Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Elder Dragons
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ElectricDragon" data-source="post: 7455860" data-attributes="member: 10778"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">Crown Lich Template</span></strong></p><p></p><p>A crown lich is a living creature who wears the artifact called the Lich's Crown (with an appendage capable of wearing it) and is thus cursed with undeath. Victims of this template gain spellcasting abilities along with undeath. Though colored by the cursed creature's personality, crown liches hate life and immediately attack living creatures.</p><p></p><p>A crown lich is a gaunt and skeletal creature with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes instantly decay upon first wearing the crown, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets.</p><p></p><p>Crown liches speak Common plus any other languages they knew in life.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>CREATING A CROWN LICH</strong></p><p>“Crown Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature with a head appendage that wears the Lich's Crown (referred to hereafter as the base creature).</p><p>A crown lich has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.</p><p><strong>Size and Type:</strong> The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. The base creature gains the Augmented subtype. Size is unchanged.</p><p></p><p><strong>Hit Dice:</strong> Increase all current Hit Dice to d12s.</p><p></p><p><strong>Armor Class:</strong> A crown lich has a +5 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is better.</p><p></p><p><strong>Attack:</strong> A crown lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the crown lich retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A crown lich fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A crown lich armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires.</p><p></p><p><strong>Full Attack:</strong> A crown lich fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack).</p><p></p><p><strong>Damage:</strong> A crown lich without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 crown lich’s HD + crown lich’s Cha modifier) halves the damage. A crown lich with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.</p><p></p><p><strong>Special Attacks:</strong> A crown lich retains any weapon proficiencies, weapon focus's, and weapon specilizations it may have. A crown lich loses all the base creature’s other special attacks, but gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 crown lich’s HD + crown lich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Fear Aura</em> (Su):</strong> Crown liches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the crown lich must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a <em>fear</em> spell from a sorcerer of the crown lich’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same crown lich’s aura for 24 hours.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Paralyzing Touch</em> (Su):</strong> Any living creature a crown lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. <em>Remove paralysis</em> or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the <em>bestow curse</em> spell description).</p><p>The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a crown lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spells:</strong> A crown lich can cast any of the spells stored in the crown. When first transformed into undead, it has the underlined spells in memory. It must meditate for 4 hours wearing the crown to recharge and refill its spell slots. The crown lich can cast 4/4/4/4/4/4/4/3/3/2 spells/day as an 18th level caster. Spells are chosen (only) from the following list. Bonus spells are allowed (for whatever mental ability score is highest) but not initially provided to the new crown lich; four hours of meditation while wearing the crown allows the crown lich to change spells in memory and add bonus spells.</p><p>0th <em>Acid splash</em>, <em><u>detect magic</u></em>, <em>disrupt undead</em>, <em><u>mage hand</u></em>, <em>mending</em>,<em><u> read magic</u></em>,<em><u> touch of fatigue</u></em></p><p>1st <em>Cause fear</em>, <em><u>chill touch</u></em>, <em><u>expeditious retreat</u></em>, <em>mage armor</em>, <em><u>mount</u></em>,<em><u> ray of enfeeblement</u></em>, <em>true strike</em></p><p>2nd <em><u>Acid arrow</u></em>, <em><u>command undead</u></em>, <em>pyrotechnics</em>, <em>scare</em>, <em><u>spectral hand</u></em>,<em><u> web</u></em></p><p>3rd <em><u>Arcane sight</u></em>, <em>halt undead</em>, <em><u>ray of exhaustion</u></em>, <em><u>stinking cloud</u></em>, <em><u>vampiric touch</u></em></p><p>4th <em><u>Animate dead</u></em>, <em><u>bestow curse</u></em>, <em>contagion</em>, <em><u>enervation</u></em>, <em>fear</em></p><p>5th <em>Blight</em>, <em>cloudkill</em>, <em><u>symbol of pain</u></em>, <em><u>teleport</u></em>, <u><em>waves of fatigue</em></u></p><p>6th <em>Circle of death</em>, <em><u>create undead</u></em>, <em>eyebite</em>, <em><u>symbol of fear</u></em>, <em><u>true seeing</u></em></p><p>7th <em>Control undead</em>, <em><u>finger of death</u></em>, <em><u>symbol of weakness</u></em>, <em><u>waves of exhaustion</u></em></p><p>8th <em><u>Create greater undead</u></em>, <em><u>horrid wilting</u></em>, <em><u>symbol of death</u></em></p><p>9th <em><u>Energy drain</u></em>, <em>summon monster IX</em>, <em><u>wail of the banshee</u></em></p><p><strong>Note:</strong> If the crown lich is wearing the <em>Lich’s Crown</em>, the crown negates the need for ability scores to cast any spell no matter the base creature’s mental scores. If the crown lich does not wear the crown, it must rely on whichever mental ability score of the base creature is highest to determine which levels of spells can be cast.</p><p></p><p><strong>Special Qualities:</strong> A crown lich loses all the base creature’s special qualities except those that provide visual capabilities and gains those described below.</p><p><strong>Turn Resistance (Ex):</strong> A crown lich has +4 turn resistance. </p><p></p><p><strong>Damage Reduction (Su):</strong> A crown lich’s undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/bludgeoning and magic. Its natural weapons and touch attack are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.</p><p></p><p><strong>Immunities (Ex):</strong> Crown liches have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks.</p><p></p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> Increase from the base creature as follows: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a crown lich has no Constitution score. Use the Crown Lich's newly improved Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (whichever is higher) to determine spell save DC's.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> The base creature loses any racial bonuses it may have to its skills. Crown liches gain a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.</p><p></p><p><strong>Feats:</strong> A crown lich loses all feats except those that deal with weapon proficiency or those that provide bonuses to hit or damage with a weapon. The crown lich gains the following feats: Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Greater Spell Penetration, Skill Focus (Concentration), Spell Focus (necromancy), and Spell Penetration</p><p></p><p><strong>Special:</strong> If the crown lich takes off or loses the crown, spells in memory remain, but regaining spells expended requires the crown be worn again. The base creature is still a crown lich and has all other abilities, but it has no way to replenish its spells without the crown. Also, the crown provides the power and ability to cast spells, even those above the ability scores of the base creature to cast with their mental ability scores. Without the crown, the base creature must rely on the highest of its own mental ability scores to determine the possible highest level spell that it can cast. (For example, if the base creature’s highest mental ability score is a 14 Int, then only 4th level and lower spells can be cast without the crown.)</p><p></p><p><strong>Organization:</strong> Solitary.</p><p><strong>Challenge Rating:</strong> +10 [with crown]; +3 (+1 for each level of spells available above 2nd level*) [without crown]</p><p><strong>Treasure:</strong> Goods and items worn by the base creature and possibly the <em>Lich's Crown</em></p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> Neutral evil</p><p><strong>Advancement:</strong> None</p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">*For example if the highest level of spells available to a crown lich is 4th, the CR of the base creature would increase by +5 (+3 and +2 for spells)</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ElectricDragon, post: 7455860, member: 10778"] [b][size=3]Crown Lich Template[/size][/b] A crown lich is a living creature who wears the artifact called the Lich's Crown (with an appendage capable of wearing it) and is thus cursed with undeath. Victims of this template gain spellcasting abilities along with undeath. Though colored by the cursed creature's personality, crown liches hate life and immediately attack living creatures. A crown lich is a gaunt and skeletal creature with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes instantly decay upon first wearing the crown, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets. Crown liches speak Common plus any other languages they knew in life. [b]CREATING A CROWN LICH[/b] “Crown Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature with a head appendage that wears the Lich's Crown (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A crown lich has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here. [b]Size and Type:[/b] The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. The base creature gains the Augmented subtype. Size is unchanged. [b]Hit Dice:[/b] Increase all current Hit Dice to d12s. [b]Armor Class:[/b] A crown lich has a +5 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is better. [b]Attack:[/b] A crown lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the crown lich retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A crown lich fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A crown lich armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires. [b]Full Attack:[/b] A crown lich fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack). [b]Damage:[/b] A crown lich without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 crown lich’s HD + crown lich’s Cha modifier) halves the damage. A crown lich with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack. [b]Special Attacks:[/b] A crown lich retains any weapon proficiencies, weapon focus's, and weapon specilizations it may have. A crown lich loses all the base creature’s other special attacks, but gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 crown lich’s HD + crown lich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted. [b][i]Fear Aura[/i] (Su):[/b] Crown liches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the crown lich must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a [i]fear[/i] spell from a sorcerer of the crown lich’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same crown lich’s aura for 24 hours. [b][i]Paralyzing Touch[/i] (Su):[/b] Any living creature a crown lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. [i]Remove paralysis[/i] or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the [i]bestow curse[/i] spell description). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a crown lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive. [b]Spells:[/b] A crown lich can cast any of the spells stored in the crown. When first transformed into undead, it has the underlined spells in memory. It must meditate for 4 hours wearing the crown to recharge and refill its spell slots. The crown lich can cast 4/4/4/4/4/4/4/3/3/2 spells/day as an 18th level caster. Spells are chosen (only) from the following list. Bonus spells are allowed (for whatever mental ability score is highest) but not initially provided to the new crown lich; four hours of meditation while wearing the crown allows the crown lich to change spells in memory and add bonus spells. 0th [i]Acid splash[/i], [i][u]detect magic[/u][/i], [i]disrupt undead[/i], [i][u]mage hand[/u][/i], [i]mending[/i],[i][u] read magic[/u][/i],[i][u] touch of fatigue[/u][/i][u][/u] 1st [i]Cause fear[/i], [i][u]chill touch[/u][/i][u][/u], [i][u]expeditious retreat[/u][/i], [i]mage armor[/i], [i][u]mount[/u][/i],[i][u] ray of enfeeblement[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]true strike[/i] 2nd [i][u]Acid arrow[/u][/i][u][/u], [i][u]command undead[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]pyrotechnics[/i], [i]scare[/i], [i][u]spectral hand[/u][/i],[i][u] web[/u][/i] 3rd [i][u]Arcane sight[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]halt undead[/i], [i][u]ray of exhaustion[/u][/i], [i][u]stinking cloud[/u][/i], [i][u]vampiric touch[/u][/i][u][/u] 4th [i][u]Animate dead[/u][/i], [i][u]bestow curse[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]contagion[/i], [i][u]enervation[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]fear[/i] 5th [i]Blight[/i], [i]cloudkill[/i], [i][u]symbol of pain[/u][/i][u][/u], [i][u]teleport[/u][/i][u][/u], [u][i]waves of fatigue[/i][/u] 6th [i]Circle of death[/i], [i][u]create undead[/u][/i][u][/u], [i]eyebite[/i], [i][u]symbol of fear[/u][/i][u][/u], [i][u]true seeing[/u][/i] 7th [i]Control undead[/i], [i][u]finger of death[/u][/i], [i][u]symbol of weakness[/u][/i][u][/u], [i][u]waves of exhaustion[/u][/i] 8th [i][u]Create greater undead[/u][/i], [i][u]horrid wilting[/u][/i], [i][u]symbol of death[/u][/i][u][/u] 9th [i][u]Energy drain[/u][/i], [i]summon monster IX[/i], [i][u]wail of the banshee[/u][/i][u][/u] [b]Note:[/b] If the crown lich is wearing the [i]Lich’s Crown[/i], the crown negates the need for ability scores to cast any spell no matter the base creature’s mental scores. If the crown lich does not wear the crown, it must rely on whichever mental ability score of the base creature is highest to determine which levels of spells can be cast. [b]Special Qualities:[/b] A crown lich loses all the base creature’s special qualities except those that provide visual capabilities and gains those described below. [b]Turn Resistance (Ex):[/b] A crown lich has +4 turn resistance. [b]Damage Reduction (Su):[/b] A crown lich’s undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/bludgeoning and magic. Its natural weapons and touch attack are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. [b]Immunities (Ex):[/b] Crown liches have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks. [b]Abilities:[/b] Increase from the base creature as follows: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a crown lich has no Constitution score. Use the Crown Lich's newly improved Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (whichever is higher) to determine spell save DC's. [b]Skills:[/b] The base creature loses any racial bonuses it may have to its skills. Crown liches gain a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature. [b]Feats:[/b] A crown lich loses all feats except those that deal with weapon proficiency or those that provide bonuses to hit or damage with a weapon. The crown lich gains the following feats: Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Greater Spell Penetration, Skill Focus (Concentration), Spell Focus (necromancy), and Spell Penetration [b]Special:[/b] If the crown lich takes off or loses the crown, spells in memory remain, but regaining spells expended requires the crown be worn again. The base creature is still a crown lich and has all other abilities, but it has no way to replenish its spells without the crown. Also, the crown provides the power and ability to cast spells, even those above the ability scores of the base creature to cast with their mental ability scores. Without the crown, the base creature must rely on the highest of its own mental ability scores to determine the possible highest level spell that it can cast. (For example, if the base creature’s highest mental ability score is a 14 Int, then only 4th level and lower spells can be cast without the crown.) [b]Organization:[/b] Solitary. [b]Challenge Rating:[/b] +10 [with crown]; +3 (+1 for each level of spells available above 2nd level*) [without crown] [b]Treasure:[/b] Goods and items worn by the base creature and possibly the [I]Lich's Crown[/I] [b]Alignment:[/b] Neutral evil [b]Advancement:[/b] None [size=2]*For example if the highest level of spells available to a crown lich is 4th, the CR of the base creature would increase by +5 (+3 and +2 for spells)[/size] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Elder Dragons
Top