so it's a weapon from the nether realm... is this a patron you choose if you don't want any rp with your patron? like as a dm you could flavour it up but there is less to go on than even just saying 'it's a fiend' or 'it's a great old one' etc.
am i missing something here?
Posted Sep 16, 2020, 9:27 PM UTC
So I personally dislike the idea that the hexblade has to be from the Shadowfell. So I tend to scrap that and say that any patron can make you a hexblade and then flavouring all the abilities to be in-line with your patron. I also allow for hexblade patrons to be from outside the generic patrons. Maybe they're a sentient weapon, or a powerful creature such as a beholder or kraken.
Fiendish Hexblade? Your Hexblade's Curse is fiery and your Hex Warrior weapon has fiendish and fire motifs. Etc, etc.
You were given a special weapon in exchange for your service. Instead of just giving you magic, they give you a weapon which you cast magic through, and the weapon gets stronger as you get stronger (because having your pact weapon suddenly be worse than a +1 Sword seems stupid).
I tend to always work with warlock players more on how they want to RP their pact because it's interesting and can make good story hooks for the party if suddenly the warlock loses their pact weapon or their magic.
Your patron is connected in some way to the Shadowfell. I played my Hexblade as a knight of the Raven Queen.
In theory, any of the pacts could be played without a roleplay relationship to your patron. Its all about you and your DM.
Personally, I enjoy the potential flavor of hexblades. I've seen it as a pact with the raven queen as a hunter of liches, or a shadowy creature residing in a weapon slowly corrupting its master, or a soul transplanted through magical accident, or a being of revenge incarnate. There are plenty of flavorful options with hexblade. The blades themselves are just a tool for manipulation, usually granted to a warlock that intends to do something the patron agrees with. It also has cool history ties, mentioning Blackrazor and other epic shadow weapons.
Honestly it can be anything, that's the best part. I wasn't thrilled with the whole Raven Queen thing so I made my own patron when I was playing my hexblade.
Almost whatever you want it to be. Like, you could be Arthur (Warlock), wielding Excalibur (the Hexblade) that was given to you by the Lady of the Lake (an Archfey?) or you could be wielding a Muramasa katana (longsword), a demonic sword that constantly asks you for the blood of your enemies, or anything that you, or your DM may come up with
Soulcalibur
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so according to the official lore most hexblades forge a pact with the raven queen through one of her cursed swords, or something? it's restrictive and convoluted and honestly it's more fun to just throw that out and decide your patron is a sentient cursed weapon, and then have fun coming up with details for that weapon
It’s funny, I think there must be something unclear or esoteric with the writing of the Hexblade’s flavour text because LOADS of people have had issues understanding it. It really does boil down to “this thing is weird and no one knows what it is”. That’s a lot harder to understand than “it’s a demon” or “it’s an alien”.
IMO, you should make totally new lore based either on the fact that it’s a weapon or on the shadowfell. Invent a powerful hero or villain who once wielded the weapon whose presence still lingers within it.
The hexblade UA the fluff was you made the Pact with a weapon, between that and the name people are incapable of parsing the fluff that's actually in the book and so you get the daily "wait so I get to carry my Patron" thread about hexblades