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Voodoo
Swamp Dwarves
by
SCA Bard
Summary:
A nonstandard religion and culture for dwarves living in a subtropical
swamp region. This can be played seriously (Wild Men) or campy (Voodoo
Swamp Dwarves).
Voudun
Voudun is a real
religion, with living practioners. Relgious Tolerance.org
has a good site giving an introduction to the religion and its history.
A gaming version
of Voudun can be created without disrespecting the religion by evoking
salient features of the worship without copying them directly. It could
be disrespectful to use the names of actual loa in a game, or
to imitate vevers in jest.
Wild Men
Wild Men are a
"straight" implementation of the "voodoo swamp dwarf" idea. They can
be used in serious games.
History
Four or five hundred years ago, a few longships full of dwarven sea
raiders were lost in a great storm. Their ships were blown off course
and mostly destroyed by the fury of the tempest. The next morning, the
survivors, clinging to flotsam, washed ashore in a foreign land.
They were greeted
with compassion and caution by the native humans. When the dwarves offered
no hostility, the humans gave them aid, taking the survivors to their
villages in the swamp. The dwarves recovered, but were stuck. They were
warriors, not ship-builders. Luckily, their strength and fortitude made
them valuable members of any community, and the humans were in no hurry
to see them go. The dwarves did have to separate a bit, as no one village
could support the sudden population increase. Soon, most of the local
communities had a handful of dwarves living with them.
Over many years,
the dwarven and human sides of the communities blurred and mixed, physically
and culturally. The current inhabitants of the region are all part-dwarf,
part-human. They tend to be short and stocky: men rarely reach over
5'2" and women are commonly under 5'. They also have great wild manes
of hair, with the men also having great bushy beards. Larger noses and
deep-set eyes complete the average look, resulting in a fearsome-looking
individual dubbed a "Wild Man" by the full-human locals elsewhere in
the region.
Racial Modifiers:
Wild Men gain +1 to Constitution but -1 to Charisma. They do not have
infravision nor any of the dwarven "underground" abilities. They can,
however, determine the firmness of a piece of swampy ground on a roll
of 1-3 on 1d6. If successful, the Wild Man knows if the ground is safe
to walk over or to carry or drag a heavy thing over.
Culture
Wild Men are mostly isolationist. They live in small villages within
their swamp, hunting and foraging for food. The swamp provides ample
fish, shellfish, and water fowl. Some industrious individuals also cultivate
squashes or yams. The only livestock kept are chickens, although pet
dogs are also kept and often help with hunting. Wild Men dress in leathers
for the most part; cloth must be traded for or stolen, and is a rare
commodity.
The swamp is home
to a number of dangerous creatures, and the warriors of a village will
be on the alert for alligators or panthers. While most of the warriors
are men, it is not uncommon for childless women to join these bands.
In addition to hunting and protecting the community, the warriors occassionally
go out raiding nearby human settlements. This is done rarely, as frequent
raids would bring too many humans into the swamp, looking for retribution.
Tresspassers are
not looked upon kindly. Anyone prowling around the swamp will be attacked
or scared off, depending on their apparent strength and the inclinations
of the locals. Travellers who appear lost or are obviously wounded,
on the other hand, are rendered aid. The Wild Men remember their roots.
Religion
Dwarven respect for ancestors blended with local spirit beliefs to produce
a new religion. Great ancestors, truly exemplary individuals, become
powerful spirits after death. Their aid against evil spirits, unluckiness,
or poor health can be invoked by honoring their memory with celebrations
and, importantly, food and drink.
The great ancestors'
attention is called down with frenzied rituals of drumming, chanting
and dancing. The spirit may possess one of the faithful if he or she
wishes to communicate, and the possessed person is treated with all
the respect that is due the great ancestor currently "riding" them.
Animals - chicken or waterfowl, usually - are sacrficed in the ancestor's
honor.
Magic items often
take the form of charms or fetishes, small items reputed to have been
blessed by one of the great ancestors and providing protection or assistance
in some way.
Local human legends
about the Wild Men are likely to have exaggerated or falsified rumors
of these ceremonies into magical rituals designed to summon and entrap
demons with human sacrifice. The GM may wish to allow certain
evil Wild Men to do exactly that, but certainly the majority of the
Wild Men would be horrified at the thought.
Voodoo Swamp Dwarves
Voodoo Swamp Dwarves
are a campy, spoofy version of Wild Men. They are full dwarves who,
for unexplained reasons, live in a swamp. The GM is encouraged to use
his or her best bad Cajun accent and make frequent references to gumbo.
Voodoo Swamp Dwarf
history is unlikely to be necessary or important. Should anyone ask,
the Swamp Dwarves just shrug and say they've always been here.
Swamp Dwarves
should have the full complement of dwarven abilities. They will be excited
and bemused if they ever learn they have them, as their current
lives give them no opportunities to "estimate distance underground."
Swamp Dwarf culture
is a mishmash of the worst cliches about the Louisiana bayou that the
GM can bring to bear. Alligator wrestling should be a spectator sport.
There should be dwarves playing banjo, or at least fiddle. Flotillas
of Swamp Dwarves on log rafts should be emplyed, if possible.
The Voodoo of
the Voodoo Swamp Dwarves is similarly silly. It is more likely to center
around voodoo dolls, evil eyes, and charms made out of chicken feet
than actual spirit summoning. This is your chance to parody all the
worst voodoo cliches you've seen in books or movies.