- Edmund Burke
And the monster comes out, out,
And the bodies come up, up,
And evil goes forth, forth,
And eyes glow brighter, brighter,
Until no one stands mightier, mightier.
(Darkon children's poem)
As the following statement from my scout Markil illustrates, distinctive characteristics may alert you to a lich's presence or influence.
"I'm lyin' on the ground, recouerin' from a few scrapes, when our camp is attacked by a bunch of skeletons. What makes these stiffs so alarmin' to me is the small red points of light in their eye sockets, which Dr. Van Richten had mentioned. Luckily, we're on our guard and to arms before they can penetrate camp. The fight's pitched, but not too much; we're pretty handy at dustin' stiffs of all kinds.
"Durin' the scuffle, Belinderissa decapitates one of the skeletons and its head rolls near me, I pick it up and look into the eyes, to check out those mysterious red flames. I'm starin' right into the eyeholes of the thing, when all of a sudden the fire in those sockets staarts to burn right into me! I mean, all of a sudden I'm dunked into a terror so mind-numbing, I nearly black out!
"So I heave the skull away from me, but the time I stared into those eyes is a lot longer than I remember - and all that time I'm walkin' punch-drunk-like through a rush of brain-crushin' images I can't control. Next thing I know, the battle is over. My head finally clears, and I look at my companions.
"'The llch is behind this attack, ' I tell Van Richten. 'We got to be real close!'"
These lands hold so many evil powers of so many varieties, and each with such different goals, it's nearly impossible to explain all the events that unfold around us. However, when one is on the hunt for a specific monster, it is possible to identify telltale patterns - especially as you draw near to your quarry.
Using Minions to Your Advantage
It must be remembered that a lich rarely acts on its own behalf in matters of defense. A lich is the general who formulates the master plans from the rear lines. Its undead soldiers hold the front, capture prizes, and kill (or kidnap) the unsuspecting enemy during the night.
A key to recognizing a lich, then, is to understand how it uses its minions, and to recognize a lich minion when you see it. As Markil's example points out, it is possible to spot a lich minion by its unusual traits. Markil had battled many animated skeletons before - indeed, as undead minions, skeletons are common. But Markil, sharp lad, immediately noted their eyes. (I, too, was recuperating when the skeletons attacked, but remained too weak to participate in the skirmish.)
The eyes of many undead glow with eerie power, but I hypothesize that the eyes of lich minions glow with an intensity that exactly matches that of their master. I have not proved it, but I suspect that liches' eyes glow in a singular manner that is as identifiable as a fingerprint. I had imparted this suspicion to my hunting party, and Markil attempted to verify the origins of these skeletons. Unfortunately, he was unprepared for the consequences; we were fortunate not to have lost him.
Let Markil's lesson be one to all: If you see something that is unusual, point it out to your comrades! Any information can be useful - even essential - in identifying the master of an undead creature, and keeping suspicions to one's self may deny allies the opportunity to save their lives.
Do not be too quick to scrutinize what you suspect or discover, for the lich quickly makes corpses of the impetuous! For example, as Markil's report also attests, peering into the eyes of a lich minion may result in an attack of ghastly mesmerism that plays havoc with one's senses and attachment to reality. The effects of this attack vary from mild dizziness in one instance to requiring immediate assistance in another. I am uncertain as to how to wholly avoid such contact in combat.
The lich is quite able to enforce its will upon even highly intelligent forms of undead, which leads me to another point of consideration: A lich might actually use a system of organization not unlike modern armies, with subordinate commanders leading individual groups. Thus, if an important undead minion is destroyed by undead hunters, the lich might not be able to control its lesser forces. Depending upon the situation, attacks might be directed at that particular undead in the hope of disrupting the lich's control over many other minions.
Lich minions are treated as creatures with a gaze attack; the rules for such combat are found in the Dungeon Master Guide. Heroes who fall victim to a gaze attack must make a fear check (see Chapter Six, Domains of Dread). On a natural roll of 1, the hero becomes comatose for d4 days. Optionally, the Dungeon Master may require a horror check upon waking.Using the power to control under described in Chapter Two, the lich may appoint lieutenants from its intelligent minions and put them in command by instructing lesser undead to "follow the orders of this creature" (or some similar, simple directive), if the lieutenant is destroyed when the undead army is beyond the lich's radius of control, of the lieutenant's subordinate undead become unguided and behave normally.
If a lich wishes to reveal itself, there is no mistaking it. If you have ever seen a lich undisguised and lived, you surely will recognize another instantly (though it will probably be the last thing you ever recognize - few escape that deadly grasp twice). As a solitary creature, a lich generally takes little trouble to mask its appearance. Thus, the lich in its lair is not the subject of this particular discussion because once you have found the lair, you almost surely have found the lich as well.
It is in the case of the disguised lich that a hunter must be on his guard. In most cases, the eternal quest for power is bound to force the lich into some contact with the outside world. Also, the lich might take an active role in the affairs of the living, seeking to manipulate the balances of power to its own ends or manipulating the living for its own sake. Either way, the lich eventually deals with living people.
In such cases, the undead wizard may assume the guise of a charismatic, benign appearance. On the other hand, I know of a case where a lich disguised itself as a destitute beggar and thus gained entrance to a heavily guarded temple where a holy artifact was thought to have been sufficiently protected. The lich is able to disguise itself almost perfectly, no matter what the facade. It is undead and therefore resistant to the magical prying of detection spells and abilities. Furthermore, with the aid of cosmetic spells and magical items, it can assume the completely convincing appearance of any mortal.
A few spells enable the caster to see through magical masks and disguises, but the lich will guard against such intrusion. I know of one lich that was able to change its shape so effectively that, in effect, it actually became the creature it mimicked. Such a monster would be impossible to detect through most means, magical or otherwise.
The key to foiling the lich is, once again, knowledge. If one knows that a lich walks among mortals, if one knows what a lich seeks, if one knows what poses a threat to a lich's plots, then it is possible to spot the disguised creature, possibly through telltale behavioral inconsistencies or through a process of elimination. Remember that a part of the knowledge equation is what the lich knows, too. In other words, what the lich doesn't know, or what the lich knows that you know, or endless combinations of both factors can come into play. The lich is a monster of genius intelligence; knowledge is its best weapon, but so is knowledge the best weapon against it.
A priest of extreme piety and ability can turn away undead, including the lich. The presentation of a holy symbol by a powerful priest may be the only sure confirmation of a lich's presence, but be warned that a lich can resist the effects of such an attack. A foiled attempt may put the hunter off the scent, discredit him, or worse may alert the lich to the hunter's suspicions. For this reason, I would warn the hunter to reserve this means of discovering his enemy until he either has no choice or no doubts left.
Dungeon Masters are encouraged to be creative in disguising a lich. Remember that these monsters are ultrapowerful wizards who are constantly experimenting with the bounds of magic. While no lich should ever become magically omnipotent, one might create numerous magical items and spells to defy detection and confuse heroes.
As I have read accounts from lone survivors and witnesses of battles with liches, one thing occurs to me again and again: It is absolutely essential to gather as much information as possible about a lich before battling it. In every case I have reviewed, hunters were surprised by magical attacks or traps for which they had no defense. They thought they had prepared for any onslaught, but they always overlooked something that proved to be their downfall. Although I cannot say that they would have been otherwise successful, I can still point out that too many have died through a lack of research and preparation. I may also boast that I have seen two successful lich kills, thanks to exhaustive groundwork.
Unfortunately, there are few ways to observe a lich with one's own eyes without fighting it. Obviously, the best way to observe one is to be very surreptitious. If a lich is within its lair and you must observe it, introduce some sort of spy. A method I would suggest is to trick the lich into accepting a magical device that has some sort of clairvoyant magic attached to it. Since liches rarely leave their lairs if they can help it, there is a good chance that a minion will retrieve the item and, thus, ignorantly lead a hunting party to its master's front door. This spying device also may yield a brief glimpse into the lich's inner sanctum, suggesting a possible route of travel through the lich's lair. You must be prepared to identify the lich's surroundings quickly, though, for the lich is sure to examine the item, identify its treachery, and neutralize it immediately.
As with all plans, there are bound to be some drawbacks in introducing a spy or spying device to the lich's lair. First, it alerts the lich to your intentions. Second, the lich may guess your plan and mislead you. Third, as the following passage from my journal attests, such tricks may bring doom upon some or all of the party. Finally, the lich's lair is the last place one wants to meet with a lich. Far better is it to lure the lich out of its deadly haven, away from its long-considered defenses.
Efforts to defeat a lich within its lair have never succeeded, to my knowledge. In every case, the hunters have succeeded only in driving the lich from its home. I, myself, had a hand in the destruction of but two such creatures (only outside their lairs), a fraction of my general success rate against other undead, even vampires. In only one case was I able to locate and destroy a lich's phylactery.
Belinderissa was stout of heart and more than dedicated to the task of necromantic cleansing, but her seething hatred of undead made her as dangerous to herself as to them. Therefore, I took the precaution of planting a tracking device upon her person when we began our hunt for the Bloody Hand of Souragne. It was but a brooch with some magical identification abilities, but I told her - and let it be generally known - that the jewelry bad some power of revealing the past of objects that it touched. I suggested that Belinderissa might use it to tell if the lich had been in contact with this object or that place, so I could truthfully call it a "tracking device" without offending her pride. What made the brooch important was that I had engraved it with my personal mark, and that I had a ring that would point the way to any object so identified.
Little did I suspect that the Bloody Hand would hear of and come to crave such a device, although I might have guessed as much, had I thought about it. It grievously pains me to remember that Belinderissa was taken and murdered for that relatively useless bauble, yet we were thence able to track the lich through the labyrinthine swamps, prevent it from reaching its safe house, and ultimately exact our revenge upon it.
I'm afraid I have few answers with which to console and edify the lich hunter when he asks how best to defeat a lich. Destroying one of these cursed beasts is an act of such great significance that it pains me to think of a parallel. A simple answer is to attack the monster with a lightning offense, hope to catch it off guard, and pray for a pound of luck! A more difficult answer is that the lich must first be drawn from its lair. One would rarely try to conquer an army ensconced in a fortress; rest assured, the lich is an army in itself, and its fortress is much more than thick stone walls!
Depending on the lich, it can be quite easy or very difficult to lure one out. The easiest method is to defeat a large number of the lich's servitor undead. Since the lich is able to see through its servitors' eyes, it can identify the responsible mortals and make attempts to track them down with more powerful undead.
This strategy has two beneficial yields: First, it reduces the pool of soldiers at the lich's command. Second, and more importantly, it may encourage the lich to take the battle into its own hands, thus forcing it to abandon the safely of its lair. Perceptive strategists may argue that the lich would foresee this tactic and foil it, but I offer this counterstrategy: If the lich attacks the offending mortals personally, it can choose the time and place of the attack, gaining an advantage of surprise. Leaving the lair also prevents mortals from learning its exact location. Should the lich be destroyed during the combat, its soul will return to its phylactery, which is more likely than not secured within the darkest recesses of its lair.
I know of another method for luring the lich from its lair, yet I hesitate to offer it, for it has resulted in the death of a friend. As the last passage from my journal ironically illustrates, the lich may be drawn out of hiding with the promise of magic. If you have something that the lich wants, there's a good chance that it will come to you to get it. Of course, it's not good enough for a lich hunter to walk the streets, shouting, "I've got a very powerful magical item!" The lich is no fool. This ruse worked against the Bloody Hand of Souragne because I, in effect, did not know that I had baited the hook. We were all ignorant of the impending result of my white lie, and so the lich detected no trap.
Can the bait be successfully presented? I believe so, although I have never been able to do so; liches always seem to know, or find out, when you are spreading false information. Take warning: If you do convince a lich that you have something it wants, you may well be courting the fate of Belinderissa.
It's unfortunate, but it should come as no surprise that most hunters will eventually be compelled to enter the lair of a lich. Doing so enables a hunting party to test the lich's defenses and learn more about its tactics. With luck, the party may find a clue to the former identity of the monster - a powerful weapon.
The lich will attack with certain fervor if mortals enter its lair and approach its person, and it will very rarely flee its lair without offering mortal combat to anyone who enters and defeats the safeguards and traps. One can always expect a stand-up (albeit magically intensive) fight with a lich, but within the lair the chances of a fight are even greater. Remember that the habitation is little more than a fortress designed to repel attack of any kind. Numerous traps, both physical and magical, will be around every corner. Faced with this onslaught of artifacts, spells, traps, and innate abilities, I'm afraid that many groups of brave warriors, mages, and priests are defeated all too easily.
For those parties who discover the location of a lich's lair, I suggest starting with short reconnaissance missions that probe bit by bit into the dwelling. Upon any indication that the lich is aware of your presence, ignore all previous findings. You will surely have been duped.
Never, ever challenge the lich if you should stumble across it within its home. Collapse the roof, invoke a magical wall, summon minions of your own to hold it off - but whatever else you do, run!
A lich's body is merely a corrupted, decrepit, temporary vessel for its soul. Destroying its body merely releases its soul to its true resting place: the lich's phylactery.
The phylactery is amulet-sized and shaped. It is typically made of heavy metals or stone and is highly ornate. I have already elaborated upon phylacteries in this text, but I have painfully little other information about them. For all I know, the pendant I wear around my neck - a trophy from the hoard of the Bloody Hand - might be a phylactery, and the lich within is waiting for me to die so that it might occupy my body.
Generally, a lich is able to attempt taking possession of a body from its phylactery, but only a corpse can be possessed. The body must lie within 60 feet of the phylactery for the lich's essence to reach it. There is no limit to the amount of time that the lich may remain within the phylactery. For example, an unsuspecting person might claim the amulet and pass it through multiple generations of his family before it finally gains an opportunity to take possession of a dead body. However, the target body must remain within range of the phylactery for a full day, during which time the lich locates it, deems it suitable for habitation, and performs its ritual of possession.To make the transfer, the lich conducts a sort of attack against the body. The lich may attempt the transfer only once per corpse. The corpse is allowed a saving throw vs. death magic at the same level that the body possessed in life. If the corpse's saving throw is unsuccessful, the lich inhabits the body and is fully restored to its normal Hit Die level of ability.
The lich can also attempt to take over an undead creature. The creature makes a saving throw vs. death magic with a +3 bonus. Failure indicates the undead creature's "spirit" is overtaked by the lich, and the undead being ceases to exist.
As always, Dungeon Masters are encouraged to create variations of the rules so that all-knowing players cannot use them to their advantage. The lich might cast magic jar from the phylactery, thus possessing a living hero's body and either killing him or trapping him within the phylactery until the lich can perform a power ritual. The range of the lich's ability to possess a dead body might be extended or made unlimited. Touching a phylactery without casting dispel magic. on it first might result in instant possession of the person who touches it, or possession of a random person in the room. The possibilities are endless.
Destroying the Phylactery
The only way to destroy a lich completely and irrevocably is to destroy its phylactery. The lich is trapped in a curious predicament in the storing of its phylactery. If its body is destroyed, the spirit instantly becomes trapped (or secured) within the amulet and remains there until it is able to secure another body. If the lich hides the phylactery where it can never be discovered, then it risks eternal imprisonment. It is, therefore, in the lich's best interest to put the phylactery where it could potentially encounter a body to inhabit; the hiding place should be accessible at least to its minion undead, who can provide host bodies. On the other hand, if the lich selects a place where the phylactery might be found, the lich runs the risk of the phylactery being discovered and destroyed.
My opinion is that a phylactery will always remain within relatively easy reach of the lich who made it. If a person has a treasure of inexpressible value, the compulsion to keep it near at hand is almost irresistible. There may be a solid wall and a dozen traps between the phylactery and the rest of the lich's lair, but it will be there, I'm certain.
Destruction of the phylactery is not the simple matter, either. The amulet itself will be protected with magic that prevents its destruction by common, physical means - one cannot simply grasp the vessel and smash it against a rock. It might be made of sturdy materials that naturally resist damage, and upon it are laid enchantments that make its existence fairly permanent, even if it is made of lead. If properly constructed, the phylactery is nearly impossible to destroy with simple physical might.
Perhaps a mage with the ability to undo a multitude of enchantments could destroy a phylactery. Then again, I would not underestimate the power of the priesthood in such matters. Such talent and power are difficult to find, yet the same magical might should be present to battle the lich the first place.
Here is a sample game scenario for the destruction of a phylactery: First, a permanency spell must be negated to make the amulet vulnerable to destruction. Next, a mage or priest must cast dispel magic directly upon the amulet. Doing so will not alter the amulet's ability to contain the lich's soul, but for 1d4 rounds it will make it possible to reach the amulet's protections. At this point, 25 points of physical damage will crush the amulet, releasing the lich's spirit into the ether, forever dispersed and ineffective. For the purposes of determining the success of the dispel magic spell, assume that the lich is at the 18th level of experience.Other means of smashing the phylartery are possible. Any blunt weapon of +3 enchantment or better would harm an amulet. If an amulet cannot be destroyed, it could be blessed and buried in a hallowed grave, forever trapping the lich within. Imagination is the only limit.
Ramifications of Lich Destruction
When a phylactery is destroyed, a vacuum of power is created that may have various effects. The most hopeful outcome is that the evil will dissipate and those creatures and objects under the lich's control will me either free or inert. However, if another lich or other powerful being resides nearby, it may simply step into the place left behind.
Rival beings aside, another concern of those who have defeated a lich and destroyed its phylactery is the possibility that a majority of the lair, if not the entire complex, may be dependent upon lich magic for structural integrity. Persons within such a lair should keep at hand provisions for surviving the lair's imminent collapse.
Even if the victorious group is not in danger of a lair's collapse, the heroes must deal with any surviving undead minions. These servitors, now completely uncontrolled, will revert to their normal behavior. This situation can be nearly as bad as when the lich was in direct control, for the undead creature's hunger for living flesh and souls is well known. Fortunately, servitor undead are largely drawn from less sophisticated undead who have little mental capacity. Their attacks will be undirected, uncoordinated, and less effective compared to when they were guided by a higher authority.
The destruction of a lich's phylactery should send shock waves through the lands for miles around, if not the entire campaign world. This presents an opportunity to introduce new villains, destroy the lich's hoard, and give the heroes a sense of spectacular accomplishment.
The Mystical Hoard
The extreme wealth a lich bequeaths to victors is both a fantastic asset and perhaps the most dangerous cargo possible for people to bear. The sum of a lich's vault can propel a mortal to wondrous status overnight. With so many items, information, and raw power at a person's command, there is little that would not be possible. However, making productive use of such a cache is difficult at best. Possession of even a single object from a lich's lair may draw the attention of unscrupulous mortals bent on securing power for themselves - regardless of the source - and of powerful undead as well, especially other liches.
It is said that in some lands, liches wage open war against each other. If one of them dies, the others are sure to become aware of it within a matter of seconds. (I suspect that each of the other liches have a variety of spells that will alert them of any change in the balance of power.) If knowledge of the demise of a lich is widely known, other liches will hunt any prize that they were unable to gather when it was first discovered. In the eyes of an evil creature, taking a coveted item from even a powerful hero is much easier (and likely more appealing) than taking it from a lich. Considering the power of even a "common" lich, the sentiment is understandable.
Then, too, it is far simpler (relatively speaking) to defeat a lich than to destroy one. A hero who satisfies himself with the acquisition of a lich hoard, without destroying its owner, is taking a terrible risk! Liches have formidable memories, and they will exterminate one's children's children's children to retrieve what has been taken from them.
I suggest that the only act that would ensure that mortals are no longer troubled by a lich's "toys" is for lich hunters to destroy every object they encounter in a lair, the lich included. Only then can they return to their homes in peace and without the fear of retribution or ambush. Devices held within such lairs are the products of evil. They were forged by black fires, crafted with dead hands, and enchanted with arcane necromancy. They should be destroyed, for they were not ever meant to be used by mortal hands.
The presence of the undead is a boil upon the land. They must be removed if the rightful owners of the world - the living mortals - are ever to enjoy the peace they deserve. I strenuously recommend the destruction of all a lich's enchanted items, including its alchemical notes. Even that will leave us with a lair that may tempt other creatures of evil to inhabit it, to stoke the cold fires within once more like a recurring malignant growth. It is best to convert the lair, if possible, to uses that are beneficial to humanity. A responsible lich hunter will notify local authorities and priests of the vacancy of a lich's lair, as well as the status of its phylactery.
Still, the stench is thick amongst temples of evil, and they are not easily cleansed. Barring conversion to more a useful state, the best course of action is to completely reduce a lair to dust, then seal it from intrusion for all eternity.
At the Dungeon Master's option, every (or nearly every) object found within a lair may be considered to be cursed. The use of such items may result in reversed effects, the summoning of a powerful evil being, or a powers check (perhaps at double the normal chance of failing).
