Pacts

First and foremost, let's start with the one everyone is going to ask about first: Pacts. Yes, Pacts can be made with player characters. But first…

Once you agree to a Pact as a PC, you are effectively playing on Hard Mode from that point on. Your splat will almost certainly kill you if they find out what you've done, and few Fallen will think twice about throwing you under the bus to save their own skin. The Demon owns you from that point on. They have you on speed dial 24 hours a day, and they will make you do things you, as a player, will not want to do, and often at the worst possible time, and just trying saying no to them and see what happens. They also have enemies of their own, and now they're going to come to for you, too. Once you take this plunge, there's no going back; only the Fallen can end the Pact at any time. But it's all about risk vs. reward; if you take this risk and play your cards right, you could very well be on the fast track for power. In short, AGREE TO THE PACT AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

With that out of the way, Pacts with regular mortals work as described in the books. I won't waste your time or mine by re-writing those, and I'm willing to hazard a bet that that's not what you clicked on this page to read if you're not here to play a Demon. So without further ado…

After reading the above, you're probably all thinking, “Gee, can't wait until I can enthrall me a Nephandi and Baali and a Shusakhsen and a Black Spiral Dancer and and and and–…” Well, not so fast.

Let's face it. Supernatural Thralls are the Holy Grail for a Demon, and just about everyone knows it, just like how having another supernatural as a ghoul is for a vampire. You're giving them extra power, and now you own them; you have the leverage of taking that gift away with a snap of your fingers, and they will do anything to keep it. Except… that's not really how it works.

A Pact is not a blood bond. The threat of losing what you have given them is leverage, but leverage earns compliance, not loyalty. So to be clear, I am not talking about the Pacts background; once the Pact is forged, you're getting your Faith whether your thrall likes it or not, and they can't back out of that agreement. I am, in fact, talking about the Followers/Thralls background.

Pacts are often made in desperation or out of greed. They might be made in the heat of the moment, a moment of weakness, or because the potential thrall has crossed the despair event horizon and no longer sees any other way out of their current predicament than selling their soul. But eventually, unless that thrall is simply an infernalist by nature (in which case, you should really think twice before agreeing to that Pact), it is going to sink in for them that they've just committed the cardinal sin in the World of Darkness, and pretty much every major faction from every other splat in the universe considers it a crime punishable by death, or worse. They've traded their future for the present. Depending on their own beliefs, they probably also believe they're now all but guaranteed a one-way ticket to hell, and no amount of “No you didn't” from a demon of all things will convince them otherwise.

So, how do you turn someone having an existential crisis into a loyal follower? I'll tell you. And no, it's not as simple as spending points.

• You must earn the Supernatural Thrall/Follower as a SCENE REWARD. You cannot earn one via journaling, and you may not have one from character creation. This is non-negotiable and no exceptions will be made, period.
• You must first purchase the Pacts background. Your Supernatural Thrall/Follower cannot be considered a thrall without having a Pact with you, by definition. XP reductions will be offered at ST discretion, and only by the ST who was running the scene from which you earned the reward. The ST running that scene has final discretion on whether or not the prospective thrall accepts the Pact. Remember, Pacts, by definition, are voluntary.
• Once you have the Pacts background, you must purchase the Followers/Thralls background. Note that you can make both purchases at the same time; so long as the completion date of Followers/Thralls background dot comes either after or on the completion date of the Pacts background, it's fair game.
• On or around the completion date of the Followers/Thralls Background dot, you will have to participate in a one-on-one scene with an ST, most likely either me or the ST of the scene from which you earned your scene reward. Think Seeking scenes from Mage, or Balance scenes from Mummy. The goal of the scene will be to earn the loyalty of that thrall once and for all. You will be interacting with that thrall, and you will have to find a way to convince them that they either made the right choice, it's not as bad as they think it is, they're on the fast track for power, whatever it takes. Each thrall is different, and they all made the Pact for their own reasons, and some scenes will be much harder to complete than others. A Baali on the Path of Evil Revelations will be a lot easier to convince to serve a demon than a Technocrat or an Imbued, for example. Once you complete that scene, congratulations! You've just earned a very powerful ally. The ST who ran this scene for you will make the character sheet, if one doesn't exist already. If you didn't succeed, you will, unfortunately, need to try again. The good news is that you still keep the Pact; only the demon can cancel it. The bad news is you'll need to buy the dot all over again, just like a failed Seeking or Balance scene.

IMPORTANT: As has been pointed out multiple times, information on Pacts with vampires is extremely contradictory within Demon: the Fallen, despite the fact that Infernalism is well-established among Cainites and has been dating back all the way to Enoch. Demon: the Fallen: Storyteller's Guide states that vampires have a Faith Potential of 0 by default, while Dark Ages: Devil's Due lays out actual mechanics for Pacts with vampires, and Vampire 20: The Black Hand: Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra and Vampire 20: Rites of the Blood both all but state outright that vampires can and have made Pacts with the Earthbound, if not Fallen in general. So how do we address this for this game?

After much deliberation and working with the Vampire ST, we've come up with the following mechanics for forming Pacts with vampires. Note that these mechanics do not apply to any other splat in the game; All other splats, with the exception of Wraith, are 'alive' in some sense, and thus do have a Faith Potential. Pacts with Wraiths are not possible, no exceptions.

House Mechanics for Forming the Pact:

• To form the Pact, the Fallen must spend at least 1, but no more than 5 points of Faith, and then roll that many dice (standard difficulty). For each success, the Vampire spends one Blood Point. The Faith 'bonds' itself to the vitae spent, resonating with the divine properties within the Curse of Caine, and infusing Torment into it. Each 'success' on the Faith roll becomes a point of Faith Potential for that Vampire. If this roll fails, the Faith and Blood points are lost and the Fallen and Vampire must try again another day. Botching this roll means that not only does the Pact fail, but it causes the Vampire to have a bad reaction to the Torment; they have visions of going to hell, and must make a Rötschreck check. Note that you only have one chance at this; if you roll three successes, that's it, that's that vampire's Faith Potential, and they're stuck with it.
• Once the Pact is made, the Vampire automatically loses one point of Humanity or Path (unless, for some reason, they're already on the Path of Evil Revelations), and must make a Conscience/Conviction roll to determine if they lose an additional point. Note that Vampires cannot provide Offered Faith to Fallen, meaning the Fallen must invest all of the Vampire's artificial Faith Potential back into the Vampire. If a Vampire wishes to try to boost their Faith Potential in the future, it requires an additional Pact… and with it, an additional loss of Humanity/Path, and an additional gain of Permanent Torment. Note that Faith Potential can never exceed 5.

House Rules:

• Upon forming a Pact, Vampires gain one point of Permanent Torment. This Torment, as stated in in Devil's Due, acts as a 'hard cap' to their Humanity/Path rating, and each subsequent failed Degeneration Roll made after this accumulates one additional point of Permanent Torment (yes, I said Permanent Torment, not Temporary Torment) in addition to a loss of Humanity/Path. Should their Torment rating ever exceed their Humanity/Path Rating (e.g. Humanity 4, Permanent Torment 5), they will gain the Dark Aura flaw (p.16, V20: Lore of the Bloodlines). This Flaw may not be removed by spending XP so long as the vampire’s Permanent Torment remains greater than their Humanity/Path rating. There is only one exception to this: A Vampire on the Path of Evil Revelations ignores their Torment rating when it comes to their Path/Humanity rating, but not when it comes to the Flaw. Permanent Torment may be reduced by spending XP, but this will not remove the Flaw if it is acquired.
• Vampires do not have a Faith Potential, or at least not a 'natural' Faith Potential. This means that Fallen do not gain Offered Faith from a Pact with a Vampire, and Vampires do not regenerate Faith when they use a Lore or manifest an Apocalyptic trait. However, that does not mean that forming a pact with a Vampire is pointless; all Vampires have a Permanent Faith rating equal to their Faith Potential as formed using the method stated above. Fallen may 'donate' their Temporary Faith to a Vampire to use as they see fit, and Vampires will store this just like Blood Points, to use in any way a Fallen may use it (for Lores, manifesting an Apocalyptic Trait, buffing their own stats, healing Bashing or Lethal Damage, etc.). Note that Temporary Faith does not 'disappear' like Blood Points, and can be safely stored indefinitely until used. Temporary Faith may not be used as a substitute for Blood Points when using Disciplines, with the exception of Dark Thaumaturgy (see below).

Possible Benefits to Vampires:

• Any 'standard' Gift from Faith investment. Want total immunity from Dominate, Presence, and Dementation? Take Mind Control Immunity. Want wings? Take the Apocalyptic Trait. Want better stats with no extra work? Take 10 Freebie Points. Note that you can't spend Freebie Points on Generation. That's another Gift; see below. Note that these Freebies cannot be spent on Disciplines, with the exception of Dark Thaumaturgy (see below).
• Dark Thaumaturgy. This one comes with a major caveat: Either the Fallen or the Vampire must have some form of justification to learn a Dark Thaumaturgy path. Examples can include infernalist tomes, or similar scene rewards. Dark Thaumaturgy originated with demons that existed before the Sixth Great Maelstrom, such as Earthbound, Banes, etc., and most modern Fallen (and indeed, most Vampires) haven't even heard of Dark Thaumaturgy. All dots cost XP as normal, and count as a Clan Discipline for XP cost. All Dark Thaumaturgy paths work as written in the books, including the price that must be paid for using them (i.e. Nightmares for Path of Phobos, etc.). Temporary Faith donated by a Vampire may be used as a substitute for Blood Points when using Dark Thaumaturgy, but not for any other Discipline. This is considered an Investment; see below.
• Chain the Beast. Adopted from Dark Ages: Devil's Due. If you take this Gift, you gain immunity to all Rötschreck and Frenzy checks. However, this comes with a terrible price… your Fallen patron can make you go into Frenzy or Rötschreck whenever he or she wants, without even needing to roll for it, and you cannot roll to resist, as you have surrendered all control over the Beast by forming the Pact. It lasts for as long as the Fallen wants, and it can end as suddenly as it can begin. This is considered an Investment; see below. Note that if the Fallen triggers a Frenzy in a Vampire, and the Vampire kills an innocent while Frenzied, the Fallen is responsible, and must roll Degeneration as per the Hierarchy of Sins.
• Lowered Generation. This is one of the only ways you can lower your Generation without diablerie. Each point of Faith reinvested back into a Vampire is another generation lowered. As tempting as this sounds, be careful not to lower your Generation too much at once, or the suddenly empty blood pool will immediately trigger Frenzy, or worse, Torpor. Note that this is not permanent; the Fallen can revoke this gift just like any other, or if the Pact were to be broken for whatever reason, you will instantly revert back to your previous Generation. Also note that while it is, in theory, possible to instantly become an Elder in terms of generation, it does not make you an Elder in terms of age or experience. You gain the Generation dots; not the other dots an actual Elder would have that go with it.

House Rules

• Mages gain 1 point of Permanent Torment. Mages also gain one point each of Conviction, Courage, and Conscience, as well as up to seven additional dots to be spread out amongst these three Virtues, in accordance with that Mage's personality. This is for making Degeneration rolls whenever a Mage does anything that could result in them gaining Temporary Torment. Note that going against your Paradigm or acting in defiance of you Avatar will result in a degeneration roll (in addition to increased difficulty on Arete rolls if failed, in the case of the latter), using Conviction. Mages may purchase additional Virtue dots with XP, just like Demons. See here for costs.
• A Mage's Faith Potential is equivalent to their Avatar rating, at a maximum of five. Fallen gain/invest Faith accordingly.
• A Mage's Permanent Faith is equivalent to their Arete rating. Unlike other types of Thralls, Mages regain Temporary Faith every morning, equal to the number of successes made on an Arete roll (difficulty 7). WARNING: This roll can botch, with disastrous results!
• Temporary Faith cannot be used as a substitute for Quintessence, but it can be used to buff your Attributes, similar to Demons with Faith or Vampires with Blood Points. It can also be used to heal your own health levels, for Bashing or Lethal damage (not Aggravated).
• If a Mage's Permanent Torment rating ever exceeds their Avatar rating, that Avatar becomes Inverted. While some might argue that this is better than outright losing their Avatar, as can happen if they become a ghoul, don't let the local Chantry find out…
• Forming a Pact will have you take the Bound flaw. The only one who can 'cancel' a Pact is the Fallen him or herself. The Mage is stuck with it indefinitely.

Possible Benefits for Mages:

• One dot of Arete. However, just as any Mage would tell you, there is no such thing as an easy route to power, and this Gift comes with a terrible price: Should you ever botch an Arete roll fueled by this Infernal power, you will gain one additional point of Temporary Torment for every point of Paradox you would have gained. Note that Temporary Torment does not disappear with Paradox. See above for how to get rid of Temporary Torment.
• Any Gift that could be given to normal thralls. Want to thwart any attempt at using the Mind Sphere on you? Take Mind Control immunity. Want to be more beautiful, stronger, etc.? Take 10 freebie points. NOTE: These freebie points cannot be spent on Arete or Avatar.
• Spheres. Spheres may be purchased with freebie points received via a Pact. Note, however, that the same rule as with Arete increases apply, but only for Arete rolls made while using that Sphere: Botching a roll while using that sphere (regardless of level) will cause an increase in Torment along with Paradox, at a rate of one point of Temporary Torment per point of Paradox. If you took both Arete and Spheres, these penalties stack.
• Backgrounds. While normally backgrounds cannot be purchased with Freebie points granted by Pacts, certain backgrounds for Mages can be. Note, however, that because they are being granted via infernalism, they will not function exactly the same way as normal. For example, if you take the Arcane background, it will never work on the demon with whom you hold the Pact, and the demon herself will be able to choose whom it does or does not work on (assume that, by default, it is always 'on;' the demon can retroactively restore memories removed by Arcane, however). If you take the Sanctum background, it will grant you a time and resource discount, but you still have to construct it yourself; the demon cannot do this for you, and the demon will be able to access the Sanctum whenever they wish (all Wards you construct in and around the sanctum cannot stop the demon from entering, and they do not need to roll to pierce it). Demesne purchased with these freebies are corrupted with Torment; while they will still help with Quiet, depending on your Permanent Torment, you might actually prefer the Quiet. Because the demon is the one granting you the power, they are the ones who ultimately control it. Backgrounds taken with the Pact must first be discussed with both myself and the Mage ST to discuss how they will work. You may not purchase any background that depends upon external sources, such as Contacts, Allies, Mentor, Resources, Nodes, etc. You may only purchase Backgrounds that relate to your characters' own abilities.

House Rules

• All Garou or Fera who enter into a Pact with Fallen gain one point of Permanent Torment per point of their Gnosis rating. Torment is indistinguishable from Wyrm Taint to other Garou or Fera. If you enter into a Pact, be prepared to abandon your Pack, or suffer the consequences.
• A Garou or Fera's Faith Potential matches their permanent Gnosis rating, capped at 5.
• Gnosis is treated as Faith for all Shapechangers. They may spend Gnosis for any Gift or Investment that requires spending Faith, and they regain Gnosis as normal. Fallen may also likewise 'donate' a point of Temporary Faith to their thrall, which instantly becomes Gnosis for the sake of the Shapechangers. Only the Shapechanger's demonic patron may do this; no other Fallen can, nor can it be done without a Pact.
• Garou or Fera inevitably go insane from Torment, much like Wyrm Taint. Garou and Fera gain one Derangement for every point of Permanent Torment they gain after the Pact is formed. These Derangements persist until the point of Permanent Torment is bought off with XP. Furthermore, every two points of Permanent Torment decrease the Garou's difficulty of every Frenzy roll; for example, a garou with Permanent Torment 4 would have -2 difficulty for every Frenzy roll. Each time the Shapechanger Frenzies, they gain one point of Temporary Torment.
• Every two points of Permanent Torment adds +1 difficulty to every roll to use Gifts. The reason for this is for the same reason why Wyrm-tainted Fera or Garou eventually lose their Gifts; the Spirits simply refuse to help them, and the Garou or Fera will eventually have to embrace the Wyrm to compensate for the lost power. So too is the case with the Fallen. Botching a roll to use a Gift while under a Pact results in evoking the anger of that Spirit instead, with results left to the discretion of the Werewolf ST.

Possible Benefits for Garou and Fera:

• Any Investment that can be given to any normal Thrall. Note that Apocalyptic Traits or any other Investment can be manifested while in Crinos form, and that the bonuses stack…
• Shapechangers have their own unique investment, similar to 'Chain the Beast' for vampires. This investment works mostly the same way (in that the Shapechanger gains immunity to Frenzy checks), but one with one key difference; your demonic patron can also likewise cause the Shapechanger to Frenzy whenever he or she wishes. Note that if the Fallen triggers a Frenzy in a Shapechanger and that Shapechangers kills an innocent, the Fallen is responsible, and must immediately roll for Degeneration as per the Hierarchy of Sins.

Work in progress; details to be worked out with the Changeling ST. Not a priority unless and until such mechanics become necessary.

Work in progress; details to be worked out with the Hunter ST. Not a priority unless and until such mechanics become necessary.

NOTE: It is not possible to form Pacts with any Mummy that uses Balance or the Way (in other words, Amenti and Wu'Tian). This is for Teomalki, Cabiri, Ishmaelites, Amkhat, as well as Shusaskhsen, or any other type of Mummy that uses Corruption instead of Balance, all of which are valid candidates for Pacts. Amenti or Wu'Tian who attempt to form a Pact will find that the Pact simply refuses to take hold, and the Judges will likely have a few choice words for the Amenti the next time they're in Du'at. Wu'Tian should likewise not expect their own masters to approve.

House Rules:

• All Mummies immediately gain one dot of Permanent Torment. This Torment acts as a second Corruption rating, meaning that the Corruption and Permanent Torment ratings stack for all Corruption-related mechanics (except for Corrupt Faith; see below). This more or less means that, just like with Garou and Fera, any Mummy or Amkhat that forms a Pact with a Fallen will inevitably become an inhuman, psychotic monster. Form this Pact at your own risk!
• Any lingering connection the Mummy or Amkhat had to Apophis or Set is immediately severed. You cannot serve two masters! Amkhat will not notice that the connection is severed, but if they ever do find out, watch out. This also means that they do not regain Sekhem from dusk falling, but they can still regain Sekhem from Nodes.
• Cabiri regain their Sekhem as normal. Teomalki can only regain their Sekhem if the Demon they made a Pact with can somehow gain the favor of their Ancestors. This, naturally, is much easier said than done and will require an entire plot arc on the Demon's part, one that will be incredibly difficult and could very well result in the Demon's death.
• A Mummy or Amkhat's Faith Potential is equal to half of their Corruption or Direction rating (rounded up). A Mummy with Balance cannot form a Pact for reasons listed above.
• All Mummies and Amkhat have a Permanent Faith rating equal to half of their Corruption or Direction rating (rounded up). Mummies, much like Shapechangers, Changelings, and Vampires, cannot regenerate Temporary Faith on their own. It instead must be donated by their Fallen patron. Mummies may use Temporary Faith as a substitute for Sekhem to fuel their Hekau. Temporary Faith may not be stored inside vessels.
• A Mummy's Ka becomes increasingly hostile with each point of Permanent Torment gained. The Ka of a Mummy in a death cycle takes on the Torment from the rest of the Mummy's soul, and will flail in Tormented rage for the duration of the cycle, lashing out at everyone and everything around it.
• Each point of Permanent Torment rating is treated as an extra point of Khaibit for Mummies, meaning that everyone they come into contact with will feel something very, very wrong with them.

Possible Benefits for Mummies and Amkhat:

• Any Gift that can be given to a 'normal' Thrall. Yes, this includes any defensive Apocalyptic Trait. Your soak dice shall block out the sun. (Let them Thunder Kick in the shade.)
• Corrupt Faith: This Gift is automatically granted to all Corruption Mummies and Amkhat, and is 'invested' for free without spending a point of Faith Potential. Roll Corruption, difficulty 7. Each success allows the Mummy or Amkhat to convert one point of Temporary Faith into one point of Sekhem, by 'corrupting' the Faith stored within them. If this roll botches, the Faith is lost without being converted. You may only attempt to corrupt Faith once per day. Permanent Torment does not count as Corruption for the sake of this roll.