Would a deity/fiend accept sacrifices from a non-follower? ( Vile Darkness )

[Conradine]

1) In your opinion, would an evil deity or an evil fiend accept ( and give the standard rewards ) "mercenary sacrifices"? ( sacrifices executed by a mage / sorcerer / godless cleric / ur priest )

2) Would a deity or fiend be upset if someone offered sacrifices to multiple entities in the same temple?

3) From a rule perspective, could that circumvent the rule of "1 sacrifice - 1 reward for day"? ( exemple: a demonologist build sanctuaries for many archdemons and offer multiple sacrifices to multpile fiends )

[Calthropstu]

Maybe.
Once.

Soon as the demon lords discovered the trickery, well let's just say demonic rewards come with a price, and the next sacrifice is him.

[Seppo87]

This is a free choice of an NPC (the entity you are offering a sacrifice to) and thus is 100% GM call.

As a GM, I would allow a Knowledge Religion check in advance to know wether this is or isn't a good idea

[Requiem_Jeer]

1: Depends. By and large, a deity will probably expect worship, but a demon prince or archdevil will probably be fine with a more mercantile sacrifice -> reward relationship.

2: Deity, almost certainly. Demon Prince/Archdevil? Probably.

3: I imagine that it varies. Some would be insulted that you sacrifice to multiple sources, others would have a peverse pride in your shrewdness. I'd imagine a good rule of thumb would be to keep in mind Abyssal/Infernal politics and don't sacrifice to two enemies. You might be able to get 2-3 a day without crossing that line.

[Conradine]

I was thinking about King Solomon , that built a temple with a sanctuary for every one of the 72 demons he conjured ( at least this is the story that runs between occultists ).

One solution could be to offer sacrifices only to allied friends ( like Dispater and Mephistopheles, or Belzebub and Belial ).

Or to separate the sanctuaries in small, single rooms so each one is technically a single temple.

[BWR]

1. This depends entirely on the god/fiend in question.
Some are no doubt jealous and demand total devotion, some will see it as an opportunity to get their hooks into someone and some probably don't give a rat's arse about anything you do.

2. this depends entirely on 1 and the temple in question
In certain settings there exist churches (institutions, not buildings) that worship sets of gods more or less equally. In temples of such churches you could pray to all patrons equally. But if you are in a temple dedicated to a single god and call on others, that would be extremely rude at best. Imagine sitting in a restaurant and loudly ordering food from several others to see who got to you first.

3. I would generally say no.
Partially for the reasons above, partially for mechanical balance. Of course, if this is a BBEG feel free to break the rules in cool ways, and if they make a solid effort to gain the 'good' will of multiple patrons prior to this I might let it slide for PCs as well.

[Necroticplague]

1) In your opinion, would an evil deity or an evil fiend accept ( and give the standard rewards ) "mercenary sacrifices"? ( sacrifices executed by a mage / sorcerer / godless cleric / ur priest )

2) Would a deity or fiend be upset if someone offered sacrifices to multiple entities in the same temple?

3) From a rule perspective, could that circumvent the rule of "1 sacrifice - 1 reward for day"? ( exemple: a demonologist build sanctuaries for many archdemons and offer multiple sacrifices to multpile fiends )
1.Sure, why not. Evil dieties should, above most others, be aware of proffesional 'don't really like you but this benefits both of us' relationships. Powerful fiends possibly even moreso.
2. Not sure how they'd know, or why'd they care. They might be a bit miffed if you're giving free souls to their rivals, but sacrificing to them in at least equal number should mollify them.
3.Yes, it technically would. It says the limit is 'Most deities give only one reward per day per temple, no matter how many victims are slain.' Which implies that A: there are some evil dieties that are already willing to to pony up multiple time, B: Since the limit is based on the diety, sucking up to multiple ones is a good idea.

[Pugwampy]

1. Depends on the sacrifice I suppose ?

2. Depends on the Fiend or Diety . I am sure some are jealous .

3. I doubt the polygamist cultist will have much time to enjoy his rewards if he spends the whole day appeasing multiple "Dread Lords." Sticking to one will allow for some adventuring.

[Red Fel]

Given that:
Any answer I give is pure opinion, as there really isn't much RAW on this point, and
When it comes to fiends, particularly Devils, I tend to be always right; therefore:

1) In your opinion, would an evil deity or an evil fiend accept ( and give the standard rewards ) "mercenary sacrifices"? ( sacrifices executed by a mage / sorcerer / godless cleric / ur priest )
Deity? No. Deities, whether Good or Evil, want to encourage their worshipers to be, well, worshipers. If you could receive a deity's blessing without actually offering any praise or reverence, why would anyone become a Cleric in the first place? That's not to say they can't - they're deities, they can do whatever they bloody well please - but rather that it would likely be a very uncommon situation.

Then again, Favored Souls are a thing, and they're simply people that deities like enough to straight-up give awesome power to. So it's possible.

Fiends? Definitely yes. Two reasons. One, sacrifices to a fiend are generally things of which that fiend can make use; they benefit from the exchange, and it helps them when people know that this is a fiend who always pays well on bargains. Two, fiends thrive on corrupting the world by offering the easy, expedient way over the Good, hard way, and making bargains with mortals achieves that, even if they're non-worshipers. And let's not forget that (ugh) not all fiends are Lawful; Chaotic fiends certainly shouldn't care if you've followed all the rules and regulations about worship and respect and such.


2) Would a deity or fiend be upset if someone offered sacrifices to multiple entities in the same temple?

It depends. For instance, some deities are pantheon-oriented. Thus, for example, if you offered general praise and sacrifice to the leader of a pantheon, then to the deity within said pantheon who specialized in what you wanted, it would be understood and accepted that you were doing it right; show respect for the boss, then seek out the specialist, all fine. On the other hand, some deities (and fiends) are particularly jealous, and won't stand for it. They might refuse to deal with a mortal who's being just a bit too disrespectfully opportunistic.


3) From a rule perspective, could that circumvent the rule of "1 sacrifice - 1 reward for day"? ( exemple: a demonologist build sanctuaries for many archdemons and offer multiple sacrifices to multpile fiends )

Is the rule "One sacrifice, one reward per day?" Or is it "Any fiend will only reward one sacrifice per day?" If it's the former, then it doesn't bypass it - a mortal may only receive one benefit per day, full stop. If the latter, technically nothing is stopping you from shopping around. I think, however, that the RAI reflects the former.

[Calthropstu]

1: Depends. By and large, a deity will probably expect worship, but a demon prince or archdevil will probably be fine with a more mercantile sacrifice -> reward relationship.

2: Deity, almost certainly. Demon Prince/Archdevil? Probably.

3: I imagine that it varies. Some would be insulted that you sacrifice to multiple sources, others would have a peverse pride in your shrewdness. I'd imagine a good rule of thumb would be to keep in mind Abyssal/Infernal politics and don't sacrifice to two enemies. You might be able to get 2-3 a day without crossing that line.

Actually, the worship of multiple deities is canon. Sailors for example will worship one primary deity, but will always grant offerings to talos, goddess of storms to avoid her wrath at sea.

[Flickerdart]

This really depends on the mythology (and therefore the setting). Historically, polytheistic faiths would permit - and even expect - everybody to sacrifice to every god. If you want to calm the seas before sailing, you pray to Poseidon. But if you were sailing to war, you would also pray to Athena, and Poseidon was not expected to have any beef with this arrangement.

And where there are prayers, there are sacrifices. There was no requirement that a sacrifice must be performed by a priest - families would often sacrifice in order to cure a loved one of an illness, for instance. And a modest family would scarcely have the resources to build multiple altars.

However, priests of a specific god were expected to venerate that god above any other, so if deities would have any issue with "mercenary" sacrifices, it would be priests of one god turning to another.

[Necroticplague]

Is the rule "One sacrifice, one reward per day?" Or is it "Any fiend will only reward one sacrifice per day?" If it's the former, then it doesn't bypass it - a mortal may only receive one benefit per day, full stop. If the latter, technically nothing is stopping you from shopping around. I think, however, that the RAI reflects the former.

the wording is one of those 'written without game terms in mind, wouldn't compile on a computer' things that pop up a lot. Exact wording is:
Most deities give only one reward per day per temple, no matter how many victims are slain.

Which seems closer to the latter.

[daremetoidareyo]

Let's look at this from a free market lens.

You, or your followers, or whatever set up a multi-use occultist sacrifice megaplex (MUOSM). At first, it'll be the demons and the occasional yugoloth. The freedom of MUOSM for maleficence is taken at face value. As the devils come through, however, they will demand certain changes that help commodify the value of the MUOSM. All of a sudden, cultists have quotas, as devils begin offering buy one, get one deals. These deals to fiends trying to out compete the other fiend groups: ultimately leading to a loosening standard of sacrifice for which fiends will work. Some demons are even willing to accept things as easy to get as dinner poultry, which the summoners are still allowed to cook and eat later.

Devils will offer premium services at premium prices, using each successive success as an opportunity to better regulate the sacrificial environment by using soft power over the cultists.

The demons will start demanding that the devil's be purged from the place if the cultists want to have power. Other Demons copy the MUOSM model in other locations to get away from the rules, while devils just begin steadfastly corporatizing each new libertarian demon franchise.

[Flickerdart]

These deals to fiends trying to out compete the other fiend groups: ultimately leading to a loosening standard of sacrifice for which fiends will work.
Until fiends start unionizing. Try your shoddy sacrificing, and you'll have to deal with the bargaining committee of the Fiends' Local 666. And you don't want them to protest - with literally infinity demons under their command, the picket lines will be eternally long.

[FearlessGnome]

Until fiends start unionizing. Try your shoddy sacrificing, and you'll have to deal with the bargaining committee of the Fiends' Local 666. And you don't want them to protest - with literally infinity demons under their command, the picket lines will be eternally long.

I can see devils unionizing - they are quite capable of cooperation (when they must), and there is little they love more than negotiating treaties that give them the right to demand that others act or not act in particular ways. But demons? They are infinite in number, and I'm sure you could find lots that were eager to sign up, but would they be able to keep bargains long term? Individual demon lords, sure, but I suspect unionizing large numbers of demons would be like trying to herd cats. Evil cats. With fangs. Who will murder local birds and mice just for fun, and toy with them. And won't be grateful or loyal when you take care of them.

[Extra Anchovies]

Evil cats. With fangs. Who will murder local birds and mice just for fun, and toy with them. And won't be grateful or loyal when you take care of them.

That kinda just sounds like normal cats, if you ask me :3

[Conradine]

There was a 3rd edition official adventure I bought ten or more years ago where a Druid / Cleric went half mad after studying fiendish flora too much, spent her days in a temple dedicated to several Neutreal deities, carefully balancing her prayer time between any god.

But it wasn't specified if she got powers from that, or if the deities noticed.

[daremetoidareyo]

I can see devils unionizing - they are quite capable of cooperation (when they must), and there is little they love more than negotiating treaties that give them the right to demand that others act or not act in particular ways. But demons? They are infinite in number, and I'm sure you could find lots that were eager to sign up, but would they be able to keep bargains long term? Individual demon lords, sure, but I suspect unionizing large numbers of demons would be like trying to herd cats. Evil cats. With fangs. Who will murder local birds and mice just for fun, and toy with them. And won't be grateful or loyal when you take care of them.

The history of unions is such that it was the birthing grounds for widespread anarchist ideals to flourish. Under demons the unions will be more likely to be more like gangs of new york, but not necessarily an unlikely occurrence. Devils would get into orderly enforcement and the battle between the two for domination over an open source of humans willing to sacrifice stuff to them to boost their power could lead to some messy politics. Politics so messy that fiends are organizing to amplify their power over starbucks brand MUOSM franchise boxing out smaller sacrificial alters with more character.