How'd I do with this Warlock contract?

[FunSize]

Been DMing a game for a while and the plot is leading toward a siege on an incoming army of elves, treants and dragons. Homebrew setting, long story. My players decided to try and gather allies they met through the campaign and the Warlock asked if she can ask her Patron for help.

The Patron is a Devil, so naturally asked what's in it for him. Thinking on my feet, I told her he gave her a shiny black sphere and a contract. This is what I came up with:

The Contract:

The contractor (Atk'vil'atun, Seventh Adjunct of the Fourth Flame of Vengeance, Lord of the Embers of Regret, Keeper of the Horns that Pierce the Heavens in the End Times) hetero referred to as "Party A" shall bequeath upon to the contractee (the mortal Vilaerys) hereto referred to as "Party B" a single Vitriol Orb. The willful destruction by Party B of said Orb upon ground on the Prime Material Plane that has been soiled with the blood of mortals spilled in violence shall signify acceptance of the remainder of this contract (for the sake of brevity, this act shall be referred to as "Acceptance" for the remainder of this document.).

Upon Acceptance, Party B shall have immediate access to a Legion of Infernals of a number of no less than two dozen and no more than three score (hereto referred to as "Party C"). Party C shall obey all orders from Party B without hesitation, save orders that directly conflict with the interests and obligations of Party A, for a term not to exceed two and one half days (MPT) following Acceptance. Services rendered by Party C may only be conducted on the Prime Material Plane, within a span of Thirteen Leagues of Party B. Upon completion of the term of service Party C will be freed to their own jurisdiction.

In return for the services of Party C, Party B shall bequeath unto Party A service above and beyond those outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES as dictated by Party A. Services shall provide Consideration within reason to the above services by Party C, within a period of time lasting Four Seasons (MPT) can be defined as follows:

Party A shall designate targets for Consideration via a unique mark visible only to Party B. Upon witnessing said mark for Consideration Party B will have 48 hours (MPT) to render upon said Consideration a cruel and untimely demise, banishment to their home plane, or utter oblivion as appropriate to the Marked Party. Likely Marked Parties may include, but are not limited to: Hated Abyssals, Meddling Celestials, Insubordinate Infernals, Unruly Primordials, Particularly Troublesome Mortals, and any to which Party A has a specifically particular unliking.

Failure by Party B to provide adequate Consideration within the above time frame or failing to meet the 48 hour (MPT) requirement will result in the infliction of punitive recovery at the discretion of Party A. Punitive measures may include, but are not limited to, Immense Physical Pain, Temporary Loss of Senses, Collection of Memories, Reduction of Lifespan, Seizure of Love, Temporary Seizure of Emotion, Temporary Surrender of Benefits Outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES, or Monetary Compensation.

Should Party B wish to nullify the possibility of Acceptance prior to Acceptance, Party B need only hold the Orb by their heart and whisper "I shall always hold my Master above all others."

[Malifice]

Been DMing a game for a while and the plot is leading toward a siege on an incoming army of elves, treants and dragons. Homebrew setting, long story. My players decided to try and gather allies they met through the campaign and the Warlock asked if she can ask her Patron for help.

The Patron is a Devil, so naturally asked what's in it for him. Thinking on my feet, I told her he gave her a shiny black sphere and a contract. This is what I came up with:

The Contract:

The contractor (Atk'vil'atun, Seventh Adjunct of the Fourth Flame of Vengeance, Lord of the Embers of Regret, Keeper of the Horns that Pierce the Heavens in the End Times) hetero referred to as "Party A" shall bequeath upon to the contractee (the mortal Vilaerys) hereto referred to as "Party B" a single Vitriol Orb. The willful destruction by Party B of said Orb upon ground on the Prime Material Plane that has been soiled with the blood of mortals spilled in violence shall signify acceptance of the remainder of this contract (for the sake of brevity, this act shall be referred to as "Acceptance" for the remainder of this document.).

Upon Acceptance, Party B shall have immediate access to a Legion of Infernals of a number of no less than two dozen and no more than three score (hereto referred to as "Party C"). Party C shall obey all orders from Party B without hesitation, save orders that directly conflict with the interests and obligations of Party A, for a term not to exceed two and one half days (MPT) following Acceptance. Services rendered by Party C may only be conducted on the Prime Material Plane, within a span of Thirteen Leagues of Party B. Upon completion of the term of service Party C will be freed to their own jurisdiction.

In return for the services of Party C, Party B shall bequeath unto Party A service above and beyond those outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES as dictated by Party A. Services shall provide Consideration within reason to the above services by Party C, within a period of time lasting Four Seasons (MPT) can be defined as follows:

Party A shall designate targets for Consideration via a unique mark visible only to Party B. Upon witnessing said mark for Consideration Party B will have 48 hours (MPT) to render upon said Consideration a cruel and untimely demise, banishment to their home plane, or utter oblivion as appropriate to the Marked Party. Likely Marked Parties may include, but are not limited to: Hated Abyssals, Meddling Celestials, Insubordinate Infernals, Unruly Primordials, Particularly Troublesome Mortals, and any to which Party A has a specifically particular unliking.

Failure by Party B to provide adequate Consideration within the above time frame or failing to meet the 48 hour (MPT) requirement will result in the infliction of punitive recovery at the discretion of Party A. Punitive measures may include, but are not limited to, Immense Physical Pain, Temporary Loss of Senses, Collection of Memories, Reduction of Lifespan, Seizure of Love, Temporary Seizure of Emotion, Temporary Surrender of Benefits Outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES, or Monetary Compensation.

Should Party B wish to nullify the possibility of Acceptance prior to Acceptance, Party B need only hold the Orb by their heart and whisper "I shall always hold my Master above all others."

In Common law there is a legal rule called 'Çontra Proferentum'; it means that an ambiguous contract is to be read as against the person that drafted it, if capable of multiple meanings.

But basically this is a contract that requires the PC to agree to engage in murder.

He's obviously evil right?

[DrKerosene]

I generally like the whole contract, love the contractor titles. The abbreviations all made sense to me, but "Particularly Troublesome Mortals" may cause brief confusion if the MPT abbreviation for "Material Plane Time" is not something the PC would recognize.

I noticed one typo near the start. I know you meant "hereto".
"The contractor (Atk'vil'atun, Seventh Adjunct of the Fourth Flame of Vengeance, Lord of the Embers of Regret, Keeper of the Horns that Pierce the Heavens in the End Times) hetero..."

[CircleOfTheRock]

Looks perfect, and a great moral quandary for now, and a good plot hook for later adventures if they accept.

Perfect, so long as you account (somewhat) in your encounter design for their summoning of the infernal horde at any given time.

[Blacky the Blackball]

Been DMing a game for a while and the plot is leading toward a siege on an incoming army of elves, treants and dragons. Homebrew setting, long story. My players decided to try and gather allies they met through the campaign and the Warlock asked if she can ask her Patron for help.

The Patron is a Devil, so naturally asked what's in it for him. Thinking on my feet, I told her he gave her a shiny black sphere and a contract. This is what I came up with:

The Contract:

The contractor (Atk'vil'atun, Seventh Adjunct of the Fourth Flame of Vengeance, Lord of the Embers of Regret, Keeper of the Horns that Pierce the Heavens in the End Times) hetero referred to as "Party A" shall bequeath upon to the contractee (the mortal Vilaerys) hereto referred to as "Party B" a single Vitriol Orb. The willful destruction by Party B of said Orb upon ground on the Prime Material Plane that has been soiled with the blood of mortals spilled in violence shall signify acceptance of the remainder of this contract (for the sake of brevity, this act shall be referred to as "Acceptance" for the remainder of this document.).

Upon Acceptance, Party B shall have immediate access to a Legion of Infernals of a number of no less than two dozen and no more than three score (hereto referred to as "Party C"). Party C shall obey all orders from Party B without hesitation, save orders that directly conflict with the interests and obligations of Party A, for a term not to exceed two and one half days (MPT) following Acceptance. Services rendered by Party C may only be conducted on the Prime Material Plane, within a span of Thirteen Leagues of Party B. Upon completion of the term of service Party C will be freed to their own jurisdiction.

In return for the services of Party C, Party B shall bequeath unto Party A service above and beyond those outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES as dictated by Party A. Services shall provide Consideration within reason to the above services by Party C, within a period of time lasting Four Seasons (MPT) can be defined as follows:

Party A shall designate targets for Consideration via a unique mark visible only to Party B. Upon witnessing said mark for Consideration Party B will have 48 hours (MPT) to render upon said Consideration a cruel and untimely demise, banishment to their home plane, or utter oblivion as appropriate to the Marked Party. Likely Marked Parties may include, but are not limited to: Hated Abyssals, Meddling Celestials, Insubordinate Infernals, Unruly Primordials, Particularly Troublesome Mortals, and any to which Party A has a specifically particular unliking.

Failure by Party B to provide adequate Consideration within the above time frame or failing to meet the 48 hour (MPT) requirement will result in the infliction of punitive recovery at the discretion of Party A. Punitive measures may include, but are not limited to, Immense Physical Pain, Temporary Loss of Senses, Collection of Memories, Reduction of Lifespan, Seizure of Love, Temporary Seizure of Emotion, Temporary Surrender of Benefits Outlined in Contract 818DV-FLAMES, or Monetary Compensation.

Should Party B wish to nullify the possibility of Acceptance prior to Acceptance, Party B need only hold the Orb by their heart and whisper "I shall always hold my Master above all others."

I'm assuming the warlock in question read the contract, laughed in their patron's face, and said "nice one, but you'll have to try harder than that!" before ripping it up and handing them back the orb.

As written there, basically:

The devil has to provide 24-30 "infernals" - but it doesn't say what type. They could just be Larvae.
Any command the warlock gives to the infernals can be ignored with a simple "doing anything you say goes against our patron's interests".
And in exchange for this non-help, the warlock must spend an entire year murdering people of the patron's choosing - with no limit on the number, and all to be murdered within 48 hours of being marked (so if, for example, the patron marks an entire city of people, the warlock has 48 hours to kill - cruelly - everyone in it, or face the penalties for not doing so).
Speaking of which, there's no limit on who will be marked, and the wording means the patron could mark a couple of Solars and the warlock would have no choice but to kill them within 48 hours or face the consequences.
If the warlock is unable to murder everyone marked, they get tortured, their loved ones get kidnapped, they get killed, etc. etc.

In other words, if the warlock was stupid enough to accept such a contract where they get nothing of any value and the patron gets to screw them over at any time during the next year, they deserve everything coming to them.

[MrMcBobb]

Upon completion of the term of service Party C will be freed to their own jurisdiction ."

I love the titles the devil has, they're amazing! However, does he realise those 24-30 infernals are being released from his control as well as the players?

[Armored Walrus]

Unsure from the OP as to upon which aspect of the contract you are requesting feedback.

Whether you've nailed the flavor of a literal contract with the Devil for the purposes of it being cool but ominous at your table?

Whether you've made the legal language airtight enough to make sure your player can't squirm out of it?

Whether you've successfully obfuscated the deal enough to ensure you can later come back and screw the PC for signing it?

Whether the offer is fair and balanced to each party?

Whether the language used fairly approximates "legalese" and, if so, are you looking to compare it to modern American (or other) contract language or some medieval-like version thereof?

Other?

To give just generic feedback, I think it would serve adequately as a prop that would cause your PC some consternation as to whether or not they should sign it, gives you some plot ammunition to play with at a future date, and should hold up all right as long as you don't have any actual lawyers at your table.

Edit: I second (third?) the praise for the titles. Those are nice and flavorful.

[darknite]

Sounds like a lot to give up for 60 hrs service of two dozen Lemures.

[JakOfAllTirades]

I'd make that fiend a counter-offer and he wouldn't like it.

[Sigreid]

I'm assuming the warlock in question read the contract, laughed in their patron's face, and said "nice one, but you'll have to try harder than that!" before ripping it up and handing them back the orb.

As written there, basically:

The devil has to provide 24-30 "infernals" - but it doesn't say what type. They could just be Larvae.
Any command the warlock gives to the infernals can be ignored with a simple "doing anything you say goes against our patron's interests".
And in exchange for this non-help, the warlock must spend an entire year murdering people of the patron's choosing - with no limit on the number, and all to be murdered within 48 hours of being marked (so if, for example, the patron marks an entire city of people, the warlock has 48 hours to kill - cruelly - everyone in it, or face the penalties for not doing so).
Speaking of which, there's no limit on who will be marked, and the wording means the patron could mark a couple of Solars and the warlock would have no choice but to kill them within 48 hours or face the consequences.
If the warlock is unable to murder everyone marked, they get tortured, their loved ones get kidnapped, they get killed, etc. etc.

In other words, if the warlock was stupid enough to accept such a contract where they get nothing of any value and the patron gets to screw them over at any time during the next year, they deserve everything coming to them.

The patron may actually play reasonably fair on this one in order to encourage further contracts.

That said, the patron may decide the warlock's team mates are troublesome mortals.

[Fire Tarrasque]

Specify exactly what party C is, as currently it's: 24-30 Devils of Yugoloths. Furthermore, specify whether party C will remain on the material plane or not.
Otherwise, give the player the ability to negotiate further, let them spot the flaws themselves.