Lich Aspirant

You've always been plagued with the concerns of your mortality, and dedicated many years of life to circumventing it. Called a horror, a plague, a monster, evil, and so on, you ignored the concerns of other folk and ascended to lichdom. Free from the concerns of death, you busied yourself with whatever aims appealed to you, with all the time of all the realms at your disposal. Or so you thought.

After a fateful encounter - perhaps of your causing, perhaps of overzealous folk in the name of righteousness - you were defeated and forced into your phylactery. Either as a twist of fate, or from flawed design and research on your part, you were shocked to find yourself reborn but with barely any trace of your former power, restored into a mortal body, and your phylactery destroyed.

Memories of your past life as a lich come to you only in parts, hidden in a haze as if from a dream long ago. You now find yourself in a position of restarting your life, and facing the dangers of mortality once again. It is now left to you to decide to pursue your former aspirations, or a new life entirely, as perhaps lichdom is more difficult and complex than you originally thought.

Work with your DM to sort out the details of your former life as a lich. Were you a powerful source of undeath, leading an army in conquest? Were you a necromancer that simply overreached his abilities? Were you a famous source of evil, feared by all, and hunted by righteous adventurers? Were you a little known hermit, risen to lichdom and discovered by wayfarers? Did you exist for a few years, or persist for ages? Did you seek world domination, or even godhood? Did you become a lich with a mundane goal, such as spending centuries to become the world's greatest chef? Did you exist and get defeated days ago, or did your flawed phylactery take months, years, or even generations before restoring you? Have you been restored as you were, or have you been restored younger/older, or even as a different race entirely? Be creative, and have fun with the concept!

Suggested Characteristics

When chosing your ideals, bonds, and flaws, consider your past life and what impacts that may have on your new existence. For example, your bond may be to your old tower, or laboratory, or perhaps an old acquaintance or love interest that you seek again. Perhaps your ideals haven't changed much, and you still seek some means of immortality, or perhaps you've decided to give up on that idea entirely, or perhaps becoming a lich was a means to a greater end that you still pursue. 

d8	Personality Trait
1	I sought to conquer the lands, and now I have a new chance.
2	I became a lich in a bid toward godhood, and I will be a god, so help me.
3	I once feared death, but after my failed bid as a lich, I'd rather live life to the fullest.
4	I was a loner when I ascended to lichdom, but now I see the value in living allies and seek to make some.
5	I still obsess with immortality, and now I think perhaps vampirism is the answer.
6	Defeated by righteous folk, I now see the power of light, and seek a god of good to serve.
7	Clerics defeated me in the name of good, but to me they seem violent and unreasonable.
8	I have a chance at a new life, and I plan to take advantage of it.

d6	Ideal
1	Freedom. All should be free to do as they wish with their lives. (Chaotic)
2	Power. Only fools are a slave to death, and I am no fool. (Evil)
3	Life. Life is meant to be lived, and all should value the briefness of existence. (Good)
4	Nature. The natural order cannot be upset. I know, for I tried to. (Neutral)
5	Order. Order must be upheld, and none are above the law. (Lawful)
6	Knowledge. Nothing is more valuable in this world than information. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	My old tower/lair is out there, and I wish to find and reclaim it.
2	I had a great construct/minion/lackey to serve me, and I seek to learn their fate.
3	I had a journal/tome that contains my most prized information, and I must recover it.
4	Reborn, I desire only to learn more of those that defeated me before.
5	I had a family once, and now I feel I owe this new life to them.
6	I see now my past life was evil, and I dedicate this life to making reparations got all I did.

d6	Flaw
1	I'm still horrified of death, and will run from anything I think may kill me.
2	Power is all I desire, and I seek it by any means or sacrifice necessary.
3	Now that I live anew, I will enjoy all the pleasures to be found in life.
4	Any chance at forbidden knowledge is a temptation I cannot resist.
5	As a side effect of my past, I sometimes zone out completely.
6	My memory is still damaged, and I occasionally forget things at the worst time.