Hexblade patrons

[Whit]

Hi. I was reading about hexblade patrons and most of it talks about either Raven Queen or a sentient weapon giving power? I was hoping for more of a list of patrons. Anyone have info on hexblade patrons?
1/2 elf escaped slave from Drow city. Possibly stumbling upon a forgotten ruined crypt or similiar?

[Millstone85]

There are no hexblade patrons. There is but the one and only Hexblade.

The Hexblade sometimes manifests through one of the many weapons it forged, like Blackrazor.

Some suspect the Hexblade to be none other than the Raven Queen.

Yes, this is some awfully restrictive fluff. I don't know what they were thinking.

[Whit]

So I’m guessing u can’t use fey, fiends or forgetting ones or some other etc patron non god as possible hexblade patrons?

[MaxWilson]

Hi. I was reading about hexblade patrons and most of it talks about either Raven Queen or a sentient weapon giving power? I was hoping for more of a list of patrons. Anyone have info on hexblade patrons?
1/2 elf escaped slave from Drow city. Possibly stumbling upon a forgotten ruined crypt or similiar?

I guess The Grim Reaper would be an acceptable patron. Despite the name, Hexblade fluff seems to be all about the Shadowfell, which apparently is all about the border between death and life.

[ZenBear]

Feel free to fluff as you like, so long as your DM approves. I see no reason to limit it to the Shadowfell. Maybe swap out the specter thing for whatever patron you prefer.

[Vekon]

Talk to your DM. There is nothing saying that your Patron cannot be an entirely different entity. It seems restrictive, sure, but this is d&d. Nothing is going to break because your patron isn't something Shadowfell related. Not sure if you watch Critical Role, but their hexblade warlock is a perfect example of this.

[Millstone85]

So I’m guessing u can’t use fey, fiends or forgetting ones or some other etc patron non god as possible hexblade patrons?Not unless you want to reveal this specific fey, fiend, or whatever, as the true identity of the mysterious Shadowfell entity known as the Hexblade.

Or you can just ignore the official fluff. This is probably what most tables are doing.


I guess The Grim Reaper would be an acceptable patron. Despite the name, Hexblade fluff seems to be all about the Shadowfell, which apparently is all about the border between death and life.See, this is the worst part. They could have easily described hexblade patrons as including reapers, ferrymen (including merrenoloths), dullahans, and other psychopomps, the most notorious of which would be the Raven Queen.

[Sception]

Like all 5e raven queen lore, hexblade lore is extremely vague and incomplete. The short answer is that you should talk to your dm and work out the details yourselves. I've got some thoughts below, but they're mostly extrapolations on published lore, and should be read as suggestions, not canon.


The raven queen is a somewhat ambiguous figure herself, whose existance seems to be as much or more metaphorical/metaphysical than it is literal. She is sustained by and possibly physically comprised of emotions and memories, particularly of the sad & tragic variety, and her servants, willingly/knowingly or otherwise, are mostly occupied with either causing such tragedies (see 5e Nagpa) or metaphorically collecting them in the form of trinkets and keepsakes to which stong emotions and memories of loss have become attached (see 5e Shadar-Kai).

Since the original Hexblades were supposedly created by the raven queen (though its possible the secret of their creation has been emulated by other powers since), it can be assumed that they were created with the intent of contributing to this same pattern, and its easy to see how powerful, semi-intelligent, but simultaneously deeply cursed weapons might do so. One could imagine entire orders of knights tearing each other apart other over such a weapon, or multigenerational cycles of revenge perpetrated for and with one, or great empires being conquered by the owner of a hexblade only to fall to ruin due to distrust, paranoia, or jealosy seeded by the blade into the minds of its wielder and those around them.

And the Raven queen might profit in more direct ways as well. Perhaps she gets to sift through the memories of anyone slain by a hexblade for any valuable secrets, treasured sentiments, or choice bits of sorrow or suffering, before the soul passes on to the hereafter. Or maybe she gets to take the souls altogether, which would make her a much darker figure.

Like the Raven Queen herself, the weapons may or may not actually be evil. At least a few certainly are, iirc blackraxor canonically is, but, depending on your DM's interpretation of the raven queen, others could be of an unaligned nature. After all, it is generally considered to be a good thing when misfortune strikes the wicked, when villains are cut down, or when tryannies fall to ruin. Curses are seen as inversely evil to the victims who suffer them.

Likewise, the loss of a keepsake tied to painfull memories can help the victim to let those memories go, freeing them to move on with their lives rather than clinging to an ever present reminder of a tragic past.

Though at least a few of these weapons have literal physical manifestations, given the nature of the raven queen herself there's no reason to think all of them do or ever did. Some could be purely metaphysical themselves, like the legendary weapons of the gods they could be purely metaphorical/spiritual rather than physical objects. Even those that are or were at least potentially physical might find themselves removed from the mortal world, their physical forms destroyed or banished through extradimensional gates or just sealed deep in forgotten crypts in an attempt to remove their cursed influence from the mortal world.

It's here that warlocks come into play. A hexblade unable to work directly on the material world; whether because it never had a physical form or because that form was destroyed, sealed, lost, or banished; can still spread misfortune by creating pacts with mortals. The bargain might be adversarial in nature, but it needn't be so. The mortal gets power out of the deal, and the hexblade gets to spread misfortune through that power, whether via the warlock's creepy & generally offensive spell selection or via the patron features, which revolve around the 'hexblade's curse' ability.

Indeed, by spreading its power and influence through many warlocks, a hexblade may be able to spread more misfortune as a patron than it ever could as a physical weapon. Though it still may prefer being a physical weapon if possible. And while it might not need to spread misfortune to the warlocks pact-bound to it, it might not be able to help itself.

One could imagine a hexblade subtly influencing the life of a potential warlock to make them suffer terrible musfortune, then offer a pact to them as a means of overcoming the misfortune it itself caused. Or a hexblade might view warlocks pacted to ut as prospective wielders, and expect them to prove which one is worthy of finding its true physical form by hunting and killung each other until only one is left, highlander style. Separate hexblades might form rivalries and expect their pact-bound warlocks to act them out in honor duels.

Or a hexblade might seek warlocks who could help them escape the raven queen's influence, either out of a desire for personal freedom, or to claim the memories and souls of its victims for utself or even because seeing the world through the eyes of pactbound warlocks has taught it to regret the suffering it has caused, and now it seeks warlocks who could help unmake the curses at its core.

Or perhaps your hexblade patron isnt even tied to the raven queen, instead being stolen or created by another power. Perhaps the souls of those slain while under your hexblade's curse are claimed by some hungry fiend, or their memories picked through by vecna for secrets, and the good your character does with their powers must be balanced against that cost.

There's a lot of directions you could take it. Again, talk to your dm.

[strangebloke]

TBH you should always consider refluffing the more fluff-restrictive archetypes.

Fey-pact? Eh, it's a pact with a powerful nature spirit. Close enough. Fiend-Pact? Well, technically its a vampire, but close enough. Vengeance Paladin? Well, I'm really more of a justice paladin.

Allowing this sort of refluffing allows for a lot more flexibility in creating a setting. And there is nothing more restrictive than the HEXBLADE.

[MaxWilson]

Not unless you want to reveal this specific fey, fiend, or whatever, as the true identity of the mysterious Shadowfell entity known as the Hexblade.

Or you can just ignore the official fluff. This is probably what most tables are doing.

See, this is the worst part. They could have easily described hexblade patrons as including reapers, ferrymen (including merrenoloths), dullahans, and other psychopomps, the most notorious of which would be the Raven Queen.

To be honest, warlock fluff in 5E is so poorly-described that it almost doesn't matter. 5E is extremely vague on how clerics are different warlocks, how warlocks are different from sorcerers, why high Charisma helps you cast warlock magic better, what warlock magic actually entails, how pacts work and how moderately-powerful demons like merrenoloths are able to grant 9th level spells to anyone, etc., etc.

I certainly wouldn't complain if they'd done as you've said above, but based on the quality of WotC's other warlock writings I probably wouldn't get any value out of it either. As with most things 5E, either the DM has to put in a lot of work rationalizing stuff, or just accept that it doesn't make much sense and hope the players don't mind.

[Whit]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll go write up with finding a lost forgotten tomb in the under dark while escaping drow servitude. Foolishly Unleashing a shadowy spirit from imprisonment to save me from recapture. A bond(pact) is formed and will leave it to the dm to decide or tell me to make up what the spirit is

I find it very odd hard to believe for any sentient weapon artifact etc will be so powerful to grant full class powers. X invocations and spells up to 9th lvl.
Not one item like blackrazor has stats to be so powerful that it can grant stronger abilities than what it is.
Now we can all say Elric but his sword still did not grant him class lvl powers. He was a spellcaster in his own rite. It sucked souls made him stronger but it did not make him a spell caster. Even Vecna eye and hand would not equal the power of an entire class (warlock).
I think a mysterious patron who may or may not be godly but close to godly grant powers in this form. Where that entity (s) is or what needs more clairty from Wizards.
But seems more plausible the power comes from an entity than an artifact.
Eg my patron is black razer or Excalibur or better yet from X entity from X plane. Maybe the githyanki leader or some u known shadow realm power etc.
Hopefully they work on it

[Greywander]

If you're going to homebrew something, why not go whole hog and fully embrace the concept of the hexblade in all of its absurdity?

Hexblades, of which there are many (under this homebrew interpretation), are literally sentient weapons that forge contracts with mortals to grant them power. Oh, that thing in your hand? Ha. Ha ha. No. You do not wield a hexblade, the hexblade wields you. The hexblade itself, should you ever actually lay eyes on it in its home plane, is no ordinary weapon. It is a being of downright eldritch design, as if Lovecraft himself had forged it on the anvil of Azathoth's hide. It could be a hundred feet tall with a thousand edges, each curving and folding in on itself. The weapons of men and elves and dwarves are but a farcical caricature of a memory of a reflection of an illusion seen in a dream, of the hexblades. Before life creeped along the ground and swam within the seas, the hexblades sailed across the cosmos, waging wars against the gods and destroying whole planets. Only a god could ever hope to wield a hexblade, and then only at great risk to himself, even with the consent of the eldritch weapon. They are the very incarnations of war and violence and death.

[Laserlight]

Your hexblade turns out to be a holy sword imbued with the spirit of R Lee Ermey. "Stand up straight, maggot! Shoulders back, chin up, eyes front, and suck in that gut! I'm going to make a man out of you, maggot, even if it kills you!"

[Millstone85]

To be honest, warlock fluff in 5E is so poorly-described that it almost doesn't matter.You are not wrong. However, I have clear opinions and headcanons on the questions you asked.


5E is extremely vague on how clerics are different warlocksWarlocks are arcane spellcasters. That means that, whenever they cast a spell, a warlock directly accesses the Weave. This is all in the PHB page 205.

So as I understand it, while a warlock has been taught secrets and/or been imbued with power by another being, they do not require an ongoing connection with that being like a cleric does.

But more into headcanon, I like to think that each warlock level is a new bargain. Some warlocks might manage to build on what they already obtained, but then they enter sorcerer territory. Speaking of which...


how warlocks are different from sorcerersYeah, there is a lot of thematic overlap between these two classes. Where are "Sorcerous Origin: Fey Ancestry" and "Otherworldly Patron: The Wyrm"? Makes as much sense as the other way around. Plus, the possible reasons given for wild magic include exposure to the Far Realm, the blessing of a powerful fey, or the mark of a demon. That reminds me of something.

Still, going back to my above headcanon, nobody would expect a sorcerer to have to repeat whatever experience first gave them magic. That power is now their alone to develop.


why high Charisma helps you cast warlock magic betterGoing straight to headcanon here. You are not using your charisma to cast spells, but using your spellcasting ability in place of your charisma. The magic in you is fundamentally bewitching.


what warlock magic actually entails, how pacts work and how moderately-powerful demons like merrenoloths are able to grant 9th level spells to anyone, etc., etc.That might be asking for more magobabble than is needed.

Regarding the merrenoloth... Well, first, it is a yugoloth, not a demon.:smalltongue:
More seriously, I was the one who mentioned the fiend, so maybe it is just not patron material. Then again, a yugoloth could be more powerful than the standard stat block. Or it could be that any contract with a yugoloth is supported by the whole Gehennan infrastructure, which is a little rougher than the infernal one but still effective. Just tossing around ideas.


If you're going to homebrew something, why not go whole hog and fully embrace the concept of the hexblade in all of its absurdity?I really like your idea of a weapon only a god can assess the true form of and actually wield. I am less thrilled about the "and then only at great risk to himself" part. Maybe if the weapon once belonged to a more powerful god.

[WeaselGuy]

Your hexblade turns out to be a holy sword imbued with the spirit of R Lee Ermey. "Stand up straight, maggot! Shoulders back, chin up, eyes front, and suck in that gut! I'm going to make a man out of you, maggot, even if it kills you!"

omg. I'm playing a Shadar-kai Hexblade right now in a campaign, and embracing all of the established fluff that I can, in order to better piece together my backstory, but this right here... I so want to sig that.

[MThurston]

Hexblade is the patron. Be it a weapon you touch gives you powers or you wield the weapon yourself.

Now my GM allowed me to use the weapon itself. He was very nice in giving me War Caster and it being a focus at 1st level.

The best way I believe is to have the weap9n level with your. Make it magical at level 3 for IPW and then people start using +2 weapons, give it become a +2 weapons.

You will have to work that out with your DM. It should not be an issue.

[Unoriginal]

The distinction between Warlocks and Sorcerers, and between Warlocks and Clerics is clear.


A Cleric is chosen by a god, and has miraculous powers granted to them continuously. The god is powered by their worshiper, and grant some of that power to the Clerics. It is said a god can empower a Cleric more if they are particularly in favor, and granting powers to Clerics has been described as taxing for gods who have few worshipers. Only a full-fledged divine being with worshipers can grant Clerics their miracles. Clerics are different from Warlocks, because there is no Pact between them and their deities. The deity unilaterally decides to empower a mortal, or de-power their Clerics, and there is nothing the mortal can do about it.

The Warlock has made a deal with a powerful entity, which granted them a spark of power, once. Now the spark is the Warlock's, and the Patron cannot take it back. The relationship between Warlock and Patron varies wildly. Some have a teacher-student bond. Some have a master-slave deal. Others met once, the Warlock did the service, and then they never met again. Some Warlocks just siphon power from an unknowing entity. And some have a "you met me regularly, I'll upgrade you by pumping more power into you" deal. Some Warlocks DO worship their Patron, but the faith has nothing to do with the Warlocks' powers, which make them different from Clerics. Some Warlocks DO inherit from their ancestors' deal, but it has nothing to do with their body or the circumstances of their birth and it has to be renewed with the entity each time a new individual inherit it, which make them different from the Sorcerer. Some Warlocks get their pact simply by getting their hands on a magic item and giving it to the Patron, others have deals they couldn't fulfill before their death so they were brought back as undead slaves. Most of the Warlock's magic, such as their normal spell lists and most of their Invocations, is not directly linked to the Patron, but the Patron can certainly influence the pick, while the Pact-specific spell lists and perks are due at minimum to the nature of the spark given to the Warlock. And obviously, any kind of entity can serve as Patron.

The Sorcerer is inherently magical. Be it due to one of their ancestors being a magical being, their bodies being modified by exposure to magic (or their ancestors's bodies having had that happening to them), or the circumstances of their birth making them imbued with magic. They're different from Warlocks, because their power don't come from any deal or relationship with an entity aside from incidental or family.


You could have Rokmi the Asmodean, who is born during a day Asmodeus was particularly influencial on the world (Divine Sorcerer), then who made a Pact with the Archdevil after studying an old tome (Fiend Pact Warlock) and then who became such a great cult leader Asmodeus decided to he would be the perfect representative of his faith for an important mission provided he was a bit more subtle, and so granted him more power (Trickery Cleric).

[Snowbluff]

Man there is a lot of good stuff. I think I'll use Malisteen's take on the Raven Queen for my Hexblade.

I will point out that Clerics, Warlocks, and Sorcerers are very different.
Clerics are closer to wizards, they perform their spells from understanding the will of their deity (wis casting).
Sorcerers are born with their power, and therefore do not make any sort of pact, and if they are connected to a force, that connection has been a part of their being since birth.
Warlock form pacts, but as above, they use the weave directly. Furthermore, unlike in 3e (where invocations were sometimes innate), they are definitely not ever born with their powers.

[Laserlight]

omg. I'm playing a Shadar-kai Hexblade right now in a campaign, and embracing all of the established fluff that I can, in order to better piece together my backstory, but this right here... I so want to sig that.

Go ahead. Add caps, italics, and boldface liberally -- the only reason I didn't is because I was on my phone.

Way back in AD&D days we were discussing how an intelligent sword would give you attack bonuses, and one hypothesis was that the spirit of the sword was coaching you on how to fight. "Elbow IN, you moron! Keep my point down! Right foot FORWARD! Keep my point DOWN, you're not fighting a cloud!"

[ZenBear]

I would double down on my suggestion to swap out the level 6 Accursed Spectre feature with the level 6 feature of whatever Patron you prefer (Dark One’s Own Luck, Misty Escape, etc.). The only one this doesn’t work with is the Raven Queen Pact, but then she is the ruler of the Shadowfell so there’s no need to change it.

[Pex]

You can make up your own with the DM. You don't have to use what's in the book. That's flavor text. I once played a hexblade whose patron was Ra, the sun god. He was shadow's light.

[Unoriginal]

Clerics are closer to wizards, they perform their spells from understanding the will of their deity (wis casting).

Not really. They perform their spells by asking their deities to grant them a miracle.

[Whit]

Great stuff to read Unoriginal.

I guess it’s jyst me trying to comprehend an all powerful Sentient item giving u or teaching u full class powers. Compared to a god or near god power teaching you warlock class powers. Maybe I should use the Loc-Nar as the all powerful sentient item

[Unoriginal]

Great stuff to read Unoriginal.

Thanks.



I guess it’s jyst me trying to comprehend an all powerful Sentient item giving u or teaching u full class powers. Compared to a god or near god power teaching you warlock class powers. Maybe I should use the Loc-Nar as the all powerful sentient item

Again, the relationship between Patron and Warlock doesn't have to be teacher-student.

Some Warlock meet their Patrons once and then never cross path again. You could have a Warlock who found a super-magic mace and then learned how to harvest the magic emanating from it. Or the sword having the power having the power to grant the Boon of magic, and then after training and training the Warlock managed to increase its power. Or maybe the weapon *was* a warlock before, but they got their soul stuck the weapon and now they must teach others the secrets they were so hubristic about being the only one to know.

Hell, even with only discussion the Xanathar's description of the Hexblade Patron, who's to say there is not multiple of them? No one can prove what the Patron is, there could be two dozen of beings who are mistaken for one because the symptoms of their influence are similar enough.

[sambojin]

5e is nebulous about so many things, it's probably best to keep hexblade at that level too. Why are druids different from nature clerics? Umm, gods and stuff? Well, if you want to reference 3.5, and then belief in whatever X+Y, with or without a god, will give you domain power Z+Z2 etc. So damn well don't.

But if you want to reference 5e, absolutely everything is left up to the DM. And the player. It is *both your worlds, but with only one final say in the matter*.
Hexblades as warlocks that made pacts with war gods. Fine. Cursing gods. Fine. Eldritch weapons from the unspeakable beyond. Fine. Some bird with an affinity to ravens. Fine. The martial spirit of aiki (rather than reiki or just ki). Fine.

As always, it's DM approves. That a class is officially flavoured in a certain way is bollocks in 5e. Your DM's world, both your game though. Have a quick conversation. Hexblade isn't any more restrictive than a Grassland Land Druid or a Ranger. Not if you're doing it right.
(either *could* be refashioned as Celerity/whatever Cleric, just kicking bum in different ways. And so could a Hexblade. Easily).

[Snowbluff]

Not really. They perform their spells by asking their deities to grant them a miracle.

The idea is to know how to ask. Wisdom is the stat of philosophy and intuition. Clerics are expressing the philosophy and will of their deity.



Harnessing divine magic doesn’t rely on study or training. A cleric might learn formulaic prayers and ancient rites, but the ability to cast cleric spells relies on devotion and an intuitive sense of a deity’s wishes.

Which is to say, they are not doing this innately (like a sorcerer) or purely though fealty or a contract (like a warlock) or study (like a wizard), so I put cleric between wizard and sorcerer.

[kenposan]

I changed the fluff. My hexblade's patron is Verenestra, a fey deity. She wanted a 'champion', my character wanted to live (long story), so viola!

[Millstone85]

The Sorcerer is inherently magical. Be it due to one of their ancestors being a magical being, their bodies being modified by exposure to magic (or their ancestors's bodies having had that happening to them), or the circumstances of their birth making them imbued with magic. They're different from Warlocks, because their power don't come from any deal or relationship with an entity aside from incidental or family.That's how it ought to be, but the PHB seems determined to muddle the point.


Your innate magic comes from draconic magic that was mingled with your blood or that of your ancestors. 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. Some of these bloodlines are well established in the world, but most are obscure. Any given sorcerer could be the first of a new bloodline, as a result of a pact or some other exceptional circumstance.Apparently, some draconic sorcerers are just like a warlock of the Wyrm would be. :smallconfused:

What I would have said is that some sorcerous bloodlines start with the child of a warlock.

[dragoeniex]

You can make up your own with the DM. You don't have to use what's in the book. That's flavor text. I once played a hexblade whose patron was Ra, the sun god. He was shadow's light.

I love this! That's a fun twist on the concept, and it makes thematic sense. I'd be curious how this played out.


Talking ideas over with the DM sounds like a good call, depending on what appeals. Mine was very encouraging, so I'm flavoring my whispers bard who dipped hexblade thusly: a spy who practiced stealing and manipulating shadows so much he learned how to manipulate his own. His shadow flickers out and snares a target for hexblade's curse, and the bolts he fires from his hand crossbow now have wisps of shade trailing them.

So he doesn't exactly have a patron. He's just full of shadows and has related weaknesses and powers.

[Greywander]

I really like your idea of a weapon only a god can assess the true form of and actually wield. I am less thrilled about the "and then only at great risk to himself" part. Maybe if the weapon once belonged to a more powerful god.
Eh, maybe I went overboard there. But think of it in terms of, say, a club versus a flail. Clubs are pretty easy to use, and even someone who's never used one before can generally fight with it without hurting themselves. A flail, on the other hand, requires a lot of skill to use it without hurting yourself. In this respect, a hexblade would be more like a flail: even a creature capable of wielding them would be at a great risk of self-injury if they aren't skilled at wielding such a weapon. Those who are skilled can wield the weapon with less risk, but the risk never disappears entirely, and a moment of carelessness could lead to injury. And hexblades, because they are sentient, could at any moment turn on their wielder if they decide they don't like how they're being used.

From what I understand, warlock patrons can lie on a spectrum of power from something like a minor devil to Asmodeus himself. As such, a hexblade probably shouldn't be stronger than most gods (except, perhaps, the most minor gods), but could still pose a threat to them. Most likely, the hexblades themselves were created by a god, possibly with the specific intent of wielding them against other gods. They should certainly be more powerful than a Magic Sword +3 that any shmuck adventurer could find in a dragon hoard.

[Unoriginal]

That's how it ought to be, but the PHB seems determined to muddle the point.

Apparently, some draconic sorcerers are just like a warlock of the Wyrm would be. :smallconfused:

What I would have said is that some sorcerous bloodlines start with the child of a warlock.

They could have used any other word but "pact", yeah. Would have made it clearer.

But what this mean is that the sorcerer makes a bargain with a dragon in order to be imbued with dragon blood. Like the Half-Dragons can be created. Doesn't make them Warlocks, it fall in the "body was modified by magic" category.

Same way the Giant Soul Sorcerer was modified by old Giant magic.

[Glorthindel]

In the campaign I'm playing, we treat the Hexblade more as a different way one of the better thought out Patrons interacts with the Warlock. in the case of my Warlock, we have flavoured it that I am a Fey Pact Warlock, but the Hexblade is a Fey spirit that was granted me by the Patron to act as my source of power (and likely to keep watch on me that I am keeping to the bargain). It isn't how the class is written, but it works.

Oh, and **** the Raven Queen.

[Millstone85]

The Warlock has made a deal with a powerful entity, which granted them a spark of power, once.
But what this mean is that the sorcerer makes a bargain with a dragon in order to be imbued with dragon blood. Like the Half-Dragons can be created. Doesn't make them Warlocks, it fall in the "body was modified by magic" category.To me, the distinction doesn't feel particularly strong. But okay.

[Pex]

I love this! That's a fun twist on the concept, and it makes thematic sense. I'd be curious how this played out.




The specter was hard to justify since it's undead and I was Lawful Good for a Lawful Good deity, but I used the mythology. Presumably the specter comes from an evil being I had slain. A bargain is reached. In exchange for serving me for one day, upon release Ra will grant passage on his Sun Barge to be taken to Osiris for Judgment. You're still evil for the Judgment, but you are rescued from the clutches of Apep and do not have to fight your way onto the Barge like other evil souls.

[jesterjeff]

Personally, I view the hexblade patron as a Conceptual entity. It is the embodiment of violence via a willfully crafted item. It is not good or evil, it is not feral or primal.
When the mortal races first invented a weapon they tainted a nature spirit, twisted it into a cruel indifferent thing. No longer natural, it is civilization's paradoxical urges to build and kill. It is the civilized urge to destroy, protect, create AND prey upon.
The Hexblade Patron is the first weapon's soul, and it is insane. It is the muselike mother of all weapons that followed.

[Whit]

I like unoriginal’s comments since it is up to your dm to fluff.
So if you want a sentient weapon to be your patron. Fine. But no where does it say that your patron is a sentient weapon. Only in a homebrew version does it talk about a sentient weapon as a patron.
Here are the lists

Otherworldly patron.
1. At 1st level, you have struck a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice.
2. Mearls says hexblade takes power from the Shadowfell.
3. A powerful entity from the Shadowfel is your patron. God or someone else.
You have made your pact with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell -- a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. The mighty sword Blackrazor is the most notable of these weapons, which have been spread across the multiverse over the ages. (The shadowy force behind these weapons can offer power to warlocks who form pacts with it)

Extra note. Just because you pick hexblade doesn’t mean you have to pick pact of the blade. You can be a hexblade pact of tome as well.

[Temperjoke]

This is just me personally, but I also like the idea of warlocks that learn to tap into the ambient power of a particular realm for their magic. Like, the Hexblade has learned how to draw power from the Shadowfell, the Archfey pact draws from the Feywild, etc. To me, it helps the DM a bit because then they don't feel obligated to have to deal with a patron NPC, and it also helps explain the warlock's invocations as ways of utilizing that power they've tapped into.

[Whit]

That’s what mearls stated in a video. So basically a patron can be any other world entity. The shadow realm fey realm, fey shadow fiend lords or even if u want a sentient weapon

[Finback]

You can as easily reskin it, and give a more complex backstory.

One idea I've had is the Predator*. It's the idea behind blades, knives, cutting, slashing. It's the purest form of blood spilling. It was born when claws and fangs were first used on another living being. It was there in the darkness at the first forge. It perches on every mantlepiece adorned by a family heirloom. It rides around in every back-alley thug's pocket. It awaits every harvest. Butchers, assassins and even fabric merchants unwittingly worship it. It's the spirit inside every tyrannosaur, every feline, every shark. It's as black as a new piece of obsidian, and as bright as the sunshine on a scythe. All it asks of you is to USE it.


* no, not that one.

[Klaus Teufel]

You can as easily reskin it, and give a more complex backstory.

One idea I've had is the Predator*. It's the idea behind blades, knives, cutting, slashing. It's the purest form of blood spilling. It was born when claws and fangs were first used on another living being. It was there in the darkness at the first forge. It perches on every mantlepiece adorned by a family heirloom. It rides around in every back-alley thug's pocket. It awaits every harvest. Butchers, assassins and even fabric merchants unwittingly worship it. It's the spirit inside every tyrannosaur, every feline, every shark. It's as black as a new piece of obsidian, and as bright as the sunshine on a scythe. All it asks of you is to USE it.


* no, not that one.
Or the Essence of Blunt Force Trauma, created when the first foot crushed the first insect.

[Finback]

Or the Essence of Blunt Force Trauma, created when the first foot crushed the first insect.

Or in the secret tongue of the inititates, the Hammertime. ;)