mambo devoted to Kalfou can inflict devastating curses upon her foes.
Loa characteristics: Kalfou is said to be the origin of darkness. The eyes of a vampire who summons Kalfou turn flat black and weep shadow.
Ritual Offering: Incense, sugar and raw meat
In Kindred Vodoun rituals, a devotee invites a loa into his body. Each loa demands a different offering or gift from the ritualist. If the loa finds the vampire’s offering sufficient, it will enter his body and grant him unique abilities. The devotee retains control of his own body and senses while the loa rides his body and may choose to end the possession at any time, except in the case of dramatic failure (see below). How the possession affects the ritualist varies from loa to loa. Kindred may take on physical or personality traits associated with the loa: an unusually haughty attitude, a slight limp, or grotesque, festering sores. The characteristics of the loa affect the vampire for a number of hours equal to the level of the ritual.
Cost: The use of Vodoun always costs the character one point of Vitae. Additionally, each loa requires an offering. Upon invocation of the ritual, the loa consumes what has been offered, leaving behind nothing — regardless of whether or not the ritual results in a successful possession.
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion + Rapport
Action: Extended. The number of successes required to activate a ritual is equal to the level of the ritual (so a level-three ritual requires three successes to enact). Each roll represents one turn of ritual casting. Note also that each point of damage incurred in a turn is a penalty to the next casting roll made for the character, in addition to any wound penalties suffered.
If a character fails to complete the ritual in time (such as by being sent into torpor before accumulating enough successes) or decides to cancel the ritual before garnering enough successes to activate it, the effect simply fails. Any Vitae expenditures made are not recovered, and the offering is consumed.
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The devotee relinquishes control of her body, becoming entirely possessed by the loa for the remainder of the scene (which may or may not be detrimental to the vampire depending on the loa, and the vampire’s relationship with it). The loa’s consciousness takes the place of the ritualist’s, and the loa controls all actions made by the vampire during that time. When the vampire regains control of her body, she recalls nothing of what happened during the possession and is temporarily disoriented, taking a -3 penalty to any action performed in the subsequent round.
Failure: No successes are added to the total. If the character is forced to stop before the ritual is complete, the ritual fails. Vitae and offerings are consumed as normal, but possession does not occur.
Success: Successes are added to the total. If the character reaches the target number of successes, the ritual takes place as described, and the possession is successful.
Exceptional Success: The ritual takes place as described. In many cases, extra successes are their own reward, causing additional damage or conferring extra duration or capacity.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+2 - The ritual is performed in a place sympathetic to the nature of the loa.
+1 - The loa is the patron of the Kindred performing the ritual.
-2 - The ritual is performed with inappropriate offerings.
-2 - The ritualist demands cooperation rather than asking for it or treats the loa with disdain or arrogance.
-3 - The ritual is performed lacking any offering.
See the last moments of a Vampire, from their point of view
A devotee can call upon Ghede to grant him the ability to perceive the moments of another vampire’s Final Death as though he were experiencing the Final Death himself. The Kindred perceives the death as it was occurring from the point of view of the deceased vampire. The character sees what the vampire saw, smells what he smelled, feels how he felt, etc. Kindred are able to maintain Death Echo for a minute per Rapport level, and must know the name of the dead vampire in order to use this ritual.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+1 - The ritualist has a physical object connected to the deceased (e.g. hair, clothing, a photograph).
+2 - The ritualist is well acquainted with the deceased, or the deceased is connected to the ritualist through a blood tie.
Remove dices from a target dice pools for hours
Kalfou may be called upon to inflict a curse intended to bring about immediate ill-fortune upon another. The target of the curse need not be present to be affected by Kalfou’s Misfortune, but the devotee must have met the target. Success causes a number of dice to be removed from the subject’s dice pool. One die is subtracted per Rapport dot the ritualist possesses (an additional die is subtracted if Kalfou is the patron loa of the ritualist). Kalfou’s Misfortune lasts an hour per dot of Rapport the ritualist possesses.
This ritual involves a contested action, pitting the ritualist’s Presence + Persuasion + Rapport against the subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency. Resisting Kalfou’s Misfortune is a reflexive action. Kalfou’s Misfortune can be used a number of times per night equal to the ritualist’s Rapport.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+1 - The ritualist has a physical object connected to the target of the curse (e.g. hair, clothing, a photograph).
+2 - The ritualist is well acquainted with the subject.
+2 - The subject is connected to the ritualist through a blood tie.
Allow communication with spirits in the Twilight
Papa Legba can be called upon to grant the ritualist the ability to see, hear and speak with spirits. Kindred granted this ability can also detect their unseen presence if they are hiding or have chosen to not reveal themselves. Unless the vampire has some means of peering across the Gauntlet or affecting the Shadow, he can converse only with Twilight spirits. The effects of the ritual last for one hour per dot of Rapport.
Damage a material object
A devotee can call upon Ghede to cause any material object to corrode, rust or become rotten. This ritual lowers the object’s Durability by a number of points equal to the vampire’s Blood Potency, but it does not affect the object’s Structure.
Curse oathbreakers with a strong penalty, until promise is fullfilled, they die or oath is lifter by destroying the focus
A devotee can swear a binding oath under the eye of Kalfou, and even more importantly, the oath may take place between any number of Kindred. Only one of the vampires involved needs to be able to cast the ritual. Each vampire making an oath under Kalfou signifies her promise with a drop of her own blood upon a swatch of white linen.
A promise sworn beneath the watchful gaze of Kalfou can only be broken at a great price. If a vampire knowingly and willingly acts in any way contrary to an oath sworn beneath Kalfou, the loa curses him with bad luck, and the oath-breaker receives a -5 penalty to all actions until his promise has been fulfilled, he dies, or the oath is lifted.
The oath is only lifted if the binding cloth on which the oath-takers’ blood was shared is destroyed.
Allow communication and understanding of any language
A vodouisant may call upon Papa Legba to translate any language, verbal or written, allowing communication and understanding across cultural and knowledge barriers. When Universal Translator is in effect, the vampire understands all languages and can speak or write any language that he chooses to focus upon. Fundamentally, Universal Translator is based upon pattern recognition. Therefore, it may also be used on computer and programming languages, allowing the vampire to understand and write the language of code. Universal Translator remains in effect for one scene.
Create a mindless zombi
only available to patrons of Ghede
A houngan under the patronage of Ghede can call upon him to reanimate a lifeless corpse and create a zombi. A zombi created through Vodoun ritual is completely under the control of the houngan. It can be recognized by its listless gait, and empty, soulless eyes. It can hear and obey simple commands, and is said to be entirely without memory of its mortal life — until its tongue touches salt.
According to folklore, the taste of salt will bring the zombi back to its senses, and it will hurry back to the cemetery to return to its grave. More likely, however, salt is simply a supernatural weakness. Either way, houngan often sew the corpse’s lips together before calling upon Ghede to animate the body. Zombies are unfailing, devoted slaves. What they lack in intelligence and motivation, they more than make up for in dogged determination and sheer, tireless pursuit of the tasks to which they are set.
Generally speaking, such zombies possess a level of reasoning just above that of a rather intelligent dog, and lack even that dog’s ability to predict the future or make independent decisions. They understand certain visual cues (such as the opening of the door they are meant to guard) and auditory commands (“Defend me!”), but cannot perform feats requiring abstract intellect. They have a limited memory, but cannot make even basic correlations or inferences. (While they can, for example, dimly recall that their master has changed their clothes once a day, they cannot determine that he is likely to do so again tomorrow.)
They have no individual initiative. These corpse-slaves are not really any stronger than they were in life, but they are tireless and completely without the ability to sense or respond to pain. They need not eat or sleep, and will do whatever chore they are set to until told otherwise, even if it requires them to tear their own bodies apart in the attempt. They experience neither fear nor the desire for self-preservation and have no minds, per se, for others to control.
Each zombi created by this ritual has the following base traits:
Attributes: Power 1, Finesse 1, Resistance 2
Size: 5 (or less if the corpse is small)
Speed: 1*
Initiative: 1*
Defense: 1*
* These traits begin at 1, regardless of Attribute scores. The character can spend Vitae to make a zombie stronger, however. For each Vitae spent (in additional to the point required to activate the ritual), the player can raise any one trait by two, or any two traits by one. There is no limit to the amount of Vitae a vampire can use to empower a zombi (up to the limits of his blood pool, obviously), but once the character stops spending blood to do so, thus completing the ritual, he cannot further empower that zombi.
Zombies do not suffer wound penalties and cannot heal damage naturally. Bashing, lethal and aggravated wounds are marked normally, but zombies never suffer incapacitation — they just keep going until their last Health point is lost to aggravated damage. When a zombie’s final (rightmost) Health box is marked with bashing damage, no roll is required to remain conscious. When its final Health box is marked with lethal damage, it does not collapse and begin bleeding to death — it keeps going. Any damage suffered after that is upgraded to aggravated. Once this happens, the corpse loses body parts with each new upgraded wound until it is completely pulverized or disintegrated (the Storyteller decides which parts fall off with each wound).
A zombi continues to rot. It suffers one lethal point of damage with each passage of a number of nights equal to its Resistance. A zombi with a Resistance of 3 therefore suffers one lethal point of rotting damage every three nights.
In addition, zombies created by this ritual have a vulnerability to salt. If a zombi “tastes” salt, it is destroyed instantly.
Otherwise, zombies can only be destroyed when their final Health box is marked with aggravated damage.
Inflict phobia for nights on a victim
only available to patrons of Kalfou
A mambo of Kalfou may call upon the loa to inflict a horrifying nightmare upon a foe. The focal point of the nightmare may be a person, place or object. Whatever the subject of the nightmare is, the victim wakes with an intense phobia of it. The Kindred attempts to avoid that person, place or object as though their very existence depended upon it. If the victim is somehow confronted with the object of his nightmare, he will react with utter horror. Each turn the victim remains within 10 feet of the object, the player rolls Resolve + Composure – the mambo’s Blood Potency. If the roll fails, the victim immediately flees from the object in terror. If escape is not possible, he enters Rötschreck. If the victim is mortal and is unable to escape, he immediately faints, and remains unconscious for an hour or until forcibly roused, whichever comes first.
It should be noted that although the victim wholly and irrationally believes that the object of his fear will harm him, it is, in fact, no more dangerous than it would be under normal circumstances.
Ill Omen remains in effect for a number of nights equal to the mambo’s Rapport.
Remove a person, place or thing from the mind of a victim
only available to patrons of Papa Legba
In linguistics, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that there is a systematic relationship between language and how a person both understands the world and behaves in it. It is language that defines the world. Without language, a person cannot think or communicate, he can only perceive.
A houngan of Legba may temporarily remove a person, place or thing from the mind of a victim, rendering the subject incapable of talking about, understanding, or even thinking about the removed noun. The victim may still perceive the object if confronted with it outright, and he may even understand its fundamental properties individually, but he cannot group those properties together to fully grasp or describe what the object is. For example, a victim is made to forget the word “apple.” If he is subsequently confronted with an apple, he sees that it is round. Then he sees that it is red, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round. Then he feels that it is smooth, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round and red, and so on. The victim need not be present for the ritual, but the houngan must know his name, or possess an object connected to the victim (hair, an article of clothing, etc.). If the ritual is successful, the devotee chooses any single noun (including proper nouns), which is then removed from the victim’s mind for a number of days equal to the houngan’s level of Rapport.
Curse an object, inflicting a penalty on dice pools to anyone touching it
only available to patrons of Kalfou
Kindred under the patronage of Kalfou may perform a ritual to tie bad fortune to existing lifeless objects (jewelry, clothing, a weapon, etc.).
If the ritual is successful, the targeted object is cursed. A character who comes into physical contact with the object must remove a number of dice from her dice pool for any action subsequently performed. One die is subtracted per Rapport dot the ritualist possessed at the time of the item’s creation.
The subject need not remain in contact with the item to be affected by its curse. Simply brushing again the cursed object brings bad luck upon the individual. The curse is automatically contested by the victim upon touch, pitting the ritualist’s Presence + Persuasion + Rapport against the subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency. If the victim fails the roll, he is cursed for a number of hours equal to the houngan’s dots in Rapport.
Steal dots in a random Skill from a vampire
only available to patrons of Papa Legba
A houngan of Legba may perform the ritual Leech Understanding upon a restrained or incapacitated vampire. The ritualist lays his hands upon the vampire, and knowledge pours into him from the mind of the victim. A character who performs Leech Understanding permanently gains an additional dot in a random Skill that the victim possesses at a higher level than the houngan, and the victim permanently loses a dot in that Skill. If the victim does not possess any Skills at a higher level than the houngan, the ritual has no effect. The Skill dot gained need not be paid for with experience points. Leech Understanding may not be used on mortals.
Using this ritual causes a degeneration check for vampires with Humanity 4 (roll three dice).
Ask question to the soul of a dead vampire through their ashes. Doesn’t work if they were diablerized
only available to patrons of Ghede
Kindred can call upon Ghede to pull the soul of a slain vampire back into the dust of his remains for a limited time. An impression of the face of the dead vampire appears in the dust, answering the houngan’s questions in a soft, dry whisper. The ritualist can ask one question of the ghost per level in Vodoun. After it has answered, it departs. (The houngan cannot delay for more than five turns between questions, or else the ghost disappears prematurely.) The ghost’s answers are not necessarily truthful or straightforward, as the ritual in no way forces the ghost to be honest. This ritual cannot be used to call up the soul of a diablerized vampire.
Suggested Modifiers
Modifier - Situation
+2 - The ritualist is well acquainted with the deceased.
+2 - The deceased is connected to the ritualist through a blood tie.
-2 - The deceased disliked the ritualist.
Prevent the caster from dying due to damage for one hour; cancelled if the caster enter frenzy
only available to patrons of Ghede
Ghede is Lord of the Dead and keeper of the eternal gateways between life and death, and as such, he has final say over who dies and who lives. A houngan of Ghede may call upon his patron loa to shield him from Final Death. A houngan who performs the ritual Cheat Death is protected by Ghede from Final Death for one hour after the ritual is performed. No matter how hard his foe may try, the houngan simply will not die when under the protection of his patron loa.
Cheat Death may only be performed once a night. After the initial ritual is completed, a houngan can activate the effects of Cheat Death as an instant action at any time within the course of a night. When the effects of Cheat Death have been successfully activated, the vampire is under the protection of the ritual for one hour.
The rightmost Health box cannot be filled with any kind of damage while a character is protected by Cheat Death. If the vampire enters frenzy, however, the ritual is dissolved, and the character may be killed. Wound penalties apply normally to a character protected by this ritual.
trap a spirit within a gris-gris that can be activated to use its power
only available to patrons of Papa Legba
Kindred under the patronage of Papa Legba can call upon him to trap a spirit within a gris-gris, a talisman that houses a spirit and grants the wearer certain abilities or protection. Gris-gris are typically small, cloth bags containing herbs, oils, stones, small bones, hair and nails, pieces of cloth soaked with Vitae, or other small items that calm the trapped spirit and connect it with the owner of the talisman.
Before the houngan calls upon Papa Legba, he must first make the amulet that will house the spirit. Creating a gris-gris requires an extended Dexterity + Crafts roll with a target number of 10. Each roll is equal to five minutes.
Once the talisman has been created, the houngan performs the ritual to call upon Papa Legba. If the ritual is successful, Papa Legba will trap a spirit within the talisman. The type of spirit and Rank of the spirit trapped is determined by what the houngan wants the gris-gris to do. A gris-gris that can be used to provide light might require a fire-spirit of low (1-2) Rank, while a talisman that can grant the user the ability to cause foes to burst into flame requires trapping a fire-spirit of high Rank (3 or more).
The ritual that traps a spirit within a gris-gris is contested, pitting the ritualist’s Presence + Persuasion + Rapport against the spirit’s Rank + Resistance.
Vampires creating gris-gris are wise to tread carefully. Spirits do not usually wish to remain trapped within a gris-gris, forced to serve a houngan. Many attempt to break free, and if they are able, may turn upon the houngan who imprisoned and enslaved them. For this reason, it is very difficult, and dangerous, to trap a powerful spirit within a gris-gris. While potent spirits offer greater abilities to the houngan, they are also extremely difficult to contain and are dangerous (and sometimes deadly) when emancipated.
If the gris-gris is destroyed, the trapped spirit is freed and the devotee no longer enjoys the benefits the talis- man provided.
The spirit releases its Numina only upon the talisman’s activation. The user must request or command the spirit to act whenever he seeks its power. This is done nonverbally with an instant action Wits + Persuasion + Rapport roll. Success allows the vampire to use the talisman for the following scene.
Each time the talisman is activated, the trapped spirit has a chance to escape. The spirit contests the houngan’s Wits + Persuasion + Rapport roll with its Resistance. If the spirit breaks free of its prison, the gris-gris becomes useless. Lesser spirits return to Twilight or the Shadow, while more powerful spirits may choose to attack the houngan.
Stick a wooden nail into a fabricated doll, inflicting any number of dark and powerful curses upon the victim
only available to patrons of Kalfou
Made popular through horror films and tales whispered around the fire, the Vodoun Doll is probably one of the most iconic items associated with the practice of Vodoun. As it relates to Vodoun practiced by Kindred, a Vodoun Doll (or poppet) is a potent magical tool used by the most beloved houngan of Kalfou. A vampire may stick a wooden nail into a fabricated doll, and in doing so, manipulate his enemies from afar or inflict any number of dark and powerful curses upon them.
Vodoun dolls can be constructed from almost any material: cloth, wrapped twine, clay, wax or corn husks. Creating a voodoo doll requires an extended Dexterity + Crafts roll with a target number of 10. Each roll is equal to five minutes. The houngan must have a piece of the target or something very important to him — a drop of blood, a lock of hair, or an item of great personal worth such as a wedding ring or a piece of a favorite garment. Alternately, the ritual can be performed using a simple photograph or an object that the target has touched within the last week, but either of these imposes a -2 modifier on the ritual’s activation roll.
Once the doll has been created, the houngan performs the ritual to call upon Kalfou. If the ritual is successful, Kalfou creates a sympathetic connection to the intended target. The doll retains the link to the living individual for five hours. If the Vodoun doll is destroyed, all the sympathetic control is broken and the target is freed from all effects.
Once the doll is connected to its target, the houngan can puncture it with a single wooden nail. Only one nail may be used at a time (multiple pins may not be used to simultaneously affect different areas), but the nail may be removed and the doll punctured again in another location to achieve a different effect as often as the houngan likes.
Placement of the nail, pushed into the Vodoun doll, affects the target in a variety of ways:
Pin Placement: Heart
The target is “staked,” a nail in the heart of the Vodoun doll renders the foe paralyzed until the nail is removed. Used against a mortal, a nail in the heart reduces the target’s Stamina to 0 for purposes of deter mining Health and all dice pools involving endurance or fatigue.
Pin Placement: Eye
The target is rendered blind until the nail is removed.
Pin Placement: Ear
The target is rendered deaf until the nail is removed.
Pin Placement: Mouth
The target is rendered mute until the nail is removed.
Pin Placement: Forehead
The target is cursed with bad luck while the wooden nail remains in the Vodoun doll’s forehead. When the target attempts to perform a task that requires significant thought (any action that makes use of a Mental Skill or Attribute), the target’s player loses one die per dot of the houngan’s Blood Potency.
Pin Placement: Stomach
The target feels ill, and becomes violently sick if he attempts to consume blood while the nail remains in the poppet’s stomach. He does not vomit the Vitae currently in his system, but cannot feed to gain additional Vitae until the pin is removed. If the Subject is mortal, he may not eat or drink until the nail is removed.
Pin Placement: Extremities
The target is cursed with bad luck while the wooden nail remains in the Vodoun doll’s hand or foot. When the target attempts to perform a task that requires significant physical prowess (any action that makes use of a Physical Skill or Attribute), the target’s player loses one die per dot of the houngan’s Blood Potency.