“Voodoo Doll: The Enchanted Effigy Of Fate And Pain”

“Unlock the chilling power of the Voodoo Doll, a mystic effigy that lets you control fate with every pin, stitch, and whisper of intent.”

The Voodoo Doll is a hand-sized effigy imbued with sympathetic magic, crafted from cloth, wax, straw, or wood and bound to its subject through tokens of flesh, hair, or garment. Born from ancient funerary rites and refined by cunning folk and sorcerers, the doll serves as a vessel of unseen power: wounds upon it may weaken the body it mirrors, soothing touches may ease pain, and whispered words may haunt the victim’s dreams. Both feared and coveted, it stands as one of the most unsettling tools of magic—where likeness and soul are bound by threads no mortal eye can see.

Appearance

The Voodoo Doll is a small figure, rarely longer than a man’s hand, shaped in crude likeness to the human form. It is stitched from scraps of cloth, bound with straw, molded from wax, or carved from wood, often rough in craft yet imbued with unsettling familiarity. To bind the doll to its subject, makers weave in a token of the person—a lock of hair, a shred of garment, a drop of blood. Over years of handling, the dolls take on a worn, almost living quality: seams darkened by oils, fibers frayed, symbols painted or sewn upon their forms. Some bear beads or charms, tokens meant to strengthen their enchantment.

Origins

Antiquarians trace the doll’s lineage to ancient funerary rites, when effigies were interred with the dead to guide them into the afterlife. With time, the practice shifted from honoring the departed to shaping the fortunes of the living, founded upon the principle of sympathetic magic: what befalls the likeness must touch the life it represents. Traders and wanderers carried these practices from far coasts into medieval towns, where they took root among both peasants and hidden circles of magicians.

Stories and Folklore

In borderland villages, folk whisper of wives who pricked dolls until husbands confessed secret wrongs. Soldiers tell of effigies cast into flames before battle, their enemies faltering soon after. Yet not all tales are cruel: some speak of mothers who fashioned dolls to heal sick children, filling them with herbs and binding them with prayers, believing that as the effigy mended, so too would the child. Always, the stories end in ambiguity—did the magic lie in the doll itself, or in the faith and fear it inspired?

Mysterious Qualities

The Voodoo Doll is said to draw upon unseen threads that bind likeness to soul. Those who believe claim that what is done to the effigy echoes in the flesh of the one it mirrors: a cut may bring fever, a soothing touch may ease pain, a whispered curse may gnaw at the victim’s dreams. Its power is elusive, for it seems to waver with the strength of the maker’s will and the victim’s dread. Whether fashioned for malice or mercy, its true mystery lies in that invisible tether between effigy and essence, a fragile bridge between image and reality.

Voodoo Doll 5e 2024
Voodoo Doll, Pathfinder
Voodoo Doll 3.5

Voodoo Doll

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

Lore

A Voodoo Doll is a small effigy of cloth, wax, straw, or bone, stitched together with a token of its intended subject—hair, blood, or a scrap of clothing. Rooted in ancient funerary rites and perfected by cunning folk, it is a vessel of sympathetic magic, where the fate of the doll and the person it represents are bound as one. Stories tell of rulers struck down from afar, warriors haunted by unseen torments, and healers who mended the sick by tending the doll instead of the patient.

Abilities

When attuned, you may spend 1 hour in ritual to bind the doll to a creature you possess a personal token from. The target must be on the same plane of existence. While bound, you gain the following powers:

Shared Pain. As an action, you may harm the doll, forcing the bound creature to take 2d6 necrotic damage (DC 15 Constitution save for half). Uses equal to your proficiency bonus, regained on a long rest.
Dream Curse. Once per long rest, you may whisper into the doll to cast phantasmal force on the bound creature, regardless of distance (same plane required).
Sympathetic Healing. Instead of harm, you may soothe the doll to heal the bound creature for 2d6 hit points, consuming one use of Shared Pain.

Drawbacks

The bond cuts both ways. Whenever you activate an ability, roll a d20. On a 1, the effect rebounds upon you. Divination magic can reveal or even sever the link.

Rarity & Crafting

Rare. Crafting a Voodoo Doll requires a spellcaster of at least 7th level, one week of ritual work, 500 gp in materials, and a personal token of the intended subject.

Adventure Hooks

An enemy cult weakens defenders by burning their dolls in secret.
A village healer uses dolls to draw out illness instead of spreading curses.
A villain binds their own life to a doll, daring the heroes to strike.
A party member discovers a hidden effigy of themselves, cursed and weakening until it is destroyed.

Voodoo Doll

Aura moderate necromancy and enchantment; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 18,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.

Description

A voodoo doll is a small effigy, crudely fashioned from cloth, wax, straw, or carved wood. To activate its magic, the creator must bind it to a specific target using a personal token—hair, blood, fingernail, or a scrap of clothing. Once bound, the doll becomes a sympathetic conduit: harm or healing applied to the effigy affects the target.

Stories tell of rulers plagued by unseen torment, warriors stricken before battle, and healers who drew illness into effigies to save children. Though powerful, the doll is dangerous, for its magic can backfire upon the user.

Activation

Binding a doll requires a 1-hour ritual and a personal token of the subject. The subject must be on the same plane. Once attuned, the wielder may use the following abilities:

Shared Pain (Su): As a standard action, the wielder may harm the doll, forcing the bound creature to take 2d6 points of damage (Will save DC 16 for half). Usable 3 times per day.
Dream Curse (Sp): Once per day, the wielder may whisper to the doll to cast phantasmal killer (DC 16) on the bound creature, regardless of distance.
Sympathetic Healing (Su): As a standard action, the wielder may mend or soothe the doll to restore 2d6 hit points to the subject. Each use counts against the 3 daily uses of Shared Pain.

Drawbacks

The bond is unstable. Each activation carries a 5% chance of rebounding onto the wielder. Divination magic can detect the link, and spells like remove curse or break enchantment can sever it.

Construction

Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, bestow curse, phantasmal killer, cure moderate wounds
Cost: 9,000 gp

Adventure Hooks & Uses

A secret cult weakens a city’s leaders with dolls sewn in shadow.
A village healer draws illness into effigies, earning both gratitude and suspicion.
Heroes discover their likenesses bound in hidden dolls, cursed until destroyed.
A villain anchors their life force to a doll, creating a perilous dilemma for the party.

Voodoo Doll

Liber Mysterium

The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

This doll is usually crafted to vaguely resemble a particular person, though it can be altered to resemble someone else after it’s creation. If a personal item is attached to the doll (for instance, the targets ring, or a lock of the persons hair), the Voodoo doll can be used to cast Ghostly Slashing as a first level sorcerer on the target once per day, regardless of the distance between the target and the user. A person may only be the target of one Voodoo doll at a time. You may not make yourself the target of a Voodoo doll in order to make yourself invulnerable to other dolls.

Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Ghostly Slashing; Market Price: 1250gp.