TEXT: STEVEN S. LONG
  THE
  
  Author: Steven S. Long
  Editing & Development:  Steven S. Long
  Layout & Graphic Design:  Steven S. Long 
  (well, OK, using tools and templates devel-
  oped by Andy Mathews, and with some sug-
  gestions by Andy Mathews...)
  Illustrations:  Steven S. Long using Campaign 
  Cartographer 2 Pro from ProFantasy Soft ware 
  (try it! It’s great!)
  Everything Else:  Stev... you get the picture
  Hero SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.
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  reserved.
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  Fantasy Hero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Dark Champions © 2004 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Pulp Hero © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  The Voodoo Cross © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
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  A Hero Plus Adventure for
  TABLE OF
  CONTENTS
  Adventure Background 
  4
  Adventure Summary 
  4
  Part One:  The Theft At
       The Club 
   
  4
  Part Two:  Drums In The
       Swamp 
   
  6
  Part Three:  The Voodoo
       Island  
   
  8
  Brother DuChamp  
  9
  Papa Miguel 
   
  9
  10¢
  30 x
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  7-17 25-7-11-1 14-1-18-16 14-7 5-3-18-
  14-18!
  
  4  The Voodoo Cross
  Hero System 5th Edition
  W
  hen a historical artifact recovered from 
  Haiti is stolen from the New Orleans 
  branch of the Empire Club, the heroes 
  ﬁ nd themselves plunged into a dark and deadly 
  world of Voodoo magic as they try to recover it 
  from a centuries-old sorcerer!
  Th e Voodoo Cross is a Pulp Hero adventure 
  designed for characters built on a total of 150 Charac-
  ter Points or less. Th e optimal number of PCs is four 
  to six, but you can scale it up or down based on the 
  number of opponents you pit against the heroes in 
  various encounters.
  ADVENTURE BACKGROUND
  In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the 
  French imported slaves to work the sugarcane ﬁ elds of 
  Haiti. Th ese slaves were converted to Roman Catholi-
  cism, but many of them kept their native beliefs as 
  well. Gradually, Roman Catholic elements blended 
  with their native faith, creating a secret religion that 
  became known as Voodoo. Some darker sects devel-
  oped “red” (or Petro) Voodoo, an evil form of Voodoo 
  sometimes involving human sacriﬁ ce. Th e priest-sor-
  cerers of red Voodoo, bokors, wielded tremendous 
  power, both among the slaves and in the spirit world.
  Th e worst of the bokors was known as Papa 
  Miguel. He belonged to a cruel slaveowner named 
  Pierre Malraux. In 1688 Papa Miguel incited Malraux’s 
  slaves to rebel, and Malraux and all his household 
  were sacriﬁ ced to appease Miguel’s evil loas (gods or 
  spirits). Miguel and his followers ﬂ ed into the interior 
  of Haiti, where they grew ever stronger in their foul 
  magic. Th eir most powerful artifact was a solid gold 
  cruciﬁ x stolen from the Malraux household and con-
  secrated to evil with the blood of Malraux’s children; 
  in time, Papa Miguel’s life-force became bound to this 
  cross.
  For over a century, Papa Miguel ruled an empire 
  of foulness, defying all attempts by the French to 
  destroy him. But eventually his sins grew too great for 
  the people to ignore. During Toussaint L’Ouverture’s 
  successful 1800-1804 slave rebellion, they slaughtered 
  the bokor and his followers, crushing Papa Miguel 
  beneath tons of rock. Th e gold cruciﬁ x was hidden 
  away in a church.
  But Papa Miguel did not die. Since his life-force 
  was bound to the cross, he could not be killed by ordi-
  nary means. However, because his enemies had taken 
  the cross away from him, his evil power was dimin-
  ished — he could not free himself from the rocks 
  imprisoning him. He passed into a state of suspended 
  animation, more like undeath than life.
  About a year before the scenario begins, an 
  American explorer named William Morrisson discov-
  ered the cross in the ruins of a small Catholic church 
  in Haiti. He dated the cross to approximately 1650. 
  He took it to Port-au-Prince, pursued all the way by 
  horrible Voodoo creatures and spirits drawn to the 
  cross’s magic. When he returned to his hometown of 
  New Orleans, he donated the cross to the New Orleans 
  Museum of Antiquities (“NOMA”) and then became a 
  recluse, having been driven mad by the dark things he 
  saw in Haiti.
  ADVENTURE SUMMARY
  Th e heroes begin their adventure in New 
  Orleans, where they’re attending a showing of “the 
  Haitian Cross” at the Crescent City’s branch of the 
  Empire Club. During dinner the Cross is stolen! Inves-
  tigating, they discover that a Voodoo bokor named 
  Brother DuChamp, who’s something of a power in the 
  New Orleans underworld, has stolen the Cross for use 
  in foul rituals. Th ey track DuChamp and his cult to 
  an old, abandoned plantation house outside the city. 
  Th ere they confront and battle the evil bokor...
  ...only to recover the Cross and discover that it’s 
  compelling them to take it to Haiti! Th ey follow its 
  urgings into the interior. Soon they come to a ruined 
  fortress where Papa Miguel — now awake, free, and 
  powerful since the Cross was removed from the 
  church — is conducting a ritual of human sacriﬁ ce. 
  Th e heroes must defeat the old bokor, his cultists, and 
  his zombies to rescue the woman who’s about to die 
  beneath Miguel’s knife... or else they just might wind 
  up as sacriﬁ ces themselves! And to put an end to the 
  threat at long last, they must destroy the Cross.
  PART ONE:
  THE THEFT AT THE CLUB
  Th e scenario begins in New Orleans. If the PCs 
  aren’t native to the Crescent City, perhaps they’re there 
  for Mardi Gras, are visiting a friend, or were speciﬁ -
  cally invited to the unveiling of the Cross by someone 
  they know (or who knows they have an interest in 
  such things). Since they’re adventurers, they’re invited 
  to spend an evening at the New Orleans branch of the 
  Empire Club (they may also be staying at the Club).
  Professor Peasley
  If you’ve run, or plan to run, Hero Plus Adven-
  ture #4, Th e Dordogne Zodiac, the characters’ visit to 
  New Orleans to view the Haitian Cross would be a 
  THE VOODOO 
  CROSS
  HERO PLUS 
  ADVENTURES
  Th e Voodoo Cross is one 
  of Hero Games’s Hero 
  Plus Adventures, a series 
  of short, no-frills, inex-
  pensive adventures in 
  PDF format. Hero Plus 
  Adventures are designed 
  to provide roughly one 
  game session’s worth of 
  entertainment, though 
  they include suggestions 
  on how to lengthen or 
  expand the scenario 
  if you want to. Th ey’re 
  written with simplicity 
  and ease of use in mind 
  so you can run them 
  with a minimum of 
  preparation.
  PRINTING
  Th e general statement 
  on the credits page not-
  withstanding, DOJ, Inc. 
  grants each purchaser 
  of Th e Voodoo Cross 
  permission to make one 
  (1) printed copy of this 
  adventure.
  
  5 
  Hero Plus Adventure #16
  good time to introduce them to or let them renew 
  acquaintances with Professor Roderick Peasley of 
  Tulane University. He’d certainly be interested in the 
  Cross, and if he’s not a member of the Empire Club he 
  could easily ﬁ nd several who’d be glad to bring him 
  along as their guest. You can ﬁ nd out more about Pro-
  fessor Peasley in Th e Dordogne Zodiac.
  THE CROSS
  Th e highlight of the evening is the unveiling of 
  the Haitian Cross, a new artifact on loan to the Club 
  from NOMA. It’s a large cross, about a foot tall, made 
  mostly of gold and inlaid with pearls. NOMA believes 
  it was made about 1650 by a craft sman living in the 
  Haitian interior.
  Any character with mystic senses can perceive 
  something unsettling, perhaps even “evil,” about the 
  ornate gold Cross. If his senses are suﬃ  ciently acute 
  (i.e., they have Analyze on an appropriate Detect), he 
  can tell that the Cross was once used as a central ritual 
  focus in Voodoo ceremonies involving human sacri-
  ﬁ ce and black magic. For such characters, holding the 
  Cross is unpleasant; it has a sort of disgusting touch 
  even though there’s nothing on it that would make it 
  feel that way. Just being near it may cause mild head-
  aches and discomfort.
  VOODOO DUST!
  Th e unveiling takes place at 6:00 PM; aft erwards, 
  the Club serves cocktails, then dinner in the Arcadian 
  Room. Many Club members are there, as well as guests 
  who include notables from New Orleans society. If 
  you want to extend the scenario a bit, feel free to 
  roleplay a little socializing over cocktails and dinner; 
  you might even engineer some sort of confrontation 
  between a PC and his Rival.
  At dinner, one of the PCs is seated next to 
  Chalmers Blighton, a New Orleans dilettante and art 
  historian specializing in medieval enamels and deco-
  rative art. He was one of the members responsible for 
  having the Cross shown at the Club, and proves to 
  be an excellent conversationalist on a wide variety of 
  topics. (Roleplay a little of this, if possible, to give the 
  PCs a reason to like him.) In the middle of the entree, 
  Blighton glances at his pocketwatch and excuses him-
  self.
  A few minutes later, the diners hear a tremen-
  dous crash coming from the Exhibit Room! Th e 
  PCs, followed by the other guests, rush there to ﬁ nd 
  Blighton lying unconscious on the ﬂ oor. He has a bad 
  head injury and is covered with a grey-black powder 
  of some sort. Th e case holding the Haitian Cross has 
  been smashed. Th e Cross has been stolen, and left  in 
  its place are three red rooster feathers tied together 
  with a black ribbon!
  Characters with appropriate Skills (KS: Voodoo 
  at +1, KS: Arcane And Occult Lore at -2, other relevant 
  KSs at worse modiﬁ ers) can make a roll to know what 
  these things are. If the roll succeeds, the character 
  knows that the powder is a focus for black magic — it’s 
  used by bokors to cast curses and other evil spells. Any 
  character who touches it will suﬀ er Unluck 1d6 for the 
  rest of this adventure (or, at the GM’s option, lose half 
  or more of his Heroic Action Points for the game). Th e 
  feathers are the symbol of a particularly evil Haitian 
  red Voodoo cult thought to have been destroyed over 
  a century ago — Papa Miguel’s cult. If the characters 
  don’t know anything about Voodoo, a helpful Club 
  member can provide them with this information.
  Blighton’s injury seems serious; he doesn’t 
  awaken and won’t respond to attempts to wake him up 
  (like shaking him or throwing water in his face). Any 
  character who succeeds with a Paramedics roll (or roll 
  with a relevant Skill like SS: Medicine) realizes he may 
  have a bad concussion. A Club member calls an ambu-
  lance to take him to the hospital.
  INVESTIGATING THE THEFT
  As heroes and the stars of this particular show, 
  the PCs will certainly want to help get the Haitian 
  Cross back (especially if they realize, or even just 
  suspect, that it’s an evil Voodoo relic). Some potential 
  avenues of investigation include:
  Chalmers Blighton
  Th e obvious line of investigation is Blighton, who 
  awakens in the hospital the next day. His doctors and 
  nurses will let the heroes talk to him, but won’t permit 
  any rough stuﬀ , browbeating, or the like.
  Blighton claims he got up to use the bathroom. 
  On the way he saw a shadowy ﬁ gure in the room 
  where the Cross was on display, went in to ﬁ nd out 
  what was going on, and was hit on the head from 
  behind. He didn’t get a clear look at the thieves or 
  know anything about them.
  Aft er the initial questioning, let any PC with 
  Acting make a roll. If the roll succeeds, he realizes 
  Blighton isn’t being entirely truthful — he’s hiding 
  something. Characters who succeed with an INT Roll 
  at -4 or more realize the men’s room and the Exhibit 
  Room (where the Cross was displayed) aren’t that near 
  each other; there’s no reason Blighton would have had 
  to go past the display room to reach the toilet.
  Once the heroes have reasonable suspicion of 
  Blighton’s involvement, let any of them who wishes 
  make an Interrogation or Persuasion roll. If the roll 
  succeeds by 1 or more, Blighton breaks down and con-
  fesses. Over the past several years he got involved in 
  some shady ﬁ nancial deals. About four weeks ago one 
  of his servants found a letter on the front porch of his 
  house. It was a blackmail letter signed by a “Brother 
  DuChamp,” who somehow had intimate knowledge of 
  Blighton’s illegal business transactions and threatened 
  to reveal them to the police unless Blighton followed 
  his orders.
  DuChamp instructed Blighton to arrange for 
  NOMA to loan the Cross to the Club. Aft er the loan 
  was announced, DuChamp wrote again, telling Bligh-
  ton to let a man who would be carrying three red 
  rooster feathers tied together with a black ribbon into 
  the Club and show him where the Cross was. Blighton 
  did so — that’s why he checked his watch and then 
  left  the table. Th is man, whom he can only describe as 
  “a large, muscular Negro,” hit him on the head from 
  behind and stole the Cross. Blighton knows noth-
  ing else about Brother DuChamp. He no longer has 
  DuChamp’s letters; he burned them. He knows noth-
  ing else about Brother DuChamp.
  STRANGE MAGICS:
  VOODOO
  For more general infor-
  mation on Voodoo, 
  see pages 116-20 of 
  Th e Ultimate Mystic. 
  For dozens of Voodoo 
  spells, magic items, and 
  monsters, see Hero Plus 
  Adventure #17, Strange 
  Magics, Vol. I:  Voodoo. 
  Th e spells referred to on 
  the character sheets in 
  this adventure are taken 
  from HPA #17.
  
  Empire Club Staﬀ 
  Th e PCs may want to question the staﬀ  at the 
  Empire Club. Th ey all claim (truthfully) to have seen 
  nothing, heard nothing, and know nothing about the 
  theft .
  If the heroes lack Streetwise, don’t think to use it, or 
  fail their rolls (see below), you can have one of the Club’s 
  staﬀ  members ﬁ ll them in about Brother DuChamp.
  Streetwise
  If the PCs spend a few hours on the street 
  and succeed with a Streetwise roll at -3 (with KS: 
  Voodoo, KS: Th e Mystic World, or CK: New Orleans 
  as Complementary Skills), they’ll hear rumors about 
  a “Brother DuChamp” who leads a red Voodoo cult in 
  New Orleans. It’s said he has the entire black commu-
  nity in a grip of terror.
  No one knows exactly who DuChamp is, or 
  where to ﬁ nd him, but if the PCs make a second 
  Streetwise roll at -4, they learn where he holds his ritu-
  als:  an abandoned plantation house near Lake Pon-
  chartrain, away from the city. In fact, a major Voodoo 
  ceremony is due to take place tomorrow evening! 
  (If the PCs learn this fact during daylight hours, you 
  might say the ceremony is that evening, to add a sense 
  of immediacy and danger to the scenario.)
  William Morrisson
  Th e PCs might also want to talk to William Mor-
  risson, who found the Cross and donated it to NOMA. 
  Th ey can get in touch with him through NOMA or 
  Professor Peasley; he’s not listed in the telephone 
  directory. At Morrisson’s house (which is obviously 
  suﬀ ering from neglect) they discover he’s become a 
  drunken recluse, half-mad with terror.
  Morrisson prefers to have nothing to do with 
  the heroes, but with proper roleplaying (or perhaps a 
  Persuasion roll) they can convince him of the serious-
  ness of the situation. He tells them the story of how 
  he found the Cross hidden in a concealed niche in an 
  old, ruined church in the Haitian interior. He took it 
  to Port-au-Prince with zombies, evil spirits, and other 
  foul Voodoo creatures chasing him, trying to get the 
  Cross. In an agony of fear, Morrisson begs the PCs to 
  destroy the Cross when they ﬁ nd it, and warns them 
  against ever going to Haiti.
  PART TWO:
  DRUMS IN THE SWAMP
  One way or another the heroes hear about 
  Brother DuChamp and his dark Voodoo cult. It’s time 
  to beard the lion in its den and get the Cross back!
  THE OLD PLANTATION
  Th e ritual takes place in an abandoned planta-
  tion house in the swamps near Lake Ponchartrain. 
  For the house, use the mansion map from Shades Of 
  Black, with appropriate changes — the outer shell is 
  still intact, but a few non-load-bearing interior walls 
  have collapsed, there’s no glass in any of the windows, 
  and so forth. Th e stairs up to the second ﬂ oor are 
  intact, but dangerous. Anyone climbing them has an 
  11- chance to step on a rotten patch. For each point 
  by which a character makes a DEX Roll, reduce the 
  result of the “step on a rotten patch” roll by 1 (and for 
  each point he fails by, increase it by 1). A character 
  who obtains 1 level of more of Luck on a Luck roll, or 
  spends 2 Heroic Action Points, can go up or down the 
  stairs one time safely.
  THE CULTISTS
  Long before the ritual begins (aft er sundown, 
  culminating at midnight with the sacriﬁ ce of a special 
  black goat), cultists will be at the house, preparing for 
  what’s to come. Brother DuChamp appears imme-
  diately aft er sundown, coming out of the swamps by 
  paths only he knows.
  Th e typical cultist is an average person, armed 
  with (at most) a knife — use the Cultist character 
  sheet from page 406 of Pulp Hero if necessary. A 
  cultist may be possessed by a loa during the ritual, 
  in which case he takes on the attributes of that loa 
  — great strength, resilience, agility, craft iness, sensual-
  ity, or what have you. All ﬁ ght fanatically to protect 
  Brother DuChamp and the Cross.
  Brother DuChamp himself is a powerful Voodoo 
  bokor, though not nearly so powerful as Papa Miguel. 
  You can ﬁ nd his character sheet on page 9.
  THE RITUAL
  Th e ritual is a horrible spectacle, complete with 
  Voodoo drums, dancing, the sacriﬁ ce of chickens and 
  other small animals, and possession of worshippers by 
  evil loas. If possible, play appropriate drum music to 
  add a little atmosphere to the game.
  Brother DuChamp presides over everything and 
  holds the golden Cross throughout the ritual. Shortly 
  before midnight and the ﬁ nal sacriﬁ ce he speaks 
  to the crowd, describing Papa Miguel as their “lord 
  and master” who has “awakened at long last.” (But of 
  course the heroes won’t hear that if they’ve already 
  attacked.)
  Th e cultists (loa-possessed or otherwise) ﬁ ght 
  the heroes using ﬁ sts, sticks, rocks, knives, and a few 
  guns. Brother DuChamp casts Voodoo spells and uses 
  Voodoo dusts and other items he has with him.
  Th e Cross At Last!... Uh-Oh....
  Th e odds are the heroes win this battle easily; 
  the cultists aren’t much match for them, and Brother 
  DuChamp’s not powerful enough to stand up to them 
  on their own. (Th ough if they give him the chance to 
  turn any slain cultists into zombies, it may be another 
  story.) If he can, Brother DuChamp will ﬂ ee into the 
  swamps, leading the heroes on a dangerous nighttime 
  chase through the bayous.
  But one way or another, the PCs should get their 
  hands on the Cross. Th e ﬁ rst hero to touch it, or any 
  PC with mystic senses who touches it, feels a deﬁ nite 
  malevolent presence connected with it... accompanied 
  by an urge to (a) preserve the Cross, and (b) go to 
  Haiti. Initially this urge isn’t too strong (Mind Control 
  8d6), but it gains +1d6 per day until the hero gives 
  in and makes the trip. Getting rid of the Cross won’t 
  overcome the eﬀ ect; the hero will feel compelled to 
  regain the Cross and then take it to Haiti. If necessary 
  to keep the heroes from destroying the Cross outright, 
  you can rule that it’s so closely bound to whatever’s 
  attracting it on Haiti that it can only be destroyed in 
  that place (or near that person).
  6   The Voodoo Cross
  Hero System 5th Edition
  
  7 
  Hero Plus Adventure #16
  
  PART THREE:
  THE VOODOO FORTRESS
  Th e PCs travel to Port-au-Prince, capital of 
  Haiti. Aft er they arrive, they hear rumors of a new red 
  Voodoo cult that’s arisen in the mountainous interior 
  of the island. Some folk fear that Papa Miguel has 
  returned; in fact, the PC carrying the Cross feels it 
  subtly “tugging” at him in the direction of the moun-
  tains. Th e PCs spend that evening in a hotel in Port-
  au-Prince; in the morning each one ﬁ nds a Voodoo 
  charm, a square cross made of two black sticks, in 
  front of his door. Th is charm, symbolic of Ghede, loa 
  of death, is a none-too-subtle threat; it also tells the 
  PCs they’re being watched...
  INTO THE INTERIOR
  According to the guides they can ﬁ nd (who are 
  few — most Haitians prefer to stay well away from the 
  interior because of all the rumors) tell the PCs have 
  at least a two-day journey ahead of them to get to the 
  mountain area. Let the PCs equip themselves with 
  whatever they need and can aﬀ ord, within reason. 
  Remember, Haiti of the 1930s isn’t exactly a center of 
  civilization, and its marketplaces won’t have many (if 
  any) modern amenities.
  Th e ﬁ rst day the heroes travel by car as far as 
  they can, to a small town named Font-du-Lac. If you 
  want to emphasize the eeriness of the situation, during 
  the trip have them encounter either (a) an old man 
  or woman who utters a cryptic and disturbing warn-
  ing, and/or (b) suﬀ er an unlucky (one might even say 
  supernaturally unlucky...) accident.
  Th e inhabitants of Font-du-Lac are unfriendly 
  and uncooperative at ﬁ rst. Th ey don’t like having visi-
  tors, and seem to regard the white people as bad luck 
  (or think they’ll bring trouble). Eventually, one of the 
  villagers picks a ﬁ ght with the biggest, toughest-look-
  ing PC. If the Haitian wins, the villagers treat the PCs 
  with scorn and ignore their requests for help; if the PC 
  wins, the loser treats him and his friends to drinks at 
  the local tavern and everyone becomes much friend-
  lier. In the latter case, the native point the PCs toward 
  the center of the trouble — an abandoned colonial 
  fort on top of a mountain, about one day’s hike away. 
  Otherwise, the PCs have to spend a day exploring the 
  region to ﬁ gure out where they need to go.
  A PRELUDE OF THINGS TO COME
  Either during their day of exploration or on the 
  way to the fort, the PCs are attacked by a horde of 
  zombies (at least one zombie per PC — use the Zombi 
  Cadavre character sheet from Hero Plus Adventure 
  #17, Strange Magics, Vol. I:  Voodoo, or the Zombie 
  character sheet from Th e HERO System Bestiary). 
  Since the PCs ignored the warning they were given 
  back in the city, and the “accident” on the road, Papa 
  Miguel is now trying to kill them directly.
  FORTRESS OF DEATH!
  Th e PCs reach the ruined fort right aft er nightfall 
  by following the light of a large bonﬁ re that’s been lit 
  in the center of the fortress courtyard.
  Layout Of Th e Fortress
  Th e accompanying map shows the layout of the 
  fortress, including areas that have collapsed for fallen 
  into ruin. Th e fortress is basically a square structure 
  with a round, rubble-ﬁ lled bastion at each corner. 
  (Cannons were once kept atop each bastion, with a 
  spiral staircase leading down to a powder magazine 
  below.) Th e walls are 4” (25 feet) high, and in some 
  places have partially collapsed. Climbing the walls 
  requires an unmodiﬁ ed Climbing roll.
  Th e interior of the fortress consists of a courtyard 
  ringed by rooms; the courtyard has two wells. Along 
  the south are former troop quarters, along the east and 
  west storerooms, along the north the kitchen, mess 
  hall, and chapel.
  Th e second “ﬂ oor” of the fortress consists of 
  battlements reached via the spiral staircases from the 
  four powder magazines in the bastions. Th e battle-
  ments are as wide as the rooms along the fortress 
  walls, and are topped by ½”-high crenelated walls. (In 
  many places the wall has collapsed, leaving a gap of 
  ½-1”.) Wherever rubble is show inside or outside the 
  fort, indicating a (partially or wholly) collapsed wall, 
  the battlements aren’t entirely safe to walk on. A char-
  acter moving through these areas no faster than 2” per 
  Phase is ﬁ ne; any faster than that and the character 
  must succeed with a DEX Roll or fall through/oﬀ  the 
  battlement. At the very least, failure makes an area of 
  collapse a little larger; it might even trigger a further 
  collapse that buries that character in rubble, caus-
  ing 8d6 Normal Damage and pinning the character 
  beneath old stones.
  In most cases the doors show on the map are 
  either (a) so decrepit characters can easily smash 
  through them (1 BODY, 1 DEF), or (b) fallen oﬀ  their 
  hinges, or (c) missing entirely. Th e GM determines 
  the status of each door as necessary for best dramatic 
  impact during the ﬁ ght. If it would be fun to have a 
  character smash through a door (or try to use a door 
  to protect himself from a zombie), keep that door 
  intact and upright; if a character needs an impromptu 
  club, he can use part of a door that’s fallen down.
  As shown on the map, the doors leading into 
  the chapel have been removed so that characters can 
  easily see inside to Papa Miguel’s earth-and-bone 
  throne. Eight torches light the chapel.
  Fortress Security
  Th e walls of the fort are patrolled by zombis 
  cadavre. To see into the fort unhindered, the PCs 
  must either dispose of these zombis or sneak up to 
  the ruined gate without being spotted by them. (Since 
  there are at least three standing guard at the gate, the 
  latter will prove diﬃ  cult at best.)
  Inside Th e Fortress
  Inside, the PCs that there’s a terrible Voodoo 
  ritual underway. Cultists dance around a bonﬁ re, 
  sacriﬁ cing animals to the Voodoo spirits. To one side, 
  a beautiful young white woman is tied to a stake, 
  awaiting sacriﬁ ce. (Th is is marked on the map with 
  an “evil altar.”) Watching the entire compound from 
  a throne of bone and earth inside the former chapel, 
  and ﬂ anked by several large zombis cadavre, is Papa 
  Miguel himself, who looks like a cross between an 
  old man and a zombie. When Morrisson took the 
  8    The Voodoo Cross
  Hero System 5th Edition
  
  9 
  Hero Plus Adventure #16
  Cross away from the precincts of the church where it 
  had been safely kept, its unholy energies revitalized 
  Miguel, awakening him and giving him the strength to 
  free himself. Th en he rebuilt his red Voodoo cult.
  Th e PCs barely have time to view this ghastly 
  scene before Papa Miguel perceives them (because of 
  the Cross’s unholy energies) and orders the zombis 
  and cultists to attack. Th e PCs have three goals:  sur-
  vive; destroy Papa Miguel; rescue of the potential 
  sacriﬁ ce. How they do all of this is up to them. Papa 
  Miguel cannot be hurt by conventional attacks, such 
  as ﬁ sts or bullets, but is vulnerable to mystic attacks, 
  ﬁ re, salt, and being struck by the Cross itself (see his 
  character sheet at the end of this adventure).
  If the cultists capture the PCs, Papa Miguel 
  regains the Cross, becomes even more powerful than 
  he is already, and adds the PCs to the “menu” of sac-
  riﬁ cial victims. If they have no way to escape on their 
  own, you can arrange a last-minute attack by a group 
  of “good” Voodooists to help them out.
  Love In Th e Time Of Voodoo
  Th e young woman’s name is Patrice Delacroix. 
  Her father is a rich planter who lives in another part of 
  the island. Aft er the PCs rescue her, she could become 
  a romantic interest for one of them, or her father 
  could become a valuable Caribbean contact.
  BROTHER DUCHAMP
  Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
  25 
  STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [4]
  16 
  DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
  18 
  CON 
  16 
  13-
  15 
  BODY 10 
  12-
  15 
  INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
  16 
  EGO 
  12 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
  18 
  PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
  8  
  COM 
  -1 
  11-
  8  
  PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  8 PD (3 rPD)
  6  
  ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  6 ED (3 rED)
  4  
  SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
  9  
  REC 
  0
  36 
  END 
  0
  40 
  STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  109
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  350 
  Voodoo Spells:  350 points’ worth of spells 
  from HPA #17, Strange Magics, Vol. I:  
  Voodoo, including several Voodoo Black 
  Magic spells
  10 
  Mighty Fists:  HA +3d6; Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½) 
  1
  3 
  Protective Magics:  Damage Resistance (3 
  PD/3 ED) 
  0
  10 
  Gad Of Protection From Curses:  Power 
  Defense (10 points) 
  0
  10 
  Gad Of Good Fortune:  Luck 2d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  local cult leader
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 HTH
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  CK: New Orleans 12-
  3 
  Medsin Fèy:  KS: Haitian Herbalism 12-
  3 
  KS: Voodoo 12-
  1 
  Language:  French (basic conversation; Eng-
  lish is Native)
  1 
  Language:  Hatian Creole (basic conversa-
  tion)
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Medsin Fèy:  Paramedics 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  25 
  Power:  Voodoo 23-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Trading 13-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  457
  Total Cost:  566
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Voodoo scars and tat-
  toos (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recog-
  nizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  New Orleans Police Department 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  10 
  Hunted:  various monster- and witch-hunters 
  8- (As Pow, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Evil; Serves 
  Th e Foulest Petro Loa (Very Common; 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy For Money 
  And Power (Common; Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  evil Voodoo sorcerer, 11- (in 
  New Orleans; Extreme)
  411 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  566
  Background/History:  Brother DuChamp grew up 
  poor in the worst section of New Orleans. His aunt 
  was a mamaloi, or female houngan, for a group of 
  Voodoo practitioners, and she saw the talent in 
  him and nurtured it. But unfortunately she couldn’t 
  nurture his soul, which was twisted and dark with 
  a desire for things and power he did not have. In 
  time he turned to the Petro loa to grant him the 
  power he craved. Eventually he became the leader 
  of the Louisiana descendants of the few fragments 
  of Papa Miguel’s cult that had survived over the 
  decades and centuries. Th anks to his evil charisma 
  and powerful Voodoo spells, he’s built the local cult 
  up to be stronger than ever... and now that Papa 
  Miguel has awakened, nothing shall stop them!
  SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 1d6-1 
  6 
  8
  Knife 
  +0 
  RBS 
  1d6-1 1d6-1 
  — 
  5 
  Can Be 
  Th rown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Asson rattle; Voodoo paraphernalia and spell components
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Personality/Motivation:  Despite being a man in his 
  mid-20s, Brother DuChamp is in many ways still 
  the little boy he once was, lashing out at a world 
  he hates because it hasn’t given him everything 
  he wants. He believes that he must seize what he 
  wants, and the way to do that is Voodoo. So far he’s 
  found nothing to prove him wrong.
  Quote:  “Th e loa we serve are strong! Th ey will grant 
  us good luck and victory over our enemies!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Brother DuChamp is a powerful 
  bokor (Voodoo sorcerer) who can cast many dif-
  ferent types of spells. (You can also give him any 
  Voodoo magic items you think are appropriate.) 
  Th anks to his angajans, or “engagements” (pacts) 
  with various loa, he’s immensely strong and tough 
  and highly charismatic; if he lacks the time to pre-
  pare Voodoo black magic to use against his foes, 
  he has no hesitation about mixing it up with them 
  hand-to-hand. He usually has at least a few doses of 
  kou poud powders that he can throw at his enemies 
  to cause illness, misfortune, or even death.
  Campaign Use:  Although Brother DuChamp is pre-
  sented as a secondary villain in Th e Voodoo Cross, 
  for some lower-powered campaigns he might do 
  quite well as the master villain — use his character 
  sheet for Papa Miguel, then trim it down to create 
  a new, weaker “Brother DuChamp.” However, don’t 
  forget that most Voodoo spells aren’t really usable 
  in combat because they take time and preparations 
  to cast; despite his 350 Character Points’ worth of 
  spells, DuChamp is far, far less powerful in battle 
  than even a 200-point superhero or High Fantasy 
  wizard.
  To make Brother DuChamp tougher, give him 
  plenty of Voodoo magic items and powers, including a 
  Shirt Of Protection Against Bullets and more gads and 
  angajans. If appropriate, distinguish him from Papa 
  Miguel by emphasizing his physical side — increase 
  his STR, CON, and perhaps even SPD. To weaken 
  him, reduce his SPD to 3 and his Character Points in 
  Voodoo spells to 250.
  Brother DuChamp might Hunt heroes if they 
  become a persistent thorn in his side, but he knows his 
  cult thrives the most when it remains secret. He won’t 
  do anything that will draw too much attention down 
  on him or his followers.
  Appearance:  Brother DuChamp is a fairly hand-
  some dark-skinned black man in his mid-twen-
  ties. His body has several gads (protective scars 
  and tattoos), making it easy to identify him in the 
  right circumstances. He dresses simply, in working 
  man’s pants, shirt, and shoes. He’s usually got a large 
  pouch full of Voodoo paraphernalia with him, and 
  during ceremonies and spellcasting carries an asson 
  (a rattle made from a gourd ﬁ lled with serpent ver-
  tebrae and decorated with strands of beads).
  PAPA MIGUEL
  Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
  20 
  STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [4]
  18 
  DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
  20 
  CON 
  20 
  13-
  20 
  BODY 20 
  13-
  20 
  INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
  18 
  EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
  20 
  PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
  6  
  COM 
  -2 
  10-
  10 
  PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  10 PD (8 rPD)
  10 
  ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  10 ED (8 rED)
  4  
  SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
  8  
  REC 
  0
  40 
  END 
  0
  50 
  STUN 10 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  142
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  843 
  Voodoo Spells:  all the spells from HPA
  #17, Strange Magics, Vol. I:  Voodoo
  5 
  Terrifying Aspect:  +10 PRE; Only To
  Make Fear-/Intimidation-Based
  Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  8 
  Zombi-Like Form And Protective Magics:  
  Damage Resistance (8 PD/8 ED) 
  0
  47 
  Zombi-Like Form:  Life Support (Total, 
  including Longevity:  ages at one-fourth 
  normal rate) 
  0
  5 
  Eyes Of Darkness:  Nightvision 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Follower:  goat-horned dog (built on 75 Base 
  Points)
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  cult leader
   
  Skills
  2 
  AK: Haiti 11-
  9 
  Medsin Fèy:  KS: Haitian Herbalism 16-
  2 
  KS: Haitian History 11-
  6 
  KS: Voodoo 16-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  French is Native)
  1 
  Language:  Hatian Creole (basic conversa-
  tion)
  1 
  Language:  Langay (basic conversation)
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  5 
  Medsin Fèy:  Paramedics 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  37 
  Power:  Voodoo 30-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Trading 13-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  1,007
  Total Cost:  1,021
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Voodoo scars and tat-
  toos (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recog-
  nizable)
  10 
  Hunted:  various monster- and witch-hunters 
  8- (As Pow, Capture/Kill)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Evil; Serves 
  Th e Foulest Petro Loa (Very Common; Total)
  15 
  Reputation:  evil Voodoo sorcerer, 14- (in 
  BROTHER
  DUCHAMP
  PLOT SEEDS
  A black servant working 
  for the PCs (or a friend 
  of the PCs) frightfully 
  reports that someone 
  is using “black magic” 
  against herself and her 
  family. Th e PCs, upon 
  investigating, uncover 
  information about 
  Brother DuChamp’s 
  cult... but now he knows 
  they know about him, 
  and how they learned, 
  so they’ve got to get to 
  him before he sacriﬁ ces 
  their informer!
  Th e heroes hear rumors 
  of “strange lights” out in 
  the Louisiana bayous at 
  night, and eerie sounds, 
  and “dark, ﬂ apping 
  things in the sky.” Is 
  Brother DuChamp’s cult 
  up to something hor-
  rible, or do the swamps 
  hide more than just 
  Petro Voodoo?
  Th e dead begin to walk 
  the streets of the Big 
  Easy! Every night a 
  half-dozen people are 
  clawing their way out of 
  their graves and trying 
  to kill the living. Brother 
  DuChamp clearly has 
  the power to do some-
  thing like this — but 
  why?
  10 
  Hero System 5th Edition
  
  Haiti; Extreme)
  891 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,021
  Background/History:  Papa Miguel was born so long 
  ago that even he doesn’t remember his childhood, and 
  in fact dismisses it as insigniﬁ cant. What is important 
  is that he is a dosou, a child born into a family aft er 
  twins are born, and who thus “inherits” all of the twins’ 
  magical power. His gift  for Voodoo was so profound 
  that ordinary Voodoo could not contain it; before long 
  he’d turned to black magic and sorcery. As his power 
  and following grew, he turned on the family of his 
  master Pierre Malraux and incited a rebellion. Aft er 
  slaughtering the Malrauxes he took the family’s gold 
  cruciﬁ x for use as a powerful fetish (one to which, in 
  time, his life-force became bound).
  Papa Miguel’s cult grew, becoming a powerful 
  force for evil in the Haitian interior. It was not until 
  Toussaint L’Ouverture’s slave rebellion of 1800-04 that 
  Miguel was ﬁ nally overthrown and, so it was thought, 
  destroyed — crushed beneath tons of rock. No one 
  dared to try to destroy the evil cruciﬁ x, so it was 
  hidden in a church to neutralize its powers.
  Because the cruciﬁ x remained intact, Papa 
  Miguel could not die. He was trapped beneath the 
  rock, but still he lived, waiting patiently. When 
  explorer William Morrisson removed the cross from 
  the conﬁ nes of the (now-ruined) church, Papa Miguel 
  became powerful enough to free himself and re-estab-
  lish his cult (the remnants of which had never fully 
  died away). Now he seeks to regain the cross, and thus 
  greater power, with which to take over Haiti... and 
  then the Caribbean... and then the world....
  Personality/Motivation:  Papa Miguel is utterly, 
  irredeemably evil. He serves the darkest loa (gods) 
  of Voodoo, regularly oﬀ ering human sacriﬁ ces to 
  them to maintain their favor. Crimes and blasphe-
  mous practices that even hardened villains would 
  hesitate at he performs readily.
  Quote:  “Bosou, grant me strength! Papa Legba, 
  Baron Samedi, support me against my enemies!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Papa Miguel’s konesans, or known 
  body of Voodoo lore, is enormous. He can cast 
  spells, communicate with loa, and wield powers 
  long forgotten by most houngans or bokors. His 
  mèt tèt (“master of the head,” the loa with whom 
  he has the strongest relationship, and whom he 
  primarily serves) is Bosou, loa of black magic and 
  virility, who gives him great power. His magics 
  maintain his body in a sort of half-zombiﬁ ed state, 
  giving him great strength and resilience without 
  costing him any wit or agility.
  Since most of his magic won’t help him in battle, 
  if he expects a ﬁ ght Papa Miguel prepares Kou Poud 
  powders (primarily ones causing rapid weakness, 
  sickness, or death so he can incapacitate his foes 
  with them quickly), ouangas which inﬂ ict their curse 
  when they touch the victim, and other magical items. 
  He’ll also awaken or call to him as many zombis 
  cadavre as he can and arm them with whatever weap-
  ons he has available. His familiar, a goat-horned dog, 
  obeys his every order and savagely attacks any enemy 
  he unleashes it on.
  Aft er centuries of staying alive, Papa Miguel is no 
  fool. He usually has at least one escape route prepared, 
  and oft en two or more. He’s only been free for a short 
  while, and he has no intention of being imprisoned, 
  much less killed, again.
  Campaign Use:  Based on his point total, Papa 
  Miguel seems immensely powerful. While it’s true 
  he’s no pushover, remember that most Voodoo 
  spells aren’t intended for combat. Th ey take a long 
  time to cast, and plenty of preparation to boot. He 
  can prepare some in advance (such as Kou Poud 
  powders), but for the most part his hundreds of 
  points’ worth of spells don’t do him much good in 
  combat. He’s weaker than he looks when it comes 
  to ﬁ ghting. But if the PCs don’t get rid of him in 
  their ﬁ rst encounter, Miguel will have the chance to 
  use his potent Voodoo black magic to make their 
  lives a literal living hell.
  To make Papa Miguel more powerful, add on 
  Voodoo abilities and magical items until he’s as strong 
  as you need him to be. If he regains the cross (or per-
  haps if it’s even brought close to him, depending on 
  how dangerous you want the climactic ﬁ ght to be), he 
  might become much more powerful than he is now, 
  both physically and in terms of his Voodoo — for 
  example, he might be able to cast an entire Voodoo 
  ritual in just a Full Phase, Extra Phase, or 1 Turn 
  instead of minutes or hours. To weaken him, reduce 
  his Voodoo roll, and strip away at least 300 points’ 
  worth of spells. You could also reduce his SPD to 3 
  and his Damage Resistance to 3-5 points.
  Papa Miguel will Hunt any hero or person who 
  has the Voodoo Cross, using all of his powers and 
  wiles to get it back. Once he has it, he’ll turn to Hunt-
  ing anyone who’s harmed or hindered him until he’s 
  taken revenge on them all. Fortunately for him, his 
  potent Voodoo black magic gives him lots of unpleas-
  ant ways to attack his enemies.
  Appearance:  Papa Miguel looks like an incredibly 
  aged, wizened black man half-gone to death. His 
  skin has an unhealthy greyish color to it that makes 
  him look half-dead, or perhaps half-undead; his 
  voice has just a touch of the unusual nasal tone that 
  marks a zombi cadavre to Haitian ears. He wears 
  rough, old clothing that’s in bad shape, except when 
  a Voodoo ceremony requires him to don other 
  garb. His pockets are always full of Voodoo charms, 
  fetishes, and supplies, and he always carries a large 
  pouch full of Voodoo paraphernalia with him. 
  During ceremonies and spellcasting he has an asson 
  (a rattle made from a gourd ﬁ lled with serpent ver-
  tebrae and decorated with strands of beads).
  PAPA MIGUEL
  PLOT SEEDS
  Papa Miguel gets his 
  hands on the Voodoo 
  Cross somehow. With its 
  power once again at his 
  command, he begins to 
  cast his shadow over the 
  entire Caribbean — and 
  he certainly won’t stop 
  there. Th e heroes, having 
  failed to stop him from 
  getting the Cross, must 
  now enter the heart of 
  darkness and beard the 
  lion in his den deep in 
  the Haitian interior.
  Aft er the heroes destroy 
  the Cross, Papa Miguel 
  dies... or so it seems. In 
  fact he goes into a sort 
  of hibernation (and if 
  the heroes destroy his 
  body, his spirit takes up 
  residence in the body 
  of one of his followers). 
  His cult must now ﬁ nd 
  another artifact, a star-
  stone cast down from 
  the heavens  themselves 
  by the loa, to revive his 
  ﬂ agging powers.
  Aft er the heroes defeat 
  Papa Miguel and burn 
  his body, one of his 
  followers gathers up 
  some of the ashes and 
  uses them to make a 
  potent ouanga. With this 
  ouanga to help him, he 
  becomes the new leader 
  of the cult and a ter-
  rible threat to Haiti. Th e 
  heroes have to return 
  to “the magic island” to 
  ﬁ nd and defeat him.
  11 
  Hero Plus Adventure #16
  SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Dagger 
  +0 
  RBS 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8 
  Can Be 
  Th rown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Asson rattle; Voodoo paraphernalia and spell components
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hero Games/5th Edition/Pulp Hero - The Voodoo Cross.pdf