Godfather Death: A Warlock Character Concept

There is an old tale of a man who had so many children that he had run out of people in the town to stand as godfather for his youngest. He walked down the road, and he found God willing to stand for his child, but the man ignored the holy figure, believing that he allowed people to suffer in the name of purity, and wouldn't do anything for anyone until they were dead. Next he found the devil, but he rejected the creature's offer, knowing that though the devil would provide money and earthly wealth, he would condemn his child to an eternity of suffering afterward, and tempt him into a life of wickedness and sin.

The third figure, though, the man accepted. This was Death, and all are equal in the eyes of Death... the man felt that this would be an acceptable figure to stand for his child, and to teach him the valuable lessons that a godfather should.

While Death granted his godson all kinds of strange abilities and powers, the boy eventually trifled with his godfather, and wound up digging his own grave because of his actions... and if that's not a great origin story for a warlock, I don't know what is!

From The Cradle To The Grave

Warlocks are those who form some kind of pact with a powerful outsider in a way that ties them to this being differently than clerics, paladins, and other characters of a more divine nature. This pact could be formed in blood and sacrifice, it might have been accepting an offer of aid when one would otherwise have died, or (in this case) it might have been as simple as dedicating the warlock to their patron at the equivalent of a christening.

Consider this pact. Is everyone who offered up accepted by the patron? If not, then what made you special among all your peers? If you were accepted, were you given your powers immediately? Or was a time such as your thirteenth year, or even your 21st birthday chosen instead (possibly considered the time at which life is fullest, and so it is the time when one can bear to wear the weight of death around their shoulders)? And did you have to agree to the pact, and reaffirm your commitment at that time, much like how children will have to choose to belong to a particular congregation once they reach the age of adulthood, and others may no longer speak for them?

This concept can be as wide or as narrow as you want. For example, is this a family tradition, or does it extend to an entire town where only a small number of people are accepted by the patron when all is said and done? Are those chosen considered blessed to be given standing in the community, or are they a sacrifice so that the patron will still watch over the town, or the bloodline? Are these warlocks honored, or are they outcast from this place as soon as the pact is sealed, and they are considered to no longer be a part of their old family or friends, dead to those who once knew them, as they are a servant of their patron now?

And if that patron is not Death, as in the old Grimm story, then who (or what) are they? Are children given to the Arch Fey as a kind of gift in exchange for peace or prosperity? Does a noble family owe their position and power to a Fiend, and now their children must take up the burden as another link in the chain to maintain that pact? Was your town more like Innsmouth, and so you serve the mind-rending whims of one of the Great Old Ones so that your town can be blessed as they grow one step closer to being like the beings from between the stars?

The answers to these questions are your to decide! However, for additional inspiration and reading on this class, make sure you check out:

- 5 Tips For Playing Better Warlocks

- The Fylgja Warlock

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That's all for this week's Unusual Character Concepts post!

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