Warlock
Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular.
Most warlocks gain their power from pacts with devils, but they can also gain power through pacts made with all sorts of strange beings: Alien creatures, ancient sea gods, Great beings of the Faewild, and thier patrol (the being they make a pact with) is reflected in their powers.
Otherworldly Patron
Subclasses for Warlocks are divided up by the patron they make a pact with. Not specifically by the creature itself, but by the kind of creature, for example “The Fiend” (devils) is a pact with any devil.
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Archfey
Your patron is a lord or lady of the fey, a creature of legend who holds secrets that were forgotten before the mortal races were born. This being’s motivations are often inscrutable, and sometimes whimsical, and might involve a striving for greater magical power or the settling of age-old grudges. Beings of this sort include the Prince of Frost; the Queen of Air and Darkness, ruler of the Gloaming Court; Titania of the Summer Court; her consort Oberon, the Green Lord; Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools; and ancient hags.
The Fae beings come from the Faewild, a world of boundless beauty and profound strangeness.
Fairies are one such fae creature, and the archfey of those would be their king.
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Celestial
Your patron is a powerful being of the Upper Planes. You have bound yourself to an ancient empyrean, solar, ki-rin, unicorn, or other entity that resides in the planes of everlasting bliss. Your pact with that being allows you to experience the barest touch of the holy light that illuminates the multiverse.
Being connected to such power can cause changes to your behavior and beliefs. You might find yourself driven to annihilate the undead, to defeat fiends, and to protect the innocent. At times, your heart might also be filled with a longing for the celestial realm of your patron, a desire to wander that paradise for the rest of your days. But you know that your mission is among mortals for now and that your pact binds you to bring light to the dark places of the world.
In game these make a great alternative to clerics. Warlocks usually wield dark, arcane powers, so a warlock who makes a pact with a heavenly being is a fun alternative, but remember, just because something comes from a heavenly place doesn’t mean it’s good natured.
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Fathomless
You have plunged into a pact with the deeps. An entity of the ocean, the Elemental Plane of Water, or another otherworldly sea now allows you to draw on its thalassic power. Is it merely using you to learn about terrestrial realms, or does it want you to open cosmic floodgates and drown the world?
Perhaps you were born into a generational cult that venerates the Fathomless and its spawn. Or you might have been shipwrecked and on the brink of drowning when your patron’s grasp offered you a chance at life. Whatever the reason for your pact, the sea and its unknown depths call to you.
Entities of the deep that might empower a warlock include krakens, ancient water elementals, godlike hallucinations dreamed into being by kuo-toa, merfolk demigods, and sea hag covens.
Fathomless refers to deep sea creatures, like krakens, These are a great option for pirate style magic characters.
Fathomless warlocks and sotrm sorcerers are both perfect for a story set on the high seas!
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Fiend
You have made a pact with a fiend from the lower planes of existence, a being whose aims are evil, even if you strive against those aims. Such beings desire the corruption or destruction of all things, ultimately including you. Fiends powerful enough to forge a pact include demon lords such as Demogorgon, Orcus, Fraz’Urb-luu, and Baphomet; archdevils such as Asmodeus, Dispater, Mephistopheles, and Belial; pit fiends and balors that are especially mighty; and ultroloths and other lords of the yugoloths.
The classic warlock. Someone silly enough to make a bargain with a devil for power, bound by an infernal contract that would curse them forever if they betray their patron!
However, not all warlocks do this in desperation, so do it to further their own goals, using the fiends as much as they’re being used!
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Genie
You have made a pact with one of the rarest kinds of genie, a noble genie. Such entities rule vast fiefs on the Elemental Planes and have great influence over lesser genies and elemental creatures. Noble genies are varied in their motivations, but most are arrogant and wield power that rivals that of lesser deities. They delight in turning the table on mortals, who often bind genies into servitude, and readily enter into pacts that expand their reach.
Genie’s or “Djinn” are elemental beings, famously depicted inthe story of Aladdin. Warlocks who make pacts with a Genie are sually nomadic travellers for desert lands, but they could be anyone from anywhere.
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Great Old One
Your patron is a mysterious entity whose nature is utterly foreign to the fabric of reality. It might come from the Far Realm, the space beyond reality, or it could be one of the elder gods known only in legends. Its motives are incomprehensible to mortals, and its knowledge so immense and ancient that even the greatest libraries pale in comparison to the vast secrets it holds. The Great Old One might be unaware of your existence or entirely indifferent to you, but the secrets you have learned allow you to draw your magic from it.
Entities of this type include Ghaunadar, called That Which Lurks; Tharizdun, the Chained God; Dendar, the Night Serpent; Zargon, the Returner; Great Cthulhu; and other unfathomable beings.
“the old one’s” are based on the works of H.P Lovecraft, with “Chtulu” being the most iconic. The old ones are gods/beings who have existed long before humans or most of the gods in dnd, they are bizarre, terrifying creatures. Famously, in “The call of Chtulu” the sailors who found it and escape went mad simply knowing of it’s existence.
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The Hexblade
You have made your pact with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell – a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. The mighty sword Blackrazor is the most notable of these weapons, which have been spread across the multiverse over the ages. The shadowy force behind these weapons can offer power to warlocks who form pacts with it. Many hexblade warlocks create weapons that emulate those formed in the Shadowfell. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting.
Hexblade warlocks are by far the most popular. Mainly because they’re really good in game, but the idea of your pact not being with a horrifying creature, but instead with a maic weapon is pretty fun.
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The Undead
You’ve made a pact with a deathless being, a creature that defies the cycle and life and death, forsaking its mortal shell so it might eternally pursue its unfathomable ambitions. For such beings, time and morality are fleeting things, the concerns of those for whom grains of sand still rush through life’s hourglass. Having once been mortal themselves, these ancient undead know firsthand the paths of ambition and the routes past the doors of death. They eagerly share this profane knowledge, along with other secrets, with those who work their will among the living.
Wielding the powers of a great undead, such as vampires or a lich. Granting them the power to survive otherwise lethal wounds, wield deathly magics and even raise zombies!
A great class for vampires/dhampirs.