LICH
Liches are the remains of great wizards who embrace
undeath as a means of preserving themselves. They
further their own power at any cost, having no interest
in the affairs of the living except where those affairs
interfere with their own. Scheming and insane, they
hunger for long-forgotten knowledge and the most
terrible secrets. Because the shadow of death doesn't
hang over them, they can conceive plans that take years,
decades, or centuries to come to fruition.
A lich is a gaunt and skeletal humanoid with
withered flesh stretched tight across its bones. Its eyes
succumbed to decay long ago, but points of light burn
in its empty sockets. It is often garbed in the moldering
remains of fine clothing and jewelry worn and dulled by
the passage of time.
Secrets ofUndeath. No wizard takes up the path to
lichdom on a whim, and the process of becoming a lich
is a well-guarded secret. Wizards that seek lichdom
must make bargains with fiends, evil gods, or other foul
entities. Many turn to Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath,
whose power has created countless liches. However,
those that control the power of lichdom always demand
fealty and service for their knowledge.
A lich is created by an arcane ritual that traps the
wizard's soul within a phylactery. Doing so binds the
soul to the mortal world, preventing it from traveling
to the Outer Planes after death. A phylactery is
traditionally an amulet in the shape of a small box, but
it can take the form of any item possessing an interior
space into which arcane sigils of naming, binding,
immortality, and dark magic are scribed in silver.
With its phylactery prepared, the future lich drinks a
potion of transformation-a vile concoction of poison
mixed with the blood of a sentient creature whose
soul is sacrificed to the phylactery. The wizard falls
dead, then rises as a lich as its soul is drawn into the
phylactery, where it forever remains.
Soul Sacrifices. A lich must periodically feed souls to
its phylactery to sustain the magic preserving its body
and consciousness. It does this using the imprisonment
spell. Instead of choosing one of the normal options
of the spell, the lich uses the spell to magically trap
the target's body and soul inside its phylactery. The
phylactery must be on the same plane as the lich for
the spell to work. A lich's phylactery can hold only
one creature at a time, and a dispel magic cast as a
9th-level spell upon the phylactery releases any creature
imprisoned within it. A creature imprisoned in the
phylactery for 24 hours is consumed and destroyed
utterly, whereupon nothing short of divine intervention
can restore it to life.
A lich that fails or forgets to maintain its body with
sacrificed souls begins to physically fall apart, and
might eventually become a demilich.
Death and Restoration. When a lich's body is
broken by accident or assault, the will and mind of
the lich drains from it, leaving only a lifeless corpse
behind. Within days, a new body reforms next to the
lich's phylactery, coalescing out of glowing smoke that
issues from the device. Because the destruction of
its phylactery means the possibility of eternal death,
a lich usually keeps its phylactery in a hidden, well-
guarded location.
Destroying a lich's phylactery is no easy task and
often requires a special ritual, item, or weapon. Every
phylactery is unique, and discovering the key to its
destruction can be a quest in and of itself.
Lonely Existence. From time to time, a lich might be!
stirred from its single-minded pursuit of power to .take
an interest in the world around it, most often when some
great event reminds it of the life it once led. It otherwise
lives in isolation, engaging only with those creatures ~ ,.
whose service helps secure its lair.
Few liches call themselves by their former names,
instead adopting monikers such as the Black Hand or
the Forgotten King.
Magic Collectors. Liches collect spells and magic
items. In addition to its spell repertoire, a lich has ready
access to potions, scrolls, libraries of spell books, one
or more wands, and perhaps a staff or two. It has no
qualms about putting these treasures to use whenever
its lair comes under attack.
Undead Nature. A lich doesn't require air, food,
drink, or sleep.A LicH's LAIR
A lich often haunts the abode it favored in life, such as
a lonely tower, a haunted ruin, or an academy of black
magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs
filled with powerful guardians and traps.
Everything about a lich's lair reflects its keen mind
and wicked cunning, including the magic and mundane
traps that secure it. Undead, constructs, and bound
demons lurk in shadowy recesses, emerging to destroy
those who dare to disturb the lich's work.
A lich encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of
22 (41,000 XP).LAIR ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the lich
can take a lair action to cause one of the following
magical effects; the lich can't use the same effect two
rounds in a row:- The lich rolls a d8 and regains a spell slot of that level
or lower. If it has no spent spell slots of that level or
lower, nothing happens. - The lich targets one creature it can see within 30 feet
of it. A crackling cord of negative energy tethers the
lich to the target. Whenever the lich takes damage,
the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving
throw. On a failed save, the lich takes half the damage
(rounded down), and the target takes the remaining
damage. This tether lasts until initiative count 20 on
the next round or until the lich or the target is no lon-
ger in the lich's lair. - The lich calls forth the spirits of creatures that died in
its lair. These apparitions materialize and attack one
creature that the lich can see within 60 feet of it. The
target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving
throw, taking 52 (15d6) necrotic damage on a failed
save, or half as much damage on a success. The appa-
ritions then disappear.