Any word on what traditions are getting brought back from MitS? Specifically does anyone know if Vaudun are coming back or any rules about zombies and loa?

Nothing yet, but we'll have to wait until Street Magic comes out, or later in 2006-7 for another MitS-style sourcebook.

Previous editions have contained:

Tir Ways and Paths
Vodoun
Wujen

all as playable characters with special rules. I would imagine that since those ones have accumulated from edition to edition that they'd be in the new book. On the other hand, certain traditions seemed to be "one-off". The Psionicists got a (very weak) writeup in Awakenings and were never heard from again, so I would call their inclusion in Street Magic a coin flip at best.

-Frank

I know some people have commented on Vaudun specifically as a waste of time, some of whom are on the writing and development staff for other SR4 books. I just wanted to make sure that they would stay as Canon material...here's to hoping.

Thanks for the input so far!

I think a lot of people must think that the Tir Ways and Paths are a waste of space - they constitute a magical tradition practiced by some of the people in a country with less than 4 million people in it. In terms of global effect, they are substantially less important than the Baptist Extatics from the CAS that have never got a complete write-up.

Nevertheless, any tradition that has appeared with full rules in more than one edition has already been firmly enough implanted that getting rid of them now would invalidate an unacceptable number of campaigns. These traditions are grandfathered in, and can't be removed now.

So don't worry, there's pretty much no way they could go back on having Houngans in Street Magic. Now that it's graced 2nd and 3rd editions with playable characters, Voodoun is going to be alive and well into 5th and 6th editions.

-Frank

It there an estimated time of release for the new books?

The thing is, all you have to do for the paths is just add mentor spirits. All mages can now summon quick spirits and bound spirits, so just make sure that they get a bonus and ability to summon and bind the type of spirit they are associated with and lose the ability to do the same with another spirit.

The only tricksy one is Path of Kings, but that is clear NPC anyways. Easy to do, followers of the Path of Kings get +4 dice to all spells, +2 dice to counterspelling, +2 dice to summon and banish spirits, etc etc etc. Oh and can summon any kind of spirit.

Not too difficult to translate.

As for voodoo, I hope they just make a template for mentor spirits that use possession as the main point. Like you can choose normal mentor spirits or "possession" spirits.

Wujen are even simpler, really just hermetics now that elemental spirits are the same as elementals. Mess around and make sure they have elements appropriate and you are done.

Heh, I know a guy who believes in Combat Voodoo.

His idea goes something like this:

Make generic voodoo doll.
Curse it BAD.
Strap to front end of Sawn off shotgun right over the barrel like so

p==

When the time comes... and oh will it come soon.... Place barrel of shotgun directly against target and pull trigger.

Magic Boom!

By my understanding, physical contact with the target deals with the whole "need a spiritual Link" bit of the curse. then its up to you to have fun chooing your target(s).

hope you like

your friend truly understands voodoo.