[kinda OT] President Bush's spirit trapped in a pot

[babomb]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/18/1066364531339.html

I have a sudden urge to incorporate this into an adventure. I thought some of you might like it as well. (If nothing else, it's a bit amusing, ne?)

P.S. Please leave the politics out of this.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Sorry. It has the word "Bush" in the topic. It's inevitable that will turn into a political thread.

 

[Mark Chance]

From the link, emphasis added:

A respected elder performed the voodoo rites, inscribing ancient Khmer scripts on the pot, aimed at trapping the spirit of the US president.

Aha! It's the Thai-African-West Indies connection that has for so long eluded researchers!



Interesting article. Could be grist for the idea mill for a scenario or two for any number of game systems.

 

[WayneLigon]

Could be a good straightorward 'kidnapping' plot; steal soul of king, put it in an item. People have to find who did it, and where the item is now.

Other ideas to add spice:

1. The 'kidnapping' occurs automatically when the king breaks a treaty with Tribe X, with which his grandfather had made promises (which included, 'If I or my line fail to deliver the promised tribute of 100 Yak Hides to Verity Falls before the second moon of Autumn, may my soul be torn from my body, yadda yadda yadda...')

2. If the item is broken, the king's soul is destroyed. Must find a ritual or item to free him from the imprisonment.

3. His soul has been taken and replaced by the soul of the shaman, who now rules. Must find the body of the shaman, put the king's soul into an item and touch that item to the king's body.

 

[Trivial Nonsense]

I remember, in Turtledove's Misplaced Legion (wrong title, I know; Roman legion from the Republic era gets transported to a pseudo-Byzantine-plus-magic era), a treaty was made with some nomads.

In the treaty, the diplomats were led through fire, but because of the shaman's magic, they were not harmed. The implication being that, if they tried to harm the nomads, the damage from the flames--that had been blocked by the shaman's magic--would hit them immediately.

The evil guys tried to convince the leader of the nomads to support their cause against the good guys. An advisor to the chief argued against them, so they poisoned him. The chief seemed to be leaning towards supporting the good guys, and his son seemed to be supporting the evil guys, so they poisoned the chief.

Then, suddenly, the poisoner, having violated the treaty, spontaneously combusted. Roasted down to ashes...

Next tribe that the good guys visited, the treaty negotiations involved splitting a dog in half and walking between the halves of the corpse. When one of the good guys suggested getting rid of some people advocating against the treaty, he was reminded of what happened at the previous tribe...

Way cool, if you ask me. I think of it as voluntarily forgoing a save.

 

[Severion]

kinda makes me think of the old Steve Martin movie "All of Me" where he gets Lily Tomblins spirit from the bowl it was placed in after her death. The bowl fell out of a window and hit him on the head, hilarity followed.

 

[Rashak Mani]

What happens to Bush while his spirit is inside the river ? That wasn't implied in the article... if I remember correctly the Mindjar spell you take over the body... but this seems different.

In game how would you recognize that for example the King's soul is not inside him ?

 

[LightPhoenix]

Could be a good straightorward 'kidnapping' plot; steal soul of king, put it in an item. People have to find who did it, and where the item is now.

I actually think this would make a cool D20M plot.

 

[Trivial Nonsense]

I actually think this would make a cool D20M plot.

Right. Just imagine, if the Shadows aren't recognized by the Feds (even in Top Secret memos), trying to convince the Secret Service that there's something wrong with the President. Or having to work with the Secret Service, but having them be kinda Scully to your Mulder.

 

[ascendance]

I wonder how much magical support George W. Bush has. Maybe that's what the Freemasons really do...

That being said, it reminds me of a particular line from Sidereals: "Sometimes, he pietied the poor creature who had gotten herself named the Mouth of Peace. How different her job must be from what she'd imagined, and how addled she must be from all the sorceries at work upon her mind."