Warlock Lich?

[Gez]

Related to the Warlock and Prestige Classes thread, here's the Warlock and Template thread.

As everybody knows, in order to become a lich, one has to create a phylactery.

Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.​

Now, as you all know, those rules were written before Complete Arcane introduced the Warlock, and the "casting spells/arcane caster" distingo.

Still, we have here two requirements: "must have a caster level 11th or higher" (can be met by warlocks), and "must be able to cast spells", which seems redundant with the caster level requirement.

So, by the rules as written, warlocks cannot become liches, except if they multiclass, even for just one level, as a sorcerer, bard, cleric, druid, wizard, warmage, adept, wu jen -- well, as any class that can cast spells from first level onward. With just that level, and 11 warlock levels, they can be warliches.

Question: do you think the phylactery requirement should be errated to suppress the "spellcasting" part? After all, if you don't use warlocks, it's redundant with the caster level thing, and if you do use warlocks, it's contrary, I think, to the warlock flavor to prevent them from becoming liches.

 

[Sheltem]

I'd leave it as written and just say for this one that a Warlock using Spell-like abilities counts as spellcasting.

 

[VorpalStare]

The process of becoming a lich is (deliberately?) very vague in the rules and so the details are left up to the DM. It is certainly within the flaver of the Warlock class. Presumably, however, a spellcaster must use very esoteric magic to achieve his new state, probably requiring lengthy research to discover the means to imbue himself with undead power.

Are there any rules that allow a Warlock to research new invocations? If new research is possible, I don't see any reason he couldn't develop whatever invocation(s) are needed to become a lich, possibly requiring him to permanently devote one of his invocation slots for this purpose.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

The process of becoming a lich is (deliberately?) very vague in the rules and so the details are left up to the DM. It is certainly within the flaver of the Warlock class. Presumably, however, a spellcaster must use very esoteric magic to achieve his new state, probably requiring lengthy research to discover the means to imbue himself with undead power.

Are there any rules that allow a Warlock to research new invocations? If new research is possible, I don't see any reason he couldn't develop whatever invocation(s) are needed to become a lich, possibly requiring him to permanently devote one of his invocation slots for this purpose.

One of the Warlock's class abilities (or was it an invocation...) allows him to spoof magic items very effectively. I see no reason why a warlock couldn't find the arcane ritual and use that ability to finesse his way past the nominal requirements.

 

[milo]

It is not a problem for a warlock to use scrolls with the needed spells when able to take 10 on the use magic device checks, which give him an automatic 26 on the check whith a charisma of only 14 and putting max ranks in the skill. He can also create magic items at a certain level, don't have my book to check, but all he needs is the feat to make the item. I would allow a warlock to become a lich for these reasons.

 

[VorpalStare]

One of the Warlock's class abilities (or was it an invocation...) allows him to spoof magic items very effectively. I see no reason why a warlock couldn't find the arcane ritual and use that ability to finesse his way past the nominal requirements.

I believe you're referring to the Imbue Item special ability, and that's a good point. The process of becoming a lich involves more than crafting a magic item (philactery), however, and the Warlock probably must be familiar with the appropriate spells before he can emulate them with this ability.

Presumably, he would need to cast some powerful spells on himself as part of the process of becomming undead. Maybe he could get a lich to help him by scribing scrolls with the relevant magics, which he could then employ with his UMD skill.

 

[Greatwyrm]

If you think it would be cool and you're the GM, it's allowed. All the spell casting vs. spell-like ability arguments are pretty fine hairs to split if it keeps you from getting a cool bad guy.

 

[Impeesa]

Here's a question for you all... are the spellcasting and caster level requirements needed to become a lich at all, or just to make the phylactery? If it's the latter, you can have lichificers in Eberron.

--Impeesa--

 

[Alzrius]

Question: do you think the phylactery requirement should be errated to suppress the "spellcasting" part? After all, if you don't use warlocks, it's redundant with the caster level thing, and if you do use warlocks, it's contrary, I think, to the warlock flavor to prevent them from becoming liches.

In a word, no.

The "spellcasting" requirement is there for a reason. If you got rid of that, then virtually any creature that has spell-like abilities will find it extremely easy to become a lich.

For example, an 11th-level aasimar Fighter has the spell-like ability daylight, with a caster equal to his character level. Since the only prerequisite for taking Craft Wondrous Items is caster level 3rd, he could have long since taken that. At that point, he'd easily be able to expend the necessary gold and experience points to become an 11th-level Fighter lich.

Of course, strictly speaking, under the RAW said aasimar could be a Fighter 10/Wizard 1 and he'd still meet the requirements, but at least then it's a smidgen more plausible.

 

[Impeesa]

To the best of my knowledge, the caster level of your spell-like abilities doesn't count as a real caster level. The warlock is an exception here because he specifically has a 'real' caster level despite having no real spells - it's basically a class ability.

--Impeesa--