Below is a story for a Warlock that describes her childhood, her first encounters with her patron and the events leading up to her first adventure.
AFTER READING HER STORY:
How would you build the character described - background etc.?
How would you stat her?
What patron would you give her?
What powers (other than the one described in the story) do you think she should have?
What should her alignment be?
Which official faction would she best fit into?
What are your thoughts on her family background?
What are your other thoughts about Sara?
I am looking forward to seeing how you all interpret this character and how each of you would build her out. If nothing else, I hope my story inspires your own creations.
Sara has always been an only child.
Her parents were travelling merchants who had tried for decades to have a child and failed, so you can imagine their surprise when at the age of 56, her mother became pregnant for the first time.
How could this have happened?
Her parents consulted priests, healers, wizards and even the counsel of a witch. None could explain the sudden, seemingly miraculous pregnancy so late in life. Even after the child was born, they could not explain it and, despite her small size, assured her parents that their daughter was indeed healthy.
Her mother named her Sara, after her favourite niece, and her father gave her the middle name Cassandra after her grandmother.
Sara Cassandra Faust.
Soon after their daughter's birth, her parents gave up the travelling life. They opened a store in Baldur’s Gate called Faust’s Emporium of Magical Delights, better known to some of the more disreputable locals as Faust’s Den, from where you could purchase maps and provisions, as well as the finest ale you're likely to find outside of royal courts - brewed by Mrs Faust herself in the bathtub and guaranteed to warm the cockles and put hairs on your chest, as well as tinctures for tickly throats and magical powders to make long sea voyages much more pleasant.
It was from this dimly lit, low-hung corner of Baldur’s Gate that Mr and Mrs Faust doted on Sara - their miracle child and provided her with everything she wanted, not that she wanted too much, for Sara was always happy doing her own thing. Going off on her little adventures around the town, closely followed by her perpetual entourage of stray cats that she had named and talked to as though they were her best friends, playing hero and villain as it took her fancy. Sometimes she would imagine herself as a noble knight or a great mage, protector of the weak, defender of those who could not defend themselves; sometimes, as a raging barbarian sacking the town, and when the other children bullied her, they quickly found out that Sara's strange little pets could bite and that her punches hurt more than they imagined. When her efforts failed, there was always a regular customer or two of her parents who would gladly ruff up the bullies for a few gilded coins.
Those were good years for Sara, growing up in Baldur’s Gate.
Good years until the death of her mother and the waiting health of her father caused the emporium to close, and at the age of 15, she was shipped off to live with a distant cousin in Waterdeep.
Sara hated her new home. It wasn't at all like Baldur’s Gate. The people here we far less likely to tolerate her eccentricities, and what's more, there were whispering voices coming from the walls of her room. Her cousin told her she imagined it, an old drafty house, and all she could hear was the wind rattling through the stones, but that was not what she heard.
She knew what she was hearing.
She heard voices whispering to her from the walls. When she looked away, they were there whispering:
“You abandoned your father to die! He calls for you while the children spread his heart to the skies!”
Then when she looked back, the voice would vanish, only to reappear from a different part of the room:
“He would have done anything for you, and now he screams alone. He curses you! Not even in death will he forgive you!”
On and on, the voices whispered until Sara ran to tell her cousin, who only laughed at the stupid girl's imagination, but it was no imagination. Eventually, even sleep could not save her as the voices began to whisper in her dreams:
“Do you feel the darkness around you? Do you feel its torturous path through your mouth and your eyes, until it eats away inside you? Tell me how it feels; let me hear your screams. Command me. Command me. Command me and be devoured.”
On and on, the voices whispered in her dreams as Sara tossed and turned until she could stand it no more and woke from the nightmare drenched in sweat, her breath heaving as though a fever had suddenly struck her, the fading voices ringing in her ears:
“Don't fight back, my child! I have cared for you; I have taught you. I MADE you!”
The voices and the dreams became so bad that her cousin eventually relented and gave Sara another room at the opposite end of the house.
For several years after that, the voices subsided, and Sara settled into her life in Waterdeep. She even took a job in a store that was similar to that her parents once ran and eventually made some friends. Real friends this time, not stray moggies, but it was not to last.
It was her 20th birthday, and Sara had been out celebrating with her friends. She had promised her cousin she would return before the tavern's closing time. However, several ales later, sweet nothings were whispered in her ear by the mediocre musician her friends had hired for the night's entertainment and Sara had utterly lost track of time.
The first she knew of what time it was, was when the tavern owner threw her out and told her to go home because they were closed.
While stumbling through the streets on her way home, the very same musician who had entertained them the whole night came upon her and, having decided his payment was not sufficient and that he wanted more sensual pleasures, attacked her and dragged her down a dark ally. She tried to defend herself, but instead of punching him as she intended, she shot a beam of energy from her hand that wracked his body and muffled his screams.
Without even a sound, Sara's attacker was dead at her feet.
Then she heard it.
A voice that she had not heard in many years:
“You let him die. You let us take him. But you're glad, are you not? You wished him pain. You wanted him undone, unthreaded, unliving, and now he is but a corpse, a shadow, a puppet on a string, yours to control.”
Sara grabbed her head and screamed for the voice to go away.
It simply cackled like an old crone and told her that the children were pleased and then went silent, and soon after, she passed out from too much ale and exhaustion.
She woke up the next morning sprawled out on the antique lounge chair in her cousin's study. Her head was pounding, and pins and needles coursed up and down her arm.
Fortunately for her, her cousin, concerned when she did not return home, had been out looking for her and found her before any patrolling guards, but the situation was not good. Fearful that taking the time to dispose of the body may give the guards time to find her, he was forced to leave it in the ally. Especially since carrying an unconscious Sara while avoiding the patrols of the night watch would take time, and he needed to get her as far away from that scene as quickly as possible.
He had managed it, but the situation was still volatile.
A corpse of a man killed by some magical energy had been found. There were already rumours of dark magic and plots to overthrow oppressive rulers circulating amongst the common folk. Sara's cousin, Triskelion knew what would happen, for although his star had been in attendance, he too had come from common stock. There would be reprisals, and accusations would be made. The people would be looking for someone to blame, and some self-righteous Lord would open an investigation to curry their favour.
He had to get Sara out of Waterdeep; it was the only way to keep her safe.
As luck would have it, an old drinking buddy of his from his days as a smuggler of antiquities owed him a favour and was arranging an expedition to some ancient elvish ruins located deep within Cormanthor.
It took some doing, but he managed to persuade him to take Sara.
Sara wasn't happy with this arrangement, but Triskelion promised that with her out of the city, she would be safe while he found a way to ensure the murder was never linked to her and cover up her “special” abilities.
Persuading Sara to go on the expedition was more challenging than getting her on it, but she eventually agreed, and on the morning of the Autumn Equinox, Sara set off on a journey that would change her life forever.
So, how would you build her? What patron would you give her, and what are your other thoughts?
Forge
XD
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Regardless of patron, as for building the character:
Ability Score wise (assuming standard array) gor for Str 12, Dex 13, Cons 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 15. The lower Int and Wis represents a subtle influence of the voices over the years making her a little less conscious of the world around her such as not being quite as percpetive or intuitive as others . Dex is a bit low but I'll explain this a bit lower down.
Race wise go Variant human, popping +1 into Dex (to make it 14) and +1 into Cha (to make it 16), bonus skill take Animal Handling and feat wise take Shadow Touch and nab Inflict Wounds a a free spell and whatever language you think appropriate but likely have something to do witht he family business such as Elf or Dwarf. Animal Handling and Shadow Touched should then be enough to explain away the stories affinity for cats and the death of the musician.
If you're using alignment then Chaotic Good should be ok but you do mention she paid people to rough up others so there is a hint of nefariousness creeping in so a Neutral Evil Villan might be in the future.
Background wise I think Urchin or possibly Charlatan based around you say she went off to play on her own and pretend she was various other things.
Class wise, you mentioned cats in the story and cats do however give a certain vibe that can lead to Archfey or Great Old Ones, in Lovecraftian stories for instance, cats were able to leap between realms and take people with them so that could work as well but Hexblade might be a bit more on the nose for abilities. You could leave the patron as a mystery and just aske you DM to surprise you.
Pact wise Pact of Tome seems best as you can get access to Find Familiar for a Cat that follows you around and a bunch of other rituals magic (sunch as Animal Messenger and Speak With Animals) and the familairs available with Pact of Chain do not seem to be able to tap into anything you've written, like wise with the Pact of Blade.
Hexblade would also give you medium armour proficiency so you can get away with wearing a Breastplate and using your +2 Dex modifier to get a decent AC, as you're not likely to be a frontliner that should be enough for most combat encounters but you can also use a shield (either physical one or spell) as needed.
Spell wise, take Chill Touch instead of Eldritch Blast and maybe look more at Chill Touch and thrown Shadowblades for ranged support and be more of bodyguard for any wizards ro sorcerers in the party and go into a more ritualistic style of caster eventually getting a spell like Contact Other Plane to get to the bottom of the voices etc.
All of that said.....
That story does say Sorcerer to me more than it says Warlock. The implication from the story would be the parent made a deal with a patron without knowing it but seeing as they got a child from the deal it would imply to me that any magic the child then possessed was innate and more sorcerous in nature and is a side effect of the "immaculate coception" rather than a patron she is now indebted to.
The story is a bit on melodramtic side, I think you might need to come up with 2-3 words to help define the psychology, for want of a better word, that guides you in roleplaying a character like this. You could use anything you wanted but as an example you could go for Spoilt and Introverted, these would reflect her parents doting on her and likely buying her presents and whatever she wanted and introverted as she enjoyed being on her own and making her own fun but she may not have been given any boundaries. This could explain why she came into conflict with other children as she grew up and now she is out on her own she still has those aspects, she never developed charisma based skills as, although she is a charismatic person, she found it easier to solve problems with her fists or use coin to pay others or even expects others to do things for her. As you play the character more you can then just amend the words you are using so after a few sessiosn you can switch things around, maybe switch "spoilt" to "warm" to reflect she's realised things aren't just given to her and she is bcoming more open with her compnaions, then a few sessions down the road you can switch things again, maybe even keep an ongoing record of words used to see how the chracter has changed.
A tweak or two I'd make to the story:
I was tempted to say Entertainer for a background but you didn't intimate any sense of her busking in the streets and putting on one woman plays to entertain people as they passed by but if you wanted a more upbeat childhood then her playing make believe with her cat friends could be spun in that direction which could also offer a clue as to why other children came into conflict with her and why she had the coin to pay others to rough people up..
I'd leave out the musician attaking her, her killing him and the cousin finding her and getting home. She already has a mystery and bullying in her past and she doesn't need to have been a victim of crime or have people just happen to be in the right place at the right time to help her out. You could just ommit that entire section and have the voices come back and she feels the urge to go somewhere and joins a merchant caravan or signs up with a group (the rest of the party) thats heading in that direction, that way she just has to say thanks to the cousin for putting her up for a few years and she really appreciates it but she needs to find answers. The cousin does not have to believe she is hearing voices and can be as emotional or non-commital as you like about her going out into the world but you get to the same destination without making her a victim in the process.
Otherwise, I rather enjoy these type of thought experiement builds based on a story I just hope you find it useful.
Building on what Rob76 said, that doesn't sound like a pure warlock to me -- that sounds like a sorcerer who doesn't know their own power yet, and some entity (entities?) is trying to exploit it for themselves before they do. I'd build the character with an eye toward being an eventual sorc/warlock multiclass, probably leaning toward Undead with the patron based on the "yours to control" line in the alley. Sorc subclass, when you choose it, could be almost anything
Since the family all seem to deal in sketchy antiquities, perhaps there was something in the attic above her original room at the cousin's house, long-forgotten and thought to be worthless, that houses some power that was able to attach itself to her -- a haunted dollhouse containing a multitude of trapped souls ("the children are pleased"), or something like that
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Regardlethe ss of patron, as for building the character:
That's an interesting patron idea.
After writing the story, I had some faint ideas that her patron might be Baba Yaga.
That unbeknownst to them, her parents had shown kindness to a disguised Baba Yaga, and in one of her more charitable, though still self-serving moods, she used her magic to give them what their hearts had always longed for - a child. Her motives were not entirely charitable. Sara was a gift to her parents from a very powerful and tricky Archfey, but as we all know, Archfey do not give gifts freely, and when they do, there is always a purpose and a price to pay.
In this case, Baba Yaga saw a chance to sneak one of her children into the material plane, which she could manipulate into doing her bidding.
The cats that followed Sara around when she was young would represent Baba Yaga’s cats and perhaps how her patron kept tabs on her.
I had those thoughts after I wrote the story, though, while reading about Baba Yaga. When I wrote the story, I wasn't sure what patron she should have.
I like your idea for the patron, but reading your original post on it, I'm not sure how Sara would have made a pact with the hungry village.
Do you have any thoughts on how she could have done that?
Your suggestion to make her a Shadow Sorcerer instead of a Warlock is also interesting.
I will have to think about this.
Your idea about wearing a breastplate, however, makes perfect sense as, generally, STR is something both Warlocks and Sorcerers dump. Still, in her story, she has more physical strength than typical for her class since she can punch and hurt her bullies. It could be assumed that she has relied on her fists to defend herself since she is quick to go there when attacked, even while severely drunk, so it's not strange to her that she defends herself that way.
Taking a slightly lower DEX and adding a breastplate to compensate would allow her to have that extra STR.
I very much enjoyed reading your post, and I am intrigued by your homebrew patron.
:D
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Regardlethe ss of patron, as for building the character:
That's an interesting patron idea.
Tweaking the little bit of lore i wrote for the hungry village a bit...
"In places where hunger is rife the Hungry Village can manifest. This usually takes the form of a generally gloomy and despondant outlook in creatures that inhabit the area but can, on occasion and when the hunger is sttrong enough, manifest as a full rift between planes. In such instances the vitality of creatures in the area are diminished as the proximity of the Hungry Village siphons the life forces of those nearby."
So what we'd have is Sara going off on her own in Baldurs Gate and venturing into one of the lower class areas or wards of the city where such poverty is rife. This poverty was just enough to allow a sliver of the Hungry Village to manifest in the material plane.
Sara is not aware of this but she happened upon a litter of cats all on the verge of starvation. She nurses them all back to health over the course of a few weeks by giving them the packed lunch her parents always sent her out with as well as hoarding food from home and taking it with her to make sure they had enough. This often meant she went without food as she was more concerned with making sure the cats survived and as she ingored her own hunger the Hungry Village used it to tether themselves to her and that is when she starts to exhibit magical abilities/hear voices. She may even have noticed as the cats became more healthy and well fed the people who lived in the immediate area seemed to "perk up" a bit.
That would give her a bit of a noble edge in that she willingly went without food to make sure others did not and her tether to the hungry village could be played as either sorcerer or warlock powers. Maybe when she gets hungry she hears voices more.
Regarding Baba Yaga, she is a bit of a mysterious entity so no reason you couldn't combine her and the Hungry Village, maybe the Demi-plane its on was create by Baba Yaga and she sends people who anger her there as a punishment, anything could be possible.
Edit: just found this snippet of folklore on Baba Yaga which could combine nicely if the Hungry VIllage is filled with the souls of people she's eaten:
Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga, in Slavic folklore, an ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. A guardian of the fountains of the water of life, she lives with two or three sisters (all known as Baba Yaga) in a forest hut that spins continually on birds’ legs. Her fence is topped with human skulls. Baba Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with a pestle—creating tempests as she goes. She often accompanies Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls.
EDIT: also don't forget that whatever you decide for a patron to make sure your DM is happy with the lore etc in case it doesn't gel with what they have planned.
Below is a story for a Warlock that describes her childhood, her first encounters with her patron and the events leading up to her first adventure.
AFTER READING HER STORY:
I am looking forward to seeing how you all interpret this character and how each of you would build her out. If nothing else, I hope my story inspires your own creations.
So, how would you build her? What patron would you give her, and what are your other thoughts?
Forge
XD
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Blimey thats a lot to unpack so this might be a long response, if warlock is the class your are after, as you mention shadows and being consumed, I'll offer up an idea I had many moons ago for a patron; The Hungry Village (link here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/51010-homebrew-patron-idea-the-hungry-village).
Regardless of patron, as for building the character:
Ability Score wise (assuming standard array) gor for Str 12, Dex 13, Cons 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 15. The lower Int and Wis represents a subtle influence of the voices over the years making her a little less conscious of the world around her such as not being quite as percpetive or intuitive as others . Dex is a bit low but I'll explain this a bit lower down.
Race wise go Variant human, popping +1 into Dex (to make it 14) and +1 into Cha (to make it 16), bonus skill take Animal Handling and feat wise take Shadow Touch and nab Inflict Wounds a a free spell and whatever language you think appropriate but likely have something to do witht he family business such as Elf or Dwarf. Animal Handling and Shadow Touched should then be enough to explain away the stories affinity for cats and the death of the musician.
If you're using alignment then Chaotic Good should be ok but you do mention she paid people to rough up others so there is a hint of nefariousness creeping in so a Neutral Evil Villan might be in the future.
Background wise I think Urchin or possibly Charlatan based around you say she went off to play on her own and pretend she was various other things.
Class wise, you mentioned cats in the story and cats do however give a certain vibe that can lead to Archfey or Great Old Ones, in Lovecraftian stories for instance, cats were able to leap between realms and take people with them so that could work as well but Hexblade might be a bit more on the nose for abilities. You could leave the patron as a mystery and just aske you DM to surprise you.
Pact wise Pact of Tome seems best as you can get access to Find Familiar for a Cat that follows you around and a bunch of other rituals magic (sunch as Animal Messenger and Speak With Animals) and the familairs available with Pact of Chain do not seem to be able to tap into anything you've written, like wise with the Pact of Blade.
Hexblade would also give you medium armour proficiency so you can get away with wearing a Breastplate and using your +2 Dex modifier to get a decent AC, as you're not likely to be a frontliner that should be enough for most combat encounters but you can also use a shield (either physical one or spell) as needed.
Spell wise, take Chill Touch instead of Eldritch Blast and maybe look more at Chill Touch and thrown Shadowblades for ranged support and be more of bodyguard for any wizards ro sorcerers in the party and go into a more ritualistic style of caster eventually getting a spell like Contact Other Plane to get to the bottom of the voices etc.
All of that said.....
That story does say Sorcerer to me more than it says Warlock. The implication from the story would be the parent made a deal with a patron without knowing it but seeing as they got a child from the deal it would imply to me that any magic the child then possessed was innate and more sorcerous in nature and is a side effect of the "immaculate coception" rather than a patron she is now indebted to.
The story is a bit on melodramtic side, I think you might need to come up with 2-3 words to help define the psychology, for want of a better word, that guides you in roleplaying a character like this. You could use anything you wanted but as an example you could go for Spoilt and Introverted, these would reflect her parents doting on her and likely buying her presents and whatever she wanted and introverted as she enjoyed being on her own and making her own fun but she may not have been given any boundaries. This could explain why she came into conflict with other children as she grew up and now she is out on her own she still has those aspects, she never developed charisma based skills as, although she is a charismatic person, she found it easier to solve problems with her fists or use coin to pay others or even expects others to do things for her. As you play the character more you can then just amend the words you are using so after a few sessiosn you can switch things around, maybe switch "spoilt" to "warm" to reflect she's realised things aren't just given to her and she is bcoming more open with her compnaions, then a few sessions down the road you can switch things again, maybe even keep an ongoing record of words used to see how the chracter has changed.
A tweak or two I'd make to the story:
I was tempted to say Entertainer for a background but you didn't intimate any sense of her busking in the streets and putting on one woman plays to entertain people as they passed by but if you wanted a more upbeat childhood then her playing make believe with her cat friends could be spun in that direction which could also offer a clue as to why other children came into conflict with her and why she had the coin to pay others to rough people up..
I'd leave out the musician attaking her, her killing him and the cousin finding her and getting home. She already has a mystery and bullying in her past and she doesn't need to have been a victim of crime or have people just happen to be in the right place at the right time to help her out. You could just ommit that entire section and have the voices come back and she feels the urge to go somewhere and joins a merchant caravan or signs up with a group (the rest of the party) thats heading in that direction, that way she just has to say thanks to the cousin for putting her up for a few years and she really appreciates it but she needs to find answers. The cousin does not have to believe she is hearing voices and can be as emotional or non-commital as you like about her going out into the world but you get to the same destination without making her a victim in the process.
Otherwise, I rather enjoy these type of thought experiement builds based on a story I just hope you find it useful.
Building on what Rob76 said, that doesn't sound like a pure warlock to me -- that sounds like a sorcerer who doesn't know their own power yet, and some entity (entities?) is trying to exploit it for themselves before they do. I'd build the character with an eye toward being an eventual sorc/warlock multiclass, probably leaning toward Undead with the patron based on the "yours to control" line in the alley. Sorc subclass, when you choose it, could be almost anything
Since the family all seem to deal in sketchy antiquities, perhaps there was something in the attic above her original room at the cousin's house, long-forgotten and thought to be worthless, that houses some power that was able to attach itself to her -- a haunted dollhouse containing a multitude of trapped souls ("the children are pleased"), or something like that
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
That's an interesting patron idea.
After writing the story, I had some faint ideas that her patron might be Baba Yaga.
That unbeknownst to them, her parents had shown kindness to a disguised Baba Yaga, and in one of her more charitable, though still self-serving moods, she used her magic to give them what their hearts had always longed for - a child. Her motives were not entirely charitable. Sara was a gift to her parents from a very powerful and tricky Archfey, but as we all know, Archfey do not give gifts freely, and when they do, there is always a purpose and a price to pay.
In this case, Baba Yaga saw a chance to sneak one of her children into the material plane, which she could manipulate into doing her bidding.
The cats that followed Sara around when she was young would represent Baba Yaga’s cats and perhaps how her patron kept tabs on her.
I had those thoughts after I wrote the story, though, while reading about Baba Yaga. When I wrote the story, I wasn't sure what patron she should have.
I like your idea for the patron, but reading your original post on it, I'm not sure how Sara would have made a pact with the hungry village.
Do you have any thoughts on how she could have done that?
Your suggestion to make her a Shadow Sorcerer instead of a Warlock is also interesting.
I will have to think about this.
Your idea about wearing a breastplate, however, makes perfect sense as, generally, STR is something both Warlocks and Sorcerers dump. Still, in her story, she has more physical strength than typical for her class since she can punch and hurt her bullies. It could be assumed that she has relied on her fists to defend herself since she is quick to go there when attacked, even while severely drunk, so it's not strange to her that she defends herself that way.
Taking a slightly lower DEX and adding a breastplate to compensate would allow her to have that extra STR.
I very much enjoyed reading your post, and I am intrigued by your homebrew patron.
:D
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Tweaking the little bit of lore i wrote for the hungry village a bit...
"In places where hunger is rife the Hungry Village can manifest. This usually takes the form of a generally gloomy and despondant outlook in creatures that inhabit the area but can, on occasion and when the hunger is sttrong enough, manifest as a full rift between planes. In such instances the vitality of creatures in the area are diminished as the proximity of the Hungry Village siphons the life forces of those nearby."
So what we'd have is Sara going off on her own in Baldurs Gate and venturing into one of the lower class areas or wards of the city where such poverty is rife. This poverty was just enough to allow a sliver of the Hungry Village to manifest in the material plane.
Sara is not aware of this but she happened upon a litter of cats all on the verge of starvation. She nurses them all back to health over the course of a few weeks by giving them the packed lunch her parents always sent her out with as well as hoarding food from home and taking it with her to make sure they had enough. This often meant she went without food as she was more concerned with making sure the cats survived and as she ingored her own hunger the Hungry Village used it to tether themselves to her and that is when she starts to exhibit magical abilities/hear voices. She may even have noticed as the cats became more healthy and well fed the people who lived in the immediate area seemed to "perk up" a bit.
That would give her a bit of a noble edge in that she willingly went without food to make sure others did not and her tether to the hungry village could be played as either sorcerer or warlock powers. Maybe when she gets hungry she hears voices more.
Regarding Baba Yaga, she is a bit of a mysterious entity so no reason you couldn't combine her and the Hungry Village, maybe the Demi-plane its on was create by Baba Yaga and she sends people who anger her there as a punishment, anything could be possible.
Edit: just found this snippet of folklore on Baba Yaga which could combine nicely if the Hungry VIllage is filled with the souls of people she's eaten:
Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga, in Slavic folklore, an ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. A guardian of the fountains of the water of life, she lives with two or three sisters (all known as Baba Yaga) in a forest hut that spins continually on birds’ legs. Her fence is topped with human skulls. Baba Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with a pestle—creating tempests as she goes. She often accompanies Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls.
EDIT: also don't forget that whatever you decide for a patron to make sure your DM is happy with the lore etc in case it doesn't gel with what they have planned.