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View Full Version : Gamer Tales "You tricked the Wizard!"



Protato
2018-05-06, 10:13 PM
I joined a new game of 5e recently, and in the first session, we already got conned out of our souls. The party consists of:

Mysteria, a Wizard with a Raven familiar, and is obsessed with death.

Oleander (my character), an Earth Genasi Barbarian that's loud, and a bit suspicious of others.

Belle, the Tiefling mentioned in the story, and a master of Sleight of Hand tricks and con-artistry.

Cool Fella, an Aaracokcra Shadow Monk that wears sunglasses, and has small gummi sunglasses to put on his food.

Netorc, a Wild Magic Sorcerer missing his eye.

We had to sign a contract given by Belle. Mysteria rolled Investigation (+6) to find out if we got a raw deal, and we did. We'd get half the payment according to the contract and we were warned. Belle agreed to pay us the proper amount, but she had a final trick up her sleeve: Invisible ink, written in Infernal. She now owns the ENTIRE party's souls. None of the party knows either, its strictly meta-knowledge. But at least we're payed well now. All this was the first session, and I love it already. It's also had a lot of work put into it by the DM over a year or so, and my biggest hope is that it keeps producing stories like this.

Arbane
2018-05-07, 02:31 PM
I can't help thinking that even most Hell Courts would throw out that contract. (But as long as you're having fun, it's all good.)

JoeJ
2018-05-07, 03:11 PM
I can't help thinking that even most Hell Courts would throw out that contract. (But as long as you're having fun, it's all good.)

I, for one, would have no problem believing that a fiend would try and trick somebody into adhering to an invalid contract, gambling that the victim would have neither the knowledge nor the courage to challenge it in a Hell Court.

denthor
2018-05-07, 05:07 PM
Hey Red Fel. Am I wrong again or would this invisible ink thing hold up? It seems very deceptive for a Lawful Evil devil.

From a demon sure.

Beneath
2018-05-07, 05:29 PM
It's not much of a win for a devil to be like "you activated my trap card" like that. The better win is when you walk into it knowing what you're getting into and agree to it anyway because it's bargained circles around you and come up at just the right circumstances.

On the other hand, devil. It can do what it wants and the law is a weapon to use against you.

Red Fel
2018-05-07, 08:19 PM
One of the big Pact Primeval rules is that any sale of souls must be knowing and voluntary. You can't sell your soul unwittingly, you can't be tricked into it. Signing what you think is an autograph when there's an invisible Faustian pact written there won't fly in any Court in Nessus.

Now, that's not necessarily a problem. Revealing the invisible ink clause at a later time, in order to make the party believe that they are damned, in order to convince them that there is no harm in acting like it, is a perfectly legitimate strategy. Many is the foolish soul who, mistakenly believing himself lost, indulges in behaviors which guarantee him a place in the Pit.

Devils are totally fine with trickery, is my point.

But yeah. As a contract, that wouldn't be very enforceable as-is. That said? If the players are having fun, let them have fun. Rule of Fun trumps pretty much everything at the table.

Solaris
2018-05-08, 05:07 PM
The real devils are all laughing at Belle for having to resort to such amateurish trickery.

Psyren
2018-05-10, 11:39 PM
That said? If the players are having fun, let them have fun. Rule of Fun trumps pretty much everything at the table.

Certainly, but that leaves little to actually discuss beyond "grats on having fun."

Then again, it seems pretty unanimous that this contract wouldn't fly, so there's not much to discuss there either. Hopefully all the players are equally happy with this plot turn.

JoeJ
2018-05-10, 11:45 PM
Certainly, but that leaves little to actually discuss beyond "grats on having fun."

Then again, it seems pretty unanimous that this contract wouldn't fly, so there's not much to discuss there either. Hopefully all the players are equally happy with this plot turn.

I can actually see this being a fantastic adventure hook if the PCs come to realize that the contract probably isn't valid and they have to figure out how to get to an infernal judge with jurisdiction and apply the right combination of legal reasoning and bribery to get the contract thrown out.

Mechalich
2018-05-10, 11:55 PM
One thing worth noting is that not only is that the party could learn that the contract isn't in force if one of them dies and either gets brought back or contacted via speak with dead (or if the party members try to contact their dead friend and the fiend can't supply a suitably convincing illusion) since unless the character in question is already lawful evil their soul is going to be somewhere else and not in the clutches of the devils.

JoeJ
2018-05-11, 12:02 AM
One thing worth noting is that not only is that the party could learn that the contract isn't in force if one of them dies and either gets brought back or contacted via speak with dead (or if the party members try to contact their dead friend and the fiend can't supply a suitably convincing illusion) since unless the character in question is already lawful evil their soul is going to be somewhere else and not in the clutches of the devils.

It would probably be more fun, though, if the contract is treated as binding until the PCs successfully challenge it in a Hell court.

ErebusVonMori
2018-05-11, 10:37 AM
I'd love if it the players sue the devil for damages.

HalezYeah
2018-05-11, 11:32 AM
puts a whole new swing on selling your soul for money.