Post by Atenus on Jul 21, 2022 21:59:45 GMT
For me it's this one:
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War
From Wikipedia:
From GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War:
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War
From Wikipedia:
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War is a role-playing game supplement by C. J. Carella, published by Steve Jackson Games in 1995, about using voodoo magic in a GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) campaign.
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War is a supplement that details the rules for ritual magic. The book presupposes the "Shadow War", a conflict between supernatural creatures seeking to destroy the world, and practitioners of the Voodoo tradition seeking to protect the world.
The book is divided into six chapters:
1. The Shadow War: An explanation of the war, and the warriors on both sides
2. Characters: How to generate characters for a GURPS campaign, and descriptions of voodoo powers
3. Magic: Voodoo magic and rituals
4. Entities : Voodoo spirits and deities, as well as supernatural creatures
5. Lands of Voodoo
6. Campaigns: How to design a GURPS campaign that makes use of the information in this book
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War is a supplement that details the rules for ritual magic. The book presupposes the "Shadow War", a conflict between supernatural creatures seeking to destroy the world, and practitioners of the Voodoo tradition seeking to protect the world.
The book is divided into six chapters:
1. The Shadow War: An explanation of the war, and the warriors on both sides
2. Characters: How to generate characters for a GURPS campaign, and descriptions of voodoo powers
3. Magic: Voodoo magic and rituals
4. Entities : Voodoo spirits and deities, as well as supernatural creatures
5. Lands of Voodoo
6. Campaigns: How to design a GURPS campaign that makes use of the information in this book
From GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War:
GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War is set in a world where the wildest imaginings of occultists. New Agers, and witch doctors are only fragments of a greater, more disturbing whole. Invisible entities share the earth with humankind. They can and often do intervene in human affairs, at the behest of the few people who know how to petition them. Wishes can and often do come true — although often in ways not foreseen by the wishers. Curses and desires have unexpected consequences, and irrational faith can produce miracles — if one is prepared to pay the price. Hauntings, “demonic possession” and poltergeist activity are in fact the result of these entities’ actions.
Over the centuries, many people have learned to contact and deal with the invisible world. Some became high priests, saints and kings, while others worked in secret to escape persecution. In Europe, these powers were hidden and kept in the hands of a select few. These people have allowed the physical sciences unfettered development, but have purposely obscured the realms of religious thought and metaphysics, which are now largely the province of socalled primitive cultures. The secret magicians of the Western world used their powers to neutralize and discredit the shamans of other cultures.
But the old ways were not abandoned everywhere. The American continents, both North and South, became a place where different cultures and mystical heritages met and combined (see p. 9). In the Caribbean and parts of South America, this fusion combined powerful African traditions, European Christianity and occultism, and Native American animism. This potent blend, popularly known as Voodoo, has spawned one of the most dynamic mystical amalgams this planet has seen.
Now, the heirs of the Voodoo tradition must join forces with their former enemies and members of other traditions to confront supernatural predators. Voudounistas have been dragged into a secret war as old as humankind. Most of them only wish to practice their magical religion in peace, but the darker forces that manipulate the world have other plans.
Over the centuries, many people have learned to contact and deal with the invisible world. Some became high priests, saints and kings, while others worked in secret to escape persecution. In Europe, these powers were hidden and kept in the hands of a select few. These people have allowed the physical sciences unfettered development, but have purposely obscured the realms of religious thought and metaphysics, which are now largely the province of socalled primitive cultures. The secret magicians of the Western world used their powers to neutralize and discredit the shamans of other cultures.
But the old ways were not abandoned everywhere. The American continents, both North and South, became a place where different cultures and mystical heritages met and combined (see p. 9). In the Caribbean and parts of South America, this fusion combined powerful African traditions, European Christianity and occultism, and Native American animism. This potent blend, popularly known as Voodoo, has spawned one of the most dynamic mystical amalgams this planet has seen.
Now, the heirs of the Voodoo tradition must join forces with their former enemies and members of other traditions to confront supernatural predators. Voudounistas have been dragged into a secret war as old as humankind. Most of them only wish to practice their magical religion in peace, but the darker forces that manipulate the world have other plans.
To an observer, the world is a chaotic place, plagued by senseless killings and insane outbursts of violence. The authorities are unable to protect a large percentage of the population from crime, and many governments actively victimize their citizens. In America, the drug traffic, crime and urban decay have devastated most large cities. Sociologists, historians, politicians and economists have all offered explanations and solutions, none of which have worked.
In the world of the Shadow War, no earthly science will solve these problems; they originate from supernatural sources. Beings that feed on the evil that men do are secretly manipulating the world to perpetuate and aggravate that evil. These beings have granted their servants enormous power — for a price. They have many names, but are best known as the Corruptors, the Eaters of Life, the demiurges. Voodoo mythology calls them the Mayombe, the cannibal spirits. Only those with knowledge and understanding of the matters of the spirit will be able to help the world against these entities.
In the steamy jungles and on the sunny beaches of the Caribbean, devotees of strange gods dance, chant and perform colorful ceremonies. Tourists take their pictures, anthropologists study and label their culture, and the world at large ignores them. But these “superstitious” people know more about the way the world really works than any scientist. In their rituals lies the power to change the world — for good or for ill.
This is a world where no major event occurs without supernatural backing, where an evil Voodoo ritual killed JFK and where the U.S. and the former Soviet Union were created by the same team of sorcerous social scientists. Monsters that shed forms as easily as snakes shed their skins walk the streets of every major city, preying on the weak and defenseless. Most people live and die unaware of the true forces that determine their fates. In this world, prayers can be answered, arcane rituals produce results, and faith can move mountains. But people have been deceived into first doubting and then disbelieving in the supernatural, so that an elite few can use those powers to control the rest.
There are many camps in this war. Many have tried not to take sides, concentrating on their own agendas, but neutrality is becoming increasingly hard to maintain. The followers of the Voodoo tradition are but one of the many groups that have discovered the secrets of the spirit world. Their tradition, tempered by centuries of suffering, is not the strongest, however. They are overmatched by the Lodges, the occult masters of the “civilized” world. Other shamanistic groups are involved, both as allies and enemies. Unfortunately, the Lodges, who could have been the leaders of the war against the Corruptors, spent most of the last few centuries persecuting and oppressing Voudounistas and other mystics. The war between the Voodoo societies and the Lodges has only benefited the Corruptors; their influence over humanity has grown so strong that the world is teetering on the edge of chaos.
In the world of the Shadow War, no earthly science will solve these problems; they originate from supernatural sources. Beings that feed on the evil that men do are secretly manipulating the world to perpetuate and aggravate that evil. These beings have granted their servants enormous power — for a price. They have many names, but are best known as the Corruptors, the Eaters of Life, the demiurges. Voodoo mythology calls them the Mayombe, the cannibal spirits. Only those with knowledge and understanding of the matters of the spirit will be able to help the world against these entities.
In the steamy jungles and on the sunny beaches of the Caribbean, devotees of strange gods dance, chant and perform colorful ceremonies. Tourists take their pictures, anthropologists study and label their culture, and the world at large ignores them. But these “superstitious” people know more about the way the world really works than any scientist. In their rituals lies the power to change the world — for good or for ill.
This is a world where no major event occurs without supernatural backing, where an evil Voodoo ritual killed JFK and where the U.S. and the former Soviet Union were created by the same team of sorcerous social scientists. Monsters that shed forms as easily as snakes shed their skins walk the streets of every major city, preying on the weak and defenseless. Most people live and die unaware of the true forces that determine their fates. In this world, prayers can be answered, arcane rituals produce results, and faith can move mountains. But people have been deceived into first doubting and then disbelieving in the supernatural, so that an elite few can use those powers to control the rest.
There are many camps in this war. Many have tried not to take sides, concentrating on their own agendas, but neutrality is becoming increasingly hard to maintain. The followers of the Voodoo tradition are but one of the many groups that have discovered the secrets of the spirit world. Their tradition, tempered by centuries of suffering, is not the strongest, however. They are overmatched by the Lodges, the occult masters of the “civilized” world. Other shamanistic groups are involved, both as allies and enemies. Unfortunately, the Lodges, who could have been the leaders of the war against the Corruptors, spent most of the last few centuries persecuting and oppressing Voudounistas and other mystics. The war between the Voodoo societies and the Lodges has only benefited the Corruptors; their influence over humanity has grown so strong that the world is teetering on the edge of chaos.
Likewise the various peoples found in the American and African continents, were dominated because their magic diverged from the practices of the European Lodges. Enslaved, these peoples had their religious and magical practices prohibited, but even so they continued to practice them, secretly, in captivity, creating a syncretism with local religious practices, giving rise to new models that came to be called Santeria, Voudoun and Macumba. The magical religion of voodoo is at the heart of the Shadow War. A unique blend of beliefs from three continents (European, African and American), Voodoo has become one of the most powerful magical traditions in the world. Practiced by millions of people, its pantheon of spirits and deities allows, whoever dominate the correct way to invoke them, to obtain great power.
Then a new struggle began, between the European tradition of the Lodges and the Initiates of the Bizongues, secret societies that practice Voodoo, mainly in the Americas. Several groups then emerged willing to wage a fight against groups that wanted to keep them slaves, or not give them rights, and the malevolent spirits that torment their protégés. Among them are the Lucumi, who supported the revolt and independence in Haiti, the Dahomets, masters of assassination and application of violence through witchcraft, and the Loa Lords, who gained many supporters in the US among black activists and others. All fighting for the rights of their peoples, the end of slavery on the American continent, using their powers in this Shadow War.
The Initiates' struggle today can be against drug dealers, serial killers that are spread around the world, spiritual protection of their community, senseless crimes that the police do not investigate, unnecessary violence, urban decadence, etc. Many of these problems are caused by supernatural forces that feed on the pain and suffering of humans. It then remains for the Initiates of voodoo to fight these threats in the streets of the cities.
While Lodges and Bizongues continued to fight among themselves, a third participant in this secret war was discovered: the Corruptors, called by the Initiates of voodoo as Mayombe. Spiritual beings of great power and who have been with humanity since the beginning of time, they possess a psychic connection with humanity in which they absorb power through our pain, suffering and death. They did not provoke the great wars in the world, nor did they provoke the enslavement of African peoples, but they benefit from these facts. Many believe that they originated in Africa when our human ancestors learned to speak, and have followed man wherever he went in the world. Many remained in Africa, where they corrupted many tribes and kingdoms. Some scholars believe that they are evil incarnate, and that they are older than the planet itself. They are the origin of stories about monstrous creatures tormenting man.
Some of these Corruptors managed to make alliances with Initiates of the Lodges and the Bizongues, and use them as pawns in their machinations to torture humanity. The secret societies dedicated to serving these creatures are called Red Sects and among them are the Bokor, voodoo practitioners who use their powers for evil. There are also In-Betweeners, shape-shifting beings capable of taking human and animal form. They feed on human flesh, preferably filled with fear and pain. Most of these creatures serve the Corruptors, although some are completely independent and even have good intentions, preferring not to harm or cause pain to humans. Besides that, there are also the Devourers, immense creatures that live in the underground of some cities, hidden in the sewer systems, and that are considered by some Initiates as the real enemies of humanity. In their beliefs they are our jailers, keeping our spirits trapped in a world of torture and misery. They are considered “Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know“, much like the Great Old Ones of HP Lovecraft.
Then a new struggle began, between the European tradition of the Lodges and the Initiates of the Bizongues, secret societies that practice Voodoo, mainly in the Americas. Several groups then emerged willing to wage a fight against groups that wanted to keep them slaves, or not give them rights, and the malevolent spirits that torment their protégés. Among them are the Lucumi, who supported the revolt and independence in Haiti, the Dahomets, masters of assassination and application of violence through witchcraft, and the Loa Lords, who gained many supporters in the US among black activists and others. All fighting for the rights of their peoples, the end of slavery on the American continent, using their powers in this Shadow War.
The Initiates' struggle today can be against drug dealers, serial killers that are spread around the world, spiritual protection of their community, senseless crimes that the police do not investigate, unnecessary violence, urban decadence, etc. Many of these problems are caused by supernatural forces that feed on the pain and suffering of humans. It then remains for the Initiates of voodoo to fight these threats in the streets of the cities.
While Lodges and Bizongues continued to fight among themselves, a third participant in this secret war was discovered: the Corruptors, called by the Initiates of voodoo as Mayombe. Spiritual beings of great power and who have been with humanity since the beginning of time, they possess a psychic connection with humanity in which they absorb power through our pain, suffering and death. They did not provoke the great wars in the world, nor did they provoke the enslavement of African peoples, but they benefit from these facts. Many believe that they originated in Africa when our human ancestors learned to speak, and have followed man wherever he went in the world. Many remained in Africa, where they corrupted many tribes and kingdoms. Some scholars believe that they are evil incarnate, and that they are older than the planet itself. They are the origin of stories about monstrous creatures tormenting man.
Some of these Corruptors managed to make alliances with Initiates of the Lodges and the Bizongues, and use them as pawns in their machinations to torture humanity. The secret societies dedicated to serving these creatures are called Red Sects and among them are the Bokor, voodoo practitioners who use their powers for evil. There are also In-Betweeners, shape-shifting beings capable of taking human and animal form. They feed on human flesh, preferably filled with fear and pain. Most of these creatures serve the Corruptors, although some are completely independent and even have good intentions, preferring not to harm or cause pain to humans. Besides that, there are also the Devourers, immense creatures that live in the underground of some cities, hidden in the sewer systems, and that are considered by some Initiates as the real enemies of humanity. In their beliefs they are our jailers, keeping our spirits trapped in a world of torture and misery. They are considered “Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know“, much like the Great Old Ones of HP Lovecraft.
