New DM here with a player whose character is some form of undead. In his backstory his entire clan was wiped out by a rival clan and he was brought back by a god to fight in that god's name. The thing is, he wasn't resurrected or anything like that. He is still dead, but not. He has a homebrew ability to temporarily take on a less corporeal form of himself, and (he doesn't know it yet, but} as he levels up he will gain other undead abilities, eventually not needing sleep, food, etc.
My problem is, this campaign is heavy with liches, with the big bad being Acererak. I'm not sure how a lich would react to an undead PC. Because this PC has no soul to funnel into his phylactery, would the lich not be interested in him? Would the lich not be able to control him? Or would it be easier for the lich to control him? Would the PC have an easier time blending in with the lich's undead minions? Are there other obvious questions I should be asking?
think about it. he has no soul, so the lich isn't interested in him as a commercial thing, no soul=nothing to control, he can blend in easily,
but how do you think acrecak would respond? to a being who is as deathless as he, a being he doesn't have to be scared of, a being he wont be tempeted to funnel into his phylactery? think about it. an eternal existence is mighty lonely... if only he had a friend....
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About Me: Godless monster in human form bent on extending their natural life to unnatural extremes /general of the goose horde /Moderator of Vinstreb School for the Gifted /holder of the evil storyteller badge of no honor /king of madness /The FBI/ The Archmage of I CAST...!
Alignment: Lawful Evil
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I agree with Capatin_Crunch above. This is a great opportunity to sow some discord in the party by having the lich extend an olive branch to the undead PC. I've had a similar experience - one of my players became a vampire and, later down the line, they were summoned to Barovia for a dinner with Strahd, who offered an alliance to mutual gain. It was very interesting.
Thank you for your input. I don't see Acererak as being one who is looking for a buddy. I think a friend might eventually see himself as an equal to Acererak, and I don't think Acererak would stand for anyone thinking he was an equal. But I do like the idea of him finding someone he can keep eternally as a plaything or a pet. So maybe he could entice the undead PC to turn on his allies, maybe with false promises of power or something.
As far as lesser liches, no they wouldn't be interested in a soul that isn't there, but they would still see him as an enemy if he were to show up with a party that was trying to kill the lich. So if the lich were to find a way to cast Animate Dead on the undead PC, who strictly speaking is a corpse, would the lich then be able to control the PC for 24 hours? Or should I have the PC make a saving throw? Or would the spell not work because he's already undead?
I apologize for my ignorance. Thank you again for your help.
P.S. Capatin_Crunch: Awesome signature! I'll be sure to find your threads and get you more power.
Liches mostly aren't interested in PCs for their souls anyway; commoners have souls too and are way easier to harvest. Liches are interested in PCs because they're powerful, and thus either dangerous enemies or useful tools. Being undead does not meaningfully influence that calculation.
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New DM here with a player whose character is some form of undead. In his backstory his entire clan was wiped out by a rival clan and he was brought back by a god to fight in that god's name. The thing is, he wasn't resurrected or anything like that. He is still dead, but not. He has a homebrew ability to temporarily take on a less corporeal form of himself, and (he doesn't know it yet, but} as he levels up he will gain other undead abilities, eventually not needing sleep, food, etc.
My problem is, this campaign is heavy with liches, with the big bad being Acererak. I'm not sure how a lich would react to an undead PC. Because this PC has no soul to funnel into his phylactery, would the lich not be interested in him? Would the lich not be able to control him? Or would it be easier for the lich to control him? Would the PC have an easier time blending in with the lich's undead minions? Are there other obvious questions I should be asking?
Thank you for any help you can give.
think about it. he has no soul, so the lich isn't interested in him as a commercial thing, no soul=nothing to control, he can blend in easily,
but how do you think acrecak would respond? to a being who is as deathless as he, a being he doesn't have to be scared of, a being he wont be tempeted to funnel into his phylactery? think about it. an eternal existence is mighty lonely... if only he had a friend....
Pronouns: Any/All
About Me: Godless monster in human form bent on extending their natural life to unnatural extremes /general of the goose horde /Moderator of Vinstreb School for the Gifted /holder of the evil storyteller badge of no honor /king of madness /The FBI/ The Archmage of I CAST...!
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Fun Fact: i gain more power the more you post on my forum threads. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
I agree with Capatin_Crunch above. This is a great opportunity to sow some discord in the party by having the lich extend an olive branch to the undead PC. I've had a similar experience - one of my players became a vampire and, later down the line, they were summoned to Barovia for a dinner with Strahd, who offered an alliance to mutual gain. It was very interesting.
Thank you for your input. I don't see Acererak as being one who is looking for a buddy. I think a friend might eventually see himself as an equal to Acererak, and I don't think Acererak would stand for anyone thinking he was an equal. But I do like the idea of him finding someone he can keep eternally as a plaything or a pet. So maybe he could entice the undead PC to turn on his allies, maybe with false promises of power or something.
As far as lesser liches, no they wouldn't be interested in a soul that isn't there, but they would still see him as an enemy if he were to show up with a party that was trying to kill the lich. So if the lich were to find a way to cast Animate Dead on the undead PC, who strictly speaking is a corpse, would the lich then be able to control the PC for 24 hours? Or should I have the PC make a saving throw? Or would the spell not work because he's already undead?
I apologize for my ignorance. Thank you again for your help.
P.S. Capatin_Crunch: Awesome signature! I'll be sure to find your threads and get you more power.
Liches mostly aren't interested in PCs for their souls anyway; commoners have souls too and are way easier to harvest. Liches are interested in PCs because they're powerful, and thus either dangerous enemies or useful tools. Being undead does not meaningfully influence that calculation.