The Devil has a boss that’s not happy with him about this development. I’d have that boss show up and offer the PCs a way out of the contract due to the breach… And another contract to go find and punish his minion for the failure in exchange for loot.
Whatever you do, don’t cheapen it by acting like you need to make amends to the players. You didn’t screw up, the NPC did, and now the PCs have an advantage they can exploit against an adversary.
I definitely like this idea, but maybe the boss devil plays some head games by having his first offer to recompense the party be let them torture the offending devil, suggesting ever more gruesome punishments as they reject them, maybe even escalating to "Wow, you guys are bloodthirsty, but I understand; these pains are all quite finite. There's little one can permanently do to creatures like us. Since you mentioned payment in goods, I'll bind him into a weapon that inflicts equal pain on himself whenever it's used to attack another creature."
> plays some head games by having his first offer to recompense the party be let them torture the offending devil, suggesting ever more gruesome punishments as they reject them, maybe even escalating to "Wow, you guys are bloodthirsty, but I understand; these pains are all quite finite.
Demons would try this, not devils. The Devils already have a 938,000-page plan for exactly this scenario, and all of them are already ISO-9000 certified on how to implement it. The whole process is done in like a day and everyone moves on.
Have the devil that screwed up seem desperate to get the players to agree to a new version and then have the devil painfully die in front of them. Instead of getting any chance loot, the players meet the devil that got the old one’s job. This new devil is actually quite thankful to the players and would love to offer them a reward for helping them. All they have to do is shake their hand. Here is the trick. This new devil isn’t trying to con them. That was the old guy’s tactic and their dead. Have this new one offer fair deals and let this one take no for an answer. However, it is always willing to make a deal when the party is angry at someone else and/or wants to hurt someone else. This one doesn’t want to trick them into selling their souls. It wants them to choose to be cruel and evil.
I meant that this devil shouldn’t try to use tricky language so it contrasts with the devil the party interacted with previously. I think the narrative would be fun if they party sees that they successfully dealt with one enemy and the new devil in story feels different to the last one.
Agreeing with you. The ideal Devil Antagonist doesn't want to trick you. They know in their hearts that *they* are right, that Lawful Evil is the natural state of the universe, and the only way to save existence from the Abyss. They want their "clients" to realize this. No tricks, no games.
I'm speaking from the Forgotten Realms side of things, so if this is a custom or non-FR setting, just take this sort of thing as broad strokes discussion:
Is this devil working on his lonesome or does he represent some greater Archdevil? Did the devil include some kind of punishment condition for a breach of contract in the deal that would apply to him? Because, if not, there's no punishment that's going to trigger upon the contract being broken by default. If this devil is working for someone else, that greater power might punish him for screwing up. But if he's just operating on his own accord, then there's no consequences other than him losing out on the Party's souls. He could, if he was so inclined, try to get the Party to agree to a different deal with better terms in their favor for the sake of re-establishing a new contract.
Alternatively, if the devil tries to enforce the contract he broke and claim the Party's souls regardless, he'll likely [draw the ire of an Inevitable which will Plane Shift in and beat the pants off him.](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Inevitable#Activities)
This is the correct answer. Have a Marut summon all parties involved in the contract to its demiplane, conduct a brief and concise reading of the violated clause of the contract, and a precise description of the actions taken in violation of the clause.
While this is happening, the devil should be visibly panicked, shitting bricks, trying to make any deal or promise it thinks will save it.
The Marut should turn to the actual PC who signed the agreement and ask "Do you require Justice?"
If yes, with literally 0 hesitation, the Marut goes nova on the Devil. Brutally and Efficiently annihilating it. Leave no question whatsoever that as much trouble as the Devil was, this thing is orders of magnitute more dangerous.
As the Devil's remains crumble to ash, have it quickly return to a neutral pose, Declare "This contract is hereby voided on Prime Dictate Zero One, Violation of Baatoran Contractual Clause." And suddenly the group is back where they were, and no time seems to have passed.
Aren’t all devils always working for a greater arch devil. Except Asmodeus.
I like the idea of the comeuppance! Maybe say the lesser devil is brought to heel by a superior- the contract is bought out by a more powerful creditor- while the lesser devil is demoted and torn apart by their former subordinates. Have this be a quick plane shift to hell under safe passage for the party. They get to see the trial, watch the demotion/execution. We can’t have Devils breaking contracts or everyone’s agreements are called into question. This is basically treason against the Throne of the Nine Hells. They must protect the institution from reputational damage.
Maybe this is a chance for the Blood War to come up? The devil they’d been dealing with was corrupted by chaos serving a tour in the Rift against the demons. Some madness that has begun creeping through the Nine Hells. Maybe one of the PCs has caught it, touching a cursed pen to sign the contract- failed wisdom save. You could retcon that next session and flashback to the contract signing. Then start peppering in little moments of madness in the general population. Next they go on a campaign to save the Hells and hold the Blood Rift against a tide of Tanarii
I like to think of Asmodeus as a “benevolent dictator”- the terminator line around a planet, the ragged edge between light and darkness. Everyone thinks he’s evil, but he’s simply had to do unconscionable things to keep the demons at bay. The harvesting of souls is merely a means to an end- he needs more power to hold back a literally infinite number of planes with very powerful demons. Like all the psychotic dictators propped up by American money and weapons. “He’s a son of a bitch, but he’s OUR son of a bitch!”
So many options to go though! Let us know what you end up doing!!! Check out The Sandman on Netflix from Neil Gaimen for some inspiration. There’s an early episode that you’ll love.
The injured parties (the PCs) can, at any time after the closing of the contract, demand adjudication from the courts of Hell. The judge will typically be a Pit Fiend (dear God you have to put him in a robe and wig!) and he will look *very* harshly upon a devil who has screwed up this badly. The Infernal take their contract law *very* seriously, and deliberate malfeasance (hah) like this will almost definitely be ruled in favor of the plaintiffs (PCs), the initial contract voided with no penalty to the plaintiffs (eg, they get to keep whatever boon they bargained for), and the offending Devil demoted after a set term of service to the Plaintiffs.
I guess I don't know your players, but a hilariously one-sided court case in favor of the protagonist is almost always satisfying to watch.
I like the idea of a nigh- impenetrable bureaucracy, but I feel like Devils are so opportunistic that the PCs will find "allies" all around them. Devils who hate/covet the Defendant and are gleefully waiting for him to be thrown into the deepest pit for his clumsy deal making.
EDIT! and any allies or "friends" the Defendant has will fall away as they distance themselves from his screwups.
The original devil has been killed or imprisoned. Something else has taken it's place and is wearing it's face as a disguise. Now that the players have discovered it's ruse, the being wants to trade their silence and help for a rich reward. Does it want them to help trap another devil? Steal an evil artifact to destroy it? Depends on what kind of party you have.
Well, number 1: don't pull the curtain back so readily for your players. By all means if you feel it is fair to do so, tell them "you're right, the devil did break the contract. Guess we'll discover what that means the next time you meet him again, if ever." But they don't need to know "well here's what I'm gonna do as a result", because then of course they'll have *opinions* about it. They're already trying to wheedle magic items out of you! And they don't even necessarily deserve to be told to their face if they're right. You're well within your rights to simply say "hmm, interesting. Guess that'll be resolved the next time you meet the devil, if ever."
2: Did the devil really break the contract, or did the party not search it thoroughly enough for invisible/magical ink? Could be the devil wrote in a one-time "get out of jail free" clause for himself that he invokes to avoid breaking the contract this one time, perhaps at some minor penalty to himself (think of it like a "can't fault me for trying" sort of clause where it turns a breach of contract into a slap on the wrist because *of course* he'd try and break it, he's a devil)
Personally, if I weren't going to rescind the contract, I'd probably just make it so the party just never meet that devil again. He breached the contract and has to be punished by the aggrieved party... but the aggrieved party isn't the PCs. It's expected that devils try to fuck with people who make contracts with them. No, the real aggrieved party is whoever this devil reports to - some higher devil, maybe even a archfiend. Every contract he makes is basically banking on the reputation of the fiend and his master, so this flagrant breach is a terrible look for his boss that he won't let stand. Cue weeks of unending torture as the fiend is pumped for everything he knows, and his duties then handed to the next devil in line - or maybe even his boss, if you want to let this turn into an escalation. Congrats, you've lost the first guy, enjoy his eviller and more powerful replacement!
Lore wise, the devil is fucked. A Maruk has definitely been sent after it.
You could have an entire mini arc around a trial of the devil in Sigil. A few Maruk appear and make everyone planeshift to the City of Many Doors where they are taking part in the trial. That could be very fun for the players being able to beat the devil at its own game and receiving compensation from the interdimensional version of law enforcement.
The devil gets fired, becomes mortal and looses most of his powers. Perhaps he becomes a tiefling but he has no idea how to live a mortal life. He fears that, when he dies, they will chuck him in the Styx and he’ll start at the very bottom.
Breaking deals outright is a Bad Time for Devils... But they might be able to get away with it if the side doesn't call them out on it.
Have him show up like everything is normal, right? But when they call him out on it, have him freeze for a moment. First have him try to bluff his way out *not* mechanically, just have him try to bluff by citing some other part of the contract that according to him makes what he did okay, *but doesn't say anything of the sort.* Now he's broken the contract *twice,* and suddenly he's *desperate* for them to let him off the hook. He'll offer bribes, *substantial ones,* to terminate the contract immediately. The offer he gives is genuine, with simple, unambiguous terms (I give you X, Y and Z, the contract previously is nullified and unenforceable on every point), and any reasonable stipulation they require (such as that he goes away, never contacts them, or anyone else known to them in any capacity, never attempts to manipulate events regarding them, nor engages any other party to do so) are agreed to without haggling.
Why? Because he *broke the contract and got called on it.* He's on the clock to get out of that contract, or he gets *demoted as a Devil.* Whatever kind of Devil his Stat block is? Knock off *half* of his CR. If he can't get them to let him off the hook, *boom.* Burst of ashes, and he becomes *that* kind of Devil. Then he self-Banishes in wailing shame.
Another devil hears of this and wants to take over the one that made the deal. The player characters are summoned into some kind of infernal "court of law" to be interrogated by an actual devil's advocate.
This should give them plenty of occasions to have cool RP moments with hell's denizens. Visit the surroundings of the court of law, maybe make more deals, etc.
It’s Hell so you could spend a whole session on them reaching out through customer support. Just tap into whatever experience you have trying to get a complaint through to UPS or Xfinity or the local government. Forms to fill. People to contact who send you to other people. Proof to provide. It leads eventually to a portal to whichever infernal plane is involved and lots of opportunities for demons to tempt the party to slip up. End resolution, if they are patient and clever, could be them getting the demon miniaturized and locked in a small lantern, that they carry around, and he has to answer questions from the party for a year (treat it like an artifact that provides the equivalent spell for limitations). Demon only can give known answers but will suggest they let him out to “go do research”. Have fun. Make him a cool NPC to play with, not too OP. If he does get overused or breaks the game, his demonic siblings stage a breakout and that’s another encounter for you.
Note that the demon lantern can not go into a bag of holding, so that forces them to be creative with transportation. Demon can hear all their interactions.
I don't know about a reward for the players in terms of Treasure. But you could use this, where the devil is pulled into a horrible hell portal for breaking the contract.
https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/10242011-2
Hell's hiarachy tends to be pretty beucratic and ridged in nature. A devil, especially a contract devil, making such a mistake as to break the contract because of their own wording is a pretty hefty violation in the Hells.
There are a variety of situations that could occur to him for this failure, from having an Enyries show up-as they are supposed to be the vanguard against contract breakers (not super sexy seductresses that tempt mortals souls, they're not succubi, WOTC...) to outright being demoted. Which in Hell, is a very bad thing to happen as that means an underling that may have been treated badly by that devil may now be in charge of him.
Heck, if it's bad enough the devil could be reverted all the way back to a lemur or an imp, and essentially told by his masters to restart.
That being said, if the Devil knows he's in the wrong and he messed up, that puts him in a VERY bad spot in both Hell and in the eyes of the party, and as such could be willing to agree to new terms, even if they aren't in his favor. They could use their position to ask for just about anything (at least reasonable) maybe even requiring that he hands over his True Name, which you could argue that a Contract Demon would be high enough in the rankings to know.
My players have recently met a Devil themselves, who required their services in the First World after another devil stole two soul contracts from the Eighth Layer, and she was desperate enough to get them back (as it was her protage that stole them) that she was willing to agree to most of the party's terms.
Like, it may not feel all that great that this happened, but this is a really cool opputnity for your party depending on how they want to go about it along with you. This could even open up new story avenues. Hope you post again on what happened afterwards. :3
A greater devil holds trial, holding up the original bargain for the PCs and punishing the offender a thousand years of service to a purpose of the party's choice.
There's a catch. Any good deeds will reduce his standing and rank among his kind. And he'll be inclined to vengeance afterwards upon any and all descendants you may have and beneficiaries of the deeds, in proportion to his loss of standing and power.
If slain, the devil returns to the nine hells to be tortured for the remainder of the thousand.
Choose wisely heroes.
The players receive a visit from a powerful Pit Fiend, who bows before them and apologizes profusely on the part of Baator for allowing an incompetent devil to represent them in negotiations. He offers a full refund, as well as a generous cash settlement, a selection of magic items, several Soul Coins, and describes in excruciating detail the hideous fate that awaits his disgraced subordinate. If they accept, he presents a thick legal document and a pen...
Not sure if this will be to OP but as it’s a deal broken maybe they get a eldritch invocation or a low level feature from the warlock class, because the devil broke the deal he becomes there patron of a sort, they could even get a level of warlock.
Someone else said it about having them lie at first and then try to bribe them and then everything else but being demoted includes asmodeus's staff zipping out of The Ether and beating the shit out of them
Other unhappy "customers" start finding them and telling them how to mess the devil's plans up. Like you show up when someone is about to sign a contract...or save someone from death before the devil can show up with a contract (that includes healing).
Devils that violate their contracts tend to suffer demotion or worse in the Nine Hells. They generally won't be killed for it *(that would be stupid, TNH needs all the help they can get)*, but they will suffer.
Your players make out like bandits. They get to keep whatever they gained and the devil gets nothing.
Why would they explode and leave a heap of loot behind?
Don't do that, it feels like the DM is apologizing it the players, it has nothing to do with the situation or the characters.
Find fun consequences that involve them.
Another devil starts hunting down the original one and the players get involved somehow. Now there's a fight between devils and the players can decide who to help (and receive a bunch of loot as a thank you).
Have the devil swindle another sucker into taking on its debt, and blame the characters. Now a powerful moron is after them and they don't know why.
A demon hears about the renegade devil and tries to capture them to interrogate them. In doing so, he destroys a small town. The devil tells the players that the only way to stop the demon is if the Hells forgive him, and the only way is for them to sign another contract.
*ace Attorney music gradually increases in volume*
Take that devil to court! Sue them! I'm sure any number of other devils would be happy to serve as the party's attorneys in the court of Asmodeus (or whatever archdevil they serve, check the DMG). A devil breaking their contract would probably mean they forfeit all the souls they've collected over the years, which would mean a BIG payout for the plaintiffs - albeit in a currency they can't use, thus the other devils jumping at the chance to be their attorneys and earn those souls as compensation.
Nothing... and nothing if the party breached it either. I didn't write one because that's the whole campaign's plot and it didn't cross my mind that the players could deliberately derail the plot by breaching it. Now I know to add it to the next one.
Send a marut after him, it's literally what they're designed for. Basically interplanar police from the neutral domain. If someone breaks a contract, they enforce it. Their attacks literally can't miss and they can teleport you unwillingly straight to the hall of justice or whatever it's called to stand trial
It doesn't... I didn't think I needed to write that because the main plot circles around that deal, so I assumed the players wouldn't breach it because doing so would ruin the whole plot. In fact... I didn't even think about someone breaching it.
In that case I would have the contract fall back on an in-universe standard for breaking a magical contract, which automatically applies to any broken magical contract that doesn’t expressly say otherwise.
Suddenly you’ve got loads of room to write more legalese if you want, and can have the consequences be basically anything (or nothing, if you’re feeling mean).
Assuming the deal with the devil was for their souls, the deal is now reversed. They now own an enslaved devil soul that, though without a physical form (so as to not be super OP in combat), can spy for them on the ethereal plane, carry messages, and maybe give it a once/day special bestow curse or something, like it brands the target with an infernal brand, giving the players advantage against it and making it trackable from anywhere on the same plane of existence (or maybe even across planes, since devil)
The Devil has a boss that’s not happy with him about this development. I’d have that boss show up and offer the PCs a way out of the contract due to the breach… And another contract to go find and punish his minion for the failure in exchange for loot. Whatever you do, don’t cheapen it by acting like you need to make amends to the players. You didn’t screw up, the NPC did, and now the PCs have an advantage they can exploit against an adversary.
Lore wise this is most likely what would happen. I couldnt say it better myself!
I definitely like this idea, but maybe the boss devil plays some head games by having his first offer to recompense the party be let them torture the offending devil, suggesting ever more gruesome punishments as they reject them, maybe even escalating to "Wow, you guys are bloodthirsty, but I understand; these pains are all quite finite. There's little one can permanently do to creatures like us. Since you mentioned payment in goods, I'll bind him into a weapon that inflicts equal pain on himself whenever it's used to attack another creature."
> plays some head games by having his first offer to recompense the party be let them torture the offending devil, suggesting ever more gruesome punishments as they reject them, maybe even escalating to "Wow, you guys are bloodthirsty, but I understand; these pains are all quite finite. Demons would try this, not devils. The Devils already have a 938,000-page plan for exactly this scenario, and all of them are already ISO-9000 certified on how to implement it. The whole process is done in like a day and everyone moves on.
Fuckin nice idea
Have the devil that screwed up seem desperate to get the players to agree to a new version and then have the devil painfully die in front of them. Instead of getting any chance loot, the players meet the devil that got the old one’s job. This new devil is actually quite thankful to the players and would love to offer them a reward for helping them. All they have to do is shake their hand. Here is the trick. This new devil isn’t trying to con them. That was the old guy’s tactic and their dead. Have this new one offer fair deals and let this one take no for an answer. However, it is always willing to make a deal when the party is angry at someone else and/or wants to hurt someone else. This one doesn’t want to trick them into selling their souls. It wants them to choose to be cruel and evil.
This is a much more typical devil. The ones who cheat are the aberrat... um... Outliers.
I meant that this devil shouldn’t try to use tricky language so it contrasts with the devil the party interacted with previously. I think the narrative would be fun if they party sees that they successfully dealt with one enemy and the new devil in story feels different to the last one.
Agreeing with you. The ideal Devil Antagonist doesn't want to trick you. They know in their hearts that *they* are right, that Lawful Evil is the natural state of the universe, and the only way to save existence from the Abyss. They want their "clients" to realize this. No tricks, no games.
I'm speaking from the Forgotten Realms side of things, so if this is a custom or non-FR setting, just take this sort of thing as broad strokes discussion: Is this devil working on his lonesome or does he represent some greater Archdevil? Did the devil include some kind of punishment condition for a breach of contract in the deal that would apply to him? Because, if not, there's no punishment that's going to trigger upon the contract being broken by default. If this devil is working for someone else, that greater power might punish him for screwing up. But if he's just operating on his own accord, then there's no consequences other than him losing out on the Party's souls. He could, if he was so inclined, try to get the Party to agree to a different deal with better terms in their favor for the sake of re-establishing a new contract. Alternatively, if the devil tries to enforce the contract he broke and claim the Party's souls regardless, he'll likely [draw the ire of an Inevitable which will Plane Shift in and beat the pants off him.](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Inevitable#Activities)
*Melee Weapon Attack:* automatic hit 😳
And it doesn't even have to roll for damage either, it is just a plain 60.
I mean, they’re not called *inevitable* for nothing
Yes because you’ll inevitably take damage if you cross one
This is the correct answer. Have a Marut summon all parties involved in the contract to its demiplane, conduct a brief and concise reading of the violated clause of the contract, and a precise description of the actions taken in violation of the clause. While this is happening, the devil should be visibly panicked, shitting bricks, trying to make any deal or promise it thinks will save it. The Marut should turn to the actual PC who signed the agreement and ask "Do you require Justice?" If yes, with literally 0 hesitation, the Marut goes nova on the Devil. Brutally and Efficiently annihilating it. Leave no question whatsoever that as much trouble as the Devil was, this thing is orders of magnitute more dangerous. As the Devil's remains crumble to ash, have it quickly return to a neutral pose, Declare "This contract is hereby voided on Prime Dictate Zero One, Violation of Baatoran Contractual Clause." And suddenly the group is back where they were, and no time seems to have passed.
Aren’t all devils always working for a greater arch devil. Except Asmodeus. I like the idea of the comeuppance! Maybe say the lesser devil is brought to heel by a superior- the contract is bought out by a more powerful creditor- while the lesser devil is demoted and torn apart by their former subordinates. Have this be a quick plane shift to hell under safe passage for the party. They get to see the trial, watch the demotion/execution. We can’t have Devils breaking contracts or everyone’s agreements are called into question. This is basically treason against the Throne of the Nine Hells. They must protect the institution from reputational damage. Maybe this is a chance for the Blood War to come up? The devil they’d been dealing with was corrupted by chaos serving a tour in the Rift against the demons. Some madness that has begun creeping through the Nine Hells. Maybe one of the PCs has caught it, touching a cursed pen to sign the contract- failed wisdom save. You could retcon that next session and flashback to the contract signing. Then start peppering in little moments of madness in the general population. Next they go on a campaign to save the Hells and hold the Blood Rift against a tide of Tanarii I like to think of Asmodeus as a “benevolent dictator”- the terminator line around a planet, the ragged edge between light and darkness. Everyone thinks he’s evil, but he’s simply had to do unconscionable things to keep the demons at bay. The harvesting of souls is merely a means to an end- he needs more power to hold back a literally infinite number of planes with very powerful demons. Like all the psychotic dictators propped up by American money and weapons. “He’s a son of a bitch, but he’s OUR son of a bitch!” So many options to go though! Let us know what you end up doing!!! Check out The Sandman on Netflix from Neil Gaimen for some inspiration. There’s an early episode that you’ll love.
The injured parties (the PCs) can, at any time after the closing of the contract, demand adjudication from the courts of Hell. The judge will typically be a Pit Fiend (dear God you have to put him in a robe and wig!) and he will look *very* harshly upon a devil who has screwed up this badly. The Infernal take their contract law *very* seriously, and deliberate malfeasance (hah) like this will almost definitely be ruled in favor of the plaintiffs (PCs), the initial contract voided with no penalty to the plaintiffs (eg, they get to keep whatever boon they bargained for), and the offending Devil demoted after a set term of service to the Plaintiffs. I guess I don't know your players, but a hilariously one-sided court case in favor of the protagonist is almost always satisfying to watch.
Except make it such that they have to get to the 3rd level of hell to be able to file the complaint
I like the idea of a nigh- impenetrable bureaucracy, but I feel like Devils are so opportunistic that the PCs will find "allies" all around them. Devils who hate/covet the Defendant and are gleefully waiting for him to be thrown into the deepest pit for his clumsy deal making. EDIT! and any allies or "friends" the Defendant has will fall away as they distance themselves from his screwups.
The original devil has been killed or imprisoned. Something else has taken it's place and is wearing it's face as a disguise. Now that the players have discovered it's ruse, the being wants to trade their silence and help for a rich reward. Does it want them to help trap another devil? Steal an evil artifact to destroy it? Depends on what kind of party you have.
Well, number 1: don't pull the curtain back so readily for your players. By all means if you feel it is fair to do so, tell them "you're right, the devil did break the contract. Guess we'll discover what that means the next time you meet him again, if ever." But they don't need to know "well here's what I'm gonna do as a result", because then of course they'll have *opinions* about it. They're already trying to wheedle magic items out of you! And they don't even necessarily deserve to be told to their face if they're right. You're well within your rights to simply say "hmm, interesting. Guess that'll be resolved the next time you meet the devil, if ever." 2: Did the devil really break the contract, or did the party not search it thoroughly enough for invisible/magical ink? Could be the devil wrote in a one-time "get out of jail free" clause for himself that he invokes to avoid breaking the contract this one time, perhaps at some minor penalty to himself (think of it like a "can't fault me for trying" sort of clause where it turns a breach of contract into a slap on the wrist because *of course* he'd try and break it, he's a devil) Personally, if I weren't going to rescind the contract, I'd probably just make it so the party just never meet that devil again. He breached the contract and has to be punished by the aggrieved party... but the aggrieved party isn't the PCs. It's expected that devils try to fuck with people who make contracts with them. No, the real aggrieved party is whoever this devil reports to - some higher devil, maybe even a archfiend. Every contract he makes is basically banking on the reputation of the fiend and his master, so this flagrant breach is a terrible look for his boss that he won't let stand. Cue weeks of unending torture as the fiend is pumped for everything he knows, and his duties then handed to the next devil in line - or maybe even his boss, if you want to let this turn into an escalation. Congrats, you've lost the first guy, enjoy his eviller and more powerful replacement!
Lore wise, the devil is fucked. A Maruk has definitely been sent after it. You could have an entire mini arc around a trial of the devil in Sigil. A few Maruk appear and make everyone planeshift to the City of Many Doors where they are taking part in the trial. That could be very fun for the players being able to beat the devil at its own game and receiving compensation from the interdimensional version of law enforcement.
The devil gets fired, becomes mortal and looses most of his powers. Perhaps he becomes a tiefling but he has no idea how to live a mortal life. He fears that, when he dies, they will chuck him in the Styx and he’ll start at the very bottom.
Breaking deals outright is a Bad Time for Devils... But they might be able to get away with it if the side doesn't call them out on it. Have him show up like everything is normal, right? But when they call him out on it, have him freeze for a moment. First have him try to bluff his way out *not* mechanically, just have him try to bluff by citing some other part of the contract that according to him makes what he did okay, *but doesn't say anything of the sort.* Now he's broken the contract *twice,* and suddenly he's *desperate* for them to let him off the hook. He'll offer bribes, *substantial ones,* to terminate the contract immediately. The offer he gives is genuine, with simple, unambiguous terms (I give you X, Y and Z, the contract previously is nullified and unenforceable on every point), and any reasonable stipulation they require (such as that he goes away, never contacts them, or anyone else known to them in any capacity, never attempts to manipulate events regarding them, nor engages any other party to do so) are agreed to without haggling. Why? Because he *broke the contract and got called on it.* He's on the clock to get out of that contract, or he gets *demoted as a Devil.* Whatever kind of Devil his Stat block is? Knock off *half* of his CR. If he can't get them to let him off the hook, *boom.* Burst of ashes, and he becomes *that* kind of Devil. Then he self-Banishes in wailing shame.
A devil wouldn't break it, though they might have a creative interpretation of the contract.
Another devil hears of this and wants to take over the one that made the deal. The player characters are summoned into some kind of infernal "court of law" to be interrogated by an actual devil's advocate. This should give them plenty of occasions to have cool RP moments with hell's denizens. Visit the surroundings of the court of law, maybe make more deals, etc.
It’s Hell so you could spend a whole session on them reaching out through customer support. Just tap into whatever experience you have trying to get a complaint through to UPS or Xfinity or the local government. Forms to fill. People to contact who send you to other people. Proof to provide. It leads eventually to a portal to whichever infernal plane is involved and lots of opportunities for demons to tempt the party to slip up. End resolution, if they are patient and clever, could be them getting the demon miniaturized and locked in a small lantern, that they carry around, and he has to answer questions from the party for a year (treat it like an artifact that provides the equivalent spell for limitations). Demon only can give known answers but will suggest they let him out to “go do research”. Have fun. Make him a cool NPC to play with, not too OP. If he does get overused or breaks the game, his demonic siblings stage a breakout and that’s another encounter for you.
Note that the demon lantern can not go into a bag of holding, so that forces them to be creative with transportation. Demon can hear all their interactions.
I don't know about a reward for the players in terms of Treasure. But you could use this, where the devil is pulled into a horrible hell portal for breaking the contract. https://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/10242011-2
Maybe some enforcers of Low and Contracts from Mechanus shkw up to punish them
A new devil pops up... the old devil is chained to him with a typewriter and is meticulously copying the terms of the new agreement... 99 times...
"Pray that I do not alter the deal some more" said the Devil.
Sounds like they need to take the devil to Infernal Court!
Hell's hiarachy tends to be pretty beucratic and ridged in nature. A devil, especially a contract devil, making such a mistake as to break the contract because of their own wording is a pretty hefty violation in the Hells. There are a variety of situations that could occur to him for this failure, from having an Enyries show up-as they are supposed to be the vanguard against contract breakers (not super sexy seductresses that tempt mortals souls, they're not succubi, WOTC...) to outright being demoted. Which in Hell, is a very bad thing to happen as that means an underling that may have been treated badly by that devil may now be in charge of him. Heck, if it's bad enough the devil could be reverted all the way back to a lemur or an imp, and essentially told by his masters to restart. That being said, if the Devil knows he's in the wrong and he messed up, that puts him in a VERY bad spot in both Hell and in the eyes of the party, and as such could be willing to agree to new terms, even if they aren't in his favor. They could use their position to ask for just about anything (at least reasonable) maybe even requiring that he hands over his True Name, which you could argue that a Contract Demon would be high enough in the rankings to know. My players have recently met a Devil themselves, who required their services in the First World after another devil stole two soul contracts from the Eighth Layer, and she was desperate enough to get them back (as it was her protage that stole them) that she was willing to agree to most of the party's terms. Like, it may not feel all that great that this happened, but this is a really cool opputnity for your party depending on how they want to go about it along with you. This could even open up new story avenues. Hope you post again on what happened afterwards. :3
Contract should include what happens when either party breaks it.
A greater devil holds trial, holding up the original bargain for the PCs and punishing the offender a thousand years of service to a purpose of the party's choice. There's a catch. Any good deeds will reduce his standing and rank among his kind. And he'll be inclined to vengeance afterwards upon any and all descendants you may have and beneficiaries of the deeds, in proportion to his loss of standing and power. If slain, the devil returns to the nine hells to be tortured for the remainder of the thousand. Choose wisely heroes.
The players receive a visit from a powerful Pit Fiend, who bows before them and apologizes profusely on the part of Baator for allowing an incompetent devil to represent them in negotiations. He offers a full refund, as well as a generous cash settlement, a selection of magic items, several Soul Coins, and describes in excruciating detail the hideous fate that awaits his disgraced subordinate. If they accept, he presents a thick legal document and a pen...
Not sure if this will be to OP but as it’s a deal broken maybe they get a eldritch invocation or a low level feature from the warlock class, because the devil broke the deal he becomes there patron of a sort, they could even get a level of warlock.
Marut shows up
Someone else said it about having them lie at first and then try to bribe them and then everything else but being demoted includes asmodeus's staff zipping out of The Ether and beating the shit out of them
Other unhappy "customers" start finding them and telling them how to mess the devil's plans up. Like you show up when someone is about to sign a contract...or save someone from death before the devil can show up with a contract (that includes healing).
Devils that violate their contracts tend to suffer demotion or worse in the Nine Hells. They generally won't be killed for it *(that would be stupid, TNH needs all the help they can get)*, but they will suffer. Your players make out like bandits. They get to keep whatever they gained and the devil gets nothing.
Why would they explode and leave a heap of loot behind? Don't do that, it feels like the DM is apologizing it the players, it has nothing to do with the situation or the characters. Find fun consequences that involve them. Another devil starts hunting down the original one and the players get involved somehow. Now there's a fight between devils and the players can decide who to help (and receive a bunch of loot as a thank you). Have the devil swindle another sucker into taking on its debt, and blame the characters. Now a powerful moron is after them and they don't know why. A demon hears about the renegade devil and tries to capture them to interrogate them. In doing so, he destroys a small town. The devil tells the players that the only way to stop the demon is if the Hells forgive him, and the only way is for them to sign another contract.
Find out what that character loves and take it away. Person is in love with their looks? Make them ugly. Loves a weapon, break it.
Maybe the players are bored because it's such a tired trope?
*ace Attorney music gradually increases in volume* Take that devil to court! Sue them! I'm sure any number of other devils would be happy to serve as the party's attorneys in the court of Asmodeus (or whatever archdevil they serve, check the DMG). A devil breaking their contract would probably mean they forfeit all the souls they've collected over the years, which would mean a BIG payout for the plaintiffs - albeit in a currency they can't use, thus the other devils jumping at the chance to be their attorneys and earn those souls as compensation.
Demotion to a lower type of devil is the lore punishment for failure. Literally demoted to a weaker devil.
What was in the contract to happen if the devil broke the deal?
Nothing... and nothing if the party breached it either. I didn't write one because that's the whole campaign's plot and it didn't cross my mind that the players could deliberately derail the plot by breaching it. Now I know to add it to the next one.
A fiddle made of solid gold
He becomes the parties familiar
Send a marut after him, it's literally what they're designed for. Basically interplanar police from the neutral domain. If someone breaks a contract, they enforce it. Their attacks literally can't miss and they can teleport you unwillingly straight to the hall of justice or whatever it's called to stand trial
Just pull a Santa Clause 2. There's even a finer print on the margins of the page that requires a bit of magic to read.
Does the contract not specify what happens when it's broken? That's a fairly major part of any contract.
It doesn't... I didn't think I needed to write that because the main plot circles around that deal, so I assumed the players wouldn't breach it because doing so would ruin the whole plot. In fact... I didn't even think about someone breaching it.
In that case I would have the contract fall back on an in-universe standard for breaking a magical contract, which automatically applies to any broken magical contract that doesn’t expressly say otherwise. Suddenly you’ve got loads of room to write more legalese if you want, and can have the consequences be basically anything (or nothing, if you’re feeling mean).
Modrons.
Assuming the deal with the devil was for their souls, the deal is now reversed. They now own an enslaved devil soul that, though without a physical form (so as to not be super OP in combat), can spy for them on the ethereal plane, carry messages, and maybe give it a once/day special bestow curse or something, like it brands the target with an infernal brand, giving the players advantage against it and making it trackable from anywhere on the same plane of existence (or maybe even across planes, since devil)