There's no reason that I know of that a lich couldn't be a bard. With magical secrets ability they could be solely bard with no wizard levels. They don't breathe so some instruments might be tricky to use though.
They don't make very good PCs though unless you are running a very overpowered campaign. If you wanted a PC to be a lich you could reskin a revenant with wizard or sorcerer levels.
Honestly, you can just remake the entire spell list for a Lich into a Bard if you like. I fully suggest you go ahead and just make the spell list for a level 18 Bard and put it on a Lich. Now just to design that epic Lich Saxophone.
If you had a cabal of Bard liches you could call them the Grateful Undead. Gonna have to put this in one of my campaigns somewhere down the line. My players should get a huge kick outoof this. Thanks!
On another note, in prior editions, you could have liches who weren't wizards. In my first campaign ever, one "ally" of our party was a cleric lich, and it was stated in the lich template that wizards AND sorcerers were the most common types. The only prerequisite to becoming a lich was being an 11th level caster (meaning a full spellcaster) and having the feat that let you craft Wondrous Items.
In 5th edition, it seems that being a lich requires you to have access to the Imprisonment spell. "A lich must periodically feed souls to its phylactery to sustain the magic preserving its body and consciousness. It does this using the imprisonment spell." At least according to this small excerpt from the Monster Manual. So, that's going to be difficult for anyone but wizards, some bards and warlocks to pull off. And that spell is tier 9, requiring a level 17 or so spellcaster. Quite a bit more on the high end of the power scale here, making it a rather tricky antagonist to use if you keep 5th ed lore.
Warlocks seem to have the ability to turn into a lich-like being, known as Deathlocks, ala Mordenkeinen's Tome of Foes p128, with a wider range of CR and abilities than the lich, though not exactly retaining free will.
In all truth, the easiest thing for you to do as a DM is to give a lich spells off of the bard spell list, switch it's Intelligence and Charisma, and make its spellcasting ability Charisma. If you want you could give it Cutting Words and Peerless Skill. Then be sure to have a good reason why a bard gained power over death. It sounds like a fun idea and I would love to hear how a group responds.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
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Is it possible to have a lich multiclass as a bard for both an NPC or a PC
There's no reason that I know of that a lich couldn't be a bard. With magical secrets ability they could be solely bard with no wizard levels. They don't breathe so some instruments might be tricky to use though.
They don't make very good PCs though unless you are running a very overpowered campaign. If you wanted a PC to be a lich you could reskin a revenant with wizard or sorcerer levels.
Honestly, you can just remake the entire spell list for a Lich into a Bard if you like. I fully suggest you go ahead and just make the spell list for a level 18 Bard and put it on a Lich. Now just to design that epic Lich Saxophone.
Do it! If you haven't played Crypt of the NecroDancer--that could offer a lot of inspiration.
If you had a cabal of Bard liches you could call them the Grateful Undead. Gonna have to put this in one of my campaigns somewhere down the line. My players should get a huge kick outoof this. Thanks!
He better specialize in death metal.
On another note, in prior editions, you could have liches who weren't wizards. In my first campaign ever, one "ally" of our party was a cleric lich, and it was stated in the lich template that wizards AND sorcerers were the most common types. The only prerequisite to becoming a lich was being an 11th level caster (meaning a full spellcaster) and having the feat that let you craft Wondrous Items.
In 5th edition, it seems that being a lich requires you to have access to the Imprisonment spell. "A lich must periodically feed souls to its phylactery to sustain the magic preserving its body and consciousness. It does this using the imprisonment spell." At least according to this small excerpt from the Monster Manual. So, that's going to be difficult for anyone but wizards, some bards and warlocks to pull off. And that spell is tier 9, requiring a level 17 or so spellcaster. Quite a bit more on the high end of the power scale here, making it a rather tricky antagonist to use if you keep 5th ed lore.
Warlocks seem to have the ability to turn into a lich-like being, known as Deathlocks, ala Mordenkeinen's Tome of Foes p128, with a wider range of CR and abilities than the lich, though not exactly retaining free will.
In all truth, the easiest thing for you to do as a DM is to give a lich spells off of the bard spell list, switch it's Intelligence and Charisma, and make its spellcasting ability Charisma. If you want you could give it Cutting Words and Peerless Skill. Then be sure to have a good reason why a bard gained power over death. It sounds like a fun idea and I would love to hear how a group responds.
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett