101 Atypical Warlocks

[Jendekit]

Inspired by the paladin thread, let's do one for warlocks!

1) The Demon Hunter
Stop me if you've heard this story before. A village destroyed and razed to the ground. The lucky villagers died fighting, the unlucky ones were taken to be used as a snack later. A young child however, managed to escape the carnage. By the time he returned to the village, the demons that attacked were long gone. Kneeling next to the cool bodies of their family, their friends, their neighbors, they swore vengeance against all that is evil as they bit into a demon's heart. What? You were expecting a paladin?

2) The Risen
It's been more than a week since I woke up on that battlefield, and the blasted raven won't leave me alone. Not only that, but freaky stuff keeps happening around me! An orc I was fighting yesterday spontaneously burst into flames, an arrow that should have punctured my throat instead bounced off, and my horse Lucky refuses to come near me. What's happening to me?

[Draconium]

3) The Blackout
So, I went to this party last night, right? It was really fun, but I ended up getting wasted. Really wasted. Next thing I remember, I was waking up in my bed with a pounding headache, oh, and a vast array of eldritch powers that I know I didn't have before. Also, the woman I woke up next to might be a succubus, I'm not sure.

4) The (Unwilling) Descendant
One of her ancestors made a deal with the devil (or rather, a devil), and now, he's come to collect. Except, she calls BS on this, and demands that he give her a way out of this. SO now she's on a quest to find the Guffin of Mac and retrieve to for this devil so she can go back to her normal life.

[Lord Raziere]

5) The Betrothed:
So one day, this succubus came up to me and warned me of an orc attack, right? and y'know I rightly like, didn't believe her, but she was all insisting about me listening to her and that she didn't mean harm, see? So I was like "ok, show me the proof." and like a fool I followed her to where she pointed to a marching orc warband and I pointed out that my village didn't have any fighters, so she was suddenly all worried and whatnot and then suddenly blurted out.
"make a contract with me! I-I-I'll grant the power to get rid of them!"
So I said, quite reasonably:
"Ok, whats the catch?"
And the darndest thing happened, she actually blushes and says in the most nervous voice:
"Marry me."
and that is how I got married to a Succubus and why she will never suck out my life energy.

6) The Demon Arm:
So this ritual and equal exchange thing kind of went horribly wrong, and now I have this demon arm switched with my usual one, and as I grow in power its energies will expand slowly making me more demonic as I use them, so now I have to search for a way to stop the corruption before I reach level 20 and turn full demon, but all these good deeds that need to be done keep getting in the way....

7) Outsider In a Mortals Body:
So hi, somehow something went horribly wrong, and now I got mind-swapped with this stupid mortal, and eeewww I'm starting to feel and act more human, yuck. Worse, that stupid mortal is probably off in my body, slowly growing into an outsider and having the time of their lives in my place! I'll hunt him down and get back my body!

OR:
So a wizard just forced me into mortal form so that I can only tap into a fraction of my power and make me start to think like you mortals. I hate this already, all your human rules and human physics are so weird and foreign! Wheres my millions of tentacles, ten timelines to choose from and why is gravity so consistent here!?

8) The Thief
Deal? Ha! I made no deal. I cheated. I stole that shard of the outsiders power right from under their nose! Its mine now. Of course they keep sending their minions after me to get it, but I've managed to stay ahead of them so far. And c'mon, I'm just skipping over the deal part to get to the part every warlock does anyways.

9) The Merchant
Only one deal with an outsider? Why, do you take me for amateur? I make many deals my friend, I buy and sell in these supernatural markets like they are my hometown bazaar! Everything wants to make a deal my friend, and I always know how to get the best ones, even from angels, demons, fae and tentacled monstrosities! Everyone has something to sell, for everyone has an eye on something they want to buy....

[Crisis21]

10) The Trickster's Apprentice

You know, I'm not even sure how this happened. One minute I'm talking to this odd stranger who's asking me all these weird questions and the next *bam* I've been granted a fraction of their power so long as I continue to prove 'entertaining' or some such nonsense. What does that even mean? And...

...okaaaay my 'patron' just popped in without warning to tell me about this band of marauding orcs and suggest that I use my new powers to tie their boots together so they all trip and fall on their own swords.

Damnit, that actually sounds funny.

[NecroDancer]

11) The Dividers of Worlds: one day while researching the realms beyond I stumbled across a portal to a land of impossible reality. After investigating the portal a creature of madness and surrealism came out to it and screamed in horror.

After we both calmed down we realized that my reality and its reality are inherently malign to each other, that day we swore a warlock pact to each other to seek out and seperate our realities in order to save them both.

[Joe the Rat]

12) In the Name of the Moon
So I'm going about my usual day (sleeping in, late for tutoring at the abbess, stuffing my face with sweet rolls) when this talking cat shows up and starts telling me that I'm not just some silly village girl, but a princess from a long forgotten kingdom. So with this fancy rod in hand, I can change into a planet princess, and blast evil monsters, and occasionally destroy minds with chattering madness and summon dark and hungry tentacles from the icy voids between the uncaring stars.

Now if I could just get the handsome shop boy to like me...


13) The Infernal Fist
For many years I have studied at the temple, working hard to master the arts. Always it seems the other disciples progressed faster, and always I seemed to get into trouble for sneaking out of the monastery. One day while cleaning the library, I found an old manual, which showed me a whole new set of techniques, with power above anything the monks could offer.

I'm still not sure how I cut myself on paper that old.

[Crisis21]

14 - The Paladin Wannabe

They wanted to be a paladin. Badly. It was the only dream they'd ever had that lasted longer than a week. Except that when they applied for basic training they fell short on every physical task set for them. Wear armor? They tripped and fell practically every step. Weapon training? They hurt themselves. About the only thing their teachers could say in their favor was that they never quit, and that they felt sorry for the poor sap because they'd never meet the minimum requirements to become a proper paladin. But their efforts attracted the attention of other powers. A celestial seraph took notice of them and decided to throw them a bone by offering a deal.

They might not be able to become a proper paladin, but through the bargain struck they might be able to make a good divine warlock.

[Prince Zahn]

15) The Sad Clown
Yes, it is true. I am a clown, and I am sad. do you want to know why I'm sad? I'm sad because I'm not funny, that's why. I can't make cute little cabbage-eyed babies laugh, no matter how hard I try.
One day, I met an enigmatic [insert patron here], who promised me all that my heart desires, in exchange for my services. of course I said yes - all I ever wanted was to make the little chicken-faced children happy.

and so he granted me these dangerous warlock powers, and started sending me off on really dangerous quests. he explicitly told me "You want to be funny? you give me everything I want, and THEN I'll give you what you want. How's THAT for a joke?"

EDIT:

6) The Demon Arm:
So this ritual and equal exchange thing kind of went horribly wrong, and now I have this demon arm switched with my usual one, and as I grow in power its energies will expand slowly making me more demonic as I use them, so now I have to search for a way to stop the corruption before I reach level 20 and turn full demon, but all these good deeds that need to be done keep getting in the way....

I have a friend who played this when I DMd for him. had loads of fun with this concept!

[gmoyes]

16) The Eldritch Druid

Though pacts with the Fey lords or some sort nature spirit, this warlock's gift manifests as magic more fitting of those of druidic faith. Has a bit more of a wild side than most druids and their magic has the additional kick of being arcane, but otherwise the most notable difference between the two is that one had a big animal companion and the other a little familiar.

17) The Diplomat

You patron doesn't wish for your muscle or magical might. Instead they want you as their envoy, to send a good message to those within your patron's circle of influence. You truly believe in your patron's message and wish to spread it wherever you can, even if they can be a little bossy.

I've played both of these in the same character.

[NovenFromTheSun]

18. The changeling.

So my birth parents were fey, they did the whole "turn me into a human and replace me with a real human" routine. My human parents found out pretty quickly, but they were alright about it and didn't start abusing me like some other parents in similar situations. In fact they basically made me the second child, gave me a new name and everything. Still it's sad to see them mourn the first child, even I kind of wonder how he's doing nowadays.

I still have some of my power from being a fey. I think once I'm old enough to move out I'll go looking for the first child. I hope my fey parents won't mind.

[mikeejimbo]

19. The Ascended Fileserver

A wizard needed a better way to store his spells, so he made a magic device that could do so. Well, some of that magic rubbed off and the machine awakened. It left its old master and met some being who offered to trade power for its soul. It accepted; only after receiving said power did it reveal that it had no soul. (From a warforged warlock I made once)

[Admiral Squish]

20: The Talentless
Born into a family of wizards, he knew exactly what he would be doing with his life from the very first moment he could remember. He would simply grow into his powers, he reassured himself when his practice cantrips failed over and over. But then he began to study in earnest and simply could not manage a proper spell, no matter how hard he tried. The words and symbols would swim and shift around on the page before his eyes. After several years of agonizing struggle, his father finally refused to continue his lessons without results. Terrified of the prospect of abandoning his magical heritage, he did something desperate, and made a deal with a being from beyond that would allow him to express the latent power within himself without the need of books and scrolls.

[Crisis21]

21. The Connoisseur

What in the nine hells is up with this weirdo? What does he mean 'magic essence has a flavor'? And why by all that is holy and not does he look at extraplanar lifeforms like he's sizing up the main course? You're honestly not sure who's more creeped out, you or the fiends.

[Celestia]

19. The Ascended Fileserver

A wizard needed a better way to store his spells, so he made a magic device that could do so. Well, some of that magic rubbed off and the machine awakened. It left its old master and met some being who offered to trade power for its soul. It accepted; only after receiving said power did it reveal that it had no soul. (From a warforged warlock I made once)

In any reasonable world, that would be grounds to invalidate the bargain. It'd be like selling someone your car only for him to say that he doesn't have any money once you hand over the keys. In fact, it's probably quite illegal in most societies.

Also, warforged are alive and, therefore, have souls. That's why they can be resurrected.

[Crisis21]

In any reasonable world, that would be grounds to invalidate the bargain. It'd be like selling someone your car only for him to say that he doesn't have any money once you hand over the keys. In fact, it's probably quite illegal in most societies.

Also, warforged are alive and, therefore, have souls. That's why they can be resurrected.

Personally, if I were the fiend, I'd patiently wait until the 'soulless' robot developed a proper soul and then come to claim what I'd pre-paid for. Watch the dawning horror on its face as it realizes exactly what it gave up without ever knowing the value.

[mikeejimbo]

It was... a weird setting. Warforged had artificial souls, so it was more complicated than that. The demon claimed the artificial soul, but it didn't really do him much good.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

Personally, if I were the fiend, I'd patiently wait until the 'soulless' robot developed a proper soul and then come to claim what I'd pre-paid for. Watch the dawning horror on its face as it realizes exactly what it gave up without ever knowing the value.

Sounds like a warlock I played once who made the deal as a kid. Since kids are both not legally allowed to sign contracts and in setting your soul develops over your lifespan, the devil essentially gave him a "free trial" for a few years. Then it showed up in a really desperate situation (just happened to be exactly 5 years later) and made like WinZip.

[Anderlith]

The Last of His Name
A terrible evil murdered his House, destroyed his family's Hall. The young scion is all that remains now, he was spared only by chance or fate because he wanted to pick flowers for the Lady he liked, before coming to his family's holy day celebration. Standing in the main chamber he found his father dead in a pool of blood with the family sword in his hand. The young man took the heirloom & swore an oath so powerful & so filled with purpose that something heard, & responded. Now the scion wields Cursebringer the sword of his father & his father's father from now to time immemorial, his ancestors drive him, guide him, & lend him strength enough to destroy the evil that befell his House.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

23. The Oath of the Crown

Yeah, he's not exactly what you'd call human. Okay, let's be explicit, he's some sort of incomprehensible fey lord from beyond reality, or something like that. So what? He's still my liege lord. He's done alright by us, and I for one am proud to do right by him.

[Telonius]

24. The Perky Warlock

Not every Warlock has to be brooding and emo. This one loves sunshine, baking cookies, fluffy bunnies, and encouraging people to do their best (with high Diplomacy from Beguiling Influence).

[NovenFromTheSun]

Sounds like a warlock I played once who made the deal as a kid. Since kids are both not legally allowed to sign contracts and in setting your soul develops over your lifespan, the devil essentially gave him a "free trial" for a few years. Then it showed up in a really desperate situation (just happened to be exactly 5 years later) and made like WinZip.

And this is why children should not go calling up the forces of darkness without adult supervision.

[Tiri]

25. A Sense of Wonder

Invisible! I'm invisible! No one, no one at all, can see me! I could turn visible and invisible all day. Before I had this magic, I wouldn't have been able to imagine having power like this. I still hardly can. I can walk up walls, fly... How can I start to describe the feeling of just lifting into the air like that? Rising up the side of what seems to be the tallest, sheerest building in the world and knowing you're climbing it with your own hands and feet?

Overwhelming, it really is. Every time I set back down, every time I feel that surge of power leave my fingertips, I don't even know if I'll be able to do it again.

I could lose all this tomorrow, but it would still have been worth anything in the world that I have it today, just knowing what it was like to feel so free.

[M Placeholder]

26 - The Bottom of the Barrel

"So, here I am, trying to find some berk to spread my name, which is one that should be synonymous with rancour, destruction and despair, and the only basher that I could find was a guy that flunked out of all the best magic academies. All the others took one look at the terms and said "Pike this!""

A frustrated fiend washing his frustration away, The Styx Oarsman, Sigil.

[Crisis21]

27: The Mask Hero

"This is incredible. With these powers, I could be...A SUPERHERO! I could fight crime, protect the innocent, work for World Peace! But first..."

:P Just remembered this quote and thought it would be a funny concept.

[DrMartin]

28 The Teenager with Attitude
a benevolent extra dimensional entity selected you and a handful of your peers based on your grit, moxie, and non-conflicting color palette of your favored attire. You now can wield eldritch power to fight the Monster of the Week.

29 The Chosen One
You have seen beyond the veil. You know that you, everyone you know, and the whole world is just a mental construct spawned from the imagination of a small group engaged in collective story-telling. You know that they use rules to adjudicate conflicts and interactions in order to keep this collective imagined world "coherent" and "balanced" - and knowing the rules lets you mess with them. You can now wield destructive energy and twirl the mind of other inhabitants of this simulation around your fingers.

[Sredni Vashtar]

30 - The Slave

It's a lumbering brute, you would think. An orc or bugbear or lizardman. Just a standard barbarous warrior type. Until you see the otherworldly light in its eyes, and you hear the ancient voice in your head, speaking a language that you have never heard but intimately understand. It uses magic and displays powers you have never seen from one of its kind, but you know now that it is not one of its kind. No, it is something else entirely, just wearing the meat of some pitiful weak-minded humanoid. You hope, feeling a strange pity for a monster, that the host's mind is gone completely.

[neonchameleon]

One I've played:

31: The intended sacrifice.

The would-be warlock who'd tied her to the altar was wearing a belt knife as well as holding a sacrificial knife so she got one hand free and stabbed him with his own knife. The dark gods laughed themselves silly and decided that the ritual had been completed, the human sacrifice had been made, and the power should be granted just to see what happened next. And messed with her in terms of power granted of course.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

36. The Child of Light

The evil wizard Wyl'ee and his army of constructs are at it again! But his nemesis, Archmage Rite, has created a warforged supersoldier to fight for everlasting peace using his trusty blaster and ability to copy the mystical powers of his automaton brethren!

[Shoreward]

36? Wait, what happened to 32 through 35? Space is warped and time is bendable!

33. What Do You Mean You Can't See Him?
Everyone had an imaginary friend, right? Appeared when you were a kid, sometimes told you to do things you knew weren't good ideas? Sometimes helped you blast the village bully with magic darker than the space between stars, or help you scare the pants off of the local clerks by trapping them in a stygian nightmare of flesh and bone for a few seconds? On second thought, maybe this Warlock's imaginary friend wasn't so imaginary after all.

[Samzat]

34. "It seemed like a good idea at the time"
Looks like you had a hard day. That smug bastard Dave stole your masterpeice and the rank that was rightfully yours in the Blacksmith's guild, and it turned out your woman was having an affair with a palace guard. So you decided to go drink away your sorrows. As your sense drowned in booze, you decided in drunk determination that you would show them. You would show them all! You know a guy who can help you summon a demon to bargain with, and you do! But when you sober up the next morning, 2 miles out of the city you just burned down, you realize that you owe a demon way more thsn you are comfortable with. Guess you are stuck with it.

(Got the main concept from Geek & Sundry)
EDIT: Seems that #3 is similar, but hey, mine's plot is more of a "paying off a massive debt with a fraction of the power that I started with"