Called “The Voodoo Queen” by historians and New Orleans locals alike, Marie is one of the most legendary figures in this area's lore. In a time when both women and people of color had far from equal status in society, Marie thrived as a midwife, healer, fortune teller and high practitioner of the Voodoo religion. Many believed her to be clairvoyant, others thought her a uniquely clever businesswoman – an enterprising hairdresser who listened to the gossip of guests in her salon, and then spun this gossip back out in the form of fortune telling and other manipulations based on what she'd learned. Her legend was furthered by her practice of taking on apprentices, often women cut in the same mold as she, who used her name, as well, leading the locals to believe that Marie could be in more than one place at a time, and that she was a woman who never aged. To this day, she remains a fixture of local lore, and people seek out her resting place to mark it with an x, and ask her reported spirit for a wish.
To some, she is a mysterious and fearsome voodoo witch, throwing curses on her enemies, teaching evil magics to women, and toying with forces best left to the underworld. To others, The Voodoo Queen was a healer, a spiritual leader, and a clever and towering force of good for both women and social outsiders.
This NPC was developed by DiceKnight Adventures' Head of Design, Joshua the Sage, in collaboration with @DevonBorkowskiArt, who did the illustration. The two travel the country working for Renaissance Faires, and in their spare time, they collect local legends and lore, and code them into 5e D&D Lore Packs, like this one.
- from the publisher's blurb