D&D 5E Warlock liches?

[TheNoremac42]

I understand, in most D&D lore, it's possible for both wizards and clerics to become liches. However, would it be possible for warlocks to achieve lichdom? I don't see why not, since many lich-hopefuls get their ritual from Orcus (a Demon Lord) anyway.

I had an idea for a character... A LE/NE half-orc warlock. His goal would be the unification and domination of the orc tribes through a proxy. On the surface it would appear the orcs are uniting behind a mighty warlord, but in actuality that warlord is being subtly "guided" by the warlock in his quest for power and eventually immortality. The glory of the orcish race would just be a bonus.

 

[Mephista]

Maybe? Now, its possible in warlock-lore to become a devil, or a archfey, or whatever their Patron is. There were a couple instances of things in 4e to this effect for devils and fey, and I don't recall anything for the other pacts, but that doesn't mean anything.

Anyways, my point is this - For a warlock to go all lich-y, I would suspect that one would need the Undying Patron in the first place. Otherwise, we'd end up with a different end goal than lich-dom.

 

[TheNoremac42]

I suppose he could undergo some ritual to infuse himself with enough fiendish energy in order to "ascend" that way, though I doubt a demon prince or arch devil would be on board with that. They would be after the warlock's soul, and giving him immortality won't help that. I doubt they would make him a high ranking fiend either, since he could be competition someday in the lower planes. The warlock also wouldn't be interested in being turned into a manes or lemure, as there's very little chance of advancement before a bigger fiend offs him. So his best chance is immortality on the Material Plane.

 

[Oofta]

It's your world, so if it makes sense it happens.

It could actually be an interesting twist: a warlock that really doesn't want to meet the being he's been siphoning power from is trying to delay the inevitable by turning themselves into a lich. I could even see the PCs being unwitting pawns for a dark power trying to take out the lich, because payment is way past due.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

It's a weird idea. Undead have always been associated with divine magic, but wizards could also get at it (albeit less easily). Can a warlock even cast Animate Dead? If so, then that sounds like there's enough of a basis to pursue self-undead-ification.

 

[TheNoremac42]

It's a weird idea. Undead have always been associated with divine magic, but wizards could also get at it (albeit less easily). Can a warlock even cast Animate Dead? If so, then that sounds like there's enough of a basis to pursue self-undead-ification.

They can cast Create Undead (6th lvl spell) in vanilla, which is basically a stronger version of Animate Dead (3rd lvl spell).

 

[cbwjm]

If this is for a PC, then I'd suggest working with your DM to work it into the campaign so that your character can start searching for the components to a ritual which turns him into a lich.

 

[TheNoremac42]

This is mostly a theoretical character for a potential campaign in the future. We're too busy running a different campaign right now. The idea just popped into my head earlier today.

 

[cbwjm]

I think undeath for a warlock is a good idea, particularly if their soul is doomed to spend eternity in the 9 hells due to signing up to the fiend pact. Really speaking, there isn't a way for any arcane caster to become a lich, in that it isn't set down as something for players to do, but I think it is something that could definitely be discussed with the DM as a potential personal goal for your PC if you ever get the chance to play them. The DM could make up a ritual that allows the transformation into a lich and have your PC quest to find the required ritual and then the required components. Perhaps the warlock could even go on an epic quest to request lichdom directly from Orcus.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

If you were to go this route, I would use the Undying as the Warlock Patron (Not to be confused with the Undying Light aka the newly dubbed Celestial patron). It's a more necromantically inclined warlock, though it is mechanically quite a weak choice compared to other patrons. I would suggest using it as a starting point but developing some homebrew adjustments.