Bestiary

In World of Darkness cosmology, the Loa home Realms exist within the Middle Umbra, not in the rarified space of the High Realm of Abstract Ideas. Most often, though, these entities walk among us in the mortal world, imbuing their sublime essence in the bodies of their followers. A devotee venturing through the Middle Worlds might discover a Great Crossroads favored by Papa Legba, feel the heat of Ogun’s forge, or spy the impossible heights of Obatala’s white palace. For the most part, though, the Loa remain remote from everyone save their mortal followers. An unbelieving troublemaker isn’t likely to find them at all… and will probably regret it if he ever does.

Possession

That soul-tying experience comes through, in game sys­ tems, as spirit-channeling and willing possession. The entries for “Soul-Possession” and “Invoking Spirit Possession” in the Mage 20 sourcebook How Do You DO That? (see pp. 87 and 123-125) present the system details. For the most part, a mortal host cannot employ the Charms of a possessing spirit; certain Charms, however, can be used by the spirit while it possesses the host, and channeled through the living body of an essen­ tially willing devotee. See the entries in Chapter Five (especially Deflect Harm, Plant Command, Seductive Aura, and Rouse the Dead) for Charms that reflect the power of a Loa in a human host. Although such Charms aren’t listed under the Loa entries themselves, a Storyteller can determine which Charms seem most appropriate for a devotee under a Loa’s influence.

A Bond of Favor

The bond between an initiated vodou practitioner and the Loa who originally chose her can be represented, in system terms, by the Totem Background, as presented in Mage 20, pps. 326-238 and 633-634. In this case, the Loa who chooses the practitioner is that character’s primary spirit. Other Loa can bond with that character too, becoming Allies or Mentors (as in those Background Traits), or perhaps a Spirit Mentor or Guardian Angel (as in the Merits of those names). Allied Loa often confer a Mark of Favor (as per that Merit), too. It’s worth noting, however, that significant cultural, linguistic, and metaphysical distinctions exist between a vodou practitioner’s bond with the Loa and a medicine-worker’s bond with a totem. The use of this Trait to represent the bond is there for game purposes only. (See the sidebar “Controversy is My Spirit Animal,” p. XX.)

Depending on the tradition in question, Loa are reckoned to range between a few dozen to several hundred entities, most of whom have various aspects within a single named entity. The most famous and popular of them, however, include the following god-forms: