3: Missing Memorandum
Third Contract for the ICA
Asmodeus has sent out a memo about new directives for soul allocation and it has gone missing. The memorandum is supposed to be delivered to the Infernal Strategic Oversight Division (ISOD), the high-level department responsible for implementing Asmodeus' directives and coordinating policy across all layers of the Nine Hells. This division ensures that contracts, soul allocation, and infernal operations align with the Arch-Devil’s master plan.The memorandum’s intended destination, the Soul Allocation Directive Office (SADO) within ISOD, is responsible for updating quotas and revising the intricate guidelines governing mortal contracts, soul harvesting, and perks distribution. Without the memorandum, the office cannot implement critical updates, causing bureaucratic bottlenecks, rivalries between departments, and potentially leaving some devils undersupplied in their infernal dealings.
Plot Hook: The memorandum’s absence is especially critical because it contains highly sensitive instructions about revising quotas for Arch-Devils, shifting resources, or even reassigning key ICA staff. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could spark chaos within the infernal hierarchy.
Plot points/Scenes
Part 1: Tracing the Paper Trail
The players begin by investigating the memorandum's last known location: the Interdepartmental Courier Service (ICS), a chaotic office where documents are magically transported between departments. Challenges: Corrupted Records: The ICS records were poorly managed (or sabotaged), leaving gaps in the memorandum's journey. The players must piece together a timeline by interrogating harried clerks and deciphering distorted transport logs.Implicated Imp: An ICS imp handler, eager to avoid blame, lies about sending the memorandum to the wrong department.
Callback: If the players streamlined the filing system in "Filing Fiasco", they can use the re-organized archives to quickly verify the imp’s claims, skipping unnecessary delays.
Revelation: The memorandum was accidentally delivered to a "blacklisted department," the Infernal Division of Redactions, where documents are often shredded, sealed, or devoured.
Part 2: The Division of Redactions
The players infiltrate the forbidding Division of Redactions, a shadowy office where documents are guarded by spectral scribes and enchanted ink beasts. Challenges: Security Measures: The Division’s staff, led by a cryptic Chain Devil archivist, is hostile to outsiders. Gaining access requires persuasion, bribery, or stealth.Living Documents: In this department, unfiled memoranda develop sentience to protect themselves. The missing memorandum is now actively hiding and has animated nearby contracts to defend it.
Callback: If the players improved ICA protocols during "Filing Fiasco," the Division is better cataloged, allowing them to narrow their search and avoid getting lost in endless shelves of redacted texts. Revelation: The memorandum escaped the shredding process and was taken by a rogue administrator to the Breakroom, a liminal space between departments.
Part 3: The Breakroom of Chaos
The players find the memorandum in the Breakroom, which has devolved into an anarchic meeting spot for disillusioned ICA employees, including rogue devils and overworked clerks. Challenges: Hostile Employees: The rogue administrator is attempting to leverage the memorandum as a bargaining chip to gain power, rallying discontented ICA staff to their cause.Breakroom Hazards: The space is filled with enchanted vending machines, malfunctioning magical coffee brewers, and warring infernal cliques, requiring the players to negotiate or fight their way to the memorandum.
Callback: Success in "Filing Fiasco" may mean some clerks owe the players favors, providing allies to help retrieve the memorandum. Climactic Decision: The players must decide how to handle the rogue administrator and the memorandum: Recover the Memo: Delivering it intact secures their position but draws the ire of the rogue faction. Edit the Memo: They can subtly adjust Asmodeus’ directives to serve their interests, but this risks catastrophic consequences if discovered. Destroy the Memo: Defying their orders could expose cracks in the ICA hierarchy but positions the players as agitators within the infernal bureaucracy. Aftermath: The outcome affects their standing in the ICA, with potential rewards (or repercussions) depending on how they resolved the rogue faction and the memorandum’s fate.
Parent Plot
Related Characters