new Dragonborn Warlock

kalani · Nov 16, 2015

Excellent... Perfect example of how you could cosmetically alter a bat, imp, or quasit.

Tyranthraxus · Nov 16, 2015

Not quite AL, but I have an Earth Genasi Warlock who 'owes' a power his life (His home village was attacked by Elemental Cultists and he was killed with his family.. only to wake up later unscathed.'

We are playing Princes of the Apocalypse and my DM has let me variate the Fiend Patron to be in this case Ogremoch.. who is the Prince of Earth and the evil taint to it. My character dosnt know this however, he just knows the power isnt good. Whilst Im playing a Pact of the Blade Boon Warlock, my dm had mentioned that If I went Pact of Chain my Imp would of looked more earth like. Dirt and Soil constantly falling off them and they would like a slimy /oily trail behind them.

Redthistle · Nov 16, 2015

Tyranthraxus said:
Not quite AL, but I have an Earth Genasi Warlock who 'owes' a power his life (His home village was attacked by Elemental Cultists and he was killed with his family.. only to wake up later unscathed.'

We are playing Princes of the Apocalypse and my DM has let me variate the Fiend Patron to be in this case Ogremoch.. who is the Prince of Earth and the evil taint to it. My character dosnt know this however, he just knows the power isnt good. Whilst Im playing a Pact of the Blade Boon Warlock, my dm had mentioned that If I went Pact of Chain my Imp would of looked more earth like. Dirt and Soil constantly falling off them and they would like a slimy /oily trail behind them.

Oh, the image this post inspired: The warlock: Charlie Brown (Peanuts) with Thing-like skin (Fantastic Four), with an earth mephit/imp reminiscent of Pigpen (Peanuts again).

Aside from that image, I really like your character concept and background.

Tyranthraxus · Nov 17, 2015

I guess im a little freer with that non AL game, but I have a lot of flavoursome AL characters too.

spanglemaker · Nov 17, 2015

Awesome, Standard Familiars are fine. My Warlock of the Tome has an Owl, who has also appeared as a fish and an octopus. It was worth the casting time and the gold cost.

Chain Pact familiar wise, I am working with a concept of a Seidman or Seidkona (Norse Seer or sorcery practitioner), who has forged a pact with The Lord of Hosts (Odin). The familiar granted is a Raven, a son of Hugin or Munin. Stat wise it's an Imp.

Flavouring by reskinning the familiar is perfectly fine, at the end of the day a familiar is a spirit who appears as an animal, this leaves plenty of wiggle room for the DM and player. You can work with the concept that the spirit is an enhanced animal or that it has more intelligence and power, but has to work with the limited resource of that animals body and brain it appears to be or is in possession of.

Killoth · Nov 18, 2015

I got shot down by my DM on the reskin

kalani · Nov 18, 2015

It happens. When it comes to reskinning, as with many things - expect table variation.

Tyranthraxus · Nov 18, 2015

Yeah it happens. Not every DM is comfortable with it. In AL Im not. Outside of AL, I am. I am variation.

spanglemaker · Nov 19, 2015

DM is not comfortable with your reskinning of an Owl familiar. You have several choices:
leave the game and play elsewhere,

use a regular familiar (owl) and use your imagination as to why your familiar is an owl (perhaps it originally was a dragonling, which got cursed or polymorphed or bound into a familiar form, so that it may only shift shape into those set familiar forms as in the PHB).

Choose Chain Pact and have a Faerie Dragon or Quasit or an Imp

Or in your imagination, your (public owl familiar) is a dragonling or Bat, in appearance. Very weak so can't lift or carry, has the stats of an owl and is called Draco or Bat.

At the end of the day this is a fantasy game of the imagination, it is meant to be fun for you, the DM and other players. Yes in an AL game there are stricter or looser rules, there is also an increased chance of playing with players new to the game, so a DM would naturally consider this and not want to confuse other people. A rose is still a rose, whatever you call it.
I personally would choose the Owl Familiar, call it Bat or my familiar. Then refer to it as Bat or my familiar giving it tasks it can do, others will imagine a small owl helping you whereas I would see my Bat familiar. Some Wizard or Warlock casts magical Darkness and my poor familiar would be under the effect of the magic, which causes its (Owl) Darkvision to fail.
A great DM would accept this, a good DM does not need to know.