D&D 5E Hexblade patron in Eberron

[Paul Farquhar]

The standard fluff for hexblades is their patron is an intelligent magical weapon made from the Shadowfell (and possibly associated with the Raven Queen).

The Raven Queen is clearly not part of Eberron. Dolurrh seems to be the closest analogue for the Shadowfell, and it's consistent with the hexblade's ability to raise an undead shade, but an intelligent magic weapon from the place seems a bit unlikely. I was thinking of a ghost or shade as a patron, although that kind of overlaps with "The Undying" patron. Anyway, I would be interested in people's thoughts, especially those well versed in Eberron lore.

 

[MarkB]

The Mournland seems like a good potential option. There were plenty of magical weapons being used on Cyre's battlefields when the Day of Mourning happened, and its random, corrupting magical effects could easily have warped an intelligent magic item - or even made a normal magic sword into a living magic item.

You could go even further. Maybe your character was fighting in Cyre, wielding a magic sword that was an old family heirloom, when the Day of Mourning occurred. When you stumble free of the Mists, you find that you have been mystically bound to your weapon, your soul intertwined with it's magical essence.

 

[Fanaelialae]

It wouldn't be canon, but I suppose the Lord of Blades could be a patron, particularly for a warforged character. Maybe a non-warforged if he thinks it will serve his ends.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Rather than using Dolurrh... take a look at the plane of Mabar, the Endless Night. Rather than a grey, featureless plain meant merely to hold the souls of the dead... Mabar is a plane of ruin, decay, and hunger. It is a plane of negative energy, of desolation, and necromantic power is withdrawn from it to animate the undead.

Take a look at Keith Baker's blog about Mabar. There's a character in it called the Empress of Shadows, who looks to be a yugoloth queen in a place called Amaranthine City. That might be a suitable replacement for the Raven Queen for your hexblade. If not her, there are also many powerful nightshades within it that you could make one to be.

KEITH-BAKER .COM / MABAR

 

[Bitbrain]

According to the Eberron wiki/fandom site, one of the overlords (Rak Tulkhesh, the Rage of War) is contained within a whole bunch of Khyber Dragonshards.

I would think he’s the perfect patron for a Hexblade in Eberron.

The Hexblade might have a weapon containing a Khyber Dragonshard with a piece of his essence inside it, whispering to the warlock, granting them spells, drawing power from their most violent actions...

 

[ChaosOS]

Could also do The Raven Queen in Eberron she seems like a cool chick.

Anyways, Keith's new book Exploring Eberron that comes out this month will have a chapter on the planes, so there might be more specific ideas there.

 

[Weiley31]

According to the Eberron wiki/fandom site, one of the overlords (Rak Tulkhesh, the Rage of War) is contained within a whole bunch of Khyber Dragonshards.

I would think he’s the perfect patron for a Hexblade in Eberron.

The Hexblade might have a weapon containing a Khyber Dragonshard with a piece of his essence inside it, whispering to the warlock, granting them spells, drawing power from their most violent actions...

Or instead of a weapon, the PC's heart was replaced, against his/her(?) will, with a magitek heart housing said Khyber Dragonshard.

 

[tetrasodium]

The standard fluff for hexblades is their patron is an intelligent magical weapon made from the Shadowfell (and possibly associated with the Raven Queen).

The Raven Queen is clearly not part of Eberron. Dolurrh seems to be the closest analogue for the Shadowfell, and it's consistent with the hexblade's ability to raise an undead shade, but an intelligent magic weapon from the place seems a bit unlikely. I was thinking of a ghost or shade as a patron, although that kind of overlaps with "The Undying" patron. Anyway, I would be interested in people's thoughts, especially those well versed in Eberron lore.

I'm going to be another person to say that Dolurrh is very much not the shadowfell & serves a different purpose entirely. Mabar, Thelanis, or Lamannia are all much closer from an Eberron standpoint but still horrifically different i ways that will make things awkward. Luckily Keith has talked about 5e's warlocks before & hexblade comes up quite a few times along with several examples. If any of those appeal to you & you speak up, people can no doubt help you flesh out an idea

 

[Leatherhead]

How about an Eldritch Machine?

Something experimental developed by House Cannith in conjunction with another party (maybe House Deneith or Vadalis, or even Cyre before it was exploded) that was intended to make "super-soldiers" for the War. It was abandoned after it was discovered to be siphoning the souls from those defeated by said soldiers. However, after being sealed away (or simply forgotten under the rubble of the Mornlands) it managed to develop an intelligence of sorts and started to make new soldiers, because it doesn't understand the War is over.

 

[Vael]

A different planar tie would be Shavarath, the Battleground. The plane is a plane of war, with "weapons of legend".