I need some advice /tg/, but first a story Dming a DND 5E game

>demon targets the mage relentlessly
>he's asking 'what the fuck! who gave my name!'
>nobody has any idea, but they shelve it for later cause there's still a big demon to fight
>whole party lays buffs on top of mage while trying to body-block for him
>its not enough
>demon grapples everyone out of his way or just tanks reactions attacks, keeps swinging for mage
>mage gets down to 3 hp and he's fucking scared
>the party still has a cleric with revivify and a paladin with revivify scroll and the diamonds necessary
>even if mage does goes down there's still a good chance he can come back
>demon's turn comes up and he takes the time to tempt the mage one more time
>"Give me a name, mortal. These men here are no friends of yours. You owe them nothing. Give me a name and not only will I spare your life, I'll grant you wealth and power. I'll even do away with this portal you desire closed. Just give me a name."
>mage closes his eyes and sighs
>"Ok."
>he gives me the cleric's name

>whole party is stunned
>I'm shocked
>me, mage and cleric have been friends since college, the longest out of everyone at the table
>mage was one of the last people I would have expected to betray someone like that
>I shake off my shock and get back in character
>demon smiles
>"A wise decision, mortal."
>demon shifts target to cleric and starts hammering him
>cleric is asking mage "WHY?"
>mage replies "You had the most health and the highest AC"
>it's true because the demon is having a lot harder time getting cleric down
>party uses up everything to save cleric, popping potions and spellslots
>they set up a perfect bodyblock formation around cleric with summoned minions and so on
>finally demon is whittled down
>he dies laughing
>"Fools, I've already won."
>the portal closes
>day is saved, yadda, yadda
>cleric is exhausted, but alive and upset at mage
>he takes off his helmet and that's when party notices that he has a mark on his neck
>the demon's symbol is inscribed in his neck like a fresh cut
>rest of session is spent freaking out
>surprisingly not a friendship-ending betrayal
>cleric is still shocked, but takes it like a champ
>while mage says that he was the first target and anyone else would have done the same in his position

I end the session shortly after because holy shit I really wasn't expecting anyone to give a name

Now, this whole situation is really unfair for the cleric

He did nothing wrong, but the whole situation is set up so that he suffers for the mage's gain. Of course I can easily set up an ironic twist for whatever "rewards" the mage gets, but cleric just suffers for no reason.

I'm not sure HOW yet and that's the problem. Too severe and it's just harsh. Too light and it makes this (pretty great) moment worthless.

So yeah, /tg/, besides being chased by demons every now and again a la Berserk, what can I do with this mark on the cleric?

I don't see the problem. Stop babying your players, they're adults.

Hmm, well it's an easy one but you could fuck up his sleeping with horrifying nightmares that make him roll a will save to be able to rest for the night otherwise no rest or spells for the morning.

Could also make whatever food or drink he consumes taste like ash or freshly spilt blood.

Voices and hallucinations are always a fun choice too, especially if they're muttered comments from his friends that could be real.

>>51157319
>he's asking 'what the fuck! who gave my name!'
>me, mage and cleric have been friends since college, the longest out of everyone at the table
>mage replies "You had the most health and the highest AC"

IC and OOC are supposed to remain separate.

Honestly, if your party has any comraderie at all, they'll immediately try to get it removed. The mage of all people should feel the most guilty about it (barring more evil alignments) and try to help the most.

Don't use this to try and pry your party apart, use it to make them closer together.

>>51157319
>implying that the mage won't be scorned by the arcane community for not enduring the curse and finding a loophole a la WW, or simply studying the curse for not!SCIENCE
>implying the cleric won't be canonized as a living saint for bearing the mark that brings demons 'like a champ'
>implying that killing filthy demons in the name of JUSTICE with the paladin isn't its own reward.

Let these serve as suggestions. You are the DM, master of an entire world. You have the right to choose how that world reacts to your players.

>>51157484
It always pisses me off when people merge the two. Still, I'm willing to give it a pardon due to spur of the moment-ness and the fact that this guy is hopefully bro-tier despite his shortcomings.

>>51157527
In addition, this dude has it spot on. Your players are good guys who you know well, which A: will make things a tad easier to rebuild bridges with and B: a lot more of a shame if y'all separated because of a D&D game.
Trust me, it feels bad.

>>51157319
>Of course I can easily set up an ironic twist for whatever "rewards" the mage gets
Go with the classic. Give him power and wealth that he has to use by himself and can't share with others.
the resultant butthurt is delicious to the demons and well worth the material cost

>>51157298
Speaking of name dropping I had an idea for a reoccuring mini boss of a campaign

>demon entity that hunts players down relentlessly until subdued with its only purpose in life is the death of the entire party
>is immortal, reforming days after its death only to hunt the players again
>while not party wiping powerful, an encounter with it can be very taxing on resources
>demon's power rises slowly over the campaign, becoming a serious threat by around halfway to level cap
>party can end the hunt by offering one of the party members up for an eternity of torture

Should I change anything about it?

>>51158351
Make it so the players can't non-lethally disable the demon easily, you have to give it limb regeneration to get around the easy one, and ability to slowly melt through anything on contact to get around stuff like "throw him in a square multi-meter thick cube of concrete, then throw him into the ocean." type things. Think of other things the players might come up with unless you want this to be an option to get around the demon.

>>51158547
What if he could phase through objects in general?

The fuck is the point of a twisted demonic curse obviously designed to cause moral dilemma and develop party tensions if you get uncomfortable to the moment it's successful? Let your players play it out, they'll come through it at the other end much closer as a party.

>>51157527
>>51157391
This

>>51158919
You'd run into inconsistencies. Also is more menacing to melt through wall than to pretend it does not exist.