D&D 5E Warlocks & Patrons

[Cap'n Kobold]

Undying patron as in Undying Light? Or The Undying from . . . SCAG? Is that basically undead-based powers, or just making the Warlock really hard to kill?

What race is the character?

What was the specific evil that he has sworn his Oath of Vengeance against?

Now, "Lost or forgotten Goddess" that he is married to sparks a number of ideas. (None of which are actual goddesses of course, but the character doesn't have to know that.) Was the marriage made in person? Is that what gives him his powers? Why did the paladin turn against his wife after they were married?

The best way of fitting this into Eberron I think would be a Paladin of the Blood of Vol. The idea of an Undying Warlock is pretty much Blood of Vol all over. The Paladin could be a follower of that religion, on their way to becoming one of the undead martyrs. His Patron is Vol, who he has/will turn against when he discovered that she was using the religion as a front for her own machinations.

That covers the Lost/Forgotten Goddess quite nicely. Those who choose to become undead martyrs could be known as the "Consorts of Vol" and by symbolically married as part of their ceremony, allowing Vol to influence them and slowly turn them into undead. (Covering the married bit.) A true follower of the religion would be horrified to discover the truth about Vol, (covering the rebellion against the patron bit) and might indeed swear a Blood Oath of Vengeance against her. Hence why Paladin.

 

[Mirtek]

I don't think that a patron necessarily has the power to withdraw power once it's given. At least note remotely, but if his other agents manage to capture the rogure warlock and bring him back before his patron, then .....

I do think however that at least the continuous existence of the patron is necessary, if he is ever destroyed, so goes the power of all his warlocks no matter where the are.

Like in the Slayer's universe, where the top-fiends enable the working of certain spells just through the imprint their mere existence forces on the fabric of reality. Although they in no way controll who gets to cast this spells (however they themselves are at least immune to them), if they are ever killed those spells die with them.

 

[DeanP]

I know very little about the Eberron setting but I've a few ideas how to handle this in general terms. First, employ the ole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The warlock/paladin's patron shares a common foe of the warlock/paladin, and the patron needs servants to deal with it. Maybe a lich who broke a deal with the patron or has something the patron wanted, and this lich is responsible for causing the calamity that caused the paladin to swear his oath. Make the Lich suitably powerful enough that it cannot be dealt with until the warlock/paladin is 16+ levels. You can build towards the inevitable conflict while running whatever other story arcs you have planned. It doesn't have to be a lich, but something that can't be easily dispatched will suffice.

Assuming you intend to run the characters through 20 levels, you might want to consider a "capstone" event for the Warlock/Paladin. The nature of the pact is its a contract, and both sides have to honor it; the patron provides the magical powers, the signatory provides service. Should the Warlock/Paladin break that deal, perhaps it triggers the final confrontation between the patron and the character.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

Yes.

Hrm. Well. I guess the impression I'm getting is that you have a different idea of what he should be doing versus what he wants to do. And that appears to bother you enough that you feel the need to single him out for "consequences".

I suggest you just tell him flat out its your game and that he need to play the character the way you want him to or he should just find another table.

Problem solved either way.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

That's pretty much how I am seeing it. Where the relationship may be antagonistic, the Warlock should not expect to be openly defiant and resistant and still receive power. Unless maybe some of the things others have mentioned (basically Patron is screwing with the Warlock and "all is going according to plan").

But I still do not like the Patron being a god. It's all going to be a lie, and the player will have to deal with that.

Maybe I just forgot, but what other PCs are there in the group? Any clerics or paladins? How do you normally handle their class features?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

(I didn't read the rest of the thread, so this has probably already been stated.)

The game is very loose on how your connection to your patron is conceptualized. A perfectly valid way to play it is that once you forge your pact you are permanently imbued with eldritch powers. You patron could be annihilated and it wouldn't affect you one bit.

With this interpretation, the patron has no ongoing mystical hold over you. If you don't live up to whatever agreement you may have made with it, it is up to your patron to decide what to do about it.

While some people might not like that interpretation, I find it highly superior for a variety of reasons.

 

[Ancalagon]

What consequences are the other PCs being asked to potentially deal with in exchange for their class features?

erm... If a cleric of the goddess of healing and mercy goes around murdering babies, if a druid burns down forests and poison rivers... they might be losing their powers.

Some characters get their powers from rigorous training. Others... make deals with powerful entities. The exact nature of the entity shapes the powers granted.

 

[Icharbezol]

Undying patron as in Undying Light? Or The Undying from . . . SCAG? Is that basically undead-based powers, or just making the Warlock really hard to kill?

What race is the character?

What was the specific evil that he has sworn his Oath of Vengeance against?

Now, "Lost or forgotten Goddess" that he is married to sparks a number of ideas. (None of which are actual goddesses of course, but the character doesn't have to know that.) Was the marriage made in person? Is that what gives him his powers? Why did the paladin turn against his wife after they were married?

The best way of fitting this into Eberron I think would be a Paladin of the Blood of Vol. The idea of an Undying Warlock is pretty much Blood of Vol all over. The Paladin could be a follower of that religion, on their way to becoming one of the undead martyrs. His Patron is Vol, who he has/will turn against when he discovered that she was using the religion as a front for her own machinations.

That covers the Lost/Forgotten Goddess quite nicely. Those who choose to become undead martyrs could be known as the "Consorts of Vol" and by symbolically married as part of their ceremony, allowing Vol to influence them and slowly turn them into undead. (Covering the married bit.) A true follower of the religion would be horrified to discover the truth about Vol, (covering the rebellion against the patron bit) and might indeed swear a Blood Oath of Vengeance against her. Hence why Paladin.

I loved the Blood of Vol idea. He doesn't want anything to do with it. He doesn't seem to want to involve his character in the setting at all. So I've resigned myself to letting his character think whatever he it wants to, and making reality fit how I want it to from this point onward.

 

[Icharbezol]

Hrm. Well. I guess the impression I'm getting is that you have a different idea of what he should be doing versus what he wants to do. And that appears to bother you enough that you feel the need to single him out for "consequences".

I suggest you just tell him flat out its your game and that he need to play the character the way you want him to or he should just find another table.

Problem solved either way.

I don't want him to play the character in a specific way, I'd just A.) like to see him involve his character with the setting at the point of generation and B.) am having issues with believing that something so powerful would continue to allow the character to continue to gain power from a connection to it if the character will not hold up his end of the bargain.

 

[Icharbezol]

I know very little about the Eberron setting but I've a few ideas how to handle this in general terms. First, employ the ole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The warlock/paladin's patron shares a common foe of the warlock/paladin, and the patron needs servants to deal with it. Maybe a lich who broke a deal with the patron or has something the patron wanted, and this lich is responsible for causing the calamity that caused the paladin to swear his oath. Make the Lich suitably powerful enough that it cannot be dealt with until the warlock/paladin is 16+ levels. You can build towards the inevitable conflict while running whatever other story arcs you have planned. It doesn't have to be a lich, but something that can't be easily dispatched will suffice.

Assuming you intend to run the characters through 20 levels, you might want to consider a "capstone" event for the Warlock/Paladin. The nature of the pact is its a contract, and both sides have to honor it; the patron provides the magical powers, the signatory provides service. Should the Warlock/Paladin break that deal, perhaps it triggers the final confrontation between the patron and the character.

I like this, thanks