How to - Fiend Patreon

Have you ever worked with a Patreon?

Hey guys, 

I'm in the making of a campaign especially built for my friend. He is playing a warlock (Logan) with a fiend Patreon and for the sake of the campeign I would love to connect them directly.

Storyline: Logan is part of this criminal organisation and the head of it is secretly the fiend Patreon. But Logan doesn't know yet. As he is Lvl 5 now I would love to bring this Patreon thing to live. So I was thinking if the Patreon contacts Logan saying sth. like: "Hey boy, I'm your sugar daddy. Go and do things for me and you will be rewarded with better positions in the organization. But you must not tell that I'm the leader of the organization.". 

Mechanical issue: So I'm working on the next adventure which shall lead into the sequence of events that will lead Logan to contact his Patreon. But... well I've never worked with a Patreon before. I really don't know how to handle him, how to bring him to live or introduce him or whatever. I'm totally overwhelmed with the situation and I reall need your input guys.

So please: If you had ever an intereaction with a Patreon in your adventures or if you implemented a Patreon yourself I would love to read your storys. <3 Tell me what you liked, what you disliked and what you wish you would have done. I really appreaciate your input. 

Thank you and take care 

Well what exactly IS the patron? While they are under the umbrella of a Fiend patron, that can mean many different things. Are they perhaps an Arcanaloth, a hoarder of knowledge and spells that wants to expand his collection? or are they something like a Bone Devil, enforcing Hell's laws upon the organisation and those underneath it.

Something you should do is check expectations with your player about what they think the patron will act like. Has the patron interacted with Logan in any way before, because that could help make up what their personality is like.

Does your player have an antagonistic relationship with their patron? A symbiotic one? Grudging acceptance? Understanding their relationship up front is super important to determining their in-person dynamic. The appeal of a Warlock-Patron relationship dynamic from an RP standpoint is that it directly opposes the traditional role Heroes play in a game. You have a character who is supposedly doing good at the beck an call of an objectively evil creature (or at least a morally ambiguous one). If your player is serving their patron happily, it's going to change your approach considerably than if they were tricked at a young age into a binding contract with a being they fear and resent.

It is difficult running a patron as an NPC, because the rest of the players likely do not have a living, breathing source of their power. As such, the player-patron dynamic runs a real risk of hijacking the story in a way that can make the rest of the party feel left out in the cold. Make sure you're shining the spotlight on the rest of the team as you go forward if you're going to center this NPC in any way.

As for how to bring them to life, yeah, I agree with ClassicCharismaCaster that understanding the nature of the Fiend patron is important. Not only are the lower echelons of the Nine Hells populated by an array of different creatures with different personalities and goals, the Lords themselves are incredibly distinct. If you don't want to dive TOO deep TOO soon, I like to start by leaning into vanity and confidence. Devil's, especially, won't ask you for a favor unless they're sure you'll agree, so make sure that you've got the characters dead to rights, or that you're giving them a mission they want to accept.

Also, it's important to understand the level of control your player's Warlock-Patron relationship confers. The Patron has the power to interact with the Warlock's ability to sense and manipulate magic. In some cases, they may be able to manipulate their senses, or grant improved health and vigor. It stands to reason that these gifts can not only be taken away, but inverted. If your player opposes their patron, they could retaliate, leaving the player blind, powerless, and writhing in interminable agony if they attempt to violate the conditions of their Pact. Don't be afraid to "give them a taste" if the player isn't appropriately deferential.

Something I had a lot of success with was small, needling reminders of the pact. I ran a game where I told a warlock they had to "say please" whenever they cast a spell or invoked a Warlock ability, as proof of their subjugation to their master. If they forgot, I'd gently remind them, but if they, for some reason or other, chose to ignore my reminder, or if they forgot too often, they'd get a little punishment. Bears mentioning, this was a very close group of very experienced players, and we agreed to this dynamic early. It's not something you would want to spring on a normal player with no warning. But the occasional "visit" from their patron in the form of visual and auditory hallucinations can help keep them on track.

Figure out what kind of fiend it is, what it exactly wants out of its deal with the character, and why it wants that. Play the devil as aloof, uncaring, but quick to repay a slight and unwilling to suffer fools. Patrons are typically powerful creatures, and let the players know the patron considers them below it.

If someone is the 'secret' head of an organization the first question is "How does his orders get delivered so that the minions know they are from the head of the organization".

Then he just uses that method for everything, including talking to Logan.

"'m in the making of a campaign especially built for my friend"

There is no one else in the party? If not, ok.

 Having been a player in a campaign wherr thr dm clearly designed things for his best friend in the party, i can tell you being a third wheel in that campaign absolutely sucked.

The other issue is that a player shouldnt have their class features affected by dm controlled npcs. Having a paladin lose their powers because they werent lawful good enough was a great way to absolutely suck the fun out of a campaign in early editions.  If youre looking at the player making their way up the ranks in some organization, thats fine. But its not uncommon for a dm to go power crazy when they start thinking "if they dont do this, eldritch blast stops working".

Thanks for your input guys. Your really inspired me. If you are interested - here are the results of my thought process:

For clarification: it's a 1o1 game. Just me and my friend.  The patreon is the leader of the organisation and acts normally through his "right hand", like the secondary boss of the organisation (called Notar in the Campeign). But the Patreon wants Logan to become the Notar, because he likes him more. So he wants Logan to reveal the dark secret of the actual Notar so he an be removed and yeah... 

I recently asked my friend about the family or close friends of his character because I'm gonne put the Patreon in the form of his most beloved person. It's gonna be his mum *chuckles*. I'm not gonna name the Patreon, but let Logan call the Patreon Mum. So apparently I need to refer to the Patreon in they / them now. 

For the contact: I'm gonne lead Logan into a religious / supernatural quest. One of his bosses (there are plenty of layers between his actual status and the Notar) got a casino. But the payout shrinks, so Logan is hired to gain some insight and to find out what is going on. He will reveal this small group of young nobles that made a packt with the very own Patreon of Logan, so that they have infinite luck in gambling. Logans gonna find out about the packt and meet his "Mum" after he slashed the group. From this point Logan is going to work for the organisation and get direct orders from his Patreon. 

My question to you: As Logan is going to work for the organisation and for the patreon I'm not sure yet if I shall run it like two part time jobs right beside to each other. Therefore Logan gets in difficult situations to handle both of the jobs the same time. The Patreon surely knows about the jobs Logan gains from the organisation, so he is enjoying Logans stress and restlessness. 

OR shall I add secret tasks and goals fot the organisation quests. Like so: the organisations tells Logan to force his way into some sort of etablisement to extort protection money. And his Patreon asks him to kill one of the bartenders for the greater cause. 

What do you think? I appreaciate your answeres.