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Well, in the setting (for example), most people have only a passing or vague knowledge base about what waits for them beyond the veil of death, hardly more than hearsay from people claiming to be priests or knowledgeable on the matter. It isn't until they see first hand the divine, experience the embrace of darker powers, or take several ranks in the particular knowledge skills that their well of information grows enough to be really fearful about what is out there.
Or, to summarize, they'd sell their soul for the same reason people in real life might, they are completely ignorant of the value, existence, or ramifications of do so.
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I think any infernal contract that does not extract the signatories soul, but ensures they are going to do enough things that further the cause of Hell that their eventual destination is the LE plane will be seen as a win by a Phistophilus.
But remember that an Infernal Contract has three parts:
- An ongoing benefit to the signatory
- A payment the signatory must remand to the devil.
- A termination clause that may include a penalty if the signatory does not provide the agreed upon payment.
The penalty for "not giving the Devil what you promised them" is almost always going to be "your soul" but the payment requested potentially be anything that Hell or a specific Phistophilus wanted. Presumably the rules for the contracts a devil can offer mean the benefit and the payment have to be commensurate.
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From Paizo's Princes of Darkness (emphasis mine):
In return for fulfilling the terms of the contract, the devil receives the mortal’s soul when the signer dies or at whatever time the contract specifies. While a mortal’s soul is nearly always the target of such contracts, oftentimes devils occlude their desires, either within confusing legalese, sub-articles, and addendums, or by tailoring their fulfillment of the contract to provide the contractee with the means to damn himself.
Specifically, imps—knowing that few mortals would face damnation for their minor service—and osyluths regularly trade infernal or arcane wisdom for secrets mortals possess, later using such information to gain power over their former masters.
Alternatively, one might petition a devil to adopt the terms of someone else’s contract. A contract can only be revised if both the mortal adopter and the fiend agree to the revision of their own accords. Convincing a devil to revise its agreement often proves difficult, the fiends proving exceptionally paranoid of mortal trickery. However, should a devil be convinced that the soul attempting to adopt the contract is of greater value than the original contractee, the contract might be revised.
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What if you promise your soul to a demon, then stick your soul in a phylactery?
What? You can still have it. Lol.
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I'm about to use a devil, and his name is Razelvus. Essentially, the PC's will be trapped in this devil's demiplane upon entry. Razelvus has been imprisoned here for all eternity because of his shenanigans. Long story short, he led a coups d'etat and nearly took over the 9 hells, but ultimately failed-- and rather than destroying him, they imprisoned him in an "unfindable" demiplane like an unmarked grave so that madness would overtake him. The devils who imprisoned him didn't do so without purpose though, and it was because they needed to get rid of a weapon that they couldn't destroy. So this devil has been "gifted" the role of protecting 1 of 3 parts to a weapon. Razelvus knows that this 1/3 weapon is his salvation because he has absolutely nothing of value without it, so he will protect it at all costs.
The PC's already have 2 of the 3 parts to this weapon, and they found the dimensional coordinates to this place by talking to an extremely high level Gatemaster wizard. Razelvus will appear before them as soon as they enter this dimension, and he'll metaphorically "bar the gates" to prevent them from leaving, and then offer the deal: "the devil will give up the mcguffin without a fight and the PC's will ensure his freedom".
It's a pretty simple deal, and quite enticing, because the landscape they'll trudge through if they decline will be nothing short of a scorched/cursed wasteland (I'll be using Cursed Land rules). There are plenty of other challenges besides the landscape too. It will be an exceptionally grueling process trying to trudge through this demiplane to reach the devil himself (the previous version of Razelvus that the PC's met was just an illusion or a manifestation, real-Razelvus is actually chained up in at the end of the demiplane). He'll appear several times throughout their trek through the cursed landscape and ask: "ready to make a deal yet?"
However, what the PC's don't know is that if they do accept his offer, securing his freedom will put them bartering with every Contract Devil in the 9 hells, and some of these devils will flat out refuse to allow Razelvus to be set free. So this requires more bartering for help from Razelvus in order to deal with the devils who won't allow Razelvus's freedom, etc. Essentially, Razelvus knows that it will not be some simple ordeal when he offers them the contract "I give up the mcguffin without a fight and the PC's ensure my freedom". He knows that he's going to be chaining the PC's into an endless, nightmarish tribulation of servitude to himself and eternally trapped into furthering his goals.
TLDR; Devils are tricksy, and any deal they make highly benefits them and totally screws you. And there are different things to barter with than "souls". Give your devil goals and now their currency shifts from souls to other things like favors.
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Presumably the rules for the contracts a devil can offer mean the benefit and the payment have to be commensurate.
That sounds like a very naïve presumption. The devils will, of course, not correct that mistaken impression.
If a devil is going out of his way to make an offer, then there is profit to be made on his side. And that profit is typically at your expense. You have to fight and bargain hard to get anywhere near even.. and even then, it is usually a trick to get you into some subclause trap.
What if you promise your soul to a demon, then stick your soul in a phylactery?
What? You can still have it. Lol.
And thus started an exceptionally well funded undead slaying expedition.
No sir, you make your contract with Circiatto [or any of those loyal to him]... the Glutton Slaver would be pleased, me-thinks.
"Ahh, you got me, you clever Lich, you. Come, have a seat next to the fire (it's a h3ll joke)."
Your clever deceit would possibly earn you a small amount of respect, given that backhanded contracts are literally a devil's game. Circiatto is also the malebranche most concerned with the Undead... you're now a Lich... it makes sense.
Malebranche always have plans involving extended timelines... an immortal high-level spellcaster can be especially useful in such situations. Circiatto, specifically, would probably enjoy a Lich necromancer in his pocket. It's an easy way to start an army [or add to the most likely quite extensive army you have already have]. Regardless, any immortal high-level spellcaster can probably be made useful.
Presumably the rules for the contracts a devil can offer mean the benefit and the payment have to be commensurate.That sounds like a very naïve presumption. The devils will, of course, not correct that mistaken impression.
If a devil is going out of his way to make an offer, then there is profit to be made on his side. And that profit is typically at your expense. You have to fight and bargain hard to get anywhere near even.. and even then, it is usually a trick to get you into some subclause trap.
Well, what I meant is that a devil perhaps can't (definitely won't, but perhaps can't) offer you something that is significantly more valuable than what they're giving to the devil. The more you want out of them, the more they're going to extract in return.
Obviously they can offer slanted deals in the other direction.
Who measures the comparative value and across what timescale?
My money is on Pharasma and the timetable "the existence of the current cosmology". She sits as the judge of all souls, even those of the gods (and herself, at the end). She alone probably knows the real value of a single mortal soul, and everyone else guesses (and might get close). One can be quite sure that a Lawful Evil outsider is going to know how valuable a soul is worth (or nearly so) and try everything they can to not even give you a substantial fraction of it in return.
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Reverse the trope.
You want the soul of a loved one returned, but you don't want to give up your own soul? Okay, but now you owe the devil three wishes that will be specified later. Ofcourse, to fulfill these wishes you have to perform lawful evil acts, and the last wish is impossible to fulfill, but by then it's already too late. You've doomed your soul and you failed to save your loved one's soul, but at least you'll get to rot in hell together for all eternity. Also, you managed to increase "Phil's" influence on the material plane with your actions.
Uhm, wow. I think I need to see a therapist now.
What ever happened to wagering your children? Isn't offering your first born child a thing?
You would think that the evil nature of a devil would be willing to wager the soul of someone else... considering the horrible things you would likely have to do to secure someone else's soul for the devil... your soul will likely be damned in the process, as well.
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Because you don't own the soul of your unborn child. I mean, it's right there in the description of a contract devil.
The mortal must sign its true name to the document of its own free will.
It's the free will that matters here. Also, if you could sell your child's soul and still get damned, you might as well just sell your own soul. That's a terrible bargain.
But if you still want to mess up any children you might have in the future, you could just make a deal with a Patraavex.
Because you don't own the soul of your unborn child. I mean, it's right there in the description of a contract devil.
The mortal must sign its true name to the document of its own free will.It's the free will that matters here. Also, if you could sell your child's soul and still get damned, you might as well just sell your own soul. That's a terrible bargain.
But if you still want to mess up any children you might have in the future, you could just make a deal with a Patraavex.
Kids are easy to trick.
And me, my soul, surely 'tis already damned... I reserved my seat by the fire long ago.
Yeah, but it [one's own soul] can only be used once... or, at least, it can only be bartered with in good faith once. What if you want to make more than one deal?
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Yeah, but it [one's own soul] can only be used once... or, at least, it can only be bartered with in good faith once. What if you want to make more than one deal?
Devils hate this one trick!
Step 1. Make a deal with a devil.
Step 2. Have a shabti sovereign made in your likeness.
Step 3. Die and get judged by Pharasma within 2d12 hours and sent your shabti to hell in your place.
Step 4. Have someone cast raise dead 24 hours after you died.
Step 5. Make a deal with another devil.
It is kinda expensive though. If you have the kind of money for a shabti sovereign and raise dead, you might want to consider using that towards your goals instead of making a deal with a devil. Also, reincarnate is cheaper than raise dead and it might fool the psychopomps and the maruts that will be coming for you. At least, for a round or two.