I'm making up a Celestial pact warlock, and am trying to come up with various ways such a deal would be struck. I don't like the thought of a good aligned being giving power to someone or possibly saving their life only out of desire for a pawn. I feel there should be more to it than that, but would like help. The type of celestial I'd likely prefer is a unicorn or kirin. Beyond that I can say I was thinking this guy would be a poor guy, from a very impoverished life.
Your Celestial knows they cannot stop all the evils in the world alone, so they lends their power to those they find worthy: creatures who wish to stop unnecessary war, stand up to tyranny, and defend the innocent.
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Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
Poor person goes into the forest to hunt for some food. They find the Unicorn wounded and starving. Even though he doesn't have much, he still aids the unicorn, giving her food and water and tending to the wound. The unicorn in gratitude grants the poor person a fraction of her power.
I'm making up a Celestial pact warlock, and am trying to come up with various ways such a deal would be struck. I don't like the thought of a good aligned being giving power to someone or possibly saving their life only out of desire for a pawn. I feel there should be more to it than that, but would like help. The type of celestial I'd likely prefer is a unicorn or kirin. Beyond that I can say I was thinking this guy would be a poor guy, from a very impoverished life.
Some questions to consider, which might help you find a story line you like:
1. Did your character seek out this celestial patron, or did they seek you out?
Figuring this out goes a long way towards determining what sort of relationship you have. If you sought out the patron, there must have been a very important and compelling reason -- creatures like ki-rin and unicorns are notoriously difficult to track down, and finding one is generally a whole quest on its own. On the other hand, if they sought you out. what makes you so special that they chose you to be their agent in the world?
2. What is your mission?
"Defeating evil" is fine and all, but it's better if you have something a little more concrete. Think of something along the lines of a paladin's oaths. Is there a specific cause or group or ideal you are supposed to be championing, or trying to eradicate from the world?
Also, is this mission your mission, or your patron's, or both? Maybe you came to them for a completely different reason, but taking up this mission is the price you have to pay to get that other thing once you prove yourself worthy. Maybe giving you these powers to take up the mission isn't actually the endgame for your patron at all, and they have some other reason for doing it, one which you aren't ready to hear yet...
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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)
Mine works for a member of the Court of the Stars. Said member wants information on what is going on the prime material. The deal is for her to explore as widely as possible and at times investigate what she finds.
Since the patron wants to see what goes on there he replaced her eye with one he can see with as well.
I'm playing a warlock with a low wisdom who thinks he made a pact with a fiend but messed up the ritual and in fact made a pact with a celestial (specifically a couatl). He thinks he's on the path to achieving ULTIMATE POWER but his patron is secretly guiding him to a more benevolent path.
"Taste my HELLISH FIRE!" (angelic radiance - aka sacred flame - shines down on the target).
You can have some nice twists with the right approach. For example, maybe your patron revived you because someone or something interfered with the course of your destiny in a way that shouldn't have happened, or you were their best option for the task they could find in a race against the clock.
For example, in Armenian mythology, there is a creature called the Aralez. The Aralez is described as a winged dog that descends from the heavens to revive fallen heroes by licking their wounds; they're basically a reverse hellhound but just a lot more powerful. So, what if you were revived by an Aralez because it saw you were destined to be a great hero needed for a coming crisis? And it also allowed you to form a pact with it so that it could both help guide you towards the destiny it sees and keep an eye out for things that could end your journey prematurely. In Korean mythology, there is a creature called the Imoogi, it's described as a great celestial serpent that has the potential to become a dragon with the help of a celestial treasure that emerges every few centuries, and the Imoogi made a pact with your character because something happened to the treasure it was one of the candidates to be a dragon, so it intervened in your life and made the pact with you to set you on the task of learning what you can about the treasure and its whereabouts.
I've made an Oath of Vengeance Paladin that is dipping into Celestial Pact Warlock. He gets contacted by a Solar, who, while impressed with his actions and devotion to protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty, would prefer he used, well, less extreme methods, and is offering him enhanced powers, both healing and to attack at range and with more options, if he promises to, quote, "tone things down just a little".
Well, you probably ought to frequent a place where a Celestial might linger such as a temple or a shrine dedicated to a good-aligned deity, or be employed as a healing assistant at a good-aligned temple that also doubles as a House of Healing. When you do attract the Celestial's attention, it is best to be pure of heart and pure of mind, otherwise the Celestial will simply depart.
When you do attract the Celestial's attention, it is best to be pure of heart and pure of mind, otherwise the Celestial will simply depart.
Perhaps just the opposite. Religion is often about converting the sinners, not the faithful. Evil is often about corrupting the holy, not the already evil.
When you do attract the Celestial's attention, it is best to be pure of heart and pure of mind, otherwise the Celestial will simply depart.
Perhaps just the opposite. Religion is often about converting the sinners, not the faithful. Evil is often about corrupting the holy, not the already evil.
Perhaps you are thinking of how Saul the Persecutor of early Christians was knocked off his horse and remade into the great Apostle Paul? Perhaps but you will essentially squander any benefit that your character's background might have given you.
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I'm making up a Celestial pact warlock, and am trying to come up with various ways such a deal would be struck. I don't like the thought of a good aligned being giving power to someone or possibly saving their life only out of desire for a pawn. I feel there should be more to it than that, but would like help. The type of celestial I'd likely prefer is a unicorn or kirin. Beyond that I can say I was thinking this guy would be a poor guy, from a very impoverished life.
Your Celestial knows they cannot stop all the evils in the world alone, so they lends their power to those they find worthy: creatures who wish to stop unnecessary war, stand up to tyranny, and defend the innocent.
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPmyTI0tZ6nM-bzY0IG3ww
Poor person goes into the forest to hunt for some food. They find the Unicorn wounded and starving. Even though he doesn't have much, he still aids the unicorn, giving her food and water and tending to the wound. The unicorn in gratitude grants the poor person a fraction of her power.
I am also here.
Am snek.
Hm, seems I was overthinking some of my ideas, apparently it's a lot simpler than I thought XD .
Some questions to consider, which might help you find a story line you like:
1. Did your character seek out this celestial patron, or did they seek you out?
Figuring this out goes a long way towards determining what sort of relationship you have. If you sought out the patron, there must have been a very important and compelling reason -- creatures like ki-rin and unicorns are notoriously difficult to track down, and finding one is generally a whole quest on its own. On the other hand, if they sought you out. what makes you so special that they chose you to be their agent in the world?
2. What is your mission?
"Defeating evil" is fine and all, but it's better if you have something a little more concrete. Think of something along the lines of a paladin's oaths. Is there a specific cause or group or ideal you are supposed to be championing, or trying to eradicate from the world?
Also, is this mission your mission, or your patron's, or both? Maybe you came to them for a completely different reason, but taking up this mission is the price you have to pay to get that other thing once you prove yourself worthy. Maybe giving you these powers to take up the mission isn't actually the endgame for your patron at all, and they have some other reason for doing it, one which you aren't ready to hear yet...
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)
Mine works for a member of the Court of the Stars. Said member wants information on what is going on the prime material. The deal is for her to explore as widely as possible and at times investigate what she finds.
Since the patron wants to see what goes on there he replaced her eye with one he can see with as well.
I'm playing a warlock with a low wisdom who thinks he made a pact with a fiend but messed up the ritual and in fact made a pact with a celestial (specifically a couatl). He thinks he's on the path to achieving ULTIMATE POWER but his patron is secretly guiding him to a more benevolent path.
"Taste my HELLISH FIRE!" (angelic radiance - aka sacred flame - shines down on the target).
I'd like to be a Celestial Warlock that mostly uses Sacred Flame but sadly the math wouldn't work out so well damage wise.
Don't worry about it. Do it anyways. I swap between EB with AB and Sacred Flame a lot. Sometimes its nice to trigger a save instead of a to hit.
Evil pacts are often about corruption; celestial pact could be about reform.
A very impoverished poor guy might have lead a life of crime...
You can have some nice twists with the right approach. For example, maybe your patron revived you because someone or something interfered with the course of your destiny in a way that shouldn't have happened, or you were their best option for the task they could find in a race against the clock.
For example, in Armenian mythology, there is a creature called the Aralez. The Aralez is described as a winged dog that descends from the heavens to revive fallen heroes by licking their wounds; they're basically a reverse hellhound but just a lot more powerful. So, what if you were revived by an Aralez because it saw you were destined to be a great hero needed for a coming crisis? And it also allowed you to form a pact with it so that it could both help guide you towards the destiny it sees and keep an eye out for things that could end your journey prematurely. In Korean mythology, there is a creature called the Imoogi, it's described as a great celestial serpent that has the potential to become a dragon with the help of a celestial treasure that emerges every few centuries, and the Imoogi made a pact with your character because something happened to the treasure it was one of the candidates to be a dragon, so it intervened in your life and made the pact with you to set you on the task of learning what you can about the treasure and its whereabouts.
I've made an Oath of Vengeance Paladin that is dipping into Celestial Pact Warlock. He gets contacted by a Solar, who, while impressed with his actions and devotion to protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty, would prefer he used, well, less extreme methods, and is offering him enhanced powers, both healing and to attack at range and with more options, if he promises to, quote, "tone things down just a little".
How do you attract the attention of a Celestial?
Well, you probably ought to frequent a place where a Celestial might linger such as a temple or a shrine dedicated to a good-aligned deity, or be employed as a healing assistant at a good-aligned temple that also doubles as a House of Healing. When you do attract the Celestial's attention, it is best to be pure of heart and pure of mind, otherwise the Celestial will simply depart.
Perhaps just the opposite. Religion is often about converting the sinners, not the faithful. Evil is often about corrupting the holy, not the already evil.
Perhaps you are thinking of how Saul the Persecutor of early Christians was knocked off his horse and remade into the great Apostle Paul? Perhaps but you will essentially squander any benefit that your character's background might have given you.