The Archetype of the Devil in Folklore

Just as The Church is an inescapable archetype when reading European folklore, The Devil himself appears again and again. Note this is not the head spinning, vomiting, foul talking version of The Fiend that possesses people and contends in battles of will against exorcists. Nor is he the aggrieved fallen angel with ice running through his veins contending with Michael as his nemesis.

On the contrary, he looks, sounds, and dresses no different than your or I. He is articulate, polite, and gifted with a silver tongue the envy of every salesman. He is often clad in tall boots to hide his cloven hoof which is nonetheless betrayed by his slight limp.

He has argued the law with Daniel Webster, strolled at midnight with Young Goodman Brown, given Robert Johnson his talent, and closed a deal with Dr. Faustus. He has even been bested by a blacksmith or two as well as old Katie Grey. None dare speak his name, and so refer to him as Old Nick or Old Scratch.

Incorporating this motif into a TTRPG can be a challenge. In story, the Devil's desire is nothing short of the soul itself. Yet in a role playing game, souls don't tend to mean much to a player. They can reap the benefit of a deal by having their character become more powerful, and only "pay the price" when the character dies, at which point they simply generate a new character as usual.

In order to make introducing Old Nick into your campaign interesting, you can change his motivations to something that affects the players during the actual game. I've approached this problem by taking a cue from The Godfather. Nick is a trader in favors. And while he may do a favor for you today, someday he will come calling on you for a favor in return - a favor you can't refuse.

This employs another folktale motif of the "rash promise", where the character agrees to something that either seems harmless or insignificant, or that they think they can avoid fulfilling in some creative way. In story this promise often becomes a first born child, a princess, or something as precious. In a role playing game, this offers excellent opportunity for reasons for a Player Character to embark on an adventure. The  storytelling aspects of this are wide open. Powerful artifacts, secret places, an unlikely foes and allies can all be woven into fulfilling or attempting to avoid fulfilling the Promise.

And if somehow the player manages to have Old Nick owe them a favor, you can create all sorts of creative ways for Himself to fulfill that wish.

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