Hey guys!

I start my voodoo campaign on tues, really excited. Im just not sure how to do PC possessions. Should it be a series of best 2 of 3 Logic opposed tests between the PC and the Voodoo Shaman? Or should it just be one test and how would it be done?

Thanks guys!

Check out In Your Mind on page 84. As per page 87 under Voodoo Puppetmaster it should be run as a narrative event. It could be run as a normal event that is ultimately happening in someone's mind.

I still dont understand exactly what that means. I wish it was a little more specific....

A little hint. Don't overdo it with the mind control stuff. Most players don't like having control taken away from them. But don't let that stop you from possessing them once or twice, I'd just make sure they have a chance to snap out of it, or for the other players to try and get their buddy back to normal.

A possession would make a good story arc. The big bad voodoo priest gets his hands on something personal for a character and then tries to possess him/her.The book suggests running it as a normal adventure/event/story arc/whatever. Play it out as normal, but it is all taking place in the character's head at the end of it all. Mission fails and he is possessed. Mission succeeds and he is not. That's fine if you like that and it works too.

Personally I would do it a little differently. I would run an arc where the priest tries to take someone over. I would run it as a series of Willpower tests each hour (or some other value of time). On the positive side the player would get dice for a strong will, assistance from a good voodoo priest, a talisman, and anything else that seems fitting. Successful doubles on the role could be spent on an extra bonus die on the next roll.

Negative dice would consist of voodoo priest's skill with rituals, a die from the personal item, assistance, or whatever else seems to fit. Maybe a base difficulty higher than one die as well, maybe two or three. Successful negative doubles could also be spent to increase the next check by an additional negative die.

The mental stress inflicted will eventually take the character out of play if he succumbs to it. He becomes a possessed npc. Each time a character takes on a trauma he becomes possessed for a period of time. At tier 1 it is an hour. At tier 2 a day. At tier 3 a week.

In the meantime the character and his friends must find a way to resist the possession and track down the voodoo priest trying to take possession. All in all it would make an interesting story arc.

In the meantime the character and his friends must find a way to resist the possession and track down the voodoo priest trying to take possession. All in all it would make an interesting story arc.

It would, altough I'm not so sure it would work in my group. Got a few guys who think like this:

Gm: "Robin, for a leeting moment you feel like besides yourself as if your actions are not your own, a stream of Haitian whispers flow from your lips"

Mike: "Guys, I think Robin is getting possessed."

Bruce: "He's compromised! Get him!"

Me: "What?"

Bruce:" My character bashes Robin's head in with a lead pipe!"

Bruce sounds hard to play with. LOL!

The good news is, Bruce isn't real.

He's a composite of the most munchkin people in my game group. Including me! (Names changed to protect the innocent.)

The bad news is Bruce is several people. (or there is a bit o' Bruce in most of us)

To be fair, this is porbably how survivor groups would respond to people acting strange when they know about people getting possessed.

Also: Once you have a few games of Paranoia (or deadlands with two harrowed PCs) you learn to take down your allies before they take you down.

I start my voodoo campaign on tues, really excited. Im just not sure how to do PC possessions. Should it be a series of best 2 of 3 Logic opposed tests between the PC and the Voodoo Shaman? Or should it just be one test and how would it be done?

Definitely should not be one roll for the whole shebang. In general, when everything hangs on one roll, players will get miffed.

What I would do is have a series of rolls that increase the severity of the possession. I'd have the player roll dice without explaining why.

- The first failed roll causes the player to black out for a few minutes. He snaps out of it when he realizes people are talking to him and he's not responding.

- Second failed roll causes him to speak a brief sentence in an unknown language, or write something without thinking about it.

- Third failed roll might make him attack someone (PC or NPC) without realizing it.

- Fourth failed roll, I take over the character for a short period of time.

- Fifth failed roll, I take over the character for a longer period of time (maybe one session.)

- Sixth failed roll, he's possessed forever. He can be saved by whatever "antidote" the game's mythology allows, but otherwise he's mine.

I would only do one roll per session on a single player. If he passes ANY roll, we reset the sequence to zero. So he has to fail the same roll 6 times in 6 sessions to fully lose control. The group should have plenty of time to realize something is happening and start digging for a solution this way.

Another option would be to speak privately with the player you intend to have become possessed. Tell him what's going to happen, and if he's cool with it. Then, let him continue to play his own character, but "in cahoots" with you and your evil ploy once he's possessed.