So I'm running a game in which the world is heavily inspired by Norse mythology. One of our players was curious about maybe having a patron like Fenris. I've got a few basic ideas but nothing solid yet. All I'm set on is the expanded spells come from the Druid spell list.
Neat. This is where otherworldly patrons get tricky. Often there are a lot of entities that fall under a single category of patron that offer quite different abilities. For instance, one could see the category of apocalypse beasts representing Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and the Níðhöggr; all beasts associated with Ragnarok, but all associated with different portfolios.
The first thing I'd consider in this situation is whether you want to be creating a warlock subclass to represent the concept. For starters, the abilities granted by Fenrir are likely to be related to martial combat, including better natural weapons and growth (Fenrir's rapid growth was considered a portent). These features all seem to point to a druid with the moon subclass, who specializes in fighting in a beast shape. As a shameless plug, I'm working on a revised circle of the moon subclass that enhances beast shapes.
Anyway, from the legends, there are a few more bit related to Fenrir. First, he's very strong. The Norse gods had to try a bunch of times to find restraints strong enough to hold Fenrir. Next, Fenrir is prophesied to kill Odin, swallowing him whole. That's another potential ability that some monsters have.
That sounds like a very intriguing idea. It does depend how you want to play a Fenrir in your world. Whether you just want this huge beast or you want the kind of apocalyptic style in there as well.
In there, there's the Ashen Wolf patron which could be reflavoured as you see fit. The Wild Huntsman could also fit well with a little editing. At the very least, reading through might give you some ideas and pointers about where to take your patron idea.
So I'm running a game in which the world is heavily inspired by Norse mythology. One of our players was curious about maybe having a patron like Fenris. I've got a few basic ideas but nothing solid yet. All I'm set on is the expanded spells come from the Druid spell list.
Any ideas for Subclass abilities?
Neat. This is where otherworldly patrons get tricky. Often there are a lot of entities that fall under a single category of patron that offer quite different abilities. For instance, one could see the category of apocalypse beasts representing Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and the Níðhöggr; all beasts associated with Ragnarok, but all associated with different portfolios.
The first thing I'd consider in this situation is whether you want to be creating a warlock subclass to represent the concept. For starters, the abilities granted by Fenrir are likely to be related to martial combat, including better natural weapons and growth (Fenrir's rapid growth was considered a portent). These features all seem to point to a druid with the moon subclass, who specializes in fighting in a beast shape. As a shameless plug, I'm working on a revised circle of the moon subclass that enhances beast shapes.
Anyway, from the legends, there are a few more bit related to Fenrir. First, he's very strong. The Norse gods had to try a bunch of times to find restraints strong enough to hold Fenrir. Next, Fenrir is prophesied to kill Odin, swallowing him whole. That's another potential ability that some monsters have.
That sounds like a very intriguing idea.
It does depend how you want to play a Fenrir in your world. Whether you just want this huge beast or you want the kind of apocalyptic style in there as well.
I would recommend reading through Genuine's Compendium of Forgotten Secrets; a A link here to the free version.
In there, there's the Ashen Wolf patron which could be reflavoured as you see fit. The Wild Huntsman could also fit well with a little editing. At the very least, reading through might give you some ideas and pointers about where to take your patron idea.
I'll second this, ashen wolf/wild huntsman from that homebrew is what I came here to suggest. I think it'd give you plenty of materiel to co-opt.