Warlock Patrons

Patron descriptions

Abraxas, Master of the Final Incantation. The demon lord of magic and forbidden lore. Abraxas knows countless destructive secrets and eldritch magical formulas, particularly those that cause great devastation and pain. His greatest weapon is the dreaded “Final Incantation”, a single potent word that can unmake magic.

On Golarion’s surface, one can expect to find small cults of Abraxas in most large cities. He is also venerated by sadistic wizards, sorcerers, and scholars who seek forbidden knowledge. His cult is particularly strong in Nex’s capital city of Quantium, where it maintains a notorious library called Scrivenbough, a fortified stone structure with countless rare books in its holdings, and cultists who tattoo the greatest secrets on hidden parts of their bodies.

Abraxas’s realm is called the Pleroma here, and it is said to be a superficially pleasant and beautiful realm whose true appearance is masked by illusions. Abraxas rules from the spiral city of Diovengia, which is filled with demons, libraries, and serpents and guarded by mariliths. Instead of the chaste ascetics of Armies of the Abyss, however, his cultists in this book are drow and keepers of forbidden lore who maintain a notorious library and tattoo their greatest secrets on their bodies.

Aldinach, She of the Six Venoms. The demon lord of sand and scorpions who rules the Sea of Whispering Sands. She appears as a golden scorpion the size of a house. Her claws have razor-sharp crystalline edges, and her face is hideously human. On her back swarm countless scorpions, and she can send them out to do her bidding with but a thought. Aldinach’s cults are strongest in desert regions, particularly in Osirion’s wastelands. Aldinach is one of Lamashtu’s daughters.

Andirifkhu, The Razor Princess. Demon lord of traps and knives, that rules the Vault of Ten Thousand Deaths, a huge trap-filled dungeon of iron and stone). Known also as the Mistress of the Thousand Cuts, Andirifkhu is the patron of the marilith demon, the torturer, and the sadistic inventor. Her cultists are fond of building trap-ridden dungeons and sending sacrifices through to die on any one of a dozen or more spikes or swinging blades or spear tips within - sacrifices who manage to escape are generally hobbled or crippled and then put through the gantlet again and again until they eventually succumb. Andirifkhu appears as a towering, beautiful woman with green scaled skin and long crimson hair. Her eyes are snake eyes, and she has six arms that each wield a different blade.

Areshkagal, The Faceless Sphinx. Demon lord of portals and riddles. Her realm, a barren region of blood-red stony hills and dry gulches, abuts the Abyssal realm of the Sea of Whispering Sands, and she often sends her armies into the desert to torment those of her half-sister Aldinach. Areshkagal appears as a faceless six-legged female sphinx with midnight blue fur and pale flesh. Her wings are draconic, and her tail is a hissing viper - it is from this viper’s mouth that she whispers her unfair riddles to those she captures. Whispers hold that her actual face is too hideous for even the Abyss to bear, but that for brief moments she can reveal it to strike viewers insane or dead.

Baphomet, Lord of the Minotaurs. Although he is traditionally the god of the minotaur race, Baphomet’s cult is on the rise among humanity. His human worshipers hold sermons in his name in secret, and they hand down his teachings along family lines across generations, forming secretive societies that tend to have much political power in many of Golarion’s larger cities. They remain secretive about their allegiance to Baphomet, though, patiently awaiting a time when he might call upon them to rise up against their enemies and return the world to the dominion of the beast. These secret societies use complex signs, hand gestures, passwords, and sigils to identify themselves to each other and pass messages - in those communications, they use their “true names” and refer to themselves as the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth.

Codricuhn, the Blood Storm. This demon lord was once a powerful water elemental who was corrupted by the Abyss. His form is now hideous to behold, and his mood is mercurial. Some days, he works on plans to end the world, some he hides within the depths of the Abyss to brood, and others he actively contemplates suicide. It was on one of the latter days that he contract with you; your ultimate goal is to gain enough power to kill your patron, at his own request. Though it doesn’t help that he’s contracted with other warlocks on other days whose goals include keeping him alive. You also have to choose the days that you commune with him wisely; if he remembers that you swore to kill him on a day when he is not feeling like dying, then things can go bad for you. Quickly.

Cyth-V’sug, Prince of the Blasted Heath. Cyth-V’sug’s realm is both a place and a being - an immense parasitic fungus called the Jeharlu capable of extending tendrils into other planes, corrupting them, and then drawing them in to the Abyss to expand itself. Cyth-V’sug dwells at the heart of this fungus realm, an immense monstrosity that appears as a tangled mass of fungal tubers, tentacles, and grasping claws topped by a heaving draconic body with puff ball eyes and jagged teeth. Cyth-V’sug has little interest in building cults on Golarion, but instead hungers for the world itself and wants to consume it all.

Dagon, Lord of Shadowsea. Dagon, also called Prince of the Depths, is the demon lord of the sea and sea monsters that dwell in its darkest depths. His realm is the 89th layer of the Abyss, and is known as Shadowsea, and he dwells in the depths of this Abyssal sea, in a sunken city known as Ugothanok, a city with architecture so ancient as to be almost alien.

Dagon is believed to be the largest of all the known demon lords. Dagon’s appearance is hideously monstrous and somewhat alien, being neither fully fish, eel, or octopus; he is some foul amalgamation of all three. His spawn often take after him, foul amalgamations of deep sea creatures. He is one of the oldest beings in the Abyss, being one of the ancient Qlippoth, the creatures that dwelt in the abyss before demons.

Dagon is quite active on the Material Plane, regularly sending his demonic minions to the deep oceans of the world to become high priests for evil aquatic monster races. Unfortunately, Dagon’s foul influence is not limited to the ocean depths; he is also revered by some debased coastline societies. In these twisted communities, land dwellers mix with ichthyic beings from the depths, spawning horrible cross-breeds which have no place in the natural order of things.

Doresain, the King of Ghouls. The White Kingdom lies deep in the heart of the Abyss where the King of Ghouls lives within the skull of Seyvexrae and feasts on her brains. Incautious necromancers occasionally come in contact with this undead demigod and are transformed into sentient ghouls that carry the message that to exist is to eat and to eat sentient flesh is the only way to fully apprehend existence. Sometimes though an especially careful individual can bind a portion of Doresain’s power into the flesh of a ghoul and then consume that flesh themselves. If the Warlock continues to follow the cannibalistic rituals that please this Dark lord he might escape retribution. If not, this foolish warlock may find the little time he has left dogged by packs of ghouls.

Haagenti, The Whispers Within. Demon lord of alchemy and transformation, ruling Cerebulim, the Hermetic Horizon, an alchemical clockwork realm of laboratories. Of the demon lords, there is a perception that Haagenti is among the least destructive and most reasonable. Of course, this is in fact little more than smoke and mirrors, for Haagenti is as cruel and sadistic as demon lords get - his alchemical creations and wondrous inventions are so useful is simply his method of subtly influencing the development of society. The greatest secret he has revealed to mortal life is the method of transmuting lead into gold using a philosopher’s stone.

Jezelda, Mistress of the Hungry Moon. In certain rural areas of the world, particularly in the region around Darkmoon Vale and the darkened woodlands of Lozeri in northern Ustalav, the barrier between man and wolf grows thin on nights of the full moon. Many religious texts point to the werewolf Jezelda as the first to spread lycanthropy among the mortals of the world, but strangely, neither she nor her faithful support that claim; instead they remain strangely silent upon her history, as if they shared with her a secret that the world is not yet meant to know. She despises non-werewolf lycanthropes, and charges her worshipers with seeking out such creatures as heretics worthy only for sacrifice.

Jubilex, The Faceless Lord. The demon lord of poison and ooze. Of all the demon lords, Jubilex is perhaps the one least concerned with maintaining a cult, it’s debatable whether Jubilex even realizes he has worshipers. Certainly, those who worship him tend not to think of him as an entity to be venerated as much as a source of power. Yet despite the Faceless Lord’s passing disinterest in his faithful, he certainly knows of the Material Plane and enjoys absorbing the bodies of unwilling mortals into his protoplasmic bulk.

Kabriri, He Who Gnaws. Demon lord of graves and ghouls. It is said that when the first man to feed upon the flesh of his brother died, he was reborn in the Abyss in a vast necropolis that the plane created in his honor.

Mestama, The Mother of Witches. Patron of hags, witches, and vengeful widows, Mestama takes great delight in murdering young women on the night before their wedding day so she can take their form and wed their husbands-to-be, only to return to her true form (that of a fanged crone with sunken black eyes, talons, raven wings, and a donkey’s tail) at the height of the wedding’s consummation that evening, at which point she castrates the husband and vanishes. Those who survive often receive visits decades later from twisted hideous half fiends - their sons or daughters, sent by Mestama to finish off the job and murder their fathers.

Mestama’s cult is a hateful one, composed entirely of eunuchs or women who live for the spread of cruelty through deception. Those of her cults led by hags or actual witches often seize control of entire villages, and their victims are those unfortunate enough to come upon the settlement and choose to spend the night.

Nocticula, Our Lady in Shadow. The first succubus is a beautiful but deadly creature. Yet she is also a master of transformation, and often appears to unsuspecting folk as a particularly beautiful woman or handsome man simply to lure them into her graces before slaughtering them. Even demon lords aren’t safe from her deadly seductions - the number of demon lords she’s seduced and assassinated is formidable - among her greatest triumphs being Vyriavaxus, the Demon Lord of Shadows. From him she won the grudging loyalty of the shadow demons. The other demon lords treat her with a mixture of obsession and fear.

Recently, Lamashtu’s cult has taken notice of her rising power and has increased hostility with her worshipers, causing some to believe that Nocticula may be close to being the second demon lord to ascend to godhood, and that Lamashtu may even be threatened by this possibility of competition.

Orcus, Prince of Undeath. Demon lord of undead and necromancy. Although Orcus doesn’t have a strong following on Golarion he has far more dealings with other worlds than most of Golarion’s demon lords. His cultists maintain that the Prince of Undeath is merely waiting for the time to be right, for matters in other worlds to resolve themselves before turning his gaze upon this world as his next prize - and that when he does, his faithful shall be rightly rewarded for preparing the way. Of course, fierce competition against the cult of Zura and the church of Urgathoa for worshipers is likely a more realistic reason why Orcus’s cult on Golarion isn’t more widespread.

Pazuzu, King of the Wind Demons. Pazuzu appearas as a wiry human with eagle’s legs and talons, a demonic avian head, two pairs of bird wings, a scorpion tail, and a writhing snake in place of his genitals. Pazuzu is an aggressive demon fond of possessing mortals and using them to work his evils upon the world - it is said that Pazuzu can hear his name when an innocent speaks it unknowingly, and that this may be all that is needed to invite possession by the demon. He is the patron of all evil things that fly. Pazuzu is among the oldest of the demon lords, one of the first to rise to power in the Abyss long ago alongside Lamashtu, Abraxas, and Dagon.

Shax, The Blood Marquis. Cruel and sadistic, Shax revels in the act of torture and murder, especially if the victim retains hope for survival up to the very instant of death. He is particularly fond of eating the eyes of his living victims, but not until he is sure they have seen the filthy tools and bloodstained devices he intends to use upon their bodies. Shax appears as a human man with a dove’s head, bird-like legs, and an immense collection of knives and other bloodstained weaponry. His cultists are typically lone murderers or sadists, often killers who lead double lives as upstanding citizens of society and who kill in secret.

Sifkesh, The Sacred Whore. Sifkesh seeks to twist the mind of pious men away from purity, to seduce men and women of faith into betraying their religions in blasphemous ways that cause lingering damage to their faith’s reputation in society. Her greatest pleasure is to be with a fallen priest when he or she realizes what has been done and then seeks suicide as the answer, for then Sifkesh can snatch away the heretic’s soul and consume it. Many believe Sifkesh was originally a powerful erinyes devil who succumbed to the Abyss and became one of Hell’s first heretics.

Urxehl, Trollfather. Although he is considered to be the patron of the troll race, the demon lord Urxehl in fact despises the twisted giants that share his form with a great and tremendous loathing. His realm is a constantly burning forest lashed by powerful storms with rain that fuels the flames below rather than douse them. It is only in the face of such tremendous natural disaster that Urxehl is truly pleased, and often he sends visions of such disasters to mortals in hopes they might find a way to create them.

Zura, The Vampire Queen. Demon lord of vampires. Gothic and beautiful, Zura is believed to have risen from the corpse of an Azlanti Queen who succumbed to a lust for eternal life and the blood of her own kind. Scholars point to Zura’s acts as the start of Azlant’s fall into decadence and perhaps even one of the catalysts for the Age of Darkness to follow. Even today, thousands of years later, tales of her hideous banquets and baths of blood persist as legends.

Patron descriptions

Asmodeus. Yup, you’ve somehow managed to get the attention of the big man himself. The head honcho. Why is the King of the Damned interested in what happens to you? You’re not quite sure yet, but it probably won’t end well for you. But until the other shoe drops, make the most of the power that he’s parceling out to you.

Dispater. Dispater is an archdevil and the Lord of the Iron City. He is Hell’s greatest jailer and politician and rules its second layer, Dis. Also known as the Iron Lord, Father of Dis and First King, Dispater is one of the more active rulers of Hell and one of Asmodeus’s closest standing allies.

Paranoid and reclusive, he no longer leaves his inner sanctum. He is always stoic, emotionless, and expressionless. He remains this way constantly even in the heat of battle. Dispater is the very definition of caution. He is vigilant beyond compare, weaving a web of impenetrable defenses around himself and his holdings. His plans are far-reaching, taking generations to come to fruition. Yet he is not a craven, frightened fiend who grasps at power out of fear of losing it. He is calm, composed, and charming. He is the perfect gentleman, not given to emotional outbursts or acts of passion. He knows the political games of the Nine Hells, and he’s one of the best players. Dispater has a finger in everything. He has agents scattered throughout the layers, all working toward some convoluted scheme.

Ebe’, the Ancestors’ Keeper. Many people’s worship their ancestors; but sometimes one’s ancestors are not the noble people worthy of worship one would hope. Ebe’ is a Devil stationed in Acheron who invests heavily in the soul-trade, and has grown a sizable cult on many worlds on one promise: your service in life, and he will track your dishonored ancestor’s soul down in the depths of the lower-planes and free it from torture and servitude (into his somewhat more boring service).

General Garruk, 9th Baatorian Division. The Blood War is one of the longest-running conflicts that the multiverse has ever seen, and both Devils and Demons are always looking for new recruits. General Garruk, the leader of a diabolic division fighting the war, has been known to employ Warlocks to aid in this endeavor. The Warlocks he contracts with are used to hunt down evil souls and kill them to swell the General’s army. His leaders don’t really like having evil people killed before they can corrupt others to evil, but the General needs those resources now. There are always more demons. Always.

Hesperia, The Serpent Empress. Situated within her palace of gold and turquoise, the Serpent Empress sleeps in serene silence, guiding her slaves about their secret business. Envious and vain, the Empress personifies greed and avarice in the hearts of man. Jealousy, spite, and simple pride have driven her servants to her side. She whispers in a sibilant voice, speaking of wealth and power promised but so rarely delivered. The sins she offers are subtle at first, but grow in style and salaciousness with every slow cycle of the hourglass. You’ve assigned yourself to her service, and sworn fealty to the Serpent Empress in exchange for a sliver of her supreme strength.

The Ironclad. The Ironclad is not, as many assume, a being made of or associated with metal in any way. Instead it is a being of pure law who deals in contracts that are convoluted and purportedly impossible to break, thus the name Ironclad. Warlocks in the Ironclad’s service either willingly bargained something for a portion of its power, or else were tricked into service. The Ironclad only has one request of his warlocks in exchange for his power, they must seek other victims to beguile into signing one of his seemingly advantageous contracts. The Ironclad is a notoriously harsh master though and if a warlock is not holding up their end he will seek to make their sufferings much greater until they meet their quotas.

Levistus, Lord of the Fifth. Levistus is the imprisoned devil prince who rules Stygia, the fifth layer of the Nine Hells. Mountains of dark ice tower over the frozen sea of Stygia. At its center, a quarter-mile deep, rests Prince Levistus. He works through influence and avatars, unable to move in his possibly-eternal ice prison.

Charming, bold, and ruthlessly ambitious, Levistus remains confident and courageous, despite his imprisonment in ice. He is a rake and a bounder, espousing the eternal truth of betrayal, of how it is inevitable that all creatures violate whatever trust is put in them. Followers of Levistus are thugs, rogues, and swashbuckling bravos generally in pursuit of some great betrayal or act of vengeance.

Luxerovax, the Draconic Duke. Not all of Hell’s rulers were created there. Luxerovax was a Red Dragon whose skill with the arcane arts was so great, he was invited to join Hell’s Legions by Asmodeus himself. Luxerovax now rules a portion of Hell’s 1st Layer, though he has his eyes on acquiring more territory as most lords of Hell do. Warlocks who contract with him wield deadly dragonfire, and are expected to sacrifice gold to him on a regular interval. While he’s interested in diabolic politics, Luxerovax is still a dragon, after all.

Quainn the Imp. Your first contact with a fiend was with an imp with ambition. It’s stolen several magical secrets from its superiors, and has agreed to teach them to you as long as you promise to help it advance up Hell’s hierarchy. You’re not quite sure how it will happen yet, but Quainn assures you that your help will be invaluable to his eventual goal. You will be, of course, swearing to the Pact of the Chain so that you can summon him directly into the world of mortals.

Zier’den. Long ago Zeir’den was a mortal man like any other until he fell to the temptations of Asmodeus. So useful was he on earth that he was able to leverage a small measure of autonomy for his soul when he was finally drawn into Hell. Since that time he has proved to be a master manipulator whose schemes are so convoluted that his hand is rarely seen. Many of the actions that have been laid at his feet seem peculiar. It is believed that Asmodeus uses Zier’den when a surgeon’s delicate touch is needed and the brute strength of Hell’s Legions will cause more problems then they will solve. However, each time that Zeir’den’s actions have come out, it often seems that suffering is lessened among mortals and that oppression is lifted. Is this fiend merely a master of public relations or is he, as some overly optimistic fools whisper, a good man working among the forces of evil? Warlocks who serve Zier’den do not advertize their patron to others and are frequently asked to perform tasks that seem frivolous at the time and only decades later does the hurricane-like effect of their trivial actions become visible.

Patron descriptions

The Ancient Dragon. Creatures of innate magic and eons-old intelligence, dragons are beings of legend, fate, destruction, and destiny incarnate. Though it is a secret known to few, the truly ancient of their kind are able to share their inner magic with mortals by taking part in an eldritch ritual involving a contract and an elixir of the ancient dragon’s own blood suffused with the dragon’s potent magical will. This ritual binds the mortal to their ancient draconic patron, sharing in the power of the dragon’s blood and gaining a portion of the dragon’s own magic.

Dragons are fickle, however, and notorious hoarders of both treasure and power, neither of which they give up without an abundantly good reason. What could have influenced your draconic patron to give up a (even quite small) portion of their power, and what does the dragon hope to gain by it? How involved is your patron in your affairs, and why did they choose you to bear some of their power? Often, these are questions that even the warlock has to ponder, as the true intent of a dragon is hidden to all but the most calculating, or truly insane, minds.

Angrboda. Hag of the Iron Wood, whose consort was the god Loki, she is the mother of Hela, Jormundgand and Fenris. Technically she is a mother of gods, spirits and demons. She is the Chief of Chiefs of the Wolf clan and is one scary woman who even gods fear. Yet she will protect her chosen and test them to make them stronger.

Baba Yaga. An enormously powerful hag, who some claim is the first of their kind; There is no doubt that she is the most powerful of all hags. You encountered Baba Yaga in one way or another, whether you stumbled upon her iconic chicken-legged hut or she saw you while riding her enchanted mortar and pestle. Her mood is mercurial, and in your case she decided to contract with you instead of killing and eating you. What a powerful witch like Baba Yaga would need from someone like you, you do not yet know.

Coyote. This trickster spirit roams the world, pulling pranks on people. He has no regard for his targets; he will deceive peasant, outlander, and king alike. He will also occasionally make deals with mortals if he wants to, but his contracts always have a catch in them. There are stories of people who have turned the trick around on coyote, and tricked the trickster. Some more cynical tale-tellers, however, believe that the stories are spread by coyote to more easily ensnare people in one of his pacts.

The Feasting Lord. Young children are cautioned by their mothers to not play too deep in the forests, for sometimes if they do the agents of the Feasting Lord may come upon you. Children kidnapped from the wild places of the world are brought into his grand palace deep in the Faerie Realms; and serve as cup-bearers and choristers in his endless revels. Still, all children eventually grow; and when they become too old to serve him any longer they will wander from the woods they disappeared into as children; with vague memories of their time spent as servants of the Feast Eternal. Still, the Feasting Lord is not an ungracious master, and all are left… changed… and with ‘gifts’ as payment for their youth in his court.

Gambrinus and Ninkasi are proprietors of the Alewild Garden, a place in the feywild where the clink of steins, murmur of patrons, and smell of breaded treats bleeds through to the material plane - but only when one imbibes any of the intoxicating beverages that they bestowed up the world.

In the throes of their elixirs, Gambrinus, in one ear, sings songs of strength and invincibility, whilst Ninkasi, in the other, sweetly coos poems to the beauty of all those around you. Never is heard “Last Call!” from the nymphs and satyrs keeping bar at the Alewild. Those so honored by admittance eventually succumb to the sweet drunken delights of the Garden, and thus, the benches have constant need of heroes upright enough to swap story or song. It is to this end that Gambrinus and Ninkasi seek to make the Pact.

They offer powers arcane, a never empty glass boot to drink from when your days are done, and, as a bonus, the ability to never, ever suffer the head pounding, stomach turning Curse of Silenus the next morning. They ask only that their heroes share their wineskin and flagon with companions, that they trade sips and swallows for songs and stories with which to loudly regale the silent night’s air, and, since those dead kobolds don’t need them anymore, that they use those coppers to buy a round for the house.

Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools, is thought to be the first satyr. He can sing the shine off gold, and his jokes and antics can cause stones to cry with laughter. Yet Hyrsam is also the soul of savagery and the wild. Hyrsam the Fool is a prankster and prone to mischief, but when such jokes turn vicious and deadly, Hyrsam the Savage is at play.

Kris Kringle, the Winter King. This powerful fey lord derives his power from joy in the mortal world. The happier people are, the stronger he is. He employs Warlocks who he contracts with to both slay monsters and to make peoples lives better, whether it be through giving gifts, singing songs, or sharing eggnog. Woe be to those who cause unhappiness in Kringle’s name, though. The Winter King is not often prone to rage, but the icy chill he will inflict on those who intentionally rob the joy of the innocent is said to be so cold that even the Gods dare not risk his displeasure if they can avoid it.

The Lady of the Lake. This faerie lives within the Lake of Mists, in the Feywild. It is said that she is the ally of Kings and Queens, and the blades that she grant to those sworn to her are said to be proof of royal lineage in someone’s bloodline. The Lady desires nothing more than peace and order in the world, though she also scorns people who cause unnecessary suffering.

Lurue the Unicorn Queen. Lurue believes that life is to be lived, with passion and grace. Her worshippers pray to her in moonlit glades, where she hears their stories of adventure and exploration. These are lonely souls, those whose fires had been quenched; flowers who had been trod upon by the world. One night, they gazed up at the moon, and suddenly felt powers - powers that set them free to live, wandering the world, sharing in laughter and fun, proving, by combat if needed, that love always wins. Hers is a pact with no secret agendas or complicated plans; she asks that her warlocks user their powers for good times and oppose those who wish to take that enjoyment from others.

Lusus the Gatekeeper. He stands before the intertwined gates to the Divine Baachanalia, the eternal reward for those that please the gods of wine, theatre, and other earthly delights. The entrance to this never-ending parade of poets, bards, lovers and luxury can only be had by invitation from the Gods themselves - with one exception. To reward his service, Lusus may allow in one being of his choosing once every hundred years. To this end, Lusus uses his choice wisely. For Lusus stands at the Gate, but stands bored as well. Undying ages outside of opulent hedonism has left him with little to do. He needed entertainment, and, thus, was born his pact.

He offers the same deal to all he feels worthy: “Go forth and entertain me. Live the greatest stories ever told, however you see fit. The winner will join the Feast of Five Senses - those who fail will be forced to serve along the walls and at the gates, for one full year - as my relief whilst I enjoy the fun!”

The Norns, Weavers of Fate. These three powerful beings are the ones who weave the strands of fate that determine the destiny of every being in the multiverse. The fate that they weaved for you included receiving eldritch powers, presumably to help fulfill whatever destiny that they have weaved for you. Whether you accept the future that has been laid out for you or try to fight fate is for you to decide, however.

Oberon, the Green Lord, an unrivaled hunter and woodland warrior, is Titania’s lover and frequently her foe. Oberon is attuned to every bough of each tree and each branch of every stream in the forests of the Feywild. If Oberon has a weakness, it is the wild nature of his heart. His mood swings like a weather vane in a wind storm.

This powerfully-built horned hunter leads the Wyld Hunt, a collection of powerful fey lords and beasts that rove through the Realms of Faerie and the Mortal Plane seeking bigger and more dangerous game. It is said that he invites the most powerful of his followers to join him on the Wyld Hunt. This same rumor says that he contracts Warlocks primarily to see who is worthy of this honor.

Old Redbark. Old Redbark was once a treant of immense size and power who roamed the forests of the Feywild and the Mortal World, striking down any who dared to threaten the stability of the forests he loved. These days, he doesn’t do that anymore, having grown so old and tired that some days he appears to be nothing more that a very large sequoia. While he is mainly revered by Druids and Rangers, Old Redbark has been known to share magical secrets with Warlocks who promise him that they will continue his mission of keeping the forests of the world safe and healthy.

The Prince of Frost was once known as the Sun Prince, but his heart grew cold when his betrothed betrayed him and escaped, her soul becoming one of the stars. Ever since, the wrathful prince has sought to reunite with his betrothed whenever she is reincarnated in mortal form.

Puck. The trickster’s aim is to spread mischief and confusion. He occasionally shares a portion of power with mortals of a similar bent, charlatans or con-artists, but they should beware of jokes Puck plays on them.

The Queen of Air and Darkness rules the unseelie of the Gloaming Court from an onyx throne that sits empty except for the hovering Night Diamond, a black gem the size of a human head that dully glimmers with captured stars. The Queen of Air and Darkness is an invisible presence around it, her voice thundering from the Night Diamond or whispering secrets directly in the ears of her courtiers, and sometimes both at once.

Rougarou. Each time the Oberon goes out on his Wyld Hunt, the Rougarou is nearby. Some legends claim that he is a member of the Hunt but others claim that the Rougarou hunts the Hunters - seeking to pull down any Fey lord who wanders too far from the safety of his cohort. Whatever the facts, those who take on pacts with the Rougarou are often those who embody the darker aspects of nature.

The Sandman. The Sandman is the guardian of the world of dreams, a world each mortal enters when they fall asleep. The Sandman is very protective of his realm, and occasionally will contract with a Warlock to help protect it. The Warlocks who contract with him are expected to seek out people who interfere with dreams in the waking world, and to end the threat that they pose. One benefit of working for the Sandman is that you tend to have good dreams more often than not. As a result, many people with night terrors will seek him out to make the pact.

Sanguinor. Fey lord of all things feral and wild. While he may seem evil at first glance he simply praises the primal struggle of nature. He is often associated with creatures that either live or originate from the Feywild such as Owlbears or Displacer Beasts. All food his followers eat is foraged or hunted and eaten raw. He is often revered by Barbarians and those closely associated with nature but is willing to gift powers to one who will understand the wild and its beauty and terror.

The Sea Lord. You have made a pact with a ruler of the deep, a mighty sea-being who dwells in hidden river caves or the dark depths beneath the waves. Some such beings seek to influence, corrupt, or gain knowledge from the surface world; others view surface-dwellers, including yourself, as feeble and ignorant prey. Such beings include Davy Jones, the Leviathan, la Llorana, and Triton, the son of the sea.

Tinkerbell. Find the second star to the left and then fly straight on until morning and you will find Neverland where men do not age and pirates comb the seas for lost treasure and adventure. This wondrous place was created by the powerful, though tiny, fairy Tinkerbell as a place for Peter Pan, a young boy whose sense of adventure and whimsy caught the fairy’s heart. Throughout the mortal world parents tell stories of the fables adventures of Peter Pan, filling them with the same delight that Peter ignited within Tinkerbell’s spirit. The stories do not tell the full story of how Peter Pan fell in love with the mortal girl Wendy and left Neverland where he finally aged and died. Depending on how you feel Tinkerbell may be granting her power to your Warlock because she see’s you as a spiritual mirror of the boy she loved, or maybe you are a physical descendant of Peter and the power she grants is an echo of that love. Or maybe, on the darker side, she has granted you power so that you will take vengeance on the children of the boy who left her and all others who have betrayed the hearts of those who love them.

Titania, the Summer Queen, is perhaps the mightiest of the archfey. With a smile, she can ripen a crop, and with a frown, summon wildfires. She rules the seelie of the Summer Court.

Patron descriptions

Aloth-Zanoth, the Eternal Sleeper. There are two cults involved with this slumbering terror. One wants to unleash it on the world, while the other is trying to make sure that its unknowable body remains ever-sleeping. To maintain the enchantment that forces this sleep, though, thousands of souls are required. You tell yourself that the many goblins and bandits that you’ve slain with your eldritch powers deserve the fate of being devoured within Aloth-Zanoth’s dreams, but do they really? And is your attempt at keeping this being from waking up and devouring all who live on the mortal world doomed no matter how many you kill? It’s hard to tell.

The Blue. This mysterious entity is linked to the sky. Beyond that, no one’s quite sure what it actually does. Rest assured that it does have objectives, else why would it contract with you? Those objectives, like killing all birds in a certain area or being sure that all clouds form a certain shape, don’t really seem to make any sense. Not to you, at least.

Caracal. Does it care or doesn’t it? Is it hunting or just playing? Does it love you or does it see you as a provider of food? Said to appear in the shape of a great cat, Caracal is at times curious and then apathetic to what happens to us. Sometimes granting some of it’s power to an individual after appearing in a dream, victims slaid by this granted power are thought to become slaves to Caracal or even food. It’s motives are fickle as we understand them but when it has shown interest in someone, that person becomes very special.

Dendar the Night Serpent, Eater of the World, is said to be the spawn of the first nightmare, devourer of foul visions, and harbinger of the end of the world. Her warlocks frequently dream of Dendar’s hiss and the dry rasp of her scales when they first realize their potential.

Drokan, The Unknown. Even demons can know fear. It is whispered that when the abyss was formed, Drokan was already there. As the first demons crawled from the primordial ooze, Drokan would snatch them up, devouring them like sweets. So great was the threat, for the only time in their chaotic existence, the demon hordes banded together. In the end, they could not destroy The Unknown, but did manage to scatter its essence across the infinite layers of the abyss. That essence remains, that essence remembers. To those that answer its call, it grants power to strike out against evil whenever possible. As The Unknown’s followers purge evil, it grows stronger. Its essence, ever so slowly gathers together, and even demons can know fear.

The Eternal Citadel. You’ve made a pact with the Eternal Citadel, a massive yet empty bastion that seems to wander between worlds, collecting travelers and then releasing them again once they agree to serve. The Eternal Citadel communicates through the silent transferal of emotions and feelings - an instinctual sense to follow a course of action, no matter how enigmatic it may seem. An unknown number of people have sworn their allegiance to the Citadel, and few ever meet, but they all serve the same end, known or otherwise: preservation against the forces that seek destruction.

Ghaunadar, That Which Lurks, Underdark god of aberrations, also known as the Elder Eye. It is worshiped (if such a word can be used) by slimes, oozes, and similar creatures.

Lavos. Called to the earth in the earliest ages of the world by races predating any of the modern races, Lavos sits at the core of the planet and waits to emerge, destroying the world and sending its progeny into the stars. However, it has been known to empower certain individuals with its power; though if it extracts any ‘service’ from these people is questionable, still some cults have formed up around it.

The Man in the Moon. An incomprehensible entity that either lives on the moon, lives inside of the moon, or is the moon. Whatever it really is, the Man in the Moon seems to have only one goal; entertainment. It contracts with any Warlock who tries to make contact with it. The trade is simple: the Warlock gets power, and the Man in the Moon gets to see the world through the Warlock’s eyes. This entity has been known to show its displeasure to Warlocks who aren’t interesting enough through nightmares to prod them into more dangerous situations. It also enjoys forcing two Warlocks who have contracted with it to fight to the death for its amusement

Moander is a dark power of corruption and decay. Those touched by its influence first receive a dream, the “seed of Meander,” wherein the following words are heard: “Question not the words of Meander, lest you be stricken by the Eating From Within. Go forth and possess beings of power and influence for me. Slay, and let the rot cover all. Fear me, and obey.”

The Necronomicon. This book of Eldritch Secrets is said to contain revelations so horrific that those who read it go irrevocably mad. Even the Gods themselves are not immune to this effect, or so the stories say. You have acquired but a fragment of this legendary tome, and already you can feel yourself starting to lose perception of reality. Still, the secrets of magic that you have learned from it are absolutely incredible, and you find yourself compelled to try and complete it. Who knows? Perhaps you will be the one person who can piece together and truly understand the Necronomicon. At least, that’s what you tell yourself to justify what you know is an insane and likely fatal quest.

Polaris, the North Star. One of the brightest points of the night sky, there are many theories as to why it sits eternally in the North while all the other stars move as the seasons change. Some astronomers say that it is because of the way it is positioned while the Earth rotates. But there are those who have uncovered deeper mysteries; you just happen to be one of them. And what you’ve found that it may not be a good thing that the North star never moves.

Primus, the Engine of Extinction. Your patron is a cosmic machine that claims to have generated, continuously sustains, and will ultimately disassemble the multiverse. The cosmic machine’s motivations and desires are inscrutable, even to you, its coded directions never seeming to add up to a discernible greater plan. Your physical appearance has been changed in some way by your relationship to the machine and your pact spells are all cosmetically altered to reflect the machine’s technologically advanced themes.

The Shadowcat. An otherworldly incarnation of fate that strides between planes; a living omen of ill luck and good fortune alike. Drawn to the dreams of mortals, its servants perch upon the chests of the unwary in their sleep, stealing breath and fragments of life from their victims as they feed upon the nightmares this brings. When they’ve had their fill, they return to their master, who sends them back again to guide wayward children home and lead hunters astray.

The Tarrasque. The Tarrasque is a legendary engine of destruction, with origins that mortals are unable to discover. It emerges from its hibernation once every few centuries to ravage the world around it before entering a dormant state again after it has devoured countries or been beaten back by heroes of mythic power. However, in the decades before it awakens, some hear the awakening fury of this beast in their dreams. Fire, madness, and death pervade the nightmares of such people. Many are driven irrevocably insane, but some can draw on such dreams to fuel unnatural magic. Whether they use these powers to beat back the Tarrasque, hasten its reawakening, or use them for their own gain, is up to them.

The Voice in the Deep. There is a tale among sailors, that sometimes a drowning man hears a voice calling to him as he sinks into the depths of the water. Where this voice comes from, none ever know; but those who hear it invariably find themselves surviving, washed upon the shores of islands far from where the waves swallowed them. Men saved in this way are marked, following the mysterious urgest of voices only they can hear, ‘writing’ page after page of blank books with words only they can see.

Zargon, the Returner, also called the Invincible Tyrant, is said to be an undying and unkillable evil. Some stories claim Zargon was the original master of the Nine Hells. Others claim him to be a powerful Demon Prince exiled from the Abyss. Perhaps neither of these stories are true, but it can surely be said that Zargon is a power that inspires madness and terror.

Ziltoid, the Omniscient. From across the omniverse, the great Ziltoid came to you with a mission. Find your universes greatest treasure and be rewarded by your lord and master. But beware, it’s not gold or glittering diamonds that your lord desires, but something black, in a cup. Ziltoid is confident you’ll know it when you see it.

Patron descriptions

The Emergent Mind. You have noticed — and been noticed by — an unfathomable intelligence that permeates a particular locality. Born from sites of strong emotions, tragedies, or even the complex interactions of unwitting participants, these entities whisper subtly of times forgotten through the creak of the floorboard, the din of the city market, the cavernous echo of dripping water, or the shining death of a distant star.

Also known as genii loci, a typical expression of these beings may understandably be perceived as a sinister haunting, however these entities may also exhibit subtly protective behaviour over the domain they preside, or an innate desire for knowledge of the outside world they cannot walk.

The Ghost.

“An ancient spirit tells me secrets you wouldn’t believe… for a price.”

You have made a pact with an ancient and powerful ghost, a being whose aims are mysterious but who has unfinished business with the living. The ghost’s motivations are personal, and it won’t directly reveal them to you, but ultimately it hopes to use you to complete the unresolved task from its life. The only ghosts strong enough to forge a pact with a warlock are those who were particularly powerful when they were alive. You may be in league with a long-dead arch-mage, a powerful deceased cleric, a mighty fighter who fell in a battle of yore, or perhaps another warlock who died in service to her own pact.

The Undead. You have sworn yourself to an undead creature of power. It may be a liche, an elder vampire, a mummy, or an ancient ghost. Some undead patrons look to preserve life and the dead, helping to prevent them from becoming cursed as the patron itself is, and others allow their warlocks to create vast armies of undead and grant supernatural powers similar to their own.

The Vampire. You are, willing or unwilling, a thrall of a powerful vampire. He spared your life so you could walk among the humans to further his goals.

Patron descriptions

The Black Pharaoh. The vestige of a God-King, the Black Pharaoh’s kingdom fell long ago. The warlocks that he contracts with are expected to delve into the ruins of his civilization, find treasures there, and bring them back to revive his kingdom’s memory in the minds of the people. Said artifacts, however, always seem… wrong, somehow. The writing of one of his former contractors has been recently discovered, and it claims that the Black Pharaoh is no ghost at all, but a guise adopted by an entity that he named “the Crawling Chaos.” But surely, those are just the ravings of a madman…

Death. Your patron is the collector of souls himself. Whether it be a god or other being, it chose you to be in its service. You may either be collecting souls for harvest, saving the lives of others in order to lessen its workload, or perhaps another, secret mission. You are the hand of demise, evil or good as it may be.

The Haunting Melody. While wandering alone in some isolated place, you heard someone humming around a corner or over the other side of a hill. You only caught part of the song before a gust of wind or crashing wave drowned it out, but what you heard stuck with you. It was odd, beautiful, bittersweet. You tried to find the source of the sound, but everywhere you went you could only find a snippet of the song drifting through the air from some unseen place nearby.

You eventually gave up your search, but the music stayed with you, playing over and over again in bits and pieces in your head. It resonated with your mind and your soul, some deep, ancient power. The last memories of a long forgotten god? A song that called the world into being? Some alien being that exists only in the minds of those who hear it? Whatever the case, it unlocked something in you, and by humming, singing, and conducting parts of the song you can shape reality around you.

Snippets of the music try to work their way into your own life, whether you perform for an audience or just try to keep the rhythm while you work the fields. You take care to fight this intrusion, whether you want to keep the beautiful music to yourself, or you fear spreading its influence to others. The more you explore deep, ancient places, though, the more of the song will come back to you. Maybe when the song is complete in your head, you can play it out and be done with the damned earworm. But then, what will happen to the song?

Jaffar, the Steel Sultan. Jaffar is an Efreet, and one of the most powerful who lives in the City of Brass. Like most of his kind, he is arrogant and domineering, seeing himself as the center of the multiverse. Unlike most efreets, he tends to treat his slaves with relative care. To those mortals he appoints as his representatives, or Janissaries, he grants a knowledge of fire magic and a token of their station so that they can accomplish the tasks he sets for them. Jaffar sees this as good business; relatively happy servants tend to be more useful to him than those who are resentful or who have had their wills broken. As such, he is fine with his Janissaries roaming the mortal plane doing what they want, as long as they understand that when he contacts them to perform a mission, it is to be their number one priority. While he is more patient than his peers are, Jaffar will still kill to assert his dominance if he feels that it is necessary.

Khafre. An ancient king of the deserts, more god than mortal lord to his people. This veneration was not without cause, for this master of the sands was indeed godlike in his power: he forged cities out of living sand, raised great pyramids to channel his mighty divine power, and even mastered death itself.

Razael the Usurper. Razael is a fallen angel, who committed innumerable evil acts to bring order in the world, and this has marked him as an outcast from the higher realms. In order to further his plans for absolute law, he creats pacts with warlocks.