Devil, Contract

A contract devil, also a called phistophilus, always appears handsome and confident, its chiseled features housing a perpetually smug grin. Contract devils have red skin and black hair and stand near 6-1/2 feet in height, not counting their horns. The thicket of horns around a contract devil's body increases its height to 7 feet and its weight to 350 pounds.

They exist to keep track of the damned, to manage Hell's endless ordinances, and, when time and opportunity permit, to coax mortals into damnation. Most phistophiluses spend their eternities in the various courts of Hell's nine layers, particularly in the maze-like fortress-libraries where all infernal laws and oaths are recorded. Occasionally they serve similar roles on the Material Plane when summoned by particularly desperate, arrogant, or foolish mortals.

When one of the souls damned by a contract devil is restored to life (typically via powerful magic like a wish or miracle), the phistophilus immediately notices the transgression. Usually, the contract devil recruits the aid of more powerful allies to track down and punish such transgressors and to collect the escaped soul as quickly as possible.

While numerous types of infernal contracts exist, the following two are those most often offered to mortals by contract devils.

An agreement with a contract devil can only be broken in two ways. When a contract is signed, a second copy manifests; one copy is retained by the devil and the other is given to the mortal. Mortals are free to do whatever they please with the lengthy, obviously evil documents, while contract devils typically keep active contracts with them at all times. Should both copies of a contract be destroyed, any effects caused by the contract are canceled or reversed and the mortal's soul goes to its normal place of rest after death and can be resurrected as normal. Merely absconding with both copies of the contract is not enough to break the contract—as long as both copies exist, the signer's soul remains forever damned.

Alternatively, a second mortal might be allowed to adopt the terms of a contract—with its soul replacing that of the original contract signer after death. The mortal who seeks to pay the debt of another must contact the contract devil who holds the relevant contract. The contract devil has a choice of whether or not to allow one mortal to pay another's debt, but values religious and good-aligned souls over others. Shrewd manipulators, contract devils often only agree to allow one mortal to pay another's debt in return for some service or proof of worth. If a contract devil agrees to accept another soul in payment, the original contract signer retains all of the benefits of the contract, but is released from damnation and may be resurrected as normal. The new signer, however, receives no benefits, cannot be returned to life upon dying, and spends an eternity in Hell after death.

binding contract, bleed (1d6), impale (2d8+4)

infernal contract, infernal investment

Alertness, Deceitful, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mobility, Persuasive

Bluff +26, Diplomacy +26, Disguise +8, Intimidate +26, Knowledge (arcana) +23, Knowledge (nobility) +20, Knowledge (planes) +23, Knowledge (religion) +23, Linguistics +20, Perception +26, Profession (scribe) +19, Sense Motive +26, Sleight of Hand +20, Spellcraft +20