In one of the most basic spells of Santería, an Awakened santero can call down one of the orishas and allow the deity to possess him. The orisha can then use its powers through the mage’s body, dispense godly wisdom…or, unfortunately, wreak punishment on anyone who happens to offend it. Although this rite is considered a sacred act as well as a useful practice, santeros do understand that they risk their lives by trucking with the orishas. But, characteristically, they realize that if they should
die while being ridden by an orisha, they have become
a great ebbó. Some traditions even hold that if someone
dies while being ridden by an orisha, that person can
become an orisha.
The mage dances a bembe, and he must be accompanied
by ritual drums. Often, other santeros dance with him, and
this ritual usually follows an ebbó. The mage continues
to dance until his mind and body are overwhelmed by
the exertion of the bembe and the drums, and the orisha
enters him. In game terms, the player must accumulate
a number of successes equal to the mage’s Stamina +
Resolve, and if the character possesses the Iron Stamina
Merit, those dots are also added to the target number of
successes. Each roll equates one minute of dancing, and
the player can only make a number of rolls equal to the
mage’s Stamina + Athletics (after which the mage is too
exhausted to dance properly).
Once the player has accumulated the proper number
of successes, the orisha possesses the mage. At this point,
the mage begins to behave like the orisha in question.
Osain limps and leans on a walking stick. Changó is lusty
and belligerent, while Oshún is flirtatious. The orishas demand their tribute — many of them try to take bites
of the raw flesh of the ritual sacrifice, and all must have
their special foods and items (see Foci), or else they depart
and the spell ends.
While the mage is being possessed, the orisha speaks
and acts through him. The other santeros present can ask
the orisha for advice or intercession. If any are Awakened,
they can ask the orisha for magical understanding (this
can be used to justify an increase in Gnosis or Arcana
ratings), even learning rotes from the orisha. Occasionally,
a mage channels one of the warlike orishas (Changó,
Oggún, Elegguá, Ochosi, or Oyá) to help him fight in
an upcoming battle.
The game effects of this possession vary depending
on the Storyteller’s decision of what the orishas are and
what role they fulfill in the chronicle. In general, this
spell allows an effect similar to Coaxing the Spirits (Spirit
1), but with farther-reaching effects. The mage receives
a number of bonus dice to a given task based on how
satisfied the orisha is with the sacrifice, the items offered
to it, and the bembe the mage performed (the Storyteller
should take all of this into consideration and then make
a roll for the player, probably Manipulation + Socialize,
and use the successes for the bonus dice). These dice can
be used on any roll that the task involves, but the player
does not know how many he has to work with (just as
the mage doesn’t know how far the orisha’s influence
will carry him). At some point, the capricious orisha’s
attention fades, and the mage is on his own again.
