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炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS
« 于: 2018-10-01, 周一 16:14:59 »

炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS

     “我理解你的忧虑。你肯定听过类似的故事——两个你我这般的角色,以及一堆伪装成文件的空头陷阱。我不会说那些故事都是假的,毕竟正常进行的交易怎么可能被写成剧本?合作并不像你从诗人和焦虑的牧师那里听到的那么复杂。你我各取所需,一切都写的清清楚楚。还有什么比这更为光明正大的呢?”
     “当然我知道,你还是很担心。没关系,这是契约。看一下吧,看清楚看准确了。当你准备好时,在这签名就可以了。”
     “无论你需要多久,我都乐意等待”

——真诚的 阿瓦罗兰特里, 斐斯魔



      为了改变命运,绝望的灵魂会寻求禁忌学识,或请求众神的聆听。有些人试图追随英雄的足迹创造奇迹,另一些人则致力于突破魔法的界限。无论他们方法如何,多数以失败告终。然而,挫折和幻灭并不足以粉碎所有的雄心壮志。当奇迹遥不可及时,务实的凡人会寻求稍差的奇迹,并不择手段地通往奇迹之路。那些广泛寻找并证明自己热忱的人会发现更愿意实现凡人梦想的实体——而代价则是探求者不朽的灵魂。
      炼狱契约是永恒真理的表现:凡人渴望更多。许多凡人梦想着世俗的财富和超凡脱俗的力量,但是在广阔的多元位面中,他们的存在只不过弹指一瞬,他们的议价能力更是才疏学浅。地狱的魔鬼提出一种绕开这些限制的方案。凭借这凡人对于多元宇宙运转和无形灵魂真实价值的认知不全,魔鬼满足凡人的愿望似乎毫无代价。为了达成协议并证明他们的真诚,他们创造了严格的炼狱契约-详尽的书面承诺和地狱的锁链一样具有约束力。
      在地狱的契约制造者中,斐斯魔——也被称为契约魔——是最著名的炼狱契约作者。而地狱的统治者——魔鬼大公阿斯摩蒂斯,和他的半神同类们——也是传说中的交易撮合者。但炼狱契约不是这些契约者的唯一计划。地狱的力量对凡人生命的威胁是一致的,而地狱军团中的大多数成员都可以从庞大且变幻莫测的武器库中征用想要的工具。因此,凡人与任何一种魔鬼的遭遇最终都会归结到出价问题上:你有什么是能支付给这些伟大存在的?


签订炼狱契约 NEGOTIATING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT

     并不是每个魔鬼都乐于签订契约,大多数魔鬼专注于完成上级的任务,少数则是懒得浪费时间与凡人交涉。然而如果有杰出的凡人出现,魔鬼很可能主动找他签约。
     从最基础的角度来说,炼狱契约是一笔简单的交易。魔鬼实现凡人的请求(在魔鬼的力量内),凡人死后将不朽灵魂交给魔鬼。
     像深渊炼魔这样的魔鬼,可以满足凡人几乎所有的愿望。对于这样强大的魔鬼,其契约的条款,应由玩家和GM一起商定。
     弱小的魔鬼无法实现愿望,但他们肯定能创造出更为详尽的炼狱契约,如本文末尾的范例。这种情况下,价格不变。契约者死后,灵魂将堕入地狱。
     依照GM的经验,魔鬼可能会接受契约者灵魂之外的一些报酬。任何情况下,魔鬼获得的东西都应当是重要而独特的。例如独一无二的物品,或是神器。也可以是必将其灵魂堕落之举,例如杀害1000名天真无邪的孩子,或是摧毁一件善良或混乱的神器。
     魔鬼通常不与邪恶生物签订契约,因为这些生物的灵魂已经属于邪恶阵营位面。而且无论凡人的意图为何,或是有潜在的积极结果。签订炼狱契约总是一个守序而邪恶的行为。


创造炼狱契约 CREATING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT

      一旦商定好条款,魔鬼就必须创造炼狱契约。契约魔可以使用他们的炼狱契约能力,轻易创造出这样的文件。半神级的魔鬼也可以立即召唤出定制的炼狱契约,如同他们也有炼狱契约能力,并且这项能力更为灵活,更为强大。其他魔鬼也可以创造炼狱契约,但通常需要花费不少时间。
  契约过程:除非有特殊情况,有高等传送术的大部分魔鬼,都知道去哪制造一份炼狱契约。这可能是一个返回地狱的传送门,潜伏在相同凡人世界的契约魔,或是更加非同寻常的来源。任何情况下,魔鬼们都可以用这些方法创造炼狱契约,但是这需要时间。创造时间列在末尾的契约描述中,描述了大部分普通的魔鬼需要多久来创造一个炼狱契约。这代表魔鬼在路上,与其他魔鬼谈判、在创造契约时加入细节和返回的时间。这段时间结束后,除非凡人做了什么特别的事隐藏自己,否则魔鬼就会带着契约归来。
  契约训练:尽管大部分魔鬼不能立即创造炼狱契约,但有心人看出了这种能力的价值,并通过多年的研究培养出这种天赋。这项特殊训练,深藏于迪斯城的坠落城堡(Fallen Fastness of Dis), 斯泰吉亚的沉没文库(the sunken libraries of Stygia),或者在地狱里其他亵渎神灵的地库中,而其具体表现就是“契约学家”专长。

引用
契约学家(Infernal Legist)
你可以立刻召唤出一份炼狱契约。
先决条件:魔鬼子类
专长效果:以一个整轮动作,创造出一份炼狱契约。为使契约生效,凡人必须以自由意志签名。这样做后,凡人的灵魂堕入地狱。只要契约依旧生效,受术者就不能被复活,除非有奇迹术或许愿术。如果凡人复活,你会立即察觉,并获得目标为他的感知位置法术效果。



研究炼狱契约 RESEARCHING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT

      炼狱契约是一种令人困惑的语言迷宫,充满了上古时代的法律条文和非凡性的参考文献,以及无尽的条约和反条约。它们既有可能是由布满精美字迹的单张卷轴组成,也可能是用黑貂皮包装的的印刷文本。
      略读一份炼狱契约,并掌握他的重点,只需几分钟的时间。然而从头到尾地细读一遍,需要几个小时,甚至几天。所有炼狱契约都有一些知识点(缩写为“KP”)代表契约内容的综合。要研究一份炼狱契约,需要通过语言学检定,或契约所需的专业技能检定。研究DC并不固定,但使用专业技能会获得+2环境加值。研究契约需要连续不断的8小时,不能取10或取20.在同一份契约上每研究8小时,就可在研究检定中获得可累计的+1加值。至多可由两名人物协助研究。
      成功的研究检定将减少KP,类似对生物造成HP伤害。随着KP减少,契约也逐渐揭开他的秘密。KP减少的值取决于主要研究契约者的类型。可进行任意未受训知识检定的人物(吟游诗人,博学士,歌者)减少KP为1d12+智力调整。其他学术型人物(炼金术士,arcanists,调查员,法师,和其他GM指定的)减少KP为1d8+智力调整,其他人物为1d4+智力调整。研究检定的自然20视为重击,确认成功可减少两倍的KP。研究检定的自然1视为大失败,KP增加1d8.
      由于炼狱契约的故意误导,一些研究者会对文献的理解走入死胡同,无法继续减少KP。连续失败两次意味着研究者完全误解了炼狱契约。KP恢复为最大值,且在研究者升级前无法再次尝试。
      炼狱契约不仅有公开条款,可能还有隐藏的附加条件。除非GM另有规定,否则通过研究契约无法获得除具体条款以外的任何其他知识。并不是每一个炼狱契约都有潜藏的条款——有些完全是直率的。那些确实包含狡猾的伪装陷阱的情况,可以通过将合同的KP降低至隐藏条款的门槛来揭示他们的秘密。请注意,契约有可能有多个隐藏条款,虽然下面的范例契约只有一个。如果将这些不利条款向魔鬼指出,它通常会改变契约——尽管这样做意味着重新创造契约,而新契约也不能保证没有阴险的附加条款。
      一旦契约的KP为0,意味着研究者发现了契约的漏洞,可以提前终止契约。虽然契约者失去了契约的效果,但能取回灵魂。这个漏洞的细节可能很难设计出来,但它们给人们带来了逃脱的希望。并不是所有的炼狱契约都包含这样的缺陷,尽管在第66-67页详细描述的4个契约包含了这些缺陷。



逃避炼狱契约 ESCAPING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT

     避免签署不利的炼狱契约最好的办法就是不签约。如果没法做到,认真研究契约,找到危险的附加条款和潜在漏洞,这将是生与死的差别。
     签署一份炼狱契约后,将有两份副本:一份给签约者,一份给魔鬼。凡人可以随意处理他的契约副本,销毁副本基本没啥用。魔鬼则通常处理契约的方式有两种。不少人随身携带,或将副本藏于密室,或交给他选择的看守者。而大多数魔鬼则将契约送往地狱保管,通常是位于迪斯城的坠落城堡(the Fallen Fastness in Dis),这是一个与天堂的大图书馆相媲美的巨大档案馆。(事实上,有人说坠落城堡正是在亿万年前的天堂叛乱期间,从那座崇高的城堡上撕裂下来的)。在这个地狱图书馆,契约受到无数邪恶学者的保护,图书馆的结构令人崩溃的复杂,而且其位面也难以到达。对大多数凡人来说,从地狱取回契约是不可能的。然而,即使签订并担保了一份炼狱契约,仍有可能改变或逃脱的途径。
  转让契约:魔鬼可能被说服调整契约中条款以适用于另一个凡人。和最初的契约者一样,新的契约者必须自愿签订契约,获得好处也接受诅咒。偶尔有签订契约的凡人说服另一个凡人代替他履行契约,或是为爱牺牲的凡人承担她爱人的契约。任何一种情况下,魔鬼都必须确认新契约者是至少等价,甚至更有价值的合伙人。只有创造原始契约(或拥有原始契约)的魔鬼可以调整原始契约中条款。必须由前任契约者,新契约者,和一份原始契约的副本存在时才能这样做。一旦新契约者在魔鬼为证人的情况下,签署了契约。前任契约者的名字将删去,两份契约都会改变。经调整的契约内容由各方商议。最常见的情况是前任契约者失去契约的好处和限制,新契约者获得之。
  摧毁契约:如果两份炼狱契约的副本都被销毁,那么契约结束。魔鬼和凡人失去契约的效果,凡人的灵魂得到释放,进行死亡后的正常流程。这需要获得两份契约副本并不简单:魔鬼守护着炼狱契约,不会让凡人不战而取走。凡人则需要深入地狱寻觅契约。
      如果契约者已死,灵魂已收入地狱。摧毁契约并不能将他送往来世,请愿者所能期待的最好的结果就是从折磨中解脱出来,然而他的逃离将更具挑战。因为所有的地狱居民都将他的灵魂视为免费的玩物。此外,与魔鬼达成交易的后果在灵魂的余生中依然存在。即使逃避了契约(或前一个案例的逃出地狱),凡人仍有可能被神抛弃,被判入地狱或其他邪恶阵营位面。真正的救赎可能需要的不仅仅是摧毁炼狱契约。



范例炼狱契约 SAMPLE INFERNAL CONTRACTS

尽管地狱居民有许多共同目标,但计划五花八门。创造的炼狱契约在成本、效果、条款和逃避方法上差异很大。以下是知名地狱生物的常见契约。大多能反应出提供契约魔鬼的能力,影响,偏好。但是GM可以自由地借鉴这项范例创造出带有自我风格的炼狱契约。复杂度、研究检定和KP将在研究炼狱契约中进一步说明。额外的炼狱契约出现在本卷的冒险和在第62页的rust devil中。

阅读炼狱契约数据 Reading an Infernal Contract Stat Block
契约名:契约的名字,可能被魔鬼学者和地狱律师利用
CR:这个条目列出了炼狱契约的CR。它通常等于最常见的创造它的魔鬼的CR(如在魔鬼条目中列出的),如果是由大魔鬼,地狱大公,娼妓女王创造的独特契约,CR可以变化(但一般不超过CR20)。
XP:将KP降为0获得的经验
魔鬼:创建该契约的常见魔鬼
创建时间:魔鬼从创建契约到返回契约凡人所需时间(如果没有炼狱契约能力,或契约学家专长)
效果:给予契约人的效果
代价:魔鬼可能接受的取代契约人灵魂的替代代价,并不是所有魔鬼都接受替代代价。
描述:契约的文字风格
复杂度:等于10+CR的两倍,表示减少契约KP的语言学或其他专业技能检定的DC
专业技能:除语言学之外的,可用来研究契约的技能。使用这些专业技能可在检定中+2环境加值。
KP:契约的最大知识点,通常为CR的三倍。
隐藏条款:魔鬼藏入契约中的隐藏条款,当KP降至某值后会揭露。
终止条款:允许提前结束契约的漏洞,如果契约人成功利用了这个漏洞,契约的效果会结束,但能找回他的灵魂
独特特征:强大的魔鬼会在契约中加入一些特色,例如强大的魔法保护。这些特性列在这个条目中。

嗜血契约 CR 5
XP 1500
魔鬼:倒钩魔(巴霸魔)
创建时间:2D6月
效果:被契约者使用近战武器攻击将造成1点流血伤害,治愈流血的地狱伤口需通过成功的医疗检定,使用魔法治疗地狱伤口需要施法者等级检定。DC均为10+契约者力量调整。
代价:契约者不再能通过自然休息回复HP
描述:巴霸魔创造的地狱契约通常粗鲁,写满了战术演习,古代战斗和放血。
复杂度:20
专业技能:知识(历史)、知识(位面)、专业(士兵)
KP:15
隐藏条款(6 KP):巴霸魔会成为契约者找到的任意武器的拥有者。每年一次,巴霸魔将出现并拿走契约者最好的武器。契约者必须遵从,如受到支配怪物的效果(无豁免;可绕过免疫影响心灵生效)
终止条款(0 KP):契约看似确保巴霸魔不得杀死契约者,但模糊的措辞有新的解读方式。如果契约者被巴霸魔或流血伤害杀死,契约将终止。

影子硬币 CR 11
XP 12,800
魔鬼: 尖刺魔(哈玛魔)
创建时间:1D6月
效果:契约者获得每日一次与影子交谈的能力(类似石言术,但只能和影子),以及类魔鬼生物常见的看破黑暗。
代价:每周一次,契约者必须用穿刺武器杀死一个有知觉的生物,并在受害者的嘴里留下一枚白金币。如果契约者忽视了这一点,他的灵魂就会在死后堕入地狱。
描述:哈玛魔创造的炼狱契约通常包括数学、会计原则和缓慢死亡。
复杂度:32
专业技能:估价、知识(位面)、专业(职员)
KP:33
隐藏条款(12KP):每月一次,哈玛魔可能出现在契约者面前,收取契约者每HD100金币的债务。如果魔鬼不收钱,债务将累计至下个月,如此循环——契约者可能根本不知道。哈玛魔可以通过取走契约者的一个或多个附肢,手指脚趾,类似的身体特征来终结债务。依照魔鬼的选择,对某属性造成2d6属性吸取。
终止条款(0KP):契约并未指定凡人的灵魂,而是字面的“有着契约者名字和血液的无价之物”。如果契约者找到一个无价之物,将血液(最大HP的1/2)和名字赐予它,再将它在火焰中焚净,就能解除契约。

白霜之心 CR 13
XP 25,600
魔鬼:冰魔(奇鲁魔)
创建时间:1D8天
效果:契约者的容貌永不衰老,免疫寒冷伤害。冰冻的1加仑水足以满足一日所需——不再需要吃喝。
代价:契约者周围5尺的温度低于常温10度,身体摸上去冰冷刺骨。所携带的液体无论如何保温都冻成冰块,包括药水和液体装备。使用结冰药水需要不间断的1分钟。
描述:奇鲁魔创造的炼狱契约异常复杂,包含狡猾的跨位面将军、捉摸不透的掠食者、自然暴力。
复杂度:36
专业技能:知识(自然)、知识(贵族)、知识(位面)
KP:39
隐藏条款(25 KP):契约一年后,冰魔将获得契约者的心脏。契约者从这痛苦的抽取中幸存,但从那时起他将被正能量伤害,负能量治疗,好似不死生物。冰魔保存着契约者的心脏(有人说将心脏藏在它的胸前)。没有心脏并不会帮助或阻碍契约者,但心脏丢失,契约终止,契约者立即死亡。
终止条款(0 KP):一条美丽而不显眼的条款,将契约者的存在比作将要融化的,活动的雪。契约者可以利用这一点创造一个拟像。在拟像施法的施法期间,契约者必须将自己的血液流入拟像,直至昏迷。受到1d4体质吸取,昏迷2d6小时,在昏迷期间必须用火将拟像摧毁。否则拟像将拒绝遵从创造者,并尝试逃跑。如果拟像在在契约者醒来前被摧毁,契约被视为已履行。
独特特征:该契约只能被圣炎摧毁。例如善良施法者的圣光击。

永生之魂的诅咒 CR 20
XP  307,200
魔鬼:深渊炼魔
创建时间:1小时
效果:契约者获得1000年的寿命,任何语言都能读写和理解,永久处于动物交谈术的效果下。
代价:契约者必须在1年内将100个有知觉的凡人生命,通过仪式献给阿斯莫迪尔斯,或其他地狱半神。这些灵魂无需在契约前支付,但要在1年内付清。否则代价将是契约者的灵魂。
描述:深渊炼魔创造的炼狱契约,是现存中最为详尽的。包含神、灵魂和可部分理解的宇宙真理。
复杂度:50
专业技能:知识(位面),知识(宗教)
KP:60
隐藏条款(20KP):每年一次,深渊炼魔可以立即召唤契约者到他面前,无论距离多远,甚至可以跨越位面界限,类似用异界之门召唤契约者。深渊炼魔可以命令契约者为他做一件事,契约者无法拒绝,并必须尽他最大的能力(无视一切免疫)在24小时或任务完成后,契约者回归传送前的地方。
终止条款(0KP):该契约在界定契约者的本质和家乡时非常严格。如果契约者将自己的灵魂放入不属于他世界的类人生物的身体中,契约只会他的身体生效,而非灵魂。契约者原始身体中的灵魂在躯体死后都将堕入地狱。契约者在一个灵魂以这种方式被带走后,有可能取回他的躯体。

剧透 -  原文:

INFERNAL CONTRACTS

    I understand you’re apprehensive. You’ve heard the stories—someone like you, someone like me, and a stack of pages that turns out to be a bear trap in disguise. I won’t tell you those stories are all lies, but no one writes an opera about a deal gone right. Partnerships like this are never as complicated as what you’ve heard from poets and anxious priests. You want what you want, I want what I want, and just so everything’s tidy, we write it all out. What could be more aboveboard than that?
    "But you’re worried, I know. So here’s the contract. Read it over. Be clear, be certain, and when you’re ready, make your mark.
    "Take all the time you need. I’m happy to wait."
—Honest Avallolantri, phistophilus

In an attempt to change the course of fate, desperate souls sometimes seek forbidden lore or audiences with the gods. Some try to tread in the footsteps of heroes to attain such wonders, while others devote themselves to pushing the boundaries of magic. No matter their methods, most of these supplicants fail.Frustration and disillusion aren’t enough to shatter every ambition, though. When miracles prove too distant to reach, pragmatic mortals seek lesser wonders and more mercenary paths to greatness. Those who search widely and prove their earnestness find entities more than willing to fulfill any mortal dream—and all it costs is the seeker’s immortal soul.
    Infernal contracts are an expression of a timeless truth: Mortals desire more. Many mortals dream of worldly wealth and otherworldly power, but in the vast planar scheme, their existences are brief and their bargaining power limited. The devils of Hell offer a way around such limitations. Banking on mortals’ incomplete understanding of how the multiverse works and the true value of their intangible souls, devils offer every mortal dream for what appears to be no price at all. To seal the bargains and prove their honesty, they create officious infernal contracts—elaborate written promises no less binding than the chains of Hell.
    Of Hell’s contract makers, phistophiluses—also called “contract devils”—are best known for being the finest authors of infernal bargains. The rulers of Hell—Asmodeus, the archdevils, and their demigod ilk—are also storied dealmakers. But infernal contracts are not the purview of contract writers alone. The forces of Hell stand as a largely unified threat against mortal life, and most specimens among the legions of devilkind can requisition tools from a vast, treacherous arsenal. Thus, any mortal encounter with nearly any devil has the potential to end in an offer: What would you give for greatness?

NEGOTIATING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT
Not every devil is interested in entering into a contract. Most devils focus their energies on fulfilling orders from diabolical superiors, and others simply prefer not to waste the time negotiating with mortals. If a remarkable mortal presents herself, though, a devil might be convinced to enter into a bargain.
    At their most basic levels, infernal contracts are a simple trade. The devil provides whatever the mortal requests (within the devil’s power), and in exchange receives the mortal's immortal soul, to be delivered to the devil at the moment of the mortal’s death.
    Some devils, like pit fiends, can grant wishes, effectively giving a mortal almost anything she desires. In the case of such powerful devils, the terms of a contract should be agreed upon between a player and the GM.
    Less potent devils don’t have the power to grant wishes, but they can certainly still create more specific sorts of infernal contracts, such as the ones detailed at the end of this article. In all of these cases, the price is the same—the mortal signee’s soul, which is damned to Hell upon her death.
    At the GM’s discretion, a devil might accept some payment other than the signee’s soul. In any situation, what the devil gains should be significant and unique, such as a one-of-a-kind object, or even an artifact. Alternatively, it might be an act committed by the mortal that’s certain to damn her soul, such as murdering 1,000 innocents or destroying a good or chaotic artifact.
    Devils generally don’t enter into infernal contracts with evil creatures, as such creatures’ souls are already bound for evil-aligned planes. Also, regardless of a mortal’s intentions or potentially positive results, entering into an infernal contract is always a lawful and evil act.

CREATING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT
Once terms have been agreed to, a devil has to create the infernal contract. Contract devils have the easiest time of this, making use of their infernal contract ability to instantly create such a document. Devils of demigod-level power can likewise instantly call tailor-made infernal contracts into being as though they also had the infernal contract ability, though the effects they can create prove more potent and variable. Other devils can also create infernal contracts, but might have to employ less immediate techniques.
  Diabolical Intermediary: Barring any extraordinary circumstances, most devils with the greater teleport ability know a place they can go to have an infernal contract created. This might be a portal back to Hell, a contract devil lurking on the same mortal world, or a more unconventional source. In any case, the devil can use this method to have an infernal contract created for it. However, doing so takes time. The Creation Time entry listed in each contract’s description on pages 66–67 notes how long it takes for most common devils to have an infernal contract of that kind created. This represents a combination of the devil’s travel time, influence in negotiating with other devils, the detail put into the contract’s creation, and the time it takes to return. At the end of this period—unless the mortal has done something extraordinary to hide himself—the devil returns with a contract.
  Contract Training: Although most devils cannot instantly create an infernal contract, there are those that see the value of such an ability and develop the talent over ages of study. This exceptional training, deep within the Fallen Fastness of Dis, the sunken libraries of Stygia, or the other blasphemous vaults of Hell, manifests as the Infernal Legist feat.

Infernal legIst
You can instantly conjure an infernal contract into being.
Prerequisite: Devil subtype.
Benefits: As a full-round action, you can produce an infernal contract. To receive the contract’s benefit, a mortal must sign its name of its own free will. Upon doing so, that mortal’s soul is sworn to Hell. As long as the infernal contract remains in effect, the victim cannot be restored to life after death save by a miracle or a wish. If a mortal is restored to life, you immediately sense it and gain the benefits of a discern location spell targeting the resurrected creature.

RESEARCHING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT
An infernal contract is a baffling linguistic labyrinth, rife with eons-old legalese, otherworldly citations, and near-endless clauses and counter-clauses. One might consist of a single scroll covered in fine handwriting, while another might be volumes of printed text bound in sable.
    Skimming an infernal contract and getting the gist of it takes only a matter of moments. Reading one in its entirety, though, can take hours, if not days. All infernal contracts have a number of knowledge points (abbreviated as “kp”) representing the sum of the contract’s information. To research an infernal contract, a character must succeed at a Linguistics check or a specialized skill check as indicated by the contract in question. The DC of this Research check varies, but if the researcher uses the more specialized check to perform this research, she gains a +2 circumstance bonus for using precisely the correct skill for interpreting the contract, as opposed to the more general use of Linguistics. Attempting a Research check requires an uninterrupted 8-hour period of research—characters cannot take 10 or 20 on this check. Each additional 8-hour period of research on the same contract grants a cumulative +1 bonus on Research checks. Up to two characters can use the aid another action to assist a researcher.
    Succeeding at a Research check reduces the contract’s knowledge points, similar to dealing damage to a creature’s hit points. As the knowledge points decrease, the contract reveals its secrets. The amount of kp reduced on a successful Research check depends on the nature of the contract’s primary researcher. A character with the ability to attempt any Knowledge check untrained (such as a bard, loremaster, or skald) reduces a contract’s kp by 1d12 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. Other scholastic characters (alchemists, arcanists, investigators, wizards, and so forth, at the GM’s discretion) reduce the contract’s knowledge points by 1d8 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. All other characters reduce the contract’s knowledge points by 1d4 + the character’s Intelligence modifier. Rolling a natural 20 on a Research check acts like a critical threat. If the researcher confirms the critical hit by immediately succeeding at a second Research check with all the same modifiers, the resulting
knowledge point reduction is doubled. Rolling a natural 1 on a Research check results in an automatic failure, and the collection’s knowledge points increase by 1d8.
    Because of the purposefully obtuse nature of infernal contracts, some researchers reach a dead end in their understanding of the document and are unable to further decrease a contract’s knowledge points. Failing two consecutive Research checks means the researcher has completely misunderstood the contract’s terms. In this case, the contract’s knowledge points return to maximum and the researcher can’t attempt to research that particular contract again until he gains a level.
    Infernal contracts hold only the overt terms of the agreement and, potentially, oblique provisos. Unless a GM stipulates otherwise, no knowledge other than that specified is gained through researching a contract. Not every infernal contract has hidden language—some are completely forthright. Those that do contain cunningly disguised traps, though, can have their secrets revealed by reducing the contract’s kp to its hidden condition threshold. Note that it is possible for a contract to have multiple hidden condition thresholds—the ones detailed below have only one each. If such an unfavorable term is called out to a devil, it will usually acquiesce to changing the contract—though doing so means creating the contract all over again, and the new contract is by no means assured to be free of insidious new provisos.
    Once a contract’s kp is reduced to 0, the researcher discovers a flaw that could allow for an early termination of the contract. A mortal might exploit such a loophole to terminate the contract, and in so doing lose the contract’s benefit but regain her soul. The specifics of this loophole might not be simple to engineer, but they hold out hope of an escape. Not all infernal contracts contain such flaws, although the four detailed on pages 66–67 do.

ESCAPING AN INFERNAL CONTRACT
The easiest way to avoid entering into an unfavorable infernal contract is simply not to sign one. If that isn’t an option, thoroughly researching the contract and being aware of dangerous provisos and potential loopholes can mean the difference between life and damnation.
     When an infernal contract is signed, two copies manifest: one for the mortal signee and one for the devil. The mortal is free to do whatever he pleases with his copy, though destroying it is rarely directly helpful. Devils tend to do one of two things with their copies. Many keep the documents close at hand, securing them in vaults or in the care of guardians of their choosing; most, however, send their contracts back to Hell for safekeeping, typically to the Fallen Fastness in Dis, a massive archive rivaling Heaven’s Great Library. (In fact, some say that the Fallen Fastness was torn away from that lofty structure during the heavenly rebellion eons ago.) In this infernal library, contracts are protected by countless diabolical scholars, the sanity-shattering complexity of the library’s organization, and its planar inaccessibility. For most mortals, retrieving a contract from Hell is unlikely in the highest extreme. Yet even once an infernal contract is signed and secured, there are still routes by which it might be changed—or escaped.
  Transferring a Contract: A devil might be convinced to adjust the terms of an infernal contract to apply to a different mortal. Just as in the case of the original signee, the new mortal must enter into the contract freely, accepting the benefits but also the damnation. Occasionally, a damned mortal can convince a second mortal to take his place in an infernal deal, or a particularly self-sacrificing mortal might decide to take on a loved one’s contract. In either case, the devil must deem the new signee an equal or more valuable partner. Only the devil that created the original document (or had it created) can adjust the terms of an infernal contract, which must be done in the presence of the former signee, the new signee, and one copy of the original contract. Once the new signee commits her signature to the contract, with the devil as witness, the former signee’s name is erased and both copies of the contract immediately change. The effects of the adjusted contract is left to the parties involved, but most commonly, the former signee loses all benefits and conditions of the contract, while the new signee gains them.
  Destroying a Contract: If both copies of an infernal contract are destroyed, the contract ends. The mortal and devil lose all benefits of the contract, and the mortal’s soul is released to follow whatever natural course it might upon death. This requires obtaining both copies of the contract, which isn’t easy; a devil guards its contracts and isn’t likely to let a mortal go back on a contract without a fight. Recovering the devil’s copy of a contract might require the mortal to harrow the depths of Hell itself.
    If the mortal signee has already died and her soul is already in Hell, destroying the contract does not transport the soul to its proper afterlife. The best the petitioner can hope for is to be liberated from her tortures, and her escape is made even more challenging by the fact that her soul is now free game for all of Hell’s various deadly denizens. Moreover, the weight of having made a deal with a devil stays with a soul for the rest of its existence. Even after escaping a contract (or Hell itself, in the previous case), a mortal might still be forsaken by his deity and find himself condemned to Hell or any of the other evil-aligned planes. Actual salvation might require much more than the mere destruction of the infernal contract.

SAMPLE INFERNAL CONTRACTS
Though the denizens of Hell share many goals, their schemes are far from uniform. The infernal contracts they create vary widely in cost, effect, terms, and methods of escape. The following are contracts common to some of Hell’s best-known inhabitants. Most reflect the power, influence, and predilections of the devil offering the contract. However, GMs should feel free to use these examples as guidelines for creating their own custom infernal contracts. Complexity, Research checks, and kp are further detailed under Researching an Infernal Contract on page 64. Additional infernal contracts appear in this volume’s adventure and in the entry for the rust devil on page 62.

readIng an Infernal ContraCt stat BloCk
The sample infernal contract stat blocks detailed below contain the following sections.
  Contract Name: This is the name of the type of contract, potentially used by diabolic scholars and infernal barristers.
  CR: This entry lists the CR of the infernal contract. It is usually equal to the CR of the devil that most commonly creates it (as listed in the Devil entry), but in the case of unique contracts created by demigods such as archdevils, infernal dukes, and whore queens, the infernal contract’s CR can vary (but is rarely over CR 20).
  XP: This entry lists the experience points gained for reducing the contract to 0 kp.
  Devil: This entry lists the type of devil that commonly creates the contract in question.
  Creation Time: This entry lists how long it takes for a devil to create a contract and return to a mortal signee (assuming it doesn’t have the infernal contract special ability or the Infernal Legist feat).
  Benefit: This is the benefit the contract grants the signee.
  Payment: This lists an alternative payment the devil might accept in return for the contract’s benefit in lieu of a soul. Not all devils are open to alternative payments.
  Description: This entry is a brief description of the style of the contract’s text.
  Complexity: An infernal contract’s complexity is equal to 10 + (the infernal contract’s CR × 2). The number listed in this entry is the DC of the Linguistics check or other specialized skill checks required to reduce the contract’s kp.
  Specialized Skills: This entry lists any skills other than Linguistics that can be used to research the contract. Using one of these specialized skills grants the researcher a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
  kp: This entry lists the contract’s maximum number of knowledge points. This is typically equal to the contract’s CR × 3.
  Hidden Condition: This entry lists a hidden condition that the devil has slipped into the contract. If the signee reduces the contract’s kp to the value listed in parentheses in this entry, the hidden condition is revealed.
  Termination Clause: This entry lists a flaw in the contract that could allow for an early termination of the contract. If the signee successfully exploits this loophole, she loses the benefit of the contract but regains her soul.
  Unique Features: Some powerful devils add specific characteristics to their contracts, such as special magical protections. Such features are listed in this entry.

PACT OF BLOOD-TAKING CR 5
XP 1,500
Devil bearded devil (barbazu)
Creation Time 2d6 months
Benefit Attacks made with melee weapons by the contracted mortal deal persistent wounds that cause 1 point of bleed damage. Bleeding caused by these infernal wounds can be stopped with a successful Heal check, and anyone attempting to magically heal a creature with an infernal wound must attempt a caster level check. Success indicates the healing works normally and stops all bleed effects on the victim. The DC of each of these checks is equal to 10 + the contracted mortal’s Strength modifier.
Payment The signee can no longer regain hit points through natural healing.
RESEARCH
Description Infernal contracts created by barbazus are typically inelegant and rife with references to tactical maneuvers, ancient battles, and bloodletting.
Complexity 20
Specialized Skills Knowledge (history), Knowledge (planes), Profession (soldier)
kp 15
Hidden Condition (6 kp) The barbazu becomes the owner of any weapon the contracted mortal finds. Once per year, the barbazu can appear and take the contracted mortal’s best weapon. The mortal must comply as though affected by dominate monster (no save; this effect bypasses normal immunities to mind-controlling effects).
Termination Clause (0 kp) The contract seems to assure that the barbazu will not kill the contracted mortal, but vague phrasing opens the door for a broader interpretation. If the contracted mortal is killed by any barbazu or by bleed damage, the contract is terminated.

SHADOW COIN BARGAIN CR 11
XP 12,800
Devil barbed devil (hamatula)
Creation Time 1d6 months
Benefit The contracted mortal gains the ability to speak with shadows (as per the spell stone tell, but with shadows) once per day. Additionally, he gains the see in darkness ability common to devilkind (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 311).
Payment Once per week, the contracted mortal must kill a sentient creature with a piercing weapon and leave a platinum coin in the victim’s mouth. If the mortal neglects to do this, his soul is damned to Hell upon his death.
RESEARCH
Description Infernal contracts created by hamatulas typically contain references to mathematics, accounting principles, and slow deaths.
Complexity 32
Specialized Skills Appraise, Knowledge (planes), Profession (clerk)
kp 33
Hidden Condition (12 kp) Once per month, the hamatula can appear before the contracted mortal and collect a debt in gold equal to 100 gp × the mortal’s Hit Dice. If the devil does not collect, the debt carries over to the next month, and the next month, and so on—likely without the mortal’s knowledge. The hamatula can erase the debt by taking one or more of the mortal’s appendages, digits, or similar bodily features, resulting in 2d6 points of ability drain to an ability score of the devil’s choice.
Termination Clause (0 kp) The contract is not for a mortal soul, but calls literally for “a priceless item with the contracted mortal’s name and blood.” If the mortal finds a priceless item, bleeds over it (taking an amount of damage equal to 1/2 his maximum hit points), gives it his name, and then destroys it in a fire, the contract ends.

VOW OF HEARTRIME CR 13
XP 25,600
Devil ice devil (gelugon)
Creation Time 1d8 days
Benefit The contracted mortal stops showing the appearance of age and gains immunity to cold damage. Additionally, she can survive indefinitely on 1 gallon of water per day, so long as it is frozen—this replaces her need to eat and drink.
Payment As a sacrifice of warmth, the area within 5 feet of the contracted mortal is always 10 degrees colder than the surrounding area. The mortal’s body is unpleasantly coldto the touch. Any liquid in the mortal’s possession, no matter how well insulated, freezes in 1 minute. This includes potions and other liquid gear; consuming a frozen potion takes 1 minute of uninterrupted work.
RESEARCH
Description Infernal contracts created by a gelugon are exceedingly complex, referencing cunning extraplanar generals, obscure predators, and natural violence.
Complexity 36
Specialized Skills Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (nobility), Knowledge (planes)
kp 39
Hidden Condition (25 kp) One year after the contract is signed, the ice devil can collect the contracted mortal’s heart. The mortal survives this painful extraction, but from then on is healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy, as if he were an undead creature. The ice devil keeps the heart safe (some say within its own chest). Not having a heart neither aids nor hinders the mortal, but if the infernal contract is terminated while the mortal’s heart is missing, the mortal instantly dies.
Termination Clause (0 kp) A beautiful but obtuse clause likens the contracted mortal’s existence to living, melting snow. The mortal can take advantage of this by arranging for the creation of a simulacrum. During the casting of the simulacrum spell, the contracted mortal must wound himself and bleed over the simulacrum until he falls unconscious. The mortal takes 1d4 points of Constitution drain and falls unconscious for 2d6 hours, during which time the simulacrum must be destroyed with fire. However, the simulacrum refuses to obey its creator and attempts to escape. If the simulacrum is destroyed before the contracted mortal awakes, the contract is considered to be fulfilled.
UNIQUE FEATURES
This contract can be destroyed only by sacred fire, such as that created by the spell flame strike from a good caster.

CURSE OF THE EVER-SOUL CR 20
XP 307,200
Devil pit fiend
Creation Time 1 hour
Benefit The contracted mortal gains 1,000 years of life, can speak and understand any language, and permanently gains the effects of speak with animals.
Payment The signee must deliver 100 sentient mortal lives, sacrificed in rituals to Asmodeus or a demigod residing in Hell. These souls need not be paid before the contract is signed, but must be paid within 1 year of the signing; otherwise, the payment becomes the signee’s mortal soul.
RESEARCH
Description Infernal contracts created by pit fiends are among the most elaborate in existence, referencing deities, souls, and half-comprehensible cosmic truths.
Complexity 50
Specialized Skills Knowledge (planes), Knowledge (religion)
kp 60
Hidden Condition (20 kp) Once per year, the pit fiend can instantly transport the signing mortal to its side across any distance, even across planar boundaries, as if conjuring the mortal via a gate spell. The pit fiend can command the mortal to perform one service for it, which the mortal cannot deny and must attempt to complete to the best of her abilities (regardless of any immunities). After 24 hours or upon the completion of the task, the mortal returns to wherever she was teleported from.
Termination Clause (0 kp) The contract is exacting in defining the signee’s nature and homeworld. If the mortal were to place her soul into the body of another humanoid not native to her world, the terms of the contract would remain effective over her body, not her soul. Any soul within the mortal’s original body is damned upon that body’s death. The mortal could potentially reclaim her body after a soul within it is taken in this manner.








« 上次编辑: 2021-08-25, 周三 17:11:35 由 丞相 »
女王的杂技团
见识短浅的调查员手册作者
优化一塌糊涂的三流玩家
开团必炸团的垃圾GM
看不懂英文的翻译
——丞相

离线 Πληΐαδες

  • 黑鸭爵
  • Hero
  • ****
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  • Broken Vessel
Re: 炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS
« 回帖 #1 于: 2018-10-01, 周一 17:10:01 »
丞相牛逼
  No mind to think.
没有可以思考的心智。

I am the vessel.
我即容器
No will to break.
没有可以屈从的意志。

I am the Hollow Knight!
我即
空洞骑士
No voice to cry suffering.
没有为苦难哭泣的声音。
Born of God and Void.
生于神与虚空之手。


离线 归田卸甲退休孤寡老人

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Re: 炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS
« 回帖 #2 于: 2018-10-01, 周一 18:32:05 »
丞相牛逼

离线

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  • .--. --- ... ... . ... ... .. --- -.
Re: 炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS
« 回帖 #3 于: 2018-10-03, 周三 20:57:03 »
丞相牛逼

While you live, shine
have no grief at all
life exists only for a short while
and Time demands his due

离线 沙包

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Re: 炼狱契约 INFERNAL CONTRACTS
« 回帖 #4 于: 2018-10-05, 周五 21:46:42 »
KP减少的值取悦于主要研究契约者的类型。

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不如叫堕天堡?
但是——丞相牛逼
« 上次编辑: 2018-10-05, 周五 22:10:09 由 沙包 »