I am relatively new to D&D, I am currently still playing in what is my first campaign as a High Elf Warlock. To give you some background on my character I sort of imagined him as a mash up of Dr. Strange meets Harry Dresden meets every snooty high elf in Skyrim with a dash of what ever type of chaotic neutral insanity that leads one to a life as a Warlock. I may have taken the 'creepy Warlock who hears voices from his master' thing a bit to far with this character. He is constantly drawing mystic circles and pricking himself to drop blood to summon his master for a conversation, doing crazy things because his master ordered him to do it (such as cutting off his own left hand to gain the power to escape a prison a hag was holding him in), or just downright gambling with fate to try facing insane odds (like pulling from a Deck of Many things during the middle of a tough combat encounter). Even my character's familiar; a quasit, tends to leave the party disturbed whenever I summon it. Not to mention, because I was new to the game at the time I created the character I didn't pick a defined pact master for my character when I created him... so while I know the pact was made with one of The Great Old Ones, I honestly don't know who... and the DM has been dragging my character along for a ride over the last few months hinting that he is going to find out from an NPC who is the master he really made a pact with.
Also worth mentioning, when I end up rolling a Nat 1 with Eldritch Blast the effects of my character's cantrip has usually been magic lashing out and hitting friendly player characters during combat... I have had a few bad rolls that have ended up doing more damage to my own party than to the people we were fighting.
As you can imagine though, chaotic magic guy who hears voices in his head has been a strange fit for the party from an in story perspective... The rest of the party has mostly a good leaning set up, with a Bard, Rogue, Fighter, Barbarian, and Ranger making up our regular player group. A lot of the other players in the group are actors of some sort, participating in community theater; so they are very good at getting their character motivations across. Fortunately in real life we get along pretty good at the table, but in story I think the majority of the party dislikes my character, and would probably just leave him to hang if the opportunity arose; especially since his own gambling with fate has put the party at risk in a few situations (or just his bad aim with his cantrips). Is this something I should strive to change, should my character attempt to make amends with the party? Or should I double down on the roleplaying and keep him just as crazy and wild as he currently is, knowing the character risks being abandoned to his own fate by the party if the going gets tough? On one hand I can't help but think part of it isn't my own fault, since for example it was the DM who suggested that "a sacrifice of flesh would appease your master" that lead to the whole 'cutting off my own hand' thing the character did. But on the other hand (or amputated stub in this character's case now)
I also think this is sort of the character I wanted to play, and his own insanity is a result of me taking the Warlock thing just a bit to far. I really don't want to end up becoming the 'wangrod' of this group, but at the same time I really enjoy playing a character whose own ego and lust for power is constantly tripping up his own life and that of the people around him. To be honest, a part of me is spooked that my character could end up being dragged into hell by his own master; my brother-in-law who plays in the same group as the Druid, keeps joking that my character is probably going to have a very similar ending to Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog... If my character did die during combat or was left out to dry by his own party, I am not sure how I would take it either. I'd be upset to leave behind a character I have been playing for several months now. But I would also be excited to play a different character who isn't so egotistical (my backup characters for example include a Human Lawful Good Paladin who is the opposite of my current character in every sense possible).
So advice on were to take my character right now? Tone it down a bit and try and amend strained inter-character relationships? Keep the current course and play him how I feel a slightly off his rocker power hungry Warlock should behave? Just curious to hear what other players would do in a similar situation.
First off... its wrong for every time you roll a 1 for your spell to keep hitting the pally. a 1 might have a CHANCE of hitting a friendly. If that is possible, its also possible for it to hit the wrong enemy (and that should be more likely) Most likely should be a "clean miss" with no negative effect.
Chaos magic does increase your chances of hitting friendlies... but there's a complete D100 range of possible results.
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chaos sorcerer really isn't a good choice as a first character. Is still an experimental subclass. That means there are problems that may need to be worked out to make the class mechanics work in balance to the other classes. There's more work fr the player and for the DM than with an established PC class.
As a spell-caster gaining powers from a pact, you should 100% be aware of the terms of the pact and which entity made the deal with the character.
As to the inter-party issues, that should have been warned about before the character was allowed in the game. Again, something a new player really desn't need to deal with. You're trying to learn the game by taking on some of the most complex parts first.
Never get too attached to a character. In these games character death is supposed to be a real possibility. That end may be simply because of a failed saving throw vs a powerful spell effect or it may be due to the other members of the party determining that they have a person in their midst that has goals which oppose their idea of what is right.
I generally think party conflict can be fun but only to a point. If you've angered your party to that point, you might want to try to occasionally make amends for being a train wreck! I like the craziness you've got going but maybe be someone of extremes. Do really stupid stuff (just not too much) but then go over the top trying apologize and make amends.
First off... its wrong for every time you roll a 1 for your spell to keep hitting the pally. a 1 might have a CHANCE of hitting a friendly. If that is possible, its also possible for it to hit the wrong enemy (and that should be more likely) Most likely should be a "clean miss" with no negative effect.
Don't worry we rolled for percentage in those cases after a Nat 1... Its just I a rolled really bad percentage (4% the last time it happened)!
Thanks for the replies. So far I feel like the best direction I can take the character is to continue to play him with a dose of chaos, but also try and make some amends with the party. I'll also see if I can talk to the DM and try and move forward the reveal of who my warlock serves and what his true pact is, since I think that mystery while fun is about at the point it needs to end.
I am relatively new to D&D, I am currently still playing in what is my first campaign as a High Elf Warlock. To give you some background on my character I sort of imagined him as a mash up of Dr. Strange meets Harry Dresden meets every snooty high elf in Skyrim with a dash of what ever type of chaotic neutral insanity that leads one to a life as a Warlock. I may have taken the 'creepy Warlock who hears voices from his master' thing a bit to far with this character. He is constantly drawing mystic circles and pricking himself to drop blood to summon his master for a conversation, doing crazy things because his master ordered him to do it (such as cutting off his own left hand to gain the power to escape a prison a hag was holding him in), or just downright gambling with fate to try facing insane odds (like pulling from a Deck of Many things during the middle of a tough combat encounter). Even my character's familiar; a quasit, tends to leave the party disturbed whenever I summon it. Not to mention, because I was new to the game at the time I created the character I didn't pick a defined pact master for my character when I created him... so while I know the pact was made with one of The Great Old Ones, I honestly don't know who... and the DM has been dragging my character along for a ride over the last few months hinting that he is going to find out from an NPC who is the master he really made a pact with.
Also worth mentioning, when I end up rolling a Nat 1 with Eldritch Blast the effects of my character's cantrip has usually been magic lashing out and hitting friendly player characters during combat... I have had a few bad rolls that have ended up doing more damage to my own party than to the people we were fighting.
As you can imagine though, chaotic magic guy who hears voices in his head has been a strange fit for the party from an in story perspective... The rest of the party has mostly a good leaning set up, with a Bard, Rogue, Fighter, Barbarian, and Ranger making up our regular player group. A lot of the other players in the group are actors of some sort, participating in community theater; so they are very good at getting their character motivations across. Fortunately in real life we get along pretty good at the table, but in story I think the majority of the party dislikes my character, and would probably just leave him to hang if the opportunity arose; especially since his own gambling with fate has put the party at risk in a few situations (or just his bad aim with his cantrips). Is this something I should strive to change, should my character attempt to make amends with the party? Or should I double down on the roleplaying and keep him just as crazy and wild as he currently is, knowing the character risks being abandoned to his own fate by the party if the going gets tough? On one hand I can't help but think part of it isn't my own fault, since for example it was the DM who suggested that "a sacrifice of flesh would appease your master" that lead to the whole 'cutting off my own hand' thing the character did. But on the other hand (or amputated stub in this character's case now)
I also think this is sort of the character I wanted to play, and his own insanity is a result of me taking the Warlock thing just a bit to far. I really don't want to end up becoming the 'wangrod' of this group, but at the same time I really enjoy playing a character whose own ego and lust for power is constantly tripping up his own life and that of the people around him. To be honest, a part of me is spooked that my character could end up being dragged into hell by his own master; my brother-in-law who plays in the same group as the Druid, keeps joking that my character is probably going to have a very similar ending to Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog... If my character did die during combat or was left out to dry by his own party, I am not sure how I would take it either. I'd be upset to leave behind a character I have been playing for several months now. But I would also be excited to play a different character who isn't so egotistical (my backup characters for example include a Human Lawful Good Paladin who is the opposite of my current character in every sense possible).
So advice on were to take my character right now? Tone it down a bit and try and amend strained inter-character relationships? Keep the current course and play him how I feel a slightly off his rocker power hungry Warlock should behave? Just curious to hear what other players would do in a similar situation.
Take advice from Jack Black in Tropic Thunder and apologize to your friends:
"Hey man, remember back when I called your mom a cankerous whore? I didn't really mean that."
He too played a warlock.
Read the first chapters. Feel free to critique. Will link the next chapters at the end of the first. Two stories running so far.
Simeon Tor:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/34598-simeon-tor-chapter-1-the-heat-of-battle
The Heart of the Drow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/36014-heart-of-the-drow-chapter-1
First off... its wrong for every time you roll a 1 for your spell to keep hitting the pally.
a 1 might have a CHANCE of hitting a friendly. If that is possible, its also possible for it to hit the wrong enemy (and that should be more likely) Most likely should be a "clean miss" with no negative effect.
Chaos magic does increase your chances of hitting friendlies... but there's a complete D100 range of possible results.
************
chaos sorcerer really isn't a good choice as a first character. Is still an experimental subclass. That means there are problems that may need to be worked out to make the class mechanics work in balance to the other classes.
There's more work fr the player and for the DM than with an established PC class.
As a spell-caster gaining powers from a pact, you should 100% be aware of the terms of the pact and which entity made the deal with the character.
As to the inter-party issues, that should have been warned about before the character was allowed in the game. Again, something a new player really desn't need to deal with. You're trying to learn the game by taking on some of the most complex parts first.
Never get too attached to a character. In these games character death is supposed to be a real possibility. That end may be simply because of a failed saving throw vs a powerful spell effect or it may be due to the other members of the party determining that they have a person in their midst that has goals which oppose their idea of what is right.
I generally think party conflict can be fun but only to a point. If you've angered your party to that point, you might want to try to occasionally make amends for being a train wreck! I like the craziness you've got going but maybe be someone of extremes. Do really stupid stuff (just not too much) but then go over the top trying apologize and make amends.
Don't worry we rolled for percentage in those cases after a Nat 1... Its just I a rolled really bad percentage (4% the last time it happened)!
Thanks for the replies. So far I feel like the best direction I can take the character is to continue to play him with a dose of chaos, but also try and make some amends with the party. I'll also see if I can talk to the DM and try and move forward the reveal of who my warlock serves and what his true pact is, since I think that mystery while fun is about at the point it needs to end.