A problem of trust.

[ReaderAt2046]

So, I might have just stumbled onto a bit of a problem. I'm doing a nation RP (a scenario where you "play" an entire country), and just realized that as a result of some fluff I made up, everyone in my country believes that every member of every other country can be possessed by demons at any time. This in turn means that logically, no one in my country will ever be able to trust anyone from another country, because they could at any time become a hand-puppet for the Dark Powers. I'm not sure how to alter the fluff without leading to this conclusion, so is there anything else I can do about it?

[comicshorse]

Amulets ( as expensive/rare as you feel fits the plot) can be crafted which makes the wearer immune to being possessed ?
The TV series 'Supernatural' had a similar problem and when demon possession of the main characters got old introduced Wards that prevented demon possession

[Knaight]

This in turn means that logically, no one in my country will ever be able to trust anyone from another country, because they could at any time become a hand-puppet for the Dark Powers. I'm not sure how to alter the fluff without leading to this conclusion, so is there anything else I can do about it?

People could trust them just fine, particularly if they actually know the person. It's not perfectly logical, but neither are people - plus, downplaying the odds here works fairly well. You can get people thinking things along the lines of "Sure, they can theoretically be possessed whenever, but I've never seen it happen, so whatever. Plus, I like this guy."

[ReaderAt2046]

Amulets ( as expensive/rare as you feel fits the plot) can be crafted which makes the wearer immune to being possessed ?
The TV series 'Supernatural' had a similar problem and when demon possession of the main characters got old introduced Wards that prevented demon possession

I think you've misunderstood. Everyone in my country knows how to ward off possession, the problem is that people from other countries don't believe in these demons, and so won't accept the protection.

And Knaight, it's a little hard to, say, trade with another nation when they might at any moment cut the heads of your emissaries for no reason. You aren't going to ever fight beside an army that could turn on you at any moment, even to its own disadvantage. If you imagine trying to deal with a city of homicidal lunatics, you'll get a better picture of the situation as it would feel.

[Knaight]

And Knaight, it's a little hard to, say, trade with another nation when they might at any moment cut the heads of your emissaries for no reason. You aren't going to ever fight beside an army that could turn on you at any moment, even to its own disadvantage. If you imagine trying to deal with a city of homicidal lunatics, you'll get a better picture of the situation as it would feel.

I was under the impression that the nation was mistaken. If they are then the other nation can't actually do that. There's a belief that they can, but the actual evidence is of none of that actually happening, which makes it really easy to dismiss.

[TriForce]

seeing as you "play" as the nation itself, and not the ruler of the nation alone, why not have a revolution? or, if you dont feel like destroying the current leadership of the nation, a "beeldenstorm" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstorm people who have seen that the other nations dont believe in these demons, and that there are no more evil people there then in their own. its a great piece of fluff, old vs new, religion vs unbelievers vs reformed religion etc

[comicshorse]

I think you've misunderstood. Everyone in my country knows how to ward off possession, the problem is that people from other countries don't believe in these demons, and so won't accept the protection.

Ah I had misunderstood. My fault.
I would suggest that even if the people in other countries don't believe in the demon possession then if they want to trade/ deal politically with your country then they are going to prepared to accept an amulet or whatever is required to pacify their hosts strange beliefs.
Its not really any more difficult than accepting the foreign customs of any country. Its just something you have to do when abroad to avoid insulting your hosts
I also can't help thinking that demonic possession must be pretty rare for the other countries not to have noticed it can happen

[The Oni]

^ Sure. Basically, if the country has enough other positive traits and seems like a worthy ally, they'll wear their buddies' dumb amulets until it's time to go home.

Of course, there's always gonna be that ONE guy who doesn't play nice...and there's a plot hook. Foreign merchant refuses to wear his amulet, murdered abroad on suspicion of demonic possession; suddenly diplomatic snafu leads to the brink of war!

[Slipperychicken]

They could simply be slow to trust outsiders, doing business with them as normal, but remaining vigilant nonetheless. Maybe they'd have some superstitious ritual, like dabbing a bit of holy water on their hands before starting a meeting or shaking on a deal. The logic is that a possessed person would be hurt and scream from touching the holy water. It could be perceived as an insult or gesture of mistrust, particularly when done with people who live in the country.

[Sith_Happens]

I think you've misunderstood. Everyone in my country knows how to ward off possession, the problem is that people from other countries don't believe in these demons, and so won't accept the protection.

And what forms exactly do the "wards" take? If there's one that's reasonably portable (if an object) or performable abroad (if a ritual) and (supposedly) either works out to some area surrounding itself or protects the wearer/user/beneficiary from attacks by the possessed, then that pretty much solves the problem.

[Paseo H]

Another thought might be to make the powers of evil less powerful and incapable of doing it so easily. Like when I realized there was literally no reason one of my more powerful NPCs shouldn't have taken over the solar system by that point, I ruled that the experiment that brought her into being failed and now she's too fragmented to put up a united front.

[Slipperychicken]

An important question is: What's the (perceived) risk that a given person will be possessed in a given time interval? If it's not 100% all the time, it'll be worthwhile to deal with outsiders in at least some cases.

Also, I'm sure that someone from outside the country would be willing to accept the protections. Or at the very least, some brave/greedy traders would be willing to venture forth, deal with the foreigners, and come back home to tell stories about how they're really not so bad.

And what forms exactly do the "wards" take? If there's one that's reasonably portable (if an object) or performable abroad (if a ritual) and (supposedly) either works out to some area surrounding itself or protects the wearer/user/beneficiary from attacks by the possessed, then that pretty much solves the problem.

Yeah, if it's a cheap and easy enough solution that everyone in the country can use it, then travelers, diplomats, and merchants would just put it on as a formality before dealing with people from that country.

[ReaderAt2046]

And what forms exactly do the "wards" take? If there's one that's reasonably portable (if an object) or performable abroad (if a ritual) and (supposedly) either works out to some area surrounding itself or protects the wearer/user/beneficiary from attacks by the possessed, then that pretty much solves the problem.

The actual wards are tattoos, but you're right, the same symbols (or similar ones) could be painted on a threshold to keep out dark influence or placed on a amulet for testing visitors.