Virgileso, I'm having some trouble reconciling these issues that you bring up with your statement in another thread of yours...
If you don't want to have the infernal dominating in your campaign you need to 1) stop including it or 2) hint to players that they shouldn't even mess with the stuff, except to destroy it (kill it with fire!). In my sagas where I've not wanted the infernal to assert the overall theme, I don't introduce players to infernal vis or bring in demons, even tangentially. If a player wants to kill a demon, without DEO, that's altogether different, then giving them an infernal aura, providing them with the spells that allow them to cleanse the vis, and discussing means of laundering the vis into clean vis. Those all spell out, to me, something that dominates the campaign.
At this stage, I would purse a course of action where the PCs come clean reveal the actions that they've taken to mitigate the infernal threat. Perhaps, unadvisedly thing that they could weaken the aura by distilling vis from it, only to learn that they've done the wrong thing, and get help from a holy magus who truly wishes to help them destroy all vis acquired, and the infernal aura. Attemting to monetize it is, IMO, temptation and thinking that they can handle the vis and make it clean. Not every magus is a Harry Dresden with a helltart stuck in his head... Once that's done, I'd provide them with some other, clean sources of vis for them to use, so as not to continue dominating the saga.
Odd thread to ask this question, but either way. My players have yet to consider the idea of using infernal vis, and would sooner try to figure out how to destroy it if they ever got some. Neither they nor their characters are even aware that a spell exists (or even could) to clean up vis. Also...
I specifically stated, in the quote you cite, that I'm not adding more infernal elements for the purpose of not having them dominate; aka, way ahead of ya.
Best use of infernal vis is to trade it with a Cthonic mage for regular vis (probably around 2:1). Heck the regular vis is probably just cleansed infernal vis, but the risk is much lower to non-existent for a chthonic magus..
Then, you seem to be searching out problems that aren't in need of solutions. If the players and their characters have no interest in cleansing the vis, and are interested in destroying it, I would pursue those stories. And my quotation, which you clipped did say you didn't wan to add anymore threads. I guess I should have asked, do you want the threads you have, and what are your threads. Putting out forum threads asking about milking an infernal aura and infernally tainted vis suggests that there are, perhaps, other threads already dangling. Only now, do I understand that these questions are more of an academic than practical question.
The standard thing to do should honestly be to cleanse any and all vis when you get it if you have enough infernal lore. Which would actually make infernal vis almost safe to launder through Redcaps. Redcap gets vis, cleanses it. Trades off vis, it ges cleansed a second time. Assuming magi aren't intentionally malicious or ignorant of the dangers they'll have cleansed the vis before the Redcaps get it too. Hence making the vis safe for human consumption even if it started as rank three corrupt vis.
Good call, Quite possibly a Cat. And given the fact that Redcaps deal with different kinds of Vis, more then most magi, having several with magic items that cleanse any and all Vis they get would be quite conceptual. They don't have to know why it's bad, don't need any lores. All they have to know is that some Vis can be "interesting", and if not properly handled, might hurt one of their precious and few House Magi.....
Given that there's risk just cleansing the vis, you hand it all off to Chthonic magi to do the cleaning. It might explain why they are tolerated in the Order.
? What risk, using a magic item? Infernal Warping? Man, what would a magic item with Warping, Divine Warping, Fairie Warping, and Infernal Warping look like? (Assuming the "cleaning" item sees equivalent amounts of each.)
Laundering infernal vis seems like a prima facie case of "dealing with the infernal". If detected, I think, the Tribunal would be very strongly inclined to aggressively investigate/prosecute on that basis.
Uh what?
It is commonly stated that Hermetic magic can't detect demons, and while I agree that it could detect infernal things, Realms of Power:The Infernal makes it clear that infernal vis appears as normal vis to Hermetic Magic.
If we assume that the infernally tainted vis is created by a demon or the remains of the demon, it's not much of a stretch to accept that such vis retains the properties of demons. This is why using the infernal heavily in a saga requires a lot of negotiation amongst the troupe, because it makes things that are normally assured in a saga without the Infernal much riskier. It requires players who are willing to take the risks of unknowingly using infernal vis, and also be willing to adjust their character as he succumbs to the effects of such vis.
Wait, I was mistaken its devils. "I will not deal with devils, lest I imperil my soul and the souls of my sodales as well." Not infernal vis, not someone with an infernal power, not someone warped by the infernal realm, etc. Devils. Infernal Vis is not a devil. Infernal Vis comes from a little too much sinning.
If the Order is aware that they can't tell infernal vis from any other vis (which, my understanding is, they do know that) a charge of 'dealing in infernal vis' is fairly defensible.
"I did not know that the vis was infernal and while I am heartily sorry for the damage, I could not have expected it" works very well.
Come to think of it, if it's that undetectable how would anyone know that the vis was tainted?
Actually, given that it's so undetectable, I would even argue that only people with Infernal Lore are aware of the existence of Infernally Tainted Vis.
This is why a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing?
I think it's well known that vis can be aligned with any realm. Forcing infernal lore to know this seems inconsistent with the other forms of vis. It's enough to know that the agents of Hell can mask their taint on vis. Then one can easily know or surmise that the vis left behind by a slain demon is infernal vis (pure concentrated evil, don't touch it).
But, I can get behind the idea that not everyone thinks about infernal vis, but just as a meta-game issue, it needs to be discussed, because if I drop infernal vis into a magus's familiar or talisman, or other important magical item, whoo boy.
