I'm getting ready to run a campaign in Matthew Mercer's Wildemount setting, and would appreciate any advice on how to roleplay interactions between a Warlock and their patron, as well as the overall relationship between the two.
Depends on the Warlock Patron generally you would just actually talk, (Also depending on the Alignment and relationship with the Patron). Eg. You are a Cultist for Vecna, you act as a herald, continue to spread Vecna's name and reverence in anyway, he may or may not give you a boon. Warlocks need coordination with the DM specially regarding Patron because your Patron will generally be you talking to your DM, so communicate your relationship Ideas with your Patron and expedite on that as you level up or roleplay. It depends there's no way to tell; (You don't have to be good at it, just generally talking). Also you might need to roll upon wanting to talk to your patron.
You should really talk with your DM about it, as well. There are DMs out there who don't bother doing much, if anything with a warlock and their patron. Just make sure its going to happen before you invest a lot of time in how you plan to make it happen.
And if you already know that its going to happen, maybe ask your DM for a mini session 0.5 or something, where you can play out exactly how you made the pact. Because a lot of what you do is going to depend on how your DM is playing your patron. So even a quick 10-15 minute or so talk can help you understand that side of the equation, and will really help you figure things out.
I'm actually the DM in this situation; I was really wondering about what sort of missions the player's patron (played by me) might ask for, but I definitely still appreciate the insight.
The warlock in my party is a fathomless, and I had the idea of creating a demigod-level merfolk to be his patron. Since I don't want this patron to be inherently evil, maybe the merfolk is a follower of the Wild Mother and is looking for minions to help keep the ocean's evil forces in check. A fun twist would be that this merfolk has become blinded by bloodlust and is intent on eradicating the various "evil" races, e.g. sahuagin, instead of just maintaining a balance.
If you want a twist for a merfolk, then have the patron turn out to be Lakhovas (wiki here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iakhovas) who is a servant of Sekolah the God fo the Sahuagin and otherwise known as 'he who swims with Sekolah', in the Wildmount setting he could be an entity similar in power to Uk'otoa or maybe he's just plane hopping trying to find new hunting grounds for Sekolah and picking up Warlocks along the way.
I'm actually the DM in this situation; I was really wondering about what sort of missions the player's patron (played by me) might ask for, but I definitely still appreciate the insight.
The warlock in my party is a fathomless, and I had the idea of creating a demigod-level merfolk to be his patron. Since I don't want this patron to be inherently evil, maybe the merfolk is a follower of the Wild Mother and is looking for minions to help keep the ocean's evil forces in check. A fun twist would be that this merfolk has become blinded by bloodlust and is intent on eradicating the various "evil" races, e.g. sahuagin, instead of just maintaining a balance.
Patrons can be as meddling, or as hands off, as both you and the player are comfortable with. A fathomless patron in particular is a good fit to keep sidelined if the party is mostly on land, but then as soon as they get near the ocean...
In terms of interactions, I'm a big fan of using dreams to try and push the player in a certain direction if the patron feels they're "off course", rather than having them show up in person to have a chat with their warlock. Strange omens that only the warlock recognizes can be fun too. My general approach is, if the patron can just show up in the world and do stuff, what do they need the warlock for? There needs to be some reason they require an agent/intermediary
In terms of your specific idea, a patron who becomes corrupted and might need to be rescued/saved/restored down the road is a great plot seed. At lower levels they just want the warlock to gain power to handle bigger jobs in the future, maybe settle a dispute between rival undersea factions or something like that. Later on, when the (re)quests become darker and seemingly more evil, the player might be faced with some dilemmas
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)
If you want a twist for a merfolk, then have the patron turn out to be Lakhovas (wiki here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iakhovas) who is a servant of Sekolah the God fo the Sahuagin and otherwise known as 'he who swims with Sekolah', in the Wildmount setting he could be an entity similar in power to Uk'otoa or maybe he's just plane hopping trying to find new hunting grounds for Sekolah and picking up Warlocks along the way.
If you want a twist for a merfolk, then have the patron turn out to be Lakhovas (wiki here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iakhovas) who is a servant of Sekolah the God fo the Sahuagin and otherwise known as 'he who swims with Sekolah', in the Wildmount setting he could be an entity similar in power to Uk'otoa or maybe he's just plane hopping trying to find new hunting grounds for Sekolah and picking up Warlocks along the way.
Wouldn't that be an evil patron and an hereditary enemy of Tritons?
Lakhovas would be evil but as per post #4 the OP mentioned having a twist and maybe having the warlock be more bloodthirsty, so you have an evil patron such as Lakhovas appearing as a merfolk or triton or some other 'goodly' sea faring race and using their warlocks to wage war against a rival evil power, in the wildmont case likely Uk'otoa, and having it revealed at some timely jucture that the patron isn't as benevolant as it would seem could create some tension for the player to consider. Given Lakhovas is also a wereshark (specifically a megaladon) then this could also be used to explain the warlocks new found blood thirsty side.
"The warlock in my party is a fathomless, and I had the idea of creating a demigod-level merfolk to be his patron. Since I don't want this patron to be inherently evil, maybe the merfolk is a follower of the Wild Mother and is looking for minions to help keep the ocean's evil forces in check. A fun twist would be that this merfolk has become blinded by bloodlust and is intent on eradicating the various "evil" races, e.g. sahuagin, instead of just maintaining a balance."
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I'm getting ready to run a campaign in Matthew Mercer's Wildemount setting, and would appreciate any advice on how to roleplay interactions between a Warlock and their patron, as well as the overall relationship between the two.
Depends on the Warlock Patron generally you would just actually talk, (Also depending on the Alignment and relationship with the Patron). Eg. You are a Cultist for Vecna, you act as a herald, continue to spread Vecna's name and reverence in anyway, he may or may not give you a boon. Warlocks need coordination with the DM specially regarding Patron because your Patron will generally be you talking to your DM, so communicate your relationship Ideas with your Patron and expedite on that as you level up or roleplay. It depends there's no way to tell; (You don't have to be good at it, just generally talking). Also you might need to roll upon wanting to talk to your patron.
You should really talk with your DM about it, as well. There are DMs out there who don't bother doing much, if anything with a warlock and their patron. Just make sure its going to happen before you invest a lot of time in how you plan to make it happen.
And if you already know that its going to happen, maybe ask your DM for a mini session 0.5 or something, where you can play out exactly how you made the pact. Because a lot of what you do is going to depend on how your DM is playing your patron. So even a quick 10-15 minute or so talk can help you understand that side of the equation, and will really help you figure things out.
I'm actually the DM in this situation; I was really wondering about what sort of missions the player's patron (played by me) might ask for, but I definitely still appreciate the insight.
The warlock in my party is a fathomless, and I had the idea of creating a demigod-level merfolk to be his patron. Since I don't want this patron to be inherently evil, maybe the merfolk is a follower of the Wild Mother and is looking for minions to help keep the ocean's evil forces in check. A fun twist would be that this merfolk has become blinded by bloodlust and is intent on eradicating the various "evil" races, e.g. sahuagin, instead of just maintaining a balance.
If you want a twist for a merfolk, then have the patron turn out to be Lakhovas (wiki here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iakhovas) who is a servant of Sekolah the God fo the Sahuagin and otherwise known as 'he who swims with Sekolah', in the Wildmount setting he could be an entity similar in power to Uk'otoa or maybe he's just plane hopping trying to find new hunting grounds for Sekolah and picking up Warlocks along the way.
As a bit of shameless self promotion, here's a link to a Marid genie I use in my cmapaign that might give you another alternative: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/125824-the-smugglers-of-cunlussaghamath
Patrons can be as meddling, or as hands off, as both you and the player are comfortable with. A fathomless patron in particular is a good fit to keep sidelined if the party is mostly on land, but then as soon as they get near the ocean...
In terms of interactions, I'm a big fan of using dreams to try and push the player in a certain direction if the patron feels they're "off course", rather than having them show up in person to have a chat with their warlock. Strange omens that only the warlock recognizes can be fun too. My general approach is, if the patron can just show up in the world and do stuff, what do they need the warlock for? There needs to be some reason they require an agent/intermediary
In terms of your specific idea, a patron who becomes corrupted and might need to be rescued/saved/restored down the road is a great plot seed. At lower levels they just want the warlock to gain power to handle bigger jobs in the future, maybe settle a dispute between rival undersea factions or something like that. Later on, when the (re)quests become darker and seemingly more evil, the player might be faced with some dilemmas
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)
Wouldn't that be an evil patron and an hereditary enemy of Tritons?
Lakhovas would be evil but as per post #4 the OP mentioned having a twist and maybe having the warlock be more bloodthirsty, so you have an evil patron such as Lakhovas appearing as a merfolk or triton or some other 'goodly' sea faring race and using their warlocks to wage war against a rival evil power, in the wildmont case likely Uk'otoa, and having it revealed at some timely jucture that the patron isn't as benevolant as it would seem could create some tension for the player to consider. Given Lakhovas is also a wereshark (specifically a megaladon) then this could also be used to explain the warlocks new found blood thirsty side.
"The warlock in my party is a fathomless, and I had the idea of creating a demigod-level merfolk to be his patron. Since I don't want this patron to be inherently evil, maybe the merfolk is a follower of the Wild Mother and is looking for minions to help keep the ocean's evil forces in check. A fun twist would be that this merfolk has become blinded by bloodlust and is intent on eradicating the various "evil" races, e.g. sahuagin, instead of just maintaining a balance."