Question What do we know about Sorcerer's Contracts?

What do we know about Sorcerer's Contracts?

Silent Nacht wrote: Marzena started to answer consolingly, but Macabre waved her silent, and pointed to Kate. With a smirk, Kate answered, "That's a mistake that a lot of amateurs in The Craft make," she answered with a dig at Cobb. "Witches and other practitioners can lie, cheat, and double-deal just like anyone else, as she's so aptly proved. What a Mage CAN'T do is break a Sorcerer's Contract. Think your basic 'Devil and Dan'l Webster' deal with a silver-tongued devil. Classically, it involves a written contract written in blood, but in practice all it really requires is a willing agreement and the mage in question touching the other party as she casts the spell. You can even do it without the other party being aware of it. But once it's sealed, the very Threads of Fate itself will work to enforce the wording of the pact, in the most effective way possible. Bad luck will dog the steps of the breakoath, making working even the simplest of charms possibly lethal." Kate finished with a cold smile at Marzena that sent creeps down the spines of the creeps.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

Silent Nacht wrote: What a Mage CAN'T do is break a Sorcerer's Contract.

So, are Sorcerer's Contracts by mages, for mages? That is, the norms can't get one?

And, here's the reason for the question:

How to ensure loyalty from an untrusted source, with unique skills?

Also:

Ayla and the Mad Scientist wrote: She said, “Hmmm… Magical borrowers and lenders. That’s a lot less common, but I have seen it. The fundamental problem is that borrowing Essence involves a sorcerer’s contract, either explicitly or implicitly. If you go to one of the true Sidhe and ask to ‘borrow’ some Essence, you commit yourself to a sorcerer’s contract with one – or more – of the Sidhe. And that can be extraordinarily dangerous, even if the Sidhe you personally know isn’t like that. It gets a lot more dangerous if you don’t make that contract explicit, because the more powerful mage may make the contract favor him – or her – a great deal, and if both parties ignore the form of the contract, it may have unpredictable consequences.”

I thought of something. Chou and Clover. I asked, “What about a trade? Let’s say, one rescues the other, and the other returns the favor with some Essence?”

She said, “As long as the exchange can be considered ‘equivalent’ by one or both parties, that can be it. A simple trade or swap can fulfill the sorcerer’s contract without further effects. But it may not. If the two parties don’t know enough to think about the effects of a sorcerer’s contract, they may not know how to check for after-effects.”

Oh crap. I tried to control my expression, but I made a mental note to talk to Nikki about checking to see if Chou and Clover were having any after-effects from that little trade back in the fall.

I asked, “How complex are magical contracts going to be? And how exorbitant is the interest?”

She frowned, “They can be remarkably simple, and they can be fantastically complex. With some beings, they can have thousands of implicit clauses that are part of the nature of the creature. For example, a sorcerer’s contract with something like a Great Old One can involve millions of possibilities through time and space that may never even be possible, or may have already occurred. And that’s the implicit parts. This is why no sane mage will willingly make a contract with something like that. You might be accidentally putting your entire world into slavery without your knowledge. You might be condemning your entire family tree to a horrible death. A proper sorcerer’s contract with one of the true Sidhe is going to be extremely complex because of the magical nature of the Sidhe, whether an individual faerie wants the complexity or not. You always want all the details spelled out and verified by both parties.

“And the ‘interest’ you pay can be… painful. When I was young, I demonstrated certain magical abilities. Summoning fire, calling animals and communicating with them… My father was worried. My mother was hoping I was one of the demigods and would protect the family. A mage came and convinced my father I was a demon. I was given to the mage with an agreement that I would never come back to endanger the village. I was entered into a sorcerer’s contract without my knowledge, and I spent years being trained. The ‘interest’? I was essentially indebted to my ‘master’ for as long as we both lived. At first, I was a slave, but as I grew more powerful and more skilled, I became his favorite weapon. Ultimately, I had to kill him to escape the contract. That was the flaw in his contract: I couldn’t kill him directly without suffering hideous torments, but there was no penalty for arranging something that killed him as long as I didn’t do it through magic or physical means. I paid an assassin to do it. However, I intend to teach you about sorcerer’s contracts before we agree to one for this teacher-student arrangement, so you won’t have to resort to something so drastic. And painful. For those of us who make a decision to use what writers like to call ‘white magics’, doing something as ruthless as hiring an assassin to murder your mentor has nasty consequences.”

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Also:

Snip...

Thanks again!

Well, now I just feel silly!

EDIT: Although, it doesn't seem to clarify the requirements for a Sorcerer's Contract other than needing at least one partner to be magical...

But if a baseline could Contract Essence from a Sidhe, then that seems to mean that "The Contractor Has To Be Magical" is the only requirement...

Certainly Dr. Macabre wasn't a mage of any sort (although he did have an evil snake spirit living in his head).

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Certainly Dr. Macabre wasn't a mage of any sort (although he did have an evil snake spirit living in his head).

And was making a Contract with a mage...

But, given that in my scrapped scenario, one side was magical, and it was the Contractor, I know enough for now... and am happy with my assumption of "At least one side has to be magical."

Contracts are between individuals, right? ... So, when the Martial Arts Cheerleaders made their contract with the Lit Chix in THE CLUE OF THE UNSEEN SWITCH ... It's Foxfire, or Lifeline, or whoever the third Lit Chick mage is, that holds the wishes...?

Or can contracts be done between groups? ... No reason why not? A contract can have as many participants as the writer wants?

Sorcerer's Contracts are between individuals. There are stories of contracts for entire families, but by and large these are just stories. You will note in the 'Clue of the Unseen Switch', that Foxfire had Yellow Queen sign, but each and every member of the Cheerleaders also had to sign. So, while they all agree to the same contract, in essence each of them has a direct contract with Foxfire. Not that the other Lit Chix know this. So, technically, while each of them has a contract individually, Bekky can still ask them for a group favor, since they all have to cough up the favor.