First time Warlock here, I'm playing a Fairy Warlock whose patron is Queen Titania. Our relationship is a good one so unless the DM throws me a huge curveball I don't think I'll be killing anyone for her. My DM and I have come up with different ways for me to reach out to her but I was wondering what are some of the "basic" things one might ask their Patron.
You could ask her if she has knowledge of certain places, events or people. Especially if you're dealing with other fey. You can also just ask for advice or what she thinks about a course of action. You don't need to involve her in everything, but like just checking in if she's still happy with you and if she has advice to offer should be nice.
It depends what you want to get out of it, and what your DM is happy to allow really.
I used to think of pacts as a deal that is struck, at which point the warlock is mostly left to their own devices so long as they are fulfilling their end of the bargain (harvesting souls, causing mischief etc.), so the amount of interaction a patron would normally have might be quite minor, like causing powers to weaken if the warlock isn't keeping up their end, or providing brief flashes of insight.
However D&D 5e is a lot less restrictive when it comes to deities, patrons etc., so really it comes down to whatever you and your DM agree upon.
For example, if your party has no cleric, and therefore no access to a cleric's "ask god for help spells" like augury, divination, or commune, then they might be happy for your conversations with your patron to give detailed advice on where to go, as this provides them with a plot device whenever the party gets stuck. However, if you do have access to some or all of these spells then they might prefer to keep the patron limited to less directly useful interactions, e.g- they might provide comfort, or general life advice, or communicate what they want from a given situation.
Another option if your party won't have these spells is that your DM could let you add them to your spell list. On D&D Beyond this requires copying your patron (Archfey I assume?) and adding the extra spells to the Additional Specific Spells box under Basic Information, when you select this customised patron you'll then be able to choose those spells if you want them as a mechanical way to interact with your patron while adventuring.
Which brings me to to the other thing to consider which is when can you communicate? Personally I'd probably say that to communicate normally you need to enter some kind of trance during a short or long rest, this is also good mechanically as it avoids putting your DM suddenly on the spot. You could also leave the door open for the DM to give your character brief visions or words of advice as a plot mechanic, e.g- if you're lost in a maze and that's slowing a session down, you might start getting visions of where you should go so you can lead the party out. Your DM might even prefer the "patron initiates the conversation" option as it means they aren't suddenly required to RP the patron, though they always have the option of not answering ("I'm sorry, the patron you dialled is not available right now…").
TL;DR Ask your DM, find out how freeform or structured the two of you want it to be, and think about how it might fit in with the rest of the party.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
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First time Warlock here, I'm playing a Fairy Warlock whose patron is Queen Titania. Our relationship is a good one so unless the DM throws me a huge curveball I don't think I'll be killing anyone for her. My DM and I have come up with different ways for me to reach out to her but I was wondering what are some of the "basic" things one might ask their Patron.
You could ask her if she has knowledge of certain places, events or people. Especially if you're dealing with other fey. You can also just ask for advice or what she thinks about a course of action. You don't need to involve her in everything, but like just checking in if she's still happy with you and if she has advice to offer should be nice.
I am also here.
Am snek.
It depends what you want to get out of it, and what your DM is happy to allow really.
I used to think of pacts as a deal that is struck, at which point the warlock is mostly left to their own devices so long as they are fulfilling their end of the bargain (harvesting souls, causing mischief etc.), so the amount of interaction a patron would normally have might be quite minor, like causing powers to weaken if the warlock isn't keeping up their end, or providing brief flashes of insight.
However D&D 5e is a lot less restrictive when it comes to deities, patrons etc., so really it comes down to whatever you and your DM agree upon.
For example, if your party has no cleric, and therefore no access to a cleric's "ask god for help spells" like augury, divination, or commune, then they might be happy for your conversations with your patron to give detailed advice on where to go, as this provides them with a plot device whenever the party gets stuck. However, if you do have access to some or all of these spells then they might prefer to keep the patron limited to less directly useful interactions, e.g- they might provide comfort, or general life advice, or communicate what they want from a given situation.
Another option if your party won't have these spells is that your DM could let you add them to your spell list. On D&D Beyond this requires copying your patron (Archfey I assume?) and adding the extra spells to the Additional Specific Spells box under Basic Information, when you select this customised patron you'll then be able to choose those spells if you want them as a mechanical way to interact with your patron while adventuring.
Which brings me to to the other thing to consider which is when can you communicate? Personally I'd probably say that to communicate normally you need to enter some kind of trance during a short or long rest, this is also good mechanically as it avoids putting your DM suddenly on the spot. You could also leave the door open for the DM to give your character brief visions or words of advice as a plot mechanic, e.g- if you're lost in a maze and that's slowing a session down, you might start getting visions of where you should go so you can lead the party out. Your DM might even prefer the "patron initiates the conversation" option as it means they aren't suddenly required to RP the patron, though they always have the option of not answering ("I'm sorry, the patron you dialled is not available right now…").
TL;DR
Ask your DM, find out how freeform or structured the two of you want it to be, and think about how it might fit in with the rest of the party.
Sounds like it should be a fun character to play!
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.