D&D 5E in-game consequences for Warlock's pact?

[GlassJaw]

I'm starting to brainstorm on a new lower/lowish-magic campaign and I may restrict caster classes (still TBD). However, that's not the focus of this thread per se. What I'm wondering is what are some ways that a Warlock's pact may come into play in-game?

Per RAW, there are no mechanical "penalties" for striking a deal with "mysterious beings of supernatural power". And the only reference in the PHB to anything like that is in the flavor text: "The warlock learns and grows in power, at the cost of occasional services performed on the patron's behalf".

The warlock concept fits very well into low-magic/sword & sorcery settings but I'd like to make the pact a bit more impactful in-game (and potentially more painful!). I'm certainly open to role-playing options but I'm more curious if anyone has any ideas that are mechanical in nature. Thanks!

 

[tglassy]

I’m big on giving players choices. And I’m big on making those choices have to do with multiclassing.

I’ve always viewed Warlocks as learning their power, like a wizard, not channeling it. That’s Clerics.

The difference is Wizards learn it through Study, and warlocks learn it from a patron, giving them secrets Wizards would love to know.

So once a Warlock obtains a level, they have learned new things. They can’t have it taken away, like a Cleric or Paladin.

So what I do is have the Patron give a task. You want more power? Do this for me.

It can either be during downtime or during the next adventure, depending on the request.

If they do it, when the time comes that they should level up, they are allowed to learn more from their patron, taking another level of Warlock.

If they don’t, fail to do so, or refuse to do so, then that patron will not teach them any further. They may even begin sending hunters to kill them, depending on the circumstances.

In this case, the Warlock will have to multiclass. I’m not a fan of just switching patrons. That feels cheap to me. But maybe if there’s a good reason.

As for the requests, that depends on the patron. Fiends will start out benign, and become more and more depraved and evil as time goes on. Fey will be random and flighty, like “get me a shrubbery.” Great Old One’s will be nonsensical, like “Pour ink on all your meals for a week.”

So if you want to be a lvl 20 Fiend Warlock, you have to sacrifice an innocent on an alter at midnight.

Hey, you chose to make a pact with a demon. You want ultimate power? This is the cost. But at that point, you’ve done 19 other increasingly heinous things. I always make sure my warlocks know what they’re getting themselves into.

 

[Satyrn]

I did something like this. I think it mostly falls under "role-playing options" but it depends on the patron.

First, in setting up the, uh . . . setting . . . I defined the possible patrons a 1st level character could make a pact with, and actually placed them in the megadungeon. The fiendish patron, for example, is sort of the overlord of the introductory area, which is crawling with (weak) demons and devils; and the Great Old One patron is a behemoth sleeping on the floor of a deep underground lake, and as it breathes (at a rate of only twice a day), it creates a tidal effect throughout the megadungeon's waterways which floods areas, reverses the direction of rivers, etc. The fey patron is a Fey Tree that ties the megadungeon to the Feywild, creating something akin to the Genesis Cave from Star Trek 2, and creates a way for me to justify endless spawning fearsome, fey-touched beasts into the megadungeon.

Along with defining the patrons, I added some caveat to the pact to limit the warlock. I didn't use any specific mechanics, and I made no attempt to balance between the pacts . . . and I'm a little terrified that the whole setting would be placed on a ticking timebomb if anyone actually makes a pact with the sleeping behemoth.

So, specifically, this is what I did:

For the fiend, the warlock is prohibited from "attacking the captains of Hell." This essentially o means not attacking any devil who leads a squad. Doing so might break the pact, or maybe the warlock will later be warned (by a sign, or in a dream maybe). If the pact is broken, the warlock will be either prevented from gaining levels in warlock; or perhaps just prevented from learning new invocations as levels are gained. The warlock will be offered a mission to reform the pact. In return, the devils tend to be less aggresive towards the warlock and his allies, and may be more willing to parlay than otherwise.

For the Great Old One, the warlock is not prohibited from anything. Rather, he is tempted by power. Any time he uses a warlock slot to cast a spell, he may choose to draw power from the sleeping behemoth. When he choose to do so, he rolls 1d4, and if he rolls a 1, the spell slot increases by one level, and the warlock may choose to draw more power, this time rolling 1d6, if tgat rolls a 1 the, the slots level is again increased and the warlock can now choose to roll a1d8, and so on althe way up to a d20 or 9th level. While in an area influenced by the behemoth (mostly, the tidal waterways), the warlock does not get this choice. His patron's power is insidious, and the warlock must roll the dice evvery time he uses a warlocm slot. The drawback to this is, well, a ticking timebomb: If the warlock ever manages to cast a 9th level warlock slot, the Great Old One wakes from his slumber.

The fey patron just requires the warlock to pick its fruit and plant its seed in the center of the city above the dungeon. The tree is giving the warlock power for this purpose only (reaching the tree is no easy task), and doesn't care what the warlock does with the power so long as the warlock eventually fulfills his end of the pact. So, this is the "no restriction or consequences," pact, so it gets no extra benefits either.

 

[5ekyu]

The pact is key to the warlock and they have an ongoing bargain to keep up. this is rife through the class descriptions. i would never dismiss these elements as fluff text or side issues and when a player plays a warlock in my games i make sure we are on the same page on that.

Depending on the specifics of the character and the patron, tasks will be asked or assigned and info will be gathered and used. its possible routine offerings may be asked. its possible certain enemies may be assigned - or come along with the pact as enemies of the patron move as well.

Its far from slavery but it is not an obligation to be casually dismissed. After all, your patron knows you and your life inside and out - literally - and you are not its only tool.