Swear an Oath, ??? a Pact... Calling all word nerds

[Crgaston]

One swears an Oath... What's a good verb for entering a Pact?

To swear?
To affirm?
To declare?
To enter?
To ...?

Zarina __________ her Pact at the last convocation 17 years ago... is the sentence.

Or if you have a better suggestion for sentence structure I'm all ears... this is not intrinsically a fill-in-the-blank question.

It is to a minor Fey deity, if that helps.

[Mr.Spastic]

Sealed is a good word

[ShadowSandbag]

I would go with "Formed a pact" personally

[Aeson]

Assuming you want the pact to have been something created at the convocation, I would go for "forged," "entered," "made," "swore," or "signed." "Declared" and "affirmed" carry the implication that the pact existed in some form prior to the convocation, or at least the declaration/affirmation of the pact.

Edit: "Formed" is also a good one. "Sealed" would also work, though it would imply that the convocation, or something which occurred during/at it, was the final stage in creating the pact.

[Callak_Remier]

Sealed is a good word

Sealing, i believe you mean

[Mr.Spastic]

Was conscripted into. That would be good

[Mr.Spastic]

Sealing, i believe you mean

I mean Sealed. It means to fasten or close securely. Sealded the deal is a common phrase.

[Callak_Remier]

I mean Sealed. It means to fasten or close securely. Sealded the deal is a common phrase.

Sealing the Deal is Just as Common.

Seeing how the OP asked for a Verb to denote the Action being taken and not the past tense. You could understand my confusion and my offer at correction.

[Mr.Spastic]

The sentence he offered uses past tense. Hence sealed.

[Ganymede]

Sealing, i believe you mean

I think you mean Ceiling.

[Ghost Nappa]

Create, Forge, Swear, Declare, Form, Avow, Seal.

That's all I can think of.

[Crgaston]

Thank you all for the insight and suggestions so far, and the humor :)

Nothing is set in stone yet, keep it coming!

[Nifft]

One swears an Oath... What's a good verb for entering a Pact?

Zarina __________ her Pact at the last convocation 17 years ago... is the sentence.

Made, like you make a promise or make an appointment. Simple and unambiguous, but perhaps too simple if you want a fancy-sounding word.

Sealed, like you seal a deal or seal an envelope, but unlike how you seal away an ancient evil.

Forged, like you forge an agreement, but unlike how you forge a document.

Pledged, like you pledge your allegiance.

Averred, swore, declared, uttered, invoked, proclaimed, submitted, blazed, claimed, attested, certified... there are so many different connotations you could denote.

For a Fey Pact, you might even go with something like won (as in a contest), claimed (also contest-oriented), cozened (tricked or deceived), etc.

[Unoriginal]

"Made" would be the best, IMO.

"Signed" could also work.

[thoroughlyS]

Sealed is a good word
This is the best answer.

[DeTess]

I think sealing has a connotation that she did something that locked her into a pact that had already been agreed prior. Something along the lines of "Making the sacrifice sealed the pact between her and the Demon." It also feels very final. If that's your intention its fine, but if she's more of a novice dipping her toes in the pact-making business, I think 'entered' is better.

[Unoriginal]

I think sealing has a connotation that she did something that locked her into a pact that had already been agreed prior. Something along the lines of "Making the sacrifice sealed the pact between her and the Demon." It also feels very final. If that's your intention its fine, but fi she's more of a novice dipping her toes in the pact-making business, I think 'entered' is better.

"Entered" is good, true.

[Vogie]

Forged is a good term. It gives it a heavy, permanent fell.

[Mr.Spastic]

Consecrated would be a great one.

Pledged

[Porcupinata]

"Entered" is good, true.

"Entered" works even better if you say that someone "entered into a pact" rather than simply "entered a pact".

"Sealed" implies that the pact was already there, and this was the action that finalised it and made it no longer possible to withdraw from it.

[Marywn]

Hm... I'd also would also say alot of what's mentions above are all good words.
Thinking now, Kindled might of been good. Though its meaning can be misinterpreted. You lit your pact on fire? is on example of this. It'd make more sense if you had made a pact with something related more closely to fire but hey, putting ideas out.
TIME FOR THESAURUS.COM!
Consummate
ratify
Wow. Surprisingly less words that sound as decent.

[Unoriginal]

"Drafted" could also work.

[Nifft]

TIME FOR THESAURUS.COM!
Consummate


For a sufficiently sexy Fey patron, that might be the best word yet.

[Marywn]

For a sufficiently sexy Fey patron, that might be the best word yet.

I wasn't thinking it in that context, but hey!
The more you know!*Sparkles*

[Nifft]

I wasn't thinking it in that context, but hey!
The more you know!*Sparkles*

I'm not saying you were, but I feel like insinuations and innuendo are very thematic for a Fey patron.

[Misterwhisper]

One swears an Oath... What's a good verb for entering a Pact?

To swear?
To affirm?
To declare?
To enter?
To ...?

Zarina __________ her Pact at the last convocation 17 years ago... is the sentence.

Or if you have a better suggestion for sentence structure I'm all ears... this is not intrinsically a fill-in-the-blank question.

It is to a minor Fey deity, if that helps.

Kind of depends on the situation of how the pact happened.

If she freely and happily got her pact because of her devotion to the patron I could see "consecrated" being used.

If it was more against her will or she was cheated into it I could see more along the lines of "sealed".


Oddly and funnily enough I could see it being with someone like Asmodeus and using the term "Notarized" or "Closed"

[Vorpalchicken]

___dipped_two_levels_in_Warlock_and_now_must_justi fy___

[Segev]

For maximum gravitas, I'd phrase it thusly:

Zarina's Pact was sealed at the last convocation 17 years ago

[PhoenixPhyre]

Forged is a good term. It gives it a heavy, permanent fell.

This is my go-to for "<verb>ed a Pact". I'd guess that most would actually use circumlocutions--struck a deal, allied with, swore service to, etc.

[Crgaston]

Consummate


For a sufficiently sexy Fey patron, that might be the best word yet.

Good one!


___dipped_two_levels_in_Warlock_and_now_must_justi fy___

You'd think, right? :) She started as Fighter 1 for a shield and Con saves and then straight Fey Bladelock to L9 (F1W8). She's entering an existing campaign, so that's why it's a late-build backstory. She probably will grab 2 more fighter levels for Samurai or EK eventually, but that's it. I want more invocations!


For maximum gravitas, I'd phrase it thusly:

Zarina's Pact was sealed at the last convocation 17 years ago

Nice. My active-voice orthodoxy was blinding me to the the weight of the passive here. Thanks!

"Forged" is outstanding as well, especially for Celestial, Fiend, and Hexblade.

I really appreciate ALL the suggestions, y'all. Some very good ones, and excellent food for thought as to the nature of Pacts in general for RP purposes.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Just had a quick check in Brimstone Angels, my go-to source for all things warlock, and the first example I came across has Farideh using the verb make: "if I hadn't made the pact, I would still be safe in Arush Vayem" (chapter 14, page 246 in my copy). So that one has some official support.

[Ganymede]

"Dipped" into a pact.