Isradeus

*The two tabaxi heaved with all of their might, moving the heavy stone tablet that blocked the entrance to the tomb. They had been spelunking for days - foolishly, they pressed on, and it seems Lady Luck smiled upon them today. Entering the hidden tomb, one of them lit a torch, and examined the walls of the crypt.*

*Rows upon rows of weaponry, made from a material neither of them recognized. Some of them even looked like firearms - glowing red? Suits of armor that neither of them had ever seen, with translucent helmets and what looked like dancing lights running up each of the arms. Bewildered by the equipment they saw before them, neither had a chance to react to the tomb closing again behind them. A pair of eyes on a vaguely-humanoid face chiseled into the wall were the only things now illuminating the room.*

*A massive sphinx, eyes furrowed, watched them both. Its face was wrinkled, its eye drooped, as if it spent the majority of its time frowning. The creature sighed as its eyes glowed, and immediately, both tabaxi snapped to attention.*

*"This never gets any easier on me. I am sorry, you two, but know that your service will be for this realm's greater good. Arm yourselves and prepare, as our end is nearly upon us."*

## Isradeus, the Endguard

Isradeus is an immensely powerful sphinx with mastery over divination magic. Having hurled himself forward many centuries through time, the creature has seen an unspeakable evil that will descend upon this realm, and he knew the only way he could manage to save this world was to prepare an army. Moving back through time to the current age, bringing back as much weaponry as he could, the sphinx originally found it difficult to convince adventurers to join his military, as he was not very trustworthy on the surface. Knowing he had no other choice, the sphinx began creating thralls to arm and train for the looming threat.

Isradeus could also double as a Hexblade patron, but his primary goal is to arm and train great warriors to defend the realm. His plan is, once his army is sufficiently grown, to hurtle them all through time to do battle against the world-ending evil - the nature of which I have intentionally left unknown to use as you see fit. As a DM, make sure to really hype up how powerful Isradeus thinks this doom is; it is entirely up to you whether or not he speaks the truth, or just craves a powerful army of his own.

His provided technology is a little bit out there - this is a great time to debut things such as the laser rifle in the Dungeon Master's Guide, or cross elements of Spelljammer or Starfinder into your 5E campaign. How Isradeus acquired all of these armaments is also entirely up to you, but I imagine it being suits of power armor and blades that look a bit like lightsabers, as well as the futuristic weaponry provided in official 5E sources.

### As a Patron

As presented here, Isradeus is not happy with the measures he has to resort to to develop his army. Similar to Dr. Doom, he truly believes the only way the world will be safe is if he takes control of powerful warriors, but is also always happy to have a willing participant. Isradeus can either be the patron of a willing or unwilling warlock, but in either case, he is generous in his boons because he truly wants the most powerful servants possible.

A potential route to go with Isradeus is a big reveal on whether he speaks the truth or not. You could play him as a conflicted good-aligned patron that truly does not see another choice, or a manipulative being that will tell grand lies just to enslave those who stumble upon his chambers.

Most of the work a warlock of Isradeus will do will revolve around developing forces. This will include recruitment, securing of strongholds, or retrieving powerful artifacts for his generals to use. He also may occasionally want you to enthrall other warriors for him to bolster his forces, some of which he knows will end up being cannon fodder.

### Pact Boons

* *Pact of the Blade:* a glowing blade made of pure light, or a weapon such as the laser rifle from the Dungeon Master's Guide
* *Pact of the Tome:* a translucent green tablet that lets you scroll with a touch to other pages of the spellbook
* *Pact of the Chain:* a small robotic homunculus that changes shape physically when you turn it into a different creature

### Extra Gifts

* Isradeus has gifted you with a set of armor from his personal armory. It is up to you what type of armor he gifts, and it gives you a flying speed equal to your current walking speed.
* Knowing that field work can be dangerous, Isradeus allows you to call upon some of his warriors by gifting you a Horn of Valhalla.
* Isradeus wants to give you a chance to speed up your training - he gives you audience with a future version of yourself, and you are able to learn a new skill proficiency from yourself that you learn at some point in your life.

### Flavoring the Warlock

* I do not use contractions, and speak very matter-of-fact-ly when conversing with those not under Isradeus's spell.
* Sometimes, when I encounter a powerful individual, my patron will take over and speak through me to try and recruit them.
* I have flashes of visions of the great evil that is descending upon our realm, and have a tough time sleeping because of it.

### Plot Hooks

* *(Low Level):* The champion of the local fighting pit is a promising contender for joining Isradeus' ranks. He wants you to enter and do battle with him, convincing him to join your side as you do so.
* *(Mid Level):* Knowing that he does not have enough firepower to equip an entire army, Isradeus has sent you to a massive volcano to hopefully appeal to the fire giant blacksmiths within.
* *(High Level):* The great evil threatening the world has descended early. Seeing no choice but to act now, Isradeus calls his army to the battlefield for the fateful climactic battle against a sufficiently powerful being.