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| 4 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 8 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1595202221032799900 |
| 9 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
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| 11 | [[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1thelittlemermaid19892160puhdblurayremuxhdrhevcatmos_epsilonmkv_snapshot_004422925.png]]]] |
| 12 | [[caption-width-right:350:Always ReadTheFinePrint.]] |
| 13 | %% |
| 14 | ->''"Hah! You see? The contract's legal, binding, and completely unbreakable, even for you."'' |
| 15 | -->-- '''Ursula''' (to [[LordOfTheOcean King Triton]]), ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | In fiction, particularly fantasy fiction and DealWithTheDevil plots, normal {{Leonine Contract}}s just don't cut it. Part of the reason for this is that it's usually pretty vague what kind of government most fantasy cultures use, so nobody really knows how contracts would work anyway. What do you do if the other party decides to welch on their end? Besides, we have contracts in RealLife, and they're usually pretty boring [[WallOfText Walls of Text]]. So one sure way to get some excitement is to have a character sign one that is magically binding. There's a good chance that the contract may also be a ComicallyWordyContract. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Where a normal contract is bound by regular laws, this one is bound by the laws of magic. Rather than being enforced by threat of punishment by a lawful governing body, this contract is simply physically impossible to break. Sometimes it is implied that the magic punishment for breaking a clause is somehow contingent on the permission being given by the one who signed the contract. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Really, the [[HandWave easier]] explanation most of the time is that AWizardDidIt. The basic idea here is that magic is the law, and will punish anyone who tries to go back on a contract. In other cases, the question of punishment doesn't even arise — the magic compels signatories to abide by the terms whether they want to or not. Even the person who receives the benefits may be unable to [[ReleasingFromThePromise release them]]. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Any character who makes such a contract — even if it's a LeonineContract — has no choice but to fulfill it somehow. [[LoopholeAbuse Loopholes]] are, as always, still permitted, and there may be a CurseEscapeClause. Physically destroying a contract can also absolve the penalties. In some cases, magic apparently only works with the magicee's permission. Even ReleasingFromThePromise may require such trickery; the other character often can't just let you go, even should he want to. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Most of the time this is how the DealWithTheDevil works. In all likelihood, this started out as a subtrope of DealWithTheDevil but branched out as writers found they could apply the same basic concept to any magically-empowered contract-maker, not just Satan. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Warning! Contradictory oaths may lead to PuffOfLogic or other RealityBreakingParadox. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Note that another sub-trope of DealWithTheDevil, the FaustianRebellion, is rarely if ever presented as viable countermand to a Magically Binding Contract. However, should the person accomplish whatever ImpossibleTask was provided in the contract, then the [[LawfulEvil The Devil has to follow his part too]]. In this trope, you gotta beat 'em at their own game. [[FrequentlyBrokenUnbreakableVow Characters who break one of these]] can become TheOathBreaker. Compare {{Geas}}, which is more of a spell or curse. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | !!Examples: |
| 33 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 36 | * In ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'', Keiichi unwittingly puts himself under one of these he half-jokingly wishes a goddess like Belldandy would stay with him forever. Much HilarityEnsues follows as various people, demons, and deities try their best to rend these two asunder only to find themselves unequal to the task. |
| 37 | * ''Manga/BeautyAndTheBeastOfParadiseLost'': Beast made a contract with the demon La Vouivre in exchange for some magic he could control because the super-strength he gained from the curse is too destructive. In return, he was forced [[EyeScream to give one of his blue eyes, gaining a replacement and a scar in the process]]. Also, he has until the clock tower of his castle strikes midnight to defeat [[BigBad La Medium]] and break the curse or the castle will be engulfed by a void and La Vouivre will devour his boy and soul. |
| 38 | * In ''Manga/BlackButler'' Ciel has a contract with his demon butler, Sebastian, which basically means that when he has accomplished all of his endeavors his soul will be devoured by said demon. In the meantime, Ciel gets [[TheAce a multi-talented butler and bodyguard]] who will follow his every command. |
| 39 | * Pilots in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' are normally contracted by them placing their hand on a metallic scanner-like pedestal and stating their names. The contract is unbreakable and unvoidable; once contracted, your only way out is either dying or getting killed. The fun part of this particular contract is that the only being that knows it fully and is able to enforce it is [[ConsummateLiar Dung Beetle]]; the game is actually booby-trapped so that the pilots automatically lose the whole game if anybody from their home world (including themselves) gets hold of any information contained within the contract outside of what little information Dung Beetle is allowed to (or is willing to) disclose. So far, the closest to a loophole the contract has is that people are not limited to one battle, so you can spare a pilot if you get chosen as the pilot twice in a row and win both battles. Good luck pulling that off with the current set of rules, though. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Devils, as you might expect, can make a DealWithTheDevil with humans, known as "contracts". Contracts are SeriousBusiness, because, should a Devil refuse to uphold their end, they will be killed and sent back to Hell. However, should the deal somehow be reversed by a third party after it's completed (say you wanted a Devil to kill someone, and after killing this person, they are brought back to life), the human does ''not'' get a refund, and Devils have a tendency to uphold their end [[ExactWords by the letter of the request, and not the spirit]]... |
| 41 | * One of these is [[LoopholeAbuse exploited ruthlessly]] by [[CombatPragmatist Emiya Kiritsugu]] in ''Literature/FateZero''. [[spoiler:[[IHaveYourWife He holds the fiancée of another master hostage]] and agrees to let her go if Kayneth signs a geas with the terms that he will use his command spell to force his Servant to commit suicide and withdraw from the Grail War, and in return, Kiritsugu will be unable to harm him or have someone else do so. Kayneth signs the contract and makes Lancer kill himself -- and then Kiritsugu's ''accomplice'' [[ActionGirl Maiya]] follows the orders she had been given ''before the contract was signed'' and shoots Kayneth and his fiancée Sola-Ui. To top things off, while Sola-Ui is killed instantly, Kayneth is left bleeding out and begging for a MercyKill. Kiritsugu replies he can't do that... because he signed the contract. Kayneth ends up being [[MercyKill put out of his misery]] by Saber.]] |
| 42 | %%* This is how Nen users are able to power themselves up beyond their normal capacities in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', usually by imposing some kind of handicap on their abilities. For example, Gon gets stronger by [[CallingYourAttacks calling his attacks]], while Kurapika gains the ability to conjure unbreakable chains that will kill him if he ever uses them on anyone other than a member of the Phantom Troupe. Much later, Gon uses this to dramatically increase his power to curb stomp a powerful enemy. The price he paid for this temporary power boost was a grave one: [[spoiler:losing the ability to use nen ever again and being brought to the brink of death.]] Even a ''RealityWarper'' couldn't fully restore him -- his life was saved [[spoiler:but he still can't use nen.]] |
| 43 | * ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': Binding Vows work like this. Once a Sorcerer or Curse User makes one, they become liable to being punished if they break it. Breaking vows made to oneself results in, at worst, losing what power was gained by making it; vows made to another person, on the other hand, can carry vastly more severe punishments (to the point that even [[TheDreaded Sukuna]] wouldn't dare break such a vow). |
| 44 | * In ''Literature/LogHorizon'', when [[spoiler:Rudy dies, Shiroe writes up a magical contract that will grant Rudy all the benefits of an Adventurer (which he would retain even if the contract is later nullified) so he will respawn at a cathedral instead of dying]]. |
| 45 | * A requirement for {{Familiar}}s on ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. The contents of [[ParentalSubstitute Linith's]] contract, which stipulated for her to be erased after she had trained Fate as a first-class mage and completed Bardiche, was the reason why she was [[PosthumousCharacter dead before the start of the series]]. |
| 46 | ** In a reversal of the usual bindings, Fate's Contract with Arf is much more open-ended. Arf is contracted with Fate to "live her life in any way that she pleases, for as long as they both live." |
| 47 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' had a magical item that makes contracts magically bound so that they ''have'' to be followed through. Fate attempted to use it: he nearly got Negi to promise not to interfere with his plans, in such a way that Fate himself would not be bound to what he proposed in exchange. [[spoiler:The girls later use it against Dynamis, making him promise to stop trying to interfere with ''their'' plans. Dynamis only agreed because he thought he'd already won anyway, and because while conductive to the Fatettes, it wasn't conductive to the Averrunci.]] |
| 48 | * ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': |
| 49 | ** Kyubey makes contracts with girls to become {{Magical Girl}}s. Notably, his contracts are entirely verbal and are without any form of fine print mentioning the downsides and side-effects, meaning that they aren't actually ''legally'' binding under most systems of law, despite being ''magically'' binding. There is no compulsion but not doing as the contract states leads to dire consequences. [[MemeticMutation Contract?]] |
| 50 | ** Also, Kyubey will always follow through on his end of the contract. ''Always''. Unfortunately, while he gives the girls exactly what they wanted with no LiteralGenie side-effects, the girls don't wish for the right thing in the first place. Given that one of the anime's main themes is that a truly SelflessWish doesn't exist, this isn't surprising. |
| 51 | * In ''Literature/NoGameNoLife'', war has been replaced with games where anything, great or small, up to and including ''global'' matters, is decided by the outcome. In the backstory, the gods of that world had had a war that left it in ruin, leaving the only one who'd stayed out of it -- the god of play -- as TopGod, and he instituted a new system, enforced by magic. Bets made by two parties who formally agree to both the game and the wagers will be upheld ''no matter what.'' (This means you shouldn't bet, say, a single favor. [[spoiler:Stephanie Dora, Crown-Princess of Elchea did that, was told "Fall in love with me" by Sora, the winner, and spent the rest of the story as the most justified {{Tsundere}} ever.]]) |
| 52 | * ''Literature/ReincarnatedAsASword'': Slaves are bound with one that forces them to obey all their master's orders. When Teacher destroys Fran's contract, her collar and cuffs immediately crumble to dust, meaning she is truly free. |
| 53 | * ''Literature/SoICantPlayH'': The shinigami of [[AnotherDimension Grimwald]] form contracts with humans that allow them to remain in their world by periodically feeding off their contractee's energy. But to establish the contract, the shinigami stabs them through the chest with a ceremonial sword that's attached to a soul-binding chain. Ryosuke tried to hit on Lisara, shortly after meeting her, which she mistook as an offer to form a contract. [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice She accepted]]. |
| 54 | * ''Manga/UndertakerRiddle'': The main protagonist Hayato had to do one with Riddle to save his life. Now, half of Riddle's soul is bond to Hayato's in change of Hayato becoming Riddle's assistant and fellow Undertaker. The trick is, Riddle needs to be close to him to be at the whole capacity of his power and if Riddle dies so does Hayato. |
| 55 | [[/folder]] |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 58 | * ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 8 episode 16, Little M. makes a deal with a talking book that allows him to freely wish four times for whatever he wants, and he decides to use this ability to impress Big M. so that he doesn't think he's useless. He signs a contract that this is the case under two conditions: Firstly, he must not tell anyone about the contract, and secondly, if he uses up all of his wishes but still isn't able to impress Big M., the book will take one thing from him. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Card Games]] |
| 62 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': |
| 63 | ** The background of the plane of Ravnica includes probably the largest example on the list: the Guildpact, a magical contract between the ten Guilds that essentially governs the entirety of the plane. The main plot of the novels [[spoiler:turns out to be a [[GambitPileup convoluted attempt]] to break the Guildpact. Which eventually works due to a loophole]]. Also they have advokists and lawmages. Yes, ''lawyer mages". "Law Magic" is basically used to do two things: make the witness tell the truth, and memorize the code of laws, no matter how convoluted. The plot of the "Return to Ravnica", "Gatecrash", and "Dragon's Maze" block revolves around the consequences [[spoiler:of breaking the Guildpact]] and a contingency plan [[spoiler:to restore it.]] |
| 64 | ** Geth, Lord of the Vault, specializes in making magical tablets into which contracts can be willed. If they break the contract, Geth controls them forever. These are actually very popular, and his agents take them all over New Phyrexia so that two parties who don't trust each other can use one of Geth's tablets and be assured that neither of them would dare break the agreement. |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 68 | * ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'': Dark Opal talks Sardonyx into signing one for him; it doesn't turn out very well for him. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:FanWorks]] |
| 72 | * In ''Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}}'', WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}} has to sign one of these with the Fairy Godfather; naturally, he doesn't read the fine print. |
| 73 | -->'''Beetlejuice:''' ''"Who actually ''reads'' a Terms of Service Agreement?"'' |
| 74 | * ''Fanfic/CobysChoice'': Madam Finwaters ate the Deal-Deal Fruit, which allows her to make binding contracts with non-standard collateral such as Kaku's voice or magically enforcing loyalty (or at least, preventing treason) from Hyouzou when King Neptune decides to allow [[BoxedCrook a different form of punishment for him]]. |
| 75 | * Presented to the protagonist of ''Fanfic/FairVote'', a ''Literature/DresdenFiles'' fic, by a literal Devil's Advocate. |
| 76 | * ''Fanfic/FateRevelationOnline'': Part of the reason that Ilya doesn't just break out of Aincrad with her magic is that Kayaba bound everyone with a Contract at the same level as a Command Seal. It's not explained exactly how he bound them, but the most likely possibility is that he slipped it into the game's Terms of Service. Of course, Ilya is powerful enough and skilled enough that she ''could'' still break out, so Kayaba bribes her by promising to attempt to fix her flawed body and give her a full lifespan. |
| 77 | * ''Franchise/HarryPotter'': Several Triwizard Tournament fics involve Harry deliberately defying the "magically binding contract" enforced by the Goblet of Fire, despite the strong possibility of losing his magic. |
| 78 | ** In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8831374/1/The-Power-of-the-Press The Power of the Press]]'', the prophecy turns out to be stronger than the contract, making the Goblet explode. |
| 79 | ** While in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7392700/1/Banking-on-Her Banking on Her]]'' it was Barty Crouch Jr. who lost his magic. |
| 80 | ** Although a few fanfics have taken to making it more than just the Champions who are bound by it; [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12725660/1/There-s-more-than-one-binding-in-that-contract the Judges]] and [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2565609/172/Odd-Ideas Anyone who interfers]] can suffer too. |
| 81 | * ''Fanfic/MyLittleAnimaniacs'': The contract that all of the Animaniacs signed (but only Yakko and Slappy actually read) for their own show. It requires them to help out whoever summons them to another world. |
| 82 | * ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'' has one of these show up when [[spoiler:Blankman forces Verde into submission and makes him sign into servitude]]. Notably, aside from the signature, it's totally blank, with the binding terms to be filled in later. |
| 83 | * ''Fanfic/ReadTheFinePrintEvangelion'': Asuka finds a soul-selling contract on the internet. Believing it to be a silly hoax, Shinji sells his soul to Asuka in exchange for chocolate. After coming to Nerv, Shinji finds out that Asuka now truly owns his soul. When they try to alter the contract, a demon shows up to reiterate their contract is legally binding and cannot be broken or altered even if the paper it is printed on was destroyed. |
| 84 | * ''Fanfic/TheRigelBlackChronicles'' has both magically-''enforced'' and magically-''unbreakable'' contracts: |
| 85 | ** Harry and Riddle use the Unbreakable Vow to ensure that their deals are kept. Any time Harry contemplates a course of action that threatens to break the Vow, she can feel her blood start to heat up; actually breaking the Vow would result in the blood boiling in her veins. |
| 86 | ** Harry uses a sealing curse to ensure that [[spoiler:Marcus Flint]] literally ''can't'' tell her secrets (and thus has PlausibleDeniability if someone asks about it afterward). She has to make a Vow of Undisclosed Debt in exchange, but she considers it a good trade. |
| 87 | * In ''Fanfic/RobbReturns'', a fanfiction based on ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', any oath sworn on the [[CarryABigStick Fist of Winter]] is magically enforced on penalty of death. According to Roose Bolton, a Bolton once broke an oath on the Fist and died shortly after. When [[spoiler:Willem Bootle]] falsely swears his innocence in the death of [[spoiler:Torgen Surestone]] on it, its magic immediately kills him. |
| 88 | * In ''Fanfic/TouhouIbunshu'', Ran swore her loyalty to Yukari this way via the Shikigami Rite. The terms bind both participants in such a way that while some leeway in violating the ''letter'' is permissible, the ''spirit'' of the orders is inviolable. [[spoiler:When they confront each other over Yukari's plan to destroy Gensokyo in an attempt at suicide, Yukari attempts to use spoken orders to deprive Ran of the magic she's receiving from her. Instead, the Rite allows her to ignore those orders and gives her ''more'' energy, since despite her verbal commands, Yukari ''[[DeathSeeker really]]'' wants to die.]] |
| 89 | [[/folder]] |
| 90 | |
| 91 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 92 | %%* The second ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'' has a contractual handshake form a magical choke collar. |
| 93 | * Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon: |
| 94 | ** Even the power of Triton's trident has no effect upon the contract Ursula makes Ariel sign in ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', implying that there must be some source of power in the ocean greater even than his. Ursula even uses it as a shield to keep King Triton from killing her on the spot. Though the contract's power [[NoOntologicalInertia disappears as soon as Ursula dies]]. |
| 95 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': A similar unwritten contract stating that his deal with Hades is forfeit if Meg is hurt in any way. It's part of Disney's larger theme with Hades and his propensity for [[DealWithTheDevil Deals with the Devil]]: Hades may be a sleazy, double-dealing scumbag who will do everything short of murder to get you to sign, but the one thing he will never do is welch on a deal. |
| 96 | %%* These are Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}}'s specialty in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter''. |
| 97 | %%* Chihiro signs one with the witch Yubaba in ''Anime/SpiritedAway''. The contract is sealed with her name, so in the bathhouse, she must answer to "Sen" instead. |
| 98 | %%** Turns out [[spoiler:Haku]] also signed one, and Chihiro has to free him by [[IKnowYourTrueName giving his proper name back]]. |
| 99 | %%* ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'' doubles as a BloodOath when the two kids join Screweye's circus using their blood to sign the contract. |
| 100 | [[/folder]] |
| 101 | |
| 102 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 103 | * ''Film/GhostRider2007'': |
| 104 | ** The Devil presents Johnny with a contract for his soul in exchange for his father's health. Where this moves beyond DealWithTheDevil is that Johnny cuts himself on the contract while reading it, and the Devil takes his blood on the deal as agreement. But because he never actually agreed, Johnny eventually is able to resist Lucifer and keep the Rider's powers. |
| 105 | ** The {{MacGuffin}} of the movie is a contract that the previous Rider had obtain from the WretchedHive of San Venganza, which was worth the souls of all 1,000 of the town's evil citizens. Blackheart, a wayward son of the Devil, appears in the present to find the contract and claim the power it would give. |
| 106 | * In ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Harry finds himself entered into the Triwizard Tournament when his name is selected from The Goblet of Fire. The thing is, Harry never entered his name for the contest, nor could he have as it was age-restricted; the HiddenVillain sabotaged the Goblet so it would spit out him as a fourth participant. Ever the ReluctantWarrior, Harry expresses his disinclination to take part in the tournament. Alas, "The Goblet of Fire constitutes a Binding Magical Contract," says one of the grown-ups, so Harry has no choice but to participate. |
| 107 | * In ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'', the music mogul Swan uses magical contracts on the talent working under him that give him near-complete dominion over them, most notably in making them [[ICannotSelfTerminate immortal]] so long as they are under contract to him... and he's [[DealWithTheDevil under contract too]]. |
| 108 | * In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', Davy Jones is under a Magically Binding Contract to [[{{Psychopomp}} ferry souls to the afterlife]] (he can also draft dead sailors using contracts of his own). His neglect of this duty is the reason he and his crew look like FishPeople. |
| 109 | [[/folder]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 112 | * ''Literature/AllTheSkillsADeckbuildingLitRPG'': Arthur's father swore an oath "on the king's own Card" to never leave the village without express permission. Most of the adults made similar oaths, though usually to lesser cards or with fewer restrictions. This is one of the main reasons that Calvan can't leave the village, and Arthur tries to find a way around it. |
| 113 | * ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'' happens in the sort of setting where status holds such a big role that the law will almost always favor the person of highest status, reaching a point where in most cases, commoners who defy nobles run the risk of being executed on the spot. Because of this, sufficiently important business deals tend involve magic contracts that carry penalties that can be as serious as death for being broken, to keep the side with the highest status from breaking them at a later time just because they can get away with it. Such contracts can be anywhere from city-wide to country-wide and need to be stamped in blood if at least one of the people involved isn't part of the SupernaturalElite. It's also a good idea to have a non-magical copy of them made, as the real thing tends to seemingly spontaneously combust once it's completed. |
| 114 | * In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, any promise accompanied by the Splash of Truth (a flash of rainbow light, signifying the speaker is speaking absolute, heartfelt truth), is treated as absolutely binding. The consequences of going back on one's word (or even not giving one's all towards said promise) are never spelled out past "there are some." |
| 115 | * ''Literature/TheAssassinsOfTamurin'': The heroine learns towards the end that a character has been bound by this all along. |
| 116 | * In ''Literature/ChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'', Torak swears revenge for [[spoiler:Bale]]'s death on his [[OurSoulsAreDifferent three souls]]. Of course, this is in the book titled ''Oath Breaker'', so you can guess how it turns out. In the next book, Renn mentions that this may have weakened the bond between his souls and made him vulnerable to [[BigBad Eostra]]. In an earlier book, during his exile, Torak tries to get Renn to swear on her souls ''and'' her bow, her most prized possession, not to follow him. |
| 117 | * Graydon Saunders’ ''Literature/{{Commonweal}}'' has built its overarching mechanisms of government into a vast enchantment called the Shape of the Peace. Formal legal testimony cannot lie, for example; and being a sorcerer requires agreeing to be bound by the Shape, on pain of death should the sorcerer attempt to circumvent its strictures. |
| 118 | * In ''Literature/CounselorsAndKings'', if a Halruaan [[TheMagocracy wizard-lord]] swears to do (or not do) something "by wind and word" they are compelled to follow through, though they can interpret the ExactWords rather creatively to find loopholes. For example, when [[EccentricMentor Basel Indoulur]] promises under such an oath to "deal appropriately" with his apprentice after she humiliates a rival wizard, Basel actually ''rewards'' her instead of punishing her, as he felt the other man had it coming. More seriously, supporting villain [[spoiler:Dhamari]] is under an oath to never [[SummonMagic summon]] "any creature he doesn't understand and can't control", which means he has to find an UnwittingPawn to conjure the [[TheFairFolk malevolent fairies]] his plans require, as he'd be physically incapable of doing so himself. |
| 119 | * ''Literature/CradleSeries'': [[SupernaturalMartialArts Sacred artists]] can make vows on their souls; the more powerful they are, the more damage they do to themselves if they break the vow. The vow is purely verbal, and the exact words unimportant. The vow can be for anything, and can even be used for things that should be impossible (such as someone sealing themselves at a lower power level). The only real caveat is that the vow needs to be between two people. Even if the vow is completely unbalanced in one side's favor, it still counts, and the vow is closed off and both sides have to abide by what they agreed. |
| 120 | ** Early on, Lindon vows to help Yerin against the Heaven's Glory school, while she vows to help him escape Sacred Valley and protect him until they're out. This oath is rendered moot within a couple days once they're out of Sacred Valley and in semi-civilized country, but they stick together regardless. Lindon also mentions that the specific wording they use [[AccidentalProposal is sometimes used for marriage ceremonies in his clan]]. Yerin doesn't notice. |
| 121 | --->'''Yerin:''' You were all shiny and polished about it, but you didn't have to be. Say what you want to say, and your soul will do the rest. |
| 122 | ** When Jai Long is killing his way through the Jai clan, the patriarch Jai Daishou defeats him and forces him to swear a lopsided oath--Jai Long will protect the clan, while Jai Daishou will protect Jai Long and his sister as long as their loyalty remains true. It was very much a JoinOrDie situation, and Jai Long is locked into essentially slavery. [[spoiler:Jai Daishou makes the mistake of activating a weapon within range of both Jai Long and his sister; the patriarch dies, and Jai Long is free to just walk away because Jai Daishou broke the oath first]]. |
| 123 | --->'''Jai Daishou:''' You will only guard the clan in my absence, of course, you will not succeed it. You are a stopgap measure, a deterrent to keep the jackals at bay until a true heir can be raised from the Path of the Stellar Spear. Swear your soul to my control, utterly and completely, and you are a tool that can be used. |
| 124 | ** Naru Gwei, captain of the Skysworn, ''hates'' Eithan and nearly kills Lindon and Yerin several times because he is absolutely convinced that they are secret weapons that Eithan is planning to use against the Empire. Once Eithan has finally had enough, he swears an oath that Lindon and Yerin are being trained for the good of the Empire, and Eithan will obey all lawful orders if he is allowed to join the Skysworn to continue their training. But what finally gets Naru Gwei to agree? [[NotSoAboveItAll Eithan swears not to bother him unless it's an emergency]]. |
| 125 | --->'''Naru Gwei:''' ''Done!'' |
| 126 | ** Interestingly, unlike many examples of this trope, soul oaths are based on the spirit, not the letter. LoopholeAbuse is still possible to a certain extent, but it relies on the one bound convincing themself rather than exploiting poor wording. At one point, Lindon accidentally breaks an oath and is only affected once he realizes what happened. |
| 127 | * ''Literature/CraftSequence'': The Craft and Practical Theology are both powerfully rooted in these. It plays out to the extent that "powerful magic requires as much lawyerly skill as sorcerous ability" can be called a key conceit of the series. It's ''definitely'' a key conceit of ''Literature/ThreePartsDead'', the first book of the series, in which a contract coming due at just the wrong time kills a God and sets off a high-intensity legal wrangle over His estate. |
| 128 | * ''Literature/ADearthOfChoice'': Dungeons can offer Rules that bind both themselves and the adventurers who come inside. The protagonist uses them to encourage cooperation, by offering a selection of Rules, rewarding those who promise not to harm the core, and punishing those who refuse to make that promise. Rules technically ''can'' be broken, but even those who enter with malicious intent know that you shouldn't try. "Nothing ''ever'' good came about because of that." |
| 129 | * In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', it's frequently mentioned by Harry that a wizard who swears an oath "by their power" must hold to it. If it's broken, the wizard loses a portion of their power, to the point that a serial oathbreaker may lose the ability to work magic entirely. |
| 130 | ** Oaths and bonds issued by [[TheFairFolk the Sidhe]] are also binding, and if they break a promise it causes them intense physical pain. However, they are only bound to the [[ExactWords exact wording]] of a contract, and they subsequently [[LoopholeAbuse abuse the hell out that]]. |
| 131 | *** In ''Literature/ColdDays'', Harry finds he is now bound by Winter Law himself, so when he tries to break it (something the Fae cannot even conceive of doing), there are immediate, serious consequences. [[spoiler:His Winter Knight Mantle vanishes, leaving him paralyzed as he was in ''Literature/{{Changes}}''.]] |
| 132 | ** These contracts are so binding that not even Michael, who wields a holy sword and serves God Himself, can do anything against a valid contract, as such an act would be dishonest and break his power if he tried. |
| 133 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/GimmicksThree": Isidore Welby signed a [[DealWithTheDevil contract with demons to gain a decade of good living]], but exactly ten years later, he must pay the price. He suddenly appears in a perfect cube made of metal, and if he cannot escape before noon, his soul will be damned. |
| 134 | * In ''Literature/{{The Guardians|MeljeanBrook}}'', if [[DealWithTheDevil bargains and wagers]] are broken, that person or demon is damned to the field of frozen faces when they die. |
| 135 | * ''Franchise/HarryPotter'': |
| 136 | ** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'': When the Goblet selects Harry to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry has to compete, and the characters refer to it specifically as a "magically binding contract." However, Harry didn't enter himself, nor does he even want to compete; someone else magically confused the Goblet to accept a fourth school and then submitted Harry as the only candidate for the school, ensuring he'd be picked and forced to compete. The consequences of breaking the contract, however, are not explained. |
| 137 | ** Introduced in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' is the "Unbreakable Vow." One witch or wizard makes a vow to another, while a third uses their magic to bind the promise. Breaking the vow results in death. |
| 138 | ** After [[spoiler:[[ParentalSubstitute Sirius]]]] dies, he officially leaves Harry everything, but there's still concern that control of his house and property (including [[spoiler:Kreacher]]) might magically pass to his next living relative, [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Bellatrix]]]]. Dumbledore and Harry field-test this by giving [[spoiler:Kreacher]] an order -- when he has to recognize Harry as his new master, it confirms [[spoiler:Sirius]] knew what he was doing, magically speaking, when he made his will. |
| 139 | * ''Literature/TheHeartstrikers'' has a few. Dragons are bound by blood contracts (exactly what it sounds like, binding all signatories to the terms as written), and by oaths sworn on their fire. The former compels obedience; the latter either does the same or snuffs out the fire of a dragon who breaks their word. Humans have the unbreakable curse called the Sword of Damocles, which is inscribed on skin and ''cuts off'' the relevant body part (heads are most popular) if they break their word. |
| 140 | * ''Literature/HeroSeries'': Lee and Taro sign one when they join the troupe in ''Heroes Adrift'', though they don't seem to really "get" that things would rebound on them badly if they ran away. |
| 141 | * In ''Literature/TheHexslingerSeries'', it transpires that the "hexes", or magicians, of the series can get around their otherwise-irresistible urge to parasitically devour each other's magic (and ultimately life) in a variety of different ways by swearing a binding oath with their magic -- although depending on what you swear to and whom, this can have a variety of much nastier consequences as well. |
| 142 | * ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': Anything someone swears to do in the Ancient Language ''will'' be done, because it compels them. The only out is if they become physically or mentally incapable of fulfilling the oath, be it by drastic personality change or death. [[spoiler:Or if the ancient language's word for ''itself'' is invoked, which gives the speaker full control over the language and anything spoken in it, including nullifying said contracts.]] |
| 143 | * Freya Marske's ''The Last Binding'' series has contracts built into the magic system. The ones used most often are [[ThePowerOfBlood blood oaths]] that force the swearers to comply, but the most important is the Last Contract, the one the magicians of Britain made with the Fae for magical power in exchange for preserving the land. The overarching story is the protagonists discovering it exists and racing against the antagonists to find the pieces of the contract before they can be manipulated to bind all of England's magicians. |
| 144 | * In the ''Literature/MaledictionTrilogy'', any promise made to or by a troll is absolutely binding. That is, unless you find a loophole in its wording, or the person to whom the promise is made dies. |
| 145 | %%* In ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' Camille wanted to bring the young vampire Simon to such a contract. It is stated that it would have had serious consequences for him if he had actually signed this contract. |
| 146 | * ''Literature/MotherOfLearning'': Zorian eventually realizes that Zach is under such a contract, with [[spoiler:the angels]], which is why he can't talk about certain things. Worse, if people still know about the time loop at the end of the month, or if the SealedEvilInACan is breached, then the contract will kill Zach. Since Zach isn't willing to kill all his friends to save his life, he just accepts that he's going to die. Zorian gets a copy of the contract and is surprised that it uses entirely modern legal jargon; he realizes that these kinds of contracts are probably a lot more common than he thought, and the "don't talk about it" clause is probably standard. [[spoiler:He eventually saves Zach because the "kill anyone who knows about the time loop" clause is based entirely on Zach's perception. Zorian traps Zach in a LotusEaterMachine (while Zach is under an effect that ''should'' render him ImmuneToMindControl), then gives him a vision of everyone being mind-wiped, and the especially dangerous people such as Zorian himself being killed. Once the month is officially over, the contract dissolves, and the truth is revealed to Zach without consequence]]. |
| 147 | * In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'' and its spinoffs ''Poke'' and ''Literature/{{Pale}}'', such contracts are usually made between powerful Others and human practitioners, and are a source of great power-in fact, most all human practitioners rely to one extent or another on deals with Others for their power. And if someone breaks one of these deals, becoming "forsworn"? [[FateWorseThanDeath Let's just say death would be far kinder than many of the probable fates in store for them.]] |
| 148 | * The main story of ''Literature/OtoXMaho'' is kickstarted when Kanata is forced by his mother to become a MagicalGirl, a position that's bound by contract, and to his chagrin, he inadvertently ends up "signing" it by placing his thumbprint on it. While this wasn't imposed on Kanata with malice -- his mother genuinely believes he'd be good at the job, [[CloudCuckoolander which is also convenient as it means she can go on vacation for a while]] -- it still puts him in an awkward MortonsFork: "[[SuperGenderBender be a part-time magical girl]], or -- facing divine judgement from unilaterally breaking contract -- [[FirstLawOfGenderBending get turned into an actual girl]]." |
| 149 | * ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' and its sequel series features swearing on the River Styx. Nobody knows what happens when you break this vow but apparently it's bad. Apollo breaks one in Literature/TheTrialsOfApollo and he's had worse luck than even the unluckiest of protagonists ever since. |
| 150 | * In ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'', eight hundred years before the story started, Cohilt magically bound himself and all his descendants to the land of Caederan. This turned them into the first natural unaligned, born with access to all four ElementalPowers instead of just one. The contract also came at a cost, for if the royal family ever favor one of the elements over the others, the magic of Caederan itself will become imbalanced, unleashing hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and floods. |
| 151 | * ''Literature/TheReluctantKing'': Wizards force demons who they summon to swear oaths that make them perform services under compulsion. |
| 152 | * In ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', wizard apprentices seal their bond with their master by eating an "Apprentice Supper" within a day of making the agreement, which magically binds them for [[AYearAndADay seven years and a day]]. Alther mentions that his was just a cheese sandwich, but he regretted eating that sandwich for the next seven years since it bound him to [[EvilMentor DomDaniel]]. Merrin didn't even get a meal when he was kidnapped as a baby, which made his bond with [=DomDaniel=] and his magical talent be much weaker than otherwise (he didn't have much magic to begin with anyway). |
| 153 | * ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': A person who swears a magical oath but refuses to fulfill it, or deliberately puts themselves in a situation so they cannot, will die. If they're unable to fulfill it because of something beyond their control, though, it won't kill them. It's discussed by name at greater length in book 3 when Emily starts taking a class in Law. |
| 154 | * ''Literature/SpellsSwordsAndStealth'': Promises made by the gods are absolutely inviolable. A god who makes a promise ''can not'' break it, even if circumstances change. In the fourth book, ''Siege Tactics'', this is exploited by the dark god Kalizdar to take revenge against Grumble, god of the minions, and Thistle the gnome, Grumble's paladin, for destroying a piece of his very divinity in the second book. When Thistle became a paladin, his one condition was that, upon his death, he be allowed to be TogetherInDeath with his late wife Madroria rather than go to the afterlife generally reserved for paladins. Grumble agreed. In ''Siege Tactics'', Kalzidar uses the confusion caused by his plots to [[spoiler:steal Madroria's soul from the gnomish afterlife]]. Because Grumble ''must'' uphold his word [[spoiler:Thistle's soul ''will'' reunite with Madroria's when he dies and, if Kalzidar still has her when that happens, he gets Thistle, too]]. |
| 155 | * ''Literature/SweetAndBitterMagic'': After they make their contract, Tamsin conjures up a black ribbon which goes on Wren's neck, warning that if she breaks it she'll be strangled. |
| 156 | * ''Literature/ThirdTimeLuckyAndOtherStoriesOfTheMostPowerfulWizardInTheWorld'': In "Mirror, Mirror on the Lam" Ciro can't tell Magdelene anything about who hired him to steal her mirror since he made a blood oath not to, which is unbreakable. |
| 157 | * Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In the ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', breaking an oath signed in [[ThePowerOfBlood blood]] will result in one's blood boiling in one's veins (it applies across the 'verse, but we see it most in that series.) |
| 158 | * Creator/DennisWheatley's horror novel ''To the Devil a Daughter'' hinges on the need to find and retrieve a Faustian contract signed in blood; the novel hinges on the signee's sincere repentance not being enough; the physical contract has to be located and destroyed by burning, leaving no trace. This has its basis in some old Christian polemics. |
| 159 | * The ''Warrior and Witch'' series has these where a witch forms a pact with somebody. The ritual involves making a lethal cut on the wrist, and then magically sealing it up. If the person does not meet their end of the deal, then the cut will reopen, letting the person bleed to death. Once the deal is over, the wound permanently heals over and can become a badge of pride. The ritual is intended for deals that are met, such as discovering the culprit in a murder, or hunting a bounty. One witch in the sequel uses it to hold others to secrecy, a deal that never ends, and thus never permanently seals, and thus they will be in danger of it reopening for as long as they live. This is considered a gross perversion of the ritual by the witch's peers. |
| 160 | * In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', any oath taken by a mage while passing her magic through a tool called "the Oath Rod" is magically binding, though it can be removed by the same object. When created in [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas the Age of Legends]] the rod was simply called a "binder", and was only used against intractably criminal mages (understandably, given the side effects -- also now forgotten) to seal their powers. |
| 161 | * In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Wordwitched documents, most notably the Twenty Year Truce, are this. Each copy is identical to the other, even if one is modified, and when someone breaks the rules established in the document, their signature disappears and no one else is bound by the contract anymore. |
| 162 | * ''Literature/AWizardInRhyme'': If a wizard swears to do something, [[YouCantFightFate fate will force them]] to follow through on it. This applies even when the wizard is a new arrival from another world who didn't know about the rule and makes the idle boast that he'll topple an enemy SorcerousOverlord and her country personally -- his next spell [[MagicMisfire misfires]] to teleport him deep into enemy territory. |
| 163 | %%* Madam Morrible does this to Nessarose, Elphaba, and Glinda in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''. |
| 164 | * The ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series has the "Binding Oath", which if broken permanently strips you of all supernatural energy. This version of the Magically Binding Contract is interestingly different in that: |
| 165 | ** The person extracting the Oath can only do it once in their lifetime. |
| 166 | ** The person extracting the Oath will eventually suffer a backlash from the Oath, with the backlash being worse the more powerful the Oath is. |
| 167 | ** The Wizards Oath itself is one in that if you break the oath, you will invariably lose your wizardry. Many spells also effectively end up like contracts where a wizard promises to pay later for an effect now, and spells are transacted in a LanguageOfMagic which is also a LanguageOfTruth. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 171 | * In ''Series/The10thKingdom'', Wolf binds himself to do the queen's bidding, in return for his release from prison. He first accepts the contract eagerly, only later getting second thoughts, after it's too late to renege. |
| 172 | * In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', contracts with Wolfram and Hart are often magically enforced. High-level employees sign away their lives ''and afterlives'' to work for the firm. After being killed by Darla, Holland Manners continues to serve the Senior Partners, and the same happens to Lilah Morgan after being killed by Jasmine. Wesley attempts to free Lilah from her contract by retrieving it and burning it. It simply reappears back where he found it. |
| 173 | ** In the fifth season, Angel is forced by members of the Blackthorn to sign a contract in which he refuses to fulfill a prophecy that would make him human again. |
| 174 | * In the ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' episode "Soul Survivor" (episode 7 of Season 6), a demon makes Faustian deals using magical contracts. They have a special clause that says the souls are to burn forever if he himself is killed, to discourage people from trying to break the contract by killing him. The main characters manage to deal with him by locating the vault and burning all the contracts, '''then''' killing the demon! |
| 175 | * ''Series/TheMagicians'': Quentin agrees to make a contract with Alice as a niffin which is subject to "Word as bond", which neither of them can break. She finds ways to circumvent the contract's restrictions despite this. |
| 176 | * On ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'', the Salem Accord among other things binds U.S. witches to be conscripted to serve as the army for the U.S. government. The specifics have not been explained, but it is said to be more than mere legal words on paper. Sarah Alder is said to have defied certain terms of it only at great personal cost. |
| 177 | * ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Magic will severely punish anyone who breaks one of [[MagnificentBastard Rumplestiltskin's]] contracts, which is made even more dangerous by the fact that he's a master of [[ExactWords exact words]] and his victims often fail to ReadTheFinePrint. |
| 178 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is positively drowning in these, most often made with [[DealWithTheDevil demons]], notably Dean's deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam BackFromTheDead, which he can't break or else Sam's life will be taken away again. PlayedForLaughs when the demon Crowley proposes a deal with [[spoiler:the [[HumanoidAbomination Leviathan]] [[ArcVillain Dick Roman]]]] and pulls out a comically long scroll of [[GratuitousLatin Latin]] legalese, which they're still amending in minute detail in their next scene. |
| 179 | * ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "Escape Clause". A hypochondriac signs a DealWithTheDevil to live forever. [[spoiler:Then he kills his wife, is not afraid of the death penalty obviously so mocks the proceedings, but his smart lawyer manages to get a life sentence. The man is horrified by the prospect of an eternity (literally) in prison and uses the "escape clause" from the contract, dying of a heart attack in his cell. He should have known TheDevil has ways of subverting contracts.]] |
| 180 | * In the ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' episode "Soul Possession", there is a magical contract saying Xena had to marry Ares. Xena escapes from him, so Ares later troubles Xena's modern-day reincarnation Annie, since [[IdenticalGrandson they look identical]]. Since the contract can only be destroyed by Ares, Xena/Annie tricks him into hitting it with a fireball. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 184 | * Music/TransSiberianOrchestra's RockOpera ''Beethoven's Last Night'' features such a contract between [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] and [[DealWithTheDevil Mephistopholes]], "which even Mephisto dare not violate." (This is not mentioned in the songs themselves, but [[AllThereInTheManual explained in the album liner notes]], which tell the story in greater detail.) They accomplished this by making the contract on the back of a page from the Bible. When in doubt, use Holy© for all your binding contract needs! |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 188 | * Myth/{{Faust}}'s contract with Mephistopheles has to be signed with blood, and can't be broken. |
| 189 | * A famous but [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example in Myth/ClassicalMythology: the gods swear unbreakable oaths on the River Styx, one of the rivers of the underworld. But it's not entirely clear what the enforcement mechanism is. Creator/{{Hesiod}} provides a punishment for breaking the oath (the god in question will be [[AndIMustScream trapped in a coma]] for a year and then banished from Olympus for nine years), but even there it's unclear whether this will automatically happen, or whether the other gods or some other entity will overpower the oathbreaker and inflict it on them. Either way, it's sufficiently horrible that the gods are never portrayed as deciding that breaking an oath will be worth it. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 193 | * The ''Jade Regent'' RPG Actual Play podcasts from Podcast/{{RPGMP3}} feature a weapon called [[NamedWeapons Oathtaker]]. During their travels, the adventurers [[RobbingTheDead stumbled across]] this magical ''tetsubo'' (a [[CarryABigStick huge Oriental bludgeoning weapon]]). Apart from its obvious uses, it can also force people under a Blood Geas. It's currently wielded by Harold Shinken, who discovered that the Viking women of the [[GrimUpNorth Linnorm Kingdoms]] were [[ChickMagnet very impressed]] by the weapon's... [[PhallicWeapon craftsmanship]]. |
| 194 | * One of the victims of Oathtaker's powers, in the Podcast/{{RPGMP3}} podcasts, is a character called Skygni. He's a [[UpliftedAnimal magically Awakened]] [[KillItWithIce frost]]-[[BreathWeapon breathing]] [[AnIcePerson Winter]] [[SavageWolves Wolf]]. He swore a Blood Oath (under duress) to [[TokenEvilTeammate not eat people]]. Well, at least not the ones travelling with the heroes' caravan, anyway. |
| 195 | [[/folder]] |
| 196 | |
| 197 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 198 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Castle Falkenstein}}'' the Adversary and the rest of the Unseelie are bound by the Second Compact ''even though they were tricked into signing it'' by Auberon. |
| 199 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 200 | ** The 2nd Edition ''Tome of Magic'' sourcebook had the Contracts of Nepthas. Anyone who breaks such a contract is struck deaf, dumb, and blind. Ambiguities in the contract's language can be exploited. |
| 201 | %%** Sareshan Oaths in the ''Living Arcanis'' third party setting for 3/3.5 are another ''D&D'' example. |
| 202 | %%** ''Geas / quest'' and ''mark of justice'' can be construed to be a type of contract without paper. Also, people don't have to agree to it, so you can just use it to force people to do your bidding. Though it has a ten-minute cast time, so unless they're restrained you'll be long dead before you finish casting it. |
| 203 | ** Take care when signing a contract with a Devil; depending on the contract, once you sign, you're either going to Baator when you die OR you're going to have to make increasingly evil acts just to keep the benefits. Tearing up the contract isn't an option; there are ''always'' clauses that lead to the signer getting harmed if they do this. |
| 204 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': |
| 205 | ** Eclipse Caste Solars can sanctify any sort of agreement to be magically enforced by Heaven. |
| 206 | ** Moonshadow Caste Abyssals and Fiend Caste Infernals can do similar things -- for the Moonshadows, it's enforced by the Neverborn, while for the Fiends it's enforced by the [[EldritchAbomination Yozis]]. This isn't entirely surprising, as both Moonshadows and Fiends are corrupted Eclipse Exaltations. |
| 207 | ** The Yozis themselves were forced into magically binding oaths when they lost the war against the Gods and their Exalted. This includes an oath to stay in Malfeas (Hell), but they think they'll be able to escape this one if they create HellOnEarth first. |
| 208 | ** The Perfect of Paragon can make these contracts as well. In fact, he requires them of anyone who wants to live in his city. |
| 209 | ** The [[TheFairFolk raksha]], thanks to a quirk in their nature, must abide by their sworn word, or be cursed. They know this full well and are very, ''very'' good at exploiting loopholes. The raksha can also make adjurations, oaths that empower a raksha who swears to them, so long as the raksha fulfills their conditions. |
| 210 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', if you manage to summon a demon (fairly easy) and control it (''not'' so easy), you can order it to do one task lasting up to one hour. The demon is bound to obey, but it will use any loopholes it is smart enough to think of, ''and'' get into as much trouble as possible along the way. Remember how we said EvilIsNotAToy. |
| 211 | * ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' has the Lilim, demons with the ability to read people's Needs (which really means wants most often) by looking into their eyes; if the Lilim can fulfill a target's Need she (Lilim are almost always female) gets a "hook" which she can later use to place a Geas on that person, forcing them to do a return favour or else suffer dissonance (for celestials) or physical harm (for humans). It is possible for a strong-willed person to resist the Geas at the time when the Lilim tries to call in the return favour. They can also place a Geas on a willing target (including on themselves). Their Mother, Lilith, has the same abilities but her Geases cannot be resisted. |
| 212 | * ''TabletopGame/InNomineSatanisMagnaVeritas'' has Marc, archangel of trade, whose angels can sign a binding contract. Breaching the contract causes direct damage to the breacher. This is also present in the American version. |
| 213 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has a number of "contract" items that provide benefits to the undersigned but give another party some power over them. There's also the Phistophilus or "contract devil", which specializes in writing contracts that grant wishes but consign your soul to Hell once you die. |
| 214 | * ''TabletopGame/WorldOfDarkness'' |
| 215 | ** ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' has a borderline case with Pledges, supernaturally-enforced deals Changelings (and the True Fae) can strike with others. While the Pledge doesn't supernaturally force others to obey, most Pledges offer significant penalties, called Sanctions, which afflict an oathbreaker. These Sanctions can range from a -1 to all rolls, to owing the other party a favor, to death. |
| 216 | ** If you're lost in Arcadia, land of the [[EldritchAbomination True Fae]], and you're cold, and you start a fire, the fire won't warm you. You don't have a contract for that. Water won't quench your thirst, because it doesn't know what it'll get in return. True Fae can use these contracts -- and more importantly, the loopholes therein -- to make things normal-ish for themselves. |
| 217 | %%*** There's also the so-called Goblin Pledges, which allow a changeling to make an impromptu deal with some aspect of the mundane world in exchange for a favor. Like asking the moonless night to hide you from your enemies, in exchange for you busting every streetlight you find for a month. |
| 218 | ** The TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness' predecessor game, ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', had a similar mechanic. Characters could willingly swear Oaths to each other. An Oathbreaker not only was a pariah but suffered serious game-mechanic-based penalties as well. The Oaths functioned as magically binding verbal contracts. |
| 219 | ** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' has a flaw called Geas or Imperative, which first gives something that the mage can or cannot do and the result of the mage breaking that condition, the relative difficulty of abiding the contract and how bad the punishment is determining how big the flaw is in terms of freebies returned. So you can have an easy geas that asks that you go outside at least once per day and turns your hair rainbow if you don't, or one as horrifying as being unable to leave a particular spot or your avatar shatters. Obviously, the high end of these imperatives are downright unplayable barring very, very creative players who might use their spheres to abuse loopholes (astral projection not counting as their body had not left the spot or sending out clones as the original is still in the required spot), though these are usually high-level sphere effects that a starting character cannot possibly access with normal building rules. |
| 220 | ** In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', Mages can use Fate magic to bind a person to their word. Such Oaths are permanent unless their terms are fulfilled or fairly powerful magic is used to break them. The Oath does have the advantage that it confers the benefit of giving the person so bound a potential boost of will to overcome anything that might prevent them from fulfilling it. However, if they break the Oath, they are permanently blighted with a curse whose power is proportional to that of the mage who cast it. At higher levels, mages can bind people to Oaths that they didn't actually make. |
| 221 | [[/folder]] |
| 222 | |
| 223 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 224 | * While ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' doesn't have the standard ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' ''geas'' as a usable spell, the enchantment shows up a few times as a plot point. |
| 225 | ** In the first game, there is a special quest where an assassin called Lothander shows up and informs you that if you help him get rid of the ''geas'' by which he is bound to serve [[TheSyndicate the Iron Throne]], he'll tell you how to heal the poison he and his partner have given your whole party that was meant to kill you in a few days to get you out of the Throne's way. The ''geas'' prevents him from looking for a way to opt out of it himself, but [[LoopholeAbuse not asking his "enemies" to get it for him]]. |
| 226 | ** In ''Shadows of Amn'', it turns out [[spoiler:Yoshimo]] is under a ''geas'' that obliges him to betray you to the BigBad, having agreed to the contract earlier when he didn't know what he was getting into. |
| 227 | ** In ''Throne of Bhaal'', [[spoiler:Sarevok]] tells you that, in exchange for getting to join you, he can swear a special oath to stay loyal, which done in the Demiplane would due to the nature of the place act like a ''geas''. |
| 228 | ** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', warlock party member/PlayerCharacter Wyll has one of these in his DealWithTheDevil with his patron Mizora, and if he fails her severely enough he's automatically DraggedOffToHell. |
| 229 | * Renon's contract from ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania 64}}'' contains a clause that if you spend more than $30,000 on merchandise from him he gains ownership of your soul. Of course, it's on him to actually ''enforce'' the contract so when he comes looking for your soul you can just kick his ass and not pay up. Be warned though, [[LetsGetDangerous he's no pushover]]. |
| 230 | * In ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'', demon summoning rituals are magically binding contracts that require an equivalent price to pay. This is how after the attempt to summon [[BigBad Overlord Zenon]] [[spoiler:supposedly]] goes bad, Adell is stuck with Rozalin as a party member. |
| 231 | * In Thage's path in ''VideoGame/EternalPoison'', she forces a magical contract upon adventurer-hunter Retica, preventing him from disobeying her wishes as she searches for the game's namesake MacGuffin. |
| 232 | * The infamous Blood Pact in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' is a contract between a ruler and another party. The ruler can do whatever they please, but the other party can invoke the pact at any time, killing one person under the ruler's, um, rule on the first day, two on the second, and so on until they decide to stop. It can be broken, though. [[spoiler:Rip up the contract and kill one of the people who made it.]] |
| 233 | %%** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', [[BigBad Princess Veronica]] has Heroes sign a contract that states that Heroes who are defeated by Veronica and her empire are to serve her. However, the contract becomes null and void once someone defeats them in battle. |
| 234 | * In ''VideoGame/FoodFantasy'', summoning a Food Soul automatically forms a contract between the Soul and summoner, and the Food Souls must obey the Attendant they are contacted with. |
| 235 | * In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', Mithra's power forces any promise or contract made within its domain to be carried out to the letter, regardless of situation or laws of reality. This becomes a problem during the Golonzo Island arc when the Grandcypher is incapable of leaving the island until Rackam fulfills his promise. |
| 236 | %%* Devils do this by the letter in ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'', Lillet Blan actually manages to get out of two; the first [[spoiler:by using MentalTimeTravel to before signing the contract]] and the second [[spoiler:by binding the Demon Lord to do something he would never, ever do: embrace God.]] |
| 237 | * ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'': In Living World Season 3, we learn that all members of the Shining Blade above the rank of "recruit" are bound by the Oath of Confidence to keep the Blade's secrets. The spell-oath will kill anyone who talks (though simply saying the oath ''exists'' won't trigger it). When the Commander needs help from the Shining Blade, they end up having to take the Oath of Confidence themselves as the only way the Blade can give them the information. |
| 238 | * ''VideoGame/PilgrimRPGMaker'': Master Alice's {{deal|WithTheDevil}}s with people must be followed to the letter and cannot be broken, no matter how much Alice herself would like to break them (which is why she constantly looks for LoopholeAbuse and ExactWords). |
| 239 | * In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', Fhjull Forked-Tongue is a Cornugon (a medium-high ranking Devil) who signed such a contract with the angel, Trias, thinking he'd be getting a great deal. As it turns out, Trias lied to him and Fhjull wound up being forced to do charity for all who ask him. Naturally, as a being of LawfulEvil, he hates this with every fiber of his being and is a pariah among his own kind. |
| 240 | * A staple in the main ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series. Generally, when a demon decides to join a summoner as an ally during negotiations, a contract between the demon and the summoner is formed that can usually be broken upon the summoner's death. Note that the contract is ''binding'' on the fact that a contracted demon is IncapableOfDisobeying the summoner. Demons summoned through fusion are also placed under a similar contract. |
| 241 | * ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Azul Ashengrotto is directly based on [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ursula]], as such he can use golden contracts to grant powers or other qualities in exchange for qualities the victim has, and mete out punishment if the victim doesn't fulfill their end of the bargain. [[spoiler:The actual nature of this magic is power absorption; if he uses it without contracts to [[PowerLimiter limit it to specific terms]], he'll just drain the victim of all powers and overload himself. The contracts are also not unbreakable, unlike in the original film; destroying them will void the contracts, release the spell and return the powers he stole to their owners.]] |
| 242 | * In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'''s "Legion" expansion, the PlayerCharacter gets trapped in [[Myth/NorseMythology Helheim]]. The player bargains with Helheim's ruler, the fallen Val'kyr Helya, to be allowed to leave if they can defeat Helya's champion. When the player succeeds in fulfilling their side of the bargain, Helya tries to renege on the deal, but is powerless to stop the player's ascension from Helheim. |
| 243 | * In ''VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous'' the lich Zacharius is under one to remain in his chapel until a crusader finds and returns his wand to him, then aid them. He placed it on himself because he feared his transformation into a lich [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget would cause him to stop caring about the crusade to end the demonic invasion]], and now bitterly resents what he considers the foolishness of his former self because that's exactly what happened. |
| 244 | [[/folder]] |
| 245 | |
| 246 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 247 | * Used in the third route of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', although agreeing to it leads to a bad end a while down the route. |
| 248 | ** In the prequel ''Literature/FateZero'', [[spoiler:Kiritsugu forces Kayneth to sign a self-geas scroll to force Lancer to kill himself, otherwise Kiritsugu will execute Sola-Ui. Although the contract also prevents Kiritsugu from killing Kayneth and Sola-Ui, he uses LoopholeAbuse and has Maiya snipe them from afar once the deed has been done.]] |
| 249 | * In ''VisualNovel/JunipersKnot'', there is a magical effect that echoes off the chamber when the boy strikes a '''deal''' with the Fiend. |
| 250 | * In ''VisualNovel/MagicalDiary'', the promise of a witch is ''always'' binding -- break your word and you [[spoiler:lose your magic]]. |
| 251 | * In the prelude of ''VisualNovel/SoulOfSovereignty'', the Voice of the Sovereignty requests [[spoiler: Ysmé and Loic]] enter into a contract together as the new bearer of the Sovereignty and its witness, respectively. While the bearer then [[ResurrectionGambit must die]] so that their soul may be transformed, the invocation spoken by the witness then [[DeityOfHumanOrigin grants the new bearer the Sovereignty's fabled divinity]] and places a {{Geas}} over the witness, who can no longer resist commands issued by their new god. |
| 252 | [[/folder]] |
| 253 | |
| 254 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 255 | * ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': In "Oops", the crime lord Crimson captures Fizzarolli and tries to use him to blackmail Asmodeus, the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils archdevil]] of Lust, to signing over a lot of his property to him. Stolas points out that Asmodeus had better read the contract, because "A deal made with a sin like yourself would be everlastingly binding" (giving no further details). This may explain how Crimson expects to get away with the whole thing afterwards. |
| 256 | [[/folder]] |
| 257 | |
| 258 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 259 | %%* In ''Webcomic/AvasDemon'', pacts cannot be defied, because they have a built-in [[TorturedMonster deterrent for anyone looking to break the rules]], although they can be [[ExactWords exact-worded a little.]] |
| 260 | * ''Webcomic/BloodIsMine'': |
| 261 | ** If you agree to a bargain with the [[BargainWithHeaven tradesmen]], you will be physically unable to break the deal. It's done to prevent anyone from accidentally or unwillingly breaking the bargain. (Trying to ''intentionally'' scam the tradesmen is a very bad idea.) |
| 262 | ** After taking a book from a [[GeniusLoci living library]], Dr. Finch wonders how they are going to return it since the library will be gone once they leave it. The library assures him that they will return the book when they are done with it. Then it clarifies that this wasn't a command or a suggestion, it was a statement of a fact: when they are done with the book, they ''will'' return it. |
| 263 | * In ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'', Champions of deities have some sort of magic contract with them. While most of them do whatever their deity tells them to, Champions seem to be able to enable LoopholeAbuse just by talking to their deity and changing their mind, although in #3, Daryl wonders what the punishment for outright disobeying an order is. The short story “Spheres” shows that disobeying an order creates a spherical . . . thing inside of their deity that, upon coming into contact with the Champion, causes “[[ImHavingSoulPains Unimaginable pain and suffering]]” that only their deity can dispel. The protagonist’s deities, Leilusa and Hyperion, have no intention of using the spheres to enforce cooperation and destroy them almost as fast as they form. Unless it’s the rare occasion they want to count how many times they were disobeyed for [[ItAmusedMe kicks]]. |
| 264 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': When Immortals make a promise, they're bound to that promise, even in their subsequent lives. An Immortal who breaks a promise has what amounts to forcible, unavoidable, screaming intrusive thoughts until they fix it -- thus, such a contract is effectively magically ''self-enforced'' for an Immortal. This is why Voltaire is ''incredibly careful'' with what he promises... |
| 265 | * ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' has [[http://archives.erfworld.com/Book%203/30 literal magical contracts,]] complete with lawyer-speak and magically enforced clauses. A non-disclosure agreement literally [[TongueTied prevents you from talking]] about which you are forbidden. |
| 266 | * ''Webcomic/TheGreatWizardTranscendent'', when two wizards enter a deal, they have to follow the terms of the deal or they would lose their magic. |
| 267 | * ''Webcomic/HashtagBlessed'': The contract bound both Joanna and the gods when she swiped right on a dating app. While she theoretically had a choice, the gods didn't and were chosen by fate. [[spoiler:Turns out the contract itself is intelligent, and this is the third time it has tried to fulfill the prophecy]]. |
| 268 | * ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Devil contracts. They ''can'' be broken by the devil in question, but doing so also breaks the binding that lets them stay in the physical world. Their mask shatters, and they turn into an EldritchAbomination, though the only time we see this happen, the devil is re-bound with a new mask before it progresses any further than this (and trying to kill everyone and everything else present). |
| 269 | * ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' |
| 270 | ** Spoofed in the Torg Potter parody of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'' |
| 271 | *** Anything the Goblet says is magically binding. Even when the commands are completely irrational and have nothing to do with the Tournament. Once Torg figures out how to manipulate the Goblet with Muggle methods, he's able to get it to apparently say that Gandledorf has to sit on a cactus for the tournament's entire duration. The only visible power the contracts have is that everyone obeys them, so a fake one works as well as a real one. |
| 272 | *** Worse yet, a wizard's name in itself is a magically binding contract, compelling the wizard in question to do whatever their name implies, which is why many wizards tend to change their name. Gandeldorf's name was allegedly Grad-fondle. |
| 273 | ** Played straight (in "The Circle") with the contract between Lysinda Circle and Strakoi vampires: the Strakoi have a magically binding contract that without Lysinda's direct permission, no more than one of them can set foot in the New World. If they try to come within more than a few feet of land, the magic will repulse them. |
| 274 | * In ''WebComic/TowerOfGod'', the Tower is full of magical contracts that are mostly enforced on people when they enter a given area, or even because they were born anywhere in it. For example, anyone entering the Name Hunt Station is compelled to be the slave of anyone who steals their name by the Station's rules, and not to attack the ruler, Kaiser, unless they fulfill specific conditions. In such a case, the contract is enforced by the fact that the local Administrator, a minor CosmicBeing, will smack you if you don't follow it. When someone tries to attack Kaiser without permission, he just vanishes into nothingness, presumably by the Administrator's direct intervention. Other contracts are just physically impossible to break; that's why GodEmperor Jahad is impossible to kill for anyone from within the Tower. (He and others have a contract with the Administrators in a different sense: they make the contract, and it's enforced on other people and external reality.) |
| 275 | * In ''Webcomic/WakeTheSleepers'', the Assassin Madoc enters into a contract to [[spoiler:assassinate Locke]], which when bound by a ''BloodOath'' binds him to complete the task. |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 279 | * ''Website/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2221 SCP-2221 ("A Friendly Agreement")]]. SCP-2221 is a EULA (End User License Agreement) that causes people who agree to it to become religious extremists. It does not affect anyone who is legally unable to form a contract (young children, mentally incompetent, slaves, and D-Class personnel). |
| 280 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': |
| 281 | ** Reneging on "sorcerer's contracts" is possible for humans, just with unknown consequences. For more magical beings, it's literally unbreakable. They're even binding when the agreement is extracted from an unaware party through trickery or coercion, with some students not above using such tactics against others. However, there are loopholes in the system. Carmilla wriggles out of another student's attempt to hold her to a similar contract because what she signed with wasn't her actual signature, and was in fact a disguised "Hell No". Note that Carmilla's was actually the related "DealWithTheDevil" trope, and it's repeatedly pointed out that Jobe should have gotten someone else to look over the contract. It's stated he got LUCKY in regard to dealing with a demon. Sorcerers' contracts can be formed by literally just shaking hands and can be verbal. |
| 282 | ** There is also the Fool's Circle: a magical circle that traps you inside it if you willingly enter. You do not have to agree to what is going to happen to you: you might do so because the magician is lying about the spell they will cast, or you might enter with a friend held at gunpoint. It doesn't matter. You voluntarily entered, case closed. Which is why students who learn about magic are told of the dangers. |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 286 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': |
| 287 | ** [[Series/PerryMason Fairy]] [[PunnyName Mason]] helps Timmy make [[GenieInABottle Norm the Genie]] sign one so he'll grant Timmy's last wish without any loopholes. |
| 288 | --->'''Norm:''' [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame I hate being outjerked!]] |
| 289 | ** Flappy Bob signs a contract with the Pixies to restore the Learn-a-torium and make the world dull and boring while the Pixies take over Fairy World. When Flappy learns the Pixies were manipulating him all along, he exploits a loophole in the contract to make everything back to normal. The contract states that Earth should be safe and happy "as defined by Flappy Bob," so Flappy changes his definition to "everything being the way it's supposed to be". The Pixies then have no choice but to remove the boredom from everywhere in Dimmsdale (except the school, which was already boring to begin with) and return Fairy World to fairy control. |
| 290 | ** All fairies are also magically bound by ''Da Rules'' -- a huge, Federal Code-sized book of, as its titles say, rules that fairies (ex. can only grant wishes to kids) and their kids (ex. lose your godparents if you ever tell anyone about them) must follow. Fairies are incapable of granting any wish forbidden by Da Rules, such as [[ThouShaltNotKill killing someone]], [[ThePowerOfLove making someone fall in love with you]], or free money/document copies (because stealing and counterfeiting are crimes) -- if they try, their wands sputter out. If a wish ever screws the world up badly enough, a new rule against granting such a wish can be created. On the flip side, unless it violates Da Rules, fairies are also bound to do ''anything'' their kid prefaces with the words "I wish," no matter how ill-advised. One episode has Timmy making wishes in his sleep, with Cosmo and Wanda forced to oblige; another has his wish cut off before he can finish, forcing Cosmo and Wanda to grant his ExactWords instead of his actual intention. If certain wishes have absolute conditions attached to them, like Timmy stating he ''never'' wants to be "freakishly huge" ''again'' after he gets the money to replace his broken video game console, then the kid is permanently barred from making the same wish again, and likely the fairies wouldn't be able to get around it if they did so willingly. |
| 291 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': As a teenager, the then-newly-crowned Queen Moon enters into a magical contract with one of Rhombulus' prisoners, the dark Queen Eclipsa, in order to defeat Toffee[[note]]A Septarian, whose species have regenerative powers that functionally grant CompleteImmortality[[/note]]. Eclipsa would give Moon a spell that could permanently kill him[[note]][[EvenEvilHasStandards an extremely evil spell she wasn't even willing to ''name'', let alone transcribe in common Mewman]][[/note]], and Eclipsa would be freed from her prison as soon as Toffee was dead. Both parties end up able to exploit some form of LoopholeAbuse: Moon deliberately avoids killing Toffee to prevent the contract from being completely fulfilled, so she basically got the spell for nothing. However, when [[spoiler:Star and Ludo manage to kill Toffee for good without using the spell, the contract is fulfilled anyway, since the agreement was only that Eclipsa goes free when Toffee is dead. They never specified that Moon had to be the one to kill him, or even that Eclipsa's spell had to be used to do it]]. |
| 292 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' GrandFinale "The Last Adventure!" [[BigBad Bradford]] puts into motion a plan to get rid of adventuring forever and puts Scrooge [=McDuck=] in one of these, forcing him to give up adventuring for his family. He thinks it is iron-tight as he spent 30 years refining it to get rid of any loopholes. [[spoiler:Webby and the triplets realize that there is a loophole -- Scrooge can't give up adventuring for his family because "Family is the greatest adventure of all!" Bradford thinks this is stupid, but the Papyrus of Binding, previously established as [[LiteralGenie rather fickle]] in how it interprets what is written on it and taking its subjects' personal definitions of terms into account, accepts it as a valid technicality that renders the contract void.]] |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
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