IN> [Asmodeus Month] Investigating Greed

[James Walker]

Asmodeus will never forgive Mammon for betraying him.
Granted cutting him down to size during the Great
Depression made him useful as an example of what
happens to those who cross The Game; but many demons
are too young to benefit from the lesson, making
Mammon less useful. And now that Mammon is weak...and
desperate for allies...The Game can circle for the
kill.

>From The Game's perspective, Mammon is merely
Valefor's fence. Although Greed gives only a fraction
of true value, their willingness to handle items to
'hot' for a mortal to re-sell, appreciation of
artifacts and other supernatural items, and ability to
pay in Rites and Attunements, ensures constant
business. And 'hot' items can often be used to justify
an arrest!

The Right of Contract does some strange things to
relations between The Game, Greed & Theft. Misers must
get a relic/0 enchanted to write a contract for a
soul; a Gamester can get a sheaf of contracts from a
Dealer. So any time a Dealer is robbed, The Game will
assume that Greed will buy up anything the dealer has
imprinted. (The easiest way to discover the contracts
is to offer your soul to the Miser while using
Humanity).

Of course, if The Game discovers that a Shark has
stolen soul contracts, they may chose to wait. Far
better to get the Mammonite to corrupt the mortals –
and *then* seize the contracts. And the Magpies often
up the value of the blank contracts by wandering into
the nearest university with a keg of beer and trading
souls for glasses of beer 'as a joke': watching the
Sharks trying to corrupt flighty sophomores amuses
even the austere Gamesters.  

Meanwhile, the Misers know that the Hounds are
planning to destroy them. Sharks want to bribe
Asmodeans; they see that as furthering their Word.
Gamesters expect to be bribed – but rarely settle for
cash or essence. Demanding items increases the odds of
the Mammonite giving them something that can be used
to justify an arrest, or at least blackmail the Miser
further – and if the item proves to be completely
innocuous, it can be safely kept.

Sharks sometimes save themselves by working with The
Game against – Greed's allies. Quietly helping
Asmodeus weaken Haagenti reduces the likelihood of
Greed following Sloth into Oblivion. Less happily, if
the Miser is in deep trouble, setting up a sting
operation to catch a Thief can buy back the Shark's
life. After all, with blackmail information like
*that*, The Game will keep the Mammonite alive as a
pawn for centuries.


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