Seeking assistance in checking a demonic contract for loopholes


Advice


Hi!

I'm looking to offer one of my PC's who is actively (and secretly) looking to sell his soul to the devil a contract. It has been thoroughly discussed with the player and he is very exited about it. He'll basically become the villain over time without the rest of the party knowing. Said devil will be a demonic NPC capable of granting him profane bonuses to CHA, as this fits this particular PC very well (he is addicted to becoming supernaturally beautiful).

This devil NPC would not make any mistakes in formulating this contract, so I was hoping you guys could help me perfect it before it is signed.

To <PC Name>
Congratulations, the soul of <Previous storyline main antagonist> has just been sent back to Hell. As such, the only conclusion to be drawn is that you have succeeded in stopping him. You might yet possess a hero’s soul worthy of bargaining. Below you will find the terms of my offer; reply swiftly.

On this document, all the standard terms of the Nine Hells apply. <Editor's note: I put this in to screw him over with later. These standard terms are not readily available and will allow me to mess with him by springing nasty surprises on him>
This contract will be signed by the following parties:
Master: The <Devil NPC>, Grand keeper of the Hellplanes
Servant: The Human known as <PC Name>, Adventurer Extraordinaire

This contract must be signed of own free will, any form of mind control at the time of signing will render the signature placed below to be null and void.

Offer by the Master:
The Servant shall be granted beauty, charm, style and moxie far beyond Human standards, to be granted by the Master in increments upon completion of missions given to the Servant.

These missions shall be given in person, face to face, as will be the rewards.
Any medium of communication that allows for these criteria may be used as a substitute for a meeting. Other means of communication will not be valid for these purposes.

The content and details of these missions will be determined by the Master, depending on his needs and preferences at the time. They are subject to change on the Master’s discretion, although the conditions of personal presence noted above must still be satisfied.

Payment by the Servant:
The payment of one (1) soul of sufficiënt value is due at the moment of the Servant’s death.

The soul of the Servant himself is hereby qualified as “of sufficiënt value”.
Any other soul may be offered, either by the Servant or by the tribute itself by declaring it has come to satisfy the debt to be payed, but the Master has complete discretion as to accepting or denying such an offer. This replacement must also make the statement of offering itself for substitution of its own free will.

Overdue payments will be handled as per the standard terms of the Nine Hells.

Protection clause
To prevent double crossings and betrayals, upon any hostilities against the Master by the Servant, payment will be due immediately, regardless of the status of life of the Servant.
In this case, the Servant’s soul will be forfeit immediately and without notice, regardless of other souls having been offered and/or accepted.

Master Servant
<Signed in blood>


one idea I saw elsewhere on here was some writing in invisible ink somewhere on it - as you're want to mess with him that could be a good idea - if it's on the front maybe some kind of check to notice that there's a weird gap somewhere on the page where extra writing could be, if on the back a check to feel a slightly different surface on the back when they hold it


One potential loophole is that while the contract prevents the signer from killing the devil, it has no such caveats against him using other flunkies to do his dirty work for him (especially easy if he uses his super charisma too). Similarly he's still able to pull a Constantine and make similar deals with other fiends of equal power in order to lead to a struggle for his soul and (hopefully) have the fiends declare such efforts not worth the violence and just keep him alive. There's also the standard becoming immortal to rengage on paying (such as becoming a lich).


Demonic or diabolic?


Demons are not known for such contracts, so I guess the OP means diabolic (and the reference to Hells supports that).

Sovereign Court

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Is it intended to be an attractive contract? It's got some rather blatant "I'm going to screw you over here" bits in it.

The Exchange

Tarik Blackhands wrote:
One potential loophole is that while the contract prevents the signer from killing the devil, it has no such caveats against him using other flunkies to do his dirty work for him (especially easy if he uses his super charisma too). Similarly he's still able to pull a Constantine and make similar deals with other fiends of equal power in order to lead to a struggle for his soul and (hopefully) have the fiends declare such efforts not worth the violence and just keep him alive. There's also the standard becoming immortal to rengage on paying (such as becoming a lich).

Here's a slight re-write incorporating these points for you, as well as a couple things of my own.

There are of course lots of questions and options available for potential loopholes in the 'Standard Terms of the Nine Hells'.

===================================
To <PC Name>
Congratulations, the soul of <Previous storyline main antagonist> has just been sent back to Hell. As such, the only conclusion to be drawn is that you have succeeded in stopping him. You might yet possess a hero’s soul worthy of bargaining. Below you will find the terms of my offer; reply swiftly.

On this document, all the standard terms of the Nine Hells apply. <Editor's note: I put this in to screw him over with later. These standard terms are not readily available and will allow me to mess with him by springing nasty surprises on him>
This contract will be signed by the following parties:
Master: The <Devil NPC>, Grand keeper of the Hellplanes
Servant: The Human known as <PC Name>, Adventurer Extraordinaire

This contract must be signed of own free will, any form of mind control at the time of signing will bind both the servant and the creature controlling the servant to this contract.

Offer by the Master:
The Servant shall be granted beauty, charm, style and moxie far beyond Human standards, to be granted by the Master in increments upon completion of missions given to the Servant.

These missions shall be given in person, face to face, as will be the rewards.
Any medium of communication that allows for these criteria may be used as a substitute for a meeting. Other means of communication will not be valid for these purposes.

The content and details of these missions will be determined by the Master, depending on his needs and preferences at the time. They are subject to change on the Master’s discretion, although the conditions of personal presence noted above must still be satisfied. Failure to complete all aspects of a mission will result in forfeiture of the entire reward for the mission. (Optional: Failure to complete 3 separate missions will end the contract with delivery of payment due by the servant immediately.)

Payment by the Servant:
The payment of one (1) soul of sufficiënt value is due at the moment of the Servant’s death. The soul of the Servant himself is hereby qualified as “of sufficiënt value”. Once signed, ownership of the soul of the servant is immediately transfered to the Master. The Master will allow the servant to continue to possess the soul until such time as the servant dies, the terms of the contract end, or another valid soul is offered, accepted by the master, and delivered to the master for payment.

Any other soul may be offered, either by the Servant or by the tribute itself by declaring it has come to satisfy the debt to be payed, but the Master has complete discretion as to accepting or denying such an offer. This replacement must also make the statement of offering itself for substitution of its own free will, with full knowledge of the details of this contract.

Overdue payments will be handled as per the standard terms of the Nine Hells.

Protection clause
To prevent double crossings and betrayals, upon any hostilities against the Master by, or on behalf of, the Servant, delivery of payment will be due immediately, regardless of the status of life of the Servant.
In this case, the Servant’s soul will be forfeit immediately and without notice, regardless of other souls having been offered and/or accepted.

Master Servant
<Signed in blood>
===================================


I couldnt help but notice that there is very little that should attract someone to sign that paper. I would take away half of the text out and include them on "standard terms of hell".

Quote:

Payment by the Servant:

The payment of one (1) soul of sufficiënt value is due at the moment of the Servant’s death. The soul of the Servant himself is hereby qualified as “of sufficiënt value”. Once signed, ownership of the soul of the servant is immediately transfered to the Master. The Master will allow the servant to continue to possess the soul until such time as the servant dies, or the terms of the contract end, or another valid soul is offered, accepted by the master, and delivered to the master for payment.

Overdue payments will be handled as per the standard terms of the Nine Hells.

Protection clause
To prevent double crossings and betrayals, upon any hostilities against the Master by, or on behalf of, the Servant, delivery of payment will be due immediately, regardless of the status of life of the Servant.
In this case, the Servant’s soul will be forfeit immediately and without notice, regardless of other souls having been offered and/or accepted.

On the protection clause, add something saying that the servant soul is free if the master attempts to kill the servant, or cause his death indirectly.

That way the character will feel "safe" against this devil.


I'd suggest expanding this paragraph:

Offer by the Master:
The Servant shall be granted beauty, charm, style and moxie far beyond Human standards, to be granted by the Master in increments upon completion of missions given to the Servant.

Beauty, charm, style, and moxies are all far too vague.

Feel free to dwell at length at exactly what will be provided (including but not limited to,..... <insert list of affordances>, and make sure that the language sounds empowering to the suckermortal. Add lots of flowery language about the benefits, which will both bulk out the contract (to make it less likely they'll read every line) and make them concentrate on the good stuff. Add in lots of shalls, wills, and musts that apply to the devil to make it clear that Hell shall, will, and must provide all of these things -- none of these "oh, we promised you X, Y and Z, but we're only giving you Q instead."


Here's a nice one:

Quote:


On this document, all the standard terms of the Nine Hells apply consuetudo pro lege servatur. In the event of any dispute, both parties agree to arbitration coram diaboli de lege ferende et non lata.

First of all, love that Dog Latin.

Second, the first phrase itself means "custom is held as law," which means that there are no written standard terms; it's whatever is customary in the Nine Hells, and the interpretation can (and will) change at the whlm of the person who picks the customs to apply. Naturally, the suckermortal will be as familiar with the customs of Hell as the devils who are writing and enforcing this contract.

Basically, that one phrase means "we have any loophole we like just by claiming `customary' interpretation."

Of course, you need an arbitration provision as well, and I have provided one. The Dog Latin means "by a panel of devils, according to the law as it should be and not as it is."

Really, that final sentence says "the contract says what we say it does, irrespective of what is written."


Thanks guys!
I've gratefully incorporated your changes, and I feel like you've helped me craft a better experience :D if anyone can come up with something more, please don't hesitate.

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