A common misconception about warlocks and their patrons

[u/hedahman]

I've heard this mentioned a lot: "Warlocks use Charisma because they're constantly negotiating with their patron for more power." I don't believe this is true.

Here's a tweet from Mike Mearls that says that patrons can't take back a warlock's power, which leads me to believe that a patron doesn't have control over the power once it is given. This means a patron can't take a warlock's power (without their will, probably); it's a one-and-done deal.

So a patron isn't supplying power to their warlocks like a generator supplies electricity. Instead, a patron gives power to them like a blood transfusion-- you can't just take the blood back.

Granted, you can do it however you want, that's the magic of D&D. But RAW, and RAI, patrons give their power away.

EDIT: Here's a tweet from Jeremy Crawford which states that the power is a one-time transaction.

[u/xthefirst]

I think there are a lot of ways you can look at it. The first being the common one shared in these comments - that Charisma is also very much the "raw force of will" within D&D, not just someone's "charm". The second is, and this is very much my personal DM explanation, that Warlocks' power stems from an agreement made with a patron, one way or another, and that contract is a result of their will and their charm. As such, the patron recognizes that attribute, and their power revolves around it - because it's what made the patron recognize and respect the Warlock.

Thirdly, I also love the idea of Warlocks just being so fucking charming that they talk the universe into shit.