Contain Question

[Lisa Padol]

So, Dave's character, Andreas, put a Possessor demon in a Contain. He instructed another Possessor demon, this one bound to him, to force a sedative down the throat of the demon in the Contain every half hour.

Dave confirms that yes, these were Andreas' instructions, and yes, Andreas was in a hurry and not thinking clearly, perhaps.

I am thinking that the only way for the demon outside the Contain to force a sedative into the one inside the Contain is for the demon to break the Contain. That about right?

-Lisa

[James_Nostack]

Contain's one of those rituals that means whatever you want it to mean, I think, and probably depends on your setting and the in-game context.  Maybe the ritual only meant to contain that one particular demon?  Or maybe Contain is like a roach motel--they check in, but they can't check out... so now the Contain is still intact but has two demons trapped inside?  I think it's pretty fluid depending on the game.  You might want to do what you propopsed, and if the player whines about it, say, "Hey, it's magic.  You gotta specify these things" to introduce the proper level of paranoia.

(I don't have my book with me so I am kinda making that up.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Spot-on correct, Lisa. One demon outside the Contain cannot physically make the demon inside it do anything.

James, Sorcerer rules are indeed customized by local look & feel, but they're not that fluid.

Best,
Ron

[Mister Six]

On pg 89 of the rulebook, it says "A given containment must be defined at the outset as general (applying to any demon) or specific (applying to a certain individual or type)." So if a contain is individually keyed to the demon trapped within it, why couldn't other demons pass the boundaries of the contain freely?

-Chris

[Ron Edwards]

Oops. The book wins.

Thanks Mister Six!