Sunday 6 March 2016

Dungeon Master: 10,000 Year Old Lich

As far as enemies and NPCs go, Liches are a lot of fun. However, I generally liked having neutral versions of typically evil types of characters. I also found myself wondering what lich so old that it was considered old by lich standards would look like. The below was what occurred as a result.

Backstory

The players found this lich in a completely sealed underground laboratory where the lich was working away on its unlife's work. At the time they were quite low level (level 3 if I recall correctly) and naturally were quite concerned about running into one so early. They were noticed and were surprised that the lich was pretty relaxed about the situation (though obviously it could have easily just killed them all with a fireball if it wanted). Over the course of their campaign, they would often consult with this character.

The overall story (which I present here rather vaguely to allow for easy modification to fit your game) is that a very knowledgeable wizard worked on a number of knowledgeable pursuits in order to benefit the lives of normal people. However, it was quickly apparent to the wizard that the wizard's peers had different ideas of where to focus their time (a possibility is that they considered the work impossible to accomplish). Knowing this and growing older, the wizard underwent the process to become a lich and in undeath continued to work on its work. When a particular milestone was reached that could benefit the world at large, the lich would find a method to make sure it reached the right hands to spread (often by teleportation).

Personality

“I have all the time in the world; I can spare a few moments.”

While a large amount of people purse undeath in the hopes of living longer and out of fear of death, this is not the case for this lich in particular. It was a desire to continue to study and investigate magic and the world in general that lead this character to undeath. As an extension of this, they will choose their work over their own undeath without a second thought. It will also avoid direct combat unless its work is threatened. Being old and understanding the possibility of accidents and setbacks, it keeps backup caches of its work. Naturally, it can't back up everything as

In general, this lich is obsessive and can focus on a problem for weeks at a time. However, it is also willing to talk and is generally quite friendly. Getting help is a bit trickier and the work will be chosen over matters of grave importance if possible. If, however, the work it is doing is ever threatened the lich will help without a second thought. It is also generally willing to help as long as it doesn't have to go too far out of its way, even without benefit to itself (if it has an item or scrolls it can easily replace, it will give it away without a second thought). Naturally, being undead and nearly 10,000 years old, it is extremely patient.

Lair

This lich also wishes to preserve works that would otherwise be lost. Many items, paintings, books and even notes from people that interested the lich are kept and preserved. Within the lich's lair, time seems to stand still and dust is absent. Fancy, well made carpets cover the floors and much of the space on the walls is covered by paintings it has collected, the colours of which are almost as crisp as the day they were painted. If asked, the lich is happy to share the history of the items.

Uses

If a high level caster is needed for scrolls and other magical things, this lich makes for a good choice that will probably be different than most mentors and helpers they've dealt with. An option is to also have its life's and undeath's work somehow linked with the main goal of the campaign. It can also act as an antagonist, though it won't actively try to hurt the players unless they try to actually destroy the notes and work done to that point. If subtle influence needs to be exerted on a kingdom or a leader, it also provides as a good ally for the members of the party due to its long history and experience in doing so (though up until this point it was mainly to have its research found and used).  

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