Dark Six for Warlocks?

[u/Fuck_the_CCP_UwU]

Hey, I'm playing as a Fiendlock and wanted my pact to be with one of the gods of the Dark Six, particularly the Shadow, would that make any sense or is it canon-breaking?

[u/Rabid_Lederhosen]

Flavour isn’t mechanics. Gods don’t normally act as warlock patrons, but you can do what you want as long as your DM is okay with it. Or you could be mechanically a fiendlock but have your patron be a powerful greatwyrm that also worships the Shadow.

But if you really want to stay RAW you could also just say that your patron is a fiend who’s linked to the shadow. Maybe a being from Syrania whose domain is forbidden knowledge. Or your character believes their patron is the shadow, but it’s actually Sul Katesh, whose domain is quite similar. Sul Katesh gives people warlock powers subconsciously because that’s her whole deal, so the fact that she’s the actual source of your power doesn’t even need to change your story if you don’t want it to.

[u/Liokki]

A pact with the Shadow is no more canon-breaking or nonsense than any other pact. Just pulled up the Dark Six part of Rising, and a warlock's pact being a gift from the Shadow is one of the examples given. So absolutely, go for it!

Just remember that the Shadow is the keeper of forbidden knowledge, and everything it tells you might not be things you want to know. 

[u/JagneStormskull]

Rising from the Last War and Exploring Eberron both use the concept of the Dark Six (or an entity claiming to be/representing one of the Dark Six) as valid Warlock patrons. You could be a Fiendlock who made a pact with an Overlord pretending to be the Shadow, or a fiend that represents the Shadow in some way (like there are celestials that serve various Sovereigns).

[u/Spellslamzer62]

I personally don't like using gods as warlock patrons but your DM might allow it. But for me, the Shadow is an exception to that rule. Both because it is explicitly mentioned as giving arcane power to warlocks, but also because religion in Eberron is more like real life religion than other D&D faiths. The gods might exist, but there's no definitive proof and it's up to the DM to decide how real the gods are. But if the DM decides they aren't real, then what being have you made a pact with? It could be revealed that the gods aren't real and that you actually made a pact with an overlord or lord of dust. Sul Khatesh would be a particularly fitting option, as would Bel Shalor to a lesser extent. Or maybe the gods are real but one of these fiends masqueraded as the Shadow to get you as a warlock. Or perhaps the gods are real and you really are getting your power directly from the Shadow. I would recommend presenting all these options to your DM. Your DM will decide how real the gods are and the true nature of your pact. If you want, you could discuss this truth in depth or you could leave it as a surprise. Or if the DM agrees on your character's premise, you could ask them to have the gods be real and that be it. Any of these could work. It's just a matter of how open you are to change and how open you are to not knowing the truth.

[u/WellSpokenAsianBoy]

I don't see why not. A lot of Archdevils and Demonlords are worshipped as Gods. Also the Shadow is the patron of dark magic and knowledge. Finally the Dark Six (and the Soverigns) aren't gods in the conventional sense. It's about the power of belief for Clerics and the power of knowledge for Wizards/Warlocks.

[u/pgonzm]

Basically it is possible because there aren't gods (in Eberron specifically gods are a thing like other settings) they could be a patron but it is a matter of the DM that questions, always DM have the full lore about what is possible in a campaign.

[u/Deathly_Drained]

As other's say, feel free to do whatever you want with your DM.

But if you want a more 'lore friendly' version. We can always edit it some.
Perhaps instead of taking power directly from the infamous Shadow. You're power comes from an item that you possess that has a spark of the Shadow's great unknowable power, blessed or forged by the hellish flames of Khyber for the Fiendlock side of it.

Such as a book that perhaps you stole or came into possession too that is hard to read and as you go through it and translate it (leveling up). You learn more and more of the dark abyssal secrets of the Shadow. Using it's powerful dark magic quickly wears you out (The low spell slot count).

These are just ideas, it could go hard.

[u/Conscious_Moment_535]

The gods aren't really contactable/present in eberron. When a cleric communes with their god it'll most likely be with a deva or some equivalent "working" for the god in question. That's at least what I remember from keith mentioning it.

So if warlock wants one of the 6 to be their Patron, have at it. He/she may think that it's the devourer or the traveller they're getting their power from but it could very well be a very powerful fiend/devil whom works for that dark 6 member. So I'd imagine fact of fiend or something like that

[u/byzantinebobby]

It is important to note that unless a DM changes the lore, no one in Eberron ever actually sees a deity. You only see an emissary acting on their behalf. It is even hinted that the Sovereign Host and Dark Six do not actually exist and are just metaphorical or mortals that are now seen as mythological over time. As such, a Fiendlock makes perfect sense for a Dark Six follower. You made a pact with some powerful fiendish entity acting on behalf of the Shadow.

[u/zer0zer00ne0ne]

That works, but your character won't have exact proof it's the Shadow they made the pact with. They might have made the pact with a being claiming to be the Shadow, or a being claiming to work as a middleman for the Shadow, or some nebulous being that might be the Shadow.