[DnD 4th] Homebrew - Pacts and Patrons

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Court of Thorns
Part one;

Corrigan, The Briar Witch

Corrigan is the defacto leader of the faction known as the Court of Thorns, though not the most well-known member, nor the source of the factions name. She is a Fairy Queen of some power and standing, capable of appearing both as a tall, elderin-like creature without wings, and a smaller, pixie-like creature with almost jewel-like dragonfly wings. In either form she has short, messy black hair and a fair complexion. She is quite famously beautiful, admittedly in her own uncooth manner.

Like the majority of the Court of Thorns, she is an essentially 'Unseelie' fey. Although she is well known for making bargains with all manner of creatures, only Fey creatures can really count on her word. Mortals who enter into arrangements with the Briar Witch must rely on other methods to keep her honest, but even the most amusing and useful of servents is in an essentially dangerous position.

She rules a large demesne in a particularly deep and dark part of the Feywild. At it's heart lies a partially ruined castle, it's architecture that of some long forgotten human culture, bristling with spires and leering gargoyles. It is often claimed that the fortress was once part of the kingdom of Bael Turath, and that it disappeared during the Teifling's war with Arkhosia. How it came to sit at the center of an Arch-fey's personal realm is not an easy answer to find.
The ruins are choked with all manner of climbing plants both mundane and otherwise, including several varieties of Thorned-Ivy and Grasping-Rose. It's fairy-haunted courtyards choked with Hawthorne trees of improbably scale. The Demesne is so choked with clawing, twisting vegetation that the Briar-Witch's castle is actually pretty impossible to find, despite it's size and imposing silhouette.

The Briar Witch herself is capricious and vain. Corrigan delights in both the whimsical and the cruel. She is fond of the Hunt, often leading a 'Wild Hunt' across the mortal realms, chasing down beasts, abberations, paupers or kings. One of the most enduring works of Bardic tradition in relation to the Briar Witch is the 'The Briar Hunt', wherein a slightly romanticised interpretation of Corrigan rides through the streets of King Elidyr's capitol city, hunting the King's young Bride so as to replace her and win the King's heart in her stead. In the climax of the piece, King Elidyr interveins in person, and drives her away.

It is true, however, that Corrigan is a being of powerful emotions, and despite her condescending view of mortals in general, she has been well known to take mortal consorts. Often, largely against their will, stealing them up from their homelands to amuse her for a time. Such mortals, though initially pampered and indulged, usually meet grizzly fates when Corrigan tires of them. In contrast, the Briar Witch is also known to steal mortal babies to raise as her servants or warriors. Sometimes, she will leave a changeling child in the babies place, though how she obtains such children in the first place is not common knowledge. Likely, she has some clandestine arrangement with the Changelings of the Feywild.

Her reputation amongst the other Archfey is of one not to be trusted, and is one of mild infamy. This is partially because of her close allience with the being around whom the Court of Thorns has formed; The Bloodthorn.

[The Deal]

The nature of the deal itself is often quite simple and without excessive artifice on the Fey's part. The danger comes from the fact that she is more than happy to break her word, and often refuses to even begin to bargain with such mortals as dare petition her, especially those who do so via long-distance ritual, or third party agents. Rather than be granted power in exchange for service or goods, most such mortals are instead drawn into the Feywild and hunted down by Corrigan and her fairy-court. 

Those lucky enough to amuse the Briar Witch long enough to actually arrange terms of such a deal must also be careful. In general, you have two real options.
Either you will present her with vast amounts of beautiful objects, matirial wealth or magical artifacts, appealing to her essentially greedy nature, or you swear complete and utter subservience to her often irrational whims.

Careful bargaining can result in relatively 'survivable' arrangements being made, and those who agree to terms of service often take on one of the following general roles;

1) The Huntsman - The warlock may go about his business as he will, but is expected to scout out 'interesting' quarry for his Fairy Queen, be they arrogant creatures of legend, such as a young adult Dragon, or wilderness savvy humans. The important thing is that he provide her with interesting, amusing, and/or challenging Hunts. The more important the mortal he scouts out for his queen to slay, the more favourable the arrangement, but the frequency of such 'offerings' and the nature of them are left up to the Warlock, and he must guess carefully as to what is best.

2) The Child-Taker - Armed with a ritual which may either draw the Arch-fey's trusted servants directly to a child, or one that may instead send a stolen child to the Briar Witch's Feywild Demesne, this type of deal requires the Warlock to, periodically (Perhaps once a year) obtain a new and special child for the Briar Witch's use and amusement. Particularly beautiful or 'important' babies are particularly well received. (Taking for her the newborn Prince of some powerful kingdom, and allowing Corrigan to replace it with a changeling would, for example, quite probably result in further gifts of gratitude for the successful warlock, let alone the maintaining of his deal.)

3) The Knight - Serving as a roving champion of sorts, the Warlock would very publically perform deads of importance, either great quests of mercy or dread acts of infamy, the nature of them mattering much less than that he dedicate said acts to Corrigan, as publically as possible. Periodically, the Warlock would receive actual 'quests' from his patron, and If he valued his life, he would complete these tasks as quickly as possible, whether he finds them distasteful or otherwise.

It is worth mentioning, of course, that if the character is charismatic enough, and bargains quickly and confidently (Especially if he has managed to impressive feat of seeking her out in person) It is very possible that the terms of his arrangement will be significantly more generous and involve much less sacrifice on his behalf.

[Good or Evil?]
The Briar Witch is, if not evil, definately not a Good or Benevolent creature. She is willful and can be capable of great malice and spite. Equally, however, she is capable of charity and kindness, if not predictably or consistently so. It is quite possible that Warlocks of any alignment could end up being beholden to her.
However, few Warlocks with a Good or Evil Alignment would have actively saught out the Briar Witch intentionally. Such dedication to the values of Good or Evil would make serving such an irreverant and whimsicaly ammoral creature an often awkward experience. Corrigan takes no care at all to tailor her demands to the nature of her servants. Those with no major allegiances to the Forces of Good or Evil are the most likely to deliberately seek out the Briar Witch, but by far the vast majority of her Warlock's are likely to have encountered her accidentally.

Though mercy is not a trait the Briar Witch possesses in any great amount, she is vain, arrogant and proud. With enough grovelling, flattery, or even a particularly diverting artistic performance, one can go from being Corrigan's quarry to her agent in a very short time. Particularly attractive characters may even have earned their continued existence...directly, possibly over the course of several months or years, before entering into an eldrich pact with the whimsical Fey in order to retain their 'usefulness' and avoid the potentially fatal consequences of becoming boring within her sight.

Though there are in theory many ways that a whily or charismatic individual could have bargained for his Warlock Powers, it is only the most daring that enter into such a deal entirely out of choice, whatever their alignment.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Court of Thorns
Part two;

The Bloodthorn

The Bloodthorn is an ancient entity even by the standards of the Feywild's Archfey. When Corellon Larethian was yet a young Elven man, and the Elves of the Feywild had yet to split and go their seperate ways (To become the Eldarin and the Elves of today), he would have known of the Bloodthorn and considered it an Elder thing. It's motives are inscrutable, it's entire way of thinking as utterly alien as any horror that the Far Realm could produce in answer.

The entity known as the 'Bloodthorn' is not strictly speaking a 'Fey Creature'. It is not descended from Elf, nor Pixie, not even the tyrant Formians. It is infact a bizarre hybrid of fungal and plant-like tissues, a sprawling mass of sentient vegetation with an all too carnivorous 'core', a giant fungal-bloom like body, like an unholy maw filled with crudely formed teeth. In truth, however, this is but an appendage, the 'fruit' of the creature. The true essence of it is spread throughout it's forest Demesne, through the fibres of all the mundane trees and plants that make up that deep, dark place. It's fibrous fungal tendrils are laced throughout the vegetation across the entire Domain. In addition, thick beds of vine and bramble growing directly from the main plant-body curl about the forest, choking the vegetation in slowly writing plant-like tentacles, sheethed in the viciously cruel thorns from which it's name is, according to legend, derived.

In ancient times, the Bloodthorn waged open warfare against the Arch-Fey, and all of the self proclaimed 'lords of faery'. The most terrifying monsters of the Feywild were drawn to it's side and under it's sinister power. It hurled its forces against the Court of Stars and the people of the Feywild. The devestation was epic, entire generations disappeared as the Bloodthorn's horde grew, swelled even by creatures drawn into the feywild from the Mortal Realm and, in some versions of the Legends, the Shadowfell as well!

In those ancient times of War, the eirie ancient horror roamed the woodlands of the feywild at will, like an unseen presence across the land. It would appear to coalesce at the edge of a clearing, a charging line of minotaurs, raging behomoths and insane chromatic dragons, and as the People of the Feywild attempted to stop the Bloodthorn's forces, the Entity itself would tear their crystal Fortresses down around their ears.

The transgressions that finally roused the entirety of the Feywild against the Bloodthorn, however, was it's treatment of the dead and the captured. It would take the bodies of those it had slain, maimed or captured and pervert them. It would tear their natures from them and make them into thralls, broken mockeries of their former selves, more plant than person, but strong, fast and deadly. Utterly without mercy, or empathy. The sight of loved-ones charging down the refugee-camps of those they sacrificed their lives to protect was enough unify several of the major factions of the Archfey enough to mount a concerted counter-attack.

In the end, it was their targeting of the enthralled dragons that broke the back of the Bloodthorns brutal campaign. The mightiest sorcerors of the Feywild together, saught out and destroyed them, one by one. With the major threat of the Bloodthorn's Horde neutralised, their momentum was lost. The Entity remained a threat for centuries, however, untill Correllon Larethian himself interveined, imprisoning the Ancient Entity within a Demesne of his own. Inside the boundries of the Bloodthorn's domain, he is truly as a God, but he could no-longer leave and roam at will, held at bay as it is, by powerful standing-stones and a careful net of woven lay-lines.

Over the millenia that passed, however, the ancient entity began to engage with it's former foes, even coming indirectly to the aid of the Court of Summer when it became breifly embroiled in a war with Abyssal forces, spilling out into the Feywild as they were, from some unknown source. The creatures marshalled by the Bloodthorn were elemental in turning the tide, and securing the Feywild against the possibly endless forces of the abyss. During the campaign, various Archfey and many of the time's greatest Warlord and Warriors were seduced to the Entity's service with promises of power. Some became thralls, some genuine servants, and some were indeed rewarded with dark and terrible power. Those that allied themselves with the entity became pariah, and took upon themselves the, not a little mocking name of the 'Court of Thorns'. Foremost amongst these were several mighty heroes who fell at the climax of the war with the forces of the Abyss, though they were instrumental in turning back the tide and in part sealing the rift. The most powerful of the Court to survive was Corrigan, the Briar Witch. A Fairy Queen of no small power, her allegance with the Bloodthorn was not well received by her former liege-Lord, the King Oran. Technically, the two are currently at war, but in reality the situation is no-where near so simple.

[The Deal]
The Bloodthorn is a powerful, ammoral force both in the feywild and matirial plane. Before it's confinement, it seemed to have no-use for Elf or Man, though it drew to itself many 'monstrous' creatures, including several races of intelligent ones. Since it's confinement, however, It has learned the usefullness of such 'small' creatures, and has been known to make bargains and alliances to serve it's own incomprehensible goals.

In general, it is willing to 'bargain' openly and honestly, but often it will trick particularly useful creatures into service, or simply take from them what it needs. In the case of Bargains for Power, such as a Warlock's pact, it is truly rare for the Bloodthorn to be satisfied with Trinkets and Baubles, no matter how rare or expensive. Lifelong, or even Eternal Service is the thing that It values. This is to be expected, from a creature that is Older than many Gods.

Often, however, the Bloodthorn will either receive the service of a Warlock who originally bargained with one of It's allies, such as Corrigan, with the debt being transfered with or without the Warlocks notice or concent. At others, it will make gifts of it's thralls and (Some few willing) Servents. The Briar Witch in particular works closely with the Entity, and long ago made a gift of an entire colony of Pixies, who now act as the Bloodthorns eyes and hands throughout the feywild, and often venture into the Matirial Realm when it is required. 

At any rate, there are clearly several likely ways to become a Warlock with ties to the Bloodthorn;

1) In exchange for your power, you agree to serve the Bloodthorn. Likely, it was unspecific as to the length of this service, the nature, or the frequency. For the most part, you are free to go about your life. With little warning, however, and less explanation, the Warlock will be given perfunctory commands, baffling visions, or even forceful compulsions as to what the Entity desires. The retreival of a pleasing item, to be made a gift for it's allies in the Feywild. The unexplained command to slay an apparently inconsequencial hermit, a thousand miles away. Strict commands, reinforced by psychic pain, to leave a specific number of coloured glass beads out on the night of a certain moon, only to recover them three years hence (Undisturbed), without ever having returned to the spot or set eyes upon it again.

2) Having Happily Sworn yourself into the service of the fickle and capricious Briar-Witch, you find yourself instead receiving dream-sent commands and impulses of rather different texture. You have been given away, and will have to grow used to your new Master swiftly, lest you be given back in distaste.

3) Having undertaken a mighty quest to recover a priceless god-wrought artifact, a weapon or piece of armour that would make the princes of hell quake with fear and envy, you sacrifice it to the Bloodthorn. The Item is consumed beneath a shroud of moss, to be replaced with trinkets of in some small measure comparable matirial wealth (Though almost certainly far less usefull or magically potent). By accepting the gift you have been offered in return, you seal to deal and receive a measure of arcane might additionally. Should you reject the gift, there are likely to be dire consequences, however!

4) You took a wrong turn, whilst journeying deep in the black heart of the Feywild...


[Good or Evil]
The question is, at it's heart, essentially an irrelevant one in reguards to the Bloodthorn. Though many of a more puritanical bent would likely call the Entity Evil with no doubt in their heart, in truth, such concerns seem alien to it. It simply is. Whatever it's goals, they are far more complex and incomprehensible than that of any saint or devil. As such, not only do all manner of creatures find themselves beholden to it, but it's tasks are often given with little concern to the methods required to accomplish them, leaving agents of the Bloodthorn with their own moral compasses as their only real guide, and able to acheive what is demanded of them however they see fit.

Provided they do, in fact, succeed.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Nip, Selfish God of Apathy and Hedonism

Nip takes the form of a vast yellow Cat with six legs and a sinister grinning face. Nip is both selfish, cruel and whimsical. His followers are lazy, arrogant and hedonistic much like the Cat-God himself. Although many are drawn to his worship via the drug addled hedonism espoused by certain sects of his worshippers, many others are drawn to the worship of Nip as a source of power, both political and otherwise. 

Nip draws worshippers from the fringes of many societies, but only in the wickedest of cities or in particularly lawless towns would he be openly worshipped. For the most part, they form powerful if occaisionally apathetic cults. The main body of his worshippers are either human, or similar races. Often thuggish and menacing, these cultists and worshippers often devote themselves lazily to arcane studies, both as a source of power and for the exotic pleasures that magic can bring. The leaders of such cults are often Rakshasa, either in disguise or otherwise, depending on the location and their own power in the region. In more remote areas of the world, such cults may consist entirely of these fiendish outsiders.

Most worshippers of Nip tend to consider Nip either a reflection of themselves or of their collective selves; a representation of their might as an organisation or perhaps even some kind of manifestation of group subconciousness and power. In reality, the entity known as Nip is both real and powerful. Lazily residing in his Demesne in the Feywild, a vast and otherworldly Pyramid complex surrounded by impossibly thick and dangerous jungle, the Cat-God rarely interacts directly with the mortal plane, but when he does it is swift and violent, or incredibly subtle and filled with spite. He is not a fey creature in the slightest, though Nip's actual nature is unknown. It is known however, that he does also possess a layer of the Abyss itself, so it is possible that Nip is infact a demon or demon-prince of some sort.

Indeed, it is a little known fact that Nip's Feywild Demesne is actually a vast confluence with the Abyssal layer that the Cat-God is linked to. Although the merging is subtle and known only to a handful of scholars, it is entirely possible for one foolish enough to seek Nip out in his own real to, when seeking to leave, find themselves stranded in the Abyss without ever having noticed a transition.

[The Deal]
Nip is a spiteful, cruel and uncaring creature. He schemes and plots, whether for simple amusement or to further some secretive agenda is not clear. Nip rarely moves directly to carry out such plans, however, far preferring to work through agents, both knowing ones and the unwitting. This is why the creature encourages the spread of the cults, perhaps. Another theory is that Nip really is vain enough to appreciate the worship.

In addition to the devotion of the faithful, and the services of those too drug-addled to know better, some few of Nip's primary agents in the mortal plane have entered into direct bargains with Nip in return for power. Usually, such bargains are those of service. A supplicant who grovels sufficiently and pledges theirselves to the Cat-God's service may be given power directly, and if embraced by the Cult of Nip, they may indirectly benefit also, gaining respect, material wealth and access to the finest and most immoral of pleasures imaginable.

It is worth noting, that those in service to the Demon Cat-God are, if not kept on a short leash, at the very least Expected to Succeed. Failure or betrayal, is punished quickly and viciously. It is not entirely unheard of for a Warlock to be summoned directly to Nip's domain, to be hunted personally by the displeased one. Similarly, there are tales of the displeasure of Nip taking the form of a direct visitation by an avatar. Such encounters are usually delirious things, painful, scarring, transformative but rarely outright fatal.
Occaisionally such visits are not even preceeded by the Warlock having transgressed at all.

It is also possible to bargain with Nip in other ways, but the sheer amount of grovelling required to even begin to interest the demonic Cat-God is prohibitive to the kind of arrogant creatures usually drawn to Nip. However, suitably shiny, valuable, or powerful offerings may interest the capricious creature. Suitably epic sacrifices may also please Nip, such as the Warlock's first-born son, the heart of their beloved, or the heads of an entire village of peasants.

Examples of specific deals include;

1) Direct oath of allegience and obedience. The Warlock is visited in his dreams by Nip himself, and given tasks to further the creature's interests. These are usually either simple but brutal affairs or convaluted and elaborate schemes dripping with malice and intruige.

2) Indirect oath of allegience and obedience. A slightly less traumatic arrangement may see the Warlock working for a specific cult, or the Cult of Nip in general. Either he will receive direct orders from the Rakshasa cult-leaders, or a specific leader. Though often similar to the type of jobs and plots given in example 1, they will usually be less ambitious, more practical, or generally more petty and clearly self-serving for the Leader or Leaders involved.

3) The Warlock makes a gift of a Magic Mirror, aeons old and made by the finest craftsman of his age, the sheer amount of grovelling and ingratiation molifies the whimsical spite of Nip, and is given the gift of power in return. In all likelyhood, Nip will assume that service was part of the deal anyway, and may visit the Warlock with visions, dreams and drug-like nightmares until the Warlock does as he's told and undertakes a succession of quests and schemes anyway.

4) As the first example, swearing to serve Nip directly, or as the third example, offering a suitably grovelling-accompanied gift of extreme worth, power, or general shinyness. However, in addition to the services and so on expected of the Warlock in the above examples, they are required to found a Cult to Nip, with themselves at it's head. Via the use of bribery, violence, narcotics and generally hedonistic excess, they are to gather as much power and influence to themselves as possible, the better to further Nip's possibly nefarious schemes.


[Good or Evil?]
It is a fair bet that Nip is an evil creature. Likewise, the twisted excesses of the various Cults and the vicious scheming of their leaders is neutral at the most optimistic. Many of the cultists themselves, however, due to the essentially idle, apathetic nature of the Cat God and his philosophy, not to mention their generally drug-addled nature, means that the majority of Nip's actual servants and worshippers are much more properly considered unaligned.

Likewise, a Warlock who entered into his bargain accidentally, (Performing the Rituals to contact Nip himself as part of an opium-dream, or simply not believing the Demonic Cat-God to a genuine entity) is quite likely to lack the spite, malice and ambitious drive that characterise the more genuinely Evil of the Cat-God's servants.

Frankly, however, 'Nice' Warlocks or even Worshippers of Nip are going to be pretty unlikely, and incredibly rare.