Houdou

The island of Mertí has its own native sorcery, called Houdou. Its practicioners - Houngan - channel the power of the island's gods, the Gede Loa, fearsome spirits of blood and anger ruled by the frightening Baron Sange. Houngan gain the blessings of the Loa through blood sacrifice, literally calling the Loa into themselves to be "ridden" in exchange for power.

• Knacks: Mojo, Seeing, Veve, Hexery, Juju
• Apprentice Degree: Gangan
• Adept Degree: Little Houngan
• Master Degree: Great Houngan

Apprentice Ability: Gangan

Houdou sorcerers - called Houngan - gain two patron Loa (see below). Additionally, the apprentice Houngan can use Reputation Dice as Houdou Dice, spending them instead of Drama Dice to channel Loa.

Houngan use Villain Reputation Dice and Scoundrel Reputation Dice as Houdou dice.

Adept Ability: Petit Houngan

The character gains a third patron Loa. The Houdou adept also has reached a level of fame in the Guinee, or spirit world, that he can summon his patron Loa and ask for Lesser Gifts (see below.)

Master Ability: Houngan Gran

The character gains a fourth patron Loa, and masters are mages of such power that even those Loa who are not their patrons must treat with them. They can summon and ask their patron Loa for Great Gifts (see below) and ask Loa who are not their patrons for Lesser Gifts.

The Knacks

Mojo

Mojo is the heart of a sorcerer's power with Houdou, representing the skill and strength of his connection to the loa. Ranks in this knack represent the strength of a mage's houdou, and the knack is the most commonly used to grade effects from a mage's particular patron Loa.

Seeing

Houngan intercede between this world and the next, and because they deal in the veil of reality they can see the stuff of sorcery itself, gaining the ability to detect workings of sorcery and pierce illusions. Houdou practitioners can spend 1 Action and roll Wits + Seeing to see if some Sorcery is being worked within 30 feet.

The base TN for the roll depends on the type of magic: 20 for Houdou or Houdou, 25 for Porté, Sorté, El Fuego Adentro and other Numan sorceries, and 30 for Pyryrem, Laerdom, and other exotic sorceries. If the Sorcery has a very subtle effect, the TN is increased by 10. If the Sorcery affects a large area or large group of people, the TN is decreased by 5.

By default, the character knows only that Sorcery is being worked. They can make Raises to learn more. When trying to learn about the nature of the Sorcery, Houngan can make 1 Raise to determine the general type of Sorcery (Houdou, Numan, Pyryem, other), 2 Raises to determine the specific type of Sorcery (Seelie, Porté, et cetera) or 3 Raises to determine the type of effect the Sorcery is creating. When trying to learn more about who and what is being affected by the Sorcery, the mage can make 1 Raise to determine the location or item being affected and 2 Raises to determine the identity of the Sorcerer.

Some effects may obfuscate Seeing, including the Hexery knack below and the activities of certain very powerful Sorcerers.

Vede

Houngan - by virtue of their connection to the Loa - gain some resistance to Sorcery's effects. Other characters trying to use Sorcery to affect the Houdou mage add the mage's Veve knack to their TN; if the Sorcery they are using is Houdou, they instead add twice the mage's Veve knack to their difficulty.

Hexery

Because of the dark reputation of Houdou, Houngoun must also learn to sometimes to conceal their workings. Houdou characters can use Hexery to increase the TN to detect the use of one of their Legend powers; by doubling the time to use a Legend power, they can add twice their Hexery knack to the TN of characters trying to detect their Sorcerous effects. Loa that can be invoked without spending an Action instead require 1 Action if Hexery is being used.

Juju

Sorcerers who practice Houdou can use their skill with the fabric of magic itself to impress the Loa and other creatures of the spirit world - flexing their sorcerous muscles, effectively, to awe supernatural creatures with their power. Houdou mages can add twice their Rank in this Knack to Repartee actions and other social rolls involving the Loa.

Patron Loa

Houngan channel the Loa, the gods of Mertí, by calling the spirits into them and taking on a portion of their power. Each Loa gives them a separate ability, and Houngan gain more Loa patrons as they rise in power.

Otoun

Otoun is the Loa of strength and battle; he drinks rum, carries a machete, and his colors are green and black. He is a patron of smiths, and is often summoned by pouring rum on the ground and lighting it. Characters with the Otoun as one of their patrons can spend a Drama Die to perform a feat of superhuman strength, increasing his Brawn by his Mojo for one non-combat roll.

Minette

Minette is the Loa of cunning and cruelty. She is represented as a woman with a long knife or as an owl, and she is often summoned by sacrificing a black pig or a rooster plucked alive. Her colors are black and blood red. Characters with her as a patron can take on her terrifying aspect, frightening their opponents with the Houngan's loa-driven lust for blood. The houngan can spend a Drama Die after wounding someone in combat to gain a Fear Rating equal to their mastery level against that person until the end of the combat.

Karrefour

Karrefour is the Lord of the Crossroads, the Loa of bargains and of travel. His color is red and his drink rum infused with gunpowder. He is said to be a great sorcerer, and the Houngan he rides can spend a Drama Die to cancel one use of Sorcery they can sense within 30 feet, provided that their Rank in Veve is equal or greater to the rank of the Knack being cancelled. In the case of permanent effects, this cancellation lasts for a number of minutes equal to the Houngan's Mastery Level. Some very large effects cannot be completely canceled; in such cases, Karrefour will only affect a nearby part of the magic.

Maman Hadoo

Maman Hadoo is the bride of Baron Sange and the guide of the dead, the Loa who takes the recently dead to their final resting place. She drinks hot peppers and is symbolized by the rooster. Those who claim her as a patron can deliver terrible death curses: they can spend a Drama Die to pronounce a curse and cause bad luck in another person; roll the Drama Die and subtract its total from the other person's roll. This can be done silently by giving someone "the Evil Eye", though such a glare requires an Action.

Baron Sange

The ruler of the loa, Baron Sange's colors are black and purple and he is often known by his trademark hat and cigar. He is the lord of the dead, with power over life and death, and is said to sometimes accept blood sacrifice. Characters with the Baron as their patron can channel some of his crackling, dangerous charisma: by spending a Drama Die, they can add twice their rank in Juju to all social rolls against a specific person for the duration of the Scene.

Baron Sange is jealous with his patronage: he generally allows only one living Houngan to channel him as his patron, and even apprentice Houdou mages with him as his patron can summon him to ask for Gifts. The rare Houngan whom the Baron chooses is a leader among Houdou sorcerers, and upon the Houngan's death his spirit is usually claimed by the Baron to serve him among the loa.

Ti-Malice

The malicious trickster loa, Ti-Malice is described as lazy, clever and stubborn. He drinks tomatoes and peppers, and is symbolized by a split-tongued black cat. Those who channel him as a patron take on his legendary stealthiness, spending a Drama Die to add twice their Rank in Mojo to all Stealth checks for the remainder of the Scene.

Durand

The war-chief of the Maroons, Durand's spirit was quickly adopted by the loa. He drinks a mixture of blood and rum and carries a machete; he is known by his necklace of ears. Houngan who choose Durand can spend a Drama Die channel his fury in battle, adding their Rank in Juju to their Personal Results Roll for a number of mass combat rounds equal to their Mastery Level.

Comte-Morte

A loa who symbolizes the Montaigne slave-owners, Comte-Morte is recognized by his pale features and the whip he carries in one hand. He drinks wine, which he can pour into his pockets without getting wet. Few Houngan choose Comte-Morte as their patron; those who do can summon his power to make their opponents wounds ache as if they have been scourged: they can spend a Drama Die after an opponent they have just wounded succeeds at a Brawn check to soak Flesh Wounds, forcing him to re-roll his soak.

Tonnaire

The loa of thunder and storms, Tonnaire drinks water and gunpowder and is best summoned during lightning storms. He is angry and tempestuous, and those who earn his ire see lightning strike the trees around them. Houngan who choose Tonnaire as their patron can spend a Drama Die and use an Action to let out a great shout like thunder that can be heard for miles and deafens those around them; other nearby characters must make a Brawn check at a TN of 10 times the Houngan's mastery level or be deafened with a ringing in their ears (-1 Kept Die to all rolls) for the remainder of the round.

Boku

A fearsome loa of evil reputation, Boku is Baron Sange's right-hand man, represented by the skull and crossbones. He is said to hunt down the Baron's enemies and gnaw on their bones. Characters with Boku as their patron can channel his relentlessness: if they have some sympathetic piece of another person such as a lock of hair or scrap of favored clothing, they can spend a Drama Die to receive a bonus to Tracking and Shadowing rolls against that person equal to twice their Rank in Seeing. When they find their target, however, they must do at least 1 Flesh Wound in damage or else they will not be able to acquire a new quarry.

Gifts

In addition to channeling the power of their patron Loa, Houngan can summon the Loa and ask them for Gifts - grants of sorcerous power in exchange for blood sacrifice or services rendered. Gifts come in two stripes: Lesser Gifts, small grants of the Loa's power, and Great Gifts, the ultimate excercises of the island gods' magic. While ultimately Gifts are a matter of GM discretion, several example Gifts with their associated sacrifices follow.

The gain a Gift, the Houngan must perform a ritual, summoning the Loa into himself or into another willing participant, where he then bargains with the Loa for the power he seeks. After performing the required sacrifice or service, the Houngan spends a Drama Die and receives the power of the Gift. Note that the Loa are terrible, fearsome gods: when the Houngan asks for a Gift, the Loa generally names the sacrifice required, and the Houngan accepts or very carefully declines. The Gede Loa do not take kindly to supplicants who seek to haggle down their generosity.

Lesser Gifts

Lesser Gifts often provide Houngan with a temporary effect that lasts generally for no more than a single Scene; while the effect's bonus may vary, two to three Free Raises to non-combat tasks is roughly appropriate. Lesser Gifts are usually performed in exchange for a single human sacrifice, the ceding of a day and night of one's body to the Loa or a service that will require no more than a Scene to complete.

Example 1: Dream Sending

The Houngan might summon Maman Hadoo and ask her to send one of the spirits of the dead to haunt someone's dreams, delivering a message or nightmare. In exchange, the Baron's Bride might ask the Houngan to fetch the skull of a convicted murderer so that she can add the murderer's ghost to her black court, or for the Houngan to strangle a prostitute, or for one of the Houngan's allies to suffer dark dreams for a week.

Example 2: The Gift of Life

A Bokor with Baron Sange as his patron might ask the Baron to exercise his power over life and death to heal someone from a grievous wound, removing all damage (Flesh Wounds and Dramatic Wounds) from a single source. In exchange, the Baron may demand the Houngan extinguish the life of a wounded man or to give up his body to the Baron for an evening.

Example 3: An End to Bondage

Houngans with Minette as their patron can summon her violence when restrained: the cruelest of loa can enter the Houdou mage and cause shackles to fall away and shatter upon the ground. In exchange, Minette might demand that the Houngan flay alive all those who placed chains on the sorcerer.

Other Examples

• Minette allows someone to create a knife from the bone of a boy which will break off in the heart of a target chosen at the time the knife is created, killing him within a day if the bone shard is not removed through surgery.
• The Baron can help someone craft a potion to inspire lust in a person, granting three Free Raises to all seduction attempts against them.
• Boku can create a slowing poision from the blood of a snake that burns in someone's veins
• Durand can spread the heart of a sacrificed soldier amongst a Brute Squad, increasing its Threat Rating by 1.
• Karrefour can guard a traveler along a route, sending spirits to scout out threats along the road.

Greater Gifts

The Lesser Gifts are not all that is within the power of the Gede Loa: they have greater magics still. Such things can powerfully affect heroes, providing temporary bonuses on the order of +2 or +3, and can change the destiny of nations. Such gifts might require several human sacrifices, the ceding of a week to the to Loa or a service that might take an Act or Story to complete.

Example 1: Raise Zombis

A Houngan might call upon the Baron to turn the dying into zombies, charmed creatures who ignore pain and possess fearsome, supernatural strength. A Houngan can raise 1 Brute Squad of Zombies for every person he sacrifices.

Example 2: The Crossroads

A master bokor can entreat Karrefour, Lord of the Crossroads, at a crossroads and ask for almost any service in exchange for years of the sorcerer's or any other willing person's life.

Example 3: Spirits of the Dead

A Houngan who summons Maman Hadoo into their body can see the spirits of the dead swarming around them, a swirl of haunted, tortured faces of the dead who cluster around Maman Hadoo in the afterlife. They have knowledge of many things, past, present, and future, and will exchange that information for a Houngan who adds more spirits to their dark coterie.

Example 4: Summon the Storm

Houngan with Tonnaire as their patron can speak to the sky, calling down the rains and lightning. They can summon a storm of titanic proportions, raining down thunder and lightning on a vast swathe of territory. In exchange, Tonnaire might ask for a week of the Houngan's life, riding the bokor while the sorcerer's consciousness sleeps, or he might require the sacrifice of a pure girl of Thean stock.

Example 5: Heart's Blood

Houngan who choose Otoun as their patron can channel his power into their blows; by spending a Drama Die and consuming a human heart from someone they have killed, they gain a +3 to their Brawn for damage rolls for a night and a day until the next sunset.

Other Examples

• Comte-Morte can force someone subject to the Houngan to submit to an order of the sorcerer, wracking the target with pain if they do not do what the Houngan wishes for a night and a day.
• Durand can send spirits to a targeted section of the population's dreams, inciting them to unrest and rebellion.
• Minette can let a Houngan bathe in the blood of a dozen virgins, gaining a +2 Finesse until the blood dries completely.