Class: Hougan/Mombo

Hougans are leaders within the community who run temples (ounfò) to respect and serve lwa (also written as loa) alongside the Grand Maître (grandmaster or creator). Lwa are spirits, encompassing a collection of gods and nature spirits. Lwa manifest themselves in people during Vodou ceremonies through spirit possession. Each lwa has a distinct dance rhythm, song, sacrificial victuals, and clothing. Lwa choose oungans whilst they dream, where they are instructed by the gods of the Vodun to be their servants in the mortal world.

It is the hougan's role to preserve rituals and songs, maintaining and developing the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole. Hougans are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage, performing rituals for the community - death and marriage ceremonies; healing rituals; initiations for new priests (tesses); creating potions and casting spells; and dream interpretations.

Mombo are female hougan, but are otherwise treated exactly the same.

Abilities: Wisdom is the core ability of the hougan

Races: Any race but primarily those that live in swampy areas

Alignment: Any but tend toward lawful

Starting Gold: Starting gold is 5d4x10 (100 gold.)

Starting Age: Younger

Hit Points: Hougan use 1d6 + Con bonus (if any) to determine HP

Class Skills: (2 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)

Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (Arcana, Forbidden Lore, History, Local, Religion, Spirit Lore, Undead), Spellcraft, Survival

Class Features:

• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Hougan are proficient with Simple Weapons and can use Shields but never use armor.

• Spellcasting

As per Cleric. Due to the nature of vodou, spells cast by hougah take double the normal length of casting time. Hougan may also sacrifice one spell and turn the lwa power into healing equal to 1d6 per level of the spell sacrificed (i.e. a hougan sacrifices a 4th level spell and can heal 4d6 damage to himself or someone else). Under no circumstance will a hougan ever attempt to heal a bokor, no matter the alignment, due to the hougan seeing the magic of the bokor as a corruption of the nature of the lwa and as submission to dark and evil powers.