Patrons

There are many reasons one might seek out a powerful being. To gain knowledge about a dangerous threat. To seek power to avenge wrongs that have befallen you. To find a new purpose in life. Or simply to save yourself in life. Whatever the reason it is always good to know who or what you are dealing with before you make any potentially soul altering decisions. Here is a list of some of the powerful beings that exist in the multiverse.

Fiends
A fiend will always be looking out for itself. No matter how good the deal is, it will come with its own unique drawbacks based on the fiend you are dealing with. Most fiends are careful about knowledge about them falling into the hands of mortals, but here are some well-known patrons and the powers they possess.

Zariel, Archduchess of Avernus
Zariel rules Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. Once a mighty angel charged with watching the tides of the Blood War, when she succumbed to the plane’s corrupting influence and fell from grace. All who enter or exit the Nine Hells must pass through Avernus and Zariel watches over all of them. Zariel is adamant about making sure that the balance of the Blood War is never broken and is willing to enlist the mortals to serve her in this job.

A creature that makes a pact with Zariel may display one or more of the following features:

Fey Lords and Ladies
When people think of the Fey, images of lovely creatures of almost unearthly beauty and grace tend to fill the mind and this image would be right. But what many don't tend to picture is the inhuman intelligence and motive that fuel these strange and chaotic creatures. A pact with a Fey is just as dangerous as a pact with a Fiend, while you may not be risking your soul to eternal damnation, you may be risking a timeless existence as the pet to a Fey lord or lady.

Lord of Rivers
In the place where every river meets and beneath the pool as still as a mirror is a palace on its head, where the lords serve and the servants rule, where crying men laugh and sleeping men walk. This is the place the Lord of Rivers is said to reside. It is said that the Lord of Rivers can see anything that happens around flowing water anywhere in any world. As for what this being wants no one really knows but those that serve him seem to be agents and chaos in the world, ranging from tricksters to anarchists.

A creature that makes a pact with The Lord of Rivers may display one or more of the following features:

Mad Mab
Riding upon a carriage of rose petals drawn by hopping crickets, she gallops at night through a lover’s ear to dream of love eternal. Also known as the Faerie of Love or the Queen of Hearts, Mab is a fickle force for love in the world. Many who serve her help to spread peace, happiness, and love in the world. Queen Mab’s only goal appears to be to make the world a happier place and she uses her servants to do this.

A creature that makes a pact with Mad Mab may display one or more of the following features:

The Horned King
A warm campfire is nestled in a small forest clearing, friends sit around its warmth sharing drink and story. Among them sits a creature, lower boat that of a goat, the chest of a human, and the head of a goat, the travelers don’t even notice as the strange creature joins their merry time. The Horned King is the patron of the drunk, the jolly, and the feast. It is said that if one at a party is jolly enough one can spot the Horned King in the midst enjoy the celebration among everyone else. The goals of the Horned King seem to be simple enough, to party and make merry.

A creature that makes a pact with the Horned King may display one or more of the following features:

The Great Old Ones
Before the gods, before mortals, before time and space, and reality there were the Old Ones. Unknowable, alien, powerful, and ancient the Old Ones can grant abilities unthinkable to mere mortals. Of course, understanding these creatures is impossible and their motives are a mysterious to even those that serve them. To the Old Ones, mortals are merely a flicker of light in a far place worthy perhaps of a glance but in the end, nothing more than an insignificant flash.

The One In the Abyss
Nightmares, knowledge, and destruction. Despite the name, The One In The Abyss is neither fiend nor has anything to do with The Abyssal Plane. Instead, it refers to a powerful outsider patron home to the dark depths of the material plane. The patron is an all-seeing creature from outside the realms of man, below the surface. Its intent is unknown, but followers believe it will one day rise from its sanctum deep underground to bring about world ending chaos. With such limited description, it is often equated with the Tarrasque of legend. The small amount of worshipers make the whole concept seem cult-ish. However, worshipers are mostly benevolent beings, only wishing to commune in peace. Worshipers tend to build shrines deep underground (often in caves) where there is a submersible water source. To commune with The One In The Abyss, one must submerge themselves in water (preferably saltwater, but freshwater can work). Worshipers of The One In The Abyss seek knowledge and understanding towards death. While warlocks are more common, clerics may also follow this path with the Grave, Death, and Knowledge domains.

A creature that makes a pact with The One In The Abyss may display one or more of the following features:

The Undying
Death holds no sway over your patron, who has unlocked the secrets of everlasting life, although such a prize – like all power – comes at a price. Once mortal, the Undying has seen mortal lifetimes pass like the seasons, like the flicker of endless days and nights. It has the secrets of the ages to share, secrets of life and death. Beings of this sort include Vecna, Lord of the Hand and the Eye; the dread Iuz; the lich-queen Vol; the Undying Court of Aerenal; Vlaakith, lich-queen of the githyanki; and the deathless wizard Fistandantalus.

In the Realms, Undying patrons include Larloch the Shadow King, legendary master of Warlock's Crypt, and Gilgeam, the God-King of Unther.

Cynewulf, The King of Unclaimed Souls
On ravaged battlefields at the break of dawn, exhausted warriors might claim to have seen an aspect of tall figure, clothed in ragged white robes, moving amidst a cloying fog. Frost blanketed the ground where it moved, even on the warmest of summer days. It raised a crozier above its head, and with its other hand, it beckoned for the spirits of the fallen. This apparition is Cynewulf, the King of Unclaimed Souls. Hidden legends described it as a shepherd of lost spirits unpledged to the Gods, but its true ambition, unknown but by its most favoured followers, was to assume the form of a God of Death. To further this, it instructed its servants to discover secrets, hidden knowledge, and power the it could claim. Recently, sightings of this mystical spirit have stopped, and seasoned warriors have been left to speculate whether it was ever real or simply a collective hallucination.

A creature that makes a pact with the King of Unclaimed Souls may display one or more of the following features: