Can a Single Warlock Patron Give Two Different Pact Types?

[Zalakoth]

The Question should be quite clear but in case it isn’t, here goes...

...by the way this is only for thematic purposes I’m not talking about RAW nor do I care about RAW ruling, I want to know peoples thoughts on a thematic level...

Say I have my Patron, let’s call her Becky...

Party A has a warlock, that makes an Fiend Pact with Becky...

Party B has a Warlock that makes an Undying Pact with Becky...

Becky is a Death Knight/Lich and Former Fiend. (And yes fiends can become Undead - Acererak did it.)

Would that make sense to you thematically?

[Millstone85]

This thread should probably be in the 5e forum.

Anyway, yes, it makes sense to me.

[DeTess]

I'd say yes, provided the patron is still part of the mindsets/spheres of power/whatever that is represented by both pacts. So a (half-)fiend that's also a lich could give both the fiendish and undying pacts, but a former summer-court fey that has rejected its ties to nature and has become a lich wouldn't still be able to give a fey pact.

[JoeJ]

I would say no, because it doesn't seem to me like patrons choose which kind of pact to bestow (if they did I would expect there to be many, many more kinds). Becky is not a field, she's an ex-fiend, so it would be pact of the undying. Or she's still a fiend, even though undead, and it would be pact of the fiend. Either way, I think it would be just one.

[Vingelot]

Aren't pact types the Sword, Book, and so on? So yes, they can give the first guy a Sword and the second guy a Chain. Works fine.

The other thing isn't pact types but patron types. There the difficulty becomes clear: It's connected to the nature of the patron, and even the patron cannot change his (or her, or its) nature. It is either a fiend OR an archfey and so on (note how the OP said Becky was a Lich and FORMER fiend). So I'd say the patron cannot just choose and switch at their leisure.

[Willie the Duck]

Would that make sense to you thematically?

I would say it would have to be temporally bounded. Any pacts Becky forms before becoming a lich are fiendish patron pacts, anything after are undying patron pacts. And yes, I know, it's not clear that you stop being a fiend if you turn into a lich, but in deference to now allowing undead fiendish faerie spirits, bound into magic swords, you can't be more than one.

[rbstr]

Sure, it's just lore - if it's not changing balance you can do what you want with impunity.

Becky doen't give a "Fiend" or "Undying" pact. Becky gives "Becky Pact A" and "Becky Pact B"

[Millstone85]

Aren't pact types the Sword, Book, and so on?That's a peeve of mine. These are the options of the Pact Boon feature, and should logically have been called Boon of the Blade, Boon of the Chain, and Boon of the Tome. The pact is made when you get the Pact Magic feature, not two levels later.

The 4e PHB has the fey pact, the infernal pact, and the star pact, which more or less match with the 5e PHB patrons.

[Naanomi]

I’d say yes, in some circumstances... a Night Hag giving a fiend or fey pact for example. A few beings can also grant Cleric powers in addition to pacts (Ghaunadaur)

[MilkmanDanimal]

I'd absolutely say so; I don't think Fiend pact needs to be the literal description of some entity. I'd allow someone to have a "Fiend pact" with a Fey. The Fey have many "faces", and, if you're the avatar of battle for some Fey spirit, sure, you receive "life essence" on a kill, and your burning hands/fireball are just expressions of the Summer aspect of some Eladrin spirit.

Likewise, I'd have no problem with somebody who wants to make a pact with a devil to get Fey abilities, focusing on misdirection, trickery, and lies. It's all just different mechanics you can flavor in different ways.

[Joe the Rat]

Orcus would really appreciate you not using his middle name so freely while discussing the multiple spheres of influence.

Also, the GOO powerset works well with Zuggtmoy.

If it's in their sphere of influence, it's a viable option.