Editing Big Easy Voodoo Noir

[[Category:Big Easy Voodoo Noir]]

Magic is subtle. You won't see wizards in robes or pointy hats settling their differences by throwing balls of fire at each other. You will see them performing rituals in the privacy of their homes or consecrated spaces, cursing each other with heart arrhythmia or blood clots in the brain. This subtlety makes it easy to ascribe the results of magic to mere chance, circumstance. The faithful know better.

What some would call the Occult Underground is more or less a loose collection of Those Who Have Seen Some Shit, which includes some practicioners of Voodoo, Santería, hill magic, etc. There are also European-style secret societies, alongside (within) organizations like the Freemasons or the Elks, who have tapped into real magic. They've used their knowledge for hundreds of years to make themselves rich, powerful & influential. They know what's best for everyone, just ask them. 

The people that live in the interstitial spaces--the homeless, the marginal--they're prey for monsters, and no one will believe them. These monsters sometimes wear the faces of men, sometimes their whole skin. Some fight them without knowing, some are all too aware.

It's February 2005. Carnival time.

=PCs=

==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Whiskey_Boudreaux | Whiskey Boudreaux]]==
Played by SpookyVoodooLove

High Concept: Paranormal Private Investigator

Trouble: A Black Woman Playing a White Man's Game

==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Morgan_Haas | Morgan Haas]]==
Played by Sabermane

High Concept: Retired Ritualist

Trouble: A Long Shadow
==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Robin_Day | Robin Day]]==
Played by Nuanarpoq

Refresh 3, Fate Points 3

High Concept: Hard Partying Engineering Student
Trouble: Drawn To Darkness
Iron And Fire Are Drawn To Me
De Ja Vu All Over Again
You Hum It Son, I'll Play It

'''Skills'''
Great: Will; 
Good: Education, Craft; 
Fair: Rapport, Athletics, Resources; 
Average: Provoke, Contacts, Fight, Physique

'''Stunts'''
Mine's A Double - (Physique). Years of drug and alcohol abuse have toughened Robin's liver. +2 to Defend vs foreign substances.

Popular/Charming: (Rapport). If you’re in an area where you’re popular and well-liked, you can use Rapport in place of Contacts. You may be able to establish your popularity by spending a fate point to declare a story detail, or because of prior justification.

Hardcore Parkour: (Athletics) +2 to overcome actions with Athletics if you are in a chase across rooftops or a similarly precarious environment.

==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Officer_Theodore_Lomont | Officer Theodore Lomont]]==
Played by Insomniac

High Concept: Tarnished Badge of the NOPD

Trouble: Righteous Path is Hard to Walk
==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Monique_Durand | Monique Durand]]==
Played by Tyrnis

High Concept: Hexed Fortune Teller 

Trouble: Weirdness Magnet
==[[Big_Easy_Voodoo_Noir:_Auguste_Clement | Auguste Clement]]==
Played by MysteryCat

High Concept: Your Guide to the City’s Secret History

Trouble: Too Much Month at the End of the Money



=The city of New Orleans=

==An overview==

Yadda

==Magic==
It is apropos that magic is called a craft, because magical effects are carefully constructed. it is a time consuming process that takes skill, knowledge and a little artistry. A ritual crafting has five "steps." They may look different depending on the crafter's tradition, and some may change the elements or the order, but the underlying pattern is the same. Making a ritual into a more elaborate ceremony can

===Parts of a Ritual===
'''''Preparation'''''. The crafter prepares herself, the ritual space and the subject. Preparing the space includes things like ritual cleansing with brooms, water and or incense; drawing or painting symbols on the walls and floor (voodoo ''vever'', Lodge pentagrams and Enochian symbols). Participants take ritual baths and or anointed with special oils. The right mindset is achieved through meditation or prayer, accompanied by dancing and drumming in some traditions, chanting in others.

'''''Invocation'''''. Necessary spirits are called to the ritual. This process often begins during the preparation but continues--the dancing, drumming or chanting continues throughout the ritual. In the invocation any and all powers invited will be spoken, and symbolic representations presented.

'''''Intent'''''. The crafter expresses what he wants the ritual to accomplish. It can be simple and direct--"destroy this enemy in particular"--or something more complex. Symbolic representations are often used: a ritual bath for the subject of an exorcism to symbolize the cleansing process, damaging a symbolic link to the subject of a harmful ritual (the "voodoo doll"). Crafters generally continue invoking the spirits while performing tese symbolic actions.

'''''Offering'''''. The "what's in it for me?" stage where offerings are made to satisfy the spirits invoked and encourage them to honor the intent. This can be a sacrifice, a gift of food or drink, or something less tangible like a promise of service or prayer of thanks. 

'''''Dismissal'''''. The powers called up for the ritual are dissipated or sent away, excess energy is safely grounded. More hostile spirits will be more difficult to send away. "Never summon something you can't put down, kid." This is a crucial component of harmful rituals, because the crafter needs to take steps to protect herself and her clients from the magic's effects.

===Ritual Elements===
There are three basic elements to a ritual: ''Time'' to conduct the ceremony, ''Ritual Space'' attuned to the spirits and forces involved, and ''Material & Symbolic Components''. These elements act as foci for the crafter's intent, making it easier to achieve results. In the right quantity or quality, suitable elements might grant bonuses, though the law of diminishing returns applies, as does TANSTAAFL. It's possible, in an emergency to dispense with ritual elements. Taking shortcuts make the ritual more difficult, of course, and prone to failure or backfire.

'''''Time'''''. Rituals are meant to be conducted over a longer period of time. Even if successful a ritual's effect may not be felt immediately. A blessing or curse might take days to manifest. Extra time is used to Create Advantages that can be used during the actual casting, like ''Peristyle Attuned to Legba'', or ''Well-Rehearsed Chanting''. Penalties for rushing depend entirely on the amount of time ''not'' taken.

'''''Ritual Space'''''. An area that's magically resonant, or symbolically ''right'' or favored by the spirits. Most crafters don't have difficulty with this element. Places used constantly for rituals get tuned to magical energies and can often offer an aspect like ''Consecrated to Legba'' or ''Well Established.'' Any place can be cleansed and prepared in a few minutes or ''properly'' prepared in a week or so. Crafting without ''any'' ritual space is good for an aspect opposing the ritual. 

'''''Material & Symbolic Components'''''. Representations of the target, spirits involved in the ritual, sacrificial offerings to those spirits and occult symbols of power. Simple, minimal components are fine, while elaborate preparations mat provide bonuses.

===Potions and Talismans===
Fortune favors the Prepared. For the magician who needs that bit of power right now, not an hour from now after the carefully prepared ritual, because of the, you know, the ''shooting at us'' problem. An item can be imbued with an effect by making the target of the ritual ''the user of this talisman, at the appropriate time''. Potions work the same way, though they are more frequently used to grant an effect that last for a while. Some items are designed to break when used, these one-shot talismans are easier to make. Others can be recharged, either through a simple ritual, a complex recasting, or meeting certain conditions (leave it overnight in a glass of whiskey, next to an open window). 

sometimes you'll be able to pull just the right thing out of your bag, particularly if you can give me a flashback of when and how it was prepared. This works really well if you've taken some time earlier to say "I'm going to spend X hours in my ritual space making some useful things for later."

===Horses & Guardian Spirits===
(Placeholder)

==Random points of interest==

===French Quarter===

Details  

===St Louis Cathedral===
Jackson Square is where old Lar used to do his art, before the... incident.

==Factions and other interested parties==

===The Krewe of Bacchus===
The new money. Still finding their feet when it comes to Carnival's occult roots, but willing to pay for expertise. 

===Mistick Krewe of Comus===
Carnival old money, deep in the roots of it. 

===Mardi Gras Indians===
The shake and jangle of tambourines and call of ancient chants; feathered headdresses, like explosions of saturated color, strutting through a tight crowd.

=NPCs=

==Lar, the street painter (RIP)==

Old guy, lotsa gold teeth, used to do speed paintings in front of old St Louis Cat'. There was always somethin' creepy in the picture, if you looked real hard. Beautiful pictures, though.

God rest his soul, wherever it ended up.