Warlock
With a pseudodragon curled on his shoulder, a young elf in golden robes smiles warmly, weaving a magical charm into his honeyed words and bending the palace sentinel to his will.
As flames spring to life in her hands, a wizened human whispers the secret name of her demonic patron, infusing her spell with fiendish magic.
Shifting his gaze between a battered tome and the odd alignment of the stars overhead, a wild-eyed tiefling chants the mystic ritual that will open a doorway to a distant world.
Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular. Drawing on the ancient knowledge of beings such as fey nobles, demons, devils, hags, and alien entities of the Far Realm, warlocks piece together arcane secrets to bolster their own power.
Sworn and Beholden
A warlock is defined by a pact with an otherworldly being. Sometimes the relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon prince, an archdevil, or an utterly alien entity—beings not typically served by clerics. More often, though, the arrangement is similar to that between a master and an apprentice. The warlock learns and grows in power, at the cost of occasional services performed on the patron’s behalf. The magic bestowed on a warlock ranges from minor but lasting alterations to the warlock’s being (such as the ability to see in darkness or to read any language) to access to powerful spells. Unlike bookish wizards, warlocks supplement their magic with some facility at hand-to-hand combat. They are comfortable in light armor and know how to use simple weapons.Delvers into Secrets
Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons that are not fiendish. Sometimes a traveler in the wilds comes to a strangely beautiful tower, meets its fey lord or lady, and stumbles into a pact without being fully aware of it. And sometimes, while poring over tomes of forbidden lore, a brilliant but crazed student’s mind is opened to realities beyond the material world and to the alien beings that dwell in the outer void. Once a pact is made, a warlock’s thirst for knowledge and power can’t be slaked with mere study and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive warlocks toward adventure.Creating a Warlock
As you make your warlock character, spend some time thinking about your patron and the obligations that your pact imposes upon you. What led you to make the pact, and how did you make contact with your patron? Were you seduced into summoning a devil, or did you seek out the ritual that would allow you to make contact with an alien elder god? Did you search for your patron, or did your patron find and choose you? Do you chafe under the obligations of your pact or serve joyfully in anticipation of the rewards promised to you? Work with your DM to determine how big a part your pact will play in your character’s adventuring career. Your patron’s demands might drive you into adventures, or they might consist entirely of small favors you can do between adventures. What kind of relationship do you have with your patron? Is it friendly, antagonistic, uneasy, or romantic? How important does your patron consider you to be? What part do you play in your patron’s plans? Do you know other servants of your patron? How does your patron communicate with you? If you have a familiar, it might occasionally speak with your patron’s voice. Some warlocks find messages from their patrons etched on trees, mingled among tea leaves, or adrift in the clouds — messages that only the warlock can see. Other warlocks converse with their patrons in dreams or waking visions, or deal only with intermediaries.Quick Build
You can make a warlock quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the charlatan background. Third, choose the eldritch blast and chill touch cantrips, along with the 1st-level spells charm person and witch bolt.The Warlock Table
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Cantrips Known | Spells Known | Spell Slots | Spell lvl | Invocations Known |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Otherworldly Patron, Pact Magic | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1st | - |
| 2nd | +2 | Eldritch Invocations | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1st | 2 |
| 3rd | +2 | Pact Boon | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2nd | 2 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2nd | 2 |
| 5th | +3 | - | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3rd | 3 |
| 6th | +3 | Otherworldly Patron feature | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3rd | 3 |
| 7th | +3 | - | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4th | 4 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 9 | 2 | 4th | 4 |
| 9th | +4 | - | 3 | 10 | 2 | 5th | 5 |
| 10th | +4 | Otherworldly Patron feature | 4 | 10 | 2 | 5th | 5 |
| 11th | +4 | Mystic Arcanum (6th level) | 4 | 11 | 3 | 5th | 5 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 11 | 3 | 5th | 6 |
| 13th | +5 | Mystic Arcanum (7th level) | 4 | 12 | 3 | 5th | 6 |
| 14th | +5 | Otherworldly Patron feature | 4 | 12 | 3 | 5th | 6 |
| 15th | +5 | Mystic Arcanum (8th level) | 4 | 13 | 3 | 5th | 7 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 13 | 3 | 5th | 7 |
| 17th | +6 | Mystic Arcanum (9th level) | 4 | 14 | 4 | 5th | 7 |
| 18th | +6 | - | 4 | 14 | 4 | 5th | 8 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 15 | 4 | 5th | 8 |
| 20th | +6 | Eldritch Master | 4 | 15 | 4 | 5th | 8 |
Warlock
Hit Points
Hit Dice: d8 per Warlock level
Hit Points at first Level: 8 + Con Mod
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 + Con Mod
Proficiences
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: All simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wis, Cha
Skills: Choose two skills from Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature, and Religion
Class Features
Otherworldly Patron
At 1st level, you have struck a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice: the Fiend, which is detailed at the end of the class description, or one from another source. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.Pact Boon
At 3rd level, your otherworldly patron bestows a gift upon you for your loyal service. You gain one of the following features of your choice.- Pact of The Blade
- Pact of the Blood Mark
- Pact of The Body
- Pact of The Brand
- Pact of the Cauldron
- Pact of The Chain
- Pact of The Coin
- Pact of the Door
- Pact of The Eye
- Pact of the Gloom
- Pact Of The Hand
- Pact of Iron
- Pact of The Lens
- Pact of the Ring
- Pact of the Scepter
- Pact of the Skull
- Pact of the Sole
- Pact of The Talisman
- Pact of the Toll
- Pact of The Tome
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.Mystic Arcanum (6th level)
At 11th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 6th-level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again. At higher levels, you gain more warlock spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th-level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest.Mystic Arcanum (7th level)
At 13th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 7th-level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again. At higher levels, you gain more warlock spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th-level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest.Mystic Arcanum (8th level)
At 15th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 8th-level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again. At 17th level, you gain a 9th-level warlock spell of your choice that can be cast in this way. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest.Mystic Arcanum (9th level)
At 17th level, your patron bestows upon you a magical secret called an arcanum. Choose one 9th-level spell from the warlock spell list as this arcanum. You can cast your arcanum spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again. You regain all uses of your Mystic Arcanum when you finish a long rest.Eldritch Master
At 20th level, you can draw on your inner reserve of mystical power while entreating your patron to regain expended spell slots. You can spend 1 minute entreating your patron for aid to regain all your expended spell slots from your Pact Magic feature. Once you regain spell slots with this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.Starting Equipment
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
- Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
Spellcasting
Pact Magic
Your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your patron have given you facility with spells. Cantrips You know two cantrips of your choice from the warlock spell list. You learn additional warlock cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Warlock table. Spell Slots The Warlock table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your warlock spells of 1st through 5th level. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your warlock spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. For example, when you are 5th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell witch bolt, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell. Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the warlock spell list. The Spells Known column of the Warlock table shows when you learn more warlock spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table’s Slot Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new warlock spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the warlock spells you know and replace it with another spell from the warlock spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots. Spellcasting Ability Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your warlock spells, so you use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a warlock spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spellcasting Focus You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.Eldritch Invocations
In your study of occult lore, you have unearthed Eldritch Invocations, fragments of forbidden knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class. At 2nd level, you gain two eldritch invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain warlock levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice, as shown in the Invocations Known column of the Warlock table. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level. If an eldritch invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.Subclass Options
Otherworldly Patrons
The beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are mighty inhabitants of other planes of existence—not gods, but almost godlike in their power. Various patrons give their warlocks access to different powers and invocations, and expect significant favors in return. Some patrons collect warlocks, doling out mystic knowledge relatively freely or boasting of their ability to bind mortals to their will. Other patrons bestow their power only grudgingly, and might make a pact with only one warlock. Warlocks who serve the same patron might view each other as allies, siblings, or rivals.Aspect of Winter
Your patron is a deity with a measure of control over the withering, bitter power of cold. Such patrons tend to be in opposition of good-aligned deities presiding over the Nature domain, as they tend not to preserve nature, but to corrupt it to suit their needs. It is known that most of these deities intend to bring about an eternal winter.Dragon Kings
The Dragon Kings are divine dragon spirits, lords of the four seasons, and kings of four cardinal rivers from their underwater palaces in the Riverlands. Their main duty is to bring rain for crops to grow, to nourish life. However, they are tied to the rivers that they reside in. Your pact marks you as a helper, not a direct subordinate or follower of the Dragon Kings, to bring rain and fertility to faroff lands that need it where the Dragon Kings can not reach.Frostbringer
Clad in armor of enduring ice, those who serve the primal entities of ice and snow are renowned for their ability to shape a battlefield through their daunting rime-clad armor, their towering walls of ice and deadly blizzards. Their masters come in many forms, the Winter Queen, Prime Elementals, Levistus... but no matter their master their march is as inevitable and unstoppable as winter itself.Imaginary Friend
If you ask any cleric, they will tell you that belief is a powerful thing. Most imaginary friends appear when their warlocks are children and become powerful beings of magical energy when the child believes in them for a long enough time. Unlike most patrons, imaginary friends do not want something in return for their power. They just want to protect their creator for as long as they can, and they are not easy to get rid of. They are extremely protective of their charge. The stronger the bond, the more dangerous the patron becomes.Lady Luck
Your patron is the manifestation of luck within the planes. You have bound yourself to her wheel of luck in hopes that it increases your own. Your pact with Lady Luck allows you to experience being able to see and shift the luck around you to your benefit. As you strike deals and shift fate in your favor, you can be more likely to take risks as you feel more and more invulnerable to the randomness of life.Mother
Your patron is an ancient mother with a great many children. Though she has enough power to be feared, her kindness and goodness inspire only love in her followers. Such beings desire their children to be safe and prosperous. There is, however, no anger like that of a mother whose children are at risk. Your patron might view you as one of her children or task you with ensuring the prosperity of her children. Beings of this sort include Echidna, Mother of Monsters; Nyx, Mother of the Night; Lepcha, Earth Mother; and other maternal spirits.Nameless
This patron is a conceptual being, a manifestation of the collective unconscious - a creature who desires only knowledge, experience, truth; consumed by an endless well of curiosity. Nameless does not care what methods are used to achieve these goals. It's quite possible that they don’t even understand any of the implications. When you look in the mirror and don’t recognise yourself, that is nameless. When you see a figure in the corner of your eye, that is nameless. When you see someone you think you recognise in a dream, that is nameless. Nameless is everybody and everything in a reflection, the world shifted two inches to the right, with no depth, no features, no commonality. Nameless wears your face like a mask and tears it apart with a thought.Self Improvement
You are an independent Warlock who don't need no Patron. Just follow these simple steps to overcome all of life's difficulties! For eons Warlock has served talking swords and walking squids, but the power was within you all along.The Accursed Archive
In every library, there is a book that has never been read, a section that has never been seen, and a hallway that leads to nowhere – yet, you have managed to read that tome of unspoken secrets, find that shelf of unholy blasphemies, and step beyond the dead-end corridor into the Accursed Archive, where you have become bound to the nightmare- inducing writings within. Demonology, blood magic, and the summoning of things from beyond are among the most mundane of topics here, but draw the eye and call to the hand nonetheless. By some malignant intelligence that selects only the most desperate, the most ambitious, and the most willing to sacrifice, the Accursed Archive collects souls to do its ruinous work: to share the terrible truths that reside upon its endless shelves, and bring chaos and upheaval to the outside world through the disclosure of these forgotten secrets.The All-Maker
The All-Maker's magic sings in every flowing river, in every crackling fire, in every rumbling mountain, and in every howling gust. The very essence of nature is tied to them, and they in turn are tied to the constant chaotic shift of nature. While not nesecarily bound to the elemental chaos, a lot of similarities can be drawn between them and the elements that make up that ring. Beings powerful enough to forge a pact include powerful elementals, as well as ancient forests spirits. Some elven gods, especially those that embody nature, may grant this power to those that reflect their interests, but don't readily worship them.The Ancestral Soul
Ancient spirits of long-forgotten heroes and villains still linger in the world around you. They inhabit the very essence of the air you breathe and the earth you walk upon. Kept in this world by their dying wish unfulfilled, one of them, perhaps a warrior of legend, an ancient sage or an ancestor of your tribe, has made a pact with you to finish what they once started.The Ancient
Your patron is a wise and venerable tree. These ancient trees often come from the Upper Planes or the Feywild and have roots reaching across the planes. A pact bestows a portion of its knowledge to warlocks willing to protect the natural balance, furthering its reach in the multiverse.The Ancient Dragon
Your patron is an elder true dragon, a winged reptile of equal majesty and dread who has seen the rise and fall of empires. Each of these dragons yearns, ultimately, for one thing above all others. The further expansion of their hoards, an effort it may very well expect you to assist and provide for. Each of these beings requires something somewhat unique, and the methods of its retrieval vary equally so. The table below can be used to discover which dragon your patron in particular might be, or merely as a guide for a discussion on the most appropriate one, between you and your DM.The Ancient Toad
You’ve made a pact with a being of immense size and strength. Sitting in a large, palatial temple within a network of mystical swamps, woods, and rivers lies the Ancient Toad, a creature of knowledge, magic, and power. Generally concerned with only its own realm and its preservation, the Ancient Toad rules over the various denizens that reside within it, from the smallest frogs and tadpole servants to the largest toad brutes and sages. Though it rarely leaves its own home, the Ancient Toad often sends its minions out into the world to observe the comings and goings of other realms, or to gather items and resources that can benefit its homeland. The Ancient Toad admires mortals who adhere to laws, seek to better their people through whatever means necessary, or desire strength and power to accomplish goals that would not harm the Ancient Toad or its minions.The Arcane Hive
Your patron is not a single being, but instead a mass of many unified entities that think and exist as one. At some point in your adventures, you have allowed a being like this into you, or had one enter against your will, and are now a part of their magical web of servants. These creatures are motivated by hunger, and consume the magical energy of those they live in.The Archfey
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. 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. 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.The Archlich
You have made a pact with an archlich, a creature that has existed since the dawn of the last age and holds secrets of arcane magic that have been forgotten for thousands of years. Such a being desires only to expand its own power and influence, only using you as a pawn in its far larger scheme. Any lich powerful enough to form a pact has lived for many thousands of years, and many of them were involved in the invention of lichdom itself.The Archmage
Your patron is an incredibly powerful magical practitioner, one whose skill and strength in the arcane arts have made them tantamount to a god. Such a mage may require minions to aid them in unlocking the great secrets of the multiverse, or perhaps they just need a subject for their eldritch experiments. No matter your patron’s motivations, you have convinced them to take you on as an apprentice, being granted access to a modicum of their knowledge and power.The Ashen Wolf
You’ve made a pact with a primal spirit of fire and the hunt – a scourge of the forests and fields, and a harbinger of ill fate. This creature is wise and cunning, making deals with those who have the potential to bring ruin and change. Some consider the beast to be native to the Plane of Elemental Fire; others call it a fiend from the darkest hells. Whatever its origin, the ember-eyed wolf often extracts payment in the form of wishes gone awry: a power demand becomes a battle to retain one’s humanity, while a request for a peaceful resolution often has a price that brings constant regret.The Beholder
Your patron is an ever-watchful beholder, filled with malice and an often insane drive towards dominating all those it considers below it, which is everyone, especially other beholders. While it might share its power with you in an attempt to further its own goals, it despises you and mistrusts you as much as you it. Prominent beholders include Xanathar, of the eponymous Thieves' Guild in Skullport, or Large Luigi, the barkeeper on the Rock of Bral.The Benighted City
In recent years, certain would-be mages dream of walking the precincts of an ancient city, its streets shrouded in darkness—and that those streets whisper secrets. What they couldn't dream of is that sometimes those cities have a conscious will of its own—and that will wishes to bargain. This patron’s warlocks not only gain insight into darkness, but into the secret life of cities everywhere. They hear the whispers of elemental spirits in chimney-smoke and cobblestones, foresee the ebb and flow of urban commerce like a sailor knows the changing of the tides, and feel the hope and despair of multitudes rise like heat from avenues beneath their feet.The Betrayed
Your patron is a being, such as a spirit, fey, or other powerful entity that suffered a terrible betrayal. Alone and embittered, they now seek to bolster with what power they have left those they believe can help them settle their scores in some way. Your pact with this being empowers you, and grants you skills to ensure you do not befall the same fate that they suffered. Of course, not all of those who make these pacts have themselves been wronged or betrayed, not all seek vengeance of their own. But bitter and vengeful hearts seek kindred spirits, and these entities tend to offer their gifts to those they believe can help them achieve their ends.The Blackthorn Grove
You’ve torn out your heart as an offering to the Blackthorn Grove after braving the Maze of Blood and resisting the temptations of the Fields of Acedia. In place of your heart, a pulsing, beating, writhing mass of thorns has grown and made you whole. The lifeblood of the world itself runs through your veins, granting you power and passion alike to fulfill your purpose, whatever that may be. The trials and suffering of your past beckon you to make amends or take your revenge, but the feeling of grass under your feet and the sunlight upon your face is enough to help you understand the worth of life. Wander alone no longer, for even in death the Grove shall grant you a home.The Buried
You have made a pact with a powerful, subterranean entity: an ancient being once revered, now forgotten. Exiled, isolated, and confined beneath the earth, these beings manipulate the overworld through desperate means; provoking earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, in an attempt to maintain their fading legacies.The Celestial
Your patron is a powerful being of the Upper Planes. You have bound yourself to an ancient empyrean, solar, ki-rin, unicorn, or other entity that resides in the planes of everlasting bliss. Your pact with that being allows you to experience the barest touch of the holy light that illuminates the multiverse. Being connected to such power can cause changes in your behavior and beliefs. You might find yourself driven to annihilate the undead, to defeat fiends, and to protect the innocent. At times, your heart might also be filled with a longing for the celestial realm of your patron, and a desire to wander that paradise for the rest of your days. But you know that your mission is among mortals for now, and that your pact binds you to bring light to the dark places of the world.The Chivalric Order
Your pact is with a chivalric order, a sacred fellowship of holy knights united in purpose and camaraderie. Orders powerful enough to bestow magic on a warlock are rare across the multiverse, and ones willing to make such pacts rarer still, for most knights are ready, willing, and able to undertake adventures and sacred quests themselves. Some orders take on as warlocks persons who fail to be worthy of knighthood, providing both consolation and purpose to those who had righteous desires. Others keep warlocks as agents to handle desperate, discreet tasks that the knights themselves cannot perform for risk of breaking their solemn oaths. Found in service to organizations such as the Knights of Mystic Fire or the Order of the Watch, warlocks such as you bear the unique gift of divine power that is your patron order's blessing.The Conquering Host
You've made a pact with a formidable, warlike entity that will stop at nothing to see their enemies kneel before them. With prodigious skill at arms and leadership, this creature has imbued with you with a fraction of its knowledge to serve as vanguard of its ultimate goal; whether this campaign is benevolent, tyrannical or ruinous depends on the disposition of your patron. As variable as the planes themselves, they can hail from anywhere on the Great Wheel, including the Material Plane. Beings of this sort include Nomog-Geaya, hobgoblin demigod of leadership and tyranny; Zariel, Archdevil and Lord of the First; Raziel the Crusader, of the Celestial Hebdomad; Vlaakith, Lich-Queen of the Githyanki; Bael, the Bronze General; Baltazo, the Seeping Sovreign; as well as particularly mighty spirits of Ysgard, the plane of heroes.The Crimson Malifact
The Crimson Malifact is not an entity that can be seen or touched nor is it communicated with by words. Instead, it is a form of a symbiotic curse that seeks out those who seek to commit bloodshed. It appears before them in a pool of blood and offers to give them power unlike they have ever seen. With its power, the host can control his own blood and the spilled blood of his enemies as easily as they could wave their hands. They control the flow of the red liquid as an aquamancer might control the water. However, the power given by the Malifact is far more sinister as the only thing it asks in return is the blood spilled with the power that it offers it's host.The Crone
Your patron is an elder force of the Feywild that veers capriciously between her maternal and destructive instincts. Such a creature smothers those she holds dear with doting attention and rejects those set against her with ruthless cruelty, often vacillating between these extremes seemingly without prompt. You have chosen a spiteful and suffocating patron, one whose nature you find yourself mimicking more and more. Beings of this sort include; Aradia, mother of witchcraft, Baba Yaga, the evil woman, and Hecate, queen of witches.The Currency Conspiracy
Hushed whispers fill your mind, informing you that your memories are your own. You don’t quite understand what that means, but it seems that the Cabal may have a grand plan that requires your action and needs you to be aware of the reality behind your deeds. Perhaps you were knowledgeable and unscrupulous, willing to bargain away the life of another, or perhaps more powerful entities, intervened on your behalf and restored your memory. Nevertheless, now you know the truth behind the Currency Conspiracy. Along with this knowledge comes the ability to manifest the unusual power of Gilt and to wield a measure of control over the karensee. Will you use it to further the dark goals of the Conspiracy, or will you bite the hand that feeds and turn against the dark masterminds of the Cabal? The choice is yours, but the price must be paid in blood.The Dark Powers
Sometimes, we of the lesser races manage to defeat one of the great evils in the world. We band together to break them and cast them down. We destroy their temples and drive their priests away until every last one of their followers turns their back on them. But, the foulest of our enemies cannot be killed so easily. So then, we mortals in our wisdom hide this vestige away in one of the deep places of the world. We seal it in a tomb of amber, protected by the greatest wards and magics we know. We bury it, and we forget. Generations pass, centuries or longer. Our descendants listen to the old tales and discard them as nothing more than stories and legends. Eventually, even the name of this force of evil is forgotten altogether, as if it never existed. However, evil never forgets, and some evil never sleeps. It sits in its amber tomb, for generations, centuries or longer, and it waits. Humiliated and engulfed by rage, overwhelmed by loneliness and stifling silence, it forges its bitterness into determination. One day, when foolish mortals wander too close or dig too deep, it will enter their minds sweetly. It will show them a future that they could never dream of, and promise them power beyond their limited words. All they must do is pay a price. That is not too much to ask. It will bargain for a favor perhaps, or a gift, a token. Their beauty, confidence, or sanity. Part of their flesh and bone, or a sliver of their soul.The Dearly Departed
You have made a pact with the spirit of someone you loved, or with the god of death that was their jailor. This spirit’s soul has been returned to you in the mortal plane, and is referred to as your Dearly Departed. Your Dearly Departed can be anyone of great importance to you, who passed away with unfinished business. In exchange for being reunited with this spirit, you must pay with your vitality. For every year that your Dearly Departed’s soul is in the mortal plane with you, you lose a year of your own lifespan. Once the business of your Dearly Departed is concluded and they are at rest, their spirit will leave the mortal plane and return to their eternal grave.The Dream
The Ossended Host is an esoteric group of acolytes who worship the power of dreams and nightmares. The priests of this order keep the source of their power a closely guarded secret. They preach the power of dreams and the virtue that can be found within them, seeming to all the world like a benevolent order. However, to their enemies they can unleash the fury of nightmares, trapping foes in horrifying prisons of their own making. What dark being is at the center of this twisted order? The Ossended Host isn't talking, and anyone who may have found out has either joined them or was never seen again...The Drowned
Throughout history, the tales of shipwrecks and unfathomable storms have filled the nightmares and minds of sailors the oceans’ over. And while many knock this as silly superstitions, seamen know the truth of what lurks deep within the bowels of the world waters. There is a benevolent being known as the Drowned, a spirit formed from the dead souls of those killed in the great storms and sea battles, taken from life too soon. The Drowned rarely breathes life back into those who come to its realm, but occasionally, it finds a soul with such life that it returns them. These warlocks of the Drowned are strange beings, dead but alive, whole but asunder. Their minds wander and they often rage as but a typhoon would, but they control awesome power. And all the Drowned asks for is that they return to it when the time has come.The Elder Tome
You have made a pact with an entity that holds untold knowledge of the universe, and it has given you a tome bearing only a tiny fraction it's consciousness and its knowledge. In this tome, lost secrets are scrawled in an alien tongue unread by mortal eyes in millennia. As you learn you must write down as much information you gain into in your adventure into the empty pages at the back of this tome so that all the knowledge you gain is also gained by your patron. In return, they reveal the secrets hidden behind the indiscernible scrawling at the front of the book. Knowledge is power. And power, slowly revealed to you, is your reward.The Empty
Abandoned by all else mortals can find themselves filled with a bursting dread and embraced with a deafening silence. These people find themselves on a day to day basis staring into a void that whispers to them dark secrets and ideas, but only those who look into the void and scream back can truly understand how morbid these thoughts truly are. The Empty are those who when scorned by not only people, but the primal forces of the world be it the gods or the elements themselves would do anything to fill an all encompassing void within themselves. Those cursed with this power feel only ever the need to consume and fill the void that lies within themselves.The Eternal Citadel
You’ve made a pact with the Eternal Citadel, a massive yet empty bastion that seems to wander between worlds, collecting travelers and then releasing them again once they agree to serve. The Eternal Citadel communicates through the silent transfer of emotions and feelings – an instinctual sense to follow a course of action, no matter how enigmatic it may seem. An unknown number of people have sworn their allegiance to the Citadel, and few ever meet, but they all serve the same end, known or otherwise: preservation against the forces that seek destruction.The Evil Child
It’s not really a child, and no mother bore it in their womb. It’s something else - and it has chosen you as the vessel of its power and the tool of its will. Whether you carry it around with you all day, or whether it only visits you in your dreams, it takes on a form familiar to you either to unnerve you or to shield you from the horror of what it really is. This could be a big evil star baby, a creepy seven year old, or something even more abstract such as a childhood toy. Either way, it seems to need you. Or enjoy your company. For now.The Fallen Exile
Stars beyond measure populate the void beyond the world, while celestial spheres circle above. You have met with one of their number, cast down by the many cold and unfeeling suns above for the sin of falling in love with a mortal. As punishment, the spiteful and envious stars shined their pale fury upon the paramour, destroying them utterly. The Exile now wanders the world it has been cast upon, appearing as a shimmer of light. Its goal is known only to those whom it trusts, and it grants power to them as it is powerless itself, stripped of interaction with the mortal world for its hubris. It endlessly searches, seeking either a soul of great kindness to help it find the knowledge and power to resurrect its fallen love, or one unscrupulous enough to wage war upon the very stars themselves. The light shines, but that fire can be cold and merciless, like the wrath of a love destroyed.The Fate
Fate is not set in stone as many assume. Yet, for some fate is like a rushing stream, it flashes by yet at key moments things can be changed with the right knowledge. As a master of what is and will be in this world, these watchers over fate can alter your future and predict what it holds. But everything comes with a price and for those who watch over fate, the price of knowledge is servitude. Now cursed with knowledge of their own and other's fates, those who have been put into a pact with these various figures that watch over fate seek to warn others of their own terrible fates, before they meet a circumstance as dire as they did.The Fiend
You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes of existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus, Fraz’Urb-luu, and Baphomet; archdevils such as Asmodeus, Dispater, Mephistopheles, and Belial; pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty; and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.The Firebird
Your patron is a mighty phoenix, a creature of the elemental plane of fire. While ordinary phoenixes do not have the intelligence to make such a pact, particularly powerful ones, known as firebirds, can bestow great elemental power to a warlock. The aims of a firebird are far from complex—they seek destruction, and use their warlocks to further that goal. They pay no great heed to how a warlock uses the powers they grant them, however, instead tending to assume that those fiery powers would naturally be used to incite chaos and destruction. While warlocks of this pact are often driven to burn and destroy as their patrons do, some manage to use their abilities for good, utilizing their magic in their fight against evil.The Forbidden Graveyard
You’ve stepped into the Forbidden Graveyard, a sanctuary found on the boundary between life and death, where the rare few whose minds are attuned to this place come to wander as their bodies heal or slip away into the cold clutches of the night. Those that embrace the experience and seal shut the Gate of Souls within find themselves gifted with an understanding of both the living and the dead. Unknown to all but those like you, the Gate requires repayment for this mercy, and only the souls of others will do. Choose wisely, for all who cross your path are marked by the Graveyard for collection. It is up to you to safeguard them from that dark plane, or to send them there to take your place in the cold embrace of death.The Forest Guardian
You have made a pact with a powerful being that serves nature itself. Such creatures seek to grow and protect the natural beauty of the forest. Protecting nature from the encroachment of civilization and industrious cities is in the forefront of their thoughts, and is often the reason for offering power to others. Many see them as terrible creatures, ruthlessly bringing vengeance to those who would intrude on the spread of nature. Others find harmony with them, spreading the vines of nature throughout the planes. Entities capable of this power include ancient treants, dryads, or coalitions of awakened plants.The Fungal Lord
Mushrooms and fungi represent a part of the cycle of natural life that is sometimes revered or feared, but often misunderstood. Breaking down other organic material creates nourishment for the greater environment, and good or neutral aligned fungal patrons tend to the cycle of nature, creating life from death and creation from de struction. Evil fungal lords care much less for balance and seek to cover the world in their children, using fungi solely to consume and enslave those they deem lesser than themselves. Patrons that are willing and able to make this pact include Zuggtmoy, the Carrion King, the Scarlet Lord, Araumycos, and Psylofyr. Warlocks that make a pact with a fungal lord typically do so by spending a month and a day in a cave or forest overgrown with mushrooms, communing with the lord in question through prayer and meditation. Should the pact be accepted, the prospective warlock will begin to grow an inkling of their patron's fungal essence inside them, subtly changing their physiology. Roll once or pick from the Mycelial Presence table to determine the exact change your character undergoes.The Friends
Your patron is the friends you make. While others may bargain their soul away, you have freely given it to every person you meet. You make friends wherever you go by simply being yourself. These friends, although mortal and powerless by themselves, provide you the strength to go beyond the possible through the will of their trust in you. They look to you for support, friendship, and guidance - an unwavering soul, who tirelessly puts forth the effort for each and every one of their friends. You will forever live on in the hearts of every heart you touch. They will all think of you now and then, never forgetting, as your hearts will be one.The Gelatinous Convocation
You’ve made a pact with the cheerful wandering cubes of sentient ooze that wiggle and wobble their way across the multiverse to visit worlds beyond measure with the singular goal of spreading their offspring within the deepest dungeons to collect and absorb the memories of the fallen. As they happily bounce between the planes, they occasionally encounter a soul they view as truly amusing, so they offer a measure of their strange power over the slimes and oozes of the world using the magic that they wield with a mere wave of their pseudopods.The Genius Loci
You have been noticed by an unfathomable intelligence that permeates a particular locale, such as a dilapidated house or asylum, a crowded city, or even a distant constellation. Born from sites of strong emotions, tragedies, or perhaps the complex interactions of unwitting participants, these entities whisper subtly of times forgotten through the creak of the floorboard, the din of the city market, the cavernous echo of dripping water, or the shining death of a distant star. A typical example of these genii loci may be a malevolent haunting of an abandoned building, however, these entities may also be protective stewards presiding over their domain; inquisitive cosmic entities of indescribable scale and mind; or the chaotic and ever-shifting zeitgeist of civilization, exhibiting the deepest desires and frustrations of the common person.The Giant Primordial Duck
Your patron is a giant primordial duck. No one really knows how these creatures came to be, or what they are capable of, but many know of their terror and power. They are but a mystery to most, keeping their true ambitions to themselves. Your patrons’ motives are most likely a mystery to you.The Gray Portrait
Your dedication to art and beauty has led you to discover the art of creating a Gray Portrait: an artifact that your soul and body are bound to. The portrait reflects your inner self, and suffers the damage you would take, the diseases you would contract, and the cruelty you may inflict. It grants you the power to use your art to perform feats of incredible magic, and to paint beauty and ugliness alike upon the fabric of reality. This freedom from responsibility is corruptive, however, so one must be wary – if the portrait is destroyed, all that suffering returns to collect the devil’s due.The Great Bat
In the times of darkness, long before mankind journeyed across the surface of the world, Camazotz ruled the night with his legion of bat demons and vampire warriors, flying forth from Xibalba. However, once humans were able to brave the night, Camazotz’ power decreased, until warlocks began to flock to his promise of control over the night and the gift of everlasting life. Camazotz is a deceiver and the father of vampires, but when he swears a blood promise, he keeps it.The Great Cold
The Great Cold is a being tucked deep in the clouds atop the highest mountains that none dare to climb. Where Ice Giants walk and where Griffons soar through the murky clouds, lives a being said to be the sole embodiment of frost, but these are tales spun to give the masses a fantasy to explain what lurks in the sub zero winds above the atmosphere. In actuality, none know what the Great Cold looks like, though if near one's death bed or seekers of the mountain's power are visited by Snowy Owls, chances are they are within his domain. It is here that one will either bargain their lives from a frozen tomb or offer service to the Lord of The Mountain's Bite through his trusted voice, the snowy owls. To gain favor and power with the Great Cold one must spread his influence across the land where his winds cannot reach, to spread cold and let his messenger owls survey the unknown. If one should wane in their frozen master's bidding, owls shall congregate and his voice shall remind the Warlock of their ultimate goal. "Climb mountains child, reach the peaks, let my ice wisp about you and my owls be your sight. Through you I may travel to heights unknown, your powers and my domain shall then grow ever more powerful. Thaw and the winds shall rend your flesh and the messengers devour your eyes in my name."The Great Old One
Your patron is a mysterious entity whose nature is utterly foreign to the fabric of reality. It might come from the Far Realm, the space beyond reality, or it could be one of the elder gods known only in legends. Its motives are incomprehensible to mortals, and its knowledge so immense and ancient that even the greatest libraries pale in comparison to the vast secrets it holds. The Great Old One might be unaware of your existence or entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you have learned allow you to draw your magic from it.The Great Storm
Residing just beyond the Material Plane lies a massive storm that even the gods fear to brave for long. The majority of big storms on all of the planes are typically caused by the influence of this great storm. You have braved one of these storms and learned the truth. Hidden in wind and the lightning is a voice, the voice of the Great Storm itself. Listening to its whisper you have learned the true nature of this sentient storm and have forged a pact with it. Though the motives and desires of the Great Storm remain a mystery, the power of the storm you are granted is clear.The Great Tree
Your patron is an ancient and powerful tree, its fathomless consciousness dwarfing the minds of most other creatures. Its needs might be simple, or so complex as to be unable to see the forest for the trees. Oftentimes they seek out warlocks as agents to guard them and their home from would-be ne'er-dowells. Beings of this kind include unimaginably old trees in the feywild, or particularly powerful treants or dryads.The Great Trickster
You have pledged your allegiance to a spirit of mischief who delights in misdirection and misappropriation. Despite an irredeemable reputation, such patrons are not necessarily evil or even selfish. Some tricksters use pranks to teach others important moral lessons or commit lesser wrongs to serve the greater good. Most, however, are motivated primarily by their own entertainment and self-satisfaction. And selfishness.The Harvest
“Growing up in my village, I didn’t understand why we had scarecrows everywhere. In the fields, along the streets, at the edge of the woods. When I got older I learned damn well. They were the guards. The spies. The eyes and ears...and the knives of our village’s protector.” -Amos Partaker, human warlock of the harvest.Even in worlds with deities that can bless a farmer’s crops, agrarian communities still turn to every measure of superstition and folk belief to improve their chances of a good harvest. Practices of saving the last sheath of corn, performing ritualistic community celebrations, or reciting certain field songs are often the least of these. Some communities go much further, worshipping pagan gods, natural spirits, or darker entities who they believe control the fate of their community’s autumn fortunes. Whether these entities are real or through the manifest power of belief, some feel as though they are empowered with the spirit of the harvest, bringing this view out into the world at large with strange purpose.
The Heart of All Magic
Magic is often misunderstood, perhaps most by those who use it. It is not some resource to be mined, nor a well to be drunk from. It is a living, thinking entity. It is old, older than most of existence and it is hungry. Few understand this being, and even fewer are drawn to it. You are one of those few. Whether it be from birth, a ritual gone awry, or stumbling into a dimension very far removed from your own, you have come into contact with the Heart of All Magic. In turn it has marked you with its very specific brand of power. In some circles, these individuals are known as Antari. In the tongue of the Old Blood, this word means "Perfected."The Hexblade
You have made your pact with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell — a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. The mighty sword Blackrazor is the most notable of these weapons, which have been spread across the multiverse over the ages. The shadowy force behind these weapons can offer power to warlocks who form pacts with it. Many hexblade warlocks create weapons that emulate those formed in the Shadowfell. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting. Because the Raven Queen is known to have forged the first of these weapons, many sages speculate that she and the force are one and that the weapons, along with hexblade warlocks, are tools she uses to manipulate events on the Material Plane to her inscrutable ends.The Hive Mind
WE ARE ONE. WE ARE MANY. THE HIVE IS THE ALPHA. THE HIVE IS THE OMEGA. OBEY THE HIVE. WORSHIP THE HIVE. BECOME THE HIVE. CONSUME. EVOLVE. CONQUER. OBLITERATE.Warlocks of the Hive Mind are among the most dangerous folks in existence. They can only be evil and describe themselves as collectors, gathering souls on their leisure. They rarely travel within parties and even if they do, it is simply a means of reaching a goal. What is peculiar about them is that they hold hatred even towards fellow Hive Mind warlocks, as they consider them competitors.
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