Vodoun Doll
Level-Five Vodoun ritual
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.
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.
Pre-requisite: Only available to patrons of Kalfou
It might seem that the vampires of New Orleans, especially Baron Cimitiere (p. 287 of Vampire: The Requiem), would be perfect candidates for Kindred Vodoun. This is true. If you choose to use Kindred Vodoun in your story, he and other such vampires of the Big Easy can be granted dots in Rapport and Vodoun rituals as your Storyteller sees fit.