Warlock kills own patron?

[The-0-Endless]

In a 5e campaign I am DMing, a player playing a fiend pact warlock that regrets becoming such, being CN with INT 8, he decides the proper course of action is to kill the thing. Last session he got right to it's lair, but I have no idea what should happen when he attacks.

He could have his warlock abilities not work against the fiend.
he could kill the fiend and have his powers fail.
he could kill the fiend and take it's power.


Any new ideas, or ones on the previous ideas?

[Princess]

In a 5e campaign I am DMing, a player playing a fiend pact warlock that regrets becoming such, being CN with INT 8, he decides the proper course of action is to kill the thing. Last session he got right to it's lair, but I have no idea what should happen when he attacks.

He could have his warlock abilities not work against the fiend.
he could kill the fiend and have his powers fail.
he could kill the fiend and take it's power.


Any new ideas, or ones on the previous ideas?

This really depends on how you feel Warlock powers work. Did signing the bargain permanently make the Warlock magic, such that the Fiend no longer actually has any control? Or are the powers there simply because the Fiend wants them to be, so they could be taken away again readily? The default assumption for warlocks originally was that once made, they were permanently magical, so he could in fact go and blast his former patron right in the face if he so desired. But if it makes more sense in your setting, one of the first options might be the case. I would definitely allow the party to figure that out if they investigated ancient lore or the like, though. Just because the party warlock is dumb doesn't mean no one could ever go look that sort of thing up. Some sort of warning would be more fair to your players if he could lose his power fighting his patron.

[Logosloki]

Kill the fiend, find out it was only an intermediary and the actual patron is now taken a mild amount of interest in the warlock.

[lianightdemon]

If you take it from what Critical Role did, then the warlock would keep his powers, but would no longer be able to progress further with them. If he wants to continue warlock he would need to find a new patron. The warlocks existing powers would continue to work normally. However they would need to multi class from now on.

You could have it so if the warlock kills the fiend he can research a special ritual (like a special magical effect that would unlock the patron's inner power, have it include that would let him absorb the essence of the fiend, allowing him to continue with learning the powers and abilities his fiend patron would have granted him, but not requiring deeds other then a special ritual. You could have him go on a short quest to obtain components for it.

[mephnick]

The default assumption for warlocks originally was that once made, they were permanently magical.

Is it? I thought it says that some patrons (like GOO) can be completely unaware of the connection and some warlocks were given powers without the warlock's consent. That makes me think the patron is always the source of the power.

[ThurlRavenscrof]

If you take it from what Critical Role did, then the warlock would keep his powers, but would no longer be able to progress further with them. If he wants to continue warlock he would need to find a new patron. The warlocks existing powers would continue to work normally. However they would need to multi class from now on

I like this idea best. You don't want to punish the player for rping by stripping their powers. But at the same time it doesn't make sense to be able to progress. Making them multiclass seems like a great solution for both game balance and storytelling

[Slipperychicken]

The warlock's powers should work. Lore-wise I say it's because patrons cannot take powers away from warlocks. They simply teach warlocks to use magic, rather than spoonfeeding it to them 24/7 like a deity.

Regarding what happens when the patron dies: I'd probably have something replace the patron, be it the patron's overlord, or an entity that "inherits" the patron's duties. The warlock can choose to work with the replacement or seek out a new patron, possibly changing his subclass if desired. That is of course assuming that the patron is perma-killed or otherwise preventing from influencing the mortal world for the foreseeable future.

For example: Warlock Wally perma-kills his own patron Paranax the Devil Lord. Paranax's longstanding rival Pelial steps into the power vacuum and soon offers Warlock Wally a chance to work for him instead. Wally can of course refuse Pelial and instead request to serve the undying Fairy Lord Mab or the chronically-oversleeping Old One Kuthluhoo.

[Drackolus]

I've always felt the patron is just a teacher, but the fluff is (likely intentionally) inconsistent. It probably varies from each relationship.

[ATHATH]

I've seen Warlocks compared to magical items- their patron "enchants" them when they sign their pact, then enchants them further as they level up. Thus, a patron-less Warlock should keep his Warlock powers, but should be unable to level-up until he gets a new patron.

A problem that might come up is what happens to the Warlock's subclass powers when he switches from a Fiend patron to, say, a Fey patron. Personally, I like to go with the interpretation that while the Warlock's base powers are innate/infused into him, his subclass powers are given to him directly by his patron. Thus, he'll lose his subclass's abilities while he doesn't have a patron, but will regain appropriate ones when he finds a new patron.

[Drackolus]

Personally, I like to go with the interpretation that while the Warlock's base powers are innate/infused into him, his subclass powers are given to him directly by his patron. Thus, he'll lose his subclass's abilities while he doesn't have a patron, but will regain appropriate ones when he finds a new patron.

I like this one too.

[Arenabait]

Kill the fiend, find out it was only an intermediary and the actual patron is now taken a mild amount of interest in the warlock.

If this forum had upvotes, I'd be making alts right now exclusively to give you more of them.

[Sabeta]

More often, though, the arrangement is similar to
that between a master and an apprentice. The warlock
learns and grows in power, at the cost of occasional
services performed on the patron’s behalf.


Some warlocks, particularly those of fey or fiendish
bloodlines, are born with a propensity for their power,
drawing the attention of potential patrons even from
childhood. Others seek out a pact, sometimes because
they can't find the power they desire elsewhere. Some
warlocks forge multiple pacts, although they must eventually
come to favor one over the others, as their patrons
are jealous and possessive beings.

Warlocks don't need to know who their patrons are. Their patron doesn't need to even be impressive, an Imp or a Hag qualifies. Their powers are learned, not granted. How your DM runs the setting may change these things, but as far as the Forgotten Realms are concerned there's a relatively clear distinction that a Warlock simply unlocks the powers through the Pact Making, and their own dedication and desire for knowledge furthers those powers.

Basically, the Pact itself is often overblown to be some grand significant thing that it's really not. Farideh (The Tiefling who appears and is mentioned several times in the PHB) actively works against Asmodeus, and more specifically her pact-maker Lorcan. There's been no real hint that she's going to somehow lose her powers if she succeeds, the powers are hers to control.

Anyway, other answers here are accurate enough. A fiend who makes a pact with someone is probably subordinate to an even greater fiend. It wouldn't be hard to pass the pact up to them, or redirect to another nearby imp, or just about anyone really. Because, as I said before. The Pact only unlocks the power. It defines the powers origins, not its perpetual use.

[GreyBlack]

Depends. Which makes the better story?

[random_guy]

Think of it as Vegeta killing off Babidi in Dragon Ball Z. He still had his power boost afterwards.

[Sjappo]

Depends. Which makes the better story?
This!

So, to throw another story possibility out there. Present the PC with a choice. Either take up the mantle of the vanquished Fiend (becoming an NPC in the process probably, or have another Fiend fill the power vacuum at which point the PC has a new Patron who is _very_ interested in the PC.

[Millstone85]

-> Warlocks as clerics
Although they receive their powers from a wider range of possible sources than what the setting regards as "the divine", warlocks are functionally divine spellcasters. The power may be granted or stolen but it requires a permanent connection between the warlock and their patron.
This is cool but... Warlocks are listed as arcane spellcasters, meaning they have direct access to the Weave.

-> Warlocks as wizards
Being students of forbidden techniques and lore that was kept secret for a reason, warlocks are denied the honored title of "wizard". Yet a warlock's powers are learned indeed, with the patron either acting as a teacher or becoming a subject of research.
This is cool but... A warlock's spellcasting ability isn't Intelligence, so it doesn't really fit the intellectual approach to magic.

-> Warlocks as sorcerers
This is the interpration I believe to be closest to the intended fluff. Consider the following quotes...
Most often, sorcerers with this origin trace their descent back to a mighty sorcerer of ancient times who made a bargain with a dragon or who might even have claimed a dragon parent.
You might have endured exposure to some form of raw magic, perhaps through a planar portal leading to Limbo, the Elemental Planes, or the mysterious Far Realm. Perhaps you were blessed by a powerful fey creature or marked by a demon.
Some warlocks, particularly those of fey or fiendish bloodlines, are born with a propensity for their power, drawing the attention of potential patrons even from childhood. There is considerable overlap between the fluff of the two classes. Thus, I would regard warlocks the way someone else mentioned...
I've seen Warlocks compared to magical items- their patron "enchants" them when they sign their pact, then enchants them further as they level up. Thus, a patron-less Warlock should keep his Warlock powers, but should be unable to level-up until he gets a new patron. and add that a patron-less warlock would also be likely to take their next levels in the sorcerer class.

[Temperjoke]

You know, there's probably a clause in that demonic bargain regarding attempts to kill the patron. After all, Devils do attempt to think of every contingency. I'd imagine that there would be a penalty such as forfeiture of one's soul, and on a successful kill, who the ownership of the contract reverts to, such as that devil's superior.

[nickl_2000]

You know, there's probably a clause in that demonic bargain regarding attempts to kill the patron. After all, Devils do attempt to think of every contingency. I'd imagine that there would be a penalty such as forfeiture of one's soul, and on a successful kill, who the ownership of the contract reverts to, such as that devil's superior.

Who in their right mind creates a contract that say "In the case of the situation where the Warlock kills said Patron..."

Why would I agree to a contract where someone has implicit consent to kill me? Unless the result clause says something like "the Warlock's soul is banished to a different plane separate from it's body, and the Patron's soul is transferred into the Warlock's body with complete control over said body."

[Millstone85]

There is also the question of who would enforce the clause.

One way to make the warlock class totally different from others is to consider the pact itself as something like an ongoing Wish spell. Neither the warlock nor the patron really holds control over this magic, at least not once the pact has been signed.

This works great if the patron is a devil, as they would be in touch with the very essence of Law in the planes.

It is not so great if the patron is a demon, a fey or some weird alien presence.

[Temperjoke]

Who in their right mind creates a contract that say "In the case of the situation where the Warlock kills said Patron..."

Why would I agree to a contract where someone has implicit consent to kill me? Unless the result clause says something like "the Warlock's soul is banished to a different plane separate from it's body, and the Patron's soul is transferred into the Warlock's body with complete control over said body."

It's not "implied consent" it's a clause intended as a deterrence, as the penalty for it could be far worse than any benefit gained, such as how you described.

Anyways, any warlock Patron should ideally be beyond the ability of the warlock to kill anyways, maybe not on the scale of a God, but at least on the scale of a level 20 player. Not impossible, but highly improbable.

EDIT: Millstone85 - one of the ideas that has been put forward before is that in the case of the devil/demon, the person you are doing the signing with is actually just a representative of a larger power in their hierarchy, like Asmodeus, who definitely has the power to ensure that the contract is filled.

[Zorku]

Best of both worlds. They lose their powers but now they have a quest to get them back. The lingering essence of their master will be gobbled up by some other fiend before too long. Since the powerful ones usually just kill off the fiends they plan to steal essence from they weren't really paying much attention here, but another subordinate in the area is racing to gain that power.

In this case, because they hated the master, they probably don't want to merge with them and have to constantly suppress that personality, but they could well enough construct a kind of battery that they'll slowly drain over the course of their lifetime, dispersing the energy in a way that eradicates the master's personality.

Any number of "the subordinate managed to consume some of the power, and you need to kill them before they can attune to it and then absorb the rest of it" sorts of complications are open possibilities in this quest. I'd probably leave the Warlock their cantrips, because it's gonna be really boring to just poke demons with a stick for several sessions, and if they're going the eldritch blast route then that's still decent enough that they'll contribute to combat (though you could also come up with weird skillchecks for them to be doing during combat that prevent various fiends from healing themselves as they consume lingering essence, or w/e.)

-

I tend to think of Warlocks as being a lot like the master's familiar. Obviously this works differently than the find familiar spell that PCs have access to, but there's a long history of familiars acting against the interests of their master, which works great here, and you've pretty much got license to do whatever you'd like with it in a narrative... but there is decidedly some power from the master being channeled through the familiar, so killing off the master needs to be addressed.

Now, fiends typically just return to their home plane when they're killed on other planes, so if this isn't too high level, maybe the fiend withdraws from this mess to look for loopholes they abuse in the pact contract, and when the party gets into planar travel levels they find out that they still have to kill the master, except it's harder this time.

[Belomancy]

In a 5e campaign I am DMing, a player playing a fiend pact warlock that regrets becoming such, being CN with INT 8, he decides the proper course of action is to kill the thing. Last session he got right to it's lair, but I have no idea what should happen when he attacks.

He's going to assault something that can CREATE level 20 warlocks. The correct answer here is that basically he's going to get humiliated. BADLY.

The most likely scenario would be that the fiend would immediately kill the character. That's not a very fun scenario, however. More interestingly, the fiend might do something like hit the character with a 9th level Geas spell forcing the character to make reparations before selling him to another patron.

I can't even imagine a scenario where a warlock could actually defeat it's own patron. These things are unspeakable powerhouses... that's why warlocks seek them out in the first place!

[Joe the Rat]

Kill the fiend, find out it was only an intermediary and the actual patron is now taken a mild amount of interest in the warlock.


If this forum had upvotes, I'd be making alts right now exclusively to give you more of them.
I like this one quite a bit as well.
You could also take a The Prisoner angle with a new "#2" promoted to / taking over the position of Warlock Patron for PMPlane#67A (Toril), leaving the question of "who is #1?" for the next round.

[eastmabl]

Here's how I imagine this going down:

Warlock makes a deal with a patron, who provides the warlock with access to a power source for spells and invocations.

The patron is not the soul source of that power. Instead, the patron is siphoning off power from a larger power source, such as the Feywild, the Nine Hells, etc. The patron needs to make his own deal to gain access to that power source.

When the warlock kills the patron, the warlock can continue to siphon this power until someone recognizes that the patron's end of the bargain isn't being satisfied. Then, a larger entity comes knocking for the payment - which means your warlock (probably) makes a contract with a newer, more powerful entity.

[Red Fel]

Think of it as Vegeta killing off Babidi in Dragon Ball Z. He still had his power boost afterwards.

Actually, this remind me of a pretty interesting bit of homebrew which could be adapted to the situation.

The Mythos version of the Warlock class (appropriately called "Mythic Warlock (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394792-3-5-quot-Deal-quot)") has a feature covering precisely this. Scroll down to the spoiler tagged "Legendary" and look at the "Consider This My Letter of Resignation" ability. The basic premise is that the Mythic Warlock, having grown too big for his britches, declares open war on his patron, gains the ability to actually cause lasting harm to his patron, and ultimately engages his patron in an extremely decisive battle.

If he wins, the Warlock consumes his former patron, absorbing it as a power source.

I'd basically make that the question for the player in this context - as he stands over his near-vanquished patron, ask him what he wants to do. He could (1) destroy the patron, (2) devour the patron, (3) enslave the patron, or (4) other. His call. Depending on the choice he makes, you give him a different outcome.

If he destroys his patron, obviously, he is sacrificing his source of power. His Warlock powers momentarily flicker out, and he can feel them recede. Then, suddenly, he feels a surge of energy, as something rushes in to fill the void. He has replaced the literal devil he knows with one that he doesn't. It may be a benevolent source wishing to reward him for destroying a dark entity, or a mischief-maker taking advantage of a moment of weakness, or an even bigger bad taking an interest in the PC.

If he devours his patron, he absorbs his source of power into himself. He continues to enjoy his powers, and can progress them as normal. However, it alters his soul fundamentally. There is a dark, corrupting presence in his mind, a sort of anti-conscience urging him towards wickedness. (If he has a familiar, it now speaks with the voice of his former Patron.) Additionally, he is now a target - those who saw his patron as their leader (including, potentially, other Warlocks) want him dead, in order to recover their dark master.

If he enslaves his patron, the shoe is on the other foot - his patron works for him, now. He continues to enjoy his powers, and can progress them as normal. He can even command an aspect of his patron in the form of a familiar, if he has one. However, he is now above his patron in the infernal hierarchy, which means that Powers are taking notice of him. He is now an unwilling participant in Outsider politics, and had better watch his step very carefully.

Basically, none of them change his character fundamentally. He still has his same class features and abilities, which progress normally. What changes is that he has set off a chain of events. Powerful beings take an interest in him, he infects himself with a piece of darkness, he grows enmeshed in Outsider politics - killing a Patron isn't an impossibility, but it is an event with rippling impact on the cosmos.

[DivisibleByZero]

If I were a demon powerful enough to grant warlock powers to a mortal, and that mortal came to use those powers against me, I know what I'd do.
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Warlock powers? What powers? You're clearly breaking the Pact we made, and I just revoked those powers.

[Sicarius Victis]

If I were a demon powerful enough to grant warlock powers to a mortal, and that mortal came to use those powers against me, I know what I'd do.
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Warlock powers? What powers? You're clearly breaking the Pact we made, and I just revoked those powers.

Well, only if the Pact specifically forbids attacking the Patron, or at least if the Patron is a Devil. As a Lawful creature, while a Devil may twist whatever contract is made, it will not add any entirely new clauses to the contract. Of course, the Devil very well could add that clause while the contract is being made, but Fiends typically have an inherent arrogance that could more than likely just inspire the Devil to allow the Warlock to attack, if for nothing more than amusement.

Remember, we're basically talking about lawyers from Hell. As redundant as that sounds, it's still something to keep in mind.

[Princess]

Well, only if the Pact specifically forbids attacking the Patron, or at least if the Patron is a Devil. As a Lawful creature, while a Devil may twist whatever contract is made, it will not add any entirely new clauses to the contract. Of course, the Devil very well could add that clause while the contract is being made, but Fiends typically have an inherent arrogance that could more than likely just inspire the Devil to allow the Warlock to attack, if for nothing more than amusement.

Remember, we're basically talking about lawyers from Hell. As redundant as that sounds, it's still something to keep in mind.

This is why Devils are so amusing. Forfeiture of Soul must be explicit ('Pact Certain'), pursuant to the Civil Code of the Nine Hells of Baator. If only it didn't take mere mortals 666 years to complete the paralegal certification...

[Hrugner]

Given the cutthroat nature of demonic politics, I imagine an adversary of your demon patron would be happy to pump you full of juice to take out his opponent. After the combat the temporary ally turns off the juice and offers a new contract, one with strict rules about attacking the new patron. It would be an opportunity to change up patrons if the player has good relations with some other potential patron, otherwise they just end up back where they started from. If they reject the new patron they should probably be retired as a character unless they want to level them back up with a new class.

[GreyBlack]

Who in their right mind creates a contract that say "In the case of the situation where the Warlock kills said Patron..."

Why would I agree to a contract where someone has implicit consent to kill me? Unless the result clause says something like "the Warlock's soul is banished to a different plane separate from it's body, and the Patron's soul is transferred into the Warlock's body with complete control over said body."

Tell me, have you read the fine print in every EULA? This guy we're talking about has an intelligence of 8. While I don't want to go so far as to say he's at stereotypical hillbilly intellect, he's definitely not the sharpest bowling ball at the show, if you catch my drift. Besides that, I could imagine there being all sorts of stuff written in a language that he doesn't understand because it's been dead for centuries ("What do you mean, you don't understand ancient Harappan? Well, let me summarize it for you...")

And that's even assuming it's not some more nebulous pact which wasn't signed, just verbally agreed upon or a ritual which was performed. The terms could be entirely to the discretion of the Patron, so the PC, not being too bright, didn't realize how much his power was at the discretion of the Patron.

ETA: As to who creates a pact with the aforementioned phrase: beings so paranoid about their well being that they wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it and plan 3 steps ahead. So, devils.

[Sabeta]

In Brimstone Angels Farideh has several chances to kill Lorcan, her pact maker. She just never acts on it because he's handsome and kind of likes him; despite his clearly evil ways and his frequent attempts to hurt her and her friends. She also has a charm to protect her against scrying from her patron and asmodeus. Hell, she's even got Asmodeus' own blessing (and by extension; her Warlock powers are gifted to her by Asmodeus through Lorcan) and they're unable to simply remove those powers.

I could see killing your patron denying you further access to new class features, but once mastered they're yours to keep. Warlocks aren't Paladins or Clerics.

[Unoriginal]

In a 5e campaign I am DMing, a player playing a fiend pact warlock that regrets becoming such, being CN with INT 8, he decides the proper course of action is to kill the thing. Last session he got right to it's lair, but I have no idea what should happen when he attacks.

He could have his warlock abilities not work against the fiend.
he could kill the fiend and have his powers fail.
he could kill the fiend and take it's power.


Any new ideas, or ones on the previous ideas?

A Warlock's Patron is a teacher revealing secrets to the Warlock, not someone granting them power. So if the Patron died the Warlock would have to find a new one to progress, but otherwise could use what they already have, unless the Pact says differently

On the other hand, killing a Patron is just laughably hard by nature. They're very powerful beings who most likely have more than just the one Warlock as customer. So just "going to its lair" won't cut it, most likely.

[DivisibleByZero]

A Warlock's Patron is a teacher revealing secrets to the Warlock, not someone granting them power. So if the Patron died the Warlock would have to find a new one to progress, but otherwise could use what they already have, unless the Pact says differently



Sworn and Beholden
A warlock is defined by a pact with an otherworldly being. Sometimes the relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon prince, an archdevil, or an utterly alien entity—beings not typically served by clerics. More often, though, the arrangement is similar to that between a master and an apprentice. The warlock learns and grows in power, at the cost of occasional services performed on the patron’s behalf.
Sometimes they're teachers. Sometimes the power is granted.
In the case of a Fiend Pact, you can rest assured that it is almost certainly granted. Fiends wouldn't teach or share. Fiends would want control.

[Millstone85]

Sometimes they're teachers. Sometimes the power is granted.And sometimes it is a bit of both.
Pact Magic
Your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your patron have given you facility with spells. But even when the magic is bestowed, I again think it is a "one time" or "once a level" enchantment rather than an ongoing connection. Warlocks are arcane spellcasters.


Fiends would want control.Divine spellcasting does offer more control to the entity providing the power, as the connection can be cut at any time.

However, just because fiends want the stuff of the gods doesn't mean they have it.

[Honest Tiefling]

I think you should determine what is best for the table and the game.

If for instance, you are worried about people killing off their patrons in future games, make this a personal sub-quest centered on the warlock...Whose powers are now operating at half-strength because they are fighting their own patron. They won't be entirely useless, but after so much time in the lime light it makes it clear it is other people's chance to shine a bit. Also means that warlocks looking to get rid of a patron need to look to the rest of their party.

I think the nature of the fiend is also important. For a devil, it would make a lot of sense for there to be many clauses in case of the death of one or more parties. For a demon...Well, why not take over the warlock as a new body? Either way, the patron isn't completely gone, but it is an upset to the plans of the patron. Admittedly, the idea of messing with a character by having a demon start entertaining itself with their dreams and emotions seems mildly amusing to me.

As for the nature of the pact...What did the player go with? While many options seem really interesting and logical, nothing is worse then the DM deciding important aspects of a character to 'punish' or to 'establish' things when the player has no idea what the crap is going on or a say in things. I'd ask the player about their plans, including plans for more warlock power and see how they intend to RP it. They might already have a plan in place, such as trying to multiclass, so there is no point in doing something that might upset the player if the player is going to do your work for you.

[KorvinStarmast]

On the other hand, killing a Patron is just laughably hard by nature. They're very powerful beings who most likely have more than just the one Warlock as customer. So just "going to its lair" won't cut it, most likely. I imagine the fiend can gate in, or teleport in, a few of the other warlocks working for him/her/it.

Fun ensues.

[Temperjoke]

I imagine the fiend can gate in, or teleport in, a few of the other warlocks working for him/her/it.

Fun ensues.

Yeah, I'd imagine that the more clever devils have a sub-clause regarding coming to the Patron's defense in their contracts somewhere.

[DivisibleByZero]

Yeah, I'd imagine that the more clever devils have a sub-clause regarding coming to the Patron's defense in their contracts somewhere.

I imagine the non-idiotic fiends have a clause against that aggression in the first place.

[Sicarius Victis]

I imagine the non-idiotic fiends have a clause against that aggression in the first place.

Many Fiends are arrogant, and would actively encourage the Warlock to attack them, just to laugh as the Warlock fails.

[Temperjoke]

I imagine the non-idiotic fiends have a clause against that aggression in the first place.

Probably, but at the same time, a proper devil has contingency plans in triplicate. I mean, what if the scenario wasn't one of his own warlocks turning against him, but a rival's attempting to kill him?

[Bohandas]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqEvG06iU78

[Ruebin Rybnik]

Sworn and Beholden
A warlock is defined by a pact with an otherworldly being. Sometimes the relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon prince, an archdevil, or an utterly alien entity—beings not typically served by clerics. More often, though, the arrangement is similar to that between a master and an apprentice. The warlock learns and grows in power, at the cost of occasional services performed on the patron’s behalf.
Sometimes they're teachers. Sometimes the power is granted.
In the case of a Fiend Pact, you can rest assured that it is almost certainly granted. Fiends wouldn't teach or share. Fiends would want control.

I think it would be both. If a warlock had killed their patron or their pact had been broken then they would retain all their base warlock power they have gained (i.e. spells, invocations, and boon). However the powers the had specifically from the patron would disappear without the support of their patron( i.e. Dark one's blessing/luck, Fiendish resilience, and Hurl through Hell).
Also they wouldn't be able to gain new powers with out a patron.