Welcome back to the world of Rainfall! Last time, we covered Enchanters. This time, we’ll cover the other casting class in Rainfall: The Warlock.
Everyone gets what a Warlock is. In Rainfall, the class is the same as the one presented in the 5e Player’s Handbook. You still have your spell slots and your evocations and all that. Mechanically, nothing has changed. Flavor wise, however, there’s been some alterations.
To really explain what is different with Warlocks in Rainfall, we’ll have to dive in to what Outer Magic is.
In general, Outer Magic is the magic wielded by the Preeminent. When they arrived on Earth, they brought their magic with them. This stuff is what people imagine when you say “magic.” It can warp reality, conjure things from thin air, and generally do wondrous stuff. However, only the Preeminent are capable of generating Outer Magic naturally. So how do other creatures, and more importantly playable Warlocks, use that power?
That’s where patrons come in. Any creature that is sufficiently powerful with Outer Magic can pass on some of their power to another creature. This powerful creature is a Patron and the magic they pass on takes on characteristics similar to the Patron themselves. For example, those who originally took on the powers of the Preeminent have abilities similar to the Preeminent themselves, whereas those who have a Demon as their Patron would have significantly different powers.
This extends even to other Warlocks. A Warlock who becomes powerful enough can become the Patron of another creature, allowing them to channel Outer Magic similar to the original Warlock.
But what does it mean to be powerful with Outer Magic? Power in Outer Magic simply means how close a Warlock is to the Preeminent. The closer a Warlock is to the Preeminent, the more power they can draw from Outer Magic and the more impressive effects they can create. This proximity to the Preeminent manifests for the Warlock as a constant whispering in their ears. Those with very little power hear it as a barely audible sound but those at the height of their power hear it as a roaring sound that makes it difficult to hear anything else.
The voice of a Preeminent sounds like the piping of flutes. As one listens to it, they can perceive scattered words and phrases, though these are often unintelligible. This constant noise can easily lead a Warlock to madness and most train themselves to block out this constant whispering for fear of losing their minds. It is hotly debated how much influence the Preeminent have over Warlocks and whether or not Outer Magic is inherently corruptive. Some believe that Outer Magic inevitably leads Warlocks to becoming servants of the Preeminent, whether consciously or not. Others see it as a force that must be mastered and requires constant discipline to retain control. Still others see it as a path to power and believe that their own strength of will can override any influence the magic has on them.
Most people fear Warlocks. The Preeminent ended the world after all and their minions, the Aberrations, still are a constant danger. People see those who willingly take on that power as dangerous. This has forced Warlocks to hide their powers from the world. Those who don’t live a double life live in hiding far from other people. Anyone who is suspected of being a Warlock is instantly distrusted and feared.
So what about Patron options for Warlocks? What options do player Warlocks have access to? They possess many of the same options that are presented in the Player’s Handbook. These patrons are fairly self explanatory with The Great Old One being the Preeminent, The Fiend being Demons, and The Archfey being Fey. Additional options include The Dragon, The Celestial, and The Arcane.
That’s everything for this little entry on Warlocks. Hopefully that provided a bit of insight into how the class works in the world of Rainfall. Next time we’ll go into how other classes fit into Rainfall and how they’ve been adapted.
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