Patrons are not automatically evil. The last UA proposed a subclass of the Warlock where the patron is a celestial.
...which is not necessarily any better for the Warlock's health or sanity. A celestial patron can be just as fanatical as a fiend, and possess even less understanding of how mortals behave. Look at shows like Supernatural to get a good portrayal of how working for the angels can be just as dangerous and disturbing as any deal with the devil.
What do patrons want from warlocks? Hmmm, well, I usually ask them for references first. Have they spilled the blood of innocents for previous patrons, is good to know. Let's see... umm, ooh! Where do you see yourself in 5 levels? (Always good to know a potential stooge's level of commitment.) After the screening process, I usually just see exactly how far I can push them b4 they decide it's not worth the power I can bestow. In a word, amusement.
In the case of my current character, his patron is a dead(ish) alien demiplane which can't "want" anything at the moment. Of course, when you start talking about eldritch beings, they are not alive in the sense that humans are, so they can't really die in the sense that humans can. As for the character, he didn't seek out this being. After it "died", pieces of it were scattered through the Astral Plane, and two of them landed in Faerun. My character was unknowlingly exposed to one of these pieces during his childhood, and it awakened his subconscious mind. It was only in adulthood that he discovered in power, and he even thought he was a sorcerer at first. Of course, there were a number of lesser entities, some of them formerly humans, that dwelt within the demiplane, and now they are slowly discovering my character, and would like him to collect the pieces of their home to reassemble them.
It is really up to the DM and player to figure this out. Although like a cleric with a god, a patron can choose to no longer give its powers to a player. So to some degree the player needs to follow a patron's whims unless the patron does not care.
One very general idea I plan on exploring is that the Arch Fey make demands on the Warlock to fulfill obligations to the family legacy (Half-Elf having Fey Ancestry, etc). Just like a noble living up to the family name, only he has no idea what might be asked of him or why. Perhaps having an Urchin background or something with the promise of new powers as long as he continues to complete a series of increasingly bizarre errands which are only fathomable to his mysterious ancestors.
Apologies if a similar answer was given and I have missed it.
For me, I feel that what patron wants goes hand in hand with the effort the player put forth in his backstory.
Did he just want to be a warlock because it sounded cool, or did he actually put forth a backstory that is interesting? If your player went in depth with his ideas, the ways you can incorporate the patron will be handed in a silver platter.
Did he beg for power for revenge? The patron might want souls. Was he tricked into it? The patron might try and break the player to give up his soul, or to turn a bit more evil and using his skills to feed the unwanted devil to gain a little peace. Perhaps something the group of player can tackle on later to save the warlock's soul, or the DM could secretly approach the player with an idea to RP his way into slowly shifting the party into slightly darker ways...
I feel that if the player is invested in his character, he will feed enough RP ideas to the DM with only the backstory. More will follow as the game progresses too !
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I have the heart of an innocent little girl...in a jar...on my desk..."
Non-fiend patrons don't have to be evil. There can be good ones who probably want your warlock to do something heroic or vanquish a rival. I'd think most of the "sketchy" ones though are neutral and just want some influence in the material plane, but not necessarily an evil one.
From PHB about the GOO "The Great Old One might be unaware of your existence or entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you have learned allow you to draw your magic from it."
In this case you're an insignificant piece of nothing in the multiverse. Your patron expects nothing of you as he is about as aware of you as you are aware of a speck of dust on the earth. This fact might impact you in different ways than having an actual pact with a fiend, fey, celestial etc. This is the premise I used for creating a warlock using Tharizdun as my patron and the choices from Haunted One background. Plenty of RP potential here and there are many way the DM can use my connection to royally screw up my life without actually involving my patron directly.
I'm playing a warlock with a Celestial patron. My patron is a deva and my warlock's task is to fight evil that lucks in the night. That means his patron is granting him power so that he will fight evil creatures who hide during the day, or who hide their evil during the day, and who prey on the helpless and/or innocent at night. Yes, it's a very tired cliche, but it works perfectly with his background and it gives him both short term and long term goals to work towards.
My present character has a Fiendish Patron, specifically Fierna (Lord of the 4th layer of the Nine Hells). Referencing lore from 2nd and 3rd edition, she was a bit of party girl, and served more as a figurehead with her father, Beliel, actually running things. However, things are changing and she's begun to take more interest in her duties and the realm she rules. What she needs is a cult within the material realm... and that's where my warlock comes in.
A Tiefling Tomelock, known for chasing after pretty ladies.
If you have read the books of the Elenium and Tamuli by David Eddings, you'll come across two entities, Bhelliom and Klæl. There is one point where it is described that as they oppose each other, and battle one another, they talk about the various forms that such battles take. What was interesting was that they were just as likely to fight over the position of a grain of sand on a beach as they were to have titanic magic battles across the cosmos.
When I play, or when I have PCs who play Warlocks with a pact with the Great Old one, I'll regularly include a compulsion to do things that seem to have very little bearing or logic to them. Save this guy, kill that guy, knock that glass onto the floor, push that cart 3 feet forward etc. The scales that the GOOs work on is so completely unfathomable that they'll offer this miniscule part of their power to a mortal, who'll be dead anyway in the blink of an eye by their reckoning of time, and have them do tasks that are part of something beyond a mortal's comprehension.
The Arch-Fey are up for interpretation, I'm running a Pact of Chain Feylock. They fey are chaotic beings, falling more in the neutral category. They like to see what happens, more of the chaotic wildcard, based on the Arch-fey spell list. Dominate Beast, Hold Person, Faerie fire. My Feylock is all nature based. An alchemist who stumbled into the feywild, and was tricked into a bargain by an Arch-Fey. He still is unsure what she wants from him in exchange for the new power. She manifest her self as voices in his head, or random visions that only he can see. He appears to be speaking to himself during these situations. She loves having a new toy, something to play with and push to the edge.
I’m continuing to explore this theme with my character and recommend getting your DM to collaborate with you as much as possible. I’m going with “my patron (G.O.O.) wants to have influence on the material plane, thrives on secrets and forbidden knowledge, and is watching everything my character does through his eyes”. There’s plenty of room for the DM to build on this through dreams, psychic “nudges” my character gets to attempt certain tasks, or odd detrimental effects that might happen from time to time. There’s a lot of fun RP opportunities with the fact that as a character you probably aren’t the wisest for getting involved in such a pact. Like, that Summon Greater Demon spell almost killed us when I lost control of it, but overall it seemed like a good idea, right?
There is a good chance a celestial may look at several things with all the moral nuance of a lawful stupid paladin. they may insist you execute prisoners or prioritizes doing the right thing over your own life.
My warlock made a pakt whit the great old one in the deeps on the world. During our current campaign we try to save the thunder kingdom from the dragon kingdom. The dragons follow a enemy to the great old one. So soo far so good. Problem came next to last session where i got bitten by.a weretiger. So now the tiger god is stuck in my head. It and the great old one dont like each other. Which brings us to the last session. The big bad this time tried to mind control the party. My gods did not like it to say the least. Think Stephen lynch ,voices in my head, and your not far off.
One of the players in the group is picking up all the magic items he can find. The thing is that some of them is slowly corrupting him into servitude to the great old one.
Lutris of the air Genasi was just a boy when his settlement north of Ten Towns was attacked by ice trolls. With the village burned and all supplies either taken or gone the survivors, so far from help and with a blizzard bearing down on them, prepared for the worst. Lutris, in his frozen, fevered dreams screamed for help....and the Prince of Frost answered. He wove a shard of Winter to the soul of young Lutris, tying him to the unseelie court and then a bargain was made. 137 souls saved from perishing in the cold in exchange for 137 favors. Lutris thought his agreement was a nightmare and that fate saved his people but as he grew into adulthood he found the the cold answered to his commands in small ways. He could direct forceful blasts of frigid air and when in great need a blade of ice would appear in his hands. With these gifts came remembrance of his pact and the Prince came calling. A bargain made, a bargain to be kept. Lutris balked and refused to be of service until a young woman showed up frozen solid in her bed. He had no choice but to accept the terms he agreed to. 136 favors for 136 lives. The Prince of Frost was capricious and bitter about lost loves, so for each broken heart he would forgive a favor. Also, objects of arcane power and secrets not known to the court would be counted towards the total based on the scope of their power and gravitas. Vexing the Summer Court and tributes of wealth would also be considered. Lutris had his work cut out for him. 136 favors and the deal is done and he is left to do what he wills with his shard of Winter and the rest of his life. So, he wanders now. A traveling performer. Wooing the innocent and gullible. Breaking hearts as he goes. Adventuring when he can to get gold and magic items to offer as tribute and trying to do as little harm as possible while he pays his cold debt. Once paid, and it’s going quickly, he can make it up to the world by doing good and maybe mending a few of the bridges he had to burn to get free and clear.
So, as a player I know my debt and my DM and I have worked out a menu.
1 favor paid for each heart broken in game, this needs to be role played and any consequences that come from it dealt with in the story. Magic items; Rare are 1 Favor, Very Rare are 2 favors and anything beyond that are worth 3. 2,000 GP per favor paid and secrets not known to the court already can be worth anything from none to 5 depending on how juicy it is. Thwarting the Summer Court is usually worth 2-3 but usually brings in game headaches from the blow back.
Out of curiosity what opportunities have you been given to thwart the summer court? Personally, that's the direction I'd tend to want to go with my favors for the simple fact that when I asked for help, the summer court chose not to answer, while the unseelie court did answer. Unlike the hearts that were broken, the summer court picked a side with their silence.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Memories. The Raven Queen's own are fractured, and she hoards those she can collect.
Among the Half-Elves of Neros she is especially drawn to the Bards, and other singers, who carry the sagas of long ago. It is said that one saga of lost love moved her so deeply that she shed one tear that fell as a black diamond.
Her Hexblades seek old stories and old lore, and bring them to her, often rewritten into song. That lore is also shared with the lore-masters of Neros, ancient Bards and Wizards, so their service to her also serves their city.
The Fey Court, Oberon, Titania, and others, are motivated sometimes by protection of their own realm, which has lead to treaties with Neros that has seen their legions fight on other planes, and other times mere amusement. In dealings with Neros they are, as always, capricious but never malicious.
Undying patrons are uncommon. Those of Neros do not shun death, although they do not seek to hasten it either, but rather seek to live and die well as will be fit for the sagas. However sometimes the interests of one of those ancient undying and a Half-Elf will overlap and an Undying Warlock will seek artifacts or lost knowledge for their patron.
Those of Neros do not much care for those of the Abyss or the Great Dark. They are more often foes than friends, however seeking the power of such a being is not completely unknown either. Because there is no trust for such beings, there are specialists who will write these contracts in such a way as to maximize the benefit to the Warlock while minimizing the risk thereof. Strict terms of both benefice and demands are laid down so the Warlock will know exactly what is expected of them. Perhaps to foiling of an enemy's schemes, perhaps the recovery of some artifact. The fiends play games with each other, with mortals as their pawns, so the contract offers the best chance of gaining power while preserving one's life and sanity.
What do patrons want from warlocks? Hmmm, well, I usually ask them for references first. Have they spilled the blood of innocents for previous patrons, is good to know. Let's see... umm, ooh! Where do you see yourself in 5 levels? (Always good to know a potential stooge's level of commitment.) After the screening process, I usually just see exactly how far I can push them b4 they decide it's not worth the power I can bestow. In a word, amusement.
In the case of my current character, his patron is a dead(ish) alien demiplane which can't "want" anything at the moment. Of course, when you start talking about eldritch beings, they are not alive in the sense that humans are, so they can't really die in the sense that humans can. As for the character, he didn't seek out this being. After it "died", pieces of it were scattered through the Astral Plane, and two of them landed in Faerun. My character was unknowlingly exposed to one of these pieces during his childhood, and it awakened his subconscious mind. It was only in adulthood that he discovered in power, and he even thought he was a sorcerer at first. Of course, there were a number of lesser entities, some of them formerly humans, that dwelt within the demiplane, and now they are slowly discovering my character, and would like him to collect the pieces of their home to reassemble them.
It is really up to the DM and player to figure this out. Although like a cleric with a god, a patron can choose to no longer give its powers to a player. So to some degree the player needs to follow a patron's whims unless the patron does not care.
One very general idea I plan on exploring is that the Arch Fey make demands on the Warlock to fulfill obligations to the family legacy (Half-Elf having Fey Ancestry, etc). Just like a noble living up to the family name, only he has no idea what might be asked of him or why. Perhaps having an Urchin background or something with the promise of new powers as long as he continues to complete a series of increasingly bizarre errands which are only fathomable to his mysterious ancestors.
Apologies if a similar answer was given and I have missed it.
For me, I feel that what patron wants goes hand in hand with the effort the player put forth in his backstory.
Did he just want to be a warlock because it sounded cool, or did he actually put forth a backstory that is interesting? If your player went in depth with his ideas, the ways you can incorporate the patron will be handed in a silver platter.
Did he beg for power for revenge? The patron might want souls. Was he tricked into it? The patron might try and break the player to give up his soul, or to turn a bit more evil and using his skills to feed the unwanted devil to gain a little peace. Perhaps something the group of player can tackle on later to save the warlock's soul, or the DM could secretly approach the player with an idea to RP his way into slowly shifting the party into slightly darker ways...
I feel that if the player is invested in his character, he will feed enough RP ideas to the DM with only the backstory. More will follow as the game progresses too !
"I have the heart of an innocent little girl...in a jar...on my desk..."
Non-fiend patrons don't have to be evil. There can be good ones who probably want your warlock to do something heroic or vanquish a rival. I'd think most of the "sketchy" ones though are neutral and just want some influence in the material plane, but not necessarily an evil one.
Example: Your patron is the Flumph King.
From PHB about the GOO "The Great Old One might be unaware of your existence or entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you have learned allow you to draw your magic from it."
In this case you're an insignificant piece of nothing in the multiverse. Your patron expects nothing of you as he is about as aware of you as you are aware of a speck of dust on the earth. This fact might impact you in different ways than having an actual pact with a fiend, fey, celestial etc. This is the premise I used for creating a warlock using Tharizdun as my patron and the choices from Haunted One background. Plenty of RP potential here and there are many way the DM can use my connection to royally screw up my life without actually involving my patron directly.
I'm playing a warlock with a Celestial patron. My patron is a deva and my warlock's task is to fight evil that lucks in the night. That means his patron is granting him power so that he will fight evil creatures who hide during the day, or who hide their evil during the day, and who prey on the helpless and/or innocent at night. Yes, it's a very tired cliche, but it works perfectly with his background and it gives him both short term and long term goals to work towards.
Professional computer geek
My present character has a Fiendish Patron, specifically Fierna (Lord of the 4th layer of the Nine Hells). Referencing lore from 2nd and 3rd edition, she was a bit of party girl, and served more as a figurehead with her father, Beliel, actually running things. However, things are changing and she's begun to take more interest in her duties and the realm she rules. What she needs is a cult within the material realm... and that's where my warlock comes in.
A Tiefling Tomelock, known for chasing after pretty ladies.
Fierna is the best Duchess of Hell
If you have read the books of the Elenium and Tamuli by David Eddings, you'll come across two entities, Bhelliom and Klæl. There is one point where it is described that as they oppose each other, and battle one another, they talk about the various forms that such battles take. What was interesting was that they were just as likely to fight over the position of a grain of sand on a beach as they were to have titanic magic battles across the cosmos.
When I play, or when I have PCs who play Warlocks with a pact with the Great Old one, I'll regularly include a compulsion to do things that seem to have very little bearing or logic to them. Save this guy, kill that guy, knock that glass onto the floor, push that cart 3 feet forward etc. The scales that the GOOs work on is so completely unfathomable that they'll offer this miniscule part of their power to a mortal, who'll be dead anyway in the blink of an eye by their reckoning of time, and have them do tasks that are part of something beyond a mortal's comprehension.
The Arch-Fey are up for interpretation, I'm running a Pact of Chain Feylock. They fey are chaotic beings, falling more in the neutral category. They like to see what happens, more of the chaotic wildcard, based on the Arch-fey spell list. Dominate Beast, Hold Person, Faerie fire. My Feylock is all nature based. An alchemist who stumbled into the feywild, and was tricked into a bargain by an Arch-Fey. He still is unsure what she wants from him in exchange for the new power. She manifest her self as voices in his head, or random visions that only he can see. He appears to be speaking to himself during these situations. She loves having a new toy, something to play with and push to the edge.
Item's - Sashelas' Spear, Thunder Beads, Diadem of the Owl, Bag of Stasis
Race - Fey-Touched
Subclass - Circle of Vitality
Monsters - Blood Bear
Spell - Arcbolt
I’m continuing to explore this theme with my character and recommend getting your DM to collaborate with you as much as possible. I’m going with “my patron (G.O.O.) wants to have influence on the material plane, thrives on secrets and forbidden knowledge, and is watching everything my character does through his eyes”. There’s plenty of room for the DM to build on this through dreams, psychic “nudges” my character gets to attempt certain tasks, or odd detrimental effects that might happen from time to time. There’s a lot of fun RP opportunities with the fact that as a character you probably aren’t the wisest for getting involved in such a pact. Like, that Summon Greater Demon spell almost killed us when I lost control of it, but overall it seemed like a good idea, right?
There is a good chance a celestial may look at several things with all the moral nuance of a lawful stupid paladin. they may insist you execute prisoners or prioritizes doing the right thing over your own life.
Great Old One Patron: Copy the book that created your pact in the first place, and leave the copy in a library. do it again.
Archfey: Booty call, they hooked up a few times a while back, and made an arragnement.
Hexblade: Kill the wicked
Fiend: Send evil souls to their rightful place.
Celestial: Do our bidding, you're my son
My warlock made a pakt whit the great old one in the deeps on the world. During our current campaign we try to save the thunder kingdom from the dragon kingdom. The dragons follow a enemy to the great old one. So soo far so good. Problem came next to last session where i got bitten by.a weretiger. So now the tiger god is stuck in my head. It and the great old one dont like each other. Which brings us to the last session. The big bad this time tried to mind control the party. My gods did not like it to say the least. Think Stephen lynch ,voices in my head, and your not far off.
One of the players in the group is picking up all the magic items he can find. The thing is that some of them is slowly corrupting him into servitude to the great old one.
For an Arch Fey patron;
Lutris of the air Genasi was just a boy when his settlement north of Ten Towns was attacked by ice trolls. With the village burned and all supplies either taken or gone the survivors, so far from help and with a blizzard bearing down on them, prepared for the worst. Lutris, in his frozen, fevered dreams screamed for help....and the Prince of Frost answered. He wove a shard of Winter to the soul of young Lutris, tying him to the unseelie court and then a bargain was made. 137 souls saved from perishing in the cold in exchange for 137 favors. Lutris thought his agreement was a nightmare and that fate saved his people but as he grew into adulthood he found the the cold answered to his commands in small ways. He could direct forceful blasts of frigid air and when in great need a blade of ice would appear in his hands. With these gifts came remembrance of his pact and the Prince came calling. A bargain made, a bargain to be kept. Lutris balked and refused to be of service until a young woman showed up frozen solid in her bed.
He had no choice but to accept the terms he agreed to. 136 favors for 136 lives. The Prince of Frost was capricious and bitter about lost loves, so for each broken heart he would forgive a favor. Also, objects of arcane power and secrets not known to the court would be counted towards the total based on the scope of their power and gravitas. Vexing the Summer Court and tributes of wealth would also be considered. Lutris had his work cut out for him.
136 favors and the deal is done and he is left to do what he wills with his shard of Winter and the rest of his life.
So, he wanders now. A traveling performer. Wooing the innocent and gullible. Breaking hearts as he goes. Adventuring when he can to get gold and magic items to offer as tribute and trying to do as little harm as possible while he pays his cold debt. Once paid, and it’s going quickly, he can make it up to the world by doing good and maybe mending a few of the bridges he had to burn to get free and clear.
So, as a player I know my debt and my DM and I have worked out a menu.
1 favor paid for each heart broken in game, this needs to be role played and any consequences that come from it dealt with in the story. Magic items; Rare are 1 Favor, Very Rare are 2 favors and anything beyond that are worth 3. 2,000 GP per favor paid and secrets not known to the court already can be worth anything from none to 5 depending on how juicy it is. Thwarting the Summer Court is usually worth 2-3 but usually brings in game headaches from the blow back.
Out of curiosity what opportunities have you been given to thwart the summer court? Personally, that's the direction I'd tend to want to go with my favors for the simple fact that when I asked for help, the summer court chose not to answer, while the unseelie court did answer. Unlike the hearts that were broken, the summer court picked a side with their silence.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Memories. The Raven Queen's own are fractured, and she hoards those she can collect.
Among the Half-Elves of Neros she is especially drawn to the Bards, and other singers, who carry the sagas of long ago. It is said that one saga of lost love moved her so deeply that she shed one tear that fell as a black diamond.
Her Hexblades seek old stories and old lore, and bring them to her, often rewritten into song. That lore is also shared with the lore-masters of Neros, ancient Bards and Wizards, so their service to her also serves their city.
The Fey Court, Oberon, Titania, and others, are motivated sometimes by protection of their own realm, which has lead to treaties with Neros that has seen their legions fight on other planes, and other times mere amusement. In dealings with Neros they are, as always, capricious but never malicious.
Undying patrons are uncommon. Those of Neros do not shun death, although they do not seek to hasten it either, but rather seek to live and die well as will be fit for the sagas. However sometimes the interests of one of those ancient undying and a Half-Elf will overlap and an Undying Warlock will seek artifacts or lost knowledge for their patron.
Those of Neros do not much care for those of the Abyss or the Great Dark. They are more often foes than friends, however seeking the power of such a being is not completely unknown either. Because there is no trust for such beings, there are specialists who will write these contracts in such a way as to maximize the benefit to the Warlock while minimizing the risk thereof. Strict terms of both benefice and demands are laid down so the Warlock will know exactly what is expected of them. Perhaps to foiling of an enemy's schemes, perhaps the recovery of some artifact. The fiends play games with each other, with mortals as their pawns, so the contract offers the best chance of gaining power while preserving one's life and sanity.