Medium undead, any evil
Armor Class: 17 (natural armour)
Hit Points: 135 18d8+54
Speed:
29 ft
Saving Throws: Con +10, Int +12, Wis +9
Skills: Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9
Damage Resistances: Cold, Lightning, Necrotic
Damage Immunities: Poison, Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses: Truesight 120 ft, passive Perception 19
Languages: Common, plus up to five other languages
Challenge Rating: 21
The lich is an 18th level spellcaster: it's spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). The lich has the following spells prepared:
1st level (4 slots Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Shield, Thunderwave.
At will: Cantrips: Magic Hand, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost.
1/day: 6th level: Disintegrate, Globe of Invulnerability.
7th level: Finger of Death, Plane Shift.
8th level: Dominate Monster, Power Word Stun.
9th level: Power Word Kill.
3/day: 2nd level: Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Melf's Acid Arrow, Mirror Image.
3rd level: Animate Dead, Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fireball.
4th level: Blight, Dimension Door.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed lich a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all of it's hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5-feet of it's phylactery.
Turn Resistance. The lich as advantage on saving throws on any effect that turns undead.
Actions
Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack, reach 5 ft, one creature. Hit 10 3d6 cold damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of it's turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions
The lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The lich regains spent legendary actions at the start of it's turn.
- Cantrip. The lich casts a cantrip.
- Paralyzing Touch (Costs 2 Actions). The lich uses it's Paralyzing Touch.
- Frightening Gaze (Costs 2 Actions). The lich fixes it's gaze on one creature it can see within 10 feet of it. The creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of it's turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect end for it, the target is immune to the lich's gaze for the next 24 hours.
- Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 20-feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 6d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the lich can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the lich can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- The lich rolls a d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If it has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.
- The lich targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. A crackling cord of negative energy tethers the lich to one target. Whenever the lich takes damage, the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the lich takes half the damage (rounded down), and the target takes the remaining damage. The tether lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round or until the lich or the target is no longer in the liches lair.
- The lich calls forth spirits of creatures that died in it's lair. These apparitions materialize and attack one creature that the lich can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 52 15d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. The apparitions then disappear.
A lich often the abode it favoured in life, such as a lonely tower, or an academy of black magic. Alternatively some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians and traps. Everything about a liches lair reflects it's keen mind and wicked cunning, including the magic and mundane traps that secure it. Undead, constructs, and bound demons lurk in shadowy recesses, emerging to destroy those who dare to disturb the liches work.
A lich encountered in it's lair has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).
A lich is an undead wizard who has found a specific method to gain immortality. It cares little for anything outside a lust for power at any cost, and a deep seated need for more study of magic. It's body is now a skeletal frame with a dried out layer of skin, flesh and tissue pulled tight over it's bones. No eyes exist, just pinpricks of glowing red light. Each dresses in clothing & jewellery it preferred in life, those these are mouldy, and jaded.
They conceive plans that can take years, decades, even centuries to come full circle. All this comes from a time in a liches life when it is still mortal. It starts to gather information spells, and supplies to the well-guarded secret that is involved with it's impending lichdom. Only the most powerful evil entities and gods have the ability to supply a wizard with this knowledge and it comes at a terrible price. Each of these beings demand full fealty and servitude when making a pact with a wizard. By doing so, the soul of the lich will stay in the Material Plane and not pass through to the Outer Planes.
The first step a wizard must do is build & magically bind their soul into a phylactery. This prevents the soul escaping. The phylactery is tradionally an amulet in the shape if a small box, though it can be any form that can have the inside inscribed with magical incantations to trap the soul. At this point the would be lich drinks a potion of transformation - a vile concoction of poison with the blood of a sentient creature whose soul is sacrificed to the phylactery releasing the soul of the lich back into it's body which previously dropped dead.
When this is successful the lich must feed the phylactery a soul to sustain the magical bindings in it. The lich will use an Imprisonment spell, and instead of using one of the standard options, it uses an option to trap the soul of the victim in the phylactery. Both phylactery and victim must be on the same plane of existence for this to work. The soul is only held for 24 hours before being devoured and another put in. If a Dispel Magic spell is cast on the phylactery as a 9th level spell, the soul is released and the process fails. If this is not maintained, where by the lich itself, or a favoured servant, then the lich starts to gradually decay, eventually becoming a demilich.
When a lich is destroyed and the phylactery remains, the lich will resurrect in glowing smoke near the phylactery in a new body. The only way to prevent it is the destruction of the phylactery itself. This is highly dangerous, as each phylactery is protected deep in the liches lair, surrounded by loyal troops, traps and magic. Even if got to, it usually requires a unique ritual, spell and/or magic item to destroy, or even a mix of these.
Liches usually are loners, though a few will have contacts throughout a region or even world. That and the spells to summon all matter of creatures & followers to it. Each are usually too busy to actively seek out minions, but with it's power & riches a few minions can be found when trapped, injured or killed trying to get at the phylactery, the library of the lich, or treasure hoard. A lich is a hoarder by nature and regularly seeks out new magic items, and spells to add to it's collection. Some are actively used by it, such as certain wands, scrolls, magical jewellery, and magical clothing.
As an undead being the lich doesn't require air, sleep, food, or drink.
Suggested Environments
Liches are found in any number of lairs hidden away from prying eyes, though their lairs tend to mimic magical labs, buried in old caves, ruins, towers, or strongholds.
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