D&D General The Enmity of a Devil (brainstorm help)

[el-remmen]

So recently, the PCs in my home group drew some cards from the Deck of Many Things, and one of them drew the FLAMES card, garnering "the enmity of a devil." Unfortunately, in another example of the limited practical utility of the Book of Many Things, there is not much guidance for what this enmity looks like and manifests in the game in a way that would have an actual consequence and drive a PC to address the problem somehow. There are a few example demons and devils - but the guidance itself is vague at best.

The DMG doesn't offer much. Nor do the entries for devils in the MM. Heck, I even looked in the 3E Book of Vile Darkness for ideas, but I am still struggling.

In terms of an in-game narrative reason for the enmity (aside from the bad luck of drawing the card), I decided that an evil sage the PC killed in cold blood before the NPC had a chance to speak or defend themselves, was a secret servant of this devil - and thus the enmity has its origin in killing one of his servants. The PC was also central in helping to free a young blue dragon that had been tortured captive of deep gnomes who used its lightning breath to help power their magical automatons. The devil had been appearing to the dragon in dreams to help build its bitterness and untrusting nature to use as a weapon of mass destruction on the mortal plane, but the PC's compassion to it could have mixed up its feelings (it did not grow up with dragons, but as a captive - its wings cut off as soon as it was old enough to start trying to fly/escape), complicating the devil's work.

Okay, so I have come up with two reasons the devil would be pissed at the PC (who btw is a 5th level swashbuckler rogue 3/fighter 2) and I have a scene planned where the devil appears to the PC in a mirror to let him know - but what I need help with is the form of this enmity. What can the devil do from another world to make the PC suffer and in the process either destroy him or corrupt him and take his soul?

I have basic ideas like sending various monsters after him or letting his agents know to look out for him in different places the PCs might visit, and undermine their goals.

Since the player knows there is enmity, I doubt he will trust the devil enough to accept any gifts or boons that might be turned against him, but that is another possibility.

So I am looking for short and long term suggestions that I can build on and that will not be an overwhelming obstacle but still offer a challenge and develop the flavor of garnering cosmic attention.

Ideas? Questions?

 

[Tonguez]

Curse the PC so that others suffer - if they visit a village the cow milk all turns to blood!
The day after they stay at an Inn, the serving maid is found murdered. NPCs they interact with suffer 'accidents'. The PCs start to be accused of murder and a priest does indeed detect that they are cursed to bringing misfortune - the Devil has marked them with a dark pact!

Send cultist to harrass their 'friends', let them receive unsettling or cursed 'gifts', have them see vision in reflections or in their dreams. Deny them rest, so they wake each morning with a level of exhaustion due to nightmares

 

[GMMichael]

What can the devil do from another world to make the PC suffer and in the process either destroy him or corrupt him and take his soul?

This seems like the realm of most horror movies that feature haunting.

If that doesn't work, everything that comes out of the PC's mouth must be the truth. "I've had better." - Jim Carrey

 

[Piperken]

...I decided that an evil sage the PC killed in cold blood before the NPC had a chance to speak or defend themselves, was a secret servant of this devil - and thus the enmity has its origin in killing one of his servants. The PC was also central in helping to free a young blue dragon that had been tortured captive of deep gnomes who used its lightning breath to help power their magical automatons. The devil had been appearing to the dragon in dreams to help build its bitterness and untrusting nature to use as a weapon of mass destruction on the mortal plane, but the PC's compassion to it could have mixed up its feelings (it did not grow up with dragons, but as a captive - its wings cut off as soon as it was old enough to start trying to fly/escape), complicating the devil's work.

Okay, so I have come up with two reasons the devil would be pissed at the PC (who btw is a 5th level swashbuckler rogue 3/fighter 2) and I have a scene planned where the devil appears to the PC in a mirror to let him know - but what I need help with is the form of this enmity. What can the devil do from another world to make the PC suffer and in the process either destroy him or corrupt him and take his soul?

So I am looking for short and long term suggestions that I can build on and that will not be an overwhelming obstacle but still offer a challenge and develop the flavor of garnering cosmic attention.

Ideas? Questions?

Maybe considering the following questions:

• What Devils/demons can do, can be based on the name(s) they're given. What is/are this devil's particular name(s)? Be specific. This can include titles (Lord, Seer, Queen, Suzerain), domains (of Nightmares, the Dead, Bodily Suffering), and actions (He Who Lashes, She Who Holds Court With the Dead).
• Broadly, the more names a demon or devil is known by, the more influence or capability to affect stuff (tm) it should have. At this point, you should have a sense of what choices or actions they might take to affect a situation?
• Why would this devil be moved to act at all if this evil sage was killed, or the dragon freed? Where does this enmity arise from? A place of violence? Grief? Passion? What forms could this enmity take?
• How might they act towards this PC or their companions in accordance to the name(s) they have? Don't target things, attack what is intangible, what is an essential part of the PC's being, what is held precious.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I always think of swashbucklers as the fantasy equivalent of Wild West gunslingers, with rival swashbucklers always wanting to show up the PC when possible. Maybe the devil decides to support a bunch of these other swashbucklers and point them at the PC, who starts getting challenged to duels to the death in every place he goes, by increasingly sinister swashbucklers, many of whom eventually are pretty openly allied with Hell?

Once the mystery is solved, the devil appears and then there's the sword fight to end all sword fights, with various other devils (or the devil's minions) keeping the other PCs busy while the PC and devil duel for the PC's soul.