V's Contract: Terrible Reprecussion for hir spellcasting

[Menarker]

I dunno if anyone else thought of it, but I had a thought regarding the finer touches of the contract regarding V and the fiends... I hope I haven't made any mistakes in interpreting the SRD or V's contract.


Assumptions I'm making.

Fiends are honest about only being able to control V up to the exact time limit that the splice was used. And that'll take no less than the exact time.

That if Sabine is eligible for that 10% finder fee, she'll take advantage of the theory in question.

That the Fiends be able to scry and maintain a direct/intimate viewpoint on V's actions/behaviour via BloodScreen TV.

That activation of the "soul control" effect can be turned on and off at will. For the purpose of this theory, I'll state that the connection must be on for as least a second.

And lastly and most importantly, that all of V's spells require a few seconds to cast, due to requring verbal, somatic, or some sort of concentration time needed.


If all of these are true, then V has tragically screwed up his/her spellcasting capabilities to a degree, by enabling the fiends to filter any and all spells for which they do not approve of.

Example being if V attempts to cast Maximized Fireball on a prone Nale in an encounter with the Linear Guild, Sabine or one of the fiends can just chime in with the control, pre-empting that spell by breaking the mental connection thus forcing V to fail hir concentration check. Thus, unless V is using hir spells for purposes that do not conflict with the Linear Guild or the Fiends' goals or wellbeing, V's loses her spellcasting ability (which would also cause a dramatic sense of failure especially on hindsight). It would be akin to a light switch that is turned on and electricity flows in a circuit in the attempt to turn on the light that is hir magic, but for a breaker (the fiends) to block the current at their whim.

To make matters worse, let's say that one fiend has 10 minutes and both of the others 30. (Excluding Sabine's 10% from the mix). That would mean that the only way for V to be free would be to cast spells that is considered a viable threat to their plans/purposes forcing them to use the contract to force-fail concentration check at the maximum of 4200 TIMES! FOUR THOUSAND and TWO HUNDRED SPELLS. 600 for the one that controlled the Necro soul and 1800 for the other two. (That is of course assuming that the soul control is used for no other purpose than for spell interruption.) 1 second for each soul control "spellbreaking purpose" that is interjected in the middle of a spell. Even if the time required to remain in control was even a bit more restrictive, it would still be deadly/annoying enough in any form of situation where arcane power is required.

Thoughts?

[Foryn Gilnith]

This is a terribly cunning idea and actually qualifies as a perversion of the verbal contract, rather than just common sense. However, control of a soul may not have much influence over V's body or mind.

[Menarker]

Well, all it requires it to do is stop the concentration or the spell in mid-action...

V: "Maximized Fire--"

Fiend: "STOP!"

Possessed V: *Stops for a moment interrupting the spell. Fiend breaks concentration and reverts back to normal, aware that she/he is no longer casting and target is not remotely toasty.*

V: "DAMN IT! Dispel---"

Sabine: "I can't let you do that!"

Possessed V: "Eh?" *Sabine breaks bond*

V: NO!!!


Slightly complicated setup, but easy to portray... ^^;



Would be worth noting that Explosive Runes which is cast and prepared in advance might maintain a bit of usefulness if attached to portable items without the fiends or Sabine realizing what they are (Otherwise, they'll possess her and try to remove/discard the item.)

Magic Censorship is a pain in the arse. =P

[Souhiro]

Well, that would be enrevesated, but is in the line of the comic!

[Jair Barik]

eh wouldn't surprise me in the least

when you think about it the whole contract is lies and deception.
We pretty much know that they have a loophole with when and how they can use their time controlling V
We know they lied about the alignment change
And we know they lied about Durkon's scroll of resurrection thus making the alternate method of defeating the dragon near pointless apart from as a means to manipulate V

Really they could get away with almost anything due to the loose nature of the contract and that they only "outlined" it in their meeting with V

[73 Bits of Lint]

Fiends are honest about only being able to control V up to the exact time limit that the splice was used. And that'll take no less than the exact time.
The fiends never said anything about control, they said that they'd "get her soul," and even mentioned that she would "spend time" with them (as in, time outside her body and in Hell).
I think it is more likely that the fiends are planning to wait until V is in a position to be useful to them, and then offer her another hit off the arcane crack pipe.

[Omegonthesane]

The fiends never said anything about control, they said that they'd "get her soul," and even mentioned that she would "spend time" with them (as in, time outside her body and in Hell).
I think it is more likely that the fiends are planning to wait until V is in a position to be useful to them, and then offer her another hit off the arcane crack pipe.

Possibly, but the general idea is that if his soul isn't in his body, they could put another soul - say, their own - in there to take control. Mind you, I have difficulty believing the rules would allow for V to be controlled for a period less than 1 round, which slightly reduces how gimped he is against the Linear Guild if the theory is right.

This would be best worked around by Celia deciding to tag along with the Order as a backup caster - especially likely if they realise what happened with V and decide to stop completely trusting him. Also, I've seen nothing that would confirm that her distaste for violent solutions to problems extends to fiends like Sabine. Evil hobbos, sure, but a hobbo can be redeemed quite plausibly - unlike a literal embodiment of chaos and evil.

[TETanglebrooke]

i believe the contract said that the repayment was defered until V's death.

[Bibliomancer]

Actually, they never say when they get control of the soul. V assumes they get it for eternity after she dies, but they are quick to correct her on this. They specifically say that they only get the soul for an amount of time equal to each individual soul bound, but they don't mention whether this can occur while V is alive.

Also, it would probably only be 700 spells, given that the time they control V is probably measured in rounds.

Lastly, this theory would only be applicable if they have the ability to fine-tune their control of V, which means unlikely given how dramatic the soul splice was. Personally, I expect that the soul debt will hang in the background until some critical time, and then the fiends will step in and gain control of the snarl/destroy the order/make a deal with Redcloak.

[Jair Barik]

Actually, they never say when they get control of the soul. V assumes they get it for eternity after she dies, but they are quick to correct her on this. They specifically say that they only get the soul for an amount of time equal to each individual soul bound, but they don't mention whether this can occur while V is alive.

Also, it would probably only be 700 spells, given that the time they control V is probably measured in rounds.

Lastly, this theory would only be applicable if they have the ability to fine-tune their control of V, which means unlikely given how dramatic the soul splice was. Personally, I expect that the soul debt will hang in the background until some critical time, and then the fiends will step in and gain control of the snarl/destroy the order/make a deal with Redcloak.

Or perhaps not...
So far if we look at recurring themes the really obvious things are often resolved relatively quickly. It is the more discreet and forgettable things that lurk around waiting to spring unexpectedly e.g. MBD, Sabine's planar trip etc.
Had the fiends disappeared from the strip implying that the soul bind would only be relevant upon V's death a sudden unexpected appearance would be more likely. As it stand their interference is somewhat predictable.

The next unpredictable twist may well be something like an order of druids ambushing Xykon for revenge, Durkon's slighted ex returning for revenge, the king of somewhere appearing etc. random plots/ lines that we will have entirely forgotten about but while suddenly rear up and surprise us with their importance.

[Random832]

I just thought of something (spoilered for speculation)
if they twist the deal around like that (which should, in the real world anyway, invalidate things, since a contract requires a 'meeting of minds'), Qarr may have something to say about it - not only is he Lawful, he has an (arguably unresolved) obligation to V specifically.

[David Argall]

And just why would these fiends go to all this trouble just to nerf a mere 13th level caster?
V may be no novice, but we see Kubota, with major ability to take over an entire major city, gets a form letter rejection. This splice is described as a major effort, which will be ruined if V dies. What's in it for the fiends if they merely get the right to veto some of her spells?
Our basic theory of taking over V when he is in some relationship with the next gate make sense. This idea doesn't.

[veti]

And just why would these fiends go to all this trouble just to nerf a mere 13th level caster?

My sentiments exactly. For them to mess about with V's spellcasting in this kind of "nuisance" way would alert V to their capabilities, at which point she'd probably retire from adventuring and spend the rest of her life in a research library somewhere, either near her family or far away from them, depending how badly she was scared.

Sabine is another matter, though. If she really can exact her "10% finder's fee" as hypothesized, what would there be to stop her? If I were the fiends, and I thought Sabine might have figured that out, I'd offer her a handsome compensation to forego her claim.

[Menarker]

Well, the hard part is that the fiends and Sabine don't have to constantly use it like a blungeon. They could just negate the most threatening and most intimidating spell that would impede their plans every once in a while, making it seem more like a unfortunate affliction that passes and goes. Something that subtle, in conjuction with any other benefits of the contract would be devasting already. There is nothing that stops the fiends from using the rest of the time to use V when she/he is near any gate or relevant structure as well as this way to keep V in check when she/he is in control of hir facaulties.

[Hexen_Hase]

I agree that the fiends likely have more in plan than just blocking casts of a mid-level wizard. It makes more sense that they would wait until V reaches a higher level, that way they can make better use of her ability. Or maybe they just need V to act in a critical moment (unleashing the Snarl or something to that degree?), it's hard saying.

Given that there's a huge unknown as to when exactly the IFCC (and maybe Sabine) can call in the deal you could really speculate just about anything on the spectrum that V is capable of doing and it will hold at least a little water.

[Skorj]

Wow, I thought this one was obvious:
V will be possessed right at the critical moment when control of the gate is being fought for, giving the fiends control of the gate/snarl and leverage for power over their respective planes.
But maybe I'm just odd in thinking that.

[Trickywiggy]

eh wouldn't surprise me in the least

when you think about it the whole contract is lies and deception.
We pretty much know that they have a loophole with when and how they can use their time controlling V
We know they lied about the alignment change
And we know they lied about Durkon's scroll of resurrection thus making the alternate method of defeating the dragon near pointless apart from as a means to manipulate V

Really they could get away with almost anything due to the loose nature of the contract and that they only "outlined" it in their meeting with V

I thought he had a scroll of sending not resurrection, they are both ten minute casting times so either way it would be the same time consumed.