Warlocks and their deities

[Hell Hound]

Warlocks get their abilities/ spells from elemental beings/ deities.
RAW, can a Warlock have Yin-Sloth the Terrible as a deity (he has elemental magic 1-11 lev)?
Or, does it need to be an elemental Lord (nothing specific in 1e that I can find)?

[GoliathReturns]

So, think of it less like deity, more like acknowledging the elemental powers.

They absolutely can worship a deity of their choosing, but the magic isn't really from the deity. It's from the elements. The overwhelming majority of warlocks make that elemental connection their religion, but it's not strictly required.

As an easier explanation.. think of the Church of Light. While an individual holds Thoth as their deity on a personal level, they acknowledge the pantheon as a whole.

A warlock can hold a deity as their God on a personal level, as long as they also acknowledge the power of the elemental forces that they're a conduit of.

At least, that's always been my views on it

--
GS

[Hell Hound]

So, think of it less like deity, more like acknowledging the elemental powers.

They absolutely can worship a deity of their choosing, but the magic isn't really from the deity. It's from the elements. The overwhelming majority of warlocks make that elemental connection their religion, but it's not strictly required.

As an easier explanation.. think of the Church of Light. While an individual holds Thoth as their deity on a personal level, they acknowledge the pantheon as a whole.

A warlock can hold a deity as their God on a personal level, as long as they also acknowledge the power of the elemental forces that they're a conduit of.

At least, that's always been my views on it

--
GS

Hey, I appreciate the input.
I guess that's the question: Does a deity like Yin-Sloth the Terrible, represent an elemental lord? He has strong elemental abilities but is he just a conduit as well for the elemental energies?
Just wondering what opinions are on this.

If a warlock could get powers this way, it's almost like 5e warlock or an alternate witch class but probably not RAW or intended.

[Veknironth]

Well, a lot of this comes down to the edition you're playing. I think you're asking about 1E, where the priest can learn any spell that the god knows. 2nd Ed limits those spells to a smaller list. So, I suppose that in 1E a priest could know elemental spells from Yin, but not in 2E. In either system, the powers that warlock receives come only from the elemental force. As such, a warlock could not receive powers from Yin-Sloth.

-Vek
"But I suppose that they could still do his bidding."

[TolanaAudery]

In 1e D&D, Warlocks can draw power from various beings, not just deities. Yin-Sloth the Terrible as an elemental lord with magic capabilities could be a valid patron if your DM allows it. It's more about making a compelling pact than strict limitations in the rules.

[Library Ogre]

For myself, I view it less as "power granted by elemental lords who must be appeased" and more "So, you have the soul of an elemental... sometimes two."

So, while a Warlock might worship someone like Yin-Sloth (or Ippotomi), that would not be the source of their power, just "being they worship."

[Library Ogre]

For myself, I view it less as "power granted by elemental lords who must be appeased" and more "So, you have the soul of an elemental... sometimes two."

So, while a Warlock might worship someone like Yin-Sloth (or Ippotomi), that would not be the source of their power, just "being they worship."

Comparing, it looks like 1e really stressed the "warlocks get their power from elemental deities or entities" a lot more, while 2e went with "They have these powers, but see themselves as being born a warlock." The 1e version was very much an "elemental witch or priest", whereas 2e is more in line with mystics/psi-mystics.

[Hell Hound]

For myself, I view it less as "power granted by elemental lords who must be appeased" and more "So, you have the soul of an elemental... sometimes two."

So, while a Warlock might worship someone like Yin-Sloth (or Ippotomi), that would not be the source of their power, just "being they worship."

Comparing, it looks like 1e really stressed the "warlocks get their power from elemental deities or entities" a lot more, while 2e went with "They have these powers, but see themselves as being born a warlock." The 1e version was very much an "elemental witch or priest", whereas 2e is more in line with mystics/psi-mystics.

Interesting differences. I play 1e so that is my source.
The way I interpret it RAW for 1e, the warlock chooses a specific elemental deity/lord as there are elemental cults that seem to support this. But I really like the idea of opening it up to deities that are strongly associated with elemental powers.

In 1e D&D, Warlocks can draw power from various beings, not just deities. Yin-Sloth the Terrible as an elemental lord with magic capabilities could be a valid patron if your DM allows it. It's more about making a compelling pact than strict limitations in the rules.

Exactly what I was thinking. This creates some interesting role playing - deity has an agenda that the player needs to promote. An example could be a Cthulhu (Old One) like entity that covers air and/ or water domains.

[oni no won]

I am coming from RIFTS. The Conversion book does not tell which PF ed it is reprinting from but it says that you pick 1 or 2 elemental forces (I assume he links up with 1 or 2 elemental AI). While they can worship a deity, they don't gain power through them, only through the link they have with the elemental AI. It also mentions that they value freedom above all and therefore are unbeholden to any deity.

[Library Ogre]

I am coming from RIFTS. The Conversion book does not tell which PF ed it is reprinting from but it says that you pick 1 or 2 elemental forces (I assume he links up with 1 or 2 elemental AI). While they can worship a deity, they don't gain power through them, only through the link they have with the elemental AI. It also mentions that they value freedom above all and therefore are unbeholden to any deity.

CB1 is a bit limnal... when it was written, there was only PFRPG1e, but PFRPG2e drew from CB1 and the BTS-inspired PPE magic more than it did PFRPG1 in some ways.