D&D 5E Alignment Questions Regarding the Warlock

[Psyga315]

So, I have a quick question that may or may not show off how much of a noob I am with D&D.

I've got the Player's Handbook and rolled up a Warlock. I noticed one of the features to one is that your patron is a choice between an Archfey, a Fiend, or someone from the Cthulhu mythos (That one had me chuckle for a bit), and it sort of makes me ponder how it fits with the alignment, since, well, having relations with someone like Orcus is usually a neon sign saying "evil", though there were cases where dark is not evil (succubus paladin, anyone?).

I guess what I'm trying to ask is: Is it possible for a Warlock to have a non-evil alignment with his patrons being either a Fiend or a Great Old One? Or would the Archfey be the one most Warlocks go with?

Sorry if the question seems a little farfetched, it's been a bit of a headscratcher for me.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I guess what I'm trying to ask is: Is it possible for a Warlock to have a non-evil alignment with his patrons being either a Fiend or a Great Old One? Or would the Archfey be the one most Warlocks go with?

I would have to read it more closely to determine intent, but there's no reason you couldn't have a non-evil Warlock with an evil patron. Maybe the patron is trying to tempt you, knowing that dark powers will lead you toward becoming more evil. It might be kind of hard to pull of a good Warlock who willingly accepts such dark powers, but even then, look at Cecil from Final Fantasy 4, or I seem to recall that Spawn was chaotic good.

In general, though:

Fiends are evil.
Fey are chaotic.
Great Old Ones are neutral.

 

[Salamandyr]

There's nothing that says a warlock has to follow the dictates of his patron. He's not a cleric. He could be someone like Elric or Spawn, using infernal powers to fight the beings whose power he has.

But that being said, I'm disappointed they didn't provide a more traditionally good option for a patron. I'd like to see something like "Archons of Order" or "The Mystic Hosts" to reflect something like Doctor Strange, who calls on alliances with interdimensional sorcerous entities to power his spells.

I plan on being pretty open ended with my players warlock patrons, letting them come up with their own. If infernal power set fits their concept, but they want to be beholden to "Elemental Kings of Fire", I'm totally going to allow that.

 

[Xodis]

I think D&D wrote all the classes to allow freedom of alignment, but they clearly lean towards a certain direction. All of the Paladin Oaths lean toward Good, but you are not restricted. All the of Warlock pacts lean towards bad but you are not handcuffed to evil. Its a great way to put the burden on DMs for restrictions, while allowing those who can come with some 20 page long backstory about an Evil Paladin or LG Warlock of a CE Demon to have that freedom.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Not far-fetched at all. Fantasy is full of heroes and anti-heroes beholden to a powerful being whose goals they do not share, but still depend on them for their power. The warlock description even speaks of those that chafe against the demands of the patron. Being actually good aligned might require a complex background story for a patron of the lower planes, but not out of the realm of possibility.

I think for the outer realms creatures, a mortal might enter into a pact without even fully realizing what they've done or the nature of their patron. If you go with the full Cthulhu Mythos view of the Old Ones, you tapping into their power is as important to them as the rats eating out of your trash cans in the back alley. They simply don't care. (Though for such warlocks, I kinda wish there was a Sanity score to measure the degradation of your grasp on reality as you get higher level, or some drawback like the Wild Surge mechanic.)

A warlock's ability might not come from a pact he made, but perhaps a deal made by his ancestors or even parents. Maybe the warlock's goal is to rescue his parents' souls from hell, which they sold in order to save his life as a baby. Or it could be part of a family curse.

Then there's the old trope of a character that thinks he can outwit the devil, tricking him into giving him something for nothing.

Maybe the character was duped into the pact, and it seems unbreakable, so he keeps gaining the power as a warlock because he thinks he's probably doomed anyway (losing either his soul, mind or both), but still holds out hope his powers might reveal a way out.

I don't know if there are rules in the PHB for "ex-warlocks", but I'm thinking of ruling the abilities a warlock is granted are permanent, even if he breaks the pact. You're not going to get any more, but you keep what you got. So you could have a Warlock turned Paladin, and his former patron is now a major nemesis in the campaign.

Slightly off-topic: Though it sounds like splatbooks are going to be rarer this edition, I hope there are more pact types created, like for powerful elementals or "beast lords", similar to what was described in the Elric novels.

 

[DreamChaser]

Perhaps they never made the deal, but one of their parents did before they were born (Rumpelstiltskin, etc) and now they are living with the consequences (and benefits) of that pact they were born into.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Depending on how loose the DM allows the concept of a pact to be, here's a detailed background scenario for non-evil warlock/evil patron, complete with future plot hooks:

When you were young, you were kidnapped by a cult. Eventually you were rescued by a group of adventurers, but not before the cult had permanently marked you with a strange tattoo: a band of symbols wrapped completely around your waist. A summoning circle. They then called forth a powerful fiend within the circle, inside you.

You are not possessed, but you now have this thing trapped within. The circle seems magically inscribed, and very hard to remove. Because of its unique cage, exorcism and banishment spells have been useless. You sense that even if you could remove the tattoo, the thing inside would emerge, tearing you apart in the process.

You're also learning that you can tap into its power, becoming able to manipulate magical energies. Or is it just letting you?

Why did the cult do this? Are there more of them out there? Is the thing inside a prisoner or architect of this situation? How much of its power dare you tap before you cross some unknown line?

The thing inside could also be a Far Realms being, trapped by the campaign world's equivalent of an Elder Sign. Alternately, the character may have been initially possessed, and a friendly (?) wizard did what he could to help with the magic he had.

 

[Psyga315]

Ah, okay then. I figured it was a sort of a situation where they have dark powers yet use them for good.

I always see the Fey in this situation as the "good" option of the three. Despite the fact that they're fairies and thus the fair folk that usually aren't to be trusted, in a situation where your chosen patron is either a demon or elder god, they're the best option to have.

I have thought up a few ideas for some Warlock characters from this, as there were some interesting ideas, like a Warlock who tricks his patron into making a pact with him a la the story of the Jack-O-Lantern (basically a kid got the devil up a tree, then kept him there by engraving a cross on said tree and wouldn't let him down until he spared his soul).

Also, the idea of the patron becoming the antagonist could be great for a Warlock-focused campaign.

 

[sidonunspa]

Example

Ghost Rider , infernal patron, uses powers for good

 

[Psyga315]

Example

Ghost Rider , infernal patron, uses powers for good

Yeah, that's basically the idea I had when reading this thread.

That or Kamen Rider.