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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Morrow" data-source="post: 2060536" data-attributes="member: 301">I have a player who wants to play a cleric interested in the undead.  Part of the cleric's faith is that undeath is a higher state of being.  It seems logical that the cleric will try to become a lich at some point.  I'd like to make the character jump through some hoops in the form of a prestige class.  (On the other hand, I don't intend to go so far as to say, "You must collect these ingredients and these spells, and if you fail your Fort save you die.  I don't intend this particular character motivation to be a centerpiece of the campaign.)  Setting aside for the moment the question of whether or not it is a good idea to have a nearly immortal undead creature as a PC...  (Hey, if Doc Midnight could do it, I can do it.)Just applying the template is a downer- suddenly the character has four extra levels he has to earn.  Not fun for him because he doesn't advance any further for a long time and ends up losing 4 caster levels, not fun for the other players because one character became much more powerful than the rest of them overnight.  One of the advantages of going with a prestige class is to allow the character to 'buy off' the level adjustment of the lich template.  So I need a prestige class.  The only one I know of that fits the bill is the Crypt Lord from Relics and Rituals, but it's really pretty boring- not enough going on for the amount of time it takes and it's really slanted for arcane casters.  So I'd like your help designing an appropriate prestige class.  Below is what I have so far.  It's pretty bad.  Making it only six levels hopes to combat the 'too long and boring' problem, but I'm not convined that the strict entry requirements and losing two levels of spellcasting is enough to account for the big bonus that lichdom gives.  Not only that, besides that it gets to the point quicker, it isn't any more interesting than the Crypt Lord.  I would appreuciate any suggestions you have to make the prestige class more interesting, and make the final result more balanced.MorrowLICH ASPIRANTHit Die: d4.Requirements: To qualify to become a Lich Aspirant, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.Alignment: Any nongood.Skills: Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks.Feats: Craft Wonderous ItemSpells: Ability to cast at least one spell of 3rd level or higher.Special: Rebuke Undead.Class SkillsThe lich aspirant's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Spellcraft (Int).Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.BAB: Low Saves: Low Fort, Low Ref, High WillClass FeaturesAll of the following are Class Features of the lich aspirant prestige class.Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Lich aspirants gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.Rebuke Undead: Lich aspirant levels stack with cleric levels for the purposes of turning undead.Spells per Day: At 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an lich aspirant, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.Negative Energy Resistance: At 2nd level the lich aspirant gains a +1 resistance bonus to energy drain and death effects.  At 4th level this bonus increases to +2.Special: Before taking the 6th level of this prestige class the lich aspirant much craft his phylactery using his craft wonderous items feat.  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.Lichdom: Upon reaching 6th level the character gains the lich template.</blockquote>

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