The warlock in my game has a backstory where he his patron coerced him into a deal in exchange for powers to help his sister who was cursed with a disease. He doesnt know who the patron is. He wants to spend his downtime researching based on the little he knows. He came up with the idea of hiring a powerful mage or cleric to see if they can "sense" who it is.
They are in Waterdeep and some of the party are members of force gray and harpers so they do have some connections where he could at least try. Plus i like saying yes when they have good ideas.
I am having trouble figuring out how much i can reveal without giving it away. Plus the mechanics of "sensing it". I don't want to set a precedent where its easy to just hire someone powerful to figure stuff out. But i dont wanna say no.
What sort of Warlock is he? Does he know the infernal/fey/celestial/aberrant/other nature of his patron? Maybe start there with the sort of information that the source of the power would convey. Maybe maybe a story or legend of this patron preying on others, some of whom may be alive and findable if the player quests for them. Those who have longer histories with the patron and could share some info.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Not sure how powerful and/or intelligent this particular demonic patron is, but I'd second Mongoose's suggestion about starting with basic details and slowly build toward the ultimate reveal. Not sure if the player's character knows that their patron is fiendish...although it might be difficult not to notice based on the warlock powers being granted. If they don't know that, then they learn it's some sort of fiend. If they already knew, then maybe it's revealed that the specific type of fiend is a demon.
Just as a rough outline of milestones on the character's path of knowledge, I would probably reveal details along these general lines:
Patron is a fiend.
Patron is a demon.
Patron is a particular type of demon (i.e., demon lord, balor, etc.)
Patron's known name is ABC.
Patron actual name XYZ.
Don't have to include each of these points, but the idea is that this gives the player an opportunity to explore and learn more about their patron without having to provide a big reveal right away. As they spend time and resources on uncovering clues and additional information, the character slowly learns more and more until they finally figure out the truth. Or, if you want to delay the final reveal, they learn the known name, but you later reveal the actual name when appropriate...which permits you to reward the player without necessarily ruining any of your own plans as DM.
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The warlock in my game has a backstory where he his patron coerced him into a deal in exchange for powers to help his sister who was cursed with a disease. He doesnt know who the patron is. He wants to spend his downtime researching based on the little he knows. He came up with the idea of hiring a powerful mage or cleric to see if they can "sense" who it is.
They are in Waterdeep and some of the party are members of force gray and harpers so they do have some connections where he could at least try. Plus i like saying yes when they have good ideas.
I am having trouble figuring out how much i can reveal without giving it away. Plus the mechanics of "sensing it". I don't want to set a precedent where its easy to just hire someone powerful to figure stuff out. But i dont wanna say no.
Thanks in advance!
What sort of Warlock is he? Does he know the infernal/fey/celestial/aberrant/other nature of his patron? Maybe start there with the sort of information that the source of the power would convey. Maybe maybe a story or legend of this patron preying on others, some of whom may be alive and findable if the player quests for them. Those who have longer histories with the patron and could share some info.
Ohh! Cool ideas.
The patron is a Demon.
Not sure how powerful and/or intelligent this particular demonic patron is, but I'd second Mongoose's suggestion about starting with basic details and slowly build toward the ultimate reveal. Not sure if the player's character knows that their patron is fiendish...although it might be difficult not to notice based on the warlock powers being granted. If they don't know that, then they learn it's some sort of fiend. If they already knew, then maybe it's revealed that the specific type of fiend is a demon.
Just as a rough outline of milestones on the character's path of knowledge, I would probably reveal details along these general lines:
Don't have to include each of these points, but the idea is that this gives the player an opportunity to explore and learn more about their patron without having to provide a big reveal right away. As they spend time and resources on uncovering clues and additional information, the character slowly learns more and more until they finally figure out the truth. Or, if you want to delay the final reveal, they learn the known name, but you later reveal the actual name when appropriate...which permits you to reward the player without necessarily ruining any of your own plans as DM.