Homebrew Lich Species Details
Please note!
This race is not meant to be balanced and not meant to be used as a starting class. It's a transformation that is meant to be used in cooperation with your DM to create a scenario where it makes sense to transform.
Physical description
Liches are generally gaunt and skeletal with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones, but can vary greatly in appearance depending on their age. Some appear as skeletons dressed in regal finery, yet others might appear to be nothing more than lepers. Bright pinpoints of crimson light burn in the empty sockets of those whose eyes had been destroyed or otherwise lost or were so old they had simply rotted away. They are often clad in dark, tattered robes. When moving, they seem to glide as if floating on water.
Liches often do not have lips or the necessary organs to produce natural speech, but they have the ability to project speech from their mouths magically, moving the jaw (if present) to aid the illusion.
The Lich's Phylactery
The process of achieving lichdom requires that the spellcaster construct a powerful magical artifact, a phylactery, in which the lich stores its life essence. As long as this phylactery is unharmed, the lich is immortal and will attempt to reassemble if it is ever vanquished (this happened within 10 days after its apparent destruction). It does not, however, grant any of the normal benefits of a phylactery until it is fully completed. For these reasons, liches take great care in protecting their phylactery from harm, employing decoys, traps, and other defenses.
The most common physical form for a phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases had been transcribed. Other forms of phylacteries exist, often small or tiny trinkets such as rings, amulets, or similar items. It can also take other shapes if the lich expended more gold and experience to make such alterations.
When the phylactery is created, the wizard transfers a bit of life force into the creation. While crafting the phylactery taxes the physical strength of the caster, the materials and components can easily exceed 120,000 gp. Overall, creating a phylactery is very daunting task for anyone of arcane power.
Lich Traits
Your lich character has the following traits.Prerequisites
To become a lich you must be at least 8th level, be a wizard, sorcerer or cleric (unless otherwise specified in a variant) and must have the means to become a lich (A phylactery and/or sufficient magical power).
Lich transformation
As a lich, any racial traits that you had beforehand are carried over unless otherwise specified below with the exception of any traits that rely exclusively on eyes and/or skin (such as darkvision).
Age
A Lich is immortal.
Alignment
Normal Liches are almost always evil.
Speed
Your base movement speed is 30.
Sight of the Lich
You can see normally in darkness, both magical and non-magical, to a distance of 120 feet.
As your power increases at 16th level you learn to hone your superior sight and gain 60 feet truesight next to your darkvision (your total upgraded sight is still 120 feet).
As you become even more powerful at 20th level you gain truesight of 120 feet (meaning the darkvision is obsolete).
Lich hover
Because of your increased magical power at 11th level you gain a flight speed equal to your movement speed. This flight acts like your normal movement but you can move up to a maximum of 5 feet off the ground.
At 16th level your maximum height increases to 20 feet off the ground.
Lich resistance
As a lich you gain numerous resistances and immunities.
- Damage resistances: cold, necrotic
- Damage immunities: poison
- Condition immunities: charmed, frightened, poisoned, disease
At 16th level you gain additional resistances
- Damage resistances: lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Rejuvenation
If they have 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.
Undead Nature
You do not require air, food, drink, or sleep as you are undead.
Soul Sacrifices
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. Instead of choosing one of the normal options of the spell, the lich uses the spell to magically trap the target's body and soul inside its phylactery. The phylactery must be on the same plane as the lich for the spell to work. A lich's phylactery can hold only one creature at a time, and a dispel magic cast as a 9th-level spell upon the phylactery releases any creature imprisoned within it. A creature imprisoned in the phylactery for 24 hours is consumed and destroyed utterly, whereupon nothing short of divine intervention can restore it to life. A lich that fails or forgets to maintain its body with sacrificed souls begins to physically fall apart, and might eventually become a demilich.
Lich powers
When you become a lich you gain the chill touch cantrip.
At 11th level you can, using an action, cast Paralyzing Touch as a cantrip.
Paralyzing Touch
Melee Spell Attack: reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3d6 cold damage. The target must succeed on a 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.
Evil aura
If you are of an evil alignment you gain an aura of 20 feet in which other creatures will immediately know your exact alignment.
When a creature of any alignment enters your aura you get proficiency on your intimidation rolls but disadvantage on any rolls made for deception or persuasion.
You gain double proficiency if the creature is of the exact opposite as you. For example: if you are Chaotic Evil and the creature is Lawful Good your proficiency bonus is doubled
Previous Versions
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