Lich

Through the use of powerful spells, items and incantations, users of magic have long been able to prolong their mortal lives beyond what is considered to be the standard life expectancy for their particular race. To continue pushing back the fingers of death is a goal that requires years of training, study and research. Although the magic can sustain an individual's life force, inevitably their body will continue to age and wither away as time marches on. Much of this time is spent in further research and this can easily become an all consuming struggle for those concerned.

Evil mages (especially necromancers) and clerics who serve the dark gods have been known to take a different route in the search for what is, essentially, eternal life. Rather than fighting death, they have sought to embrace it, making use of their familiarity with the dark forces acquired through years of evil practise. The end result is that they become liches, creatures that are among the most powerful of the undead.

Having turned its back on life a lich's body will begin to decay. The process continues until all that remains is the creature's skeleton. This may not be readily apparent, however, as a lich will appear in the fine garments and robes that it would have worn in its natural form.

A lich retains the ability to use spells that it had in its previous existence, while this new form grants it immunity to many types of magic and weapons that others may try to use against it.

The simple touch of these creatures can cause injury and death and those not already frozen in terror at the sight of this monster may also become paralysed (unfortunately, having been afflicted, no-one has ever lived long enough to determine if the paralysis is only a temporary condition).

Liches have glowing red eyes which are able to transfix an opponent. This leaves the victim unable to take any action or to defend themselves. The use of this power takes a significant amount of concentration on the part of the creature, which is then limited to controlling any of the legions of the undead that may be nearby.

Liches that were once clerics appear to have a special affinity with other undead creatures. Anyone foolish enough to invade the lair of one of these monsters is likely to encounter several "lesser" undead (acting as guards and servants) before running into the head creature. It's wise to think of these early meetings as warnings of what lies ahead and that, assuming a quick death has been avoided, turning back now is the best course of action.

In the unlikely event that it should require assistance, any lich is able to summon aid to its location. This is accomplished simply as a result of concentration and help will appear in the form of whatever undead is in the local area. While reinforcements can take a few minutes to arrive, this is still extremely bad news for any opponent of the lich.

Link to source site: <http://www.nascr.net/~jcburd/cofc_lich.htm>