I realize they is touching on Warlock territory but hear me out. A character who takes a Dark Bargain and ends up with a symbiotic being that happens to be a fallen angel/devil. This being is essentially the character magical tutor/teacher. He doesn’t gain instant power like a warlock but instead the symbiotic being whispers in his ear, instructs him how to cast spells and provides instruction on magical matters via a mindscape similar to the dreams and thing in the heads of the characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 or Lasciel’s shadow in Harry Dresdens mind in the Dresden Files. What do you guys think? Is this a good idea or is it too far in the warlock realm?
The beauty of D&D is almost everything you can imagine can be brought to life. I think your idea is totally viable if you pick the right Wizard subclass. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the Order of Scribes subclass with their Awakened Spellbook ability.
This seems perfectly fine as a Wizard backstory; classes are lot less tied down thematically in 5th edition, and you can change how most things are described, so while Warlock is the obvious class for any kind of "pact" it doesn't mean that it's the only choice. If the voice whispering in your ear from mechanus for example, then you could just as easily go Artificer, or Clockwork Soul Sorcerer etc; the choice of class/sub-class is more about what game mechanics best support the character idea you want to go for. Warlock fits best when you want a character whose power actually belongs to someone or something else, but that's not what you're describing here.
I agree with ThelonelyMagi that Order of Scribes could be a good fit for this idea, with the awakened spellbook somewhat standing in for the tutor entity.
Narratively you might still consider this to be some form of pact, i.e- you may need to do something in return for the tutor you've received, so they may urge you to fulfil your end of whatever the bargain was, but there are absolutely wizards who end up in that kind of situation (making deals with things they perhaps shouldn't have in exchange for power).
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I realize they is touching on Warlock territory but hear me out. A character who takes a Dark Bargain and ends up with a symbiotic being that happens to be a fallen angel/devil. This being is essentially the character magical tutor/teacher. He doesn’t gain instant power like a warlock but instead the symbiotic being whispers in his ear, instructs him how to cast spells and provides instruction on magical matters via a mindscape similar to the dreams and thing in the heads of the characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 or Lasciel’s shadow in Harry Dresdens mind in the Dresden Files. What do you guys think? Is this a good idea or is it too far in the warlock realm?
The beauty of D&D is almost everything you can imagine can be brought to life. I think your idea is totally viable if you pick the right Wizard subclass. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the Order of Scribes subclass with their Awakened Spellbook ability.
This seems perfectly fine as a Wizard backstory; classes are lot less tied down thematically in 5th edition, and you can change how most things are described, so while Warlock is the obvious class for any kind of "pact" it doesn't mean that it's the only choice. If the voice whispering in your ear from mechanus for example, then you could just as easily go Artificer, or Clockwork Soul Sorcerer etc; the choice of class/sub-class is more about what game mechanics best support the character idea you want to go for. Warlock fits best when you want a character whose power actually belongs to someone or something else, but that's not what you're describing here.
I agree with ThelonelyMagi that Order of Scribes could be a good fit for this idea, with the awakened spellbook somewhat standing in for the tutor entity.
Narratively you might still consider this to be some form of pact, i.e- you may need to do something in return for the tutor you've received, so they may urge you to fulfil your end of whatever the bargain was, but there are absolutely wizards who end up in that kind of situation (making deals with things they perhaps shouldn't have in exchange for power).
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.