Brom
2007-12-17, 06:19 AM
I would like to start by saying my campaign is going to start somewhere between 4-8 level. I am NOT, I repeat, NOT using the Lich, AS TEMPLATE, from the books. They get NONE of the undead immunities and NONE of the Phylactery stuff. The very definition of a Lich in my game world of Sarthas is simply an undead being of superior intelligence, with life draining abilities, that forms the higher caste of the Undead kingdom of Greyholme.
For fluff and text, read the first spoiler.
Lich
The undead identified by other undead as ‘Lich’s’ are known most everywhere for their eternal life, coldly immoral and calculating minds, and powerful Arcane or Divine magic – or both! Despite their skill with arcane magic, they prefer to emphasize on their eternal life and read and study inside small, secluded locations, surrounded by mindless undead that serve them faithfully.
Personality:
Lichs are obsessed with careful plans and mighty magics; they will go through any ends to master arcane or divine secrets. In fact, the only way to become a Lich is to enact powerful necromantic magic that you can only garner through use of Clerical or Arcane magic. Lichs are varied in why they traded their former powers for the eternity of unlife, but they all share certain things. All of them seek to undertake a task that is too momentous for a single lifespan; all of them are, at some level, cold, calculating, and patient. The more time they have to plan out their final act to fulfill their goals, the better.
Their cold, calculating minds make them advisors in foreign nations at times, or leaders of powerful orders of spellcasters. They value their independence, however, and hope to serve no one.
Physical Description:
Lichs are the same size as the humans they were in previous life, although they are at least twenty pounds, sometimes up to sixty pounds, lighter than they were in life. They have unlimited life spans as undead creatures; their eyes glow with a magical light at all times. The light is usually one of several colors: bestial yellow, lightning blue, blood red, ghostly white, acidic green, and sometimes ebon black. Their bodies have decayed flesh draped across it, and you cannot clearly make out a Lichs skeleton, except for their forefingers; their forefingers are always glistening white bone, with no flesh to cover it. Lichs favor grandiose robes for clothing, both male and female.
Relations:
The Lichs are the ruling class in Undead society; even the lowest Lich on the hierarchy is going to be considered more valuable than a high ranking zombie or mid ranking mummy (something of much unhappiness to the Allied Undead Empire of Morbidholme.)
Outside of their own societies, Lichs frequently clash with the Holy Tiscern Empire; a human empire with a prodigious amount of Paladins. They also have no love of the Shacklegear Dwarves of the Eastern Peaks. They find the Grispen to be fascinating and respectable; users of the arcane arts, like themselves, although find their breathing flesh to be a put-off and their godlessness and inability to touch Divine energies perplexing and pitiful, to say the least.
Alignment:
Most, if not all Lichs, are Lawful Neutral, or become Lawful Neutral after a century or so of unlife. The patience and slow nature of undead makes them consider the implications of anything and teaches them to think of the reactions of those higher up; this makes them more Lawful in return. Some Lichs, however, hang on to past worldviews that they held while they were living. Being a Lich necessarily means that they are probably Neutral, as trading ones soul for fragments and unlife is not necessarily a good act, and one that a good aligned character would have to think immensely about performing. Thus, most Lichs are Lawful Neutral.
Lich Lands:
Most Lich’s live in Morbidholm or in the area around it called Greyholme. They rarely venture into other lands, as they rarely receive a warm reception. The Undead of Greyholme are viewed as monstrosities for their actions. Lichs, luckily, don’t mind much, and are content to take a library and inhabit it with undead servants and live out their spans for as long as they find life interesting and relevant.
Religion:
Many Lichs swear their souls to the Goddess Neplae, the shrouded Goddess of Eternity, Knowledge, Undeath, and Vows. Other Lichs swear themselves to the Sun God Praetorin, guider of the Sanctified Light – although those that do are usually Clerics and went to unlife to eternally fight enemies of their faith. Many Lichs are not religious, content to simply ignore deities and focus on themselves for the rest of eternity.
Language:
Lichs speak all the Languages they knew in life, and continue to fluently speak those languages in death.
Adventurers:
Lichs will adventure when they feel that they have a plan emplaced that will allow them to achieve a goal that they feel passionate about – or, more likely, remember feeling passionate about from times of life. Passion and emotion are mostly weaned out of Undead. They also will perform duties on the tenure of the Lich Queen, the ruler of their people.
This is the balance/stats section.
Game Rule Information:
• +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution: Lichs are gifted with the knowledge that they have eternity to think things through and thus make more concise logical thought. Their death gave them a frail body to work with, however, despite its eternal nature; it doesn’t heal, doesn’t have solid skin, and lacks muscle for the most part.
• Medium: The Lich qualifies as a Medium creature for purposes of game rules.
• Lich Base Speed: Undead are slow by nature, and Lichs, despite their superiority, are no different; they only move 20 feet/turn
• Life Sight: The Lich can detect the raw essence of life, since he is tapped into the Plane of Negative Energy. With 1 HD, they have a Life Sense of 10 feet, automatically detecting the life force of those they pass within 10 feet of. .At 10 HD, they have a Life Sense of 15 feet. At 15 HD, they have a Life Sense of 20 feet.
• Sapping Touch: A Lich sustains his connection to the negative energy plane by feeding on the life of others. He can make a touch attack at will to hit an opponent. If the Lich succeeds, he drains a number of hit points equal to his level + Intelligence Modifier. The Lich must absorb a number of hit points/day equal to his twice his Intelligence Modifier + character level or take a -4 to all rolls.
• +1 DC for all saving throws against Necromancy spells cast by Lichs. There innate familiarity with Necromancy makes their Necromancy spells more difficult to resist.
For fluff and text, read the first spoiler.
Lich
The undead identified by other undead as ‘Lich’s’ are known most everywhere for their eternal life, coldly immoral and calculating minds, and powerful Arcane or Divine magic – or both! Despite their skill with arcane magic, they prefer to emphasize on their eternal life and read and study inside small, secluded locations, surrounded by mindless undead that serve them faithfully.
Personality:
Lichs are obsessed with careful plans and mighty magics; they will go through any ends to master arcane or divine secrets. In fact, the only way to become a Lich is to enact powerful necromantic magic that you can only garner through use of Clerical or Arcane magic. Lichs are varied in why they traded their former powers for the eternity of unlife, but they all share certain things. All of them seek to undertake a task that is too momentous for a single lifespan; all of them are, at some level, cold, calculating, and patient. The more time they have to plan out their final act to fulfill their goals, the better.
Their cold, calculating minds make them advisors in foreign nations at times, or leaders of powerful orders of spellcasters. They value their independence, however, and hope to serve no one.
Physical Description:
Lichs are the same size as the humans they were in previous life, although they are at least twenty pounds, sometimes up to sixty pounds, lighter than they were in life. They have unlimited life spans as undead creatures; their eyes glow with a magical light at all times. The light is usually one of several colors: bestial yellow, lightning blue, blood red, ghostly white, acidic green, and sometimes ebon black. Their bodies have decayed flesh draped across it, and you cannot clearly make out a Lichs skeleton, except for their forefingers; their forefingers are always glistening white bone, with no flesh to cover it. Lichs favor grandiose robes for clothing, both male and female.
Relations:
The Lichs are the ruling class in Undead society; even the lowest Lich on the hierarchy is going to be considered more valuable than a high ranking zombie or mid ranking mummy (something of much unhappiness to the Allied Undead Empire of Morbidholme.)
Outside of their own societies, Lichs frequently clash with the Holy Tiscern Empire; a human empire with a prodigious amount of Paladins. They also have no love of the Shacklegear Dwarves of the Eastern Peaks. They find the Grispen to be fascinating and respectable; users of the arcane arts, like themselves, although find their breathing flesh to be a put-off and their godlessness and inability to touch Divine energies perplexing and pitiful, to say the least.
Alignment:
Most, if not all Lichs, are Lawful Neutral, or become Lawful Neutral after a century or so of unlife. The patience and slow nature of undead makes them consider the implications of anything and teaches them to think of the reactions of those higher up; this makes them more Lawful in return. Some Lichs, however, hang on to past worldviews that they held while they were living. Being a Lich necessarily means that they are probably Neutral, as trading ones soul for fragments and unlife is not necessarily a good act, and one that a good aligned character would have to think immensely about performing. Thus, most Lichs are Lawful Neutral.
Lich Lands:
Most Lich’s live in Morbidholm or in the area around it called Greyholme. They rarely venture into other lands, as they rarely receive a warm reception. The Undead of Greyholme are viewed as monstrosities for their actions. Lichs, luckily, don’t mind much, and are content to take a library and inhabit it with undead servants and live out their spans for as long as they find life interesting and relevant.
Religion:
Many Lichs swear their souls to the Goddess Neplae, the shrouded Goddess of Eternity, Knowledge, Undeath, and Vows. Other Lichs swear themselves to the Sun God Praetorin, guider of the Sanctified Light – although those that do are usually Clerics and went to unlife to eternally fight enemies of their faith. Many Lichs are not religious, content to simply ignore deities and focus on themselves for the rest of eternity.
Language:
Lichs speak all the Languages they knew in life, and continue to fluently speak those languages in death.
Adventurers:
Lichs will adventure when they feel that they have a plan emplaced that will allow them to achieve a goal that they feel passionate about – or, more likely, remember feeling passionate about from times of life. Passion and emotion are mostly weaned out of Undead. They also will perform duties on the tenure of the Lich Queen, the ruler of their people.
This is the balance/stats section.
Game Rule Information:
• +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution: Lichs are gifted with the knowledge that they have eternity to think things through and thus make more concise logical thought. Their death gave them a frail body to work with, however, despite its eternal nature; it doesn’t heal, doesn’t have solid skin, and lacks muscle for the most part.
• Medium: The Lich qualifies as a Medium creature for purposes of game rules.
• Lich Base Speed: Undead are slow by nature, and Lichs, despite their superiority, are no different; they only move 20 feet/turn
• Life Sight: The Lich can detect the raw essence of life, since he is tapped into the Plane of Negative Energy. With 1 HD, they have a Life Sense of 10 feet, automatically detecting the life force of those they pass within 10 feet of. .At 10 HD, they have a Life Sense of 15 feet. At 15 HD, they have a Life Sense of 20 feet.
• Sapping Touch: A Lich sustains his connection to the negative energy plane by feeding on the life of others. He can make a touch attack at will to hit an opponent. If the Lich succeeds, he drains a number of hit points equal to his level + Intelligence Modifier. The Lich must absorb a number of hit points/day equal to his twice his Intelligence Modifier + character level or take a -4 to all rolls.
• +1 DC for all saving throws against Necromancy spells cast by Lichs. There innate familiarity with Necromancy makes their Necromancy spells more difficult to resist.