I'm playing a dwarf barbarian and recently he got a horse as a mount, he is very very attached to it already. I'm not stupid and I know the horse is gonna die someday, so I was thinking what my caracter would do then. I came to the conclusion that he would sell his soul to bring him back to live. 

To do that he would multi class into a warlock barbarian, but my dwarf is very stupid, so he would not know how to cast a spell. So I was thinking that maybe the horse could get the warlock powers. But to make it fair for the other players I don't want to make a different caracter sheet for the horse.

Maybe you guys have good ideas to make sure that the horse can get the warlock powers but I can do that on the caracter sheet of my barbarian.

Quote from KeldornThalgrimRockcrusher >>

I'm playing a dwarf barbarian and recently he got a horse as a mount, he is very very attached to it already. I'm not stupid and I know the horse is gonna die someday, so I was thinking what my caracter would do then. I came to the conclusion that he would sell his soul to bring him back to live. 

To do that he would multi class into a warlock barbarian, but my dwarf is very stupid, so he would not know how to cast a spell. So I was thinking that maybe the horse could get the warlock powers. But to make it fair for the other players I don't want to make a different caracter sheet for the horse.

Maybe you guys have good ideas to make sure that the horse can get the warlock powers but I can do that on the caracter sheet of my barbarian.

The base concept is good, and the being stupid actually makes sense to be a warlock.  No good aligned intelligent being would sell his soul for power.   So being stupid and grieving is a great reason to become a warlock.   Just realize that a barbarian can't both rage and cast spells.   As for the horse, get the DM to agree that you can use the horse as a familiar from the pact of the chain.  The Patron will not grant warlock powers unless he gets the Pact of the Chain invocation and your barbarian does not remove that invocation.

Giving the horse Warlock powers doesn't make any sense, horses have very low CHA so even if you gave them warlock powers it would not be any good at using them. IMO you have a few options:

1) your barbarian MCs into warlock and takes Pact of the Chain and you get the DM to let you have the horse as a familiar, you can take fiend pact at level 3 for some in-combat healing, and you can get some invocations that would be useful like Beast Speech so you could talk to your horse, or Devil's Sight, or Fiendish Vigor, Gift of the Everliving Ones, Investments of the Chain Master, and then at level 5 you can get Eldritch Smite to be able to use your spellslots without casting spells.

2) your barbarian could bargain their soul without MCing warlock and instead the DM could have the fiend allow your barbarian to cast Find Steed once per day but only the Fiendish version of it.

3) your barbarian could bargain their sould with a god rather than a fiend and be granted a feat or item that can cast Find Steed once per day.

4) your barbarian could bargain their soul without MCing and the DM could simply give a HB horse that comes back to life each dawn.

I’m not sure how far along you are level-wise, but Dungeon Dudes did an interesting Warlock/Barbarian build you may be interested in:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gGkm3QaD6pw&t=5s

Quote from KeldornThalgrimRockcrusher >>

I'm playing a dwarf barbarian and recently he got a horse as a mount, he is very very attached to it already. I'm not stupid and I know the horse is gonna die someday, so I was thinking what my caracter would do then. I came to the conclusion that he would sell his soul to bring him back to live. 

To do that he would multi class into a warlock barbarian, but my dwarf is very stupid, so he would not know how to cast a spell. So I was thinking that maybe the horse could get the warlock powers. But to make it fair for the other players I don't want to make a different caracter sheet for the horse.

Maybe you guys have good ideas to make sure that the horse can get the warlock powers but I can do that on the caracter sheet of my barbarian.

Is there anything you're looking to get out of the bargain other than the horse? Because that would determine whether you want to look at an actual multiclass, or just a story beat to work out with your DM that involves your character selling his soul for an unkillable/undead/resummonable horse

Just because you sell your soul doesn't mean you have to be a warlock

I realize this will kind of side-step the whole conversation about the multiclass, but here goes.

What if you asked your dm if you could use a stat block from a class that gets a pet. Like a beast master or drakewarden. None of the funky, cool abilities. Just basically the basic hp, saves and AC. It will make the horse more survivable.

I guess you’re right it would still probably die, but maybe not if you’re careful with it.

Or ask about a kind of truce where you have the horse mostly for role play purposes. You say you won’t use it in combats, and the DM agrees not to attack it?

Beyond that, I’ll second Antonsirius’s idea. This is a role play choice, it doesn’t need to have game mechanics attached. Sell your soul to get the horse back, and let the DM create consequences for the choice. It sounds like a good story hook for at least a side quest. 

Personally, I'm a big fan of Barbarian/Warlock... it's a great multiclass, with lots of options in and out of combat.

When you hit 5th level, you get Phantom Steed (3rd level spell), which can be the spirit of the horse. There's no reason that your Familiar couldn't be reskinned as a horse (technically it's too high of a CR, but come on... especially if you go Pact of the Chain)

Pact of the Chain (for Familiar buffs) and Pact of the Tome (for cantrips, out of combat utility and ritual spells) will be your friend, although Pact of the Blade works the least with the Barbarian... 

Get Armor of Agathys going, pop Rage, and go have some fun.

It's 2014, but Pact of the Undead (maybe your horse is your actual patron? or perhaps the spirits of your ancestors) could be great mechanically, especially for a Dwarf Barbarian.

The issue is game mechanics.

If your horse gets warlock powers, the action econo.y is going to change. You suddenly get 2 actions per round. One for you. One for your warlock horse.

If i was dm and my player really really wanted it, they could level up their horse by NOT leveling up their character. So if the other pcs in the party are level 7, youd be level 6 and your horse level 1.

An alternative would be to make your horse your warlick familiar. Warlocks get some pretty powerful famikiars compared to other spellcasters. None of them are Large and work as Mounts, but it might work.

Id probably make your horse a living familiar, so youd have to heal it if its wounded, instead of just resummon it when it dies.otherwise, is it really your horse? Or just a copy?

Another alternative is to check with your dm and see if part of your deal with the devil would allow you to make your horse a "sidekick".

Sidekicks level up with you and get more hitpoints every level. The problem with living pets in dnd is they usually have 15 hp and at level 20 they are a liability to have around. Make your horse a warrior sidekick and they gain hitpoints every level.

Some Ideas depend on your available materials.

• Vestige Patron Warlock (Unearthed Arcana, Mystic Subclasses) to represent your steed hanging about.
• Multiclass into Paladin for Find Steed. This is a significant commitment.
• Tattoo of your Steed (Dragonmark Mark of Passage feat) with or without spellcasting class, like Warlock, but with 3 levels, you can now cast Find Steed and summon your steed from the afterlife if you have 2nd level spell slots.
  • 4 levels later potentially take Potent Dragonmark for the spell slot. You can now cast Find Steed and summon your steed from the afterlife.

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

• Tattoo of your Steed (Dragonmark Mark of Passage feat) with or without spellcasting class, like Warlock, but with 3 levels, you can now cast Find Steed and summon your steed from the afterlife if you have 2nd level spell slots.
  • 4 levels later potentially take Potent Dragonmark for the spell slot. You can now cast Find Steed and summon your steed from the afterlife.

Just FYI -- in the new Eberron book, all the Dragonmark feats have the prerequisite "must be in an Eberron campaign", because WOTC apparently got as tired as I did of seeing a bunch of cheesed build suggestions that included a Dragonmark feat while ignoring all the baggage and lore that was supposed to come along with having one

That said, I think reflavoring a Dragonmark feat as a "mark of the devil" (or whatever entity you sold your soul to) is actually a really cool idea

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Just FYI -- in the new Eberron book, all the Dragonmark feats have the prerequisite "must be in an Eberron campaign"

This is mostly a meaningless distinction as the default cosmology includes Eberron, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and others in the same campaign. It just boils down to if you are using this book's content, ask your DM before taking. It's not automatic, but that is true of every book, even those WotC publishes. It's not any different than being an Emerald Enclave Caretaker in Khorvaire, you have to ask your DM if you can use the Forgotten Realms content and Planescape bridges all campaigns. Since you have to ask your DM anyway, it's a restriction that, in practice, doesn't do anything.

That said, the Dragonmark feat is the precise reason, I prefixed the list with "Some Ideas depend on your available materials."

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Just FYI -- in the new Eberron book, all the Dragonmark feats have the prerequisite "must be in an Eberron campaign"

This is mostly a meaningless distinction as the default cosmology includes Eberron, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and others in the same campaign.

That is not at all what they meant by "campaign" when putting that prerequisite on the feats

The intention there was to say that if you're using Dragonmarks, you should be using everything that comes along with them -- the Houses and the Backgrounds, etc.

You're correct that it "boils down to if you are using this book's content, ask your DM before taking", but they are not just another feat like Tough. Which is why if you do reflavor them, that re-skinning should come with equivalent strings to what they would have in a campaign set in Khorvaire

Frankly, my general gameplay advice for keeping mounts in play in D&D is to use the Sidekick rules from Tasha's: it allows an NPC to "level" a stripped down class, gaining HP and a handful of basic features. Lets mount HP scale enough that they don't immediately get wiped out by a tier 2+ AoE.

Of course, this presumes your primary desire is just keeping the mount active. If you are invested in getting this story beat, I recommend just making it a side blurb without trying to shoehorn a class level or other character choice into it.

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Just FYI -- in the new Eberron book, all the Dragonmark feats have the prerequisite "must be in an Eberron campaign"

This is mostly a meaningless distinction as the default cosmology includes Eberron, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and others in the same campaign.

That is not at all what they meant by "campaign" when putting that prerequisite on the feats

The intention there was to say that if you're using Dragonmarks, you should be using everything that comes along with them -- the Houses and the Backgrounds, etc.

You're correct that it "boils down to if you are using this book's content, ask your DM before taking", but they are not just another feat like Tough. Which is why if you do reflavor them, that re-skinning should come with equivalent strings to what they would have in a campaign set in Khorvaire

Can you provide a reference for that requirement? I can't.

There are 3 sample Eberron Campaign Models where Eberron is the focus, but those are samples and do not actually define what it means to be an Eberron Campaign.

If we acknowledge, that Eberron exists within the default D&D planar setting and can be accessed via Sigil, then those three samples cannot represent the limits of an "Eberron Campaign". Particularly now that the dragonmarks are no longer restricted by race (whether you like that or not) and prior dragonmarked heirs may have walked the planes, it makes sense that a stray mark may occasionally appear outside of Eberron. If you want to start with one at first level, you'll need to take the appropriate Heir Background. At level 4+, the restrictions drop away. It's not much different than Sorcerer ancestries or Tiefling and Aasimar heritages. These are passed down through bloodlines and I would encourage DMs to open up to allowing them to manifest, particularly if you are allowing Changlings, Kalashtars, Khoravars, Shifters, and Warforged. Also, some of the old Dragonmarked subspecies might still be character options. They haven't been updated or explicitly excluded in the book at Chapter 2 even says to consult with your DM and choose the version you prefer (I am not sure why you wouldn't take the updated version; there may be an edge case where the older Shifter or Warforged is better.).

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

If we acknowledge, that Eberron exists within the default D&D planar setting and can be accessed via Sigil

What are you even talking about?

If you're playing Curse of Strahd, or Phandelver and Below, or Tomb of Annihilation, or even a homebrew campaign set in Faerun, you're not playing an Eberron campaign -- regardless of the hypothetical existence of Sigil in the larger cosmology

If you need some sort of textual guidance though, it's right there in the opening sentence of the description of dragonmarks

Dragonmarks are mysterious and magical symbols that appear on the skin of some people across Khorvaire.

Is your character from Khorvaire? No? Then they shouldn't have a dragonmark

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

If we acknowledge, that Eberron exists within the default D&D planar setting and can be accessed via Sigil

What are you even talking about?

If you're playing Curse of Strahd, or Phandelver and Below, or Tomb of Annihilation, or even a homebrew campaign set in Faerun, you're not playing an Eberron campaign -- regardless of the hypothetical existence of Sigil in the larger cosmology

Of course you are. Your DM is free is deny access to the book as always, in whole or in part. Whether because the content is not being used or they don't want Eberron lineages (such as characters with Dragonmarks) in their game. The DM decides how much, if any, Eberron is present in their campaign. We have official material that has already described Eberron in other settings. I don't recall the exact source, but I assume it was the Planescape books. Similarly, I don't need WotC to publish a "Forgotten Realms Campaign" prerequisite on Harpers to decide if they can appear in Eberron. It's a silly prerequisite.

Quote from AntonSirius >>

If you need some sort of textual guidance though, it's right there in the opening sentence of the description of dragonmarks

Dragonmarks are mysterious and magical symbols that appear on the skin of some people across Khorvaire.

Is your character from Khorvaire? No? Then they shouldn't have a dragonmark

This doesn't define what an Eberron campaign is and Dragonmarks appear on other continents. They are passed down by bloodlines, not geographical locations.

As a DM, I will ignore it and decide for myself if they are present, for Dragonmarks and Harpers, regardless of geographic and planar location.

In any case, this is off topic and you agreed that reskinning the Dragonmark was a good idea, so how about we take this discussion elsewhere if you want to continue?

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Quote from SmiteMakesRight_3_5 >>

If we acknowledge, that Eberron exists within the default D&D planar setting and can be accessed via Sigil

What are you even talking about?

If you're playing Curse of Strahd, or Phandelver and Below, or Tomb of Annihilation, or even a homebrew campaign set in Faerun, you're not playing an Eberron campaign -- regardless of the hypothetical existence of Sigil in the larger cosmology

Of course you are.

Good luck to you in your attempts to convince a DM that Phandelver is actually an Eberron campaign

Claiming that Eberron is the same campaign setting as Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft because they take place in the same multiverse is like claiming that the United States and Zimbabwe are the same country because they're both on the same planet.

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

Claiming that Eberron is the same campaign setting as Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft because they take place in the same multiverse is like claiming that the United States and Zimbabwe are the same country because they're both on the same planet.

No, it's like saying you can have an immigrant from Zimbabwe or someone of Zimbabwean descent in the United States because they are on the same planet. 

Quote from AntonSirius >>

Good luck to you in your attempts to convince a DM that Phandelver is actually an Eberron campaign

I appreciate your concern (for my players, I guess?), but I am already convinced.

Also, I found references. It was to Vi, Jeremy Crawford's Dragonmarked Gnome Artillerist in Acquisitions Incorporated and Forgotten Realms campaigns. She's mentioned in, at least:

• Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (She's even pictured in Chapter 1)
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.
• In the 2024 DMG Lore Glossary.
• Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel.
• A quote in the Monster Manual (as "Vi, an Artificer of Eberron")
• Less weight here: Artificers & Alchemy as the sample Artificer. When this finally came out, my son had already lost intertest in the book series.
• No weight here, but interesting: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms Spotlight (has an interesting write up of the character, but, again, it has no weight here).

So, we have a canon example of the world of Eberron being linked to other planes AND a Dragonmark outside of Eberron. If it is important for you to continue the discussion, let's do it in another thread.

Also, as an aside, Eberron and Planescape are two of my wife's and my favorite settings and have been fans since DiTerlizzi illustrated Planescape in 2e and Eberron released in 3.5.