Hexblade Warlocks make Pacts with mysterious entities from the Shadowfell – a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting. While the Hexblade Patron can make for some super-nasty bladelocks, I like the idea of nasty, hexing Chainlocks or Tomelocks.
I choose Baba Yaga - the most powerful of all hags - for my Chainlock. She is an interesting Patron who can act both kind and matronly and malicious and foul. She offers her patronage to warlocks who may be called upon to complete quests that can be either nefarious or noble: i.e. to strike down and punish her ememies or to answer the calls of a maiden under distress.
So what is your Hexblade Patron? And what do they want form you?
I have a character who made a pact with an Elder kraken, they are rarely seen as they keep roaming the astral plane, into the shadowfell and sometimes they visit the water plane. As these things go, they choose a warlock to be their eyes and ears to find a way into the material plane. Reason? no one knows. In general, they ask you to drown yourself at the end of each day, place an offering ranging from books of knowledge to forms of sacrifice.
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Born under the watch of something from the furthest corners of the far realms.... It knows all.... it sees all... and it asks: "What is it that you want to see?"... and my answer is... ALL"
My Hexblade Tomelock's patron is a pirate captain that got cursed causing their soul to be bound to a magic item, still figuring out what the item is. The tome she carries is a copy of the Pirata Codex. As far as his goal, it's to help her become a great Pirate Lord.
I ended up going Archfey with Jack, my Half-elf Tome Warlock, but I was considering Hexblade first, and his patron was essentially his Tome itself, which contains the collected knowledge of several previous owners, including his late grandfather. His grandfather, after whom he was named, was a human who won the affection of an Archfey princess in his youth, and was blessed with long life and good luck, but was secretly cursed by a Fey prince who was jealous of his relationship with the princess. Eventually the curse got him and his good luck wasn't enough to save him, and he disapeared, along with his magical Tome, and several other powerful items.
Jack was raised in a village in the Feywild, near a crossing with the material plane and with an entry into the Feydark. His father was a guardian of the Feydark entry, and his mother a tailor and witch. Jack grew up with pixies and satyrs for friends, centaur and hamadryads for tutors, and all the danger and wonder of the world of the Fey as his back yard. Through many adventures, he ended up in the employ of the same Archfey who had once blessed his grandfather (though he didn't know that at the time) as a Watcher of The Night, during which time he was sent to investigate the disappearance of a fellow Watcher on the enigmatic Isle of Dread. He found his compatriot, saved him from yuan-ti, and in the process found an old Tome bound in blue leather so dark is appeared black, with a vaguely familiar insignia on it's cover, a cane of black walnut with a silver ferrule and wolf's head, and a perfect obsidian orb the size of a halfling's head. He and his companion took the items, and fled, only to run into some manner of monstrosity created by the yuan-ti, as it was trying to eat a litter of winged black caracal kittens. They saved the kittens, killed the monster, and fled the island. Jack kept the book and cane, and his companion took the orb, which Jack did not trust, but chose to trust his friend's judgement.
Upon returning, his employer revealed that the cane and book had belonged to the older Jack, and that the orb was an artifact that Jack the Elder had hidden away for safe keeping, because it was dangerous. The other Watcher overheard this, and fled before the orb could be taken from him, wounding three of his brothers in the process when they questioned why he was sneaking away so suddenly.
As a Hexblade, the idea was that the book had gained a semblance of sentience from it's previous owners, and was guiding Jack toward greater understanding. The cane was mostly a device to model thematically what is happening when he casts Shillelagh. The book wants Jack to find his grandfather, and has clues to Jack the Elder not being dead, but trapped somewhere on another plane of existence.
Short term, it wants him to grow and learn, to master it's secrets and add new ones. He has already mastered a few secrets, represented by his off-class cantrips and FInd Familiar and Detect Magic rituals. His flying black caracal Familiar, Soot, is just a reflavored Owl familiar.
If I'd stuck with Hexblade, I'd have reflavored some stuff, especially the level 6 ability. He would be stealing and animating people's shadows temporarily, rather than engaging in necromancy. As it is, he is a warlock take on the classic Jack from fairy tales, who has found a magic book that tells him secrets, and is looking for his lost grandfather in the wider world.
Which, unfortunately, has lead him to the land of Barovia...
Ok great backstory! So what's the story behind the orb?
I don't know yet! Something dark enough for Jack the Elder to go to great lengths and take great risks to avoid, and something that my patron/boss doesn't seem to want to share everything about just yet. I only know that it is powerful, dangerous, has a corrupting influence, and is in the hands of someone that is already seemingly being influenced by it, and who is of a bloodline that gives him the potential to rise to the status of an Archfey, even without the orb.
So, not quite a "Galadriel took the Ring" situation, but possibly something like a "Elrond took the Ring" situation.
Maybe something like Merlin's Grapefruit from the Darktower?
Lol maybe. It'll be up to the DM, ultimately. Part of why I built it in a way where I don't know exactly what it is, is so that she can use it for her own story purposes.
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We do bones, motherf***ker!
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Hexblade Warlocks make Pacts with mysterious entities from the Shadowfell – a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting. While the Hexblade Patron can make for some super-nasty bladelocks, I like the idea of nasty, hexing Chainlocks or Tomelocks.
I choose Baba Yaga - the most powerful of all hags - for my Chainlock. She is an interesting Patron who can act both kind and matronly and malicious and foul. She offers her patronage to warlocks who may be called upon to complete quests that can be either nefarious or noble: i.e. to strike down and punish her ememies or to answer the calls of a maiden under distress.
So what is your Hexblade Patron? And what do they want form you?
I have a character who made a pact with an Elder kraken, they are rarely seen as they keep roaming the astral plane, into the shadowfell and sometimes they visit the water plane. As these things go, they choose a warlock to be their eyes and ears to find a way into the material plane. Reason? no one knows. In general, they ask you to drown yourself at the end of each day, place an offering ranging from books of knowledge to forms of sacrifice.
Born under the watch of something from the furthest corners of the far realms.... It knows all.... it sees all... and it asks: "What is it that you want to see?"... and my answer is... ALL"
A powerful kraken that roams different planes of existence...nice. And your warlock must drown himself each day...that's pretty hardcore.
My Hexblade Tomelock's patron is a pirate captain that got cursed causing their soul to be bound to a magic item, still figuring out what the item is. The tome she carries is a copy of the Pirata Codex. As far as his goal, it's to help her become a great Pirate Lord.
I ended up going Archfey with Jack, my Half-elf Tome Warlock, but I was considering Hexblade first, and his patron was essentially his Tome itself, which contains the collected knowledge of several previous owners, including his late grandfather. His grandfather, after whom he was named, was a human who won the affection of an Archfey princess in his youth, and was blessed with long life and good luck, but was secretly cursed by a Fey prince who was jealous of his relationship with the princess. Eventually the curse got him and his good luck wasn't enough to save him, and he disapeared, along with his magical Tome, and several other powerful items.
Jack was raised in a village in the Feywild, near a crossing with the material plane and with an entry into the Feydark. His father was a guardian of the Feydark entry, and his mother a tailor and witch. Jack grew up with pixies and satyrs for friends, centaur and hamadryads for tutors, and all the danger and wonder of the world of the Fey as his back yard. Through many adventures, he ended up in the employ of the same Archfey who had once blessed his grandfather (though he didn't know that at the time) as a Watcher of The Night, during which time he was sent to investigate the disappearance of a fellow Watcher on the enigmatic Isle of Dread. He found his compatriot, saved him from yuan-ti, and in the process found an old Tome bound in blue leather so dark is appeared black, with a vaguely familiar insignia on it's cover, a cane of black walnut with a silver ferrule and wolf's head, and a perfect obsidian orb the size of a halfling's head. He and his companion took the items, and fled, only to run into some manner of monstrosity created by the yuan-ti, as it was trying to eat a litter of winged black caracal kittens. They saved the kittens, killed the monster, and fled the island. Jack kept the book and cane, and his companion took the orb, which Jack did not trust, but chose to trust his friend's judgement.
Upon returning, his employer revealed that the cane and book had belonged to the older Jack, and that the orb was an artifact that Jack the Elder had hidden away for safe keeping, because it was dangerous. The other Watcher overheard this, and fled before the orb could be taken from him, wounding three of his brothers in the process when they questioned why he was sneaking away so suddenly.
As a Hexblade, the idea was that the book had gained a semblance of sentience from it's previous owners, and was guiding Jack toward greater understanding. The cane was mostly a device to model thematically what is happening when he casts Shillelagh. The book wants Jack to find his grandfather, and has clues to Jack the Elder not being dead, but trapped somewhere on another plane of existence.
Short term, it wants him to grow and learn, to master it's secrets and add new ones. He has already mastered a few secrets, represented by his off-class cantrips and FInd Familiar and Detect Magic rituals. His flying black caracal Familiar, Soot, is just a reflavored Owl familiar.
If I'd stuck with Hexblade, I'd have reflavored some stuff, especially the level 6 ability. He would be stealing and animating people's shadows temporarily, rather than engaging in necromancy. As it is, he is a warlock take on the classic Jack from fairy tales, who has found a magic book that tells him secrets, and is looking for his lost grandfather in the wider world.
Which, unfortunately, has lead him to the land of Barovia...
We do bones, motherf***ker!
Ok great backstory! So what's the story behind the orb?
We do bones, motherf***ker!
Maybe something like Merlin's Grapefruit from the Darktower?
We do bones, motherf***ker!