Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed lich gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery.
Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). The lich has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, shield, burning hands, thunderwave, charm person
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image, silence, darkness
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fly, major image, fireball, lightning bolt, bestow curse, glyph of warding, nondetection, magic circle, haste, blink
4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door, summon fiend, phantasmal killer, resilient sphere, greater invisibility
5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, cone of cold, scrying, conjure elemental, telekinesis, modify memory, dominate person, wall of force, arcane hand
6th level (1 slot): sphere of spell immunity, chain lightning, disintegrate, create undead, eyebite, contingency, flesh to stone, magic jar, soul cage
7th level (1 slot): finger of death, negative energy blast, teleport, plane shift, prismatic spray, etherealness, reverse gravity
8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun, feeblemind, horrid wilting
9th level (1 slot): power word kill, foresight, time stop, meteor swarm, gate
Turn Resistance. The lich has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) cold damage. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
The lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The lich regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Cantrip. The lich casts a cantrip.
Paralyzing Touch (Costs 2 Actions). The lich uses its Paralyzing Touch.
Frightening Gaze (Costs 2 Actions). The lich fixes its gaze on one creature it can see within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the lich's gaze for the next 24 hours.
Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 20 feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Description
Liches are archwizards, driven to transform themselves into monsters, due to their hunger for immortality, knowledge, power, and to study the dark arts, such as necromancy. They are extremely dangerous, and hard to destroy. Liches bind their soul to an object, and can reform their bodies if destroyed.
In order to satisfy their obsession with avoiding death, a dark wizard might undergo the necromancy process of transforming into a Lich to exist forever. Only the most powerful archwizards can even attempt the ritual. The process is deeply evil, involving horrifically evil acts, and to even gain the knowledge of the ritual requires a pact with a dark entity. After the transformation, the body continues to rot away, but the mind and soul survives in the now zombified or skeletal body, retaining the powerful wizard spell abilities they had in life, and enabling them to continue their studies and schemes indefinitely. Some of these schemes don’t come to fruition until centuries later, and the Lich will be there waiting to reap the benefits of their plans.
A Necromancer is a spellcaster whose primary ability is animating corpses and controlling them. Necromancers use these undead slaves to create armies, but can also use them as labourers to build their fortresses. Necromancers are sometimes dark wizards who intend to use these armies as a means to conquer a region and take political power. Because of this, necromancers often act in secret, biding their time until the perfect moment before suddenly and unexpectedly unleashing their armies of undead on specific targets. Necromancers therefore often engage in decades long geopolitical schemes and strategy.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Lich’s Lair
A lich often haunts the abode it favored in life, such as a lonely tower, a haunted ruin, or an academy of black magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians and traps.
Everything about a lich’s lair reflects its keen mind and wicked cunning, including the magic and mundane traps that secure it. Undead, constructs, and bound demons lurk in shadowy recesses, emerging to destroy those who dare to disturb the lich’s work.
A lich encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the lich can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the lich can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- The lich rolls a d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If it has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.
- The lich targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. A crackling cord of negative energy tethers the lich to the target. Whenever the lich takes damage, the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the lich takes half the damage (rounded down), and the target takes the remaining damage. This tether lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round or until the lich or the target is no longer in the lich’s lair.
- The lich calls forth the spirits of creatures that died in its lair. These apparitions materialize and attack one creature that the lich can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, taking 52 (15d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. The apparitions then disappear.