School of Lichcraft

Death holds no sway over the undead mages known as liches, who have unlocked the secrets of everlasting life. Using their esoteric phylacteries and by exploiting the arcane energy held within souls, these mages learn how to tap into a great but dark power. Wizards of the School of Lichcraft seek to emulate the abilities of these liches, without ever fully realizing the transformation.

Soul keeper

Beginning when you choose this tradition at 2nd level, you can draw the souls of the dead towards you and use their spiritual energy for your own purposes. You have a number of souls in your possession equal to your wizard level, which you can spend to use one of the following abilities:

Consume Soul. As a bonus action, you can spend 1 to 3 souls to regain a number of missing hit points equal to 1d6 per soul spent plus your Intelligence modifier.

Forgotten Knowledge. When you roll an ability check, you can spend 1 soul to make the roll with advantage.

Keeper's Might. When you cast a wizard spell of 1st level or higher that targets one or more creatures, you can spend a number of souls up to your Intelligence modifier and choose one of the spell’s targets. The chosen creature takes an additional 1d6 necrotic damage per soul you spend.

When a creature within 30 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, you regain 1 soul, and when you finish a long rest, you regain all spent souls.

Voice of the grave

At 6th level, your connection to undeath allows you to project your voice and will through the veil between life and death. You can cast the speak with dead spell at will. When you cast it, you can choose to target an undead with it, provided the undead is otherwise incapable of speech.

Undead Thralls

At 6th level, you add the animate dead spell to your spellbook if it is not there already. When you cast animate dead, you can target one additional corpse or pile of bones, creating another zombie or skeleton, as appropriate.

Whenever you create an undead using a necromancy spell, it has additional benefits:

• The creature’s hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your wizard level.
• The creature adds your proficiency bonus to its weapon damage rolls.

Lesser phylactery

At 10th level, you’ve figured out how to safeguard your own soul by binding part of it to an object. As part of a long rest, you can choose to infuse a Tiny non-magical object with a measure of your soul and arcane energy, transforming it into a phylactery. Your phylactery is immune to poison and psychic damage, has a number of hit points equal to twice your wizard level and an armor class equal to 14 + your proficiency bonus.

While your phylactery is on your person, you have advantage on death saving throws, do not age and are immune to being magically aged. You can also use your phylactery as an arcane focus for your wizard spells. In addition, at any point when you would be killed, your phylactery is instead immediately destroyed, returning you to life with half your hit point maximum rounded down. If you were suffering from any disease, condition or curse before your death, you return to life with these cured. Any missing limbs or organs are also restored.

If your phylactery is destroyed, either through your resurrection or by it getting reduced to 0 hit points, you can create a new one as part of another long rest. If you attempt to create a second phylactery, the first one immediately ceases to function.

Profane Life Force

Profane Life Force

Beginning at 10th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage, and your hit point maximum can’t be reduced. You have spent so much time dealing with undead and the forces that animate them that you have become inured to some of their worst effects.

Avatar of undeath

At 14th level, you’ve learnt how to temporarily take on the form of a true lich. As an action, you can spend 5 souls to take on the form of a true lich for 1 minute, until you are killed, or until you choose to end it as a bonus action. You immediately gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your wizard level, and for the duration, you gain the following benefits:

• You are immune to necrotic and poison damage, as well as the poisoned condition.
• You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and can hover.
• Whenever an undead creature attempts to attack you or target you with a harmful spell, it must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it must choose to target a different creature within range. If there are no other creatures within range, the attack or spell is wasted.