Lich, 11th-Level Human Wizard

A lich is an undead spellcaster, usually a wizard or sorcerer but sometimes a cleric or other spellcaster, who has used its magical powers to unnaturally extend its life.

As a rule, these creatures are scheming and, some say, insane. They hunger for ever greater power, long-forgotten knowledge, and the most terrible of arcane secrets. Because the shadow of death does not hang over them, they often conceive plans taking years, decades, or even centuries to come to fruition.

A lich is a gaunt and skeletal humanoid with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes have long ago been lost to decay, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets. Even the least of these creatures was a powerful person in life, so they often are draped in once-grand clothing. Multiclass fighters or clerics may still bear the armor of a warrior. Like its body, however, the garb of a lich shows all too well the weight of years. Decay and corruption are its constant companion.

Liches speak Common plus any other languages they knew in life.

The process of becoming a lich is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character. A lich retains all class abilities it had in life.

The Lich’s Phylactery

An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.

Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

A lich’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

This example uses an 11th-level human wizard as the character.

Damage: A lich without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a DC 16 Will save halves the damage. A lich with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.

Fear Aura (Su): Liches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the lich’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lich’s aura for 24 hours.

Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description, page 203 of the Player’s Handbook). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.

Spells: A lich can cast any spells it could cast while alive.

Wizard Spells Prepared (4/5/5/5/4/2/1; save DC 14 + spell level): 0—acid splash, detect magic, ray of frost, touch of fatigue; 1st—expeditious retreat, magic missile (3), ray of enfeeblement; 2nd—mirror image, protection from arrows, scorching ray, spectral hand, web; 3rd—dispel magic, fireball, haste, lightning bolt, vampiric touch; 4th—enervation, fear, ice storm, shout; 5th—cone of cold*, teleport; 6th—disintegrate.

*Because of Spell Focus (evocation), the save DC for these spells is 15 + spell level.

Possessions: Bracers of armor +4, cloak of resistance +1, potion of gaseous form, ring of protection +1, scroll of summon monster IV (8th level), wand of magic missile (50 charges, 9th level).

Turn Resistance (Ex): A lich has +4 turn resistance.

Skills: Liches have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.