Picking Your D&D Warlock Patron
- Mar 17
- 7 min read
So you've decided to play a warlock. Hell yeah!
But, before you start spamming eldritch blast like it's going out of style (spoiler alert: it never will), you need to figure out WHO gave you these powers in the first place. Your patron isn't just flavor text on your lil' character sheet ... it's literally the supernatural sugar daddy/mommy/entity that makes your whole character work.
Let's break down your options so you can pick the patron that matches your warlocks energy!
The Archfey
The Deal You made a pact with a powerful fey creature from the Feywild, like Titania, Oberon, or some mischievous fey lord who thought it would be funny to give a mortal magic powers.
The Vibe Think Labyrinth meets A Midsummer Night's Dream, but with more teleportation and fewer Muppets (unless your DM is cool like that...). The Archfey patron is all about illusions, enchantments, and being overall slippery as hell ... seriously. You get misty step always prepared (yes, ALWAYS), so you can teleport around the battlefield like you're speedrunning Dark Souls.
The Catch Your patron might ask you to do something that makes zero sense to mortals, like "collect 100 acorns blessed by moonlight" or "never tell a lie on Wednesdays (after all, that's our sacred day to wear pink)".
Perfect for Players who want to be tricksy, unpredictable, and absolutely infuriating to their enemies (and maybe their DM, just a little).
Need a specific Archfey patron? Roll a d6:
d6 | Archfey patron |
|---|---|
1 | Titania, Queen of Summer : Regal, beautiful, and fully expects you to spread beauty and joy (and chaos) ... whether people want it or not |
2 | The Prince of Frost : Cold, calculating fey lord who sees emotions as weaknesses to exploit |
3 | Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools : Trickster who values chaos, music, and pranks above all else; your life is his entertainment |
4 | Verenestra, the Oak Princess : Dryad queen who guards ancient forests and punishes those who harm nature |
5 | Lurue, the Unicorn Queen : A chaotic good celestial unicorn who loves freedom and hates tyranny |
6 | A forgotten fey noble : An archfey whose name was lost to time and is desperate to be remembered; you're their ticket back to relevance |
The Celestial
The Deal A powerful celestial being (like an angel, unicorn, or ki-rin) decided you're worthy of wielding divine power to fight evil and protect the innocent. Lucky you!
The Vibe Celestial warlocks are the good guys of the warlock world. You get healing abilities (which is just wild for a warlock), radiant damage to smite enemies, and you're basically a beacon of hope... who also happens to have sold their services to an otherworldly being. The 2024 version tweaked some spells and made Celestial Resilience give you temp HP after short rests, which is fetch AF (don't @ me, Regina George).
The Catch Your patron expects you to actually, you know, BE GOOD. If you're planning on being chaotic neutral and doing whatever you want, this kind of patron may not be for you.
Perfect for Players who want to heal AND blast, or anyone who's tired of clerics getting all the "healer dealer" glory.
Need a specific Celestial patron? Roll a d6:
d6 | Celestial patron |
|---|---|
1 | Solar : Elite warrior angel who serves a god of justice and expects you to smite evil wherever you find it |
2 | Ki-rin : Wise, dragon-like celestial who values honor and compassion |
3 | Unicorn : Pure-hearted guardian of the forest who chose you to protect the innocent and preserve nature |
4 | Couatl : Feathered serpent with divine wisdom who guides you toward your destiny (even if you don't understand it yet...) |
5 | Empyrean : Literal child of the gods who saw potential in you and wants to nurture your growth |
6 | The Celestial Council : Not one patron, but a group of angels who debate your every action (good luck with that) |
The Fiend
The Deal You made a pact with a devil, demon, or other infernal creature. Yes, you literally sold your soul (or at least rented it out, amirite?).
The Vibe Supernatural energy, but you're the one making the deals this time. Also, Fiend warlocks are all about FIRE ... seriously ... sooo much fire. You get damage resistance, temp HP when enemies drop (even if your party kills them, which is nice), and the ability to literally hurl someone through hell at level 14. The 2024 version added more control spells to balance out the pure blaster energy, so you're not just burning everything... but let's be real, you're still mostly burning everything.
The Catch Your patron is evil, like, capital-E Evil. Devils want to either corrupt you or use you for their schemes, and demons just want chaos and destruction, baybee. Even if you're playing a good-aligned character who made a desperate deal, your patron is going to make your life interesting in all the wrong ways.
Perfect for Players who want to pew-pew fire and aren't afraid of a little moral ambiguity (or a lot).
Need a specific Fiend patron? Roll a d6:
d6 | Fiend patron |
1 | Archdevil (like Asmodeus or Zariel) : Lawful evil mastermind who pretty much sees you as a pawn in their war |
2 | Demon Lord (like Orcus or Demogorgon) : Chaotic evil entity of pure destruction who just wants to watch the world burn |
3 | Pit Fiend : Powerful devil general who's climbing the infernal corporate ladder and needs mortal agents |
4 | Balor : Massive, destructive demon who offers power in exchange for spreading chaos |
5 | Night Hag : Cunning fiend who trades in souls and nightmares, always looking for her next deal |
6 | Incubus/Succubus : Seductive fiend who collects mortals like trading cards and enjoys the game more than the power (I wouldn't fault you if you named your Incubus patron Brandon Boyd...) |
The Great Old One
The Deal You've tapped into the power of an incomprehensible entity from beyond reality... something like Cthulhu or some other eldritch AF being that probably doesn't even know you exist. Rude!
The Vibe True Detective Season 1 (the BEST season IMO) meets H.P. Lovecraft. You're slowly losing your grip on reality, and, honestly? It's kind of your vibe now. Great Old One warlocks get telepathy, mind control abilities, and are basically great at messing with people's heads and uncovering forbidden knowledge. This patron is intentionally vague because, well, Great Old Ones don't really care about mortal concerns like "clear communication" or "your sanity."
The Catch You're basically stealing power from something so far beyond mortal comprehension that it might not ever acknowledge your existence. This can be cool for roleplay, but it also means you're kind of on your own when it comes to guidance. Also, other people in your party might think you're completely unhinged (which... fair).
Perfect for Players who want to lean into the mystery and psychological horror aspects of D&D or anyone who wants to play a character slowly descending into madness (in a fun way).
Need a specific Great Old One patron? Roll a d6:
d6 | Great Old One patron |
1 | Cthulhu (a classic) : sleeping elder god dreaming at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to wake up and drive everyone mad |
2 | Tharizdun : The Chained God, an ancient evil sealed away who whispers to you through the cracks in reality |
3 | Hadar, the Dark Hunger : A sentient black hole between the stars that consumes light, matter, and hope |
4 | Dendar the Night Serpent : Primordial entity that feeds on nightmares and waits for the end of the world |
5 | Ghaunadaur : The Elder Eye, an ooze-like being older than the gods who exists in the spaces between dimensions |
6 | Atropus, the World Born Dead : An undead planet-sized entity that drifts through space, spreading death wherever it goes |
But wait, there's MORE !
If the core four don't do it for you, there are other patrons from earlier books that your DM might allow:
The Hexblade (from Xanathar's Guide) : Want to be a melee warlock? This patron gives you medium armor, shields, and lets you use charisma for weapon attacks.
The Fathomless (from Tasha's) : An aquatic patron (like krakens or ancient sea creatures) that gives you a tentacle buddy and cold/lightning damage. Perfect for open water campaigns or if you just really, really love the ocean.
The Genie (from Tasha's) : Your patron is a genie (dao, djinni, efreeti, or marid), and you get a magic vessel you can chill in. Yes, you basically have a magical RV.
The Undead/Undying (from Van Richten's) : Patrons who are connected to death and the undead. IMO, the Undead in Van Richten's is way better than the Undying (from SCAG), but pick whichever speaks to you and your character sheet.
2014 5e vs. 2024 5.5e : What changed ?
Well, if you're playing with the 2024 rules, here's what you need to know:
Patron choice moved to level 3 (instead of level 1...FINALLY!), matching other classes
Expanded spell lists are now ALWAYS PREPARED, which is a huuuuuge buff
More invocations earlier : you get one at level 1 (max increased from 8 to 10)
Pact Boons are now invocations, so you can technically get all of them if you want
Magical Cunning lets you recover spell slots once per day with a 1-minute ritual (let's goooooo!)
The core patrons all got tweaks (a little buffed here and a little nerfed there), BUT they still play pretty similar to their 2014 versions. Archfey got more misty step shenanigans (yaaassss), Celestial got better healing scaling, Fiend got more control options, and Great Old One is still delightfully vague and creepy.
