Warlock Lore - Must Read

[Lockonnow]

Nightmare it is RP server we can rp that the power was brought to the sword coast some how

[WeWhoEat]

Readers of Monty's findings should also note that Glasya is not yet ruler of the Sixth - that is still the Hag Countess.

This is a great source of information, my thanks to all who compiled it.

But also note that there are only two elven warlock candidates mentioned. The Fey'ri who use dark powers and star elves, both of which don't exist on BG.

The elves of Faerûn are at one with the land and magic, favoring more traditional sorcerous pursuits such as nature magic, wizardry, and bladesinging. Warlock heritage and pacts are almost unknown outside of two elven subgroups -- the star elves and the fey'ri. The former derive their heritage from the unstable energies of their magically created home plane. The latter hold pacts with dark forces such as the fallen Solar Malkizid.

It does not mean there cannot be elven warlocks, just that they would be very rare, though likely not as rare as warlocks Pacted to Titania. And one should also keep in mind that when the WotC article talks about warlocks in service to a deity, it does not mean Pacted to that deity. The fire genasi who serve the church of Kossuth, for instance, are not Pacted to Kossuth.

One thing that the article does is really open up the issue of warlocks in which no Pact whatsoever are involved - primarily, in this case, with Planestouched. I think up until now, anyway, the general concensus of the server has been that all warlocks gained power either by making Pacts or inheriting them. If this is no longer the case, it certainly might open up interesting RP for planestouched warlocks.

[Knightmare]

It is indeed interesting that planetouched races may be bestowed warlock powers simply through servitude, but equally interesting is it that the deities which are refered to as being the ones granting such powers are the primordials i.e. Akadi and Kossuth.

The primordials are neutral or evil exclusively, so that's another nail in the "good warlock's" coffin. I have yet to read about a single good deity granting warlock powers, but perhaps someone can recite some official lore on the matter?

On a different note, I have no idea how many elven warlocks are out there, but the lore provided so far suggests that they are extremely rare. If not a star elf or a Fey'ri, how does an ordinary elf become a warlock? The articles suggests that only star elves and Fey'ri are granted warlock powers by deities or fey, so does that mean that "ordinary" elves are pact makers by default?

[Rasael]

Prior to 4th Edition Good and Chaotic good Pact creatures are the Fey Eladrin. Which are apparantly also capable of casting high magic spells without sacrifcing themselves and such feats. Don't wanna make them angry by reneging on the pact. They are quite capricious too I think.

I wouldn't know what such a creature would consider making a pact for. I think such occurances would be much and much rarer than pacts with Evil creatures. You'd have to be able to offer them something that is not your soul. (I don't think good creatures would take your soul; maybe a neutral Eladrin might consider it though)
From this perspective we should probably not have Fey Facts, and just Evil pacts. With DM's able to switch them if a player comes up with a well thought out story for having a Fey Pact.
(just an idea)

It might also be possible to make a pact with a Celestial being, though I can't imagine that they'd ask for your soul in return. Perhaps something along the lines of very long servitude to their cause and battling evil.... But generally Celestials don't give away power or make Pacts. They've got Angels to do their battles for them.

[Maecius]

This is good info. Thanks for compiling and transferring it, Knightmare. Also thanks to Zlaayer for digging it out of the Lore books in the first place.

I've stickied this thread for future player reference. I may put a copy into the Lore of the Lands forum as well sometime.

[Blackman D]

this is from the 3.5 drow of the underdark book

Warlocks are not unknown among the drow, but they are
seen as something of an oddity. The race’s affi nity with and
connection to the Lower Planes is too great for them to not
exhibit some sort of taint from beyond, and demonbinders
are among the most common examples found. Many arcane
casters likewise become arachnomancers—ever popular
among the drow.

if i remember right most drow get their pacts from demons in service to lolth, but i cant think of where to look for any of that, i think eviloth knew it

[Simian]

*Sees the word 'Primordial' and the FRENZIED BERKSERKER'S FRENZY flips on.*

The four elemental deities for all intents and purposes are the most powerful elementals of their kind in existence, but they are viewed as nothing else than gods by mortals of the planes.

[Charraj]

*Sees the word 'Primordial' and the FRENZIED BERKSERKER'S FRENZY flips on.*

The four elemental deities for all intents and purposes are the most powerful elementals of their kind in existence, but they are viewed as nothing else than gods by mortals of the planes.

Relax, relax, he was using the term OOCly.

[TheVoid]

If you trace the lineage of any "inheritance warlock's" power you will find the source. That source knows who you are and you are automatically binded to them even if you are not aware of the conditions of your pact. These creatures DO NOT FORGET who is using/syphoning power from them, as many are immortal, god-like, and they are not shy about being compensated for continuing to bestow those powers.

Just because your character is ignorant of how he/she/it got it's warlock powers doesn't mean you are not held liable or are exempt from any of the long reaching promises your ancestors had made.

Again, inherited powers still come from a source that is most likely evil, and rarely neutral and there was most definately a pact that was made with a powerful creature/entity, in order to affect your bloodline for generations to come. So imho, there is no such thing as a pactless warlock in FR. I would be so bold as to say tiefling warlocks are a combination of pact makers and inherited pact makers in which no matter what... they were doomed to be damned at birth just because of their very lineage.

Even the fey specific pacts are unique and most likely given to only the most loyal of servants to demi-gods like Titania or Oberon as a reward.

[WeWhoEat]

I will admit, half of the warlock information is vague, and the other half contradictory. Some sources talk primarily about Pacts, while others do not even mention them. I think the best source of information, however, are those Monty posted from the WotC website. They discuss both Pacts and Pactless warlocks, and offer a somewhat concise and detailed description (relatively speaking, at least). And we know it is canon, since it is from the people who made the game.

Still, while Pactless warlocks are possible (with extraplanar blood in them, at least), I still maintain that all the cool kids make Infernal Pacts. And nothing is cooler than a Pact with Mephy (considering he lives in a frozen hellscape, cannot get much cooler than that, especially when you can now have a witty retort for "when hell freezes over" comments)

[Aron Times]

I will admit, half of the warlock information is vague, and the other half contradictory. Some sources talk primarily about Pacts, while others do not even mention them. I think the best source of information, however, are those Monty posted from the WotC website. They discuss both Pacts and Pactless warlocks, and offer a somewhat concise and detailed description (relatively speaking, at least). And we know it is canon, since it is from the people who made the game.

Still, while Pactless warlocks are possible (with extraplanar blood in them, at least), I still maintain that all the cool kids make Infernal Pacts. And nothing is cooler than a Pact with Mephy (considering he lives in a frozen hellscape, cannot get much cooler than that, especially when you can now have a witty retort for "when hell freezes over" comments)

The vagueness is intentional. Most PnP games take place in a custom-made, or "homebrew" setting made by the DM, while a significant minority take place in established campaign setting like the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. The loosely-defined fluff makes it easier for DMs to customize various aspects of the game for their homebrewed setting.

For example, in one game, warlocks and wizards might have their roles reversed, with the former being legitimate spellcasters with a noble pedigree, while wizards might be copycats or bootleg spellcasters who have to rememorize their spells everyday. In another setting, sorcerers don't exist, their role taken by the warlock.

Canon only really matters for the novels related to the game. Everything else is mutable at the whim of the DM.

[Hitman Hard]

It says in a pact insidious your not supposed to tell a third party, so how am I supposed to RP it to evil characters?

[WeWhoEat]

I will admit, half of the warlock information is vague, and the other half contradictory. Some sources talk primarily about Pacts, while others do not even mention them. I think the best source of information, however, are those Monty posted from the WotC website. They discuss both Pacts and Pactless warlocks, and offer a somewhat concise and detailed description (relatively speaking, at least). And we know it is canon, since it is from the people who made the game.

Still, while Pactless warlocks are possible (with extraplanar blood in them, at least), I still maintain that all the cool kids make Infernal Pacts. And nothing is cooler than a Pact with Mephy (considering he lives in a frozen hellscape, cannot get much cooler than that, especially when you can now have a witty retort for "when hell freezes over" comments)

The vagueness is intentional. Most PnP games take place in a custom-made, or "homebrew" setting made by the DM, while a significant minority take place in established campaign setting like the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. The loosely-defined fluff makes it easier for DMs to customize various aspects of the game for their homebrewed setting.

For example, in one game, warlocks and wizards might have their roles reversed, with the former being legitimate spellcasters with a noble pedigree, while wizards might be copycats or bootleg spellcasters who have to rememorize their spells everyday. In another setting, sorcerers don't exist, their role taken by the warlock.

Canon only really matters for the novels related to the game. Everything else is mutable at the whim of the DM.

This guy right here? I like this guy. NEVER heard him say a stupid thing, in any of his posts.

Plus, even with novels you cannot believe everything you read. For instance, it could be that the books are working from early-edition mechanics (See Druzil the Abyssal Imp in Salvatore's work, for instance.)

[Catam]

I this guy right here? I like this guy. NEVER heard him say a stupid thing, in any of his posts.

Plus, even with novels you cannot believe everything you read. For instance, it could be that the books are working from early-edition mechanics (See Druzil the Abyssal Imp in Salvatore's work, for instance.)

Pretty accurate statement. Most of the source books are simply the starting point for a DM to create a campaign for his players. If a campaign is lore specific to a particular setting the most recent editions of the setting sources should be followed. An example of this is the information about a druid's religion from the Player's Handbook. The PHB states the druid gains her magic either from nature or a deity. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting states they receive their spells from a patron deity. The FRCS is specific to the server thus overriding the PHB.

Timeline > Campaign Setting > D&D Source (either book or wizards.com)

EDIT: And then we have our own server lore so it can get tricky. When in doubt, ask the DMs!

[Knightmare]

That's also why the whole bloodline/fey thing is relatively vague regarding warlocks whereas the fiendish aspect and pacts is thoroughly hashed out.

But that's also been pointed out many times before.