I'm planning on my next PC being a Hexblade Warlock. Using the Gladiator background - he was a famed pit fighter, obsessive about victory to the point where he couldn't accept defeat. When the corrupt local bosses plotted to have him humiliated in the arena, he was approached by his patron with the power to defeat them and reclaim his glory. I'm planning to RP him as gold/loot/fame obsessed, and while aligning with a 'good' party of adventurers his motivation (and flaw) is always to win at any cost - and hopefully get very well paid to do so.
I may have been a little inspired by Starz' Spartacus series...
My dwarf Celestial Warlock has a crush on his patron. A Deva visited him and he thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world, so he agreed to whatever she said and sort of accidentally became a warlock fighting evil for her
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Holy crap. that sound like you don't have much control in combat... or any time. what part does he play in the group when he is not casting spells? why is he adventuring?
If I'm reading right, the CHARACTER doesn't have much control, but the PLAYER decides what the character sees/how he reacts to it. I'm not sure if you were reading it otherwise, but ...
My warlock is a conman. His favorite con is posing as a retainer of the Marquis de Carabas sent ahead to conduct business on his master's behalf. An archway though this was amusing and offered him greater power to commit better frauds.
Amusingly for me, neither the players nor the DM in the campaign recognize the name Marquis de Carabas. If you're going to work for a fictional nobleman he is right up there with the Count of Monte Cristo. But the count is a little wider recognized.
My tiefling tried to summon a fiend and become a warlock out of a desire for power and to escape her situation. However she messed up the ritual and somehow summoned a GOO instead. Now she serves as its emissary on the material plane and furthers its agenda however she can in exchange for power and not being unmade by it.
My warlock inadvertently agreed to the terms of a pact that her ancestors struck before she was born. Her patron called her forth in a dream, evoking the image of her mother, and she agreed to help--because it's a dream, and ultimately helping her mother is what she wants. She didn't consider that there would be consequences because it was so absurdly vague. When she woke up, she thought she was just a limited sorcerer, and is trying to figure out what the dream meant, piecing together the bits she was able to glean about the patron.
Former town guard who takes a deal from an fiend to gain a warlocks power after failing to protect some villagers fleeing from a monster. Hopes guidance from deva ancester can help find way around darker parts of fiends wishes. Failed to protect partly because of language barrier stopping me from hearing a warning about the type of enemy/it's abilities. Rushed directly towards it at devas insistence past other guards and got knocked unconscious. Left guards out out of shame, guilt and the hope to save other people from the same monster using newfound powers.
My newest Warlock had misery through her whole life and when she started thinking of revenge her Archfey patron showed up (he was the one who made all the misery happen, but she doesnt know that). She was broken, tortured and not up for resistance and she gave up her mind. Not long after she met a different Archfey who told her about the truth of her life and became her new patron, who vowed to protect her against the evil Archfey.
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A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
I had a warlock with a sage background. He was an expert in the study of the Far Realms in Thay (pre Tsaz Tam take over), but after a session of scrying he noticed a book he had not seen before in his library. A tome bound in what appeared to be human flesh. He threw it in disgust and it opened to a page with a single, yellow sigil. After seeing the Yellow Sign, he was a servant of Hastur, the King in Yellow ending upon death He was given the choice of power at the price of showing the Yellow Sign to people occasionally or being made into an undead flesh bag for Hastur to wander around in while he slowly devoured his soul. Which would you choose?
I had a warlock that was a good honest hero on Arenal, trying to impress the Undying Council (I think that's it). They sent him on a mission with a party to defeat some monster, that turned out to be a demon lord. She slaughtered the party, but took a liking to him and seduced him, then corrupted his mind. He then thought that the way of life she showed him was better and made him her patron. Then he became a genocidal racist to his own kind.
My Celestial Warlock actually didn't choose her Pact, it was chosen for her. She was nearly stillborn at birth, so her mother sought a deva to save her daughter's life (via pact magic, for flavor) in exchange for becoming becoming the deva's champion. So my character has been bound to her patron for her whole life, although they didn't really have a relationship. (Besides a one-sided hatred to the deva for taking her mother from her, as she never came back from one of her missions to her patron.)
They formalized the terms of their pact much later in her life, where my character was recovering from something traumatic and needed some direction. Her patron, who she'd rarely--if ever--spoken to, offered her power in exchange for some...light service. My character is also a Sage and a bit power-hungry, so she may as well take advantage of the pact. And it gave her something to do while she figured some personal things out.
Tl;dr: My character's pact was made at birth to save her life. She didn't actually have a relationship with her patron until adulthood, where she took her patron's offer for power in exchange for service.
Pasha was a performer who caught the attention of a woman in the audience. She approached him, offering him wealth and comfort in exchange for becoming her personal entertainer.
Not exactly having a lot of money (common in Calimshan), he agreed.
..and was infinitely confused when she transformed into a giant, swirling lightning storm in the shape of a god-like woman. Basically, a djinn.
He was transported back to her freehold, a spectacular palace on a floating island in the sky, and true to their agreement, got to performing for her on a regular basis, along with others she had "collected".
After several months (and various escape attempts), he was able to strike an agreement with his patron: he would be free to leave her palace, provided that he offered her "tokens" on a regular basis to serve as tributes...treasure, stories...that sort of thing.
Not able to fulfill such demands as a common street performer, Pasha had to turn to mercenary life...thankfully, a local mercenary band called the Zhentarim gave him both adventure and wealth to satisfy his agreement...
I'm still fleshing out the details of the backstory as I just decided to add warlock class to my sorcerer character. Our campaign ended last Wednesday and our characters were given 10 days off before the next campaign, and I thought the timing was good for multiclassing. Next session is tonight, so I haven't even played with this new class yet.
But the general gist is my character is a wild magic sorcerer who doesn't understand the magic flowing through him (it isn't something he was born with or grew up around, and he left home because his town generally distrusts/fears all magic users). In one of the 10 days he has off, he inadvertently did a favor for an archfey (who? still working on that... my knowledge of fey is somewhat limited... I'm thinking the favor is releasing the archfey's pet from a trap, but again, still working on that). The archfey offers a reward, and the sorcerer asks for help in understanding his wild magic powers. The archfey says (lies?) that he doesn't know about the secrets to wild magic, but suggests if the sorcerer learns about archfey magic, it will help him understand his wild magic. The sorcerer agrees and the pact is made, turning my character into a warcerer.
=========================== Laugh at life or life will laugh at you.
Current D&D Characters: Kromen Flintfist, Hill Dwarf Order of the Scribes Wizard/Armorer Artificer Eiphrok, Half-Orc Oath of Glory Paladin/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
Warlocks can make pacts for just about any reason. A great need for power in a situation where you have none tends to be common one which can be driven by any emotion.
Vengeance - Revenge on someone that wronged you or a loved one.
Redemption- Living to right the wrongs of your past. Take a walk on the light side.
Moment of Need - Powerless in a situation, you call on any entity that might be willing to listen and strike a deal. In exchange you get the ability to cast spells and become more effective at combat via cantrips/weapons.
A Reason to Live- A character that has wandered aimlessly feeling little meaning or ties beyond the current moment. Feeling the "call of the void". Many patrons can fit this.
7 Deadly Sins - Any of these can be a great reason to seek a patron. The drive for any of them drives a character to the edge and extremes to reach their need to fill on an endless desire/want.
Ancestor/Heritage- A family or clan may pass along a pact to a particular entity throughout their existence. This provide the patron with a steady supply of followers to work towards their end goals while providing power to enable them to make it. Almost cleric like but not necessarily celestial.
Knowledge/Magics ofOld - Seeking long forgotten magic or knowledge that only an entity as old as time itself may have answers to.
There are more but I hope these can help provide you with at least a theme!
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Dungeon Master: 5 years Hosting paid games for groups online via Discord & Roll20.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a DM!
Who says it is willing. Call it a curse and be done with it.
"I loved my life as a butler, but one day I cleaned the sacred idol of AAAAAH! and now I am stuck with this annoying Fiend trying to trick me into Hell. I am adventuring in the hopes of removing this damned pact."
It would sort of depend on the patron. In a setting with a known afterlife, some I think would be a hard sell, but people always think they are more clever than they are and that they can work the system.
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I'm planning on my next PC being a Hexblade Warlock. Using the Gladiator background - he was a famed pit fighter, obsessive about victory to the point where he couldn't accept defeat. When the corrupt local bosses plotted to have him humiliated in the arena, he was approached by his patron with the power to defeat them and reclaim his glory. I'm planning to RP him as gold/loot/fame obsessed, and while aligning with a 'good' party of adventurers his motivation (and flaw) is always to win at any cost - and hopefully get very well paid to do so.
I may have been a little inspired by Starz' Spartacus series...
My dwarf Celestial Warlock has a crush on his patron. A Deva visited him and he thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world, so he agreed to whatever she said and sort of accidentally became a warlock fighting evil for her
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
If I'm reading right, the CHARACTER doesn't have much control, but the PLAYER decides what the character sees/how he reacts to it. I'm not sure if you were reading it otherwise, but ...
My warlock is a conman. His favorite con is posing as a retainer of the Marquis de Carabas sent ahead to conduct business on his master's behalf. An archway though this was amusing and offered him greater power to commit better frauds.
Amusingly for me, neither the players nor the DM in the campaign recognize the name Marquis de Carabas. If you're going to work for a fictional nobleman he is right up there with the Count of Monte Cristo. But the count is a little wider recognized.
You get a +1 inspiration in any of my campaigns for getting puss in boots right 😊.
My tiefling tried to summon a fiend and become a warlock out of a desire for power and to escape her situation. However she messed up the ritual and somehow summoned a GOO instead. Now she serves as its emissary on the material plane and furthers its agenda however she can in exchange for power and not being unmade by it.
Discord: WilyMethos86#5173
My warlock inadvertently agreed to the terms of a pact that her ancestors struck before she was born. Her patron called her forth in a dream, evoking the image of her mother, and she agreed to help--because it's a dream, and ultimately helping her mother is what she wants. She didn't consider that there would be consequences because it was so absurdly vague. When she woke up, she thought she was just a limited sorcerer, and is trying to figure out what the dream meant, piecing together the bits she was able to glean about the patron.
Former town guard who takes a deal from an fiend to gain a warlocks power after failing to protect some villagers fleeing from a monster. Hopes guidance from deva ancester can help find way around darker parts of fiends wishes. Failed to protect partly because of language barrier stopping me from hearing a warning about the type of enemy/it's abilities. Rushed directly towards it at devas insistence past other guards and got knocked unconscious. Left guards out out of shame, guilt and the hope to save other people from the same monster using newfound powers.
My newest Warlock had misery through her whole life and when she started thinking of revenge her Archfey patron showed up (he was the one who made all the misery happen, but she doesnt know that). She was broken, tortured and not up for resistance and she gave up her mind. Not long after she met a different Archfey who told her about the truth of her life and became her new patron, who vowed to protect her against the evil Archfey.
A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
I had a warlock with a sage background. He was an expert in the study of the Far Realms in Thay (pre Tsaz Tam take over), but after a session of scrying he noticed a book he had not seen before in his library. A tome bound in what appeared to be human flesh. He threw it in disgust and it opened to a page with a single, yellow sigil. After seeing the Yellow Sign, he was a servant of Hastur, the King in Yellow ending upon death He was given the choice of power at the price of showing the Yellow Sign to people occasionally or being made into an undead flesh bag for Hastur to wander around in while he slowly devoured his soul. Which would you choose?
I had a warlock that was a good honest hero on Arenal, trying to impress the Undying Council (I think that's it). They sent him on a mission with a party to defeat some monster, that turned out to be a demon lord. She slaughtered the party, but took a liking to him and seduced him, then corrupted his mind. He then thought that the way of life she showed him was better and made him her patron. Then he became a genocidal racist to his own kind.
Also known as CrafterB and DankMemer.
Here, have some homebrew classes! Subclasses to? Why not races. Feats, feats as well. I have a lot of magic items. Lastly I got monsters, fun, fun times.
My Celestial Warlock actually didn't choose her Pact, it was chosen for her. She was nearly stillborn at birth, so her mother sought a deva to save her daughter's life (via pact magic, for flavor) in exchange for becoming becoming the deva's champion. So my character has been bound to her patron for her whole life, although they didn't really have a relationship. (Besides a one-sided hatred to the deva for taking her mother from her, as she never came back from one of her missions to her patron.)
They formalized the terms of their pact much later in her life, where my character was recovering from something traumatic and needed some direction. Her patron, who she'd rarely--if ever--spoken to, offered her power in exchange for some...light service. My character is also a Sage and a bit power-hungry, so she may as well take advantage of the pact. And it gave her something to do while she figured some personal things out.
Tl;dr: My character's pact was made at birth to save her life. She didn't actually have a relationship with her patron until adulthood, where she took her patron's offer for power in exchange for service.
Pasha was a performer who caught the attention of a woman in the audience. She approached him, offering him wealth and comfort in exchange for becoming her personal entertainer.
Not exactly having a lot of money (common in Calimshan), he agreed.
..and was infinitely confused when she transformed into a giant, swirling lightning storm in the shape of a god-like woman. Basically, a djinn.
He was transported back to her freehold, a spectacular palace on a floating island in the sky, and true to their agreement, got to performing for her on a regular basis, along with others she had "collected".
After several months (and various escape attempts), he was able to strike an agreement with his patron: he would be free to leave her palace, provided that he offered her "tokens" on a regular basis to serve as tributes...treasure, stories...that sort of thing.
Not able to fulfill such demands as a common street performer, Pasha had to turn to mercenary life...thankfully, a local mercenary band called the Zhentarim gave him both adventure and wealth to satisfy his agreement...
I'm still fleshing out the details of the backstory as I just decided to add warlock class to my sorcerer character. Our campaign ended last Wednesday and our characters were given 10 days off before the next campaign, and I thought the timing was good for multiclassing. Next session is tonight, so I haven't even played with this new class yet.
But the general gist is my character is a wild magic sorcerer who doesn't understand the magic flowing through him (it isn't something he was born with or grew up around, and he left home because his town generally distrusts/fears all magic users). In one of the 10 days he has off, he inadvertently did a favor for an archfey (who? still working on that... my knowledge of fey is somewhat limited... I'm thinking the favor is releasing the archfey's pet from a trap, but again, still working on that). The archfey offers a reward, and the sorcerer asks for help in understanding his wild magic powers. The archfey says (lies?) that he doesn't know about the secrets to wild magic, but suggests if the sorcerer learns about archfey magic, it will help him understand his wild magic. The sorcerer agrees and the pact is made, turning my character into a warcerer.
===========================
Laugh at life or life will laugh at you.
Current D&D Characters:
Kromen Flintfist, Hill Dwarf Order of the Scribes Wizard/Armorer Artificer
Eiphrok, Half-Orc Oath of Glory Paladin/Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
Warlocks can make pacts for just about any reason. A great need for power in a situation where you have none tends to be common one which can be driven by any emotion.
Vengeance - Revenge on someone that wronged you or a loved one.
Redemption- Living to right the wrongs of your past. Take a walk on the light side.
Moment of Need - Powerless in a situation, you call on any entity that might be willing to listen and strike a deal. In exchange you get the ability to cast spells and become more effective at combat via cantrips/weapons.
A Reason to Live- A character that has wandered aimlessly feeling little meaning or ties beyond the current moment. Feeling the "call of the void". Many patrons can fit this.
7 Deadly Sins - Any of these can be a great reason to seek a patron. The drive for any of them drives a character to the edge and extremes to reach their need to fill on an endless desire/want.
Ancestor/Heritage- A family or clan may pass along a pact to a particular entity throughout their existence. This provide the patron with a steady supply of followers to work towards their end goals while providing power to enable them to make it. Almost cleric like but not necessarily celestial.
Knowledge/Magics of Old - Seeking long forgotten magic or knowledge that only an entity as old as time itself may have answers to.
There are more but I hope these can help provide you with at least a theme!
Dungeon Master: 5 years
Hosting paid games for groups online via Discord & Roll20.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a DM!
I still feel that the real question is why wouldn't someone make a pact?
Abide.
-
Who says it is willing. Call it a curse and be done with it.
"I loved my life as a butler, but one day I cleaned the sacred idol of AAAAAH! and now I am stuck with this annoying Fiend trying to trick me into Hell. I am adventuring in the hopes of removing this damned pact."
It would sort of depend on the patron. In a setting with a known afterlife, some I think would be a hard sell, but people always think they are more clever than they are and that they can work the system.