Character Creation: Hoodoo Blues

Son of a gun, we'll have big fun, on the bayou (I don't know if that's a quote from anything other than Fletch Lives, but here we are). 

The Game: Hoodoo Blues
The Publisher: Vajra Enterprises
Degree of Familiarity: I mean, I've been to New Orleans (none)
Books Required: Just the one

Vajra Enterprises includes a separate PDF with some of their older games that acts as a kind of disclaimer, not dissimilar to the little placard that precedes some of the older Disney movies nowadays. It basically says that some of their older stuff had some "cringey" elements (that is not a word, guys), and we should look at those games as what they are: flawed and not representative of the company now.

I mention this because Hoodoo Blues, a game about the Deep South and borrowing heavily from the traditions of Haitian and New Orleans Voodoo and Hoodoo, is written by two white dudes, one from Massachusetts (don't know about the other one). I mention that because there's this section early in the book:

And this section goes on to define terms like "African-American," "Black," "white," "honky," and, erm, "n*gger." And, I dunno, I feel like even in 2010 that was an iffy decision. But whatever, I'm not here to tell anybody they're doing it wrong. I'm just here to make a character. 

Actually, the other thing I find kind of uncomfortable about this game is that the PCs - the "ageless", as they're all undying for various reasons - all came by their longevity in some kind of unsavory ways (except maybe Medicine Workers, though they're not so much ageless as aging-very-slowly). 

But quite apart from all that, I see that the game has a compelling setting, but I don't see a hook for the game bit of it. Ageless are meant to be kind of supernatural problem-solvers, and so the game feels very much like a later-stage World of Darkness game, except with a much heavier emphasis on real-world history and practices and less of the intricate supernatural society stuff that tends to define WoD games. 

All of this to say that it's not a game I'd feel compelled to run, although there are occasional glimmers of interesting stuff here. Let's stop dicking around and make a character. 

Step One: Concept. One of the classes in the game (why are they called that that's a D&D term arglebargle) is loup garou, and that's what I want to make. I also happen to know that one of the big decisions to make is how many decades the character has been ageless; both of these things figure pretty heavily into concept, I'd say. 

Well, one of the things I found interesting about the movie Selma was that it took a little time to shine a light on several white folks who came to join the protests. The ones they noted were Viola Liuzzo and James Reeb, both of whom were murdered by white supremacist shitheads. I think I would like to play someone similar, someone who's on the right side of history and maybe thought that his being white would protect him from the worst of it. If I actually put him in the 60s that doesn't give me many decades, but that might be OK (and it won't take as long to finish the character, which is a plus). Though on the other hand, it might be kind of fun to make a character who was made ageless during the Reconstruction. So let's go that way; it'll be a little more time-consuming, but I like the idea better.

So: Timothy Fabre was born in 1852 to a poor family somewhere in Louisiana. I think that he avoided fighting the Civil War somehow - maybe was too sickly to fight, or maybe his town was isolated for whatever reason. Hardly matters, when Reconstruction happened and things started changing and people started having some representation, Timothy and his family were all for it. It wasn't that they were necessarily progressive with regards to race relations, but they were well aware that poor whites didn't exactly have the best time of Antebellum South. Rising tide, boats, etc.

And then 1876 rolled around and Hayes got "elected" and Reconstruction ended and things started getting really shitty again. Fabre wound up shooting his mouth off about how going backwards was a sure way to wind up stuck in the mud, and finally annoyed someone with some clout. And...then he became a werewolf. Not sure on that part yet, I'll come back to it. 

Step Two is musical tastes. Interesting that this isn't under Concept. I didn't see any major part of the game attached to it, but I'm meant to choose one primary and two secondary. 

Well, I think Timothy is fond of folk ballads first and last (would my love of murder ballads creep in if I were playing him? Probably). Old-Time Country is also appealing, and I'd like something a little more modern, but modern country can go fuck itself. I think I'll go for gospel, actually. Is Timothy a believer? I don't know yet, but something about Gospel music has always spoken to him.

Step Three: Attributes. I've got 80 points for 8 attributes, and 10 is average, so that's nice. Is Timothy an average fella? I think maybe he is. I don't see him being deficient anywhere, but he's nothing special either, except maybe when he's a wolf or whatever. I'll likewise divide the 12 Health Attributes points up evenly, for a score of 4 in each.

Step Four: Class. Here's the fun stuff. I know I want Timothy to be a Loup Garou. That means I get a bunch of mandatory disads (The Hunger, Salt Weakness, Pointed Stick (SHUT UP) Weakness, Iron/Silver Weakness), and Animal Form 3 for free. I have to pick my form; I'll go classic and be a wolf. 

Also, there's this:

Which I'm sure will relevant shortly.  

Indeed! Step Five: Skills. I get 100 points to buy Skills, and I can only buy a given Skill to level 5. But they're not one-for-one, the costs are listed above. Also, every level past the first gives me a +4 on relevant rolls. I feel like this could have been more intuitive. 

Anyway, let's see, what makes sense. Conjure Skills are magical stuff, and Diabolical is the cheapest, but I don't really want any of those. Hands are pretty cool but a lot of them are more violent than I see Timothy as being (when he's not eating people, natch). I do like Fugitive's Hand, though, which lets me cast a spell to be harder to catch. I'll somewhat reluctantly dump 20 points there for a rating of two. 

Ooh, I like Bloody Bones a whole lot, but it's a Resolve Skill so it's hella expensive. Erm. Let's buy one level, I guess? That puts me 32 down, meaning I've got 68 left. 

Oh, hey, I can buy "outdated" levels of Skills, meaning I once knew some shit but haven't stayed current. I like that. I'll buy Government (outdated), which just costs me 2. I'll buy two levels of Religion (I'm a damn werewolf, figure I've tried to break the curse); that's 8 points. One level of Light Sleep (how freaking stupid), 4 points. I've spend 46, 54 to go.

Uh, Tracking sounds good. I'll blow 8 points and take a rating of 2. Wilderness Survival, likewise...actually I'll take that as Outdated. Better take Running, that's 8 points for two levels. 64 spent. 

I'll take one level of Forgery (important for an immortal). That's 69 spent (nice). Prowling 2 costs 10, Wrestling 3 costs 15, which means I have 84 spent. Got 6 left. I don't have any Labor skills, and those are only 3, so I'll take two levels of Plumbing (don't laugh, it's a good living). That's 100 spent!

OK, now things get weird. Step Six: Decades and Motivations. I start with $800. I reached adulthood in the 1870s, so I've been alive 19 decades (so much for keeping this quick). 

Now I have to figure out what he was doing in each of those decades. Each type of activity has a Weariness modifier, which is applied to my Willpower at the end of this. I can't take more than 10 in Weariness penalties, therefore. Hrm. I may need to rejigger my points some. 

Well, anyway. Let's just go through these one at a time. 

• 1870s: Helpin' (spent most of the decade trying to reverse the damage the end of Reconstruction did). I get +1 Weariness and an Ally
• 1880s: Workin' (took work on a farm). +1 Weariness, 2 free levels of a Labor Skill (uh, Farming), and I quadruple my money to $3200
• 1890s: Workin' (took ownership of the farm). +1 Weariness, 2 free levels in Business, quadruple money to $12,800
• 1900s: Workin' (expanded the farm, got into flour production, grew the business). +1 Weariness, 2 free levels in Business, quadruple money to $51,200.
• 1910s: Learnin' (left the running of the farms to subordinates and whiled away the Great War and the Pandemic in solitary study). +1 Weariness, 5 free levels of Arts or Booklearning Skills. Neat! I'll take a third level of Religion, two in Research: Academic, and two in Philosophy. 
• 1920s: Sinnin' (traveled to New Orleans and immersed himself in the Bohemian movement, drank a lot and did whatever drugs he could find). +1 Weariness and 6 levels of Troublemaking Skills. How about Drug Resistance 3, two more levels of Prowling, and 1 level of Gambling. I have to halve my money or take an Enemy. I'll halve the money, thanks. $25,600.
  
• 1930s: Sufferin' (lost his businesses, sank into depression). +2 Weariness but +2 WIL, so it evens out? Dumb. 
• 1940s: Fightin' (fought in WWII, didn't feel he should sit it out this time). +2 Weariness, 3 levels of Martial Skills. Well, let's take three in Automatic Weapons. 
• 1950s: Out of commission. When he got back from the War, he turned into a wolf and ran off into the woods for a few years. He lost himself in the transformation and let himself settle again. He has no memory of what happened (no game changes)
  
• 1960s: Helpin' (the Civil Rights movement put him back in his home turf). +1 Weariness, 1 Ally
• 1970s: Sinnin' (he spent this decade hunting down and killing KKK fuckers). +1 Weariness and 6 more Troublemaking Skills. Disguise 2, Prowling 1 (boosting it to 5), Forgery 1 (boosting it to 2), and Wrestling 2 (taking me to 5). But, I gotta halve my money or take an Enemy, and Enemy makes more sense here.
  
• 1980s: Workin' (greed is good; 1 more level in Business for a total of 5, one level of Plumbing), and I quadruple my money to $102,400.
• 1990s: Sufferin' (prison; convicted of drug-related offenses and assault, but not eating someone, which we'll call a win). +2 Weariness, +2 WIL
• 2000s: Learnin' (went back to the South and started studying magic again). +1 Weariness and 2 Conjure Skill levels, which I'll put in Bloody Bones.

OK, totaling Weariness and I get...16. Oy. Well, I'll pretend I reduced my Charm, Strength, and Agility by 2 originally, making them all 8, but putting my Willpower to 18. I get a +4 for my two decades of Sufferin', too, so my WIL is 22 and I have a penalty of 16.

And now, Motivations! These are emotions and the focuses for them. Let's say Anger: White Supremacists, Curiosity: Philosophy, Joy: Music, Guilt: the people I ate in New York, and Joy: The Hunt. 

Step Seven: Money & Equipment. Lol no.

Step Eight: Ads & Disads. Woo! So, I start even and I can take up to 30 BP in disads, which I can then use to buy up other stuff. Let's start there. 

Well, I get an Enemy from my decade of killing KKK folks, so I'll say that's the Wylie family. They were higher-ups in the Klan, I killed a bunch of their younger, dumber scions, and they know who I am, if not exactly what. I don't get points for that, though.

Hmm. There's a few that I don't hate, but eh. I don't love any of them and a lot of what I'd want I've already considered. Only issue is that if I don't take disads, I can't take ads, but y'know? I think I'm good with that. Actually, no, wait, I'll take Hunted: Organized Crime. Someone from New York is still miffed about the dudes I ate (I put that identity to bed, but someone knows). That gives me 10 points, which I can pop over to Skill points. It's not one-for-one, though, it's one-for-three, so I have 30 if I put them all into Skills. Actually I'll spent 6 to raise my Attributes back to 10, put the other 4 into Skills (12 points), and boost Animal Form to 4. 2 Skill Points left, can I do anything with that? No, not really, so I'll take Colorblind for one more BP, which gives me a total of 5 Skill Points, and I'll buy one level of Drug Resistance. 

OK, now to fill everything in.  Not nearly enough room for Skills, but life's like that.

So, Timothy looks like he's in his 30s, but over the years he's learned how to dust his hair or apply a little makeup to go anywhere from 25 to 50. He's got black hair (sometimes greying a little), he's always got a little stubble, and he's got hungry-looking green eyes. He wears tailored clothes during the day, but if he's out at night he favors cheaper suits or clothes that he can tear away and lose easily. 

Timothy knows what he is - a maneater, a monster, a werewolf. He wavers between only killing "bad people" and just letting hunger guide him, but he feels really bad about the young men he killed in New York. He never should have gone north. 

That's it! I like the process, ain't crazy about the game.