Whatever it was, they took a shine to you, and now you belong to them. So why did you bargain with this duplicitous figure? What drove you to bind yourself to the capricious Archfey you now serve? Perhaps you begged for their help to win the heart of your beloved, or to save your family’s ailing farm? Maybe you got hopelessly lost and a kind stranger offered to show you the way home for a seemingly innocuous price, “Would you give me your name? I’ll take you home if you would but give me your name”. Whoever they are, the important thing to bear in mind with this patron is that they are beyond the concerns of mortals, and often view them as play-things or at least a means to an end. Often appearing in folklore throughout the land, examples of Archfey in our own world include mysterious figures like Jack Frost, The Green Man, and Baba Yaga to name a few. The Archfey is a being of such incredible, ancient power that they predate the mortal realm. Beings of this sort include the Prince of Frost the Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the Gloaming Court Titania of the Summer Court her consort Oberon, the Green Lord Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools and ancient hags.” Who or What are they? This being’s motivations are often inscrutable, and sometimes whimsical, and might involve a striving for greater magical power or the settling of age-old grudges. “Your patron is a lord or lady of the fey, a creature of legend who holds secrets that were forgotten before the mortal races were born. Now let’s dive a little deeper into the nuances of each flavor of Otherworldly Patrons currently published in Official D&D and how they might affect our character. This is great for adventure hooks, roleplay and character development. This doesn’t need to be complicated, so don’t worry about drafting a legal contract in triplicate, just a few bullet points will suffice, and you’ll have a much clearer idea of the demands your Patron places upon you. What does the Patron ask of your character in exchange for a sliver of their power? This is where Patron’s differ most significantly from one another (The goals of an Archfey are likely different to those of an unknowable cyclopean entity from beyond the stars) and it’s worth taking some time to jot down some ideas of the terms of your deal. This is a great place to start when creating your Warlock: What problem can they solve for their Patron? Perhaps your Warlock has access to a library warded against extraplanar intruders and the Patron needs something inside, or maybe your character has royal lineage and everyone in your family pledges themselves to this Patron to carry out their will across the land as a mortal vassal? This is wonderfully fertile ground to get creative and develop your character beyond their abilities and stats! What do they want?Īny binding agreement has terms both parties must abide by to uphold their end of the bargain. Now that’s not to say the Warlock is on equal footing with their Patron, (that would be absurd), but the Patron usually needs them for something and is willing to offer a fraction of their own power to do so (if they are aware of the pact at all. Herein lies the central relationship paradigm of the Warlock and Patron: the mutually beneficial relationship. However, they are very interested in making deals with mortals, usually to benefit themselves in some way (which may not become clear until years later, if at all), and they are looking to recruit worthy, desperate, or gullible individuals into their service to accomplish tasks they cannot complete alone. In other words they are looking for people to become instruments of their will in the mortal world and have little to no interest in a fair and equal partnership with you. Patrons, in the context of 5e D&D, are defined in the Player’s Handbook as “mighty inhabitants of other planes of existence-not gods, but almost godlike in their power” (D&D Beyond, Dec 2022). What do they want? What is a Patron, and why should you care?.What is a Patron, and why should you care?.Are you ready to make a deal? Table of Contents We’ll also touch on each of the published Patrons for Dungeons and Dragons 5e (updated with new releases) and offer example answers to the questions posed in the article. So you’ve made a pact with an otherworldly entity in exchange for power beyond your wildest dreams? No matter which extra-planar being has your name on the dotted line there are certain things all Otherworldly Patrons, and the contracts they sign, have in common and in this article we’ll be taking a look at the ways these things affect your character.
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