28 replies to this topic

[Kish]

Arch-Liches, and some other kind. Not regular liches. Which means that Kagnax's guardians make no sense.

I'm not sure what your sources are. By the 2ed Monstrous Compendium, yes, liches can be good, without being Arch-Liches or anything other than liches. In 3ed it's a little more obscure--the entry on good liches is in the Forgotten Realms Monster Manual rather than the basic Monster Manual--but, again, liches can be good.

[Archmage Silver]

If they were good in life, they could be that in death. But again, power corrupts.

[T.G.Maestro]

By the 2ed Monstrous Compendium, yes, liches can be good, without being Arch-Liches or anything other than liches.

Indeed, they can be of any alignment.

Was Kankaxx already a demi lich or did the pieces of his body start the ritual when they were returned to him?

He was a Demi-Lich way before his "death" and imprisonment in the past. His golden body was constructed by himself to offer him additional magical potential. Normally Demi-Liches lose their bodies, and so did he - the golden skeleton is not his original shell.

[khay]

The transformation into a lich grants high amount of powers, both arcane and not. And it also brings some disadvantages, since liches lack emotions and love and some mages actually prefer to give it all away for the sake of knowledge; they live for knowledge because they are well aware of the 'Knowledge is power' philosophy. The transformation itself is a delicate process, or ritual if you wish.

First of all the mage needs to learn powerful spells in order to be able to start the process, spells which, of course, are in the sphere of Necromancy. Secondary objective is the creation of a phylactery: a container or vessel which will house their spirit (liches can only be destroyed if the phylactery is destroyed as well, otherwise they will return to life.. or rather unlife). The object itself is not large, usually a small amulet in the shape of a box, often made of pure silver and rarely of steel. Once the phylactery is created, the mage casts a certain amount of spells to enchant the amulet and casts his spirit into it.

However, things aren`t that simple: the mage must also drink a specially concocted potion of transformation. The potion itself is composed of various secret ingredients and it instantly kills the mage upon drinking it; major ingredients are various poisons of rare creatures (such as manticores, wyverns, rare species of scorpions etc.), poisonous herbs (arsenic and belladonna come to my mind) and a heart of a sentient creature. The potion must be drank at full moon otherwise the mage dies without completing the transformation; there`s also a chance that the mage will die anyway, since, upon drinking the potion, a system shock roll is required and if the mage`s constitution fails, he dies without hope of resurrection.

After the spirit finds its way into the phylactery, it must stay there for at least three days; afterwards the lich may re-enter his previous life`s body. This is a very grievous and exhausting process, such as the lich must rest a week after posessing a body. During this time he`s unable to cast spells or perform physical labor, he`s limited to meditation and reading.

Afterwards.. Armageddon...

[Schatten]

Normally Demi-Liches lose their bodies

the bodies become dust but they can reconstruct it if he wishes.

[Lady LeFay]

so Edwin should count his blessings that all the nether scroll did is change his sex!

[Bane]

Losing body, becoming a woman, Losing body, becoming a woman,

I think he lost out :^^:

[Lady LeFay]

Yea, my guess is that he mistranslated the scroll.