Quote Originally Posted by Thoughtbot360 View Post
1) What would you do about the above situation if one of your players tried to do the Taranesti Diabolist's trick of signing other people's souls in exchange for diabolic power? The Diabolists also switch demons and, preportedly "drop all alliances when the time is right." If they f***ed around with all the outsiders like this, this would make a little more sense, but just understanding how the diabolists play politics and pit fiends (pun not intended) against each other is too much for me. How would you, as a DM, deal with a player who tried to use outsiders like this? Supposedly, he could get off scott-free and leave various archdevils and demon princes trying to figure out who has ownership rights over some-random-NPC-who-didn't-do-anything's soul.

2) Also, how would a student at the Lyceian (the afore mentioned magic school) find out about and study the Diabolist's tradition (or any other questionalbe, illegal, place/group a PC or NPC suspects is there, but of course the place/group can't advertise their hideout's location.)?
1. I love the idea of selling other people's souls to devils, and frankly, I'd think devils would love it, too - because few crimes can be as horrible as condemning innocents into Hell, and that ensures the mortal's damnation just as surely as signing their soul over in a contract would.

Not that I'd think the "I get X, you get my soul" contract makes any sense. No. Devils (and corrupting demons) are much more subtle. They keep giving you what you want, apparently at no cost - you control them! - but every gift they give you will eventually turn out for the worst. (Everybody's seen movies or cartoons or comics where this happens.) You don't sign over your soul - it's slowly, subtly corrupted, as you spread despair and evil around you with your new-found power.

So long as there are some sort of game mechanics that ensure the person cheating the fiends doesn't get an unfair advantage over other PCs, it's fine by me. Eventually, I'd hit them with the whole "Your deeds have blackened your soul beyond all hope of salvation, muahahaha!" deal. (Possibly when they happen to die of something completely unrelated. Hey, would you look at that - Bel owns your soul, and he won't let go of it so you can be resurrected ...)

2. Learning the traditions of any particular secret sect is always essentially the same deal. They make great adventures. You either have to track down or attract the attention of a member, and become an apprentice, or you have to find the appropriate grimoires or whatever else.