Liches: Dance Macabre
5e
Lich, Sorrow Lord, Standard Lich, Bog-Standard Lich, Normal Lich: [A] potent and evil spell caster who has used a combination of spells to transform into a type of undead that employs a katadesmos.
It is important to remember that liches damned themselves. It was neither an accident nor something that happened as a whim. They sacrificed loved ones and formed evil pacts with vile entities to become a Sorrow Lord.
The Lichdom Ritual
This is a generic description of what is required to transform someone into a lich. Game Masters are encouraged to tailor this as much as possible to suit their campaign.
Level: 14 (one of which must be a caster level)
Skills: [Pathfinder] Craft 5, Knowledge (arcana) or (religion) 10; Spellcraft 10. [5E] Arcana 10 or Religion 10
Feats: [Pathfinder] brew potion and craft wondrous item. [5E] the Artificer rules from Unearthed Arcana, or house rules permitting the creation of magic potions and items.
Spells: Magic jar, animate dead, dark vision, or clairaudience and clairvoyance. The spells fear and enervation are required for the lich to possess the fear aura and paralyzing touch, respectively.
Special: The patron first requires the supplicant to commit a sin that pushes them over the moral event horizon.
Liches assemble themselves from equal parts malice and power.
So, someone doesn’t have to be a spell caster to become a lich – contrary to popular perception. A spell caster or a patron may do the necessary work for someone else. However, the subject still must be willing to undergo the procedure. Basically, any sentient mortal individual may become a lich.
Tailor-Made Evil
To transform from a living spell caster into a lich requires three separate Spellcraft checks. The first is for preparing the katadesmos, the second is for brewing the potion, and the third is for conducting the ritual. The DC of these checks depends on the target CR of the lich.
New Rule: The DC for each step – preparing the katadesmos, brewing the potion, and conducting the ritual – is always DC = the target CR of the lich +10.
Example: Neal wishes to regenerate his corpse if it is destroyed (Bleak Resurrection CR +0), to incapacitate foes with a touch (Paralyzer +1), to frighten his foes (Dreaded +½), and to resist the power of clerics (Turn Resistance+½). This means the CR modifier for the lich Neal seeks to become is +2 (+2=0+1+½+½). Becoming a lich will add +4 to Neal’s CR. Neal is an 18th level wizard. So the target CR is 20 (20=18+2).
For Neal each step is DC 30 (30 = Target CR of 20+10).
A spell caster must make the katadesmos. This requires the [Pathfinder] Craft Wondrous Item feat or [5E] the right skill set and a forgiving Game Master. The character must employ the spells magic jar, dark vision, and clairaudience.
Creating the katadesmos requires 120 days +100 days per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It costs 120,000 gp +10,000 gp per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It consumes 4,500 XP +1,000 XP per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
Example: Regenerating his corpse if it is destroyed (Bleak Resurrection), incapacitating foes with a touch (Paralyzer), and frightening foes (Dreaded) are powers already included in the 120 days and 120k gp cost of creating the katadesmos. However, Neal will further transform his heart into his katadesmos. That is one modification. His katadesmos requires (120 + 100 =) 220 days to create. It costs (120k + 10k =) 130k gp to create. It consumes 4,500 XP + 1,000 XP =) 5,500 XP to create. Note, he will only remove his heart after he is dead.
The spell caster must then use [Pathfinder] Brew Potion or [5E] craft the elixir as a magical item with the spell animate dead. The elixir must also be toxic to the drinker, incorporating a poison such as midnight tears or wyvern poison.
It requires eight days plus 2 days per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It costs 7,500 gp +1,000 gp for every addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It consumes 500 XP +100 XP for every addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
Example: As noted above, Neal wishes to make one addition to lichdom (heart katadesmos). It requires (8 + 2 =) 10 days to brew the potion. It costs (7,500 + 1,000 =) 8,500 gp to make the potion. It consumes (500 + 100 =) 600 XP to make the potion. The total cost of all three steps will be 230 days, 138,500 gp, and 6,100 XP at a minimum to make the attempt.
Finally, the caster should conduct the ritual itself, which traditionally includes drinking the potion inside a circle of death. The ritual requires one hour per caster level to complete. The ritual’s nature does not permit retries – failure means the caster dies.The spell caster may reduce the Spellcraft DC of one of the three rolls required (katadesmos, potion, and ritual) depending on what they sacrifice. Further, performing the steps at a profane location may reduce the Spellcraft DC, as does performing the steps on a profane date or holiday. These mortal sins may be performed in advance and the modifier applied to the roll later.
Table: Reducing the Ritual’s DC
Method Modifier
Immediate blood relation’s life sacrificed -2
Loved one’s life sacrificed -2
Innocent’s life sacrificed -1
Immediate blood relation’s soul sacrificed -4
Loved one’s soul sacrificed -4
Innocent’s soul sacrificed -2
Performed at a profane location -1
Performed on a profane date -1
Katadesmos
An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic katadesmos in which the spell caster stores its life force.
Patrons
Would-be liches must learn the lichdom ritual somewhere. One possibility is that the would-be Sorrow Lord reaches an arrangement with a patron entity. The patron supplies the ritual, and dark power, to the would-be lich. The lich supplies captured souls to the patron entity in return. This works like a person taking a loan from a loan shark. This person is motivated to repay the loan but is not working for the loan shark per se.
Eldritch Abominations
These entities exist outside of sane and comprehensible space and time. According to some legends, these same entities created lichdom to wound the fabric of existence.
It is possible for liches to serve as patrons to other liches.
The typical fantasy setting includes several dozen evil entities, ranging from demons, devils, to outright evil deities. These entities create liches to serve their own nefarious goals.
The mad and bad fey, in their appealing and terrifying psychedelic courts, are alien in both their thinking and their morals. Such creatures may become patrons of liches for inscrutable reasons.
Liches were once mortal spell casters that chose to transform themselves into the undead.
A sane lich would be unique. All liches started as mortals with flesh and blood. The process of becoming a Sorrow Lord is so excruciating that none escape it without mental “alterations.”
Lich, Fleshless Creature, Personification of Pride and Wrath, Mere Bones, Potent Evil Spellcaster, Undead That Employs a Katadesmos, Undead Thing, Vile Undead Magic User, Tainted Dishonorable Creature, Intellectual and Spiritual Parasite, Formidable Creature, Death Incarnate, Debased Angel of Death, Most Powerful Humanoid Monster, Hateful Beast, Lonely Creature, Aischron Creature, Powerful Undead, Parasite, Horror, Corruptor, Evil Psychopomp, Self-Created Undead, Powerful Enemy, Soul Hunter, Soul Collector, Soul Eater, Boogeyman, Powerful Creature, Creature of Dangerous Power, Sentient Free-Willed Open Wound in Reality: ?
Nihil, Neal, Lich: It is a nearly colorless winter. Neal is looking at pinned butterflies and their colorful wings in a glass display case. He is thinking.
It is a logical thing to do. There is not enough to keep him here. Not even his relationship with the elf warrior. Not even what she offered.
Too few people thought about the larger situation strategically.
Death defines things too much. It provides unnecessary limits on possibilities. Why should any-one abandon an opportunity if avenues for sustaining the opportunity are available? Those seeking fulfilling self-actualization are by definition transgressive. Ipso facto, successful individuals always moved to an existence beyond the limits and ends of society.
Of course, this required bargains. It required sacrifice and performing onerous tasks. This is hardly exceptional. The same thing is true of the construction of a house.
Not everyone realizes his or her potential. Those who do not realize their potential… others might still make something useful of them. Marching armies make use of people. This is not a rationalization. It is logic. That is how Patron of the Velcha family described the situation. The Patron–a Lord of some place called Aita–offered Neal resources, including information. The Patron asserted he appreciated Neal’s tactical and strategic abilities, abilities unappreciated by the establishment.
If… reasonable possibilities present themselves, and the only real hurdle is the childish inhibi-tions of others, then logic called on one to pursue their ambitions.
The Patron had discussed the step with him and provided a detailed description of the process. Neal had followed the instructions carefully. Getting the materials had ruined his relationship with his former colleagues, including her. Petty rules had led to his excommunication from his former church. This simply provided one less thing to bind him to his previous situation.
Dwelling on the dead child in the corner would be irrational.
He picked up the potion.
He drank.
Logic demanded nothing less.
He presumed what came next would be an interesting experience…
Anchorite Lich: ?
Cosmopolitan Lich: ?
Good Lich, Arkhos Ptoma, Genuinely Good and Unique Lich: On a related note, it is possible to be a “good” lich. (How do any of you people, who are utterly not Plato or Aristotle, define good?) Such tragic creatures will never have a patron deal requiring them to capture souls, pursue genocide, or anything similar. (I doubt you can define tragic either.) However, a stern patron might require them to protect a place or family against harm, or task the lich with undoing some evil they did in life.
True Demi-Lich: Patron Destruction
d20 Results
1-4 Unstable; The power and status of the Sorrow Lord become unstable. Please refer to the table below.
5-8 Decline; Power gradually ebbs from the lich, and over the course of a year, it gradually transforms into a true demi-lich.
9-12 Transformation; The lich immediately transforms into a true demi-lich.
13-18 Somewhat Freed; Although it must consume souls, the lich no longer must deal with a patron.
19-20 Truly Freed; It does not have to consume souls, and the lich no longer must deal with a patron.
If the Sorrow Lord fails to provide the necessary number of souls, it will suffer a loss of one level, or one-special ability, for every soul below quota. This is a path to becoming a true demi-lich.
GM may add this template to any creature that has gone through the lichdom ritual – not all liches perform the magic for themselves.
Xykon, Lich: ?
The Master of Endless Fear, Lich: ?
The Final Word in Fear, Mortimer, Lich: ?
Skeletal Lich: ?
Gnome Lich: ?
Human Lich: ?
Dragon Lich: ?
Werewolf Lich: ?
Elf Lich, Xylon Ptoma: ?
Dwarf Lich, Petro Ptoma: ?
Hobgoblin Lich, Khalkos Ptoma: ?
Surtr-Disir Lich: ?
Ankou Lich: In some stories, the Ankou is actually a cruel prince who lost a bet with the Angel of Death and endures an eternal curse for his vanity and failure.
Anzillu Lich: ?
Apostate Lich: Once upon a time, an empire moved from the worship of multiple bloodthirsty gods to the worship of a single deity of discipline and light. One of the anointed emperors sought to roll back the change shortly after this transition. He became the Apostate, and he died without reaching his goal. Then something happened. This emperor – who in life was not a magician – reappeared as multiple liches centuries later.
More specifically, Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate ruled briefly. He rejected his Christian upbringing and sought to return the empire to its pagan roots and ethical system. However, he died too early in his reign to accomplish much. The early church declared him apostate after his death. The Apostate template supposes such an individual reappeared centuries later as multiple liches. How this happened is a mystery.
Awakened Demi-Lich, Epifovos, Dreadful, Unsafe: Some Sorrow Lords lose themselves in introspection across centuries (or more) of existence. Eventually, they are unable to rouse the passion required to face the endless march of days. Many cast their shades far from their bones and wander strange planes and realities. The physical form of such a lich succumbs to decay over the centuries. Only the lich’s skull remains intact. However, the power of undeath keeps these final remains from true dissolution. Echoes of the lich’s intellect remain within the skull.
It becomes worse when the shade returns to its form for some purposes. Perhaps it needs to complete some plot set into motion generations ago. Perhaps it needs to catch enough souls. Perhaps madness drives it to return.
Telkhine Lich: The Telkhines were spirits, magicians, or both according to ancient Greek myths. Titaness Rhea enlisted them to protect the infant Zeus according to some Greek legends. However, Zeus threw his former defenders into the darkness of Tartaros for wickedness. Some legends assert they crafted the sickle Kronos used to castrate Ouranos before the time of Zeus. They are sometimes associated with the Daktyloi. They are also said to have brought beekeeping and metalworking to mankind. Or so the general legends go.
The story is different according to the Alexander Pope translation of the Titanomachia by Thamyris. Or rather, the English translation of Titus Sempronius Blaesus’s Latin translation of Thamyris – itself composed after Blaesus’s notorious days of wandering madness. In any case, in this telling Zeus cast down the creatures capable of constructing god-killing weapons. This is when they stopped being among the Daktyloi, found themselves at the mercy of Tartaros, and became Telkhine.
Ankou Lich, Fairy Tale Lich, Lich Associated With the Dark Fey: ?
Ankou Lich, Personification of Death: ?
Ankou Lich, Henchman of Death: ?
Ankou Lich, King of the Dead: ?
Anzillu Lich, Cosmic Horror Lich, Sorrow Lord of Cosmic Horror, Deadly Wicked Servant, Abomination, Something Utterly Alien: ?
Apostate Lich, Lich With Aggregate Mind and Imperial Ambition, Dire Threat to the World, Philosopher King Ideal Exemplar: ?
Awakened Demi-Lich, Horrifically Powerful Skull: ?
Telkhine Lich, Shadow Lich, Ghastly Darkness-Bringing Lich Cursed by the Gods, Creature of Vengeance and Darkness, Shadowy Horror: ?
Demi-Lich: Some Sorrow Lords lose themselves in introspection across centuries (or more) of existence. Eventually, they are unable to rouse the passion required to face the endless march of days. Many cast their shades far from their bones and wander strange planes and realities. The physical form of such a lich succumbs to decay over the centuries. Only the lich’s skull remains intact. However, the power of undeath keeps these final remains from true dissolution. Echoes of the lich’s intellect remain within the skull.
Damnameneus, Telkhine Lich, Lying Schemer: ?
Lycos, Lycus, Telkhine Lich: ?
Makelo, Macelo, Telkhine Lich: ?
Skelmis, Tulchulcha, Telkhine Lich: ?
Demonax, Damon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Actaeus, Antaeus, Telkhine Lich: ?
Megalesius, Telkhine Lich: ?
Hormenius, Ormenos, Telkhine Lich: ?
Mylas, Telkhine Lich: ?
Atabyrius, Telkhine Lich: ?
Mimon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Nicon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Argyron, Telkhine Lich: ?
Chalcon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Chryson, Telkhine Lich: ?
Dexithea, Dexione, Telkhine Lich: ?
Halia, Telkhine Lich: ?
Lysagora, Telkhine Lich: ?
Pulvis, Ariel Greenleaf, Master of the Acedia Monastery, Telkhine Lich Human Necromancer 18, Creature of Guile, Kindly Old Abbot: ?
Sufficiently Lucid Lich: ?
Lich, Well-Known Undead Entity: ?
Sane Lich: ?
Lich With Intermittent Explosive Disorder: ?
Lich Possessing a Narcissistic Personality Disorder: ?
Lich Possessing Uranophobia: ?
Arcane Sorrow Lord: ?
Rare Pious Lich: ?
Clerical Lich: ?
Warlock Lich: ?
Powerful Echthroi Lich: ?
Good Lich, Unique Creature, Tragic Creature: ?
Mr. Odom Wagner, Ankou Lich Human Bard 11: ?
The Duinn Beast, Crom Cruach, Apostate Lich Human Druid 15: How they changed a dead druid hero into a druidic lich and part of the Apostates is unknown.
Ishnari Cabalax, Anzillu Lich Human Sorcerer 15: ?
The Gettan, Demi-Lich Human Wizard 20: ?
Romanoe Fornier, William Fornier, The Lord of the Castle, Lich Human Wizard 17, Psycopath: Several centuries ago the character confessed to conspiring against the rightful king. He escaped royal custody and fled to his castle only to die at the hands of local peasants who were sick of his crap – his depredations from his family castle had harmed the locals for decades. They captured him before he completed his lichdom ritual and boiled him in molten lead inside Ninestane Rig, a local circle of standing stones. It became a lich despite the unorthodox death.
William, a 14th century Scottish noble, confessed to plotting against the Scottish king. He is reputed to have performed black magic, consorted with the Devil, possessed a familiar named Robin Redcap, and died when the peasants got sick of his crap and boiled him in molten lead. Historians suspect the political activities of the historical William Fornier became confused with the supposed supernatural proclivities of Romanoe Fornier, a 13th century Scottish noble of the same family and castle. The Fornier castle – Hermitage Castle – is haunted and home to unpleasant stories according to traditional Scots folklore.
The story of William and Romanoe Fornier represents almost a bog-standard backstory of a lich for fantasy games. The character was a noble and possessed enough resources and power to study magic. The character did so, then things took a dark and political turn and someone executed him. There is confusion over who did what and when. However, rumors persist the castle is haunted…
Charles Manx, Lich: ?
Subtle Lich: ?
Rasputin, Lich: ?
The Lich, Lich: ?
Voldemort, Lich: ?
Nix the Puritan, Lich: ?
Arthas, Lich King, Lich: ?
Polykritos, Lich, Supernatural Being, Ghost: ?
Koschei the Deathless, Koschei the Unnamer, Koschei the Man of Darkness, The Deathless One, Lich, Warlock, Deathless Warlock: ?
Seyf el-Mulook, Lich: ?
Punchkin, Lich, Magician: ?
Gaunt Jack, Jack of the Lantern, Lich, Ghostly Figure: “Young People have been making Jack O’ Lanterns for centuries for the night before any number of holy days. The practice is based on a story about a man nicknamed ‘Gaunt Jack.’ According to a story that has several variations, mean Jack once invited the Devil to have a drink with him. Of course, stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he carefully convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that the man could then use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, sly Jack opted to keep the money and dropped it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack freed the Devil, but did so only under the condition that the Devil wouldn’t bother Jack for one year, and that when Jack died, the Devil would not claim Jack’s meager soul. The following year, Jack again tricked the Devil – this time getting the fiend to climb high into a tree to pick an apple. While the fiend was up in the tree, wicked Jack carved a cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until it promised callous Jack not to bother him for another decade.
“Soon thereafter, Jack died. He arrived at the gates of Heaven and was promptly told by Saint Peter that he was ineligible for entry, being mean, stingy, sly, wicked, and callous. Winding up at the not-so-pearly gates of Hell, the Devil greeted him, and keeping its long-standing promise, refused to let Jack enter Hell. The fiend sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal – which now held Jack’s soul, forever burning in its hate – to light his way. Jack put the coal into the likeness of a man-skull, carved from a large turnip, and has roamed the world ever since. Many refer to this ghostly figure as ‘Jack of the Lantern.’
“You should, then, take care on the dark night, before a holy day, if you see in the gloomy distance the reddish glow of a lantern carried by someone who appears gaunt. Because in death Jack has grown gaunt, but he has remained mean, stingy, sly, wicked, and callous.”
El Comte Arnau: According to Catalan mythology, God cursed Comte (Count) Arnau for the man’s cruelty and lechery, damning him to an eternity of flames devouring his flesh as he rides about on an undead horse.
Vanilla Lich: ?
Potent Lich: ?
Simon Magu, Simon the Magician, Simon the Sorcerer, Father of all Heresies, Lich: ?
Count of St. Germain: Myths, legends, and speculations about St. Germain began to be widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continue today. They include beliefs that he is immortal. His katadesmos might be the now-lost original painting of the man.
Tithonius: The gods granted Tithonus eternal life but did not grant him eternal youth in Greek mythology. He transformed into a grasshopper in some myths. He became aged, feeble, and begged for death in other stories. For our purposes, he became a lich because that provided him something better than the blessings of the gods; revenge on the gods, among other dark blessings. His katadesmos might be a grasshopper stuck in amber.
Acephali: A powerful necromancer applies this acquired template to undead.
Acephali, Corporeal Undead: ?
Demi-Lich Dormant: ?
Flesh-Eating Zombie, Flesh Eater: Flesh-eating zombies are corpses reanimated through sinister means that seek to devour their own race’s flesh. They are not dangerous individually. However, they travel in groups, and the bite of a flesh-eating zombie transmits a dangerous supernatural disease.
The flesh eater is an acquired template that may be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system.
Lares: ?
Lares, Ancestor Shade, Ancestor Spirit, Ghost of a Family Member: ?
Sarka: Specifically, Sarka are the animated hide and flesh of a creature stripped of its bones. Necromancers create these creatures by flaying someone alive.
Sarka, Grotesque Undead, Animated Hide and Flesh of a Creature Stripped of its Bones: ?
Vrykolakas: This is what results when a Sarka envelopes a skeleton, zombie, or ghoul (hereafter referred to as the host creature).
Undead Treant: Sorrow Lords create undead treants. They may do this deliberately because they are horrible people, or they may do it indirectly through their corruption and the aischron effect they have on a district.
Waxed Undead: “Waxed” is an acquired template that is possible to add to most corporeal undead creatures. A complex procedure replaces the natural moisture of the corpse with wax or a similar substance. This slows the decay process, allows the creature to pass as one of the living under the right circumstances, and makes it resistant to certain types of damage.
Acephali Skeleton: ?
Waxed Tattooed Zombie: ?
Waxed Zombie: ?
Undead, Undead Creature: Liches create undead – from zombies to vampires – and those undead actively prey upon the living.
Restless Hungry Dead: ?
Undead Humanoid: ?
Undead Servant: Generate Undead power.
Sentient Undead: ?
Corporeal Undead, Corporeal Undead Creature: ?
Undead Person: ?
Undead Guardian: ?
Undead Tree: ?
Memory Slave: The lich employs memory slaves: living and sentient undead slaves that have had portions of their memory replaced by information the lich considers valuable.
Memory Slave, Sentient Undead Slave: ?
Well-Known Undead Entity: ?
Mindless Undead: ?
Undead Minion: ?
Undead Horse: ?
Undead Animal: ?
Undead Bear: ?
Undead Boar: ?
Undead Moose: ?
Undead Cow: ?
Flame Skull: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Ghast: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Ghost: ?
Ghost, Sentient Undead: ?
Ghoul: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Mummy: ?
Yummy Mummy: ?
Revenant: Excarnation spell.
Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Undead Skeleton, Regular Skeleton: ?
Specter: ?
Vampire: ?
Vampire, Personification of Gluttony and Lust, Sensual Creature, Sentient Undead: ?
Vampire Spawn: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Wight: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
Excarnation spell.
Wight, Sentient Undead: ?
Zombie: Pulvis has created the disease called Noonday Demon (please see the disease below). Thematically this is anhedonia as a communicable disease. Mechanically, this is crushing despair, as a spell-like effect, as a communicable disease – and it progresses to creating zombies.
Noonday Demon disease.
Conversant Zombie: ?
Rotting Zombie: ?
Human Flesh-Eating Zombie: ?
Human Commoner Zombie: ?
Zombie Horse: ?
Excarnation
[5E]
6th level transmutation (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V S M
Duration: Permanent
[Pathfinder]
School transmutation; Level magus 6, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V S M
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent, please see text
This gruesome, and painful, spell allows a caster to transform a target into an undead and to claim the target’s soul.
The spell’s target is a living creature that is in some way bound, restrained, or otherwise prevented from escaping. Typical examples include murder cages, prison cells, shackled to a wall, or bound and placed inside a large rawhide sack over a fire. The caster then abandons the target to die, inflicts an injury that will slowly result in death, or simply tortures the target to death. Outright killing the target causes the spell to fail. The target transforms into an undead creature upon death, and the target’s level or CR determines the type of undead.
Excarnation Target Transformation
Target Level / CR Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Revenant
Disease: Noonday Demon
This supernatural, and lethal, disease transforms the victim into a zombie through Constitution loss. The victim may go on to spread the disease further. The victim will rise as a zombie 2d10 minutes after death. Both remove disease and remove curse are required as a magical cure. If the victim is dead, but not yet undead, then remove curse is sufficient to prevent the zombie transformation. If the victim survives, lost Constitution points do not heal, but are restorable with magic. For information on diseases, please refer to the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Noonday Demon
Infection: Injury
DC: [Pathfinder] Fortitude DC 25; [5E] Constitution DC 25
Incubation: 1d8 days
Effect: The victim suffers 1 point of Constitution point per hour until they reach 0, at which point they die and rise 1d4 hours later as a zombie.
Generate Undead (Sp) CR +1
Through use of create undead as a spell-like ability the lich may create undead servants. However, undead created in this way may not exceed CR 8, either individually or collectively.
Pathfinder 2e
Lich, Sorrow Lord, Standard Lich, Bog-Standard Lich, Normal Lich: [A] potent and evil spell caster who has used a combination of spells to transform into a type of undead that employs a katadesmos.
It is important to remember that liches damned themselves. It was neither an accident nor something that happened as a whim. They sacrificed loved ones and formed evil pacts with vile entities to become a Sorrow Lord.
The Lichdom Ritual
This is a generic description of what is required to transform someone into a lich. Game Masters are encouraged to tailor this as much as possible to suit their campaign.
Level: 14 (one of which must be a caster level)
Skills: [Pathfinder] Craft 5, Knowledge (arcana) or (religion) 10; Spellcraft 10. [5E] Arcana 10 or Religion 10
Feats: [Pathfinder] brew potion and craft wondrous item. [5E] the Artificer rules from Unearthed Arcana, or house rules permitting the creation of magic potions and items.
Spells: Magic jar, animate dead, dark vision, or clairaudience and clairvoyance. The spells fear and enervation are required for the lich to possess the fear aura and paralyzing touch, respectively.
Special: The patron first requires the supplicant to commit a sin that pushes them over the moral event horizon.
Liches assemble themselves from equal parts malice and power.
So, someone doesn’t have to be a spell caster to become a lich – contrary to popular perception. A spell caster or a patron may do the necessary work for someone else. However, the subject still must be willing to undergo the procedure. Basically, any sentient mortal individual may become a lich.
Tailor-Made Evil
To transform from a living spell caster into a lich requires three separate Spellcraft checks. The first is for preparing the katadesmos, the second is for brewing the potion, and the third is for conducting the ritual. The DC of these checks depends on the target CR of the lich.
New Rule: The DC for each step – preparing the katadesmos, brewing the potion, and conducting the ritual – is always DC = the target CR of the lich +10.
Example: Neal wishes to regenerate his corpse if it is destroyed (Bleak Resurrection CR +0), to incapacitate foes with a touch (Paralyzer +1), to frighten his foes (Dreaded +½), and to resist the power of clerics (Turn Resistance+½). This means the CR modifier for the lich Neal seeks to become is +2 (+2=0+1+½+½). Becoming a lich will add +4 to Neal’s CR. Neal is an 18th level wizard. So the target CR is 20 (20=18+2).
For Neal each step is DC 30 (30 = Target CR of 20+10).
A spell caster must make the katadesmos. This requires the [Pathfinder] Craft Wondrous Item feat or [5E] the right skill set and a forgiving Game Master. The character must employ the spells magic jar, dark vision, and clairaudience.
Creating the katadesmos requires 120 days +100 days per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It costs 120,000 gp +10,000 gp per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It consumes 4,500 XP +1,000 XP per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
Example: Regenerating his corpse if it is destroyed (Bleak Resurrection), incapacitating foes with a touch (Paralyzer), and frightening foes (Dreaded) are powers already included in the 120 days and 120k gp cost of creating the katadesmos. However, Neal will further transform his heart into his katadesmos. That is one modification. His katadesmos requires (120 + 100 =) 220 days to create. It costs (120k + 10k =) 130k gp to create. It consumes 4,500 XP + 1,000 XP =) 5,500 XP to create. Note, he will only remove his heart after he is dead.
The spell caster must then use [Pathfinder] Brew Potion or [5E] craft the elixir as a magical item with the spell animate dead. The elixir must also be toxic to the drinker, incorporating a poison such as midnight tears or wyvern poison.
It requires eight days plus 2 days per addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It costs 7,500 gp +1,000 gp for every addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
It consumes 500 XP +100 XP for every addition or modification to the basic lich formula.
Example: As noted above, Neal wishes to make one addition to lichdom (heart katadesmos). It requires (8 + 2 =) 10 days to brew the potion. It costs (7,500 + 1,000 =) 8,500 gp to make the potion. It consumes (500 + 100 =) 600 XP to make the potion. The total cost of all three steps will be 230 days, 138,500 gp, and 6,100 XP at a minimum to make the attempt.
Finally, the caster should conduct the ritual itself, which traditionally includes drinking the potion inside a circle of death. The ritual requires one hour per caster level to complete. The ritual’s nature does not permit retries – failure means the caster dies.The spell caster may reduce the Spellcraft DC of one of the three rolls required (katadesmos, potion, and ritual) depending on what they sacrifice. Further, performing the steps at a profane location may reduce the Spellcraft DC, as does performing the steps on a profane date or holiday. These mortal sins may be performed in advance and the modifier applied to the roll later.
Table: Reducing the Ritual’s DC
Method Modifier
Immediate blood relation’s life sacrificed -2
Loved one’s life sacrificed -2
Innocent’s life sacrificed -1
Immediate blood relation’s soul sacrificed -4
Loved one’s soul sacrificed -4
Innocent’s soul sacrificed -2
Performed at a profane location -1
Performed on a profane date -1
Katadesmos
An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic katadesmos in which the spell caster stores its life force.
Patrons
Would-be liches must learn the lichdom ritual somewhere. One possibility is that the would-be Sorrow Lord reaches an arrangement with a patron entity. The patron supplies the ritual, and dark power, to the would-be lich. The lich supplies captured souls to the patron entity in return. This works like a person taking a loan from a loan shark. This person is motivated to repay the loan but is not working for the loan shark per se.
Eldritch Abominations
These entities exist outside of sane and comprehensible space and time. According to some legends, these same entities created lichdom to wound the fabric of existence.
It is possible for liches to serve as patrons to other liches.
The typical fantasy setting includes several dozen evil entities, ranging from demons, devils, to outright evil deities. These entities create liches to serve their own nefarious goals.
The mad and bad fey, in their appealing and terrifying psychedelic courts, are alien in both their thinking and their morals. Such creatures may become patrons of liches for inscrutable reasons.
Liches were once mortal spell casters that chose to transform themselves into the undead.
A sane lich would be unique. All liches started as mortals with flesh and blood. The process of becoming a Sorrow Lord is so excruciating that none escape it without mental “alterations.”
Lich, Fleshless Creature, Personification of Pride and Wrath, Mere Bones, Potent Evil Spellcaster, Undead That Employs a Katadesmos, Undead Thing, Vile Undead Magic User, Tainted Dishonorable Creature, Intellectual and Spiritual Parasite, Formidable Creature, Death Incarnate, Debased Angel of Death, Most Powerful Humanoid Monster, Hateful Beast, Lonely Creature, Aischron Creature, Powerful Undead, Parasite, Horror, Corruptor, Evil Psychopomp, Self-Created Undead, Powerful Enemy, Soul Hunter, Soul Collector, Soul Eater, Boogeyman, Powerful Creature, Creature of Dangerous Power, Sentient Free-Willed Open Wound in Reality: ?
Nihil, Neal, Lich: It is a nearly colorless winter. Neal is looking at pinned butterflies and their colorful wings in a glass display case. He is thinking.
It is a logical thing to do. There is not enough to keep him here. Not even his relationship with the elf warrior. Not even what she offered.
Too few people thought about the larger situation strategically.
Death defines things too much. It provides unnecessary limits on possibilities. Why should any-one abandon an opportunity if avenues for sustaining the opportunity are available? Those seeking fulfilling self-actualization are by definition transgressive. Ipso facto, successful individuals always moved to an existence beyond the limits and ends of society.
Of course, this required bargains. It required sacrifice and performing onerous tasks. This is hardly exceptional. The same thing is true of the construction of a house.
Not everyone realizes his or her potential. Those who do not realize their potential… others might still make something useful of them. Marching armies make use of people. This is not a rationalization. It is logic. That is how Patron of the Velcha family described the situation. The Patron–a Lord of some place called Aita–offered Neal resources, including information. The Patron asserted he appreciated Neal’s tactical and strategic abilities, abilities unappreciated by the establishment.
If… reasonable possibilities present themselves, and the only real hurdle is the childish inhibi-tions of others, then logic called on one to pursue their ambitions.
The Patron had discussed the step with him and provided a detailed description of the process. Neal had followed the instructions carefully. Getting the materials had ruined his relationship with his former colleagues, including her. Petty rules had led to his excommunication from his former church. This simply provided one less thing to bind him to his previous situation.
Dwelling on the dead child in the corner would be irrational.
He picked up the potion.
He drank.
Logic demanded nothing less.
He presumed what came next would be an interesting experience…
Anchorite Lich: ?
Cosmopolitan Lich: ?
Good Lich, Arkhos Ptoma, Genuinely Good and Unique Lich: On a related note, it is possible to be a “good” lich. (How do any of you people, who are utterly not Plato or Aristotle, define good?) Such tragic creatures will never have a patron deal requiring them to capture souls, pursue genocide, or anything similar. (I doubt you can define tragic either.) However, a stern patron might require them to protect a place or family against harm, or task the lich with undoing some evil they did in life.
True Demi-Lich: Patron Destruction
d20 Results
1-4 Unstable; The power and status of the Sorrow Lord become unstable. Please refer to the table below.
5-8 Decline; Power gradually ebbs from the lich, and over the course of a year, it gradually transforms into a true demi-lich.
9-12 Transformation; The lich immediately transforms into a true demi-lich.
13-18 Somewhat Freed; Although it must consume souls, the lich no longer must deal with a patron.
19-20 Truly Freed; It does not have to consume souls, and the lich no longer must deal with a patron.
If the Sorrow Lord fails to provide the necessary number of souls, it will suffer a loss of one level, or one-special ability, for every soul below quota. This is a path to becoming a true demi-lich.
GM may add this template to any creature that has gone through the lichdom ritual – not all liches perform the magic for themselves.
Xykon, Lich: ?
The Master of Endless Fear, Lich: ?
The Final Word in Fear, Mortimer, Lich: ?
Skeletal Lich: ?
Gnome Lich: ?
Human Lich: ?
Dragon Lich: ?
Werewolf Lich: ?
Elf Lich, Xylon Ptoma: ?
Dwarf Lich, Petro Ptoma: ?
Hobgoblin Lich, Khalkos Ptoma: ?
Surtr-Disir Lich: ?
Ankou Lich: In some stories, the Ankou is actually a cruel prince who lost a bet with the Angel of Death and endures an eternal curse for his vanity and failure.
Anzillu Lich: ?
Apostate Lich: Once upon a time, an empire moved from the worship of multiple bloodthirsty gods to the worship of a single deity of discipline and light. One of the anointed emperors sought to roll back the change shortly after this transition. He became the Apostate, and he died without reaching his goal. Then something happened. This emperor – who in life was not a magician – reappeared as multiple liches centuries later.
More specifically, Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate ruled briefly. He rejected his Christian upbringing and sought to return the empire to its pagan roots and ethical system. However, he died too early in his reign to accomplish much. The early church declared him apostate after his death. The Apostate template supposes such an individual reappeared centuries later as multiple liches. How this happened is a mystery.
Awakened Demi-Lich, Epifovos, Dreadful, Unsafe: Some Sorrow Lords lose themselves in introspection across centuries (or more) of existence. Eventually, they are unable to rouse the passion required to face the endless march of days. Many cast their shades far from their bones and wander strange planes and realities. The physical form of such a lich succumbs to decay over the centuries. Only the lich’s skull remains intact. However, the power of undeath keeps these final remains from true dissolution. Echoes of the lich’s intellect remain within the skull.
It becomes worse when the shade returns to its form for some purposes. Perhaps it needs to complete some plot set into motion generations ago. Perhaps it needs to catch enough souls. Perhaps madness drives it to return.
Telkhine Lich: The Telkhines were spirits, magicians, or both according to ancient Greek myths. Titaness Rhea enlisted them to protect the infant Zeus according to some Greek legends. However, Zeus threw his former defenders into the darkness of Tartaros for wickedness. Some legends assert they crafted the sickle Kronos used to castrate Ouranos before the time of Zeus. They are sometimes associated with the Daktyloi. They are also said to have brought beekeeping and metalworking to mankind. Or so the general legends go.
The story is different according to the Alexander Pope translation of the Titanomachia by Thamyris. Or rather, the English translation of Titus Sempronius Blaesus’s Latin translation of Thamyris – itself composed after Blaesus’s notorious days of wandering madness. In any case, in this telling Zeus cast down the creatures capable of constructing god-killing weapons. This is when they stopped being among the Daktyloi, found themselves at the mercy of Tartaros, and became Telkhine.
Ankou Lich, Fairy Tale Lich, Lich Associated With the Dark Fey: ?
Ankou Lich, Personification of Death: ?
Ankou Lich, Henchman of Death: ?
Ankou Lich, King of the Dead: ?
Anzillu Lich, Cosmic Horror Lich, Sorrow Lord of Cosmic Horror, Deadly Wicked Servant, Abomination, Something Utterly Alien: ?
Apostate Lich, Lich With Aggregate Mind and Imperial Ambition, Dire Threat to the World, Philosopher King Ideal Exemplar: ?
Awakened Demi-Lich, Horrifically Powerful Skull: ?
Telkhine Lich, Shadow Lich, Ghastly Darkness-Bringing Lich Cursed by the Gods, Creature of Vengeance and Darkness, Shadowy Horror: ?
Demi-Lich: Some Sorrow Lords lose themselves in introspection across centuries (or more) of existence. Eventually, they are unable to rouse the passion required to face the endless march of days. Many cast their shades far from their bones and wander strange planes and realities. The physical form of such a lich succumbs to decay over the centuries. Only the lich’s skull remains intact. However, the power of undeath keeps these final remains from true dissolution. Echoes of the lich’s intellect remain within the skull.
Damnameneus, Telkhine Lich, Lying Schemer: ?
Lycos, Lycus, Telkhine Lich: ?
Makelo, Macelo, Telkhine Lich: ?
Skelmis, Tulchulcha, Telkhine Lich: ?
Demonax, Damon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Actaeus, Antaeus, Telkhine Lich: ?
Megalesius, Telkhine Lich: ?
Hormenius, Ormenos, Telkhine Lich: ?
Mylas, Telkhine Lich: ?
Atabyrius, Telkhine Lich: ?
Mimon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Nicon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Argyron, Telkhine Lich: ?
Chalcon, Telkhine Lich: ?
Chryson, Telkhine Lich: ?
Dexithea, Dexione, Telkhine Lich: ?
Halia, Telkhine Lich: ?
Lysagora, Telkhine Lich: ?
Pulvis, Ariel Greenleaf, Master of the Acedia Monastery, Telkhine Lich Human Necromancer 18, Creature of Guile, Kindly Old Abbot: ?
Sufficiently Lucid Lich: ?
Lich, Well-Known Undead Entity: ?
Sane Lich: ?
Lich With Intermittent Explosive Disorder: ?
Lich Possessing a Narcissistic Personality Disorder: ?
Lich Possessing Uranophobia: ?
Arcane Sorrow Lord: ?
Rare Pious Lich: ?
Clerical Lich: ?
Warlock Lich: ?
Powerful Echthroi Lich: ?
Good Lich, Unique Creature, Tragic Creature: ?
Mr. Odom Wagner, Ankou Lich Human Bard 11: ?
The Duinn Beast, Crom Cruach, Apostate Lich Human Druid 15: How they changed a dead druid hero into a druidic lich and part of the Apostates is unknown.
Ishnari Cabalax, Anzillu Lich Human Sorcerer 15: ?
The Gettan, Demi-Lich Human Wizard 20: ?
Romanoe Fornier, William Fornier, The Lord of the Castle, Lich Human Wizard 17, Psycopath: Several centuries ago the character confessed to conspiring against the rightful king. He escaped royal custody and fled to his castle only to die at the hands of local peasants who were sick of his crap – his depredations from his family castle had harmed the locals for decades. They captured him before he completed his lichdom ritual and boiled him in molten lead inside Ninestane Rig, a local circle of standing stones. It became a lich despite the unorthodox death.
William, a 14th century Scottish noble, confessed to plotting against the Scottish king. He is reputed to have performed black magic, consorted with the Devil, possessed a familiar named Robin Redcap, and died when the peasants got sick of his crap and boiled him in molten lead. Historians suspect the political activities of the historical William Fornier became confused with the supposed supernatural proclivities of Romanoe Fornier, a 13th century Scottish noble of the same family and castle. The Fornier castle – Hermitage Castle – is haunted and home to unpleasant stories according to traditional Scots folklore.
The story of William and Romanoe Fornier represents almost a bog-standard backstory of a lich for fantasy games. The character was a noble and possessed enough resources and power to study magic. The character did so, then things took a dark and political turn and someone executed him. There is confusion over who did what and when. However, rumors persist the castle is haunted…
Charles Manx, Lich: ?
Subtle Lich: ?
Rasputin, Lich: ?
The Lich, Lich: ?
Voldemort, Lich: ?
Nix the Puritan, Lich: ?
Arthas, Lich King, Lich: ?
Polykritos, Lich, Supernatural Being, Ghost: ?
Koschei the Deathless, Koschei the Unnamer, Koschei the Man of Darkness, The Deathless One, Lich, Warlock, Deathless Warlock: ?
Seyf el-Mulook, Lich: ?
Punchkin, Lich, Magician: ?
Gaunt Jack, Jack of the Lantern, Lich, Ghostly Figure: “Young People have been making Jack O’ Lanterns for centuries for the night before any number of holy days. The practice is based on a story about a man nicknamed ‘Gaunt Jack.’ According to a story that has several variations, mean Jack once invited the Devil to have a drink with him. Of course, stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he carefully convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that the man could then use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, sly Jack opted to keep the money and dropped it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack freed the Devil, but did so only under the condition that the Devil wouldn’t bother Jack for one year, and that when Jack died, the Devil would not claim Jack’s meager soul. The following year, Jack again tricked the Devil – this time getting the fiend to climb high into a tree to pick an apple. While the fiend was up in the tree, wicked Jack carved a cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until it promised callous Jack not to bother him for another decade.
“Soon thereafter, Jack died. He arrived at the gates of Heaven and was promptly told by Saint Peter that he was ineligible for entry, being mean, stingy, sly, wicked, and callous. Winding up at the not-so-pearly gates of Hell, the Devil greeted him, and keeping its long-standing promise, refused to let Jack enter Hell. The fiend sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal – which now held Jack’s soul, forever burning in its hate – to light his way. Jack put the coal into the likeness of a man-skull, carved from a large turnip, and has roamed the world ever since. Many refer to this ghostly figure as ‘Jack of the Lantern.’
“You should, then, take care on the dark night, before a holy day, if you see in the gloomy distance the reddish glow of a lantern carried by someone who appears gaunt. Because in death Jack has grown gaunt, but he has remained mean, stingy, sly, wicked, and callous.”
El Comte Arnau: According to Catalan mythology, God cursed Comte (Count) Arnau for the man’s cruelty and lechery, damning him to an eternity of flames devouring his flesh as he rides about on an undead horse.
Vanilla Lich: ?
Potent Lich: ?
Simon Magu, Simon the Magician, Simon the Sorcerer, Father of all Heresies, Lich: ?
Count of St. Germain: Myths, legends, and speculations about St. Germain began to be widespread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continue today. They include beliefs that he is immortal. His katadesmos might be the now-lost original painting of the man.
Tithonius: The gods granted Tithonus eternal life but did not grant him eternal youth in Greek mythology. He transformed into a grasshopper in some myths. He became aged, feeble, and begged for death in other stories. For our purposes, he became a lich because that provided him something better than the blessings of the gods; revenge on the gods, among other dark blessings. His katadesmos might be a grasshopper stuck in amber.
Acephali: A powerful necromancer applies this acquired template to undead.
Acephali, Corporeal Undead: ?
Demi-Lich Dormant: ?
Flesh-Eating Zombie, Flesh Eater: Flesh-eating zombies are corpses reanimated through sinister means that seek to devour their own race’s flesh. They are not dangerous individually. However, they travel in groups, and the bite of a flesh-eating zombie transmits a dangerous supernatural disease.
The flesh eater is an acquired template that may be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system.
Lares: ?
Lares, Ancestor Shade, Ancestor Spirit, Ghost of a Family Member: ?
Sarka: Specifically, Sarka are the animated hide and flesh of a creature stripped of its bones. Necromancers create these creatures by flaying someone alive.
Sarka, Grotesque Undead, Animated Hide and Flesh of a Creature Stripped of it Bones: ?
Vrykolakas: This is what results when a Sarka envelopes a skeleton, zombie, or ghoul (hereafter referred to as the host creature).
Undead Treant: Sorrow Lords create undead treants. They may do this deliberately because they are horrible people, or they may do it indirectly through their corruption and the aischron effect they have on a district.
Waxed Undead: “Waxed” is an acquired template that is possible to add to most corporeal undead creatures. A complex procedure replaces the natural moisture of the corpse with wax or a similar substance. This slows the decay process, allows the creature to pass as one of the living under the right circumstances, and makes it resistant to certain types of damage.
Acephali Skeleton: ?
Waxed Tattooed Zombie: ?
Waxed Zombie: ?
Undead, Undead Creature: Liches create undead – from zombies to vampires – and those undead actively prey upon the living.
Restless Hungry Dead: ?
Undead Humanoid: ?
Undead Servant: Generate Undead power.
Sentient Undead: ?
Corporeal Undead, Corporeal Undead Creature: ?
Undead Person: ?
Undead Guardian: ?
Undead Tree: ?
Memory Slave: The lich employs memory slaves: living and sentient undead slaves that have had portions of their memory replaced by information the lich considers valuable.
Memory Slave, Sentient Undead Slave: ?
Well-Known Undead Entity: ?
Mindless Undead: ?
Undead Minion: ?
Undead Horse: ?
Undead Animal: ?
Undead Bear: ?
Undead Boar: ?
Undead Moose: ?
Undead Cow: ?
Flame Skull: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Ghast: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Ghost: ?
Ghost, Sentient Undead: ?
Ghoul: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Excarnation spell.
Mummy: ?
Yummy Mummy: ?
Revenant: Excarnation spell.
Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Undead Skeleton, Regular Skeleton: ?
Specter: ?
Vampire: ?
Vampire, Personification of Gluttony and Lust, Sensual Creature, Sentient Undead: ?
Vampire Spawn: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Vampire Spawn
Wight: A character dies if their Constitution score reaches 0 from the effects of corruption. Then 1d6 hours later, they return as an undead under the GM’s control. The sort of creature they become depends on their character level before death. Burning a corpse prevents this effect. Simply having an evil alignment is no defense against corruption - it is too profound an effect for personal beliefs or moral codes to ward away.
Corruption Transformation
Victim Level Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
Excarnation spell.
Wight, Sentient Undead: ?
Zombie: Pulvis has created the disease called Noonday Demon (please see the disease below). Thematically this is anhedonia as a communicable disease. Mechanically, this is crushing despair, as a spell-like effect, as a communicable disease – and it progresses to creating zombies.
Noonday Demon disease.
Conversant Zombie: ?
Rotting Zombie: ?
Human Flesh-Eating Zombie: ?
Human Commoner Zombie: ?
Zombie Horse: ?
Excarnation
[5E]
6th level transmutation (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V S M
Duration: Permanent
[Pathfinder]
School transmutation; Level magus 6, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V S M
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent, please see text
This gruesome, and painful, spell allows a caster to transform a target into an undead and to claim the target’s soul.
The spell’s target is a living creature that is in some way bound, restrained, or otherwise prevented from escaping. Typical examples include murder cages, prison cells, shackled to a wall, or bound and placed inside a large rawhide sack over a fire. The caster then abandons the target to die, inflicts an injury that will slowly result in death, or simply tortures the target to death. Outright killing the target causes the spell to fail. The target transforms into an undead creature upon death, and the target’s level or CR determines the type of undead.
Excarnation Target Transformation
Target Level / CR Undead Created
1-4 Ghoul
5-8 Ghast
9-12 Wight
13-16 Flame Skull
17-20 Revenant
Disease: Noonday Demon
This supernatural, and lethal, disease transforms the victim into a zombie through Constitution loss. The victim may go on to spread the disease further. The victim will rise as a zombie 2d10 minutes after death. Both remove disease and remove curse are required as a magical cure. If the victim is dead, but not yet undead, then remove curse is sufficient to prevent the zombie transformation. If the victim survives, lost Constitution points do not heal, but are restorable with magic. For information on diseases, please refer to the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Noonday Demon
Infection: Injury
DC: [Pathfinder] Fortitude DC 25; [5E] Constitution DC 25
Incubation: 1d8 days
Effect: The victim suffers 1 point of Constitution point per hour until they reach 0, at which point they die and rise 1d4 hours later as a zombie.
Generate Undead (Sp) CR +1
Through use of create undead as a spell-like ability the lich may create undead servants. However, undead created in this way may not exceed CR 8, either individually or collectively.
