### **Patron: The God Queen in Chains** - **Alignment**: Neutral Evil, focused on personal ascension rather than causing harm for its own sake. - **Domain/Influence**: Ambition, conquest, undeath, and godhood. #### **Backstory**: The **God Queen in Chains** was once a mighty conqueror who sought to elevate herself to godhood. However, her ambition outpaced her power, and before she could fully ascend, she was betrayed by lesser gods and imprisoned in a plane between life and death. Now trapped in chains, the God Queen’s soul lingers in a liminal state too powerful to be destroyed but not yet divine. From her prison, she reached out to mortals who could aid in his final ascension. To achieve her ultimate goal of godhood, she needs an army of souls to worship her, and those souls must be collected through bloodshed and conquest. The warlock who serves her becomes the instrument of this twisted salvation, harvesting the souls of those slain by their pact weapon to add to the God Queen’s spectral army. While not purely malevolent, the God Queen is willing to manipulate and drive her warlocks to kill, not for senseless slaughter, but to achieve a higher purpose: her divine ascension. To her, the end justifies the means. #### **Personality**: - **Visionary**: The God Queen sees herself as destined for greatness and believes that those who follow her are contributing to a noble cause, hers ascension to godhood. - **Imprisoned, yet powerful**: Though bound, the God Queen’s power still seeps through, guiding her warlock to carve a path of victory through their enemies. - **Detached**: She has little concern for the personal struggles of her warlock. All that matters is the collection of souls needed for her rise. In return, she offers great power. #### **Pact of the Blade Warlock**: The God Queen in Chains grants her warlock a weapon that serves as a conduit for the souls of the slain. Each soul collected by the pact weapon is added to the God Queen’s spectral army, bringing her one step closer to freeing herself and ascending to godhood. #### **Unique Features**: 1. **Soul Reaper**: When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with your pact weapon, their soul is absorbed into the weapon, preventing resurrection by any means short of divine intervention. Each soul brings the God Queen closer to ascension, and after gathering a certain number of souls (DM's discretion), you unlock a new boon or power from the God Queen as a reward for your service. 2. **Spectral Legion**: After killing a certain number of enemies with your pact weapon, you gain the ability to call forth **spectral warriors** echoes of the souls you’ve claimed. These spirits manifest in battle to fight alongside you (as a summoning spell, or in a special ability similar to *Spirit Guardians* but in the form of ghostly soldiers). 3. **Ascendant Strike**: As the God Queen in Chains comes closer to her goal, she imbues your pact weapon with divine energy. Once per long rest, you can channel this power, causing your next weapon attack to deal additional radiant or necrotic damage (your choice) and potentially banishing the target’s soul to the God Queen’s realm if they are reduced to 0 hit points. 5. **Conquest’s Reward**: Your pact weapon evolves as you collect more souls. For every 30 souls harvested, the weapon gains a permanent improvement to symbolize the God Queen’s increasing power. (e.g.: bonus to attack rolls, extra damage, or a new ability like life-drain or soul-stealing) #### **Expanded Spell List**: - **1st level**: *Cause Fear*, *Searing Smite* - **2nd level**: *Hold Person*, *Phantasmal Force* - **3rd level**: *Animate Dead*, *Spirit Shroud* - **4th level**: *Banishment*, *Death Ward* - **5th level**: *Cloudkill*, *Circle of Power* #### **Roleplaying Tips**: - **Divine Ambition**: The warlock might believe that their actions are justified because they are serving a cause greater than themselves: helping their patron ascend to godhood. They may struggle with the morality of killing for this purpose but rationalize it as necessary. - **Growing Influence**: As you collect more souls, your connection with the God Queen strengthens. You may begin to hear his voice more frequently, offering guidance or urging you to seek greater conquests. His influence can make you more ambitious, pushing you to become a leader in your own right, even outside the God Queen's direct goals. - **A Dark Path**: Though the God Queen’s ascension may not seem outright evil, your warlock must face the consequences of collecting souls those slain by the pact weapon are bound to the God Queen forever, lost from the natural cycle of life and death. You might face internal conflict as the God Queen’s demands escalate. #### **Appearance of the Patron**: The God Queen in Chains might appear to you in visions as a towering, spectral figure wrapped in golden chains that glint with divine light. Her form is regal, covered in ancient, rusted armour, and her eyes glow with ambition and determination. Even bound, her presence radiates authority, and her voice is commanding, filled with promises of power and godhood.