QUOTE (Larme @ Mar 27 2009, 07:14 AM)
I don't think that's such a big deal. AFAIK, loa basically only possess their summoners and dead bodies. Dead bodies have pretty low OR, being natural materials... I guess they might also possess small idols of themselves too, but again not much OR there. The only time you really need to prepare a vessel or risk failure is if you're making it inhabit technology, like your car, or maybe a plasteel haemonculus.
Voudoun also knows the concept of
serviteurs, believers who are ridden by the loa during rituals, as well as the practice of turning living, unwilling subjects into zombies via a combination of posession and ritual application of intoxicants.
In other words, it is pretty common that living, mundane metahumans are prepared as vessels- in fact, it is integral to the religious practices of voodoo, as well as related traditions such as candomblé.
Street Magic even uses a voodoo example for preparing vessels.
Therefor, i strongly advise NOT to take the Aspected Magician quality.
If you want the full voodoo flavour, you need Enchantment as well as Ritual Magic.
If the player doesn't care about direct spellslinging, just take Incompetence : Spellcasting or simply don't dump points into Spellcasting.
As far as the combination of face and houngan is concerned, the two work together neatly.
Of course, the houngan will not be able to function as a face while posessed- but houngans aren't ridden by the loa all the time.
You can turn that on and off at will and, as the loa may object to being constantly exposed to the physical world and posession is regerded as a state of deep religious reverence, a houngan will certainly not be posessed in all situations.
Besides that aspect, the combination is excellent, as voodoo is a Charisma-based tradition and many loa, especially Erzulie and Ghede, where described as particularly outgoing, flamboyant and social in earlier supplements such as SR2's kickass expanded magic sourcebook
Awakenings (the first and, flavourwise, still best description of voodoo and the loas in SR).
Picking a mait teté (mentor spirit) with a bonus to social skills can be helpful, as well as qualities such as First Impression.
Biosculpting (from Augmentation) is another very cheap way to boost Charisma, it doesn't even cost Essence.
There's tons of other 'ware in the books that would be beneficial for a face, though i don't know how interested the player is in picking those.
Another possibility would be to become a Mystic Adept and use some of the adept powers enhancing social skills, such as Kinesics.
However, make sure not to cripple your competences as a magician by spending too many points on Adept powers.
Roleplay-wise, the combination is also potentially interesting.
Houngans are fun to play, i have always greatly enjoyed it to see a skilled roleplayer picking up a houngan as a character.
I say go for it, your group certainly won't regret it.