Warlock Patron Handbook By Joshua Joseph Kochuthelliyil

 Warlock Patron Handbook

By Joshua Joseph Kochuthelliyil

Hello! I am Joshua Joseph Kochuthelliyil, and this is the Warlock Patron Handbook. This is intended for use with the Dungeons and Dragons 5e tabletop role-playing game. Here, I shall present a quick synopsis of what each Warlock Patron is all about, but before we get into that, let’s answer some questions . . .

What is a Warlock?

A Warlock is one of the many classes that a player can choose for their player character. They are magical casters who wield occult, bargained magic. Unlike Wizards, who study arcane magic and learn how to cast it through academic procedure, and Clerics, who are blessed with divine magic through their god, Warlocks gain their magic through striking a Pact, or deal with a Patron, or powerful entity. The class embodies the classic trope of making a faustian pact with a malevolent creature for occult magic, but it can be used to cover a wide variety of character concepts. Warlocks cast a different type of magic than other spellcasters, called Pact Magic, which is both more volatile but more limited than regular spellcasting. A Warlock’s main attribute is Charisma.

What is an Otherworldly Patron?

An Otherworldly Patron is a powerful entity that grants a Warlock power, often in exchange for something that the Warlock gives up to the Patron. There are many different types of Patrons, and so each Patron grants their Warlock different occult powers. Functionally, the Patron you choose for  your Warlock is  your subclass. 

Alright, without further ado, let’s begin with the Warlock Patron Handbook!

Archfey

"I serve the Fairy Queen, to dew her orbs upon the green." -  Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare

This is for a Warlock who bears a mystical pact with a great Archfey of the Feywild! An Archfey is a powerful Fey, like Oberon, Titania, and Maeve! As a Patron, an Archfey bestows their Warlock with both whimsical and frightening magic that allows the Warlock to charm and deceive. An example of how one might become a Warlock of the Archfey is by giving the Archfey one’s friendship in exchange for the pact, or by asking the Archfey to lend supernatural powers, with the promise that the Warlock will use the Archfey’s magic to produce mischief.

Celestial

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." - Matthew 7:8, The Holy Bible

This is for a Warlock who has been given magic by an divine Archangel or another creature that resides in the higher planes of heaven! These angelic Patrons gift their Warlocks with the capability to heal the Warlock’s allies and channel radiant energy! Examples of how one becomes a Warlock of the Celestial are by wishing for power upon a lone star, promising to do benevolent deeds with such magic, or by agreeing to spread the influence of the heavens in an area that is otherwise inaccessible to celestial beings.

Fathomless

"Below the thunders of the upper deep, The Kraken sleepeth." - Alfred, The Kraken, by Lord Tennyson

This is for a Warlock who has a Pact with an otherworldly leviathan of the seas! Examples of Fathomless Patrons include Krakens and Great Water Elementals! Warlocks of the Fathomless can channel their Patrons' power by gaining the ability to manipulate water and operate without trouble in the deepest depths of the seas. One possible way in which one could become a Warlock of the Fathomless is by being spared by a leviathan during its siege on one’s ship, and in exchange, the Warlock must lure more ships to the same spot to be demolished by the sea dwelling Patron. . .

Fiend

"Eternal darkness, behold! Fiery abyss, engulf the world! The Devil's pact is sealed, and damnation awaits the soul." - Faust, Legend of Faust, by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

This is for a Warlock who strikes a deal with a Devil in exchange for dark magic! These Warlocks can blast spells that produce eldritch flame, manifest a fiendish resistance against non-silvered weapons, and can even banish a foe to the 9 Hells! The most iconic example of how one transforms into a Warlock of the Fiend is by selling one’s soul in exchange for a Pact!

Genie

“Phenomenal cosmic power! Itty-bitty living space.” - Genie, Aladdin, by Walt Disney Feature Animations

This is for a  Warlock who is the loyal servant of a noble Genie! These Warlocks gain the ability to escape danger by retreating within the Genie’s vessel, which is any small trinket like a ring or even an oil lamp, and the ability to have a Wish be granted by the Warlock’s Genie! Examples of how one becomes a Warlock of the Genie include finding a lamp containing a Djinni, or being taken as a slave by an Efreeti!

Great Old One

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." - H.P. Lovecraft

This is for a Warlock who draws power from a powerful Aberration or an ancient lovecraftian horror. Examples of Great Old One Patrons include an Elder Brain, Grand Aboleth, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and Y’Golonac. Where other Warlocks have a clearly defined agreement with their Patron, Great Old One Patrons have little awareness of their Warlocks, in the same vein as how humans in daily life are completely unaware of the microbes that rely on them completely for sustenance. Warlocks of the Great Old One gain features that allow them to read and manipulate minds, and produce psychic powers. However, such unutterable abilities often do not come without terrible insanity . . . .

Hexblade

“I am the blood, and the blood is me. We are joined together forever. The Ebony Blade thirsts, and I must answer its call." - Black Knight, The Avengers #47, by Roy Thomas

This is for a Warlock who forged a Pact with an entity of the Shadowfell, or an cursed, sentient weapon. The Hexblade subclass is the gish option for the Warlock, which means that it can use both spells and weapons interchangeably, and it is considered by the Dungeons and Dragons community as one of the best gish options in the game ( too good, in fact ). Warlocks of the Hexblade can swing a magical weapon, brand foes with curses, and even bind the soul of a fallen enemy as a spectral slave to do the Warlock’s bidding! An example of how one might become a Warlock of the Hexblade would be finding an old magic weapon, with a mind of its own, and bonding with it against one’s better judgment.

Undead

"The blood is the life! The blood is the life!" - Dracula, Dracula, by Bram Stoker

This is for a Warlock who is a pupil to a powerful Undead! Examples of proper Undead Patrons include Liches, Vampires, and Mummy Lords! Warlocks of the Undead can replicate the durable nature of their Patron by activating their Form of Dread, which causes the Warlock to project a visage of themselves that resembles their Patron, and gives the Warlock undying vitality. Examples of how one would become a Warlock of the Undead include agreeing to lead unsuspecting victims into a Vampire’s lair, in exchange for the Warlock keeping their life, or agreeing to become the phylactery of a powerful Lich ( A phylactery is a sort of spiritual anchor that allows the Lich to always survive the inhalation of their bodies, so long as the phylactery persists ).

Undying

“This one’s garbage, don’t pick it.” - Warlock Patron Handbook, by Joshua Joseph Kochuthelliyil 

This is for a Warlock who gains power from an immortal creature. This subclass is thematically very similar to the Undead subclass, because the Undead subclass was made as a replacement for the Undying subclass. The Undying subclass was so mechanically broken and unsolvable that an entirely new subclass was produced to replace it! Anyone who finds themselves gravitated towards the nature of the Undying Patron should just play a Undead Warlock instead. There is no point in tweeking a shambling mess of a subclass when an official replacement and upgrade is available. This one’s garbage, don’t pick it. 

Citations:

“DND 5th Edition.” Warlock - DND 5th Edition, dnd5e.wikidot.com/warlock. Accessed 26 June 2023. 

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York :Signet Classic, 1998

Holy Bible. American Standard Version, Bible Domain Publishing, 2013.

Wilson, Joshua. "Faust." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 4 Sep 2015. Web. 26 Jun 2023.

Von, Goethe Johann Wolfgang, et al. Faust. Bloomsbury Books, 1988. 

“The Kraken.” Poets.Org, 24 June 2019, poets.org/poem/kraken. 

Menken, Alan composer, arranger of music. Walt Disney Pictures Presents Aladdin : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Burbank, CA :Walt Disney Records, 1992.

H. P. Lovecraft 1890–1937

fnord12. “Avengers #47-50.” SuperMegaMonkey, 25 July 2019, www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/avengers_4750.shtml. 

Kochuthelliyil, Joshua Joseph. “Warlock Patron Handbook.” Google Docs: Sign-In, docs.google.com/document/d/1J1LGWJxTj4DARkIJBhKJ-NqUPGohEnoXTeqgB2d7VvI/edit. Accessed 26 June 2023.