D&D 5E can warlocks be good guys?

[Sage Genesis]

Of course they can. And where does it say that you've sold your soul? I remember a comic where a powerful witch had made a deal for beauty and the demon botched the contract giving her a bunch of magical powers. What if your pact was a small trade and there was a mistake in your favor? Your whole back story could be the patron trying to get out of the contract. Or perhaps they're constantly trying to mess with you because they goofed up. Perhaps (mostly applicable for fey, but could work for others) your patrons rival messed with things in order to give you more than you were supposed to get. Maybe the deal was made with an underling and it goofed up and is constantly trying to get you to agree to a new deal to save it's hide.

Agreed, the Warlock class doesn't say anything about selling souls. (And that comic was Empowered so you have good taste.)

 

[gyor]

Erin M. Evans books have a good example of a good infernal warlock in Farideah, she got a pact not in exchange for her soul, but because of her heritage she's considered a collectible warlock, a rare Brimstone Angel.

Also in 3.5 Warlock pact could be inherited so an ancestor sold their souls so you inherited their magic, but get to keep your soul.

Also 3.5 had the Eldrich Disciple Prestige Class, which I believe was a Warlock who mixed divine and warlock magic. I'd love to see it updated for 5e as a pact boon or Divine Patron.

Also Celebrant of Sharess was a Warlock that dealer with Sharess in all, but name, gaining arcane magic in a deal with Sharess, but it didn't cost someone their soul.

Also many Fey including Archfey aren't evil so their price likely won't be your soul, it could be anything from a service, an oath to uphold good, sex, a song, or some bizarre obscure thing. An Old Ones wouldn't want your soul, they just want you to use your magic so that their essence can seep into reality, you do acts of good, but at the price that just a bit of their wrongness seeps into reality.

Even for infernal pacts, Sharess is known to have Alu - fiends in her service willing and capable of offering pacts.

 

[PnPgamer]

So how could i implement fiendish pact without selling my soul? What woulf the patron request? Would it seemingly request nothing, just as long as my character causes death and destruction?

Also does sold soul actually have any negative effects ingame?

 

[Mallus]

My general advice is: don't overthink stuff like this.

However, if you're, ahem, hell-bent on overthinking this, Google "Tales of Wyre" & "Shomei".

The (collected, multi-volume) Tales of Wyre was a Story Hour on ENWorld from many years ago that contains some of the best (serious) writing about alignment and philosophy every done. It's also well-written, hella fun, and even funny in places. Shomei is one of the characters, a diabolist who isn't evil. The metaphysical underpinnings of this are explained thoroughly.

(apparently the Tales are popular to warrant a TVTropes page!)

 

[Minigiant]

My star/great old one warlock back in the day was good.

He accidentally made a pact when he saw the something in the sky and didn't immediately scream "NO. I DO NOT WANT".

Traded some of his sanity for bootleg magic that night. Never helped Hadar eat the world because he regularly feed Hadar demons and villains. If Hadar isn't fed, he'll wake up, man.

 

[PnPgamer]

My general advice is: don't overthink stuff like this.

Must...resist...overthinking... Gahhh!
Sorry, cant.

 

[Mercule]

I liked the 3.5 Binder class flavor and appreciated it (essentially) being rolled into the 4E Warlock. Forgotten gods aren't always evil, just the losers of some conflict.

Reskin one of the other patrons and serve the displaced, but deeply committed and earnest goddess who used to care for orphaned infants until the jealous, narcissistic goddess of the hearth and the up-and-coming god of commerce (and institutional bureaucracy) split her portfolio, leaving her out in the cold. Have fun trying to rebalance those scales.

 

[Dausuul]

Some possibilities for good-aligned warlocks with evil patrons:

• You made some kind of wager, and won. Your power is the prize.
• You made a deal to do something which advanced your patron's interests, and you've already fulfilled your end. (You may now regret that decision.)
• You didn't make a deal at all--you stole the power you now wield. Your patron might be angry about this, or might respect you for it. Or both.
• You and your patron are engaged in a spiritual chess game. Your patron tries to manipulate you into using your power for evil, while you try to turn it to good ends. The outcome of this game is not foreordained; you can win. Of course, your patron will cheat if given the chance...
• Your power does not come directly from your patron, but from certain rituals your patron devised. Though the rituals were originally intended for its mortal cultists, they can be used by anyone who knows how.

 

[Salamandyr]

Dr. Strange is another benevolant Warlock. Those Great Old Ones you call on aren't necessarily evil. They're just old. The Vishanti, Agamotto, the mystic Nine or some eldritch being you made up yourself--some ancient power, fraught with mystery, who nevertheless lends its power to help stave off the darkness.

Yes, this also sounds a lot like the gods the cleric worships. So? There's no real difference between a warlock and a cleric except nomenclature and powerset.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

So how could i implement fiendish pact without selling my soul? What woulf the patron request? Would it seemingly request nothing, just as long as my character causes death and destruction?

Also does sold soul actually have any negative effects ingame?

I'm running a 5th edition game set in Golarion, the default setting of Pathfinder. There's a nation called Cheliax that serves Asmodeus, and my players were wondering why the hell anyone lives there, or would ever make a deal with a devil.

But form an in game perspective, it makes sense. The empress of Cheliax rose shortly after the god of civilization apparently died on the eve he was to return and usher in a golden age. People were frightened and history has shown a willingness to exchange freedom for security. A frickin portal to the abyss opened up, demons poured out and threatened to destroy the world. And who stands to guard humanity? Why the noble baatezu! That's right citizens - those bearded devils on the front line were once puny humans like yourself. They fight the Blood War in the planes and join forces with good and evil mortals alike who realize the prime material plane is where they keep their stuff, and want it to exist! How long will YOU sign on for, to keep reality from falling into the abyss. Forever? Great! Lets get you a nice life here on the prime and you'll come back as a spinagon when you die. That's a pretty sweet step up from being some near mindless lantern archon on mount celestia, you get to fly and shoot flaming spikes!

But say forever is a long tour of duty? Well, we have many packages available for those willing to engage in a lesser commitment. For 100 years of service in the afterlife (and hey, whats 100 years when your soul is eternal!) we can help get you the girl of your dreams, revenge on your enemies AND if you act now, a NEW CART! All this can be yours, if the price is right!

Devils take the long approach, and have enemies that are also chaotic and evil (or lawful evil even). They don't even need your soul (or at least for very long). Maybe you can arrange to get possesed by a soul from hell for a few hours each month. Maybe all it wants to do is gorge itself on fine food or engage in some rough trade with your body before it goes back to the pits, and you're just helping Hell fulfill another bargain with someone else. You wake up maybe bloated or sore, but hey, you didnt kill anyone, right? And your daughter really enjoyed that wedding you would have never been able to provide otherwise. The play Faust in my campaign is even secret propaganda put out by the Asmodean church to make it seem easier to slip out of infernal contracts. They pretend to crack down on it, but like to get people thinking that only some rube is stuck being a nupperbibo for a thousand years. And you're much too clever to fall prey to a reverse subprime soul mortgage right?

The tiefling warlock in my current game has a pact with Levistus, the lord of Stygia imprisoned in a block of ice. In exchange for power, she works against the forces of Asmodeus, something she'd pretty much do anyways. Her imp acts like a reverse Jiminy Cricket and is a prime source of comic relief in our game. Besides, its not stealing if they're a rich jerk and you want it more...