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Message: <blockquote data-quote="andrew_kenrick" data-source="post: 2011053" data-attributes="member: 6870">IntroductionLords of the Night: Liches is the second book by Bottled Imp Games in the Darkness Rising series, following on from the critically acclaimed Lords of the Night: Vampires. Written by Stuart Renton, Liches is a 128 page softcover retailing for $21.95. For the record, I received a review copy of Liches, and have met and spoken with Stuart in the past, but write this review as impartially as is humanly possible.AppearanceLiches is an altogether more polished affair than Vampires, sporting a more striking cover (once again by the wonderful Ralph Horsley), oodles more artwork and a much cleaner and more visually appealing layout; but it is only when you get beyond the surface and into the actual writing that you realise quite how special Liches is.The black and white interior artwork is all, without exception, wonderful. From Ralph Horsley's front cover; to his depictions of the various Lich Types and States; to the countless pieces by artists including Dave Alsopp and Scott Purdy that ooze atmosphere and beauty. In one or two places the art is a little dark, especially on the graphics used for the chapter heads, although I gather this was a problem with the printing process, rather than with the art itself.A Closer LookThe second Darkness Rising book is, obviously, all about the lich, and, following the pattern established in book one, turns the lich into several different types. Having read Vampires I was expecting this, as well as a book oozing with atmosphere and story. But, unlike vampires I have never been a fan of the musty old lich - it certainly lacks the folklore/B-movie status of the other undead. So with this in mind I set about exploring the world of Bottled Imp's Liches, and I shall say right now that not only were my expectations met, but they were exceeded by a long, long way indeed.Liches begins with a monologue by Arikostinaal - a central character to the Darkness Rising series - recounting the history of the Arcane, the first sentient lifeforms and beings of enormous power, and of their creations, the Arcane Liches (about whom this book is all about). Chapter 2 continues the introduction with a Treatise of the Arcane, explaining and describing many of the concepts of the book, rounding off with a comprehensive glossary.So far so good, the atmosphere is nicely set and a dark tone established, but it is at this point that a problem crops up - that of some of the names of the concepts central to the book: the Arcane (the incorporeal beings mentioned above), Arcane Energy (the energy of Creation itself), Arcana (special abilities bought by lich characters) and the Guild of Wizards (the Arcane that fled from their native plane and created the Arcane Liches). As you can see, the names are awfully generic and indistinguishable when spoken from standard D&D terminology, although the meanings are quite different here. Some people may kick up a big fuss over this, but it is easily surmounted - within the book there is little opportunity for confusion, such is the clarity with which it is written, and the terms are easily replaced if it remains a problem.Chapters 3 to 9 cover the rules for creating lich characters, and it is here that the book truly departs from the norm. Rather than presenting liches as monsters, Liches sets them up as fully playable characters, right from 1st level. An Arcane Lich is not an aged and evil wizard, but a guardian of Creation against the encroaching darkness. Sacrificing their mortality for knowledge and magical power, a mortal becomes an Arcane Lich by casting the first Ritual of Arcane Transference. But, rather than being a simple, one-step process, there are five such Rituals, each evolving the Arcane Lich into a higher state, and each demanding certain requirements be met. Thus we have the Death Touched (still alive), the Living Dead (not quite undead, but not really alive anymore), Sunken Lich (the first state beyond death), Necrotic Lich (appearing as a rotting corpse) and the Skeletal Lich (appearing as a skeleton). Each Lich State takes the form of a template, each replacing the previous template.However, the diversity does not end there. Most Arcane Liches belong to one of the 7 Orders, each with its own powers, abilities and outlook on unlife. Each Order adds abilities to the Lich State templates, rather neatly folding state and type into a single package. I wondered if the Orders would not be best represented by Prestige Classes, until I realised that they represented something more akin to sub-races than actual organisations, as belied by their name - Lich Types. The Lich Types are: Artifex Liches, craftsman who can spontaneously manifest a golem to serve them; Darke Liches, spies and assassins tasked with acting against the servants of the Void; Dirge Liches, necromancers able to create, control and enhance undead servants; Frost Liches, evokers of powerful ice magic; Mors Liches, priest-like mages devoted to battling other undead; Prime Liches, scholars with great control over magic; and the Umbral Liches, puppetmasters able to conjure shadowy minions.Chapter 6 is the best of the rules chapters, detailing the various Arcana available to the Arcane Lich- unique supernatural powers purchased as they advance levels and states. There are 120 individual powers available, although some are restricted to liches of certain Orders, and they are all very distinctive and flavourful. My personal favourite is Spectral Shift, allowing a Darke Lich to slip into another plane for a second to evade spells or attacks, conjuring up a very Matrix-esque feel. If I was playing a lich I would be very hard pushed to choose which Arcana I wanted to purchase next - something that cannot always be said about Feats.Chapters 7 and 8 I felt to be the weakest of the rules chapters, dealing with Sorcerae (the Arcane Liches key power to alter reality) and Arcane Feats. Perhaps it is only next to the high points of the Arcana, but these chapters felt somewhat light - ultimately Sorcerae boils down to a very simple mechanic, and there is little sense in arguing for needless complexity. In principle it seems to work, although is rather powerful if fitting with the tone and theme.Arcane Feats are gained alongside mundane feats, which may be a little excessive as Arcane Liches are hardly lacking in power, but they feel somewhat superfluous and unnecessary next to the wondrous Arcana - the latter fit with the established atmosphere, the former feel merely functional and utilitarian. Their presence hardly detracts from the book, but certainly doesn't add anything.Chapter 9 deals with insanities - the price a lich pays for their transformation. The greater in power a lich gets, the more insanities afflict them. All of the insanities are roleplay based, which fits in with the story-heavy tone of the book.Chapters 10 to 16 are by far the best third of the book, in which rules are, for the main, put to one side and background is brought to the fore. As proven with Vampires, this is the territory in which Bottled Imp are at their best, ideas for adventures and entire campaigns leaping from the page with every turn.Chapter 10 introduces the main setting for Liches - Kethak, the City of Lost Souls, which is the home of the Arcane in exile, the Conclave and the Arcane Liches. Sited on the bleak Ash Plane, the city is filled with restless dead of all varieties. Every aspect of life in Kethak is detailed, from the weird and wonderful locales (such as the Spire, the central tower that rises up over the city into the clouds), to the equally weird and wonderful inhabitants (such as the Sleepers, ghost-like creatures trapped in a mockery of life, little more than a memory).Chapter 11 describes the Conclave, as well as their attitude to the war with the Void. Chapter 12 details the Spectral Plane, the realm of Creation from where everything else originated but which is rapidly being consumed by the Void. Chapter 13 details the Valiari, the Arcane-touched natives of the Ash Plane who aid the Conclave.Chapter 14 offers advice for both PCs and DMs in roleplaying liches and running a lich based game, offering some rather good ideas and insights into the alien mindset and motivation of a lich. Chapter 15 contains Rituals of Power, powerful spell-like effects with a number of different uses such as alignment restoration or insanity removal.Chapter 16 ends the book with a closer look at the Void, in particular the terrifying and insane Void Liches. This chapter is, appropriately, the darkest in the book, sending a shiver down my spine at the thought of the Conclave's enemies - creatures more powerful than an Arcane Lich. In ConclusionLiches could have quite easily been a book full of new prestige classes, feats, spells and monsters - indeed, in the hands of any other d20 publisher it might well have been. But Bottled Imp Games are quickly making a name for themselves as publishers of the highest calibre, producing beautiful looking books packed full of evocative prose and innovative new directions to take the system in. If you like liches, or - perhaps more significantly - if you don't, then pick up this book and open your mind to the ideas presented. Ignore everything else that has ever been written on the subject to date - including in the Monster Manual - and pick up this book instead, for everything that you need to create memorable lich characters or run an exciting and dramatic lich-based campaign can be found within these 128 pages.</blockquote>

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