Warlock

*"The gods are silent in their judgment of me. I acknowledge their power and their place--but there are facets of existence that they do not oversee. I pursue what was lost and others fear to find."*

*-Yara Rell, Warlock -*

Though it has been eight centuries since Sanctum's official reconstruction, much of the world remains undiscovered. Blocked by vast distances and unsailable seas, some few adventuresome spirits seek to discover the mysteries of Sanctum's hidden lands.

Just as much of the physical world remains undiscovered, innumerable mysteries also exist in more esoteric domains. While the gods of Sanctum oversee its development in accordance with their powers and dominions, even in their multitude, they do not define every primal power left in the world. In the chaos of The Reaping, many powers sought refuge undetected or ignored by the Pantheon, embedding themselves into the remaining fabric of existence. Though not gods themselves, these forces may rise and offer power to those who tread the path of the Warlock.

A deeply personal and consuming calling, Warlocks are driven to forge their pacts out of curiosity, lust for power, or even out of a simple sense of belonging. Those who feel there is more to the world than can be understood through the eyes of mortals and gods are rare, but intensely focused. While the Pantheon has locked away many potential Warlock patrons in Tartarus, those who pose no threat to the world (or whose imprisonment would somehow alter it irrevocably) are permitted to act and empower their acolytes provided they do not seek to cross the threshold from power to full-fledged deity.

Even those Warlocks who share a patron rarely congregate or organize into any kind of structure. They commune with their patron as individuals, each seeking to increase their understanding of the hidden world on their own. Few communities welcome Warlocks among their ranks, and the calling is not something one can be officially trained in. Few Warlocks miss the world they leave behind--a new one is far more interesting.

Warlock patrons are restricted and thematically altered for the Sanctum setting:

Paragon of The Green - The Warlock's patron is an ancient being from The Morpheum, born from the first dreams of Gaia in Fiddler's Green. Mechanically identical to the Archfey patron.

Nightmare Host - The shadowy counter to the Paragon, a Warlock who enters a pact with a Nightmare Host learns from a force born of the dark essence of The Morpheum. Mechanically identical to the Fiend patron.

The Deep - Sanctum's oceans are home to powers born long before their creation. With the death of Poseidon, some hulking, alien minds from beneath the waves reach to the shore to empower Warlocks. Mechanically identical to the Great Old One patron.

Chorus of the Wronged - Even in a world so tenuously balanced between oblivion and life, treachery and injustice among mortals remain. While the souls of the dead hold no power over the living, those who passed traumatically leave echoes of their unfinished business behind. A Warlock who can hear their cries finds lost knowledge in pursuing vengeance for The Chorus. Mechanically identical to the Hexblade patron.