Make Warlock Patrons Imposing

#dungeonsanddragons #tabletopgaming #ttrpg #5e #dnd #rpg #criticalrole #dungeonmaster #wotc #dnd5e #warlock #devil #demon

[DexteroExplosion]

Arch Devil shows up, asks the Warlock who their favorite party member is, points at that person who explodes into pieces, casts Wish to put them back together, tells the warlock "last chance, knock it off", and disappears.

I don't think I'd ever do this, but with the right group/campaign, it might be funny.

[Grey_Shard]

Idea for a fiend warlock. Every time the Warlock takes a short rest, an imp shows up with paperwork the Warlock has to fill out about using his Warlockry. His patron is a fiend of the Infernal Revenue Service.

[zoobnash]

what if instead of sending lawyers to remind the warlock of their contract they sent the pinkertons

[aidanmcarthur]

A crisp knock is heard on the door, a rapping from the knuckles upon the heavy bar entrance. Everyone outside the party freezes, but not just stopping or pausing in fear. They freeze, stop mid laugh, the bartender pouring spirits together freezes too, his concoction in the air slow to a crawl and stop pouring to glass. Like time has stopped. The party can still talk and interact looking around as things sort of become greyed out. Black and white, as if something dark, and indifferent has..tainted the very light. They become blurry and faintly more distant. Like they were behind a thick glass pane.

‘C-crreeeuuek’

And then the bar door opens, creaking softly as a thin, refined looking gentleman in a obsidian suit walks into the tavern, not rushed at all. Clearly acting as though he had all the time In the world. An empty chair at the opposite half of the table is pulled back, and he sits on it. He talks in a calm low voice, but with the tone that he’s not ready to keep conversation just yet. Curiously his eyes are wrong. No matter who looks at him, they see him stare back even as it’s clear he’s looking at the warlock.

“Good evening, mister Almbridge.”

Even. Polite. Cold. And the warlock seems rigid. Their posture forced to its utmost respectful state. The effect of their drink wears off instantly as they sober up.

A bead of sweat falls down the brow of the warlock, he looks around to his friends in the party. They are unfocused. Blurry. At the moment the arbitrator sat down they became similar to the other guests. But they are distinctly more vibrant and defined. Seemingly still aware. He hadn’t even noticed they froze.

he looks at the table with a look of distaste. Stains, dust, cracks and cuts. And it wasn’t a perfect rectangle. The man in the suit reaches down and grabs his suitcase, setting it on the table, it looks absolutely mundane. A very dark red, made of a fine leather. And then he opens the clasps, and the seam where it splits becomes hot, dripping-no-melting holes into the wooden table. Boiling smoke pours out over the table top, cascading over the edges. The wood seems to bubble and boil, not cracking or burning or splintering. Boiling, Melting like it was made of ice.

The warlock panicks for a second and draws back his arms, but they aren’t burned. His clothes aren’t catching fire, and the table..feels cold. Even as bubbles pop like thick lava, and the smoke infuses into the surface. The suitcase melts into the table., along with the food and drink upon it. The fine wood burned into the smoke and embers, the golden trim and the dark red straps melt and snap. It sinks into the surface like quicksand. And when the final corner is submerged, the table seems to cool down.

The table changed. The old, weathered grey table had turned to thick cherry planks. Coated in a smooth dark lacquer. The cracks and cuts of people carving with knives are gone, the pits and warping is fixed. It’s clean. Pristine. The sides banded with fine black leather, capped with gold. The wood flickers with tiny embers but remains cool to the touch. The legs weren’t uneven, and the sides are perfect right angles.

The thin man in his suit leans back, his hands brought to his perfectly flat tie, and somehow he straightened it more. As if the half degree curve toward the floor from sitting down was unacceptably slovenly. He leans forward a little and sets his arms on the table, a short stack of papers appears next to his elbow, and he slides it forward with a smile. With a deft motion it’s pushed to be perfectly between them.

“I am here to discuss the terms of your contract.”

[keelanmurphy]

Absolutely agree on the lawyer idea. Demonic patrons in my campaigns always have an agent, and he is always a carbon copy of Lionel Hutz from the Simpsons.

[nvfury]

The demon/devil was sent to personally deliver a “request” from the Patron, is a great way to play this. They are so powerful they send powerful being like that as *messenger boys.*

[lorddemon]

I actually love the lawyer one. It's a more subtle move, displays power by showing the devil has others above you that they can casually send out, and is just a calm badass thing that isn't done enough in D&D. (At least in my groups)

[jakeair]

I have a dm that makes each 0 session for any of my warlocks a negotiation with the patron. That and the prices they keep having to pay to a demon from time to time

[kenyonelliott]

Ive got several devils disguised at lawyers in the game I'm running. The court house has a secret room that leads to a portal to the nine hells. The judge is the similacrum of the God of Conspiracy

[AbstractStew]

I don't think you send a devil. If you want the warlock to be in awe of the subtlety and power of a fiendish patron, have an angel show up. Not a fallen angel, either. This angel is fully on the side of good and owes a debt to the archdevil. The angel has.the talk with the warlock.

If the warlock is smart, he will wonder how much sending an angel just cost his patron and what they plan to get out of it.

[michaelhockman]

Rakshasa are MADE for this! Immunity to nonmagic damage AND spells below 5th level means he can literally just talk while the party attacks. No chance low level players can roll well and kill your messenger. (except maybe paladins and other classes with rider effects on non spell attacks, but that’s not likely)

I sent a Rakshasa messenger to the party, and he just kept talking calmly while the party threw everything they had at him. It went from scaring the party to being a funny bit.

[miles]

My DM just had a cool patron thing. I went down last combat (we were underlevelled), but i was brought back before any saves were made. But he described that when I went down, I saw my patron (first time ever making direct contact), and he simply said "That. Was not your job." And then my party mate's healing word went off. Coolest shit ever

[benmwalls]

My warlock served Mephi, and when we needed to go to hell, I called "daddy" and then he teleported us to hell - for a heavy price.

[AnxidelAurora]

Dude that would be creepy in the actual place of that player. Most people only think of the destructive or manipulative personality of demons and devils, but this is not a common usage of them

[henryohenry]

Oh hey guys! 😀 . . . . .
☠💀☠ . . . .
By the way the boss says you gotta take him more seriously . 🤷‍♀️

That sounds like an awesome hook, also one of them survives and then goes after the party. 😮

[spacemarine]

I was expecting something more like an intervention where even the arch devil is like "ay man this is an intervention we gotta get you outta here"

[cheezemonkeyeater]

The most terrifying outsider I ever made for any D&D campaign always appeared as an androgynous figure in a white suit, who always smiled, talked to everyone like he was their friend, and oozed with a sense of absolutely confidence that he was in charge.
The thing was, he gave "freebies." In the course of conversation, if he found out what you wanted, at some point in the near future that person might get what they wanted, only to find out at much later date that it came at the expense of somebody else in a truly horrible way.
And something about the way I portrayed his confidence was so absolute that they never dared attack him, because they didn't know anything about him EXCEPT that he was always sure he was in control. And also, it was pretty heavily implied that he at one point wiped out an entire city in the process of executing his contracts.
Every time he showed up, it was knuckle-white, sweaty-palmed nightmare, because you don't dare not talk to him unless he got angry, but you had to watch what you say lest it be taken as a request.
They never did defeat him. They ended up hunting down and destroying his followers, but at that point, he just never came back, and they were left with the lingering sense that he was still out there somewhere.

[bobmcbob]

Just gotta work the old fashioned way and break the bard's kneecaps

[aaronclarke]

I did like a G man idea for my warlock this man in a suit would appear to him in dreams and basically give him orders on what the his patron wanted

[dajmen]

It woulde be funny to se a demon pull a diablo and chast dem into a shadow Dimention as a trial