D&D General What Happens if a Cleric/Warlock/etc PC Gravely Offends Their Supernatural Patron?

[Oofta]

What do you do when your pet hamster gravely offends you? It it possible for your pet to 'gravely offend' you if it's not a cat doing it on purpose? By that token, I don't think it's possible to 'gravely offend' a god as their cleric.

If my cat doesn't gravely offend me on a regular basis, it's probably time for a visit to the vet because there's something wrong.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I'm pretty lenient when it comes to the mechanical implementation of a PC. All I ask is that you talk to me and we'll work something out.

That doesn't mean there won't be repercussions. Let's say you're a warlock of the great old one. As the campaign goes on, you realize that you really don't want to support their goals at all. So I would prefer that you give me a heads up, but if you decide to completely reject your patron then you're going to be cut off from the source of your power.

So the question becomes, what to do about it. If the GOO is aware of the PC, they get cut off which is what would happen in my game because of the nature of the patrons I allow. If the GOO is unaware, then there's a risk of being noticed. You really don't want Cthulhu noticing you. I don't allow that kind of patron because it has potential repercussions outside of the player. I mean, I may get annoyed and swat a mosquito. I may also decide that I've had enough of these mosquitoes and destroy their habitat. In terms of a GOO that could mean anything from driving he warlock batshit insane to a far spread catastrophe that I just don't want to deal with.

So in my games that would mean either you come in with a new PC, we work out some kind of rebuild, get back in good graces somehow or you find a new patron. Whatever makes sense to the player. You aren't going to be permanently nerfed no matter what. But until it's resolved you don't have a source of power because a warlock's powers are not their own.

The thing is, every time this happens it's going to be a special case. No one answer is going to work, or even two or three. It's something to figure out for that campaign, with that character in that story.

 

[Oofta]

The thing is, every time this happens it's going to be a special case. No one answer is going to work, or even two or three. It's something to figure out for that campaign, with that character in that story.

True. I just answered how I've handled it the 1 time in the past and the most likely way I would handle it in the future.

 

[Cadence]

Is a wizard player who no longer wants to need a physical spellbook also ok? Or is that totally different?

 

[Baron Opal II]

What do you do when your pet hamster gravely offends you? It it possible for your pet to 'gravely offend' you if it's not a cat doing it on purpose? By that token, I don't think it's possible to 'gravely offend' a god as their cleric.

Well, if the hamster isn't furthering my purposes in the world, I'll probably ignore it. If it bites me, I get a new hamster and a fatter tegu.

 

[Yaarel]

Is a wizard player who no longer wants to need a physical spellbook also ok? Or is that totally different?

A Wizard who is happy with the current prepared spell can easily use these every day for the rest of the life of the Wizard.

A Wizard only needs the spellbook to swap in a different spell, or to cast a ritual from it.



I have three characters for a 1e campaign. The Illusionist did Spell Research to invent a new spell called, Phantasmal Spellbook.

The spellbook is an illusion, so it can manifest and dismiss at will, and it can record new spells into it, at no gp cost. It is immune to fire damage and so on, and causes no encumbrance. I keep a "hard copy" of the spellbook in a safe place, and transfer spells into it from the Phantasmal Spellbook, ... just in case, some villain uses Dispel Magic on it.

In my 5e campaigns, a "spellbook" can be any means to store magic information, including rocks, staves, crystals, leaves, and so on.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Is a wizard player who no longer wants to need a physical spellbook also ok? Or is that totally different?

That would be fine, but the player would need to answer what is the repository of their magic and how do they add to or change it?

Tattoos, skulls of other wizards, mirrors or painting with the image of past masters, whatever.

 

[Yaarel]

That would be fine, but the player would need to answer what is the repository of their magic and how do they add to or change it?

Tattoos, skulls of other wizards, mirrors or painting with the image of past masters, whatever.

When gaining a new level, the bookless Wizard would be able to prepare the new spell and at it to the daily repertoire.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Is a wizard player who no longer wants to need a physical spellbook also ok? Or is that totally different?

That is one billion percent okay. In fact, the game has again not forced that on character for nigh on 20 years since Tome and Blood.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Well, if the hamster isn't furthering my purposes in the world, I'll probably ignore it. If it bites me, I get a new hamster and a fatter tegu.

Most of the time, if a hamster bites you, they just understand it's a poor dumb animal that doesn't really know what it's doing because we're so far beyond them that we get that we'll never really see eye-to eye with it.

So unless your gods are Greek-style turbo whiney humans, there's not reason to expect they are even capable of truly being offended by mortals right up until they hit level 20 and body them.