The Cosmic Courier

*The halfling man made his way to the hill's peak. Hill Jorgen - a rather uninteresting hilltop aside from the strewn about flowers, love notes, and small keepsakes. In these parts, this was a place people came to mourn their lost lovers. Most left it at that. Others believed that a prayer to the keeper of this hill would allow them to communicate with that lost lover just one more time, but most dismissed this as hogwash. He was desperate to hear his lover's words again, so he figured there was no harm in one last ditch effort.*

*Clutched in his hand was a small handwritten letter on crumpled parchment, the last note he wrote to his beloved Eli before sickness took him from this world. He glanced around, confused. The stories said the Cosmic Courier came to those who showed true emotion. He guessed that his inner longing was not enough? At a loss for what else to do, he read his lover's note once again, and, as he had done so many times before these last few weeks, he began to cry.*

*The stars above him descended in a flash - he was caught off guard, but as the figure stepped down from the sky itself, his anguish grew immense. In front of him was a starry-faced humanoid with no other discerning features but a cloak that matched the night sky, and a body adorned with scenes from a life - his life? - recorded clips of him and his love. He and Eli first meeting outside the bakery, their first kiss, their first argument, and the day that he clutched Eli's hand and moaned in despair as the life left his body. As he watched each of these moments again and again, the feelings came back to him, amplified.*

*The humanoid extended a hand. In it, another crumpled piece of parchment. The halfling snatched it out of its hands before he could ask a question. As he opened it, he sobbed loudly. Somehow, this being had brought him another note - handwritten by Eli again - reassuring the halfling that his companionship transcended lifetimes. When the halfling looked up to thank the being, all he could see was an uninteresting hilltop, and a sky full of stars.*

## The Cosmic Courier

The Cosmic Courier is a being that transcends both time and the planes, rumored to have been formed by raw emotion. No one knows its true purpose, but from what can be pieced together, it spends its time as an observer, wanting to see the mortals of this world engage in the range of feeling that comes from two individuals that are in love. It has no reaction to what it sees: heartbreak, warmth, and anything in between. The Cosmic Courier merely watches, and acts as a conduit to bring those emotions to the forefront of whoever it chooses to observe.

Somehow, the being is able to transcend timelines if it sees fit. In the story above, the Cosmic Courier is able to enter a reality where Eli never perished, obtain a letter to bring to the mourning halfling, and observe the emotion that comes with it. Not only does the being want to see the happiness that washes over the halfling, it will get to see the inevitable realization that this halfling was unlucky enough to end up in a reality where the fates decided to separate him from his lover.

The Cosmic Courier's interests do not lie solely in the good that comes with love - it has been known to interfere in relationships negatively as well. The being brings paranoia of infidelity, untruths and deceptions, and stirs up resentment in relationships already strained. For lack of a better comparison, the Cosmic Courier is a mysterious being engaging in a game of The Sims, observing and interfering with the only justification being that it is able.

### As a Patron

The Cosmic Courier generally does not have "informed" patrons. Those it chooses are individuals it chooses to secretly observe, and if they follow the carrot placed in front of them, they will be granted powers that fit into the Courier's master plan. For example, the Courier may grant its patrons powerful spellcasting, knowing they will eventually catch the eye of a curious court wizard because of it, wanting to see their romantic interaction. Other times the Courier will compel its chosen to burn down an inn, so that two of the evacuated tenants (should they survive) will stumble upon each other outside in what both of them will only see as having been fate.

As a DM, use the Courier as a way to stress the "butterfly effect" style patronage that Great Old Ones lean toward. The warlock may not fully understand why they are compelled to steal a carriage from a poor family, not knowing that the guard that will arrive to the scene will fancy the robbed victim. Your players, as warlocks of the Cosmic Courier, have just become NPCs (or even main characters) in an otherworldly dating sim that this being is playing obsessively for all of eternity.

### Pact Boons

* *Pact of the Blade:* a shimmering scimitar with starry constellations along the blade, that change depending on what part of the world you are in
* *Pact of the Tome:* a journal of love letters. Every other page is a note from some pair of lovers out in the multiverse, and is generally unusable other than for juicy gossip.
* *Pact of the Chain:* a loud-mouthed sprite (use reflavored imp stats) that has a habit of loudly pointing out anyone in the room that thinks you're cute.

### Extra Gifts

* The Cosmic Courier gives you a free use of the Sending spell once a day, but for some reason you have to end every single message with "love you", or the spell will fail.
* Your patron wants to steer you away from being infatuated with anyone you're not supposed to be, so they have granted you immunity to the Charmed condition.
* Being likeable is a good thing. Every time you stick your hand in your pocket, a small trinket favorable to whoever you are currently speaking with worth less than 5 gold will appear so you can gift it to them. Occasionally it will end up being filled with spiders.

### Flavoring the Warlock

* My eyes have been replaced by starry expanses, but only I can see them.
* I quickly become infatuated with people, but almost just as quickly I can find a flaw with them and lose interest.
* A secret admirer occasionally sends me letters that appear beneath my pillow during my rests - their handwriting looks eerily similar to my own.

### Plot Hooks

* *(Low Level):* A local bandit lord has been robbing supply routes outside of town. When you go investigate, you find out he is lashing out because his wife recently left him, and you feel compelled to help him win her back.
* *(Mid Level):* A succubus and incubus pair have been wreaking havoc in the city, and if anyone is going to be setting people up, it should be you. You are tasked with hunting down the duo of demons and driving them away from here.
* *(High Level):* A pair of lovers are slated to be married tomorrow night. Secretly, the two of them have recently turned to vampirism to stay together for all eternity; you want to see what would happen if you replace the priest marrying them with a local demon hunter.