z

Young Writers Society


Patron Difficulties



User avatar
61 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 125
Reviews: 61
Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:28 pm
Feltrix says...



So, I know Dungeons and Dragons isn't technically writing, but it is a form of collaborative storytelling and the advice I need is from a storyteller's perspective.

So, as you may know, in the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, Warlocks get their power from making a Pact with a powerful being called a Patron. One of the people in my campaign is a warlock, and his Patron's goals mostly don't interfere with the party's goals. However, at some point in the story, her goals are going to be in direct opposition with the party's and so she's going to probably threaten the warlock. But I don't want his connection with his Patron to be permanently destroyed because of this. Any ideas on what I should do?

For background, the Patron is an old and powerful dragon whose soul was bound to a sword. She wants to be resurrected instead of an important NPC. I assume, because most of my party are good people, they'll resurrect the NPC who they need to stop the villain.
Intrepid Explorer
Squire of the Green Room
Harbinger of the Cosmic Squid
Brief Castaway
Founder of Hermits United
TIME Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year
Dark Matter Overlord
Kind of a Big Deal
  





User avatar
324 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 0
Reviews: 324
Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:16 pm
View Likes
Evander says...



I DMed for a period of time and one of my players was a warlock, so hopefully my answer will be useful!

If the warlock goes against their patron's explicit wishes, then it's going to be pretty tough for the warlock. It's incredibly likely that the patron will sever ties, but it's also somewhat likely that the patron might take away a few blessings as punishment (the warlock might lose some spells or abilities for not resurrecting the patron).

A lot of this depends on how loyal the warlock is to their patron and how forgiving the patron is. How valuable the warlock is to the patron also matters.

If the warlock is loyal and ends up convincing the party to resurrect their patron instead, great! No worries! (Except for needing the NPC to stop the villain, oops.)

If the warlock is loyal and ends up not being able to convince the party to resurrect their patron instead, then the patron might be forgiving and only punish the warlock a little bit (maybe one spell goes away?) but eventually relents. (Depending on how forgiving, the patron might not punish the warlock at all. However, I wouldn't go down the "everything is forgiven and nothing is held against you!" route.)

If the warlock is eventually worn down and turns to resurrect the NPC, no longer fighting for their patron, then the patron might go the medium punish route. Maybe a few key spells that the warlock uses is no longer available, maybe their pact boon is taken away. This may or may not be restorable, depending on how the warlock roleplays.

If the warlock doesn't consider their patron at all and resurrects the NPC, then I'd honestly go the route of possibly severing ties or severely restricting the warlock's patron-given power. You could possibly make up for the decreased power with limited use magic items, but that's all up to you.

I completely understand not wanting to permanently destroy the connection -- depending on the roleplay, you might not have to.

Hopefully this helps! If you want to explore more options, then just tag me! I looove talking about D&D rules and roleplay, haha
Want to talk about your project? Head on over to the Writers Corner! If you have a question about writing, then head on over to Research! Is your question not big enough to warrant its own thread? Ask away in Little Details!

German rat enthusiast.
  





User avatar
61 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 125
Reviews: 61
Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:34 pm
View Likes
Feltrix says...



That actually helps a lot, thanks!
Intrepid Explorer
Squire of the Green Room
Harbinger of the Cosmic Squid
Brief Castaway
Founder of Hermits United
TIME Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year
Dark Matter Overlord
Kind of a Big Deal
  








I think Amelia Earhart wants you to get some ice cream.
— SilverNight