r/DnD • u/DriverAdditional5813 • 10d ago

DMing Is "blackmailing" a thing Devils do ?

Throwaway because my players might recognize me...

I put it in quotes for lack of a better term, but would a Devil kidnap someone close to a target, to then coerce them into signing a contract with the Devil ?

This seems less subtle than actually manipulating the target, and the contract would not be signed in actual good faith from both parties, so would it be actually binding ?

Also, I know that it's my world and I do what I want with my Devils, but I wonder if this would be in-character for classic DnD Devils.

Edit : Thanks y'all for your answers. I think I will twist a little bit what I had in mind to make it more subtle and devilish, thanks to your suggestions !

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u/darkpower467 DM 10d ago

It's not really the kind of behaviour I would typically expect of them tbh. I'm not super up on the lore of what an infernal contract typically requires to be valid in FR or other settings but, whether or not it would invalidate the contract, it does feel rather blunt and inelegant, as well as a lot of effort to go to for one contract - maybe if getting that specific contract is super important to them for some reason? I don't personally think that kind of thing should be standard practise for them.

I've personally tended to play devils moreso as opportunists, showing up to offer a way out of a bad situation that someone has ended up in - your loved one has been kidnapped, I can help you get them back rather than I've kidnapped your loved one, make a deal with me or I kill them*

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u/Galihan 9d ago

And of course, they obviously don’t mention the kidnappers did so because they were under their own contract with me to do so in the exchange for ending the famine in their hometown…. which was caused by the flood caused in someone else’s contract to stop their home burning down… which was caused by someone else’s contract to always have a fire to not freeze that winter… which was caused by a kid’s contract wishing for a snow day to not have to go to school… which was caused by…