New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    GnomeWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Apr 2007

    Default Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Assuming you had a cleric who followed deities based on voodoo loa, what kinds of domains would you think they'd have?

    Ogoun: fire, war, metal (?)
    Shango: lightning/air/storm?
    Legba: protection, healing

    Those are just some thoughts off the top of my head from random things I recall reading. Any other ideas?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    I dunno, if you like voodoo, check out the binder class in Tome of Magic. They replaced loa and other rider-spirits with weird monsters and in-jokes from previous editions, but the mechanics are pure voodoo. At least, IMO- accepting spirits into the supplicant's body, using "seals" that even look like veves, moral complexity rather than "good spirits" and "evil spirits" etc.

    As for domains, I don't know a lot about voodoo off the top of my head, but Baron Samedi would be Death and Chaos at least, and Erzulie might be, I dunno, Love and Luck?

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    KIDS's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Croatia
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    I played a voodoo themed spirit shaman or cleric a few times and it was quite fun while it lasted; doing so in a world themed like that would be pure bliss :)

    Voodoo does have a large number of loas that each deserves some of domains, with shamans serving the entire pantheon, basically. Your best guess would be finding a list on Wikipedia or somewhere and checking who has to do with what domain.... but as Greenfaun said, binders also fit the bill rather well. You can rename some vestiges if you are bothered by names.
    There is no good and evil. There is only more and less.
    - Khorn'Tal
    -----------------------------------------
    Kalar Eshanti

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    GnomeWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Apr 2007

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Oh, I've got Tome of Magic and I heartily agree that binders fit the whole "ridden by the loa" archetype quite well. That's just not what I'm as interested in from a crunch standpoint. I've checked out Wiki, which has (as with all things) some great entries, some so-so entries, and a number of stubs, but nonetheless each loa does seem to claim certain domains.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Closet_Skeleton's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Ēast Seaxna rīc
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Green Ronin made a 3rd party d20 campaign setting called Skull and bones that had some Voodoo rules. Binders still work well.

    As for cleric domains, they should be quite easy to assign. Worshiping an entire pantheon is too hard to do with the core cleric however,
    "that nighted, penguin-fringed abyss" - At The Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft

    When a man decides another's future behind his back, it is a conspiracy. When a god does it, it's destiny.


  6. - Top - End - #6
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Telonius's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Wandering in Harrekh
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Well, other than a nitpick that the loa aren't exactly deities so much as spirits...

    Ghede: Death, Trickery, Healing, Magic, Earth, Undeath, Repose, Necromancy, Darkness
    Legba: Good, Travel, Luck, Protection, Balance, Sun, Portal, Oracle
    Carrefour: Evil, Travel, Destruction, Chaos, Moon, Spirit
    Erzulie: Charm, Joy, Passion, Pleasure, Moon
    Azacca: Plant, Animal, Feast
    Ogoun: Fire, Metal, Strength, War
    Xango: Storm, Air, War
    Agwe: Water, Weather, Ocean
    Agassou: Law, Knowledge
    Damballah: Nobility, Scalykind, Sky
    Ayizan: Trade, City, Commerce
    The Marassa: Law, Truth

    It's a little harsh on Carrefour, but there really aren't any loa that are explicitly evil (just dangerous or less dangerous). Making him the mirror of Legba works, I think.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    GnomeWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Apr 2007

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Wow, great list. Thanks!

    (Did you have that already written down, or snag it from somewhere?)

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Telonius's Avatar

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Wandering in Harrekh
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Voodoo-esque loas as deities.

    Nah, just worked from the Wikipedia loa page, some not-strictly-OGL webpages listing all of the d20 Cleric domains, and memory of my "Religions of the African Diaspora" college course a couple years ago. (I'd recommend "Divine Horsemen" by Maya Deren and "Working the Spirit" by Joseph Murphy if you're interested in some more scholarly work about Voudou and other Haitian religions).

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •