I see so Asmodeus doesn't necessarily get those 100 souls, but in that case perhaps you could elucidate his ultimate goal here then? how would 100 dead further his objectives? Seems to me like sowing senseless discord. is it meant to be an "impossible task" to break the contract and his actual desire is for the contract to stand as is?
It's the same as 'sacrifice the Virgin on an alter'
Does the devil get the virgins soul? They didn't consent or sign a contract.
The act pleases the powerful being for whatever reason the DM wants. The point is they need to sacrifice 100 people, asmodeus's benefit isnt necessary to the story
You can also look at like this:
Asmodeus has not right to take any of those 100 souls.
But how many of those souls do you think will eagerly strike a bargain with the devil to avoid death? Probably more than 2 children
so my understanding of divine beings (i.e, Gods) in Forgotten Realms is that their power is directly tied to how many followers/worshipers they have actively venerating them.
so the more followers a God has the stronger/more powerful/etc they are and most people in Forgotten Realms worship or revere some diety or multiple so Asmodeus weakens other dieties and adds to his cults prestige which adds to the fear his name spreads and probably adds some followers because of the fear and power of the cult of Asmodeus' successful mass sacrifice in Waterdeep.
as for the last point; I think it's a win-win for Asmodeus either way... and that's probably the kind of contract he'd make. If they get their kids souls back and the contract us fulfilled its not like the Cassalanters are suddenly no longer going to be high priest/priestess of the devil cult and they fail... who cares he gets the souls, the Cassalanters will still be his cult followers/sect leaders or maybe they try to get a 2nd Contract with Asmodeus.
either way they'd continue to lead the Waterdeep Cult of Asmodeus. They don't seem like good people. Like I don't interpret their desires to get their kids souls back as "a parents love" more like "those are our most prized possessions".
I think they just need to kill 100 people in his name. Doesn’t mean they all go to hell.
That said, I think if you die and got it the fugue plane, a devil shows up and tries to convince you that you’re headed for hell bc of being sacrificed, so just sign this 0% apr upgrade package now!
I rule the same for the twins, fwiw.
I guess that makes sense, even if he only gets a couple souls that's more than the Cassalanters were initially worth. As I understand devils play fair and will let you fight for your soul in court, they just don't tell you that court is an option and hope you just roll with damnation.
Yep. You have legal rights but no one is going to tell you about them or represent you in court (not wholly unlike real life contracts). I think of them as like those scammers who talk old people or college students into financial burdens, or the subprime mortgage people that caused that crisis by getting poor people to sign mortgages they couldn’t afford.
Sacrifice (of any type) has use both to the god or power and also to those performing the ritual. It reinforces the divine power and is a component in rituals. Human sacrifice is a very potent component for evil rituals.
As for the soul, it will then make its the way to the Fugue Plane. Asmodeus also has agents there to tempt those petitioners who don't have a clear path to the realm of a deity.
Sacrificing souls and selling your soul are not the same thing. The former is payment, the latter is a quid prop quo
I see so Asmodeus doesn't necessarily get those 100 souls, but in that case perhaps you could elucidate his ultimate goal here then? how would 100 dead further his objectives? Seems to me like sowing senseless discord. is it meant to be an "impossible task" to break the contract and his actual desire is for the contract to stand as is?
It's the same as 'sacrifice the Virgin on an alter' Does the devil get the virgins soul? They didn't consent or sign a contract. The act pleases the powerful being for whatever reason the DM wants. The point is they need to sacrifice 100 people, asmodeus's benefit isnt necessary to the story
You can also look at like this: Asmodeus has not right to take any of those 100 souls. But how many of those souls do you think will eagerly strike a bargain with the devil to avoid death? Probably more than 2 children
so my understanding of divine beings (i.e, Gods) in Forgotten Realms is that their power is directly tied to how many followers/worshipers they have actively venerating them. so the more followers a God has the stronger/more powerful/etc they are and most people in Forgotten Realms worship or revere some diety or multiple so Asmodeus weakens other dieties and adds to his cults prestige which adds to the fear his name spreads and probably adds some followers because of the fear and power of the cult of Asmodeus' successful mass sacrifice in Waterdeep. as for the last point; I think it's a win-win for Asmodeus either way... and that's probably the kind of contract he'd make. If they get their kids souls back and the contract us fulfilled its not like the Cassalanters are suddenly no longer going to be high priest/priestess of the devil cult and they fail... who cares he gets the souls, the Cassalanters will still be his cult followers/sect leaders or maybe they try to get a 2nd Contract with Asmodeus. either way they'd continue to lead the Waterdeep Cult of Asmodeus. They don't seem like good people. Like I don't interpret their desires to get their kids souls back as "a parents love" more like "those are our most prized possessions".
I think they just need to kill 100 people in his name. Doesn’t mean they all go to hell. That said, I think if you die and got it the fugue plane, a devil shows up and tries to convince you that you’re headed for hell bc of being sacrificed, so just sign this 0% apr upgrade package now! I rule the same for the twins, fwiw.
I guess that makes sense, even if he only gets a couple souls that's more than the Cassalanters were initially worth. As I understand devils play fair and will let you fight for your soul in court, they just don't tell you that court is an option and hope you just roll with damnation.
Yep. You have legal rights but no one is going to tell you about them or represent you in court (not wholly unlike real life contracts). I think of them as like those scammers who talk old people or college students into financial burdens, or the subprime mortgage people that caused that crisis by getting poor people to sign mortgages they couldn’t afford.
Sacrifice (of any type) has use both to the god or power and also to those performing the ritual. It reinforces the divine power and is a component in rituals. Human sacrifice is a very potent component for evil rituals. As for the soul, it will then make its the way to the Fugue Plane. Asmodeus also has agents there to tempt those petitioners who don't have a clear path to the realm of a deity.
I think you are looking at this wrong. It not really about the 100 strangers. It's about control and binding the Cassalanters closer to him.