Need Help Coming up with a Devil's Contract and Loophole

[kevin video]

Sometimes hooks are just too vague and leave too much up to the DM. I say that because I have a limited imagination.

So the character hook is a cornugon devil is trapped in a temple of Asmodeus due to a signed contract that bound him there to protect it. Unfortunately, the cleric has long since been killed by good adventurers and therefore cannot release the devil from his duties. The temple is in complete disarray, and hasn't been used in decades. The devil wants to be released. The current adventurers are all evil and follow Asmodeus, and if they can find a loophole, he'll sign a new contract with them and also hand over two wondrous items specific to Asmodeus (of medium power). If they can't, he'll have new playmates to help him with his boredom.

1) Need a contract binding the devil to the church with some kind of loophole to let him out of church guarding duty.
2) Need ideas of specific Asmodeus items.

[Solo]

The contract states that he must guard the temple from year X onward until he is released... but if you are in a world without one standard calendar, year X is meaningless without a qualifier such as AD. Thus, with know way of knowing which culture to base year X on, the contract is impossible to enforce.

[kevin video]

The contract states that he must guard the temple from year X onward until he is released... but if you are in a world without one standard calendar, year X is meaningless without a qualifier such as AD. Thus, with know way of knowing which culture to base year X on, the contract is impossible to enforce.

That's interesting.

[kitep]

There's a loophole in your question 

Need a contract binding the devil to the church with some kind of loophole to let him out of church guarding duty.

"Church" is not the same as "temple".  "Church" can refer to the building, or to the collection of believers as a whole (ie, the people).  He can defend the church by traveling around destroying those who would do the church harm (most good people, but also anyone who doesn't worship Asmodeus).


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They can also raise the cleric from the dead.
They could gate in Asmodeous, or "call" in one of his servants with the authority to release the demon.

[kevin video]

There's a loophole in your question 

Need a contract binding the devil to the church with some kind of loophole to let him out of church guarding duty.

"Church" is not the same as "temple".  He can defend the church by traveling around destroying those who would do the church harm.

----

They can also raise the cleric from the dead.
They could gate in Asmodeous, or "call" in one of his servants with the authority to release the demon.

Well, gating Asmodeus isn't allowed. He's too busy (so says the adventure path author). And the devil's bound to that particular temple of Asmodeus.
Can't raise the cleric from the dead because of a wish spell that prevents all followers of Asmodeus and other evil deities from being resurrected in any way. The Zealot King had that passed a few decades ago. This was to make sure that only his church (LG) would last in the country. Even other good deities aren't allowed.

[brujon]

After the signing of this contract, you are heretoforth to be bound to my command, and stationed here to guard this location, and obey all of my given orders, and no others, until such a time as i see fit to release you from your bound duties. Under no circumstances are you to leave the designated area, defined here as the physical borders of this church, comprising an area of X square feet, according to the blueprint annexed on document 1.B. Failure to comply with any of the terms of this contract will result in immediate Annihilation, with no possibility of reversal, even by such a means as a Wish.

You are to remain bound even in the event of the death of this contractant, being required to be perform your duties adequately according to the last orders given, and the general clause of guarding the church, as defined on the document 1.B,  against external threats.

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The flaw in this specific contract is that it defines the area that he needs to protect according to the blueprint annexed on document 1.B, and that he is bound to the area defined by the physical barriers of the church, meaning that if in any way some of the walls of the church were removed, or if the church were to be extensively reformed, it would cease to comply with document 1.B and therefore the contract would become immediately void, releasing the demon from his services.


A case could be made either way, and this is an interpretation loophole that can be questioned later, for another adventure hook.

[NunoM]

^^^
This one sounds good... but this:

... and obey all of my given orders, and no others...

implies that only the original cleric would have control over the devil. This doesn't sound right to a church that is expected to last centuries...

To prevent this, a minor change could be done, to:
"and obey all orders given by or approved the senior representative, or bound member, of this church present within it's walls..."

If the cleric's dead body is still within the church, then yes, that's still the senior representative, but if the PCs manage to remove the body, the devil becomes it's own master (because he's now the sole "bound member" of the church) and can order himself to do what he wants, as long as he's within it's walls... So he could just go into the church and order himself around (this would be hilarious, if the devil was schizophrenic )...

Additionally, the contract (as written above) doesn't specify the kind of threat the devil is supposed to guard the location from, leaving much to the devil's own notion of "threat"... Therefore, if the devil doesn't consider the PC's actions a threat - and he shouldn't, 'cause they're trying to help him! -, he won't be bound, by contract, to attack them...

Just my non-lawerish POV

[Unbeliever]

What if they found a successor of sorts to the Cleric?  Someone who was given his authority or of his bloodline, so that person would be able to release the demon? 

I also I kind of like the idea of the demon being bound to the temple/church.  So, if the temple were destroyed -- or ceased being a temple (!) -- he'd be free.  That's probably a less extensive version of Brujon's suggestion. 


EDIT:  I actually am a lawyer, but I wouldn't rely much on actual law.  Actual contract law is entirely too sensible for these sorts of things. 

EDIT the 2nd:  some way of interpreting or reinterpreting, perhaps maliciously or deliberately so, the PCs' role, which NunoM suggests above, would be kind of cool.  Though I don't know quite how I'd swing that yet. 

[Prime32]

I recommend reading Fiendish Codex II for ideas.

What did the devil get in return? If it turns out he somehow didn't receive his payment, then the contract is void.

[RobbyPants]

You are to remain bound even in the event of the death of this contractant, being required to be perform your duties adequately according to the last orders given, and the general clause of guarding the church, as defined on the document 1.B,  against external threats.

---------------------

The flaw in this specific contract is that it defines the area that he needs to protect according to the blueprint annexed on document 1.B, and that he is bound to the area defined by the physical barriers of the church, meaning that if in any way some of the walls of the church were removed, or if the church were to be extensively reformed, it would cease to comply with document 1.B and therefore the contract would become immediately void, releasing the demon from his services.

This is pretty much the idea I was going to pitch. Something where altering the temple would void the contract.

[brujon]

Another idea:

On the signing of this contract, you are to be henceforth bound to the Temple of Asmodeus, guarding it against any that are a threat to the Church, the location, or yourself. You are only to receive orders from the contractor, or other members of the church of Asmodeus of similar rank. In case of lack of orders, you are to remain bound, indefinitely, carrying on the last orders given, until given further orders by those sanctioned by the church. By no means you are to deviate from the orders given, and failure to successfully complete any given order or protect the church will result in immediate annihilation, utterly irreversible by any means.

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Bluff your way on making the devil believe you are a "Member of the church of Asmodeus of a similar rank" and order him free of his duty. Done and done. But maybe a tad obvious and easy to figure out. Requiring a written document would make the PC's pursue a false document, obtainable through forgery (a skill which i've never actually ever seen anyone take in-game), and make it thus harder to go. Disguise Self or other means of emulating the priest and fooling the devil would also work, since he cannot deviate the orders given by members of a given rank, and so, if he believes you are one, then he has to obey your orders.

This is a cut-and-dry and simple way of making a faulty contract that's easily exploitable.

[kevin video]

Question though. Would that actually work in the devil's favor by bluffing your way into making him believe what you are? Aren't the contracts almost supernatural in power?

[kelemvelor]

Hmm not sure if you need any more ideas but...

Have the contract state that the devil must serve in perpetuity and to serve in this particular order: (1) obey the highest ranking priest of that particular temple (2) protect the temple.

While the temple is currently not being used, nothing states that rites of ascension ordaining a new priest of the temple can't be done. It would be conveniently written in a tome somewhere for the party to find and acts as another hook to some side quest (what...you think ordain of an evil priest is easy?).

[Dwarfi]

Let it be a temple or church of whatever deity.

and then your party goes to the local leader/king and simply removes the official title of church as it is merely more than a ruin or empty building now.
With that its not the designated "temple" anymore.

Just a thought

[kevin video]

Let it be a temple or church of whatever deity.

and then your party goes to the local leader/king and simply removes the official title of church as it is merely more than a ruin or empty building now.
With that its not the designated "temple" anymore.

Just a thought

That's not all that different from what the creator of the scenario finally came up with. The only difference is that the contract will state that only the High Cardinal of the religion can command the devil. There will be two people capable of gaining that title. Just a matter of finding them, or the cleric among the PCs gaining it.

[snakeman830]

Destroy the temple?  That would free him of his duty, since there is no longer a temple to be bound to.

[Scottzar]

Destroy the temple?  That would free him of his duty, since there is no longer a temple to be bound to.

He's bound to guard the temple. You are not very likely to earn his favour by killing him.

[snakeman830]

Destroy the temple?  That would free him of his duty, since there is no longer a temple to be bound to.

He's bound to guard the temple. You are not very likely to earn his favour by killing him.

"destroy the temple" and "kill it's guardian" are not mutually inclusive.  Trap him with Dimension Lock + Forcecage and go to town blowing up the temple.  If he wants to get out of his service, he will probably agree to let you trap him before you begin, as nothing is harming the temple at that point.

[brujon]

Destroy the temple?  That would free him of his duty, since there is no longer a temple to be bound to.

He's bound to guard the temple. You are not very likely to earn his favour by killing him.

"destroy the temple" and "kill it's guardian" are not mutually inclusive.  Trap him with Dimension Lock + Forcecage and go to town blowing up the temple.  If he wants to get out of his service, he will probably agree to let you trap him before you begin, as nothing is harming the temple at that point.

But it'll impair his ability to guard the temple, triggering a reaction.

[FlaminCows]

But it'll impair his ability to guard the temple, triggering a reaction.

Not necessarily. The contract states that he must defend the temple. It might not stipulate that he must also defend his continued ability to defend the temple.

That one's a bit too obvious, though, at least in my opinion. The contract, if it were made by somebody competent, would be written kind of like the Three Laws of Robotics except for the devil.
   1. The devil may not injure or damage the clerics or the temple or, through inaction, allow a cleric of the temple or the temple itself to come to harm.
   2. The devil must obey the orders given to it by the clerics, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
   3. The devil must protect its own existence and the continued existence of the contract as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Something like that, at least. The devil allowing himself to come to harm by inaction would be something I think the writer of the contract would anticipate, at least.