This is a bit of custom content for an adventure I'm running and I was looking for some ideas.
What happened:
An female elf druid (player) who is the grand diplomat for her kingdom released a non-epic demon from petrification believing she was an half-elf bard trapped for at least a millenia. In return the disguised demon offered to do any favor that she asked, of course the pc not knowing asked her to help free her father*. The demon asked her if this was her wish and the player concurred the demon smiled and cursed itself that until the deed was done or she was released that it must do everything in its power to release him. Soon after the demon telepathically informed her of its plans to slaughter each and ever elf including possibly elven royalty to release her father at which point she begs the demon not to. At this point the demon offers** the player the chance to relenquish the curse if she would do a deed for the demon instead. She agrees only if the demon will not leave the bounds of the Tanglebriar or other planes and now owes the demon a favor.
*Her father is an elven ambassador in Kyonin who had been put into house arrest for supposedly waisting to many resources on developing good relations with his daughter's kingdom.
**At this point the demon has explained to the girl's father that she has made a contract with his daughter and that if he is willing to do it a favor she will release his daughter from her current contract.
Now, I'm planning on holding the favors over her head for a while, but I'm interested to see what people think I should have her do. She's a high ranking member of her country's government and she is also trying to forge good relations with Kyonin. The demon itself is a servant of the greater demon inhabiting the Tanglebriar, Treerazor. I would assume that the demon itself wants to maximize the effect of its contract. The player also now carries an evil mark that brands her as the property of the demon.
I thought devils did these sorts of things more than demons. I could be wrong, but that's really irrelevant anyway.
What immediately popped into my head was religion. Is the demon strong enough to have his own worshipers? Does he himself worship a more powerful entity (doesn't necessarily have to be a god)? He could be interested in having his new toy establishing his religion in the backbone of the nation. It might not be advertised as "Demons 2012," but it might be fronted as some sort of neutral group that's secretive yet known (such as the Freemasons or Illuminati), and the higher up you go in ranks, the more and more you are connected to the entity being worshiped. This could get really complex, and I am sitting in class, so I can't go into great detail, but that's a good baseline for you to work with.
There's also always just having the elf "prep" sacrifices. Sending a group of soldiers/merchants/settlers to a far off area where the demon and his kin are waiting for lunch. I think this is more in line with demons ('cause like I said, I think demons are CE while devils are LE), but you can do whatever you want, it's your world.
Well, for starters if the demon serves Treerazor AND is able to get into the upper echelons of Kyonin society why on earth would it tip it's hand by threatening to kill a bunch of elves (a very straight forward and not very clever or insidious tactic IMHO).
Seems to me like Treerazor would have ordered the demon to stay put and keep up the fake, maybe even help the PCs family in Kyonin in order to better position his subordinate and get more info and spy on the elves, the demon eventually becoming a spy under deep cover.
But it's not my campaign and that's not what happened, so......
Whatever favor the PC is forced to do you might want to include a way for a clever player to re-trap the demon, this would keep up with the cross, double cross back and forth you've already established. Maybe contact whatever forces imprisoned the demon in the first place, which might open up a whole new can of worms.
Yes, devils are more into the contract busines, but since the demon is a succubus, I figured she might want to amuse herself and entrap a politically and personally powerful mortal in a web of conspiracy and corruption.
The party just dealt with an evil cult so I'll probably try something else. I thought about using a king Arthur variant and have her place some evil item in the king's firstborn son's crib that would make him evil like Mordred. Of course the King is another player character and the queen just gave birth to 4 children!
Treerazor as far as I know can grant spells. As far as the player tricking the demon, I would love it if the pc went that way, or tried to suggest a favor that they could twist.
Well, for starters if the demon serves Treerazor AND is able to get into the upper echelons of Kyonin society why on earth would it tip it's hand by threatening to kill a bunch of elves (a very straight forward and not very clever or insidious tactic IMHO).
One problem -- it's a demon, it doesn't need a reason.
That is honestly part of the the problem of a deal with a demon, just act like a little kid -- demand everything and once you get it threaten to still do what you threatened the first time if you don't get stuff you didn't ask for the first time.
This is the real terror of a 'demon deal' -- no matter what you do you are still unsure that the demon will uphold their end of the bargain.
Unlike a deal with me where you know you'll get what you want and exactly what you'll have to pay for it. I won't renege on the deal or go around making three other deals off of your one, and of course all dealings are confidential*.
Provided you ensure that such is included in the bargain, no guarantees are implied or offered with this statement. Services vary by location and conditions of soul. All warranties void in states they are not valid in. Conditions and terms vary, see your infernal Contract Broker for details.
And here's the twist.
The demon never really cast a "curse" in the first place, the mark of the curse that the player has recieved is simply the gift that a succubus can bestow upon their favored pets, a profane link that enhances them and provides a telepathic link.
The real curse is that if the PC doesn't perform the favor is that she will have a significantly powerful demon out there with it out for her. This particular succubus has a few character levels.
So in the end, though under some false duress, everything she does is of her own free will.
I'd also like to point out the PC is not really in a DEAL so much as she is being blackmailed to do things.
I am assuming that no papers were signed and no bloodpacts were forged and no pentagrams were drawn, etc.
It really is just good old fashioned bullying.
Do what I say or a bunch of elves die!!
Not really a "deal" just intimidation and blackmail.
Either way if you really wanted to be evil have the succubus adopt a small child and begin to raise it. Make sure the PC(or PCs) see this and the demon dotes of the little tyke and pampers him, all the while dropping hints to the PCs that the child will become a vessel for a powerful evil. Have the demon make the PC deliever said child from point A to point B and while the little kid says things like "I'm special!" and other things that can be misunderstood out of context, then see what the PCs do.
If they've been pushed hard enough they may do something terrible to a completely innocent kid, and TA DA! Demon wins!!
In other words, pull a Curse of the Black Freighter on them and watch their faces when they realize it was them the demon wanted all along.
Wow... I think that's what I'm going to do.
I'll have the demon's favor be to have uncontested visitation with the king's first born son or something of that nature.
This really is meant to be a roleplaying threat moreso than something of the "give me all your treasure" kind of thing.
Maybe the succubus should insist that the PC help her smuggle herself into the King's bedchamber disguised as the queen so as to breed a half-demon half-sibling to the true heir, who would be able to pursue a legitimate claim to the throne (not that the demon cares that much about legitimacy of course) (after, of course, offing the other four children)
I like that alot too.... maybe I should do a combination of things.
Now these are arthurian plots... are there any norse stories that involve this kind of situation?
This seems like a situation more in keeping with the infernal rather than the abyssal. Why would the demon even need the druid to do that? She is more than able to do all of that on its own. This is more in line with the powers of the Abyss,
What does the player think about this? Good RPing opportunity or cheesy DM trap?
I don’t see where the PC had much of a choice.
The player loves the idea, especially since it ties so much into her background and brings it into the main plot. Everything from the threat of Treerazor to the problems with her father the ambassador are things she wrote up, additionally since another player is playing her half-brother he is getting involved as well.
As far as the drama of owing a demon a favor, it makes for great roleplaying and in the meantime she gets the profance bonus of being tied to a succubus and I always have an npc to chime in with, even when they are out in the woods.
As far as choice, the players took the disguised half elf at face value, something they haven't done with many other npcs this game, especially ones with magical spells they have to free them from. She could have refused the favor and even more she asked for the elf to help her father from the large political game he is in. Even moreso, there's actually no binding agreement here the demon is just another villian.
Then it sounds cool, go for it. Great idea. Sounds fun too.