#great old one pact of the blade warlock

[inuhodo]

we arent rolling persuasion. eldritch blast

[antlereed]

making dnd characters to pass the time and to force myself to better understand how spells work

[ezolenta]

So here's Obito.

Kakashi.

Read more info ⬇️

Obito is a half-elf who lived with his family for two decades, helping them. I imagine it as a small village with friendly people. Happy childhood with his parents . Average cottage life, a small sheep herd, garden and a bunch of pumpkins.

His parents ran away so they can be together. (I like half-Senju! Obito too much). Senju is a human clan and Uchiha are elves who hate each other. Boom. Drama.

One night, there was an attack on the village. It was Uchiha, a young elf, and Warlock. He killed Obito's parents (Itachi is a different story, and it's very raw, so bear with me). Obito manages to survive. He found refuge in the form of an old elf paladin who helped him. (Of course, it was Madara's setup)

He trained Obito. He became stronger and made an oath with God of Justice (Tyr if you wish, but I'm thinking do not mention any of the DnD canon names and Gods), so he became a Paladin of Devotion. He began to travel the world saving people and helping them.

But at one moment when he needed help the most, no one came to his aid. He began to contemplate the world and the gods. A moment in which an event occurs in direct opposition to Obito's oath and his God's domain. It's simple, but such a traumatic event can make one view the gods as selfish, callous, and inconsiderate of mortal affairs that do not affect themselves - which in turn leads to disillusionment with oath. As a result, he broke his oath because the gods did not like that he began to pry into their dark affairs. (Canonical hatred of the Shinobi system and rules dnd style and without Rin's sacrifice.)

I can imagine Obito becoming Oathbreaker because he wants to achieve justice but in his own, wrong way. He claims that God betrayed him. Obito is blinded by power and his hunger for it.

Obito returns to Madara and tells him about that. He is agitated by the disappearance of his power. Madara tells that he has to make a new pact to gain powers. Thus Obito was lured into making a pact with the goddess who now gives him power in exchange for his soul. Obito kills Madara. He's now an Oathbreaker Paladin and Warlock whose Patron is a moon Goddess herself. (I wanted it to be a Tharizdun, The Chained Mad God, but changed my opinion. Tho still sounds cool) So Obito was tricked into a pact.

Obito is traveling the world and destroying the Cults. He's 62 when he met Kakashi in the woods, running from an Owlbear. They fight together, but Obito gets hurt. They return to Kakashi's camp. A bit of talking and my writing.

"The gods betrayed me." Obito growled. "They betrayed us all. They claim to be benevolent, but all they care about is power, status, and their own selfish gains." Kakashi was surprised by the paladin's disdain for the gods. It wasn't often that he met someone who outright scorned the gods, especially a paladin. "I see," he said, continuing to tend to Obito's wounds. "You're quite the blasphemer."

So Kakashi is also trying to find a local cult. They decided to travel together. (There's a plot!)

Obito looked at Wizard with a steely gaze. "I no longer align myself with the gods, nor do I seek their favor. I have become an instrument of my own destiny, and I answer to no one but myself."

But Obito does not even suspect that Kakashi is looking for a cult not just to destroy it. But that's a story for another time.

Here's some stats and info for character sheet list in my head for nerds like me.

8 14 16 8 12 20 (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA) Level 14 8 Paladin 6 Warlock Oathbreaker (Aura of Hate, Control Undead, Dreadful Aspect) The Great Old One Pact (Mortal Remind) Pact of The Blade (Binded Weapon, CHA based)

[eurodynamic]

DARRAN Asmodeus Tiefling ・ Soldier Warlock ・ The Great Old One ・ Pact of the Blade

[revunant]

he's my favourite animal tho

i cant do this i actually have to play more bg3 first

[alicelufenia]

Conquest and Dominion: A Minthara Build

"Once I have had my vengeance and the Absolute is ours to control, people will pledge an oath to our cause. Conquest, and dominion." —Minthara

I'm back in on bg3 after a break, which means even more mods to play with and delay finishing act 2 enhance my game experience! And since my current Dark Urge is the sort who would totally become the Absolute if not for *vaguely waves hands at character growth from interacting with every other companion*, but since as of act 2 she still thinks it's a good idea, and a duo run of her and Minthara would have that as their end game no question, I figured now is the time for Minthara to take up the Oath of Conquest that is her true calling.

Mods

This build uses just a few mods, MOST of which are available on console, so I'll detail the 100% console-friendly version first. You only need three mods (plus obvious prereqs like ImpUI):

Oath of Conquest Tasha's Feats Mystra's Spells

Technically you could get away with JUST Conquest, but I like the versatility that the other two provide. The addition of several quality "half-feats" that give a +1 ability score means we can do a two-feat multiclass and still can afford to take something other than the mandatory two ASIs.

Onto the build!

Multiclasses

⚔️Conquest⚔️ Paladin / 🧠Great Old One🧠 Warlock (Blade Pact)

That's right we're going lockadin! While any patron could work for gameplay purposes, Great Old One is mandatory for lore reasons. It's literally her lingering connection to the Absolute, the Dominion in the title. Why is she able to have the Absolute as a patron when it's the game's main antagonist? Welllll [REDACTING MASSIVE ACT 3 SPOILERS] suffice to say, it works. Feel free to make use of ALL the Illithid powers on this build too.

Ability Scores

STR: 12* DEX: 14 CON:14 (13+1) INT: 8 WIS: 10 CHA: 17 (15+2)

While we are a bladelock, getting Charisma all the way to 20 isn't strictly mandatory for this build, but certainly an option we'll explore when we get to feats. Minthara is forever cursed to have an 8 Intelligence, sorry I don't make the rules.

*We won't be attacking with Strength, but since we start as Paladin we can grab Athletics and have a semi-decent score to push enemies, and makes us more resistant to being pushed if you go with gear that doesn't prevent movement. If you prefer to dump Strength entirely, you can then bump Constitution to 16, which is what I'd recommend if you're optimizing.

Skills: You'll want to take Intimidation (it's Minthara after all). If you're not taking Athletics, Religion is an appropriate alternative. Otherwise pick what you want, you won't be making lots of skill checks.

Levels 1-2

Paladin 1: Oath of Conquest

We get a really nice violet-themed subclass with this mod, as well as a fantastic level 1 channel oath action in Chosen Adversary. For a bonus action and our channel oath charge, you gain advantage on attack rolls against the target you mark with this ability, and force a Wisdom save when you hit them to make them Frightened. It's just until the end of their next turn, or they take damage again, so it's not the most reliable source of Frightened, but will serve us well until we can get the later features.

Paladin 2: Divine Smite, Spellcasting, Fighting Style

We want to get smites online as early as possible, which is why I recommend taking the 2nd Paladin level before getting into Warlock. You can pick your favorite when it comes to fighting style. I prefer Defense as an always useful option that doesn't care about my current gear. You can be more flexible with your spell preparation since we can actually hit with our spell save DC (we'll get to that) so I'd highly recommend Command and Wrathful Smite, along with old standbys like Bless and Shield of Faith for concentration options.

Levels 3-7

Warlock 1: Great Old One Patron

Right away we're getting the goodies. Mortal Reminder pairs beautifully with our Paladin oath, which loves the Frightened condition, and Minthara, who loves critical hits. Since we are definitely using Illithid powers, Luck of the Far Realms is a guaranteed crit we can use every day, plus our ability to get advantage easily means higher odds for critical rolls.

Our cantrip selection is interesting. It's hard to justify not taking Eldritch Blast to compensate for our lack of a ranged option, however Mystra's Spells means we now have the blade cantrips as options. Both Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade have their uses; to lock down enemies near you (where we want them) or hit adjacent targets before we get Extra Attack. Regardless of what you choose, I highly recommend picking up Mind Sliver either here or at Warlock 4. That -1d4 to saving throws is going to come in handy (unless you use a broken gear option later)

For spells, Armor of Agathys serves us well, but I'd recommend holding off for now as we'll be getting it later. Dissonant Whispers scales nicely with our Warlock spell slots and is a source of Frightened. I'd also suggest picking up Hex, as it's still useful early on, but we'll be replacing it eventually.

Warlock 2: Eldritch Invocations

The usual picks of Agonizing Blast and Devil Sight work great. If you don't plan to exploit Darkness, I'd go with Repelling Blast as a non-Strength based pushing option. For Spells, I like Magnify Gravity as an area speed reduction.

Warlock 3: Pact Boon

Pact of the Blade at last! Our spell selection depends on our general strategy. Minthara gets a once per day cast of Darkness at this level, but if you are heavily using that strategy you can pick it up here. The problem is it feels real bad to use a Warlock spell slot on Darkness. A better choice would be something like Misty Step (which we no longer get from our oath)

Warlock 4: Feat

This is where the Tasha's mod comes into play. We want to pick a half-feat to take care of that odd Charisma score. In my own game I picked Performer because I wanted Minthara to be able to play an instrument alongside my durge, but you can pick a not-terrible feat instead!

Any of them can work: Actor if you want her to be a face, Fey-Touched or Shadow-Touched for the free spells (Fey is an alternate way to get Misty Step, and I like Shadow for Invisibility, as a nod to her time in the Underdark and a way around having heavy armor), Telekinetic grants yet another way to push without Athletics, and Telepathic is just fully in character.

For our spell I really like Cloud of Daggers for the no-save damage, and can make it really suck for our enemies to be stuck near us (just mind you don't catch yourself in the spell when you cast it!)

Warlock 5: Eldritch Invocation, Deepened Pact

Right on time for level 7 when most parties get Minthara, we have our extra attack now! We can pick Sign of Ill Omen to get Bestow Curse, and for our spell we select Fear. Congrats, you have the 9th level Conquest spells 2 levels early! Especially nice as we won't be getting to 9th level Paladin with this build.

We are also opting to replace Hex (you're definitely not using it by now) and picking the direct upgrade Spirit Shroud. Having a choice of adding 1d8 radiant, necrotic, or cold damage is especially nice when we utilize weapon actions like Cleave. Don't forget, the wet condition doubles cold damage!

Levels 8-12

Paladin 3: Conquering Presence, Guided Strike

A big level for us, we get Guided Strike, which is nice to have I guess, but most importantly Conquering Presence to inflict Frightened to every enemy in a massive area around us. While the Fear spell inflicts the much stronger Fearful condition, this has the advantage of not being a cone, and using a channel oath charge instead of one of our precious spell slots that could be used for smiting. Between Conquering Presence and your Warlock slots both coming back on a short rest, this makes Minthara MUCH less likely to run out of steam in a long adventuring day.

We also get Command and Armor of Agathys as oath spells, which both serve our purposes well.

Paladin 4: Feat

We now have a choice: max out our Charisma score, or get a general feat. Personally, I vastly prefer to pick up a feat here; we have so many ways to gain advantage that we're not hurting on accuracy, and getting our spells to land will not be a problem right around this point in Act 2 (you can probably guess, but we'll cover it in depth in the gear section).

Great Weapon Master is always nice, but again, since I'm building to be mostly weapon-agnostic, I think nothing beats Savage Attacker right now. We have so many bonus dice we can stack on each attack, this is going to raise our damage much more I feel, and still let us use a shield.

Paladin 5: Extra Attack

If you're on Tactician or below, the extra attack we get from Paladin and Warlock's deepened pact both stack. Meaning we now are doing 3 attacks a round, 1 level earlier than a Fighter! Since these don't stack on Honor Mode it's obviously less effective there. As I've never actually completed an Honor Mode run I don't feel confident making an Honor Mode-friendly version of this build.

We also are happy for more oath spells, and pick up Hold Person and Spiritual Weapon, which we LOVE to see! It's never worth it to upcast Spiritual Weapon, as it serves more to have a body to draw aggro and occasionally deal bonus damage. We're a bit late in getting Hold Person, but level 10 is around the time we start seeing more humanoids after the endless wave of undead in act 2, so now is a good time to get it anyway.

Paladin 6: Aura of Protection

An already amazing feature is made even better by our higher than usual Charisma! +4 to all saving throws is WILD, making it much less likely we drop concentration on our nasty, nasty Fears.

Paladin 7: Aura of Conquest

The perfect capstone to our build. All the fear mongering pays off, as now every Frightened enemy within our aura will have its movement reduced to zero, AND frightened enemies take half our Paladin level in psychic damage whenever they start their turn in the aura. Which they will. Because they can't move and we can.

But wait Kaylin! You think. Doesn't the Frightened condition already make a creature unable to move? What's the point of reducing its speed to zero?

An excellent question! First, there are actually several conditions that the game considers part of the "Frightened" status group, which includes both the Frightened and Fearful conditions. Very confusing, I know, but it means all the guys you just made drop their weapons can't even escape you.

In addition, while it's true the Frightened condition makes a character unable to move, their movement speed is unaffected. With zero movement, this means anyone who is affected by this aura and is knocked prone cannot stand up. This is the sort of trick a maiming Barbarian gets to play with, and so can we now with Thunderous Smite.

Gear

And now we need to talk about the hollyphant in the room, the obvious gear combo that takes this from strong to potentially game ruiningly broken.

Helmet of Arcane Acuity + Band of the Mystic Scoundrel

These two items are the reason why we didn't cap Charisma, and why we don't need to take any spell save DC gear. The Helmet of Arcane Acuity is available right away in act 2, and grants you 2 turns of Arcane Acuity every time you deal damage with a weapon attack. So right at level 7 Minthara can put this on immediately upon joining the team, hit an enemy twice, and you now have a +4 to all your spell save DCs. Use Chosen Adversary with your bonus action, and whatever target you choose is almost guaranteed to fail their wisdom save, and will immediately be Frightened. Next turn you Acuity drops to +3, but you hit a guy two more times, now you have +7. Drink a speed potion, and use any spell you want (like an upcasted Command) and make 3 enemies of your choice do whatever you want because your save DCs are now astronomical. This bonus caps out at +10.

Remember what I said about Frightened and Prone enemies in your conquest aura being unable to stand up? Yeah, you can upcast Command and make all of them grovel, and take them out of the fight until their Frightened shakes.

Which won't happen because your ridiculously boosted spell save DCs apply to their rolls to shake off Frightened. So unless they're immune to fear they are just out of the fight.

But don't worry, we're not done! You can get the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel as soon as you enter act 3. For the low cost of hitting a creature with a weapon attack, you can cast any Illusion or Enchantment spell with a bonus action. What spells do we have that qualify? I dunno how about Command, Dissonant Whispers, Hold Person, frickin' Fear??

Yes please I'd love to cast Fear as a bonus action with my +10 spell save DC. Now five Baneites just dropped their weapons, and they're stuck where they are unable to do anything for the rest of the combat.

So yeah, these two items are like, so game breakingly busted they actually make the game boring and unfun.

In MY opinion. As with all things, your mileage will vary. I can't say I blame you if you want to see Minthara Crit Smite one fucker, Hold Person on two more, then use her two remaining attacks to ALSO Crit Smite those two fuckers. So if you like, go for it!

The alternate: One little cantrip

If you prefer not to use the incredibly broken Arcane Acuity + Mystic Scoundrel combo, there is a more balanced alternative, and that is to take the Mind Sliver cantrip. Giving one enemy a -1d4 to saving throws isn't much in comparison, but with the Mystic Scoundrel ring it's still just a bonus action, and applies to any saving throw that target makes until the end of your next turn, which could help your companions immensely.

Aside from these two, I can just run through a few gearing recommendations quickly. You'll want the best Heavy Armor you can find (+2 Plate with a shield gives 23 AC, not a bad choice considering you want to be surrounded by as many enemies as possible), a bonus to crit chance like The Dead Shot or even using Knife of the Undermountain King as your main hand, Surgeon's Subjugation Amulet to turn crits into boss killers by paralyzing them for follow up crit smites, and The Killer's Sweetheart pairs with the Mystic Scoundrel ring to round out your accessories.

Conclusion

In case you couldn't tell, I really really Really like this oath! It walks this line where the paladin can be heroic or villainous even better than the vengeance oath, and since it lends itself to spellcasting more than other oaths, it pairs nicely with a full caster. If it weren't for the fact we never get 4th level spell slots, I'd call it a top tier paladin multiclass. And while I recognize why Minthara is vengeance oath by default, it doesn't take much prodding to see how she'd fit better as a conquest paladin. Just look at the oath tenets:

Does this all not sound exactly like how she talks about her plans of conquering and retaking her House, her plans to march on the Sword Coast, even her method of seizing and gathering power in her "stay in Baldur's Gate" ending? For one who has not just renounced Lolth, but pledges to wage war on the Spider Queen and her followers, it feels exceedingly fitting.

It also works for the various evil endings. Should the mc take over the Absolute, this build is primed and ready to slip into power at their side. On the other hand, if the Absolute is destroyed in the end, it is not the end of her ambitions. While I think she'd lose the Warlock levels, no longer having a tadpole or any Illithid powers, I think she'd compensate by becoming a pure Conquest Paladin, and advance to the higher levels beyond the scope of the game.

Alternate Builds

Before I close this post out though, I want to confess that, while the above build is servicable, I personally have gone with something a little different. And it centers around one last mod I didn't mention, one that is (currently) unavailable to console, but I think well worth exploring anyway, especially if it ever does reach console:

Pactbound - A Warlock Overhaul

THIS Warlock variant reworks Warlock from the ground up, using a lot of the new rules introduced in the 2024 player's handbook for 5e. Among those, it expands on Invocations, makes the various Pact Boons Invocations you can take as early as level 1, and moves the patron subclasses to level 3, to match other 2024 phb classes, albeit with a few houserule variants to match the sort of gameplay changes Larian applied to other classes and subclasses in the move from tabletop to video game. This lets us explore some unusual builds, such as:

Conquest Paladin 11 / Blade Pact Warlock 1

With Pact of the Blade obtainable at level 1, we can forgo further levels in warlock altogether, sans subclass, and go the rest of the way in paladin. This is literally Hexadin but better, sacrificing the Hexblade level 1 features for a more useful way to use Charisma for our weapon. This still gets us heavy hitters like the Fear spell, as well as Aura of Courage (it is fitting that the master of fear on the battlefield is fearless herself, as are her allies), and also gets us that delicious Improved Divine Smite. We're a bit weaker on the ranged side, but make up for it by being more durable, harder to debilitate, and just as hard hitting.

More Invocation Options

What I wound up going for in my game is a direct variant on our main build, going 7 Paladin and 5 Warlock, but taking advantage of the new and improved Invocations imported from the 2024 phb. A quick rundown of my favorites: Eldritch Mind (level 2+) - Grants advantage on Constitution saves. Exactly what we want with all our powerful concentration spells, especially as we'll be taking a lot of hits. Otherworldly Leap (level 2+) - Can cast Enhanced Leap and Feather Fall. As they're rituals, no spell slots required. Some handy utility spells we were lacking, and improves our mobility which we are lacking as always, as a paladin. Eldritch Smite (level 5+) - My personal favorite. Once per turn, add 1d8+1d8 per slot level in force damage to hits with our pact weapon, with a chance to knock the target prone. We looove prone, and this is a more effective way to use it, and with the least resisted damage type too! It can also stack with Divine Smite, at least on our first attack in a turn. One With Shadows (level 5+) - The mod lets us select two Invocations at level 5 unlike tabletop, where the extra attack is an Invocation tax, so I picked this up to give Minthy Invisiblity in lieu of taking the Shadow-Touched feat.

Other features from the reworked warlock class:

Magical Cunning - A small bonus, it lets us restore half our warlock spell slots once per long rest. Since they come back on a short rest this is "nice to have" but not vital in any way. Psychic Overflow - Great Old One's level 3 feature in lieu of Mortal Reminder. While we miss the frighten on a crit, this is more reliable, causing a psionic explosion around us, dealing half our warlock level in psychic damage to enemies within 6 meters, when we use a level 1 or higher Enchantment or Illusion spell. Y'know those things we can cast as bonus actions in act 3? Yeah, they just got arguably better.

And that concludes this build post! I'll close with some optional mods you might consider, some obvious recommends, others you may not expect.

Optional Mods

Adjustable Party Limit

Easily the best thing mods have enabled for all platforms. Just take everyone with you! I prefer a 6-character party to prevent things getting too crowded. And if you feel the game got too easy there's:

Tactician Enhanced

As of this writing not currently on console, but it's just come out of beta, so hopefully won't be long before console players can get it too. Can be set to automatically scale enemies based on the current party size. Like the author's other mod, is incredibly well documented in game, intuitive to use, super customizable, and basically idiot proof (only requirement is reading!)

Lighter Half Illithid/Normal Half Illithid

We'll be using advanced illithid powers, so if you don't care for how partial ceremorphosis changes Minthara's appearance (the loss of her beautiful red eyes is the most tragic part) these mods will help. The first one doesn't remove the effect entirely, but does tone it down by 50% and restore the character's eyes (teeth are still a problem). If that's not working for you or you're on console, Normal Half Illithid simply removes the effect entirely.

Cheater's Ring/Cheater's Spell Scroll

Because I DON'T have the time to worry about leveling my characters all the way to 12 when I just want to do the bits I'm interested in. I'm too tired, too depressed and too old for a "do everything" run these days lmao

[findingtarshish]

I made a thing! Tell me what yall think (and I'd love to see your tavs' stat blocks)

Slayer of the Absolute and wife of Grand Duke Wyll Ravengard, Grand Duchess Amelice Ravengard is beloved by her people for her heroism and generosity, but often arouses suspicion on account of her devout faith to Lolth.

Fairly accurate, but with some slight changes made for playability

Amelice is a College of Swords bard who was deceived into making a pact with the Emperor, who was masquerading as Lolth at the time. Her final class spread is Bard 7 (Swords) / Warlock (Great Old One, Blade) 5.

[the-gnomish-bastard]

Dungeons and Dads! Guess what fuckers? This is a two parter! That’s right, we’re doing warlocks! Part one is if your dad was the warlock and part two is if your dad was the patron.

Let’s cover some simple basis first. Pact boons!

Pact of the Blade? Your dad took dueling lessons and will stab someone.

Pact of the Chain? Dad got a new pet. The pet speaks in tongues.

Pact of the Tome? Dad’s writing a novel. No idea what it’s about.

Pact of the Talisman? Dad’s suspiciously lucky rabbit’s foot.

Onto subclasses!

Archfey? Dad met a guy in a forest while hunting. They seem to get along very well. Ever since then, dad’s been a bit… odd.

Celestial? Your dad found god. Not metaphorically, he literally found god. Or so he says.

Fathomless? Dad went fishing and came back with a bucket of tentacles.

Fiend? Dad joined a group who you’re 94% sure is a cult, but he’s having fun so why ruin it.

Genie? Dad bought a lamp from a garage sale and won’t let anyone else near it.

Great Old One? Your dad used to love gazing at the stars with you. But ever since he did it alone that one time when you were sick, he seems very reluctant to look at what might be out there in the night sky. You never took your dad to be the paranoid type, but you can’t help wondering what he means when he says “You never know who could be watching.”

Hexblade? You’re 87% sure dad’s fencing instructor is a witch or evil hag.

Undead? Dad was never quite the same after the accident. He says he’s the same and that he loves you, but you don’t see any feeling behind those eyes of his. At times, they seem almost glassy and cloudy. He hugs you, but you feel no warm embrace. His hands are always cold, and he doesn’t notice when he gets burned while cooking. What happened to your dad?

[ginger-biscuit]

I also made Ava and Beatrice as DnD characters because I am King of the Nerds

Whoops, accidentally wrote 3.5k words of Avatrice fanfic

[thatlightningbtch]

I fell that it is practically consensus that Nere is a sorcerer (or would be if he were recruitable), since it is reasonable for a new companion to provide the benefits of a new class to the party. But as I looked at our favorite True Soul's character sheet for the thousandth time I began to consider another class, based on three small elements: the Dissonant Whispers spell, the Extra Attack feature and Nere's resistance to Psychic damage.

Extra Attack: a passive feature which can be acquired at level 5 (Nere's level) by several classes, like: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Warlock (with Pact of the Blade). But no mention to Sorcerer.

 Dissonant Whispers: a level 1 enchantment spell which can be learned by Bards and the Great Old One Warlock subclass. Again, the Sorcerer class isn't included.

Resistance to Psychic Damage: This one I recognize is a personal deduction of mine due to my interpretation of the previous topics. At level 10, a Great Old One Warlock gains the passive feature Thought Shield: Psychic Resistance, a gift that may have been brought forward for gameplay purposes. However, the subclass also gains the feature "Thought Shield: Psychic Reflection" which reflects psychic damage inflicted by an attacker, but none of Nere's abilities confer a similar effect.

So far one can notice that the Warlock class is mentioned twice and it is specified a Boon Pact and a subclass that could both easily fit Nere's character. Of course these are just tiny details with dubious narrative value, but by following these clues we could infer that Nere had THE reputation in the Absolute's cult, indeed. Not even Disciple Z'rell (another warlock) was blessed with so many custom-made gifts. It's intriguing that he remains a True Soul instead of being a Disciple (unless he has been demoted, which is quite unlikely for no other NPC in Moonrise Towers mentions this).

The question is: is it possible to consider The Absolute, an Elder Brain, that much later evolves to a Netherbrain, as a Great Old One? And if so, what could happen if the connection between them is interrupted? His desertion would just simply result in the loss of all special features granted to him, or could it be that his ceremorphosis would be completed instantly as punishment? One way or another this is an interesting possibility that can offer a narrative arc directly tied to the main plot, one that is not limited on just seeking revenge over the respective Chosen who recruited him (sorry Minty. Still love you, tho. You deserved better than what you got 😭). That's it, the end of my eccentric piece of useless considerations that would not be possible without a generous amount of overthinking and free time. Thank you ♥

Note: I edited this post to make it more succinct and to add a few things I forgot to mention when I first wrote it. However, if I happen to find something else that complements what was written here, I think I will make another post so this text does not become too long and boring.

[jse-dnd-au]

The JSE D&D AU Pantheon

—

The Ever-Gazing One

Other names: The Ever-Gaze, The World's Visage

At the dawn of the ages over this realm, there was only The Ever-Gazing One. It was he who began the forward march of time, the outward flow of space, and the rise of life from the ground. The first races of this realm were naturally peace-loving– even those races with the innate forces of chaos and evil in their blood had their place, for everybody was seen as having value to the Ever-Gaze.

Over time, some began to question the Ever-Gazing One. They wondered how their creator could possibly understand the struggles of mortality from his pedestal in the beyond.

In response, the Ever-Gaze created five more deities to rule alongside himself– the Champion, the Magnificent, the Lifebringer, the Sharpshooter, and the Wayfarer– and imbued each one with the power of being able to walk among the mortals so that they, too, could understand their strife and be divine messengers.

However, this did not please everybody. Some of the folk who had originally questioned the Ever-Gazing One were not satisfied, and thus placed their faith elsewhere. Their collective will created That Which Observes, an opposite entity to the Ever-Gaze who promised them power in thanks for bringing it to life…

Cleric Divine Domains: Life, Light, Order Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of Devotion, Oath of Redemption, Oath of the Watchers Warlock pacts that would suit this deity: The Celestial

—

That Which Observes

Other names: The Corrupting Blade, The Master of Puppets

Those who had turned from the Ever-Gazing One placed their faith in a new deity of their own creation, which they called That Which Observes. They pictured this entity as an opposite to the Ever-Gaze; where the first had light, the other darkness– and where the first had weakness, the other, immense power. Followers of That Which Observes claim they have prophetic dreams that would seem like nightmares to common folk– but instead of fear, they embrace their own strength and the strength of their new god.

Interpretations of That Which Observes vary as widely as the power it is said to wield. As eras have passed, the tale of its creation has been morphed to fit various definitions; over time, this anti-deity has gone from being a fiend to a ghost to a mere feeling and back again. But one thing remains consistent in all the tales: That Which Observes is a master of the shortblade, it being a weapon of mass corruption able to strike down even the gods themselves…

Cleric Divine Domains: Death, Trickery Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of Conquest, Oath of Vengeance Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: The Fiend, The Great Old One, The Hexblade, The Undead

—

The Champion

Other names: The Hero, The Mighty Fist of Justice

The Champion was the eldest of the five deities that the Ever-Gazing One manifested for his people. He was known to lean towards methods of chaos, but also goodness and light; he wouldn't stand for tyranny of any kind, and ventures created in his name were often emboldened by his blessing, so long as they met with his approval.

Soldiers would regularly invoke the Champion's name during times of war against dark forces, such as those who followed That Which Observes. In tales of ages past, he was known as the Ever-Gaze's right hand, and the one who would strike down the forces of darkness and injustice…

Cleric Divine Domains: Forge, Light, Tempest, War Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of Glory, Oath of the Watchers Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: None

—

The Magnificent

Other names: The Arcane Artist, The Phoenix

The second eldest of the Ever-Gaze's deity-creations, the Magnificent has long been known to be a patron of magic as well as the arts. In every interaction with the other gods, he left his mark with a certain flourish and grace, and in many depictions, he is shown as having a cape made of the entire night sky and dancing around all of existence in a single day. Because of this, the christening of many theatres, museums, and places of magical study begins with a ceremony in the name of the Magnificent.

Despite being overally benevolent, not all folk followed the Magnificent, or believed he had good intentions. These people claimed that those who followed this deity were often led astray into darkness, never to return– and this belief was not entirely unfounded. Many who invoked the Magnificent did so in the name of curiosity for the arcane, which often drew people to the shadows, and often into the sight of That Which Observes...

Cleric Divine Domains: Arcana, Twilight Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of the Ancients Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: The Archfey

—

The Lifebringer

Other names: The Giving Hand, The Judge

As neither the eldest nor the youngest of the Ever-Gaze's creations, the Lifebringer was often shown and spoken of as having a strange duality. For every person who believed him to be benevolent and merciful, there was another who saw him as ruthless and unforgiving. As a result of this, there are clerics of equal numbers on either side of this dichotomy– and the Lifebringer makes no claims to having one be truer than the other. Regardless, whether the mortals welcomed a new life into their world or lost a loved one, they would invoke the name of the Lifebringer, either to ensure a long and prosperous life or to pray that the afterlife would be welcoming to them.

Despite all of his spiritual implications, many artificers and apothecaries would call upon the Lifebringer to bless their latest studies or patients, for he was also a patron of creation and the sciences. As a result, several places of higher learning would hold special events in his name to ask for his blessing of the educational year.

Cleric Divine Domains: Light, Life, Grave Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of Redemption Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: None

—

The Sharpshooter

Other names: The Marksman, He Who Sees True

The second youngest of those the Ever-Gazing One created to rule alongside himself, the Sharpshooter was both the patron of familial ties and of bonds of friendship. As groups of adventurers would set out for the first time, many would pray to the Sharpshooter for his blessing over the party and their growth together. Beyond that, he was also the deity known to be a guardian of nature and patron of the hunt; whenever his faithful would successfully bring home their next meal, they gave thanks to the Sharpshooter for its life.

As this deity was naturally good-aligned, many would also invoke his name in a plea for luck and good fortune. Popular sayings for those who would do this would often bid the recipient "the true aim of the Sharpshooter", so that they might get the most favorable result.

Cleric Divine Domains: Life, Nature, Peace Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of the Ancients, Oath of Redemption Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: None

—

The Wayfarer

Other names: The Traveler, The Hand of Fate

The Wayfarer was the youngest of the deities of the Ever-Gaze, but was still given a task that proved to be of great importance; he was to keep watch over time itself, and to make sure that everything which had a beginning also earned its rightful end. Matters of diplomacy often began with the invocation of the Wayfarer so that he might bless both parties with lasting peace.

His position over time itself left him with an overally neutral outlook; while he leaned more towards goodness in his actions, he understood that sometimes evil was necessary to bring it about. This caused a lot of people to question those of his faith of how they could be so certain of future events, and even led to some falsely claiming that they could call upon the Wayfarer's own power over fate in order to perform the impossible– but true clerics of the deity knew better than to meddle with things beyond their control; everything would sort itself out with time, after all.

Cleric Divine Domains: Knowledge, Order Paladin Oaths that would suit this deity: Oath of the Watchers Warlock Pacts that would suit this deity: None

—

[teecupangel]

I keep thinking about Desmond, our fave isekai protag, getting dropped into baldur’s gate 3. Only, per one of my favorite isekai tropes, as a no-name NPC. As one of the Sharess’s Caress escorts? As one of Astarion’s spawn?? Basically him just being Tired Of This Shit and trying to avoid the plot but of course that’s not going to work lol. I haven’t even decided if he would be a romantic interest for the MC or a companion or anyone, or what his class would be. But ugh his isekai potential too strong.

His isekai potential is too strong.

If we want Desmond tired of everything and just want to avoid the plot, I personally would put him somewhere safe-ish? Desmond is the type of person who wouldn’t turn a blind eye to atrocities if it smacked him on the forehead so the best way to ensure that he stays away from whatever plot is happening is by making him an NPC in a more or less stable area where he would feel like other more knowledgeable and experienced with all these ‘dungeons and dragons’ (they have magic, holy shit) got this. That would point us to someone in Baldur’s Gate before Act 3. This way, Desmond would have his peace and quiet until the party starts doing their thing and Desmond stop being able to turn a blind eye on everything and he’s ‘forced’ to assist this party of… well… interesting people

As for his class, well, you can go for the class I’m going for with my playthrough of BG3 as Desmond. I made him multiclass Rogue (Thief) and Ranger (Gloomstalker), with a little bit of Bard (College of Swords), specifically:

Rogue Lv 4 – Thief (because Thief’s skills are more all rounders than Assassin’s)

Ranger Lv 5 – Gloomstalker (more stealth options, Dread Ambusher is our Assassin skill lite and lv5 has extra attack XD)

Bard Lv 3 – College of Sword, more on the side of Desmond being good in being seen as ‘non threatening’ but his spell list is more on the side of support than actual damage.

If you want to keep him in one class only, making him a Thief (Assassin) would make the most sense with the hidden blade being more or less his one shot kill weapon, although in terms of gameplay that’s kinda like making him a “best in first round only” kind of deal. The multiclass above is the ‘compromise’ I made to have Desmond be more or less in line with his setup in Assassin’s Creed.

Of course, if you want to have fun and make Desmond suffer (affectionately), you can make him a Warlock with a pact with an unknown Great Old One. This would add a layer of mystery to who had ‘helped’ Desmond be pushed into Faerun and we can hint that the Great Old One is:

Isn’t actually a Great Old One but one of the gods but Desmond’s otherworldly-ness and his lack of ‘worshipping’ stopped him from being a Paladin or a Cleric and pushed him into Warlock territory

Is one of the Isus from his world that had escaped into Faerun (or somewhere close by) but, since that Isu is a deity from their world, the Isu is counted as one of the Great Old Ones (which sounds a lot like “Those Who Came Before”)

Desmond’s patron isn’t one entity but a legion, using some kind of system to support or affectionately bully him at times if and only if the legion reaches a majority vote. Desmond technically has multiple access to ‘Wish’ but it’s more of him asking help from the legion and hoping many of them would give him what he wants. … and, yes, I am basing the legion on the whole “Desmond’s patron is us” idea I have XD

Even if Desmond isn’t a magic class, I think he’d have a few scrolls with him, mostly support spells like Invisibility, Fly and even Enhance Leap (also Speak with Dead and Speak with Animal) with a few attack spells that he uses as distraction most of the time

Sidebar: I’m not sure if you mean Astarion’s spawn as in we’re setting this after BG3 with Astarion having ascended and making Desmond his spawn or if you meant Desmond is a fellow Cazador spawn, either way, we’ll have to find a way for Desmond to escape his sire’s thrall if that’s the case. The easiest would be Desmond getting a tadpole in his brain like Astarion but that does mean that… well… if his sire was Astarion, this will lead to Desmond wanting to kill Astarion because he sees being put in his thrall as something horrible as it makes him lose control over himself even if Astarion was to be… ‘kind’ to him. If it was Cazador though, then that means Desmond will want to kill Cazador (and maybe Astarion and the party helped him during the whole… Cazador ‘sidequest’) and that would be his reason for being unable to keep himself from the plot.

[bardic-tales]

When I played BG 3, I did create Bia (Dark Urge origin) in it. She started out as a Warlock and got pact of the blade at level 3 with Great Old One as a subclass. And I grabbed fly at lvl 5. Then, I also multispecced into Fighter for Eldritch Knight.

Was a very fun build. :)

[eurodynamic]

DARRAN Asmodeus Tiefling ・ Soldier Warlock ・ The Great Old One ・ Pact of the Blade

[treesarewhispering]

My Character Ash'tel in her chitin armour and pact weapon Gith, Warlock, Pact of the Blade, Great Old One

The slug that acts as her patron's envoy can harden and twist to become her pact weapon.

This armour is adapted for survival specially in the Far Realms and Astral Plane.

She looks dark and brooding but she's quite happy to be out of the Astral Plane.

[metamagic-adept]

please tell me everything about your tav 🥺👉👈

thank you jack!! 💛 i'm also gonna tag @floralprintshark bc moss asked about them too 🙏

My tav is a tiefling warlock named Never (chosen name). Never grew up in a rural farming village and had a fairly happy childhood. As a teen aspiring to do good and help people, they joined up with the army of a local lord and soon discovered that war was much less straightforward and noble than they originally thought. Plenty of soldiers on the enemy's side were people with Never's same ideals, or had been conscripted and fought without much choice. A faction of cultists on the enemy's side took advantage of Never's doubt and sympathy, tricking them into releasing some prisoners, one of whom was a prominent cult member named Indra. The cultists then kidnapped Never and tortured them when they refused to fight on the cult's side. Indra was their main tormentor, and is responsible for Never's prominent facial scars. She used to tell Never that they would "never be happy" as long as they insisted on doing what they thought was right. Never only escaped by making a deal with a mysterious patron (Great Old One). After this, they renamed themself Never because of Indra's words. Some days their name feels like a curse, and others a defiant blessing. Based on how things play out, they may go back to their former name, or pick a new one.

I made Never for my first playthrough because their choices are usually the ones I want to pick anyway; it's good to do good. Never is currently closest to Shadowheart and Astarion, though I'm likely romancing Shadowheart on this run. Normal party comp is Shadowheart, Astarion, and Karlach. Oh and they are a pact of the blade warlock cause hitting things is fun :)

Here's what they look like!