Post by Phsycodelic on Jan 30, 2017 19:50:04 GMT
Wanga: Path Of Curses ( Sebau's Touch )
Followers Of Set, Tremere
Followers Of Set, Tremere
Except for the path known as The Flow Of Ashé, Wanga paths require the expenditure of blood for activation. In addition, any time Wanga is invoked, be it a path or ritual, the wangateur must call upon the spirit appropriate to the intended effect. For instance, a wangateur invoking Lure of Flames might call on Chango, Alternatively, were she attempting to call upon the Path of Weather Control, she might invoke Agarou Tonerre, aloa of thunder.
In addition, Wanga possesses its own unique wet of tools, components and ritualistic items that must often be present for the magic to work. Not every ritual involves all of these tools, but the vast majority of them require at least a few. Listed below are the more common of Wanga's tools, once again, a bit of research on the players' part will turn up a wealth of additional material.
Asson: Used primarily in voudoun. This is a rattle wielded by the houngan or mambo, and is considered a magical and sacred object. It is normally constructed out of a gourd to which has been affixed a wooden handle, and is often decorated with such esoteric items as snake bones and bits of coral.
Ekwele: From the Santerfa faith, this is a thin chain measuring about 50 inches in length, and broken at regular intervals by one-and-a-half inch disks made from a tortoise shell. It is used in the practice of Ifa, a form of divination.
Ese: Also from Santerfa, the Ese are poetic verses used in the interpretation of Ifa. Babalawos often have hundreds of these committed to memory.
Farine: This flour used to trace the veves utilized in voudoun rituals.
Gris-gris: A gris-gris is a charm, talisman or any other small magic item. Many of the faiths refer to such charms as wangas; gris-gris is the voudoun equivalent.
Hounfour: A temple or structure used for ceremonies to the god of voudoun.
Kisengue: A human shinbone wrapped in black rags, this is a common component of Palo Mayombe ceremonies.
Ngana: A large iron cauldron filled with graveyard earth, bones, and sticks and other disturbing ingredients. It is one of the most important components of Palo Mayombe. (This term also refers to a priest or shaman of certain African religions, though it is never used in that context here.)
Peristyle: An open courtyard in which voudoun ceremonies are held. There is often, but not always, a hounfour located on the property.
Poteau Mitan: The pole that stands at the center of peristyle or hounfour. It is often carved or decorated, and represents the center of the universe and its connection with the spirit world. All dancing during the ceremony revolves around the poteau mitan.
Veve: Common to many of the Afro-Caribean faiths but most prevalent in voudoun, this is a symbolic design representing one of the Ioa (or other spirit). Veves are used as the focus of rituals, and serve as a temporary altar when a more permanent construct is unavailable. Although they can be found written or inscribed on all manner of surfaces, they are most commonly constructed by pouring flour on the ground during rituals.
Mankind learned early in history to hate, envy, lust and wish malice upon itself in such spitefulness curses were born. Most were just plain words and gestures, but some, spoken with such vehemence and spite, became tangible and formed true curses. In the dark depths of passionate hate, curses gained more weight, more sub, stance, until people could use the evil eye or a spoken word to afflict such banes upon their fellow men.
Early in the history of Thaumaturgy, the Path of Curses was developed and refined. It is still known by its early names in certain circles: Maleficium, Hexen-Kraft, the Evil Eye. Victims of this path, often called accursed, are subject to extreme treatment and psychological feelings of inadequacy, often to the point of becoming social outcasts. When accursed are afflicted, friends and society tend to distance themselves from the victim, creating a social schism and driving the accursed toward alienation.
When cursing a victim, the thaumaturge is obvious - curses must be spoken aloud and directly toward the target of their ill effects, although the curse itself is often comprised of dead languages and sounds like gibberish. In modem, industrialized countries, many tend to discount the verbal telltales of being cursed, while some areas of the world might see a witch who acts so brazenly outright assaulted. Additionally, the thaumaturge requires some essence of the victim to curse him. This essence can be hair, blood, flesh or any other part of the victim. (See Chapter Two, "Principles of Thaumaturgy.") This link binds the mystic energies bringing the malison to the accursed.
Because of the severe psychological effects on a victim, the target may attempt to resist all the powers of this path with a Willpower roll (difficulty 7, unless stated otherwise). This is the victim asserting his own strength of will and personality to throw off the yoke of anathema. The thaumaturge can lift the curses that she brings down at any time she wishes, which makes and excellent bargaining chip.
Setite Sorcery botches, regardless of school, cause the sorcerer to acquire an intense photophobia. When exposed to extremely bright lights, the sorcerer must roll for Rötschreck against a difficulty of (4 + the sorcerer's Path rating). Setite lector-priests do not suffer this effect. [Rites Of The Blood - Page 132]
Social Responsibilities
Kindred or kine, you cannot just wake up one morning (or evening) and decide, "Today, I will become a houngan (or tata)." As with any position of authority in any other religion, it takes years of learning and initiation to become a priest of voudoun, Santeria. Palo Mayombe or any of the Wanga-practicing faiths. Many are the steps between a simple practitioner and a recognized master of mysteries.
It is relatively uncommon for a Kindred follower of an Afro-Caribbean religion to learn the secrets of Wanga without being initiated as a priest of the religion. Remember, Wanga is much a religious system as a form of Thaumaturgy, and like any religious secret, it is rarely taught to those who have not gone through the proper steps and initiations.
What does this mean for your Kindred wangateur? For stargers, it can mean years - often as much as a decade or two - to reach this level of initiation.
Houngans and mambos, santeros and santeras, babalawos, tatas and yayas - they're all religious leaders, which means they have certain social obligations demanded of them by their community and by their own beliefs. In communities where these religions are the norm, the local priest is expected to lead ceremonies on a regular - sometimes weekly if not daily - basis. Many in his community seek his aid, his advice, even his powers of divination. He is expected to his magics to help those around him, to protect them from evil spirits and the influence of malice, or evil spells.
This can cause real problems for those of the vampiric persuasion. Leaving aside the fact that most such events, petitions and requests come during the hours of daylight, bear in mind that such a character is constantly standing on the very edge of the Masquerade. Even if you've managed to explain away your nocturnal leanings, what happens if you frenzy in the midst of a ceremony? Many such ceremonies involve the spilling of blood (albeit animal blood). Between the scent of vitae, the pounding drums, the pulsating pass of humanity dancing their ritual dances - the situation is absolutely ripe with disastrous potential.
There are cultures in which the use of magic isn't inherently a Masquerade breach, where magic is almost common - but most Western princes aren't going to see it like that. You can argue all you want that it wasn't really breaking the Masquerade to use Thaumaturgy in front of witnesses because they were expecting you to do magic, but the local sheriff or archon is still likely to stake first and decide later if she should bother asking questions.
At the same time, such a position of authority offers its own advantages. Herd, Allies, Contacts, even a few dots of Fame or Influence, are all easily justifiable - if not mandatory - for such an exalted post. Your position as a religious leader places all sorts of demands on you, but it opens up an equally large host of opportunities. Don't hesitate to make the most of them.
Some few wangateurs do not bear these responsibilities. Perhaps they have left such concerns behind them after years of practice, or perhaps they serve the spirits in some other capacity. The Storyteller should not feel obliged to include these social aspects if they're going to negatively impact the story.
Ritual Practice
Wanga is often a group activity. Although most of its rituals can be performed alone, they prove easier and more effective when cast as part of a ceremony involving numerous participants. Only the primary caster need follow the steps of the ritual itself; all others are involved primarily in the drumming, singing and dancing common to these religious. These other participants need not be wangateurs, or even Kindred, but they must be true believers in an Afro-Caribbean faith, they must be willing participants (no Dominated dancers, though thralls subjected to blood bonds are common among certain less-savory wangateurs), and they must know the true purpose of the ritual. If the number of participants is at least twice the level of the ritual, the difficulty of the Intelligence + Occult roll is reduced by 1.
Not the downside to this: Rituals invoked this way take substantially longer to cast. Although the standard casting time for a ritual is five minutes per level, the casting time for Wanga rituals that are cloaked in these ceremonies is half an hour per level. Of course, nothing forces the wangateur to make use of other participants if she's in a hurry.
[ 1 ] Stigma ( Blood Magic: Secrets Of Thaumaturgy - Page 79 )
The most basic of curses, the victim is stricken with an invisible stigma that manifests only in the eyes of those around them. Few can describe its actual form. People shy away from interacting with the marked victim, and will have a hard time taking him seriously. Social interaction becomes difficult, and frustration quickly follows for the accursed.
System: The stigma lasts until the next sunset, during which time the victim is doomed to frustration when performing any Social actions. All of the victim's Manipulation, Charisma and Appearance rolls are at +1 difficulty (maximum 10) during this curse. Unlike the Ritual Devil's Touch, this power also works on Kindred.
[ 2 ] Malady ( Blood Magic: Secrets Of Thaumaturgy - Page 79 )
The thaumaturge causes the victim to suffer intense illness and discomfort, not unlike the plagues and pestilences of history. During the Dark Ages, this power was used to strike down rivals and force them into subservience to the thaumaturge. Cainites likewise feel the pain and suffering from the sickness instilled by this curse. For elder Kindred, this is one of the worst curses - to be stricken down with illness as if a common mortal!
System: If this power is successfully invoked, the accursed suffers the effects of severe illness for a number of nights equal to the thaumaturge's Willpower. This intensity of this sickness equals the successes the thaumaturge scores on the activation roll. Each success reduces the victim's Strength, Dexterity and Stamina dice pools by one (with a maximum reduction of three dice). The afflicted character may also attempt to see if she breaks the curse nightly - as soon as she succeeds in resisting, the malady will not afflict her unless invoked again.
[ 3 ] Pariah ( Blood Magic: Secrets Of Thaumaturgy - Page 79 )
This curse touches upon one of the most feared elements of society, that of becoming an outcast. This power goes beyond cursing the victim with simple social ostracism - while under the effects of Pariah, the accursed appears to be the most hated of enemies to everyone they encounter. This alteration of perception is only in body and form, the victim still acts and speaks as normal. But then again, few are willing to listen to the ranting and ravings of a despised foe.
System: This nasty curse sustains its baneful effects upon the subject for a period of one night per success. Similar to the power Mask of a Thousand Faces, this power influences the perceptions of those around the accursed, leading observers to believe that the subject is a dire rival. This will not necessarily result in attack indeed, in most cases, it shouldn't - but will cause antagonism in whatever way is most appropriate to the onlooker. Most people will just leave the vampire's presence with a look of disdain, but some may snub her, insult her or even throw the first punch. Unlike the Obfuscate power, Auspex cannot see through this involuntary disguise for the duration.
[ 4 ] Corrupt Body ( Blood Magic: Secrets Of Thaumaturgy - Page 80 )
This powerful curse is invoked by the thaumaturge, who approaches the victim and denounces his physical form. Over the course of seconds, the victim's body distorts and perverts into a parody of itself. During this transformation, the victim suffers extreme pain that wracks his body. This defilement leaves behind a victim scarred both physically and mentally. Recently, Camarilla princes have had this power used upon violators of the Traditions to enforce their will; a graceful Kindred dancer reduced to an uncoordinated oaf is not likely to forget his mistakes.
System: During the three turns that the physical change occurs, the target suffers a three-dice penalty to dice pools. For the duration of the Corrupt Body, the accursed suffers a one-die penalty to all dice pools, as if she were wounded. This is cumulative with other wounds.
The thaumaturge chooses Strength, Dexterity, Stamina or Appearance to warp. This drops the appropriate Attribute to 1 for the duration. The Storyteller should add any additional effects to aid in how nasty this power is. Only one Corrupt Body can affect a victim at any one time. The number of successes determines the duration of Corrupt Body, as follows:
| Successes | Duration |
| 1 | One Night. |
| 2 | One Week. |
| 3 | One Month. |
| 4 | One Season (three months). |
| 5 | One Year. |
Example: Elizabeth, a Toreador known for her acrobatic prowess, is the subject of a Corrupt Body curse cast by Danica, a regent of Clan Tremere. Danica curses Elizabeth with the loss of her grace and Dexterity. Spending a blood point and rolling her Willpower activation, Danica's player gains three successes. Elizabeth's player tries to resist with Willpower and scores only one success. This yields two successes, which means that the curse will last one week, during which Elizabeth has a Dexterity score of 1. The Storyteller also determines that she suffers from a severe limp during this time and cannot dance. Needless to say, Elizabeth is less than happy with this turn of events, and suspects the strange incantations and gestures made by Danica.
[ 5 ] Fall from Grace ( Blood Magic: Secrets Of Thaumaturgy - Page 80 )
The magus is now able to curse his victim with supreme ineptitude, causing a loss in confidence and failings in any and all tasks. Striking a combination of mystical dread and self-loathing in the victim, failure becomes almost a certainty. Fate and circumstance now conspire to prevent prosperity. Victims of this power often retire from the normal activities of their lives as nothing goes right; relationships fall apart, jobs crumble around them, and accidents seem to become commonplace.
System: The victim can contest the effects of this power with a Willpower roll against a difficulty of 8. So severe is this curse that if the victim botches this Willpower roll, the effects of this power may become permanent.
While under this curse, the victim cannot automatically succeed in even the most trivial of tasks. All actions have one automatic botch die that must be overcome to accomplish anything (treat this as a phantom die that came up as a "1"). Additionally, even when the victim successfully performs an action, it will be mediocre at best. At most, any action can have a maximum of two successes; drop additional successes beyond two, including any from expenditure of Willpower.
Unless the subject botches the contested Willpower roll, the number of successes determines the duration of this penultimate failure, as follows:
| Successes | Duration |
| 1 | One Night. |
| 2 | One Week. |
| 3 | One Month. |
| 4 | One Season (three months). |
| 5 | One Year. |
