Source of warlock power and mechanics are not explained in DND. It is basically "dark sorcerer". You got some power, but you don't know how you got it, except the source of the power is definitely bad news.Nemni wrote:I suppose if you want to play a char that is an easy mark, then that's fine, though it begs the question why a demon/devil would part with their power for you. But if you want to play a char that actually got a somewhat decent deal, then I maintain that charisma makes sense.Not completely true. Devils/Demons will seek out easy marks to gain souls from for their own monetary needs.
Based on other books, a mortal has no chance of getting warlock powers through a pact on their own. Meaning, the power will be granted through blood, through some sort of unusual pact inherited from an ancestor, or through some cult. A character that made a pact themselves, will be very quickly killed off so their soul can be collected faster.
In the end a warlock has a good reason to stay the hell away from fiends just so they don't tell the "power provider" where the warlock is.
The way I see it, a warlock is best treated as dark sorcerer, except that one day the source power may come (or even will come) after warlock's life or soul. And the fun part is that the warlock might not know who the source of power is.