this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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tbh I don't like the trope of "pact with a devil = you sold your soul". At least in the first instance, even very desperate people are usually not desperate enough to literally sell their soul. Not in a world where you know that souls are very real and selling it has eternal consequences.
Most often, a pact entails something much less. A favour of some sort, either a specific negotiated deal, or a general agreement to do "something" in the future (think: the Minor and Major Boons from Vampire: The Masquerade). That goes whether we're talking about a warlock pact or some other pact.
Heck it doesn’t even have to be a “deal”. I’m sure at least a few entities (Archfey, maybe) would grant magic powers just to see what happens. Sort of like the Outsider in Dishonored.
From description of the Great Old One pact:
Patrons can have whatever motivation or lack of motivation the DM wants. I personally like there being some kind of RPing effect. Maybe some task you have to complete, punishment for acting against your patron, slowly eroding sanity. But none of that is necessary.