A warlock is an arcane spellcaster, though unlike a sorcerer or wizard, a warlock does not gain power through heritage or skill. A warlock gains power through soul-binding pacts with otherworldly entities, most commonly devils, eldritch beings, archfey, or demons. These pacts allow warlocks to channel the greater creatures power and unlock magical abilities that would otherwise be closed to them, at the mere cost of their eternal soul.
Notable Warlocks[]
Cryseus Shay
Culture[]
Warlocks have an overall poor reputation, a result of their dealings with otherworldly and often malevolent creatures. However, not all warlocks are evil by nature and may use such deadly gifts for more benign purposes. How far the warlock goes to fulfilling their pact is entirely up to them, though corruption is an ever-present danger for warlocks of all stripes. Likewise, many warlocks make pacts with several creatures, rather than just one, in order to access even more power, though all warlocks must eventually favor one pact over all the others.
Like sorcerers, many warlocks come from a supernatural bloodline, and it has been said that warlocks are "born, not made." This is not true for all warlocks, though many do indeed come from fiendish bloodlines. Those that aren't are still often touched by destiny in some special way, sought out by powerful extraplanar forces as tools and minions, altering their souls and giving them supernatural abilities beyond the ken of most mortals. These forces behold warlocks to their power, though some break away from the chains of their servitude to forge their own destiny. More often, warlocks, by choice or by circumstance, become much like the cruel and capricious beings they serve. Regardless of how they treat their patrons, most warlocks have a healthy respect for the divine, particularly patrons of magical power such as Morrigan or Mab, though many evil warlocks are drawn to Ashmedai and Ceulubre as well. There are exceptions, however. Some warlocks seek out goodly powers deliberately to counter the powerful temptations they deal with regularly. Other warlocks feel no ties to gods or demons, perhaps due to their frequent dealings with other supernatural powers.
Tieflings and others of fiendish blood are powerfully drawn to the ways of the warlock and are among the most common to take the path. Humans, thanks in large part to their capacity for ambition, also breed many warlocks, hoping to find a path to power that does not take them a significant portion of their short lifespans. Half-orcs are also commonly warlocks, in part because the powers that choose to give patronage to warlocks do not discriminate between them and other, more "purebred", races. Warlocks from other races are far more rare, though Jerren often take advantage of any dark powers they can get a hold of, and half-elves, when given the incentive, make excellent practitioners of the dark arts.
Warlocks have varying views of those who differ from them, in part because of their outsider place in society. Generally, warlocks view other arcanists through a lens of bitter rivalry but many have a healthy respect for fighters' strength or rogues' cleverness. Few warlocks get along well with practitioners of divine magic, in part due to their dealings with unholy powers, but warlocks rarely try to deliberately upset allies who could prove useful, which includes healing clerics.
Abilities[]
Warlock spells are also called invocations, which are released through sheer force of will rather than by trained practice or innate ability. Invocations tend to be more powerful and deadly than those of a wizard or sorcerer, though with limited range or area of effect. Some invocations are less inherently deadly but instill terror or confusion in an enemy, and warlocks are adept in cursing those with whom they fight. The most basic of all invocations is called an eldritch blast and is essentially a charged blast of pure arcane energy. When forced into combat, experienced warlocks often elude enemy blows through spells of flying, teleportation, or invisibility.
As a result of their pacts, warlocks channel arcane power with more ease than most other arcanists, though this power is most particularly focused around a warlock's pact. Warlocks have some degree of training in the use of basic weapons and leather armor, which gives them a slight edge over both wizards and sorcerers in non-magical battle, though still leaving them vulnerable to the attacks of more specialized combatants. For the most part, warlocks, like other arcanists, rely on their magic as both a shield and a weapon, and the tools a warlock is most likely to use are his or her implements. For this purpose most warlocks use rods or wands, though specialized weapons, pact blades being the most common, can sometimes be used by highly experienced warlocks to enhance their invocations.
Several warlocks learn additional abilities to help them. From their ties to dark powers, some warlocks gain a resistance to cold iron over time. Others learn to make their bodies more resilient, healing more quickly through their fiendish power, sometimes at extraordinary rates. Similarly, many warlocks acquire resistance to various energy types, particularly attacks that use acid, cold, electricity, fire, or psionic energy as a major component. Lastly, some warlocks become so full of arcane power that they are able to literally imbue mundane items with their power at a whim, creating magical items of great value, even if they do not possess the knowledge typically necessary to create such an item.
5e Patrons and Pacts[]
The attributes and qualities of a warlock are largely determined by the kind of being with whom they have made their primary pact. The following are the known examples of warlock pacts.
Pact with an Archfey - Player's Handbook[]
Binding yourself to powerful fey creature from the Umbral plane such as Mab grants you powers over form and perception.
Pact with a Celestial - Xanathar's Guide to Everything[]
Binding yourself to a powerful celestial creature like an Empyrean or Seraphim grants you a portion of their radient glory.
Pact of the Fathomless Depths - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything[]
Binding yourself to a dark powerful of the deep sea like Jagal Daigoth or the Elemental Lords of water grants you a portion of their ancient strength.
Pact with a Fiend - Player's Handbook[]
Binding yourself to the darkest evils in the multiverse like an Horcus Karun or Ashmedai grants you a portion of infinite power of the lower planes.
Pact with a Genie - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything[]
Binding yourself to the whimsical and capricious masters of the Elemental Plane grants you a measure of their reality warping abilities. Perhaps a wish is in your future.
Pact of the Great Old Ones - Player's Handbook[]
Binding yourself to a being utterly foreign to the fabric of reality grants you power, beings known by mortal names such as Jilin, Unex, and Primus. What motives and machinations they have are unknown to you, though you dread discovering it.
Pact of the Hexblade - Xanathar's Guide to Everything[]
Binding yourself to the voice which eminates from your sword brings you mastery over others. Without asking questions, you eagerly accept the power it promises, in exchange for service.
Pact with an Undead - Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft[]
Binding yourself to the unholy spectre of undeath grants you a measure of their resilience. Powerful vampire lords, ghosts, liches, and dead powers eternally claw at the minds of mortals, attepting to return themselves to the world.
Pact of the Undying - Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide[]
Binding yourself to the powers that sanctify the dead gives you the strength to alleviate the sorrow of others. The voice of the Chorus Trees, demigods such as Liadon, and guardians of the dead, like Morrigan will grant you abilities en exchange for protecting the sanctity of the dead. In the Empyrean Church, such warlocks serving Morrigan are called a "Sacristan" while those that serve the Elven powers are called "Quendin'fírina" a "Speeker for the Dead."
Pact with the Ghost in the Machine - Unearthed Arcana 7[]
Binding yourself to a rogue AI or similar phenominon grants you a measure of mastery over machines. (Unusable in most cases. Ord is not that technologically advanced, though other civilizations in the sphere may be.)
Pact with the Seeker - Unearthed Arcana 16[]
Binding yourself to extraorinary outsiders associated with the Luminal plane or the void, such as Primus, or Xiaghaenyr which grants you enhanced understanding and mobility.
Pact of the Raven - (Raven Queen) Unearthed Arcana 29[]
Binding yourself to Mortus, the animistic spirit of Death, you and your allies in the Brotherhood of the Raven wield powerful boons and spiritual raven companions on your quest to purge the undead.
Pact of the Voices - Ord Homebrew[]
Binding yourself to the emergent voice of the uncountable spirts brings you insight and control. The myriad voices of the Chorus Trees, the Hafea'llarion, or other hiveminds can barter power in exchange for service.
Pact of the Serpent - Ord Homebrew[]
Your pact is with a dragon, an ancient creature of myth and legend. Your power over magic rivals that or sorcerers, those that claim the dragon's blood.