RS1 [RR6] Van Richten's Guide to the Lich (2e)
2e
Psionic Lich, Mentalist Lich: There are few who dare to argue that the power of a master psionicist is any less than that of an archmage. Proof of this can be found in the fact that the most powerful psionicists are actually able to extend their lives beyond the spans granted them by nature, just as powerful wizards are known to do.
By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.
The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature's spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact.
Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist's life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before "opening" a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once discipline is "closed," it cannot be reopened.
During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist's life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the character must make a system-shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead.
Psionic Lich, Undead Master of the Mind, Dreaded Creature, Horrible Creature, Master of the Mental Disciplines, Creature of Mesmeric Power, Devotee of Cognitive Pursuits, Ultimate Sage: ?
Master Ulathar, Psionic Lich, Lich, Beast of Evil, Mesmeric Lich, Mentalist Lich, Master, Foul Beast: ?
Quasimancer: They are undead peculiar to the legions of the lich because they are the products of the powerful black magic that only a lich can wield.
Confer spell.
Create Minion spell.
Quasimancer, Major, Colonel, Aide de Camp, Magically-Endowed Undead Creature, Servant, Pitiable Creature, Miserable Wretch, Battle Fodder, Mildly Dangerous Combat Adversary, Underling, Minion, Magic Cadaver, Special Minion, Magic-Using Undead Minion, Special Form of Wight: ?
Quasimancer, Special Form of Wight: ?
Quasimancer, Ghast: Let me caution the reader not to take this text too literally, here or anywhere. The ghast also satisfies the prerequisites for a quasimancer.
Quasimancer, Skeleton: Perhaps the lich can endow even the lowly skeleton with the ability to cast magic. Then again, perhaps such magic is not possible. Whatever the case, we cannot rest upon absolutes, for liches are making new breakthroughs in spell research even as I write this guide, and even as you read it. . . .
Vassalich: They are undead peculiar to the legions of the lich because they are the products of the powerful black magic that only a lich can wield.
"Yes, yes! It was horrid, horrid! Not just dead things—living things too: Men! A man became a lich before my eyes! He swallowed a stone—a diamond or something, I don't know. Then the lich . . . slit its rotted wrist open with its own fingernail and blood—no, not blood—ooze, gray ooze ran from the black hole!
". . . And the man drank it! He drank the lich's—blood! He drank it, Dolf! And he fell down and screamed. And he changed. He shrivelled. He died! He lay there . . . dead . . . and . . . "
"And what, Harmon?"
"He got up, and he spit up the stone, into the lich's hand, and then he was a lien, too. . . !"
It is sadly simple to conclude that a wizard of questionable values might strike a pact with a lich and become immortal, albeit undead. What mage does not crave the arcane secrets of the universe? What wizard would not consider the advantages of unlimited time to learn new magic? Who among any of us does not wish to live forever?
These sentiments are the genesis of the vassalich: a wizard who undergoes the transformation to lichdom under the sponsorship of a full lich, thus becoming an undead magic-user long before he could accomplish the feat himself.
Vassaliches most likely undergo a process similar to their master's when they become undead. They may drink a poisonous potion, or they may even partake of the lich's body fluid as Ruscheider suggested, but they then occupy a phylactery. Ruscheider's story also implied that the phylactery is given over to the lich, who presumably keeps it as the perfect instrument of leverage over its new minion.
For DMs who wish to role-play the creation of a vassalich, a number of conditions might be created to carry off a successful transformation.
For example, the wizard must fail at least two Ravenloft powers checks before the transformation will work. Perhaps the phylactery must be a gem of not less than 10,000 gp value, which the lich can wear ornamentally or keep with the rest of its treasure. Perhaps the new vassalich must rest after the conversion, like its master, but for ten full days.
The transformation, itself, might consist of joint spellcasting by the sponsor and the aspirant. Perhaps the lich casts enchant an item on the phylactery while the wizard drinks the prepared potion (see Chapter I), then the wizard casts magic jar before he dies. Next, the lich casts reincarnation and the vassalich is created.
The vassalich's phylactery would likely not be nearly as magical as that of the lich. It might be destroyed merely by an unenchanted weapon inflicting 25 points of damage upon it (saving throw vs. magical attacks apply).
Vassalich, Major, Colonel, Aide de Camp, Fallen Wizard, Servant, Pitiable Creature, Miserable Wretch, Battle Fodder, Mildly Dangerous Combat Adversary, Underling, Minion, Absolutely Loyal Servant, Intelligent Minion, Lesser Lich, Ambitious Creature: ?
Vassalich, Nemesis: ?
Lich Familiar, Abominable Lich Familiar: They are undead peculiar to the legions of the lich because they are the products of the powerful black magic that only a lich can wield.
A wizard can take its familiar with it into lichdom by forcing it to drink the potion of transformation. After doing so, the familiar makes a system shock roll at same level as the wizard: If it fails, the familiar dies and the lich must make a second system shock roll; if the roll fails, the lich dies irrevocably, just as if he had failed his first roll. If the roll succeeds, the lich still loses 1 point of Con permanently, and it must rest two full weeks before memorizing spells or conducting any strenuous activity.
For a lich-summoned familiar, the DM can consult any of the Monstrous Compendiums a choose a familiar appropriate to his or her campaign, or one may be randomly generated using the table provided below:
Lich Familiars Table
d20 Roll Familiar (Enhancement)
1-5 Skeletal bat (hearing)
6-10 Dire wolf (smell)
11-15 Nightmare (speed)
16-17 Assassin imp (surprise bonus)
18-19 Necrophidius (silent movement)
20 DM's choice
Other candidates are darkenbeasts, berbelangs, mites, yeth hounds, gremlins,wichtlins, kani dolls, gurik cha'ahl, blood sea imps, eyewings, undead beasts (from the DRAGONLANCE® campaign world), cildabrins, orpsu, iron cobras, hell cats, and mephits. The lich may otherwise choose to create an undead version of virtually any monster by casting raise dead upon an expired monster of its choice and then binding it by casting find familiar and charm monster, or something to that effect.
Lich Familiar, Major, Colonel, Aide de Camp, Servant, Pitiable Creature, Miserable Wretch, Battle Fodder, Mildly Dangerous Combat Adversary, Underling, Minion: ?
Lich Familiar Undead Hawk, Molting Rotted Batlike Thing, Unnatural Monster, Poor Beast: ?
The Redfist, Lich: ?
Lich Familiar Skeletal Bat: ?
Lich Familiar Undead Beast: ?
Undead, The Dead, Undead Thing, Stiff, Walking Dead: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Incorporeal Undead, Peculiar Night Phantom: ?
Evil Spirit: ?
Most Powerful of the Undead: ?
Undead Servant: ?
Intelligent Undead: ?
Lesser Undead: ?
Undead Soldier: ?
More Potent Undead Minion: ?
Highly Intelligent Form of Undead: ?
Servitor Undead: ?
More Powerful Undead: In other words, the lich only need practice more powerful sorcery in order to create more powerful undead, and garnering more potent magic is about as natural an act as a lich can manage.
Minion Undead: ?
Less Sophisticated Undead: ?
Mindless Undead, Foot Soldier: ?
Intelligent Undead, Lieutenant: ?
High-Level Undead: ?
Undead Horror: ?
Lich Minion, Minion: ?
Infuriated Banshee: ?
Demilich: My best guess at the origin of the demilich is that it is an undead wizard who has lived so long, learned so much, and gathered such power that it has literally achieved a new level of existence. The creature's definition of power, itself, has evolved entirely beyond the grasp of the mortal mind, and so the demilich has abandoned all mortal exploits to survey realms in which only the gods tread. Having no interest in the world that gave it form, the demilich surrenders that form, and its body crumbles to useless dust. All that remains is a skull.
Whatever the duration of its life in this physical world, it seems that the unchecked lich is destined to undergo a gradual transformation. This change is a subtle one that requires little specific effort from the lich. Most of my consultants agree the conversion must occur naturally; there can be no way for any creature, living or dead, to purposefully pursue such a course—the gods, themselves, would surely intercede. Rather, I suspect that the lich becomes more engrossed in its studies and meditations over time, until it has no care for matters in the physical world at all. In fact, it would not be surprising if a lich were to relocate to a place where it might never be disturbed by anyone from the physical realm.
In this case, it is reasonable to assume that the lich would begin to neglect the maintenance of its own body, working instead to greater efforts in absolutely pure research and meditation. As the undead wizard delves deeper and deeper into the theoretical, the theoretical becomes more and more substantive while substance becomes increasingly theoretical.
After a time, our perspective of established fact would become pointless to a lich, even a nuisance, and the lich would have no more reason to consult its extensive collection of tomes that deal with the manipulation of this physical world. Perhaps all the information in the gigantic library shrinks in the budding demilich's vast consciousness, until the entire accumulation fits into a tiny, rarely visited corner of its incredible mind!
1 have an image in my mind, of a lich upon a throne of bone—bone of enemies it crushed when it entertained concerns over the material realm of men and monsters. Without rest or sustenance, the lich thinks upon unknown subjects every moment of every day—days that do not exist as it sits upon that throne without an audience. It has long forgotten the undead servitors it once commanded, long forgotten the evil projects it initiated with the labor of their skeletal backs, long abandoned exploits that rocked the mortal world to its foundations.
Now it merely sits and contemplates who-knows-what, of ethereal regions beyond the physical realm, of spaces beyond even that. Its once-powerful alchemical solutions have dried and fallen into powdery neglect. Even magical items that would conquer a world have lost their luster, and they sit in chests of which the lich cannot be bothered to remember the location. The wood of its benches, the paper of its tomes, all things consumable by age have disappeared in the face of eternity.
Ultimately, all that remains of the lich slowly and inexorably decomposes beyond recovery. All that remains of the dreaded lich is that object which will probably last forever: its skull. The former receptacle of that formidable mind finally comes to rest atop a mound of dust that was once its body. Perhaps it will sink into the seat of the throne upon which it once sat.
Demilich, Abomination, Disembodied Skull: ?
Hero's Bane, Demilich, Skull With Precious Stones for Teeth: ?
Mystical Ghast: ?
Ghost, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Ghoul, Common Ghoul: ?
Lich, Dreaded Lich, True Lich, Mystical Lich, Lich of Mystical Derivation, Lich of More Common Arcane Derivation, Lich of Arcane Origin, Wizard Lich, Normal Lich: Sometimes, in exchange for assisting evil agents who desire a foothold into our realm, these unwise mages are granted great powers to wield over their fellow man. And I fear that there are too many mages who pursue this opportunity over the considerations of the state of our world. For these mages, treachery awaits. Wizards who follow evil paths do not understand that one cannot trust a creature that, by its nature, lives to betray.
Still other mages seek those secrets of power, themselves. They hope to gain knowledge that evil and powerful creatures jealously guard for themselves. Such a mage believes that it is better to enter the perilous halls of power himself, using his own efforts, than to rely upon the questionable graces of others. The magnitude of this struggle is great. There are many secrets that evil uses to pervert our world—secrets so elusive that a mortal must expend every ounce of his (or her) strength and spirit to acquire them.
This devotion is, no doubt, the means by which the mage is subverted, changed. He loses sight of the pursuits of normal life and becomes obsessed with seeking the keys to power. Eventually, the mage realizes that he cannot learn those secrets in his short lifetime. He finds that he must secure a method of continuing his researches and experiments for years, perhaps even centuries, to come.
For this incredibly ambitious wizard, there is but one way: he must transform himself into a different creature, one that will outlive his mortal shell so that he might continue his arcane efforts.
During a full moon, this mage imbibes a potion that instantly kills him—yet his spirit survives! His spirit actually dispossesses itself of his body. While in this state, the spirit acclimates itself to dark energies that are the source of pure evil. The spirit of the wizard becomes sympathetic to the heart of evil so that it may learn new and more potent secrets in the future.
The spirit eventually returns to the body, but in the interim the body shrivels and mummifies into a twisted mask of death. This corpse rises from its own grave, eyes alight with a scarlet lust for knowledge and power. The mage has died, yet it lives now and forever as a corpse.
In this quest for knowledge, some mages pass a point where the unthinkable no longer exists. They pursue for long years the secrets of a certain arcane ritual which will grant them a twofold prize: knowledge of forbidden secrets and the acquisition of power that is unmatched—power to be gained over the span of an eternal life, or rather, unlife. If one can become a lich, then he or she will become the most powerful form of undead known!
One must wonder what texts the very first lich worked from, how that ill-fated mage first came by the formula that dispossessed his body of his spirit.
[The tanar'ri] first plotted to seed the world with his minions and take the world by force. This proved unsuccessful. Yet intent upon acquiring the world, [the tanar'ri] set about creating minions that were [significantly more powerful] than the troops previously used. It tempted the mages of the world with great power and knowledge, and it gave them instructions on how to transform their bodies, minds, and even [spirits] to a higher form of existence—one that would command [great magic] and allow [the tanar'ri] to assume control of the world with subtlety and plotting.
This fragment suggests the origin of the lich,
and I am inclined to believe it. There had to be a first lich, and there had to be someone to formalize a ritual for its creation. That a mortal should gamble with a ritual that must kill it if it does not grant it unlife without some sort of guidance seems unlikely.
Considering the many factors, complex in nature, of what is known about the ritual, the odds that someone should get it right by coincidence are ludicrous. Perhaps these instructions came from a fiend from another plane of existence, perhaps not. But this fragment, couched as it is in mythic terms, is still as fair an explanation as I've encountered in my researches of the origin of the first lich.
The diary of Mirinalithiar chronicles her descent from humanity to lichdom. There are entries beginning almost from the moment she decided to become a lich to the moment she passed over. This has proved to be my most important source of information about the ritual and processes of becoming a lich. Of course, the existence of such a source is suspect in itself, and might be a part of some subtle plan of the forces of evil.
Much of the journal is cryptic, extraneous, or highly empirical, but 1 will summarize some of the more pertinent data. Mirinalithiar began her quest for lichdom by investigating incidents of mysterious, high-powered magic. She was searching the tell-tale marks of what she surmised to be lich behavior. Mirinalithiar achieved a breakthrough when she happened upon an account of how, at a century-old battlefield, the dead rose from their graves—weapons, armor, and all—and marched into a nearby range of mountains.
She began to study the history of the area wherein the peculiar events took place, paying particular attention to tales of the mages that lived there and their behavior. She found that the mages were quite powerful, but preferred absolute solitude in comparison to most other mages, who gained power through heroic adventuring. The reclusive wizards defended their abodes from evil or other threats, but only if their keeps or lands were directly in danger.
The startling level of their powers was documented, however. Mirinalithiar found that the mages made occasional trips to magical colleges and guilds. There, they impressed and intimidated the high wizards with their abilities.
Most importantly, those mages' studies were invariably concerned with necromancy. All of them were especially interested in spells that allowed communication with the dead and those places where the dead reside.
It was Mirinalithiar's belief that they were seeking information about the processes of becoming a lich, and about methods of contacting some ghost or long-dead spirit or perhaps even that fiend referred to in the Haedritic Manuscripts. Mirinalithiar attempted to follow that same path to knowledge, and apparently she succeeded.
Her journal became decreasingly coherent as she went about the business of summoning and speaking with the dead, and it is difficult to reconstruct the facts from her text. Even so, with a great deal of study and the assistance of several scholars, I believe I have discovered the basic formulae for achieving lichdom.
Be warned, you who would use this information for evil intent, that Mirinalithiar was not sane when she recorded these procedures. I offer them only to shed light on the gall and desperation of the wizard who would be immortal. Used in the cause of justice, this knowledge is indeed power; used for evil purpose, this knowledge is certain death!
According to Mirinanalithiar's journal, once the details of the transformation process are known, the scholar has to practice with rigor the new-found information.
Primary among the requirements is the ability to cast key spell. The spells themselves are rare, and only a wizard of great power and knowledge who fears not to dabble in the horrid art of necromancy can cast them, but this is not a particular hindrance to a knowledge-hungry—nay, knowledge-ravenous—mage. As I have postulated, one cannot acquire great power without already having it. Hence, power is the key, power that begets power, ever corrupting the mage while preparing him to accumulate even more might.
Once the spellcasting considerations are satisfied, the wizard proceeds to the next, equally important step: the making of a phylactery, a vessel that will house his spirit.
The phylactery usually is a small boxlike amulet made of common materials, highly crafted. Lead or any other black or dark-gray colored material is frequently used. Inspection of the amulet may reveal various arcane symbols carved into the interior walls of the box, and those grooves are filled with silver as pure as the mage can find. These amulets are never made of wood, and rarely of steel. Brightly colored metals, such as gold, are infrequently used. (Mirinalithiar's account is extremely unclear, but it may not be the color which is the problem. The relative softness of the material and its subsequent likelihood of being injured may create this restriction.)
Because the mage understandably has no desire for anyone to know what ritual he is undertaking—particularly what the arcane symbols and etchings truly look like—the mage may study and learn how to handle molten metals, and he may well acquire other crafting skills necessary to design and construct the phylactery.
The vessel that becomes a lich's phylactery must be of excellent craftsmanship, requiring an investment of not less than 1,500 gp per level of the mage, with more money needed for custom-shaped amulets. It is, of course, possible to obtain a normal amulet of good craftsmanship without paying for it, but the amulet to be used as a phylactery must be constructed for that specific purpose. The craftsman who builds the amulet need not know, however, of its true intended purpose.
Though the phylactery normally is a box, it can be fashioned into virtually any item, provided that it has an interior surface into which the lich can carve certain small magical designs. Silver is poured into these designs and a permanency spell is cast on each.
The designs themselves include arcane symbols of power and the wizard's personal sigil. Should the DM wish to actually illustrate them for the players, he or she should feel free to create unique designs to fit the campaign. The wizard's personal sigil is a mystical sign of personal significance, and identifying it may convey great power over a lich.
Once the box is constructed and the designs are set and enspelled, four spells must be cast upon the phylactery: enchant an item, magic jar, permanency, and reincarnation. When all of these spells have been cast, the amulet is suitable for use as a phylactery (by the specific wizard who made it only). The manner in which the spells are cast, and the time at which they are cast is not important, except that the permanency must be cast last.
The rules governing the creation of a phylactery are not immutable. A DM can create a wonderful adventure around the creation, or the attempted creation, of a phylactery. The necessity of fine craftsmanship, the ritual casting of powerful spells, the occurrence of a rare astronomical event, and many other factors may come into play in the completion of the device. The DM is encouraged to custom create not only the phylactery, but the process of making it, too.
With the phylactery constructed, the mage casts an assortment of spells to properly enchant the box and finally casts his spirit into it. To do so, however, requires the inclusion of the most secret aspect of becoming the lich—the potion of transformation. The ingredients of this potion are unknown to me, and it was only by chance that I even came to know of its existence. Mirinalithiar's journal mentions it but once, as "that foul brew from the heart of evil."
After some consultation and speculation with my scholarly sources, I have concluded that the poisonous venom of a number of rare creatures must be involved, as the potion kills the mortal wizard almost instantly. Of course, after my near-fatal experience with my old friend Shauten, I am sure that another one of the ingredients is the heart of a sentient creature.
In any case, I do know (from Mirinalithiar's journal) that the mage must drink the potion when the moon is full, and if successful, the mage is transformed into a lich. Otherwise, the mage dies immediately. Whether or not the potion is successful, and whether the mage's constitution can handle the effects, is the ultimate test of the mage's skill and knowledge.
To initiate the transformation, to break the link between his body and spirit and forge it anew between his spirit and the phylactery, the mage must drink a special potion that is highly toxic. This potion, if properly made, will cause the mage to immediately transform into a lich. If one small error is made in the formula or the concoction and distillation of the potion, irrevocable death results.
To create the potion, the mage may blend several forms of natural poisons, including arsenic, belladonna, nightshade, heart's worry, and the blood of any of a number of poisonous monsters. Also necessary are a heart, preferably from a sentient creature, and the venom from a number of rare creatures such as wyverns, giant scorpions, and exotic snakes.
When the ingredients are properly mixed, the following spells must be cast upon the potion: wraithform, cone of cold, feign death, animate dead, and permanency. The potion must be drunk during a night with a full moon. Upon ingestion, a system shock roll is required. If the mage passes the test, then he has been transformed by the potion into a dreaded lich.
If the mage doesn't survive the shock, then he is dead forever, with no hope of any sort of resurrection. Not even a wish will undo the lethal potion. Only the direct intervention of a deity (or the DM) has any hope of resurrecting a mage killed in this manner.
In order to affect the world, the lich must have a method of interacting with it. This means the spirit of the lich must attach itself to a body. After entering the phylactery, the spirit must remain for at least three days. After those days have passed, the lich may re-enter the body from whence it came. This act of transference is quite demanding upon the host body. Because of this, the lich must rest for a week after re-entering the body. During this week the lich is unable to cast any spells and is unable to undertake any strenuous physical labor. It is only able to exert enough energy to care for itself, and perhaps to read and meditate.
Liches were once all-powerful wizards in life, yet they have sacrificed everything to leap beyond the bounds of humanity and acquire unspeakable necromantic mastery.
Lich, Corpse, Most Vile Damnable Beast, Creature of Darkness, Undead Wizard, Most Powerful Form of Undead, Solitary Creature, Intelligent Undead, Dealer of Death, Dealer With Death, Wizard, Poor Soul, Foul Creature, Isolationist, Ruthless Brute, Undead Master of Magic, Creature That Takes Enormous Care in Where it Lives, Cursed Creature of Darkness, Walking Corpse, General Who Formulates the Master Plans From the Rear Lines, Powerful Adversary, Evil Creature, Monster of Genius Intelligence, Ultra-Powerful Wizard, Cursed Beast, Powerful Being, Amoral Commander, Terrible Monster, Creature of the Night, Villain, Monster of Genius Intelligence, Black Terror, Dreaded Monster: ?
Lord Azalin, Lich, Illustrious Ruler, Wizard-King, Tall Man: I know not what he called himself—what his true name was—before he transformed himself to lichdom. It does not matter, though, since that person died with the drinking of the lethal potion which began the ritual.
Mirinalithiar, Lich, Malevolence, Nefarious Creature: ?
Stupefied Zombie: ?
Invidian Lich: ?
Common Lich: ?
Uncommon Lich: ?
Antirus the Red, Crimson Arcanus, Lich: ?
Lich, Craftsman in Bone: ?
Particularly Cruel Lich: ?
Nonpsionic Lich: ?
The Moonbane, Hazlanic Lich, Enraged Lich: ?
Crafty Lich: ?
Lich, Political Entity: ?
Lich With a Gift for Illusion: ?
Phantom's Bane, Lich: ?
Lich, Captor, Keeper, Jailer: ?
The Bloody Hand of Souragne, Lich: ?
Lich, Rival Being: ?
Faithless Lich: ?
Clerical Lich, Priestly Lich: While mages are considered the most likely candidates to fall prey to the lure of lichdom, it should not be forgotten that the road to unlife may be walked by priests as well. In most respects the processes are similar. The priest also must discover the ritual, whether it is revealed by beings from elsewhere, unearthed from some ancient scripture where it lies in riddle, or unveiled by his deity in prayer. The priest also must manufacture a phylactery and concoct a poisonous potion to go with it.
However, the transformation for a priest is based in priestly magic, priestly ritual, and ceremony. A ritual designed for a mage would prove to be certain doom for a cleric.
During their research, priests sometimes encounter the secrets to lichdom. Perhaps these secrets are given to them surreptitiously by an evil deity, or perhaps they are revealed by the priest's own god as a test.
It might very well be in the interests of a neutral deity (for who am I to know the ways of gods?) to allow its servant to remain on this world long beyond the age of mortal men, in order to accumulate and relate knowledge and experience to him. While potions of youth might seem a logical resort in such a case, or brews that increase the normal span of man's life, these concoctions are known to be of questionable effect. They cause stress in the normal fabric of a person's physical being, stretching it back and forth like a piece of rubber, until one potion too many is consumed, and snap, the body disintegrates. One might rely on potions of longevity for a span of decades if one knew their mysteries (which I, alas, do not), but in due course the hand of death must close upon us all—or most of us, at any rate.
Therefore, it might, in the mind of some coldly calculating and inhuman god, seem an eminently logical and necessary next step to endow a faithful and trusted servant with the information needed to transform into a lich. The scrupulous performance of the research and processes necessary to complete the ritual of transformation, and the success or failure of the rite, would then prove the ultimate test of whether this servant was worthy of lichdom.
I have no doubt there are fiends who strive to find proper candidates for lichdom. And I doubt not their success. Evil religions have their own dark goals that are counter to the forces of light. To tip the balance, some evil deities surely attempt to find priests to turn into liches, making them a much more powerful tool in some evil design.
I have known some servants of these dark gods—they are a paranoid and elitist lot, certainly a mortal reflection of the thing they worship. To earn the "gift" of lichdom (as I am sure they regard it), there are surely many trials of which only the priests themselves are aware. These tests must be extremely difficult, or I fear the world would be quite overrun with priestly liches; such a station is highly prized by all creatures of evil bent.
Having some understanding of the hearts and minds of evil, I speculate that the tests of lichdom are particularly strenuous because the transformation into lichdom represents an increase in power so significant that the deity may have difficulty maintaining control over the lich. This simple conclusion explains rather well why evil clerical liches fall into two types: those fanatically serving their deity and those attempting to become one.
The fanatics are extremely rare (I know of only one in existence), but they actually are the most open about their condition as liches, at least with the followers of their god (my knowledge was gained through, shall we say, eavesdropping). They are the high priests or priestesses of deities of death or disease. They preside over unspeakable and foul rites in huge temple complexes, protected and served by legions of fanatic followers. Their deities reward their devotion with ever larger insights into the mysteries of magic, faith, and the energies of that plane of negative energy. They are valuable generals in the ongoing battle between evil and good over the hearts and spirits of mortals, and their gods reward their loyalty with bounteous prosperity, ample knowledge, and often miraculous powers beyond those of even the common lich.
Those evil liches attempting to become deities are often superficially identical to the fanatics. But they gradually subvert their god's followers' devotion, first portraying themselves as mouthpieces and then actual personifications of the god's power and desires. They walk a thin and twisted line of duplicity, hoping to amass enough of a following (and enough magical items, artifacts of power, and abilities) to promote themselves to the status of a deity without their own god divining their ultimate intent too soon and squashing them like the two-faced insects they are.
Some of the ingredients in the potion of transformation are exotic and fatal poisons of mind-boggling strength. When drunk, these ingredients do more than alter the body—they alter the mind extensively as well.
The clerical lich is created through the same process at the wizard lich, except that the spells it casts are obviously clerical versions.
Evil Lich: ?
Lich, Master Planner, Enemy: ?
Mummy: ?
Mummy, High-Level Undead: ?
Revenant: In my research concerning ghosts, I have recorded stories of unfortunates set upon by evil doers in the guise of friends, and of innocents fatally betrayed by loved ones who somehow, by sheer force of will, reanimated their mortal shell to wreak vengeance on their murderers. While this type of reanimation is fueled by an outraged spirit determined to forestall its own death, the state itself is not one specifically sought by the revenant in such tales, and once its goal is fulfilled, it happily seeks the afterlife for which it was destined.
[ U]nfortunates whose emotional state combined tragically with their force of will to enable them to gain a temporary semblance or extension of life.
Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Undead Skeleton, Walking Skeleton, Animated Skeleton, Lowly Skeleton: This ability to control the undead seems to be a natural part of lichdom. They are able to raise skeletons from the ground with great ease and on some occasions are able to raise corpses without even visiting the grave.
Animate Dead by Touch lich ability.
Skeleton, Most Popular Minion: ?
Skeleton, Guard, Minion: ?
Spectre: ?
Undead Beast: ?
Vampire, Dread Vampire: ?
Vampire, Intelligent Undead, Notoriously Egotistical Creature, Powerful Adversary, Evil Creature, High-Level Undead: ?
Baron Metus, Vampire, Blood-Drinking Creature of the Night: ?
Wight, Common Wight: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie: This ability to control the undead seems to be a natural part of lichdom. They are able to raise skeletons from the ground with great ease and on some occasions are able to raise corpses without even visiting the grave.
Animate Dead by Touch lich ability.
Zombie, Animated Corpse: ?
Confer (9th level)
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None
This spell is cast in conjunction with create minion for the purpose of creating a quasimancer (see Chapter VII). When the confer spell is cast upon the created minion, the undead creature's mind becomes attuned to spell memorization. The lich can then plant the spell repertoire of a 9th-level wizard (including number of spells and levels) within the minion's mind. The quasimancer can then cast the implanted spells at its discretion, as if it were the wizard who memorized them.
The lich must expend spell energy equal to the level of the spell placed in the quasimancer's head. In other words, to place a 5th-level spell in the quasimancer, the lich must expend the equivalent of a 5th-level spell from its daily allowance of carried magic. The quasimancer can receive spells from its master only once; when all of its spells are cast, it becomes a mindless undead.
Note that the quasimancer must have all spell components necessary to cast the spells implanted in its mind. This spell cannot be cast upon any other creature than one raised by a create minion spell. Casting it upon a living person will instantly cause insanity that can be cured only by psychic surgery or a wish.
The material components of this spell are the minion and a bit of brain tissue from a sentient being.
Create Minion (9th level)
Range: 10 feet
Components: V. S, M
Duration 1-20 days
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: Special
This spell is used in conjunction with confer in order to create a quasimancer (see Chapter VII). When the lich casts create minion, a corporeal undead minion is animated and reinstated with a portion its former life essence, giving it artificial intelligence and spellcasting potential. In terms of physical traits, the minion becomes, in effect, a wight, having all the abilities and statistics of that creature (see the Monstrous Compendium). The newly created minion is entitled to a saving throw vs. spell (as a 5 HD creature) to avoid falling under control of the lich. If it succeeds, it will do its best to escape the lich and then go on a killing spree, resentful of the knowledge that its time of existence is limited. (Some created minions may attempt to find a wizard and force him to cast permanency upon them, thus negating the 1-20 day expiration of the spell.) A minion who fails its saving throw falls under complete control of the lich and can act as its master's agent in the field. Its intelligence allows it to command other undead in its master's name, and it remains susceptible to the confer spell.
Created minions under a lich's control make all saving throws at the level of their master; they are immune to enfeeblement, polymorph, electricity, insanity, charm, sleep, cold, and death spells; they exude a fear aura, 5-foot radius, requiring a successful save vs. spell or flee for 2d4 rounds.
Casting this spell upon a living person will require a successful save vs. death magic or the person immediately dies, becoming a created minion entitled to the saving throw detailed above.
The material components of this spell are the body to be raised and a bit of brain matter.
Animate Dead by Touch
The lich is able to cause zombies and skeletons to rise with a mere touch. Such creatures only can be turned as the lich who raised them, as long as the lich is within 200 feet of them. The lich may raise as many creatures as are available. All undead created in this fashion will rise as 2 Hit Die creatures that will behave as common zombies and skeletons, excepting the conditions noted above.
