D&D 5E can warlocks be good guys?

[Herschel]

Also, just because the list so far is extremely limited, why not expand it yourself? Powerful Primordials like Kossuth, Akadi and Yan-C-Bin, for example, would make interesting patrons. Heck, reflavoring the infernal pact for Kossuth makes more sense than it does for its current patron list. Akadi may even have "saved" your village of some such in a moment of capriciousness and service may have been offered for repayment.

 

[BigVanVader]

I mean you sold your soul just for power, doesnt that inhibit good alignment?

No.

 

[Ketser]

A really good example of a good warlock can be Corvo Attano from Dishonored, if you decide to go the low chaos route.

[sblock]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iixQe295xz4 This part of the game is probably one of the best examples of making a warlock pact. The main theory is that The Outsider grants his power to select people and then observes how they will act, most "markbearers" will use their powers for selfish gain and for destructive/harmful ends.

But if you play the game as low chaos, as in you mostly avoid combats, knock enemies unconcious and take your targets out in more interesting and nonleathal ways. When encounterng outsider he is genuinely fascinated, that Corvo doesn't use his powers in the "usual way." [/sblock]

 

[billd91]

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?

Darn right it would have negative effects... in the game I run (although I'd make sure we could have fun with it - I may be a rat bastard DM but I'm not a total bastard DM). They'd mainly be comically vexing rather than PC-crippling.

As far as how a fiendish pact would work with a good PC - there are a couple of reasons a diabolical patron might dole out some warlocky power. 1) He wants to spread evil with the evil warlock's deeds. That's the classic idea. But there's also 2) Just think of the feather in that devil's cap if he powers a warlock who uses that power to become a major hero... and then his soul enters that patron devil's domain once he dies. That's got to be pretty awesome. It's like eating kittens and puppies, together, in a newborn baby vinaigrette. Totally sweet and tender, and the best part is that by making the pact in the first place, he had it coming.

 

[Sunseeker]

I think it really depends on how you play it out. What requirements did your patron ask of you? Why is a powerful entity giving powers to, essentially, a 0-level commoner anyway? I think for fey pacts, there's a real possibility that your fey patron is not evil. Perhaps a scheming trickster, but not necessarily evil. There are always against-type examples of demons and it's certainly possible those creatures are willing to enlist the aid of humans to defeat ostensibly more powerful and evil demons. And as always, a warlock could have been tricked into their pact (as is common with the fey) such as a young commoner praying to their god and it being answered by someone who isn't their god, but pretends to be.

I'm not sure I can rationalize a "good" old one. But I'm pretty sure rationalizing old ones is hard no matter what.

 

[Tormyr]

The Legend of the Legendary Heroes tv show has a mechanic where all the magic users have to make an invocation to get their magic to work. It struck me as a way of running a warlock without having heavy involvement with the pact benefactor. The show had lots of bad guys and a few good guys who use the invocations.

 

[ruleslawyer]

I'm a big fan of the idea of a celestial pact, or even a "powers of good" pact. Honestly, Gandalf would make a fine archetype of the good-aligned warlock; "servant of the Secret Fire" sounds pretty pact-ish to me. (You could also call him a cleric, but imo warlock fits this style of character better.)

And no, I don't think it's giving the PC a free lunch. Good patrons can impose burdens just as onerous (during life, anyway) as evil ones. And there's that pesky moral code to worry about...

 

[JasonZZ]

"Good" might be a stretch for an Old One, but at least some of the beings of the Cthulhu Mythos (and that's what we're really talking about here, of course) were willing to help out humanity for their own reasons. The best example of this would be Nodens, who (if I remember correctly) enjoyed hunting the servants of some of the other Mythos entities, and was willing to help out humans, especially (if not exclusively) those who were of service to him.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Nodens is an Elder God, which post Lovecraft, oppose the great old ones/outer gods. They are more relatable than Cthulhu and his ilk. Hypnos and Bast would also qualify. They fit warlock well because while they might not care about humans, they might use them as their pawns against something humans consider far worse.

 

[Ahrimon]

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

I wasn't sure if anyone would get the reference, but yes it is a great comic. I have the next one on pre-order.

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 in game?

It could be a trade with a lesser evil to help it rise to power, only it got squished and you're off the hook. Or perhaps that GOO/Fey just wants to tag along in your head to see and experience the mortal world from your point of view without the nuisance of coming here themselves.

If you do actually sell your soul the only consequences are between you and the GM. There are no rules consequences built into the game.