Witches, Wizards, and Warlocks

The difference between Witches, Wizards, and Warlocks is often stated to be a matter of gender.
That's not interesting.
Here's an alternative split.
The Witch and the Wizard will be a separate post.

WARLOCKS
Warlocks are mortals who gain supernatural power as a result of a Pact with a Patron.

(Yes, I'm using D&D 3.5/4E/5E terminology to simplify things. Deal with it.)

The Patron is a powerful supernatural entity. A high-ranking demon, one of the fairy queens, an ancient vampire or lich.

A typical prospective Warlock has to do the following things:

  1. Summon/Call the Patron
  2. Make a Pact with the Patron
  3. Follow-through on it

SUMMON
The Pact typically starts with a ritual to summon the Patron. For some Patrons, the Patron is not summoned but the ritual instead gathers their attention. These entities are too powerful to be summoned, too vast to enter our world without breaking it. Instead, the ritual may summon a proxy, or perhaps an avatar of the Patron, or merely focuses their attention on the Warlock-to-be.

The ritual usually involves sacrifice of some kind. Sacrifices may be minor (oil, herbs, spices) or more major (human sacrifice, severing your own hand).

Once the ritual is complete, the Patron will respond.
If the ritual was performed poorly, the sacrifice insufficient--the reponse may be a grisly death.
It is common for the beginning negotiations to be highly ritualized before getting down to details.

PACT:
The Pact is a contract.
The Patron provides power in exchange for something of value from the Warlock:

  • The Warlock's soul (typical for demons)
  • After being granted power, the Warlock will serve the Patron as a willing servant for a year and a day (common for fey)
  • Sacrifice (most common type of payment)
    • May range from minor to major
    • The motivation for sacrifice varies.
      •  Significance of the sacrifice to the Warlock, while being objectively insignificant--the knife, of insignificant value, forged by your great great grandfather and passed down the male line when the son's wife has their first child
      • Social upheaval-the head of a king, burned on an altar
      • Bloodlust-500 innocents, burned
      • Revenge-'Another Warlock did not fulfill his end of the bargain. Make her make her payment, with interest. You may do anything short of killing her.'
      • Politics! 'King Oberon insulted me at a ball. Seduce his consort, make him a cuckhold, then ensure it is revealed'
  • The Patron may call on the Warlock for a favor of some kind. The Warlock may not refuse.
Pacts typically include a cost for failure.

VARIANTS:
  • The Patron is actively trying to make Pacts, and does not need to be summoned.
  • Rather than making a traditional "quid pro quo" Pact, the Pact is a wager:
  • The Warlock has has something the Patron wants and uses it as leverage. Either they simply found it, or they specifically quested to get it.
  • The Warlock has stolen something belonging to the Patron and is using as leverage in negotiations. This is almost always a bad idea, but some Patrons, especially the less malevolent fey find this amusing.
  • The Warlock is blackmailing the Patron. This is more likely to work on Patrons such as Fairy Queens, or Princes of Hell, not really going to be effective on The Black Goat with a Thousand Young.
  • The Patron is summoned as easily as saying their name three times, the price is high but not due for a prolonged period, with a high cost for failure.
  • The Pact is that at some point the Patron and their hounds will pursue, hunt, and kill the Warlock.

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