Edena_of_Neith
First Post
I cannot help you with 3E mechanics, but have some comments.
In 2E, the lich was immune to normal weapons, radiated a strong fear aura (save versus magic at - 4 or flee), and was a being of deathly cold (a lich's touch did 1 to 10 points of cold damage alone.)
Liches weren't the most comely beings, as the old pictures will show (and this was true of baelnorn and archliches also (good liches) that they were horrendous to look upon.)
I would daresay that, of the two, the lich is a more frightening apparition than the infamous death knight. (And far more likely to kill you than the death knight, too, if you dare give battle.)
But there are deeper complications of lichdom, and voluntary undeadism is general.
Ask yourself:
Why did your character turn away from the afterlife?
What does your character expect in the afterlife, when he finally dies - or does he ever expect to die?
Why did your character turn to necromancy for life extension? Was there another way, such as Potions of Longevity? If so, why did he eschew them?
Now that your character has the tremendous and awful power of undeath imbued in his body, what does he plan to do with it?
How does your character expect to get along with other adventurers (no normal person except a kender alone can abide the unmasked presence of a lich ... and kender aren't normal people ...) ?
How does your character expect to socialize?
Was your character married? If yes, how will he live with his wife? If she is dead, why did he forsake reunion with her in the afterlife?
I have a character who voluntarily choose Unlife.
She was an elf from Delrune (the very Delrune that was destroyed and later became Haldendreeva.) She was a very innocent, naive, and unskilled (in adventuring classes) young lady.
When the Solistarim came and destroyed Lirrendrea, her city, she was one of the few survivors. In a state of complete shock and severe trauma (her family was killed), she wandered southward into lands ruined by the war, starving, running from brigands and animals, hiding in the ruins of towns.
But this girl was not able to cope with her situation. She did not get 'tough' about it. She did not learn to fight and survive. Her mentality was that of a sheltered city girl, and she could not cope with the post-war reality around her.
It isn't that she did not try. She tried. She tried to hunt. She failed. She tried to fish. She starved. She tried to work for a living, and almost got killed for her trouble. She asked for protection from the groups of survivors: they told the elven girl to go starve. Others weren't so nice, and some bad things happened.
So the girl was crippled mentally and emotionally, and was not long for this life.
Then the vampire came along, and befriended her.
The vampire, showed her the mighty and overawing power of Undeath that could be hers. The vampire, showed her the whole world of Undeath in all it's beauty and magnificence. The vampire, showed her the intoxicating sweetness of Evil.
The elven girl chose Undeath. She did not choose Evil, but the Evil claimed her anyways ... far stronger champions than this girl have gone down before the corrupting effect of Undeath!
The girl tried to remain true to the principals of the Light, of Good, of the elves. But the Gods of Good shunned her, and turned their faces from her (how nice of them, no? (sarcasm))
When she offered her now mighty power to the elves, they attacked her and drove her away. When she offered her power to the champions of Light, the paladins came after her in righteous rage to kill her (and almost did.) When she turned to the few friends she had had, they also turned away in fear and disgust.
That left her only the Dark to turn to. And the Dark was eager to assist, eager to befriend, eager to accompany her. It accepted, it loved, it protected, it swaddled her in it's warm embrace.
And it never let go again. Her soul blackened, her humanity/elvendom withered, morality and ethics collapsed, and the girl that was, was gone.
That is my take on Undeath. It isn't pretty.
If you are curious and have access to a bookstore selling old products, buy Requiem: the Grim Harvest. It is a boxed set from TSR for the Ravenloft Campaign Setting.
This adventure is, in my mind, an excellent example of how to respectfully treat an Undead Player Character. Or, at least, to respectfully treat the concept of Character Undeath.
In 2E, the lich was immune to normal weapons, radiated a strong fear aura (save versus magic at - 4 or flee), and was a being of deathly cold (a lich's touch did 1 to 10 points of cold damage alone.)
Liches weren't the most comely beings, as the old pictures will show (and this was true of baelnorn and archliches also (good liches) that they were horrendous to look upon.)
I would daresay that, of the two, the lich is a more frightening apparition than the infamous death knight. (And far more likely to kill you than the death knight, too, if you dare give battle.)
But there are deeper complications of lichdom, and voluntary undeadism is general.
Ask yourself:
Why did your character turn away from the afterlife?
What does your character expect in the afterlife, when he finally dies - or does he ever expect to die?
Why did your character turn to necromancy for life extension? Was there another way, such as Potions of Longevity? If so, why did he eschew them?
Now that your character has the tremendous and awful power of undeath imbued in his body, what does he plan to do with it?
How does your character expect to get along with other adventurers (no normal person except a kender alone can abide the unmasked presence of a lich ... and kender aren't normal people ...) ?
How does your character expect to socialize?
Was your character married? If yes, how will he live with his wife? If she is dead, why did he forsake reunion with her in the afterlife?
I have a character who voluntarily choose Unlife.
She was an elf from Delrune (the very Delrune that was destroyed and later became Haldendreeva.) She was a very innocent, naive, and unskilled (in adventuring classes) young lady.
When the Solistarim came and destroyed Lirrendrea, her city, she was one of the few survivors. In a state of complete shock and severe trauma (her family was killed), she wandered southward into lands ruined by the war, starving, running from brigands and animals, hiding in the ruins of towns.
But this girl was not able to cope with her situation. She did not get 'tough' about it. She did not learn to fight and survive. Her mentality was that of a sheltered city girl, and she could not cope with the post-war reality around her.
It isn't that she did not try. She tried. She tried to hunt. She failed. She tried to fish. She starved. She tried to work for a living, and almost got killed for her trouble. She asked for protection from the groups of survivors: they told the elven girl to go starve. Others weren't so nice, and some bad things happened.
So the girl was crippled mentally and emotionally, and was not long for this life.
Then the vampire came along, and befriended her.
The vampire, showed her the mighty and overawing power of Undeath that could be hers. The vampire, showed her the whole world of Undeath in all it's beauty and magnificence. The vampire, showed her the intoxicating sweetness of Evil.
The elven girl chose Undeath. She did not choose Evil, but the Evil claimed her anyways ... far stronger champions than this girl have gone down before the corrupting effect of Undeath!
The girl tried to remain true to the principals of the Light, of Good, of the elves. But the Gods of Good shunned her, and turned their faces from her (how nice of them, no? (sarcasm))
When she offered her now mighty power to the elves, they attacked her and drove her away. When she offered her power to the champions of Light, the paladins came after her in righteous rage to kill her (and almost did.) When she turned to the few friends she had had, they also turned away in fear and disgust.
That left her only the Dark to turn to. And the Dark was eager to assist, eager to befriend, eager to accompany her. It accepted, it loved, it protected, it swaddled her in it's warm embrace.
And it never let go again. Her soul blackened, her humanity/elvendom withered, morality and ethics collapsed, and the girl that was, was gone.
That is my take on Undeath. It isn't pretty.
If you are curious and have access to a bookstore selling old products, buy Requiem: the Grim Harvest. It is a boxed set from TSR for the Ravenloft Campaign Setting.
This adventure is, in my mind, an excellent example of how to respectfully treat an Undead Player Character. Or, at least, to respectfully treat the concept of Character Undeath.
