Hi! 

So, the warlock in my campaign created his character with a backstory where he and his sister got cursed while exploring some caves and they contracted an incurable disease. He was then approached by an entity who would grant him the powers which would stave off the disease for him and his sister. He accepted the deal because he wants to help his sister. Part of his story arc is him investigating to figure out who his patron is to eventually defeat him or to figure out the source of the curse and fix it so that he does not need to keep the deal. My question is, what happens if he is successful? Does he lose his powers? What would be a good way to give him a sense of accomplishment throughout that doesn't involve removing the source of his power?  

Realistically, the Patron would cut off the Warlocks powers before they had a chance to succeed. (Unless the rest of the party is able to carry their weight.) Or maybe the Patron would fake their own death as a means to some other nefarious end.

With no Patron, the Warlock would have no source of power. However, depending on the circumstances, other shadowy patrons might "buy the contract", or the Warlock might create a new pact with another, more savory, patron.  (Gods can just as easily serve as patrons as other lesser powerful entities.)

Edit: Part of the Patron's Pact might include damage sharing with the Warlock, which would make for a very interesting BBEG encounter. The Warlock might have to die, in order for the Patron to be defeated.

Hmmm. Interesting things to think about. Thanks! 

There are loads of interesting ways you can run with this and make it work. If you go with the patron gives the powers at each level but at that point they are kept then you could simply tell the player if they kill the patron, unless they find another they will need to multiclass but keep all the abilities they have so far. 

I would also say your player is semi writing there entire story though, this is something I really try to advise against as a GM. I have no issues with the first part of this back story, we got ill, I made a pact with my patron and I am a warlock now. But by then coming up with what the end is going to be it takes away your agency as a DM.

I would tell the player that you have taken the first part and then sit down and decide the patrons back story and what the patron wants and how they are going to present that to the player. Maybe the Patron is the one who caused the illness in the first place wanting the player as its tool to complete some even bigger goal, maybe the patron is an enemy of the being that caused the illness and so is hoping to use the warlock to help fight that battle, maybe it’s a combination of the 2, patrons enemy infected the player, patron seeing that on its own would not cause the player to fight for it then made sure his sister also got ill. That could lead to a great reveal where the “bad” patron says they never infected his sister, that was your own patron.

There are plenty of ways to have the player kill the patron but work out what the best story for you to tell is, especially as it fits in with the rest of the players :).  

Obviously, removing all of a PC's powers is probably not something most players would enjoy (some might be okay with it though). Since my players wouldn't I'd look for a solution based on the idea that the warlock either somehow retains their power or it is replaced with other powers.

Since Patrons are kind of by default much stronger than a warlock PC, the best way to defeat a Patron would be to enlist help from a stronger being. I could definitely see a path where a PC appealed to a god, vowing to become a cleric or paladin of their order in exchange for breaking their pact.

I could also see a route where the warlock performed a service (or several) for a being that could defeat the Patron. Either this being would intimidate the Patron to the point where it would be afraid to intervene, or it would potentially kill or defeat the Patron altogether. With the latter route, you could have the Patron's source of power be preserved (like their heart or something), and the warlock could continue to draw on it and keep all their powers. It could even be an ongoing thing to maintain the source and prevent its subtle but persistent efforts to recreate the Patron's body or find another way to once again exert its will.

See, I'd present the player with a moral dilemma.  The curse is something that somebody bears; to remove it the warlock would need to subject someone else to carry it (and they would likely die).  Their patron is holding this curse back from affecting more people.  So, eliminating the patron may end the warlock's deal, but at the expense of many innocent lives.  This allows the character to grow, and ultimately stop the *real* threat which would be much more satisfying. 

I'm not a fan of a backstory where the end goal is spelled out before session zero.  Adding a twist in-game gives some excitement, while still giving that player the sense of accomplishment they were seeking. 

Quote from Scarloc_Stormcall >> 

I would also say your player is semi writing there entire story though, this is something I really try to advise against as a GM. I have no issues with the first part of this back story, we got ill, I made a pact with my patron and I am a warlock now. But by then coming up with what the end is going to be it takes away your agency as a DM.

I would tell the player that you have taken the first part and then sit down and decide the patrons back story and what the patron wants and how they are going to present that to the player. Maybe the Patron is the one who caused the illness in the first place wanting the player as its tool to complete some even bigger goal, maybe the patron is an enemy of the being that caused the illness and so is hoping to use the warlock to help fight that battle, maybe it’s a combination of the 2, patrons enemy infected the player, patron seeing that on its own would not cause the player to fight for it then made sure his sister also got ill. That could lead to a great reveal where the “bad” patron says they never infected his sister, that was your own patron.

There are plenty of ways to have the player kill the patron but work out what the best story for you to tell is, especially as it fits in with the rest of the players :).  

 All the player has given me is the motivation to want to figure out who the patron is and that he is in this deal reluctantly because of his sister. And him wanting to find another way to heal his sister so he can no longer need his patron. 

I actually decided who it is and what he is up to and it works really well with the rest of the campaign.  I just want him to eventually have a resolution because i think its a cool story. He didn't come up with how it will end. I still don't know how it might end. 

Quote from Evil_Lynn >>

Quote from Scarloc_Stormcall >> 

I would also say your player is semi writing there entire story though, this is something I really try to advise against as a GM. I have no issues with the first part of this back story, we got ill, I made a pact with my patron and I am a warlock now. But by then coming up with what the end is going to be it takes away your agency as a DM.

I would tell the player that you have taken the first part and then sit down and decide the patrons back story and what the patron wants and how they are going to present that to the player. Maybe the Patron is the one who caused the illness in the first place wanting the player as its tool to complete some even bigger goal, maybe the patron is an enemy of the being that caused the illness and so is hoping to use the warlock to help fight that battle, maybe it’s a combination of the 2, patrons enemy infected the player, patron seeing that on its own would not cause the player to fight for it then made sure his sister also got ill. That could lead to a great reveal where the “bad” patron says they never infected his sister, that was your own patron.

There are plenty of ways to have the player kill the patron but work out what the best story for you to tell is, especially as it fits in with the rest of the players :).  

 All the player has given me is the motivation to want to figure out who the patron is and that he is in this deal reluctantly because of his sister. And him wanting to find another way to heal his sister so he can no longer need his patron. 

I actually decided who it is and what he is up to and it works really well with the rest of the campaign.  I just want him to eventually have a resolution because i think its a cool story. He didn't come up with how it will end. I still don't know how it might end. 

 Ok I apologize from your title it seemed the player had pre determined where this org would lead to eventually.
In terms of storyline shifting from warlock to a healing cleric, or even a paladin would be a really nice move for your player, he kills his patron, but in order to get the cure has to offer himself to a god to serve who, in return, tells him how to truly cure the disease. Maybe during the disease weakens the patron allowing the player to kill him, he has to make that break and multi class to do it. He keeps all the abilities and spells he knew up until that point. Alternativley if he wants to Remain a warlock there is nothing that says that Bahamat, pelor or seren ray can’t act as a warlocks patron, in the past I have had a warlock who wanted to represent one of the main gods. This god could offer to help them as long as they then swear to serve them in future. 

Quote from Scarloc_Stormcall >>

Quote from Evil_Lynn >>

Quote from Scarloc_Stormcall >> 

I would also say your player is semi writing there entire story though, this is something I really try to advise against as a GM. I have no issues with the first part of this back story, we got ill, I made a pact with my patron and I am a warlock now. But by then coming up with what the end is going to be it takes away your agency as a DM.

I would tell the player that you have taken the first part and then sit down and decide the patrons back story and what the patron wants and how they are going to present that to the player. Maybe the Patron is the one who caused the illness in the first place wanting the player as its tool to complete some even bigger goal, maybe the patron is an enemy of the being that caused the illness and so is hoping to use the warlock to help fight that battle, maybe it’s a combination of the 2, patrons enemy infected the player, patron seeing that on its own would not cause the player to fight for it then made sure his sister also got ill. That could lead to a great reveal where the “bad” patron says they never infected his sister, that was your own patron.

There are plenty of ways to have the player kill the patron but work out what the best story for you to tell is, especially as it fits in with the rest of the players :).  

 All the player has given me is the motivation to want to figure out who the patron is and that he is in this deal reluctantly because of his sister. And him wanting to find another way to heal his sister so he can no longer need his patron. 

I actually decided who it is and what he is up to and it works really well with the rest of the campaign.  I just want him to eventually have a resolution because i think its a cool story. He didn't come up with how it will end. I still don't know how it might end. 

 Ok I apologize from your title it seemed the player had pre determined where this org would lead to eventually.
In terms of storyline shifting from warlock to a healing cleric, or even a paladin would be a really nice move for your player, he kills his patron, but in order to get the cure has to offer himself to a god to serve who, in return, tells him how to truly cure the disease. Maybe during the disease weakens the patron allowing the player to kill him, he has to make that break and multi class to do it. He keeps all the abilities and spells he knew up until that point. Alternativley if he wants to Remain a warlock there is nothing that says that Bahamat, pelor or seren ray can’t act as a warlocks patron, in the past I have had a warlock who wanted to represent one of the main gods. This god could offer to help them as long as they then swear to serve them in future. 

 No worries! I was trying to make the title interesting to get ppl to look at my post 😬

But I like these ideas! Thank  you! 

This popped up in my YouTube feed yesterday, seems there's some food for thought.  What's being presented, the full blown "Pact Burner" "shadow class" might not be fully implantable in D&D Beyond, but a way to think through a logic of how a Warlock could 'burn' their pact while retaining their Warlock features.  

The gist of it is a Patron / Warlock pact doesn't have to be "the Lord granteth and the Lord taketh away."  I always see Warlock as somewhere between Wizards and Sorcerers, that is some of their magic and powers are in fact imbued on them by a patron but a lot of their abilities are based on knowledge revealed to them.  I suppose one could play a game where Warlocks' patron have an off and on toggle.  I could also see one where the Patron invests in the Warlock, and sometimes regrets it (and expresses that regret by presenting in game challenges or complications to the Warlock that doesn't include class feature stripping).  

But Midnight, even if the Warlock could keep their Warlock features developed to the point of burning their patron, how would they advance beyond that?  That's a good question.  Two options depending on the situation.  First, sure, a complete burn with the patron and the forces it represents may be so egregious the Warlock will have to multi class into a new class, acknowledging the door is closed but the Warlock survives with stolen secrets.  The other option as Scarloc points out, the particular patron may have rivals who may wish to take on the Warlock as an occasional agent in exchange for new patronage.   I guess the third option would be finding a completely different sort of Patron, and use the Tasha's rules for switching subclasses to make that work.