The Undying Lands of the Wild and Lawless Fae are closer than you might think. Crawl through the circle in that standing stone, or sleep in this circle of mushrooms and you might find yourself upon the slopes of Cyng Dun, King of All Mountains, or lost in the depths of Phantasmogoria. It is the land where all is ruled by its proper appointed Lord (or at least, so say the Lords), and where nothing is permitted to die, except at its proper appointed time (or at least, so say the Lords).
This is something of a guide to the various areas of my Faewild, which I refuse to call it, because I don't really like the name. The Undying Lands is also a little bit too tolkien really, but I'm twisting it into something a bit more unsettling. Which incidentally, is also my take on how Fae should be. Beautiful like tolkein, but more unsettling, just beneath the surface. They may play at court-attitudes and honour, but some embrace the animals they all really are, and live wild and free.
The Undying Lands are not to traversed lightly. Each step probably breaks another law, and the Fae will come to collect...
Cyng Dun
The King of all Mountains
Cyng Dun dominates the mainland of the Undying World, the King of Mountains stretches high up into the sky, higher than any other mountain could, or should. You can see its peak always, wherever you are in the Undying Lands, it is the one constant. And as high as you might climb, you will always be able to breathe, it will never be too cold; it is after all where Sierra holds her court upon the very peak of the mountain. It wouldn't do for courtiers to faint whilst attending her now would it?
Cyng Dun is something of a common way to reach the Undying Lands, any gateway associated with stone will lead here, in the nooks in the stone.
Grand stone stairs, built for giants climb the sides of the mount on one side, to allow dignified access to Sierra's court, not that they are well trodden of course. No-one can really trust a traitor, let alone a Giant.
Resident Fae Lords:
- King Chitine
- Sierra, Duchess of the Fastigium
The Cloudy Court
Lofty and Blue
High up in the Skies, the Cloudy Court maintain the flow of the skies and the politics of the upper airs. In ivory towers of cloud with frozen bridges and roads of glittering sunlight they bicker endlessly back and forth, sending wind this way and that, sending rain one day and then the next on a whim, storms and snow and blazing sun and uncompromising cloud to wherever the court should declare.
They have a rivalry with the King of Roses Red and Fair, whom they would overthrow and supplant if they could. The will not in all likelihood, they are too discordant to ever match him.
The Feathered Prince in his grand Nest-Castle also dwells here, hanging from neath a particularly grand and remote cloud. Sometimes he brings mortal boys here to become birds like him. Probably out of bitterness, since this is what befell him.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The Cloudy Court of Blue Sky Wrought (Archfae)
- The Feathered Prince
The Spring Glades
Seat of the King of Roses Red and Fair
The Heart of the Undying Lands, where stands the Spring Palace of the King of Roses Red and Fair, lord of all the Undying Lands, Ever-Blooming Monarch of the Lands where none are permitted to taste Death, Greatest of all who call themselves Fae, whose Brilliance all Respect and Adore. These are only his most popular titles.
It is always spring here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most. It is always beautiful here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most. It is always perfect here, since this is what pleases the King of Roses most.
The Lady of Ribbons also dwells in the Glades, in Chateau d'Arras. Her balls and masquerades are only second in beauty and extravagance to those hosted by the King of Roses himself. She is definitely not jealous in any way.
Hekate of Sorcery and Night also holds court in the Glades, but near the edge, where it Glades bleed up against the Trackless Forest. She and her covens sing for magics in the Night, of which she is most knowledgeable of all Fae.
The Girl in Gossamer is the Ward of the King of Roses. She will come into her prime one day, and the King of Roses will be the most proud of her as any guardian has ever been of their ward, he will say. He is not as aware of her dealings and doings as he should be.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The King of Roses Red and Fair (Archfae)
- The Lady of Ribbons
- Hekate of Sorcery and Night
- The Girl in Gossamer
The Realm of Eald
The cast-off Kingdom
The Realm of Eald is where history collects like scum on the edge of a bucket, where everything will wash up eventually, given enough time. The King and Queen of What has Been rule over the slowly growing middens of detritus from the Castle of Eald, which stands atop the cliffs over the Shallow Sea, and they do not take nearly enough care of it.
The Prince of Teeth also has his Gallery in the Territory of Eald, throughout which he occasionally dispatches servants to sweep for teeth. He really likes teeth don't you know. Would you like to offer one or two? Haha, it was only a joke. Haha.
Ha.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The King and Queen of What has Been (Archfae)
- The Prince of Teeth
Phantasmagoria
Mushrooms and Fungus
Phatasmagoria is the realm of all things fungal, one great tangled Mycellium-World where growth is the only law and consumption the only demand. Get lost within the flesh-stalks, the vented fronds, within your own head, lose all awareness, become one with Phantasmagoria.
Absolom is not Phantasmagoria. It is its own organism. That is enough.
Resident Fae Lords:
- Absolom, the Blossoming and Blooming
The Filigree Bridge
The Silver-Spun Bridge between Heavens and the Earth
No-one quite remembers who built the bridge, but it still serves as quite a useful connection between the Spring Glades and the Cloudy Court. It would be more useful if it were not so, so long, or if the Filigree Man did not live halfway up it in his silver-spun castle. He has a habit of imprisoning his enemies (or friends, its something of a mystery which is which) in filigree casing, never to leave again. Most everyone who stays for long in his castle meets this fate.
Of course, this is not a trouble for Fae Lords. The Filigree Man knows better than that.
But you aren't a Fae Lord are you?
Resident Fae Lords:
- The Filigree Man
The Unkept Gardens
The Stolen Land
Everyone was shocked when the Rose King's second home was taken by claim of Right of Demesne by Lord-Sir Brackenwelts, who had never been to court before, or since. The Briarfields, as Brackenwelts calls his domain, is the very picture of a Grand Noble Estate, only left to decay and nature's unkind ministrations. Overgrowth and collapse rule here, and through the lianas and tall grasses Lord-Sir Brackenwelts stalks.
Perhaps he has even grander designs than the Unkept Gardens, but his behaviour would not suggest that. Which is exactly what everyone thought before he seized the gardens...
Resident Fae Lords:
- Lord-Sir Brackenwelts
The Trackless Forest
Wild and Untamed
A forest, lovely, dark and deep. All manner of beasts dwell within, all manner of trees grow uncut here, all manner of men are lost between the boughs of wood and stone. They say in the Dark Heart of the Woods, Lost Ilmarod's court drinks the blood of those lost within, whom they hunt like dogs. Many other such monarchs dwell within the woods too, it is said. The Prime Unicorn, the Master of Worms, the Duke of Owls, many others such that lack names known to mortals as well.
The Goat-Boy dwells here too, forever hunted by Ilmarod's courtiers. He is never caught. He never will be. He has no court, save for those animals who run with him. They will run forever, but they shall never find the jaws of death nipping at their heels while they run. Occasionally they get rest, but mostly, they run, and run, and run.
Resident Fae Lords:
- Lost Ilmarod of Path Untrod (Archfae)
- The Goat-Boy
The Hunting Glens
Beasts and Those that Stalk Them
Wide and wild, if a menagerie of menageries dwells within the Trackless Forest, then every beast ever formed must dwell on the Glens. Hunters of all stripes dwell here, glutting their thirsts on the beasts, and being glut upon on return if they are foolish.
The King of all these Beasts, the Elken-Wolf is also the King of all these Hunters, the Apex Predator, the Dominant Life-form. His court takes all, beasts, hunter, predator, prey; one and all. It only meets once a month, on the highest night of the full moon, when all hunts are called to truce, if only until the sun rises again. Of course, this being the Undying Lands, who knows how long that will last, or how long it will be before the next.
The Huntsmaster is one of the most diligent of the Hunters of the Glens. He alone is free to ignore the armistice of the Full Moon, as long as he declares his intentions to his prey. He only sometimes does. His pack of earthen dogs is always at his heels, and no others. He hunts alone; except that all have the right to hunt with him once, and only for a single night. Since he roams as widely and as quickly as he does, few ever manage to take him up on this.
The Silvered Knights also dwell out in the Glens, their Mirrored Hall standing bright and lonely amongst the fields and copses. It is considered quite cliche these days for a Silvered Knight to bring back the Head of a Great Beast it has slain out on the Glens, after all, every such Knight has many trophies of such hunts. Thus, you are only ever likely to see the half of their Order that dwell at court for this Questing Season. Enjoy their hospitality while you can, for you are entirely safe whilst within their walls. You may only remain for one day and one night.
At the opposite end of the Glens, stands the Tower of Night, where the famous salons of She of the Midnight Stars are conducted. Do not ascend too high without invitation, you may not be able to return if you do.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The Elken-Wolf of Cloven Hoof (Archfae)
- The Huntsmaster
- The Silvered Knight
- She of the Midnight Stars
The Smoking Shore
Ash and Sand
Tigers stroll lazily and contentedly along the basalt sands and between the brimstone stacks. Crystal glitters amongst the stones. The blasted remains of Dawn-For-Eye's many towers litter the shore too, as the sea gently steams and laps against the rocks. The Charred Ports are abandoned now, as they always have been. None have ever lived here, no-one who mattered at least. Except the Tigers. They are beings of impeccable grace, taste, and are unrivaled company; obviously. The Court of Amber and Black are the few non-Fae beings permitted in the Undying Lands, and indeed they have a whole area of the Smoking Shore given over to them. This does not please Dawn-For-Eyes.
Resident Fae Lords:
- Dawn-For-Eyes
The Seeping Fen
The Grand Mire, forever Rotting; Barrier to Lost Fomoria
Why should be speak of it? It is wretched and blasted, monster-haunted, nothing of worth lies there. Besides, you wouldn't be going to Old Fomoria now would you?
Unless you wished to visit Cerastes? Few do. He is a loner, and besides, all his court is curved to better accommodate him, and to inconvenience guests. If you seek a craftsman though, there are none as skilled as him. None. Regardless of medium or technique. Of course, you have to brave the monsters and the wastes to get to him, so all in all, I'd say you should seriously consider settling for the second best...
Resident Fae Lords:
- Cerastes, the Coiler and the Slitherer
Old Fomoria
Where once lived Giants
Giants do not live in the Undying Lands now, save for the one who ended the war, who now lives upon the Mount.
Dead Fomoria is not visited. It has been left to rot and decay. The old Giants who lived there have been driven from this land, and this was once their fortress, but now there is nothing. Not even echos. Their land has been burned and salted.
The King of Roses Red and Fair will permit none to call this their home. The Titan of Flowers ensures his law is kept.
Perhaps one day Sierra will petition to reclaim her ancestral home. She will not if she is wise.
Resident Fae Lords:
- None, it is blasted and wasted; none shall live there upon decree of the king
The Smouldering Isles
Flame and Faith
Speak not of the Banished Fey. They who would take the Abhorrent God's words upon their flesh. They are blasted with flame at the order of the King of Roses Red and Fair. Never again shall they set foot upon our shores. Leave them with their delusions and trouble yourselves not with the thought of them.
Resident Fae Lords:
- Insolence
Sahandralar
The Great Democracy of the Twinned City
In the distant and sandy city of twisting spires and minarets, everything (everything, even the time of day) is democratically decided. Two Administrator-kings ensure the smooth running and application of the people's wishes, each ruling in turn during the day and the night respectively. Tigers walk freely amongst the people, goblin colony-constructs stride down the high-ways, Elementals chat with Angels in the smoking parlours. Paramours meet in secret by the water-gardens, and rag-clad thieves steal the jewels off the peaks of the towers under the sparkling stars of the night they voted for.
Resident Fae Lords:
- None; Fae Lords shall not be permitted within this grand institution of democracy, upon decree of the twin Sultans-Elect
The Many Isles of the Shallow Sea
Where one could find Anything and Everything
To list all that can be found upon the Shallow Sea would be an exercise in futility. There are the isles of Eternal Youth, the Isles of the Flower Eaters, the Isles of Stone, of Flame, of Ice. There is an isle for everything and anything, if one would sail enough. Indeed, even the fabric of the Real and Is, thin as it is in the Undying Lands, runs thinner still amongst those isles. It is impossible to predict what awaits you there.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The Sailor on Dark Waters
- Many others, it is not known what their names or titles are
Flodhelm
The Sunken Palace of the River King
They say that eventually, all rivers must flow down to the sea. Some say all rivers also must eventually flow through Flodhelm, the grand-mire of the River King. If you saw it, you would believe it. The castle itself is black and pitted, soft and rotten rock heaped into a rough castle slowly sinking into the mud, rivers flowing through windows into basements and hallways, which fits the Sodden Court of the River King just fine. The marsh around it isn't much better; endless dark greys and browns, flies and low shrubs, filthy water.
It isn't much wonder that this court is one of the least visited.
Resident Fae Lords:
- The River King of Sodden Grin (Archfae)
Scathenmere
The Crystal Lake of the Nymphs
It is beautiful and serene, like its nymphs.
It is crystal clear and sparkling, like its nymphs.
It is vast and terrible in its wrath, like its nymphs.
It is treacherous and vindictive, like its nymphs.
It will enchant you with its allure and swallow you up, like its nymphs would.
It is a predator, like its nymphs.
Resident Fae Lords:
- Cirrah, Queen of Nymphs
An amalgamy of unclean ideas and unshaped fuel. Burn it into your eyes that the electric pathways of your mind to settle in your head like worms to take root and overtake and flourish in fecund glory. Or maybe not. Its your call really. Also, go to Indexes on the right to get to stuff organised in a semi-logical way.
Whisper-Nixes, Stormbeasts, Striga-Children
The Cold Woods beckon, and Whisper-Nixies chuckle in the dark, staring at you with iron-grey eyes.
Whisper-Nixes are small and unassuming. Their cheeky-grins and flittering, glittering wings (which only some of them have the wings, in fairness) are disarming if you have as much social awareness as they do, which is to say not very much. They giggle at you, never with you, and just kind of... hover about you, just out of reach; hiding behind corners and roots, following at a distance. They are small, only a few inches tall, and bedecked in fine, golden filigree clothing; its really quite beautiful.
The rest of them, is somewhat disconcerting though. They show too many teeth, and their fingers... well. Their fingers are as long the rest of their bodies, and have long hooked black nails on the end, like bony, knobbled fishing lines. These they insert into the back of your head, just under the bottom of your skull.
It will bleed horribly, but in all likelihood it won't cause any permanent harm or great pain to you. It will feel extraordinarily strange however, as the Whisper-Nix's fingers crawl up through your flesh and hook around your brain. The real pain comes when they tug out your memories as glistening golden strands of thread. The memories they steal can be of just about anything; they can steal your skills, your magics, your plans, your dreams. These they will take to sew together into clothes and homes for themselves in their tree-commune-fortresses.
The clothes they make and the homes they weave are essentially magical, as they impart to the wearer and the home aspects of the memory they represent. Memories of flight, falling, or of flying spells are sewn into their wings. Memories of great battles, or of particular combat maneuvers are sewn into blades. Memories of death are sewn into deadly poisons. Similarly, memories of child-hood homes are sewn into their houses, which then represent the remembered domicile, which the Nixes find absolutely hilarious by the way. They will tell you all about the things they have made that you can't remember, and cackle about it in flittering droves.
They might occasionally steal the memories of animals, but they're never as interesting as those of humans, so they prefer to leave them alone. These they take only out of desperation or necessity.
They are tricksters first and foremost. They have been known to infest a person and control them for days at a time, or perhaps take a commission from an arrogant mortal for a memory-glove that confers the ability to throw flames, then change their minds half-way through and blast the commissioner with said glove, whichever they find funnier at the time. Their plans will change at the drop of a hat, if they loose interest or find an opportunity for greater comedy.
The golden threads of memory can be reincorporated back into their original owner (or anyone else for that matter) by swallowing it all down. The thread will remain lustrous and gilded as long as its owner would have remembered it, and fade and disappear when it would have been forgotten.
And the Cold Woods beckon, and Stormbeasts spark and crash through the cloud-bruised skies.
Stormbeasts are serpentine dog-beasts that are made of lightning and usually live in the clouds, but sometimes they will journey down and live in your weapons for a time.
You can only really see their true shape when it is extremely foggy, or if you are with them up in their storm-clouds. They spark off of each tiny droplet suspended in the air, and they are always moving like the air itself. They can move slowly if they wish, but most of the time, they move fast. Altogether too fast. In the midst of a thunderstorm, you would not be able to distinguish their jagged bottle-fly dashes from tiny bolts of lightning within the cloud, or their mad dashes from the sky to particularly interesting landmarks from the lightning.
They only rarely visit the surface, bound as they are to the storms that sustain them, and their deadly weakness to grounding. They diffuse a little bit through everything they touch, up to its capacity. The static build-ups of the storm-clouds are both their life and their prison, and if they should ever touch the earth itself, in an instant they would be gone, dispersed throughout all the world.
Lakes are their favourite places to visit, as they skitter sparking and blasting across the water's surface, touching just lightly enough to shatter the water to steam, without risking grounding. A few even find their way to the sea, and they will happily waste almost all their time chasing ships and setting fire to the flammable parts, the tips of rigging, the pitch-soaked hulls.
When men wearing metal find themselves in a storm, this attracts not only the attention of the Stormbeasts, but also their curiosity. Metal holds for them a special fascination. It is like a black-hole to them, an unavoidable attraction. If they touch it, they are totally absorbed, and it is like being tightly bundled in a sack for them; not totally uncomfortable, but not totally pleasant either. For the wielder of said metal, it is like something out of legend; the metal sparks and flashes for the Stormbeast now living inside.
It will find this new experience only interesting for a small amount of time, diffused throughout the metal as it is; it is like when you dive into a pool only to now be all of the pool all at once. It will smash itself against the walls of its prison, batter the bars that contain it. Its lightning now blesses the blade or the armour, with all the destructiveness that might entail, if properly harnessed; but only as long as the Stormbeast remains caged. Sigils and wards can permanently contain the Stormbeast within the metal, though it takes them some days to gather themselves to escape by their own powers.
Even those Stormbeasts that do escape rarely survive much longer than that. Their storms will have moved on; left them all behind.
And the Cold Woods beckon, and Striga-Children cower from the light, dredging the last drops of fluid from dried corpses.
Striga-Children or Stirges, sometimes, are the particularly grim result of a Vampire siring a child, and being able to bring it to term before one of them bodily devours the other, which is to say, not very often at all. Thank gods.
Take a child, lengthen their limbs, fingers trailing the ground, arch the back, drain all colour from the skin; and then replace the face with the long thin face and round glass-shatter eyes of a mosquito. This is the Striga-Child. It is always cold. It is always hungry. It hates you. It hates its parents.It hates itself. Nothing else matters to it.
While you are marching down the long dark roads, a Striga-Child will stalk you from the darkness, never approaching, never leaving. It will smell you for scents of its progenitors, and pick off any stragglers and loners to drain their fluids. If they think they detect their parents on you (and they are very loose with this, they are exceptionally over-eager) then they may approach you in disguise. They lack the sorcerous powers of their creators, for now at least, but they can craft masks and steal clothes, and approach you. They are not as subtle as they think, but the rewards they offer will be tempting, and they seem much weaker than they are. The temptation exists to help them.
If they should ever actually destroy their parents and drain them of what little yet flows within them, they will finally become true-blooded vampires. This is their only wish. They despise their horrendous forms, their desperate appetites. They think things will be better when mummy and daddy are dead and drained. They are partially right, but only partially.
They aren't quite vampiric for now though, though they their parent's thirsts, and their vulnerability to sunlight, but none of their other weaknesses. They are as wild as their parents are civilised (or as civilised as they pretend to be). They act only in self-interest, and self-preservation. They have nothing, but promise as much as they think they can get away with. They rarely stick to it, unless forced to at sword point. They aggressively seek out opportunities to betray you, though if you are wary enough, violence will be an adequate shield for you.
They haunt the dark and cold barrens around their parent's lairs. The Vampires will attempt to hunt it down once they realise what it is they have created, as the Striga-Child itself hunts them. It grows slowly, but eventually it might eclipse the Vampires without help, and then become a Vampire of truly prodigious power. If they achieve this, they will be worse than their parents. Their demeanour is not changed by their ascension. Sometimes, the Vampires catch their spawn, and destroy it. They leave nothing, they take nothing. The thing is an abomination to them. They are shamed by it, and must leave no trace.
Every once in a while, a Striga-Child will lose its parents. It will never become a vampire now, stuck in its current piteous and hateful form. It will continue to grow, as do its appetites. Entire villages have been found as pulverised ruins, corpses either crushed or sucked hollow through spear-wound punctures. Usually the Striga-Child will be hunted by every hero in the land at this point. They have no upper-limit to their growth, they must be stopped before it is too late.
And the Cold Woods Beckon.
Whisper-Nixes are small and unassuming. Their cheeky-grins and flittering, glittering wings (which only some of them have the wings, in fairness) are disarming if you have as much social awareness as they do, which is to say not very much. They giggle at you, never with you, and just kind of... hover about you, just out of reach; hiding behind corners and roots, following at a distance. They are small, only a few inches tall, and bedecked in fine, golden filigree clothing; its really quite beautiful.
The rest of them, is somewhat disconcerting though. They show too many teeth, and their fingers... well. Their fingers are as long the rest of their bodies, and have long hooked black nails on the end, like bony, knobbled fishing lines. These they insert into the back of your head, just under the bottom of your skull.
It will bleed horribly, but in all likelihood it won't cause any permanent harm or great pain to you. It will feel extraordinarily strange however, as the Whisper-Nix's fingers crawl up through your flesh and hook around your brain. The real pain comes when they tug out your memories as glistening golden strands of thread. The memories they steal can be of just about anything; they can steal your skills, your magics, your plans, your dreams. These they will take to sew together into clothes and homes for themselves in their tree-commune-fortresses.
The clothes they make and the homes they weave are essentially magical, as they impart to the wearer and the home aspects of the memory they represent. Memories of flight, falling, or of flying spells are sewn into their wings. Memories of great battles, or of particular combat maneuvers are sewn into blades. Memories of death are sewn into deadly poisons. Similarly, memories of child-hood homes are sewn into their houses, which then represent the remembered domicile, which the Nixes find absolutely hilarious by the way. They will tell you all about the things they have made that you can't remember, and cackle about it in flittering droves.
They might occasionally steal the memories of animals, but they're never as interesting as those of humans, so they prefer to leave them alone. These they take only out of desperation or necessity.
They are tricksters first and foremost. They have been known to infest a person and control them for days at a time, or perhaps take a commission from an arrogant mortal for a memory-glove that confers the ability to throw flames, then change their minds half-way through and blast the commissioner with said glove, whichever they find funnier at the time. Their plans will change at the drop of a hat, if they loose interest or find an opportunity for greater comedy.
The golden threads of memory can be reincorporated back into their original owner (or anyone else for that matter) by swallowing it all down. The thread will remain lustrous and gilded as long as its owner would have remembered it, and fade and disappear when it would have been forgotten.
And the Cold Woods beckon, and Stormbeasts spark and crash through the cloud-bruised skies.
Stormbeasts are serpentine dog-beasts that are made of lightning and usually live in the clouds, but sometimes they will journey down and live in your weapons for a time.
You can only really see their true shape when it is extremely foggy, or if you are with them up in their storm-clouds. They spark off of each tiny droplet suspended in the air, and they are always moving like the air itself. They can move slowly if they wish, but most of the time, they move fast. Altogether too fast. In the midst of a thunderstorm, you would not be able to distinguish their jagged bottle-fly dashes from tiny bolts of lightning within the cloud, or their mad dashes from the sky to particularly interesting landmarks from the lightning.
They only rarely visit the surface, bound as they are to the storms that sustain them, and their deadly weakness to grounding. They diffuse a little bit through everything they touch, up to its capacity. The static build-ups of the storm-clouds are both their life and their prison, and if they should ever touch the earth itself, in an instant they would be gone, dispersed throughout all the world.
Lakes are their favourite places to visit, as they skitter sparking and blasting across the water's surface, touching just lightly enough to shatter the water to steam, without risking grounding. A few even find their way to the sea, and they will happily waste almost all their time chasing ships and setting fire to the flammable parts, the tips of rigging, the pitch-soaked hulls.
When men wearing metal find themselves in a storm, this attracts not only the attention of the Stormbeasts, but also their curiosity. Metal holds for them a special fascination. It is like a black-hole to them, an unavoidable attraction. If they touch it, they are totally absorbed, and it is like being tightly bundled in a sack for them; not totally uncomfortable, but not totally pleasant either. For the wielder of said metal, it is like something out of legend; the metal sparks and flashes for the Stormbeast now living inside.
It will find this new experience only interesting for a small amount of time, diffused throughout the metal as it is; it is like when you dive into a pool only to now be all of the pool all at once. It will smash itself against the walls of its prison, batter the bars that contain it. Its lightning now blesses the blade or the armour, with all the destructiveness that might entail, if properly harnessed; but only as long as the Stormbeast remains caged. Sigils and wards can permanently contain the Stormbeast within the metal, though it takes them some days to gather themselves to escape by their own powers.
Even those Stormbeasts that do escape rarely survive much longer than that. Their storms will have moved on; left them all behind.
And the Cold Woods beckon, and Striga-Children cower from the light, dredging the last drops of fluid from dried corpses.
Striga-Children or Stirges, sometimes, are the particularly grim result of a Vampire siring a child, and being able to bring it to term before one of them bodily devours the other, which is to say, not very often at all. Thank gods.
Take a child, lengthen their limbs, fingers trailing the ground, arch the back, drain all colour from the skin; and then replace the face with the long thin face and round glass-shatter eyes of a mosquito. This is the Striga-Child. It is always cold. It is always hungry. It hates you. It hates its parents.It hates itself. Nothing else matters to it.
While you are marching down the long dark roads, a Striga-Child will stalk you from the darkness, never approaching, never leaving. It will smell you for scents of its progenitors, and pick off any stragglers and loners to drain their fluids. If they think they detect their parents on you (and they are very loose with this, they are exceptionally over-eager) then they may approach you in disguise. They lack the sorcerous powers of their creators, for now at least, but they can craft masks and steal clothes, and approach you. They are not as subtle as they think, but the rewards they offer will be tempting, and they seem much weaker than they are. The temptation exists to help them.
If they should ever actually destroy their parents and drain them of what little yet flows within them, they will finally become true-blooded vampires. This is their only wish. They despise their horrendous forms, their desperate appetites. They think things will be better when mummy and daddy are dead and drained. They are partially right, but only partially.
They aren't quite vampiric for now though, though they their parent's thirsts, and their vulnerability to sunlight, but none of their other weaknesses. They are as wild as their parents are civilised (or as civilised as they pretend to be). They act only in self-interest, and self-preservation. They have nothing, but promise as much as they think they can get away with. They rarely stick to it, unless forced to at sword point. They aggressively seek out opportunities to betray you, though if you are wary enough, violence will be an adequate shield for you.
They haunt the dark and cold barrens around their parent's lairs. The Vampires will attempt to hunt it down once they realise what it is they have created, as the Striga-Child itself hunts them. It grows slowly, but eventually it might eclipse the Vampires without help, and then become a Vampire of truly prodigious power. If they achieve this, they will be worse than their parents. Their demeanour is not changed by their ascension. Sometimes, the Vampires catch their spawn, and destroy it. They leave nothing, they take nothing. The thing is an abomination to them. They are shamed by it, and must leave no trace.
Every once in a while, a Striga-Child will lose its parents. It will never become a vampire now, stuck in its current piteous and hateful form. It will continue to grow, as do its appetites. Entire villages have been found as pulverised ruins, corpses either crushed or sucked hollow through spear-wound punctures. Usually the Striga-Child will be hunted by every hero in the land at this point. They have no upper-limit to their growth, they must be stopped before it is too late.
And the Cold Woods Beckon.
Wailing Prophets, Screaming Ministers
The Cold Woods beckon, and Spider-Oracles scream between the blackened boughs.
Crowning their heads with soft pinky-black, their flesh tags quiver. Their spindle-legs rise and arc down to the ground, scythe-blading into the earth. They cry constantly, interminably, and their long, long, thin arms are raised to the sky, to the stars, fingers splayed open as if to receive the rain that never comes for them. They can hear the burning flames above them, you see, though the fires make no noise out in the void. The Wailing Prophets are something like spiders of course, but totally pitiable and pathetic. Their bodies lie flat on the ground, sinking into the muck as though their legs cannot support their weight. They can't, not with the melancholy dragging them down.
They hear the burning flames of stars, up high in the vast darkness, and they feel the sorrows of them. Bright flickering flames constantly born to die crushed and pulverised by that terrible black ocean of night. The deaths of those distant flames allow us to live, as they fall tumbling down to the world below, and the Wailing Prophets know this better than anyone. They abhor the soft rain of the star-corpses, and thus they have fled to the Hollow Woods, where the stars shine but softly, where the trees shelter them from the death and deluge, at least a little.
They have four pairs of eyes, as all spiders do, though their eyes have seen the blazing hearts of stars, and see things other than what we do. They see the ghosts of pasts that now are not; the are-nots of futures yet to happen, the guttering flames of distant desires, even as they are forgotten; the dark stinking mires of regrets that pool and puddle at our feet. They can't see you, only what you aren't. They see you as the old man who has finally reached his destination, only to be too old to ever enjoy it, relegated to watching the youth squandering what it is you treasured so much, so long ago. They see you at your nadir, when all the weights of the world coiled their chains beneath your flesh and smashed you against the dirt. They see only what we aren't, what we don't possess; just as they see the falling motes of slain stars tumble down from the sky to where they may once have lived happy as a flame dancing across the world, but now lie still and cold. They see only suffering, and they feel the slow steady rain of celestial slaughter, and so they scream.
They scream for the injustices of earth, as they are in heaven.
Screamining Ministers they are called, for they scream of the stars, of desperate desires and dreadful despairs. You may untangle some small mote of wisdom from their sadness if you are wise enough to hear beyond the wailing, and brave enough to stomach it. Small secrets slip out along with the cries; where your deep desires may be found, or how to achieve them, how to release yourself of some old wound, of what may yet occur. Those that hear these things rarely realise what it is they hear, and only a blessed few ever leave with what they want.
Their congregation always surrounds them, but never approaches too closely. Whisper-Nixies desperate to claim such memories as those of stars; Fading Men who wish to hear the sorrows of others to fill the hollows inside themselves, that they do not disappear as smoke on the wind; and humans who wish to hear of the fulfillment of their desires and the undoings of their regrets. No-one ever leaves happy, if they leave at all. Some cannot help but succumb to the same despair as the Ministers. Some greedily try to eat the eyes of the Prophets to gain their special sight; and go mad on discovering the rumors are all too true.
If you wish to see what they see, despite the warnings, despite the screaming and wailing and gnashing of fangs, or if you seek their meat for other occult purposes; the Screaming Minister will not fight you. Even as you carve the eyes from its head, even as its guts pour from the case of its abdomen, even as its flesh is rent and torn about it under the cold steel bite of your blade, it will not fight back or beg for mercies. Death for them, is normality, what is to be expected. It is all they see.
And the Cold Woods beckon.
Crowning their heads with soft pinky-black, their flesh tags quiver. Their spindle-legs rise and arc down to the ground, scythe-blading into the earth. They cry constantly, interminably, and their long, long, thin arms are raised to the sky, to the stars, fingers splayed open as if to receive the rain that never comes for them. They can hear the burning flames above them, you see, though the fires make no noise out in the void. The Wailing Prophets are something like spiders of course, but totally pitiable and pathetic. Their bodies lie flat on the ground, sinking into the muck as though their legs cannot support their weight. They can't, not with the melancholy dragging them down.
They hear the burning flames of stars, up high in the vast darkness, and they feel the sorrows of them. Bright flickering flames constantly born to die crushed and pulverised by that terrible black ocean of night. The deaths of those distant flames allow us to live, as they fall tumbling down to the world below, and the Wailing Prophets know this better than anyone. They abhor the soft rain of the star-corpses, and thus they have fled to the Hollow Woods, where the stars shine but softly, where the trees shelter them from the death and deluge, at least a little.
They have four pairs of eyes, as all spiders do, though their eyes have seen the blazing hearts of stars, and see things other than what we do. They see the ghosts of pasts that now are not; the are-nots of futures yet to happen, the guttering flames of distant desires, even as they are forgotten; the dark stinking mires of regrets that pool and puddle at our feet. They can't see you, only what you aren't. They see you as the old man who has finally reached his destination, only to be too old to ever enjoy it, relegated to watching the youth squandering what it is you treasured so much, so long ago. They see you at your nadir, when all the weights of the world coiled their chains beneath your flesh and smashed you against the dirt. They see only what we aren't, what we don't possess; just as they see the falling motes of slain stars tumble down from the sky to where they may once have lived happy as a flame dancing across the world, but now lie still and cold. They see only suffering, and they feel the slow steady rain of celestial slaughter, and so they scream.
They scream for the injustices of earth, as they are in heaven.
Screamining Ministers they are called, for they scream of the stars, of desperate desires and dreadful despairs. You may untangle some small mote of wisdom from their sadness if you are wise enough to hear beyond the wailing, and brave enough to stomach it. Small secrets slip out along with the cries; where your deep desires may be found, or how to achieve them, how to release yourself of some old wound, of what may yet occur. Those that hear these things rarely realise what it is they hear, and only a blessed few ever leave with what they want.
Their congregation always surrounds them, but never approaches too closely. Whisper-Nixies desperate to claim such memories as those of stars; Fading Men who wish to hear the sorrows of others to fill the hollows inside themselves, that they do not disappear as smoke on the wind; and humans who wish to hear of the fulfillment of their desires and the undoings of their regrets. No-one ever leaves happy, if they leave at all. Some cannot help but succumb to the same despair as the Ministers. Some greedily try to eat the eyes of the Prophets to gain their special sight; and go mad on discovering the rumors are all too true.
If you wish to see what they see, despite the warnings, despite the screaming and wailing and gnashing of fangs, or if you seek their meat for other occult purposes; the Screaming Minister will not fight you. Even as you carve the eyes from its head, even as its guts pour from the case of its abdomen, even as its flesh is rent and torn about it under the cold steel bite of your blade, it will not fight back or beg for mercies. Death for them, is normality, what is to be expected. It is all they see.
And the Cold Woods beckon.
Scrimshaw Charms
Scrimshaw Charms
There are three aspects to creating a Charm: Level, Medium, and Pattern.There are three Levels of Charm, Novice, Initiate, and Master.
Novice Charms are the easiest to craft, but are also the weakest.
Master Charms are the hardest to craft, but are also the most powerful.
Initiate Charms are somewhere in the middle.
The effects they offer are many and varied, they depend on the pattern carved into the medium.
Aspects of Charms and Bone
The Medium is always Bone, though there are two further aspects of the Bone that must be known; the Quantity, and the Quality.The Quantity of the Bone depends on how much you have to work with. If you have an entire skeleton, you can afford to spoil your work many times before being forced to stop. If you have merely a knuckle-bone, you have no such second chance.
The Quantity of Bone you have is recorded as either a Pittance, a Bundle, or a Heap. A Pittance is mostly equivalent to a few good finger bones. A Bundle is mostly equivalent to a majority or so of a fully grown human's skeleton. A Heap is mostly equivalent to a good few humans' full skeletons.
The Quality of the Bone depends on many factors, and represents the power inherent in the Bone. Higher Quality Bone makes it easier to craft a charm, and Master level Charms require high Quality Bone to even begin. Some of the Factors that influence the quality of the Bone are the type of creature you took it from, the potency of the creature in life, and how whole the Bone is. Some charms will favour some types of Bone, and will treat the Bone as if it were higher quality than it is. Quality is recorded as either Poor, Fine, or Brilliant. Poor Bone is usually broken badly in some way. Fine Bone is what most people have in their bodies; deformed in each person's unique way, or bearing some small defect. Brilliant Bone is flawless, and a taxonomic exemplar of a species' Bones.
When You First Learn Scrimshaw
If you have learned Scrimshaw at character creation, you know Charm Patterns of your choice equal to 1 plus your choice of your Wisdom or Intelligence modifier, and 1 Minor Pattern. You also begin with Sets of Bone equal to the Modifier you didn't choose, generated as if bought from a Bone Merchant.
If you learn Scrimshaw during play, when you gain your first rank, you learn Randomly selected Charm Patterns equal to 1 plus your choice of your Wisdom or Intelligence Modifier, and 1 minor Pattern.
Recording Your Bone
Every load of Bone you possess for the purposes of Scrimshaw is called a Set, and always has the properties of Quantity and Quality, and sometimes others.Each set of Bone should be recorded in this manner; a [Quantity] of [Quality] [Creature Type] Bone.
For example; a Bundle of Fine Fey Bone.
Any further details, such as specific bones gathered or traits of the being you gathered Bone from, should be recorded beneath the primary description of the set. When using bone with that specific extra detail, such as if you are using spell-caster bone, always treat those specific Bones as having a Quantity of Pittance.
For example, you might have a:
Curse charms are bound with magics that bring misfortune or harm on others. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to the target.
Luck charms are wound with lines that bring fortune to you or deflect harm from you. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to you.
Skill charms are run about with engravings that enhance your abilities and provide knowledge. They are more potent when crafted with Bone from a being skilled in the knowledge you wish the charm to provide.
Odd charms are adorned with a chaos of lines and dots that provide a plethora of effects that are not easily placed in other categories. There is no way to predict what Bones will enhance their potency until the first time the pattern is attempted.
Spell charms are marked with arcane runes and equations that mimic the effects of a spell when broken. They are more potent when crafted with the Bones of spellcasters.
Spirit charms are marred by faux-tooth and claw marks that can be used to call upon a spirit creature to do the crafter’s will. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of the animal whose spirit will be called on.
Ward charms are emblazoned with sigils that offer protection and safety to their creator. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of a creature that was resistant to the type of the danger the charm itself offers protection to.
Minor Charms have only slight works and lines written into them, and off small benefits or charms for their makers. Minor Charms are also unique in four ways; there is no chance of failure when crafting them, they can only be made at novice level, they can only benefit the person who crafted them, and they do not require attunement. Anyone with ranks in Scrimshaw knows a number of minor patterns equal to their Scrimshaw Ranks.
To use a Charm, one must only have it on their person. They must be attuned to as if they were magic items; though you may attune to a number of Bone Charms equal to your proficiency modifier using 1 attunement slot if you crafted the Charms, if you did not craft the Charms, you can attune to a number equal to half your proficiency modifier (rounded down) using a single attunement slot. Charms whose effects are triggered when broken do not require attunement. Charms that target creatures other than those attuned to them must still be attuned to a creature for their effects to work. Minor Charms do not require attunement.
For a lot of Poor Quality roll a d4. For a lot of Fine Quality, roll a d6. For a lot of Brilliant Quality, roll a d10. Use the table below to determine the type of creature the Bone came from:
1 - Beast
2 - Humanoid
3 - Monstrosity
4 - Undead
5 - Giant
6 - Aberration
7 - Fey
8 - Dragon
9 - Celestial
10 - Infernal
Specific Bones cannot usually be bought, though they might be "ordered" in advance, at the DM's discretion.
Prices are determined at the DM’s discretion.
To research, you should choose whether you are researching a pattern of any kind, a pattern from a specific Category, or if you wish to find a Pattern with a specific effect (or create a new Pattern with an effect of your devising).
If you wish to discover a random pattern, take a pool of 3d4. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
If you wish to discover a pattern from a specific category, take a pool of 4d8. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
If you wish to discover a specific pattern (or create a new pattern), take a pool of 5d12. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
You may stop researching a pattern at any time, but if you do, all progress is lost unless you start researching the same pattern where you left it off.
When carving a Curse Charm, you must use a Bone from the same species as the creature you want to be affected by the Charm. You also treat Bone that is from a creature related to the Target as being 1 level of Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from the specific creature as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Luck Charm, you treat Bone that is from the same species as you as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from you as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Skill Charm, you treat Bone from a creature who had at least 1 rank in the relevant skill as being 1 Quality higher, and Bone from a creature who had at least 3 ranks in the relevant skill as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving an Odd Charm, roll two d20 on the table below to determine two Bone aspects. If the Bone matches one aspect, it is counted as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and if it matches both aspects, it counts as being 2 Quality higher than it actually is.
Bone Aspect Table
1 - Beast Bone
2 - Humanoid Bone
3 - Monstrosity Bone
4 - Undead Bone
5 - Giant Bone
6 - Aberration Bone
7 - Fey Bone
8 - Dragon Bone
9 - Celestial Bone
10 - Infernal Bone
11 - Magic User Bone
12 - Non-Magic User Bone
13 - Bone from a Small or smaller Creature
14 - Bone from a Large or larger Creature
15 - Bone from someone related to you (including you)
16 - Bone that is at least 100 years old.
17 - Bone that is less than a year old.
18 - Bone that bears the mark of a strange disease.
19 - Bone that has shed blood before.
20 - Saint's Bones.
When carving a Spell Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that could cast any spells at all as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that could cast at least 4th level spells as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Spirit Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature of at least double its normal hit dice that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 2 quality higher.
When carving a Ward Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that had resistance to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that is immune to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 2 higher.
Novice Charms are relatively easy to make, and a skilled Scrimshaw carver can have no chance of failure with a high Quality piece of Bone. Initiate Charms are somewhat trickier to make, though a skilled Scrimshaw carver with a high Quality piece of Bone will still have a very good chance of succeeding on the first try. Master Charms are very challenging to make, and even a master Scrimshaw carver could fail multiple times even with a high Quality piece of Bone.
When choosing a piece of Bone to work, the high the Quality of the Bone, the easier it will be to craft. Having a high Quantity of Bone will not directly increase your chances of success, but it will give you extra chances should you fail. You can only choose one piece of Bone to work at any one time.
When reading the effects, when there are words in italics separated by /’s, they separate the effects of Novice/Initiate/Master charms.
Curse Charms
1 - If something kills you, they too shall die within a year/month/week.
2 - The target suffers seemingly endless and cruel Dreams, for a week/a month/a year.
3 - The target suffers end of Love, to their gain/to no particular hurt/in the worst way possible.
4 - The target finds it all too easy to wander off/get lost/be hopelessly astray.
5 - The target contracts a minor illness/a serious condition/a deadly plague.
6 - Animals find the target uncomfortable to be around/an annoyance/an active threat.
7 - The target will often find themselves mildly unlucky/somewhat unlucky/desperately unlucky.
8 - The target will never be able to sleep more than 6/4/2 hours each night.
9 - The target will find themselves drawn into an endless sleep for d4 days/d4 weeks/d4 months.
10 - If you use two Bones in this charm, you can cause mild/serious/deadly antipathy between two targets.
Luck Charms
1 - When you roll a d20, your rolls of 4/5/6 are counted as 8/10/12.
2 - When you roll a d20, also roll a d8/d10/d12 with it, and use the higher roll.
3 - If a ranged weapon attack misses your AC by 1, if you make a successful dexterity save with a DC of the attack roll, the attack hits something else within 5/10/15 feet of you.
4 - Add a +1/+2/+3 bonus to a saving throw that you add no proficiency to (decide when you craft the charm).
5 - You score a critical hit on rolls of 19/18/17 or higher. (Cannot be further modified)
6 - Every week, roll a d10. On the roll of a 10, you gain a few coins/a handful of coins/a purse of coins.
7 - When you roll for regaining HP, or gaining HP because of a level up, your results are counted as being 2/3/4 if they would be lower.
8 - Add a +1/+2/+3 to a skill that you are not proficient in (decide when you craft the charm).
9 - When you suffer a critical hit, you have a 1 in 6/2 in 6/3 in 6 chance to ignore the extra damage and effects.
10 - When you fail a skill check, you may try again if you choose. This charm has 1/3/7 uses.
Skill Charms
1 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Nautical activities.
2 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Meat.
3 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with interacting with Animals.
4 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with restraining someone.
5 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Doors.
6 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Foraging or Hunting for Food.
7 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks undertaken in Total Darkness.
8 - While you hold this charm, you have advantage on all checks using one/two/all set(s) of tools with which the creature whose Bone you used to craft this charm was proficient with (choose when you craft the charm, if you choose a tool set with which the creature was not proficient with, the charm has no effect).
9 - While you hold this charm, you roll one/two/three additional d20s, choosing the highest result on all history checks to do with the species whose Bone you used to craft this charm.
10 - You learn skills 1/3/7 days quicker than normal.
Odd Charms
1 - You can talk to your choice of one/two/three of rats, bats, cats, and gnats (choose when you craft the charm).
2 - Can be planted, and 1/2d4/3d8 mushrooms with strange powers will grow there 1 minute later.
3 - You grow gills while this charm is in your mouth. Can be used for 1/10/100 minutes each day.
4 - Your dreams are slightly/kind of/somewhat prophetic.
5 - Your touch is slightly/kind of/somewhat reassuring.
6 - You can eat some/a meals worth of/all your food needs of spoiled food.
7 - Will point at the nearest grave within a mile/10 miles/100 miles when dropped.
8 - This Charm is a whistle, and can mimic a noise chosen when the charm is crafted/a noise you have heard within the last hour/a noise you have heard in the last day. Once a noise is chosen, that is the only noise it can mimic.
9 - You sound like a specified individual chosen when this charm was crafted/at least a day in advance of/just before you hold this charm to your throat. Once an individual is chosen, that is the only individual it can imitate.
10 - When broken, this charm releases a swarm of flies/rats/locusts that obey the first order you give them, for no longer than 1 hour/1 day/1 week.
Spell Charms
1 - You cast blade ward/sanctuary/pass without trace
2 - You cast produce flame/fog cloud/web3 - You cast true strike/detect magic/detect thoughts
4 - You cast friends/charm person/enthrall
5 - You cast light/faerie fire/scorching ray
6 - You cast minor illusion/disguise self/invisibility
7 - You cast spare the dying/false life/blindness or deafness
8 - You cast prestidigitation/goodberry/enhance ability
9 - When a spell is cast within 10 feet of you, you gain one/three/seven temporary hit points.
10 - You may memorise one/two/four more spells than you normally could.
Spirit Charms
Any further details, such as specific bones gathered or traits of the being you gathered Bone from, should be recorded beneath the primary description of the set. When using bone with that specific extra detail, such as if you are using spell-caster bone, always treat those specific Bones as having a Quantity of Pittance.
For example, you might have a:
Trove of Fine Humanoid Bone
- Spellcaster Bone
- Scapulas
- Diseased Bone
If you use these more specific types of Bone, and the dice say you should deplete them, merely remove them from that set of Bone, the Quantity of the main Set is not affected, unless it is also a Pittance with no other specific Bones, in which case it is also depleted. They are also always treated as being the same Quality of Bone as their parent Set. If they are higher Quality, then they belong to a different Set of Bone don't they?
- Spellcaster Bone
- Scapulas
- Diseased Bone
If you use these more specific types of Bone, and the dice say you should deplete them, merely remove them from that set of Bone, the Quantity of the main Set is not affected, unless it is also a Pittance with no other specific Bones, in which case it is also depleted. They are also always treated as being the same Quality of Bone as their parent Set. If they are higher Quality, then they belong to a different Set of Bone don't they?
Types of Pattern
There are a wide, wide variety of Patterns, and they determine the effects the charms have, and they are themselves divided into seven categories: Curse, Luck, Skill, Odd, Spell, Spirit, and Ward. There are also minor Charms that have similarly limited powers known by most that carve Bone.Curse charms are bound with magics that bring misfortune or harm on others. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to the target.
Luck charms are wound with lines that bring fortune to you or deflect harm from you. They are more potent when crafted with Bone that is related by species or blood to you.
Skill charms are run about with engravings that enhance your abilities and provide knowledge. They are more potent when crafted with Bone from a being skilled in the knowledge you wish the charm to provide.
Odd charms are adorned with a chaos of lines and dots that provide a plethora of effects that are not easily placed in other categories. There is no way to predict what Bones will enhance their potency until the first time the pattern is attempted.
Spell charms are marked with arcane runes and equations that mimic the effects of a spell when broken. They are more potent when crafted with the Bones of spellcasters.
Spirit charms are marred by faux-tooth and claw marks that can be used to call upon a spirit creature to do the crafter’s will. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of the animal whose spirit will be called on.
Ward charms are emblazoned with sigils that offer protection and safety to their creator. They are most potent when crafted with the Bones of a creature that was resistant to the type of the danger the charm itself offers protection to.
Minor Charms have only slight works and lines written into them, and off small benefits or charms for their makers. Minor Charms are also unique in four ways; there is no chance of failure when crafting them, they can only be made at novice level, they can only benefit the person who crafted them, and they do not require attunement. Anyone with ranks in Scrimshaw knows a number of minor patterns equal to their Scrimshaw Ranks.
To use a Charm, one must only have it on their person. They must be attuned to as if they were magic items; though you may attune to a number of Bone Charms equal to your proficiency modifier using 1 attunement slot if you crafted the Charms, if you did not craft the Charms, you can attune to a number equal to half your proficiency modifier (rounded down) using a single attunement slot. Charms whose effects are triggered when broken do not require attunement. Charms that target creatures other than those attuned to them must still be attuned to a creature for their effects to work. Minor Charms do not require attunement.
Retrieving Bone
Buying
Bone can be bought from the right people, though often in limited quantities and qualities. A typical Bone-seller’s inventory will have d4 lots of Bone for sail.
For each lot, roll a d6. Each roll of 1, 2, or 3 represents a lot of Poor Quality Bone. If the roll was a 1, it is a Pittance; if it was a 2 it is a Bundle, if it was a 3 it is a Heap.
Each roll of 4, or 5 represents a lot of Fine Quality Bone. If the roll was a 4, it is a Pittance; if the roll was a 5, it is a Bundle.
Each roll of 6 represents a lot of Brilliant Quality Bone. Brilliant Quality Bone is always offered as in a Pittance.
For a lot of Poor Quality roll a d4. For a lot of Fine Quality, roll a d6. For a lot of Brilliant Quality, roll a d10. Use the table below to determine the type of creature the Bone came from:
1 - Beast
2 - Humanoid
3 - Monstrosity
4 - Undead
5 - Giant
6 - Aberration
7 - Fey
8 - Dragon
9 - Celestial
10 - Infernal
Specific Bones cannot usually be bought, though they might be "ordered" in advance, at the DM's discretion.
Prices are determined at the DM’s discretion.
Harvesting
Using the corpse of a creature, Bone can be retrieved using your Medicine, Nature, or Scrimshaw skill.
When you harvest Bone from a creature, take a number of dice equal to your ranks in your choice of your Medicine, Nature, or Scrimshaw skill +1, and roll them. You may pair up dice that show the same result. For each pair of 1, 2, or 3, you have found some Poor Quality Bone. If the roll was a 1, it is a Pittance; if it was a 2 it is a Bundle, if it was a 3 it is a Heap. For each pair of 4, or 5, you have found some Fine Quality Bone. If the roll was a 4, it is a Pittance; if the roll was a 5, it is a Bundle. For each pair of 6, you have found Brilliant Quality Bone. Brilliant Bone is always found as a Pittance.
If you can match no dice, you find no worthwhile Bone.
For each spare dice you have no paired or have chosen not to pair, you may also specify a specific bone to be included in that set of Bone, which should be recorded with it.
It takes 10 minutes to attempt to harvest bone from a creature, or 20 minutes if the creature is huge or larger.
You can only harvest Bone from any given creature once.
Finding/Looting in Dungeon
Generally, Bone that you find amongst the debris of adventuring that you don't personally and bodily tear free from a creature you have recently slain will not be suitable for carving Bones. If it is, your Dungeon Master should tell you so, and any special aspects that it may have (though you may need to investigate the Bone further to discern them if the DM deems necessary). Generally, these Bones will always be a Pittance, and your DM will tell you what Quality they are. You should probably record these separately from your other sets of Bone.
Searching during Down-Time
If you have access to truly gargantuan quantities of bone, such as those in a catacomb, you may harvest Bone during your Down-Time. For each day's worth of searching you do, you may test your Scrimshaw skill (with difficulty depending on the source of the Bone at the DM's discretion), and if you succeed, you may determine one set of Bone in the same way as you would determine one from a Bone-Seller's inventory, though it is always of the appropriate type and species for the source of Bone you utilise.
Increasing Amounts of Bone You Already Have
If you find a type of Bone from a type of creature that shares a Quality which you already have and has a higher Quantity, replace it with the higher Quantity. If it has a lower Quantity, it gives no extra benefit. If it has the same Quantity, put a check next to the Bone, and roll a d6. If you roll more than the number of checks, there is no change, but leave the checks there. If you roll the same as, or less than the number of checks, increase the Quantity.
You can't increase the Quantity of a Hoard.
When you harvest Bone from a creature, take a number of dice equal to your ranks in your choice of your Medicine, Nature, or Scrimshaw skill +1, and roll them. You may pair up dice that show the same result. For each pair of 1, 2, or 3, you have found some Poor Quality Bone. If the roll was a 1, it is a Pittance; if it was a 2 it is a Bundle, if it was a 3 it is a Heap. For each pair of 4, or 5, you have found some Fine Quality Bone. If the roll was a 4, it is a Pittance; if the roll was a 5, it is a Bundle. For each pair of 6, you have found Brilliant Quality Bone. Brilliant Bone is always found as a Pittance.
If you can match no dice, you find no worthwhile Bone.
For each spare dice you have no paired or have chosen not to pair, you may also specify a specific bone to be included in that set of Bone, which should be recorded with it.
It takes 10 minutes to attempt to harvest bone from a creature, or 20 minutes if the creature is huge or larger.
You can only harvest Bone from any given creature once.
Finding/Looting in Dungeon
Generally, Bone that you find amongst the debris of adventuring that you don't personally and bodily tear free from a creature you have recently slain will not be suitable for carving Bones. If it is, your Dungeon Master should tell you so, and any special aspects that it may have (though you may need to investigate the Bone further to discern them if the DM deems necessary). Generally, these Bones will always be a Pittance, and your DM will tell you what Quality they are. You should probably record these separately from your other sets of Bone.
Searching during Down-Time
If you have access to truly gargantuan quantities of bone, such as those in a catacomb, you may harvest Bone during your Down-Time. For each day's worth of searching you do, you may test your Scrimshaw skill (with difficulty depending on the source of the Bone at the DM's discretion), and if you succeed, you may determine one set of Bone in the same way as you would determine one from a Bone-Seller's inventory, though it is always of the appropriate type and species for the source of Bone you utilise.
Increasing Amounts of Bone You Already Have
If you find a type of Bone from a type of creature that shares a Quality which you already have and has a higher Quantity, replace it with the higher Quantity. If it has a lower Quantity, it gives no extra benefit. If it has the same Quantity, put a check next to the Bone, and roll a d6. If you roll more than the number of checks, there is no change, but leave the checks there. If you roll the same as, or less than the number of checks, increase the Quantity.
You can't increase the Quantity of a Hoard.
Discovering Patterns
You can discover a pattern by researching, similarly to researching a new spell.To research, you should choose whether you are researching a pattern of any kind, a pattern from a specific Category, or if you wish to find a Pattern with a specific effect (or create a new Pattern with an effect of your devising).
If you wish to discover a random pattern, take a pool of 3d4. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
If you wish to discover a pattern from a specific category, take a pool of 4d8. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
If you wish to discover a specific pattern (or create a new pattern), take a pool of 5d12. At the end of each day spent mostly researching, roll the pool, and remove any 1s. When you have no dice left in your pool, you discover a pattern.
You may stop researching a pattern at any time, but if you do, all progress is lost unless you start researching the same pattern where you left it off.
Crafting a Charm
When you wish to make a Charm, you must decide on the Pattern you wish to engrave, the Level you wish to engrave it at, and the Medium you will carve it on. If you are told to treat your Bone as being levels of Quality higher than it actually is, you can increase the level of Quality beyond Brilliant; record it as Brilliant+The number of increased Quality levels, eg. Brilliant+2When carving a Curse Charm, you must use a Bone from the same species as the creature you want to be affected by the Charm. You also treat Bone that is from a creature related to the Target as being 1 level of Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from the specific creature as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Luck Charm, you treat Bone that is from the same species as you as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone that is from you as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Skill Charm, you treat Bone from a creature who had at least 1 rank in the relevant skill as being 1 Quality higher, and Bone from a creature who had at least 3 ranks in the relevant skill as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving an Odd Charm, roll two d20 on the table below to determine two Bone aspects. If the Bone matches one aspect, it is counted as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and if it matches both aspects, it counts as being 2 Quality higher than it actually is.
Bone Aspect Table
1 - Beast Bone
2 - Humanoid Bone
3 - Monstrosity Bone
4 - Undead Bone
5 - Giant Bone
6 - Aberration Bone
7 - Fey Bone
8 - Dragon Bone
9 - Celestial Bone
10 - Infernal Bone
11 - Magic User Bone
12 - Non-Magic User Bone
13 - Bone from a Small or smaller Creature
14 - Bone from a Large or larger Creature
15 - Bone from someone related to you (including you)
16 - Bone that is at least 100 years old.
17 - Bone that is less than a year old.
18 - Bone that bears the mark of a strange disease.
19 - Bone that has shed blood before.
20 - Saint's Bones.
When carving a Spell Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that could cast any spells at all as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that could cast at least 4th level spells as being 2 Quality higher.
When carving a Spirit Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature of at least double its normal hit dice that matches the type of spirit the pattern will summon as being 2 quality higher.
When carving a Ward Charm, you treat Bone from a creature that had resistance to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 1 Quality higher than it actually is, and Bone from a creature that is immune to the type of damage the pattern wards against as being 2 higher.
Novice Charms are relatively easy to make, and a skilled Scrimshaw carver can have no chance of failure with a high Quality piece of Bone. Initiate Charms are somewhat trickier to make, though a skilled Scrimshaw carver with a high Quality piece of Bone will still have a very good chance of succeeding on the first try. Master Charms are very challenging to make, and even a master Scrimshaw carver could fail multiple times even with a high Quality piece of Bone.
When choosing a piece of Bone to work, the high the Quality of the Bone, the easier it will be to craft. Having a high Quantity of Bone will not directly increase your chances of success, but it will give you extra chances should you fail. You can only choose one piece of Bone to work at any one time.
When crafting the Charm itself, take a dice depending on the Level of charm you are attempting to craft.
If you wish to craft a Novice charm, take a d8.
If you wish to craft a Novice charm, take a d8.
If you wish to craft an Initiate charm, take a d12.
If you wish to craft a Master charm, take a d20.
When using Poor Quality Bone, your target number is 1.
If you are using Fine Quality Bone, your target number is 3.
If you are using Brilliant Quality Bone, your target number is 7.
When using Bone of a Quality higher than Brilliant, add double the bonus levels to your Target Number. E.g. if you are using Brilliant+2 Bone, your target number is 11.
If your Scrimshaw skill is at least equal to the Target Number, you may roll twice and take the better result; treating Target Numbers higher than 7 as 7 for this purpose.
You must roll beneath the Target Number.
Each time you roll, you must also roll a dice to see if your stock of Bone is depleted.
For a Pittance, roll a d4.
For a Bundle, roll a d6.
For a Heap, roll a d8.
On the roll of a 1, you decrease the Quantity of Bone you are working with one step, or remove it entirely if it has a Quantity of Pittance. If using a specific type of Bone from a set, rolls of 1, or 2 deplete that specific Bone type, though remember this has no effect on the Parent Set unless it is also a Pittance with no other specific types of Bone as a part of it.
Regardless of success or failure, each attempt takes 2 hours for a Novice charm, 8 hours for an Initiate charm, and 1 week for a Master charm.
Example in Action:
Jerrick has a Scrimshaw skill of 3, and has the following set of Bone:
A Bundle of Poor Humanoid Bone
- Spellcaster Bone (2nd level)
- Rib Bone
He wishes to carve an Initiate level Spell Charm using his Spellcaster's bone. The spellcaster had 2nd level spells, so he increases the quality of his bone to Brilliant for the purposes of crafting the charm. His target number is thus 7. He takes his d12, and only rolls it once since his skill is less than the target number. He rolls a 4, and takes 8 hours to craft the Charm. He then rolls a d4 to see if he depletes his Spellcaster Bone since it is always treated as a Pittance, and rolls a 2, so the Bone is depleted, but this has no effect on the Parent Set other than that.
Example in Action:
Jerrick has a Scrimshaw skill of 3, and has the following set of Bone:
A Bundle of Poor Humanoid Bone
- Spellcaster Bone (2nd level)
- Rib Bone
He wishes to carve an Initiate level Spell Charm using his Spellcaster's bone. The spellcaster had 2nd level spells, so he increases the quality of his bone to Brilliant for the purposes of crafting the charm. His target number is thus 7. He takes his d12, and only rolls it once since his skill is less than the target number. He rolls a 4, and takes 8 hours to craft the Charm. He then rolls a d4 to see if he depletes his Spellcaster Bone since it is always treated as a Pittance, and rolls a 2, so the Bone is depleted, but this has no effect on the Parent Set other than that.
Bone Charm Patterns
Notes to DM: Charms numbered 1 through 10 are the basic Charms that can be randomly researched. Charms marked with a * were made by a player requesting a specific effect. Will probably add a few letters to mark which player created which pattern.When reading the effects, when there are words in italics separated by /’s, they separate the effects of Novice/Initiate/Master charms.
Curse Charms
1 - If something kills you, they too shall die within a year/month/week.
2 - The target suffers seemingly endless and cruel Dreams, for a week/a month/a year.
3 - The target suffers end of Love, to their gain/to no particular hurt/in the worst way possible.
4 - The target finds it all too easy to wander off/get lost/be hopelessly astray.
5 - The target contracts a minor illness/a serious condition/a deadly plague.
6 - Animals find the target uncomfortable to be around/an annoyance/an active threat.
7 - The target will often find themselves mildly unlucky/somewhat unlucky/desperately unlucky.
8 - The target will never be able to sleep more than 6/4/2 hours each night.
9 - The target will find themselves drawn into an endless sleep for d4 days/d4 weeks/d4 months.
10 - If you use two Bones in this charm, you can cause mild/serious/deadly antipathy between two targets.
Luck Charms
1 - When you roll a d20, your rolls of 4/5/6 are counted as 8/10/12.
2 - When you roll a d20, also roll a d8/d10/d12 with it, and use the higher roll.
3 - If a ranged weapon attack misses your AC by 1, if you make a successful dexterity save with a DC of the attack roll, the attack hits something else within 5/10/15 feet of you.
4 - Add a +1/+2/+3 bonus to a saving throw that you add no proficiency to (decide when you craft the charm).
5 - You score a critical hit on rolls of 19/18/17 or higher. (Cannot be further modified)
6 - Every week, roll a d10. On the roll of a 10, you gain a few coins/a handful of coins/a purse of coins.
7 - When you roll for regaining HP, or gaining HP because of a level up, your results are counted as being 2/3/4 if they would be lower.
8 - Add a +1/+2/+3 to a skill that you are not proficient in (decide when you craft the charm).
9 - When you suffer a critical hit, you have a 1 in 6/2 in 6/3 in 6 chance to ignore the extra damage and effects.
10 - When you fail a skill check, you may try again if you choose. This charm has 1/3/7 uses.
Skill Charms
1 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Nautical activities.
2 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Meat.
3 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with interacting with Animals.
4 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with restraining someone.
5 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Doors.
6 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks to do with Foraging or Hunting for Food.
7 - Add a +d4/+d6/+d8 to all skill checks undertaken in Total Darkness.
8 - While you hold this charm, you have advantage on all checks using one/two/all set(s) of tools with which the creature whose Bone you used to craft this charm was proficient with (choose when you craft the charm, if you choose a tool set with which the creature was not proficient with, the charm has no effect).
9 - While you hold this charm, you roll one/two/three additional d20s, choosing the highest result on all history checks to do with the species whose Bone you used to craft this charm.
10 - You learn skills 1/3/7 days quicker than normal.
Odd Charms
1 - You can talk to your choice of one/two/three of rats, bats, cats, and gnats (choose when you craft the charm).
2 - Can be planted, and 1/2d4/3d8 mushrooms with strange powers will grow there 1 minute later.
3 - You grow gills while this charm is in your mouth. Can be used for 1/10/100 minutes each day.
4 - Your dreams are slightly/kind of/somewhat prophetic.
5 - Your touch is slightly/kind of/somewhat reassuring.
6 - You can eat some/a meals worth of/all your food needs of spoiled food.
7 - Will point at the nearest grave within a mile/10 miles/100 miles when dropped.
8 - This Charm is a whistle, and can mimic a noise chosen when the charm is crafted/a noise you have heard within the last hour/a noise you have heard in the last day. Once a noise is chosen, that is the only noise it can mimic.
9 - You sound like a specified individual chosen when this charm was crafted/at least a day in advance of/just before you hold this charm to your throat. Once an individual is chosen, that is the only individual it can imitate.
10 - When broken, this charm releases a swarm of flies/rats/locusts that obey the first order you give them, for no longer than 1 hour/1 day/1 week.
Spell Charms
1 - You cast blade ward/sanctuary/pass without trace
2 - You cast produce flame/fog cloud/web3 - You cast true strike/detect magic/detect thoughts
4 - You cast friends/charm person/enthrall
5 - You cast light/faerie fire/scorching ray
6 - You cast minor illusion/disguise self/invisibility
7 - You cast spare the dying/false life/blindness or deafness
8 - You cast prestidigitation/goodberry/enhance ability
9 - When a spell is cast within 10 feet of you, you gain one/three/seven temporary hit points.
10 - You may memorise one/two/four more spells than you normally could.
Spirit Charms
All summoned creatures will serve faithfully for a maximum of 1 month, or until they use up their allotted abilities.
1 - When you break this charm, you summon a cat that knows 1/3/7 random 1st level wizard spells, that can teach them to you over 10 minutes, though you can't write these spells down in any way.
2 - When you break this charm, you summon a bat that will faithfully spy/report on 1/2/4 areas, using any senses at its disposal.
3 - When you break this charm, you summon a wolf with 1/2/4 hit dice that serves you faithfully.
4 - When you break this charm, you summon a raven that will whisper 1/2/4 secrets in your ear.
5 - When you break this charm, you summon a rat that will faithfully fetch 1/2/4 items that a rat could feasibly carry at your request.
6 - When you break this charm, you summon an owl that will translate 1/3/7 conversation(s) or paragraph(s) of any language that it hears or reads, and whisper them in your ear.
7 - When you break this charm, you summon a terrible worm that will destroy any object that could conceivably be eaten over the course of 1 day/1 hour/1 minute.
8 - When you break this charm, you cast find familiar, though it will only serve for 1 day/1 week/1 month.
9 - Any creatures that are summoned by magic within 10 feet of this charm have 1/2/4 extra bonus hit die.
10 - When you break this charm you cast animal friendship/beast sense/animal messenger.
Ward Charms
1 - A creature that has just dealt you damage has a -1/-2/-4 to hit you for the next day.
2 - A creature that inflicts a condition on you has a 1 in 6/1 in 4/1 in 2 chance of suffering it too.
3 - All creatures have a -1/-2/-4 modifier to all opposed strength and dexterity skills involving you.
4 - You reduce the damage each dice of fire damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
5 - You reduce the damage each dice of cold damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
6 - You reduce the damage each dice of lightning damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
7 - You reduce the damage each dice of thunder damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
8 - You reduce the damage each dice of acid damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
9 - You reduce the damage each dice of poison damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
10 - You reduce the damage each dice of radiant and necrotic damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
Minor Charms
1 - You may eat this charm to gain the benefits of a small meal taken from the animal whose bone the charm was carved from, though it provides no relief from hunger.
2 - If you carve this Charm on a bone that matches a place on your body where you have suffered a wound, it will heal twice as quickly.
3 - If you burn this charm, it burns for 24 hours, and will not go out unless you specifically douse it.
4 - Leaving this charm under your pillow while you sleep protects you from bad dreams and other such unconscious interference (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects).
5 - Carrying this charm gives you a small friendship with rats for a number of days equal to the number of knuckle-bones you used to craft the charm.
6 - Carrying this charm protects you from the evil eye (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects). This charm must be carved from a skull fragment that includes a whole eye-socket.
7 - This charm feels cold when malevolent spirits are present. It must be carved from the bone of a murderer.
8 - This charm always points north when dropped. It must always be carved from a matching pair of Ribs.
9 - Planting this charm in a field of crops ensures they will not be blighted for a month. This Charm must be carved from a Pelvis.
10 - Intergrating this charm into the walls of a building ensures it will not be blown down by storms. This Charm must be carved from at least 3 Spinal Vertebrae.
1 - When you break this charm, you summon a cat that knows 1/3/7 random 1st level wizard spells, that can teach them to you over 10 minutes, though you can't write these spells down in any way.
2 - When you break this charm, you summon a bat that will faithfully spy/report on 1/2/4 areas, using any senses at its disposal.
3 - When you break this charm, you summon a wolf with 1/2/4 hit dice that serves you faithfully.
4 - When you break this charm, you summon a raven that will whisper 1/2/4 secrets in your ear.
5 - When you break this charm, you summon a rat that will faithfully fetch 1/2/4 items that a rat could feasibly carry at your request.
6 - When you break this charm, you summon an owl that will translate 1/3/7 conversation(s) or paragraph(s) of any language that it hears or reads, and whisper them in your ear.
7 - When you break this charm, you summon a terrible worm that will destroy any object that could conceivably be eaten over the course of 1 day/1 hour/1 minute.
8 - When you break this charm, you cast find familiar, though it will only serve for 1 day/1 week/1 month.
9 - Any creatures that are summoned by magic within 10 feet of this charm have 1/2/4 extra bonus hit die.
10 - When you break this charm you cast animal friendship/beast sense/animal messenger.
Ward Charms
1 - A creature that has just dealt you damage has a -1/-2/-4 to hit you for the next day.
2 - A creature that inflicts a condition on you has a 1 in 6/1 in 4/1 in 2 chance of suffering it too.
3 - All creatures have a -1/-2/-4 modifier to all opposed strength and dexterity skills involving you.
4 - You reduce the damage each dice of fire damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
5 - You reduce the damage each dice of cold damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
6 - You reduce the damage each dice of lightning damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
7 - You reduce the damage each dice of thunder damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
8 - You reduce the damage each dice of acid damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
9 - You reduce the damage each dice of poison damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
10 - You reduce the damage each dice of radiant and necrotic damage deals to you by 1/2/3.
Minor Charms
1 - You may eat this charm to gain the benefits of a small meal taken from the animal whose bone the charm was carved from, though it provides no relief from hunger.
2 - If you carve this Charm on a bone that matches a place on your body where you have suffered a wound, it will heal twice as quickly.
3 - If you burn this charm, it burns for 24 hours, and will not go out unless you specifically douse it.
4 - Leaving this charm under your pillow while you sleep protects you from bad dreams and other such unconscious interference (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects).
5 - Carrying this charm gives you a small friendship with rats for a number of days equal to the number of knuckle-bones you used to craft the charm.
6 - Carrying this charm protects you from the evil eye (equivalent to advantage on any saves against such effects). This charm must be carved from a skull fragment that includes a whole eye-socket.
7 - This charm feels cold when malevolent spirits are present. It must be carved from the bone of a murderer.
8 - This charm always points north when dropped. It must always be carved from a matching pair of Ribs.
9 - Planting this charm in a field of crops ensures they will not be blighted for a month. This Charm must be carved from a Pelvis.
10 - Intergrating this charm into the walls of a building ensures it will not be blown down by storms. This Charm must be carved from at least 3 Spinal Vertebrae.
Liches
Liches
So I've ended up writing about an undergraduate dissertation's worth of words about Liches of all things. Most of it is just weird and wild forms of Liches, non-standard stuff to be sure.
[Pontification Warning: Flee while you can]
I think this was mostly fuelled by some guy (or gal, who knows) on reddit who dismissed the idea that you could have a level 1 Lich, or that a level 1 character could become a Lich. To this I say POPPYCOCK AND BALDERDASH!!! A Lich (for my purposes) is a being who's soul has been removed from its body, and thus is reduced to an undead existence, immortal and undying yet sustained by its Phylactery, which contains the last dregs of its old life. I don't see why this has to be the purview of only high-level wizards, or even that the person who becomes the Lich is even necessarily the person who made them a Lich. It opens so many doors and opportunities (some of which have been explored below).
And please, this isn't an attack against that person. We are all free to like what we like, and who am I to impose rules on other peoples imaginary elf-games? If you like the "purity of what a Lich is" as presented in monster books of your system of choice, just ignore all mentions of Lich, and just steal the ideas you like (if any). I think that's kind of the point of ever doing anything in a public DnD blog like this one. Take what you like, leave what you don't.
Any, enough self-righteous pontificating; Liches.
I've got a mere 8 tables/idea mines for you today:
- Types of Lich
- Special Liches (more like unique Liches, those who twist the idea a little less than the ones above)
- Lich Phylacteries
- Lich Ambitions
- Lich Madnesses
- Lich Lairs
- Lich Weaknesses
- Lich Powers
The Types of Liches are twists on the formula (well 18 or so of them at least are) of a crazy old magic-man with his soul in a box in the basement. Sometimes its the box, sometimes its the old man. One of them is a druid, one of them is a monk, and a Paladin too. I tried to represent as many classes as I could. The other main goal was to present the idea that there are many different ways to become a Lich. Not all of them as "good" as others, but not all of them will be available to any given person. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have, and deal with the consequences later. But they are all, loosely at least, Liches.
The Special Liches are more like unique Liches, those ones who followed the instruction manual, but added their own special steps, rather than reinventing the wheel. Just, read them and see.
Lich Phylacteries are just that, a list of potential objects a Lich might use as a Phylactery. These are ones for those Liches who want to last. The more personal the object, the more connection the Lich has to it, the stronger the bond the Phylactery forms with the soul within. Of course, a Lich could make a random grain of sand in the desert its Phylactery such that it can never be found, but the Phylactery will not hold the soul for long, and lose it eventually, bringing mortality back into the question for the Lich. This might be the point.
Lich Ambitions are similarly straight forward. When forever is your time-frame, only the grandest of goals will ever do.
Lich Madnesses are the quirks that wrack the Lich as the weight of uncountable years sets in. Even the most secure of Phylacteries can't be water-proof (or soul-proof I guess) and as such, tiny bits of the Lich leak out over the centuries. These are how that might manifest.
The list of Lich Lairs is honestly the weakest part of all this I think. They are loose and flapping like flags in a gale. They are just the seeds of ideas where I'd love to give near-full-grown saplings. But we're already at a dangerous density of words, so seeds will have to do I think. Maybe for some of you that's a good thing.
Every good Bad Guy needs a Weakness and while this list could easily be one of the most expansive here, I've kept this one a little briefer than maybe I should, because I think most people can think of at least 1 or 2 really, really good and poetic and gameable and whatever weaknesses. This one is really just a springboard for ideas. But there you go, I can't give you everything! Freeloaders!
And finally, the various Lich Powers listed in this post are kept as short descriptive titles only, any stats you may want to give them, even what they actually do at all is totally up to you. They don't have to totally replace spellcasting for Liches, but they could. I'd say have 2d4 powers per Lich, with a modifier on those dice based on the power-rating of your lich, and whether you're giving them any special powers if they are a different type of Lich to the standard "True" Lich.
2 - False Lich
3 - Scrag Lich
4 - Wraith Lich
5 - Totem Lich
6 - Cinders Lich
7 - Sanction Lich
8 - Mitotic Lich
9 - Lichiarch
10 - Lantern Lich
11 - Umbralich
12 - Grey-Child
13 - Scavenger Lich
14 - Hollow Lich
15 - Scapulan Lich
16 - Ghoul Lich
17 - Henge Lich
18 - Blizzard Lich
19 - Sacred Lich
20 - Pact Lich
True Lich
These are the truly dangerous ones; the ones who have mastered life and found death wanting. These are the classic undead immortals. They wield magic like a swordsmaster a blade, they warp reality like gods do; they are used to their word being law. Their power is terrible, their ambitions mighty, their patience legendary. But you know much of this already.
True Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
False Lich
False Liches are those who successfully wrought themselves a new undead existence, but who didn't quite reach eternal life. They are lesser than True Liches, but still formidable. They may exist for some few centuries, and wield strange and terrible magics; but one day, they will run down, and die. Most go insane as their minds are worn away by the march of years. Their Phylacteries are slightly flawed, their powers subtly unstable, always grinding down little by little the energies that sustain them. Every few decades or so they are wracked by the imperfections that mar their immortality, sometimes disabling them for a few years, never less than a few months. No matter how hard they try, their efforts aren't quite enough, they can't repair the damage done. Many a driven to the edge by anger and frustration; sometimes they can be more dangerous than true Liches, as their rage boils over and they take it out on the mortals around them. If nothing else, they often have more drive and motivation to accomplish things than their more perfect brethren. This does not make things any better for anyone of course.
False Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Scrag Liches
Sometimes, the method is discovered by one not capable of handling it. They somehow stumble through it, chicken blood for vital fluids of dragons, virgin earth for virgin flesh, copper for gold. To their dismay, it goes totally, horrifyingly wrong.
They lurk now in graveyards, in dank sewers, and other such rank nooks. They crouch like children, gait like apes, teeth gnashing and foaming from the mouth. In one hand they might clutch their imperfect phylactery, broken nails scratching the surface which leaks foul smoke. They are as utterly inhuman as it is possible to be whilst still clad in the form of man.
They are not truly immortal, their life slowly slips away as before, just more slowly; the tides of life stymied a little by the phylactery. But their mind has not survived the process. Scrag Liches are horrifying wretches, life has abandoned them, man has abandoned them, and they wish they could do the same.
That is not to say they are as pathetic as they seem. They are still Liches; they are as tough to kill as a Lich, and they can regenerate their bodies if destroyed as long as their phylactery survives, though this often costs them much of the life they bought with their transformation. Some small modicum of magic also clings to their frail and withered forms, just not much.
Scrag Lich Powers
1 - Madness Scratches
2 - Ungodly Howl
3 - Filthy Grip
4 - Cage of Ribs
5 - Babbling and Groaning
6 - Vomit Darkness
7 - Wild Transformation
8 - Slink Unseen
9 - Grasp Heart
10 - Supernal Strength
Wraith Lich
Some Liches let go of more than just their lives, some let go of all existence. These are Wraith Liches, more like ghosts, or intangible spirits than any other kind of undead. Their mind lives on, sustained by the phylactery they crafted, but any material connection to the world is gone, not even a corpse remains.
Why they would choose this kind of existence perplexes many, but some choose it for one reason or another, or sometimes even because it is the only option they have. Over time, the Wraith Lich might be able to manipulate the real world with magic, or possess someone and steal their body, even if only for a time. Wraith Liches also find it much easier to manipulate the minds of living things, intangible fingers reaching into the mind and twisting the strands of thought found within.
They are also, by their very nature, the most subtle of Liches. Many villages host to a Wraith Lich may never realise the source of their corruptions. Only a tingle on the back of the neck, a surety that there is something unwholesome watching, but never being able to find it.
Wraith Lich Powers
1 - Possess Mind
2 - Possess Body
3 - Control Swarm
4 - Draining Mists
5 - Manipulate Weather
6 - Ghostly Hands
7 - Manifestation
8 - Ravage Spirit
9 - Decaying Presence
10 - Intrusive Thoughts
Totem Lich
Amongst the tribes of the great meadows and plain who recognise the might of the earth, some among them carve totems as tiny charms that conduct the power of the thing that they resemble as part of a bargain with the world.
Some subvert it, and carve an image of their own heart, and their mind (somehow), and their own soul, surmounting the world itself at the base. They bind the earth to their will, and live eternal, as long as the totem stands. They are regarded as some as being somehow lesser Liches than others, but the truth is beyond that, their powers are in relation to the carvings they have made. The more artistry and skill in the Totem, the more solid their hold on their mind, on life, on the things they carved.
Many Totem Liches carve other things into their Totems too, to gain their powers as well. Some Totems end up grand indeed, twisted towers of abhorrent bargains with dark spirits of the wastes.
They are of course, an affront to all living things, more so than regular Liches.
Totem Lich Powers
1 - Bestial Aspect
2 - Elemental Aspect
3 - Dominate Beast
4 - Dominate Land
5 - Twist Beast
6 - Twist Land
7 - Sunder Life
8 - Absorb Vitality
9 - Blight Land
10 - Ravage Land
Cinders Lich
Sometimes, a fire elemental will find its flames dwindling, its light fading. In desperation, it seeks a new source for its life, and might choose the souls of mortals. It is a Cinder's Lich, a cold black flame in the shape of a man, radiating blue luminescence, draining the heat of the world into itself. Heaven's save you if you fall into its clutches.
Some theorise the existence of a kind of Ice-Medusa that freezes mortals with its gaze; they merely have encountered the works of a Cinders Lich. Sometimes the ruined and ragged corpse of a man is found in the woods, and the Wendigo is blamed for it. Or a blizzard flows down from the mountain in the height of summer, and hags are cursed. The Cinders Lich remains hidden.
Their Phylacteries are different as well, due to their elemental natures. They are contained within the Cinders Lich itself, a shrivelled black and silver coal, right at its heart. Pluck it out, and crush it, and the Cinders Lich will be no more. Of course it is never as simple as all that.
Of all elementals, only Flame have been confirmed to do this, perhaps due to their transitory existences. Other such elemental Liches have been theorised: Drought Liches, Dusts Liches, Miasmic Liches.
Cinders Lich Powers
1 - Master of Ice
2 - Black-Flame
3 - Necrotise Element
4 - Flash-freeze
5 - Blood-frost
6 - Blizzard Crown
7 - Hoarfrost Breath
8 - Douse Flame
9 - Corrupt Elemental
10 - Snow-Blind
Sanction Lich
For some, even a long and drawn out death is not enough, their suffering must be made eternal.
Sanction Liches are even more pathetic and puny than Scrag Liches. Their existence has been tailor-made with bespoke skill and suffering to be as miserable and unbearable as possible. Their minds broke long before they were even transformed, and now their Phylactery creaks and moans beneath the weight of the Liches suffering.
It is of course, reserved for only the most heinous of crimes. Suffering of this magnitude has been known to start wars for being inflicted even on the most truly deserving. Of course, wars have also been started due to the possibly that the Sanction Lich may escape its bondage.
If it did, it would be a terrible whirlwind of death, a pall of destruction that could devastate continents. In its wrath, the almighty powers within it would blot out the sun and cause the earth to bleed and rivers to rise up out of the earth in horror and coil and contort like snakes across the ground hissing and screaming.
The Sanction Lich has to be inundated with magic to be born, and that magic waits like worms just beneath the surface, waiting for the moment to be unleashed.
Sanction Lich Powers
Apocalyptic in the extreme. It would be the end of days. It only needs one. Pray it does not have more.
1 - Rain of Blood
2 - Ichorous Earth
3 - Blistering Sky
4 - Eclipse
5 - Weeping Sea
6 - Insect Epidemic
7 - Plague of Undeath
8 - Betrayal of Metal
9 - Wither the World
10 - Catastrophic Conflagration
Mitotic Lich
Some Liches, while they have mastered most of the process of Undeath, spoiled one crucial step; the Phylactery. They function as Liches normally do, only the operative word here is they.
When a Mitotic Lich is vanquished bodily (and many only discover their natures when this happens for the first time), then when their form recongeals from their Phylactery, where once there was one, there are now two. This is only mostly confusing the first time it happens.
It will get out of control if the phylactery is well hidden enough. It usually is.
Most of the time the Liches mind controls all of the bodies, but it is unused to it for long long aeons, and the multiple bodies move awkwardly and staggeringly. Eventually some form of control can be established, but this is again thrown off balance when a new pair of Liches tumbles out of the Phylactery. It gets quicker each time, that's nothing to say about the threat posed by the horde of Liches that appear over the centuries...
Mitotic Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll additional times on the main table.
Lichiarch
Sometimes, a Lich will despise life and what their old life represented, that they will choose something even more vile than usual, to become their family's Lichiarch. When a Lichiarch is slain, it does not form a new body. Rather, the Liches spirit possesses another member of the Lich's family. Who ever is closest related to the Lich that still lives, becomes the next host of the undying mind of the Lich.
Another quirk of Lichiarchs is that they have none of the long life of other Liches. Each host of the Lich has their usual allotment of years, this is of only some small inconvenience to the Lich, usually. They end up spending much of their time putting in effort to unite the family such that no potential hosts end up as pariahs from their fellows in case they become the next host and render the Lich socially impotent. As much of the family will also be trained in the sorcerous ways, when the Lich possesses someone, they gain no extra magics outside of those inherent to their Lich existence.
Lichiarch Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Lantern Lich
It walks the world beneath the world, cowled and cowed. Hunched and hooded, it bears a staff with a hanging lantern at its top, it sheds no light, at least none that you can see. They wander the tunnels and caverns bearing a light that provides no sight to the living, and only the dead, they are shepherds of the living dead in the lands where no sun shines. Life flinches and cringes away from the invisible light, and thus the dead pass unmolested. No one knows what it takes to become a Lantern Lich, who becomes Lantern Liches, or why Lanterns Liches come to be. They are mysterious and enigmatic, they reveal nothing, and rarely engage anyone in anything, even those dead that follow them. They merely walk, and maintain the un-light that is there eternal life.
As far as anyone knows.
Lantern Lich Powers
1 - Blinding Light
2 - Draining Shadows
3 - Twisting Paths
4 - Fade
5 - Flare
6 - Ashen Storm
7 - Call Brethren
8 - Echoing Scream
9 - Sink Into Stone
10 - Pass Without Thought
Umbral Lich
Much like Wraith Liches, Umbral Liches have forsaken a physical existence, but have instead become a living pool of darkness, liquid and swirling. They are surprisingly active for Liches, often times taking active roles in advancing their schemes. Thankfully Umbral Liches' ambitions are somewhat less severe than other Liches it seems. Their plots are often on a very personal level, and the few examples of Umbral Lich writing show that they very much enjoy the intimate details that their unseen form allows them privy to. They enjoy being spies, assassins, voyeurs, stalkers. They learn their prey, inside and out, and slowly drive them mad.
Quite why they do this rather than pursue more grand designs is something of a mystery. It is speculated that as they become incarnate darkness, their minds are warped by it. Either way, it is a comfort to those who aren't the chosen prey of an Umbral Lich.
Umbral Lich Powers
1 - Animate Shadow
2 - Icy Touch
3 - Dislocate
4 - Primal Fear
5 - Something's Out There
6 - Dark Hands
7 - Shadow Strike
8 - Duplicate Darkness
9 - Looming Presence
10 - Muffle
Grey-Child
Once in a thousand million births, a child will be born without its soul embedded in its body as is proper. Instead, its immortal spirit resides split in two, half in its mother, half in its father. A Grey-Child.
They are alone in all of Lichdom in that (as far as is known) the child has no choice as to whether they become a Lich. They have an immense capacity for magic that waxes as the child ages, with an exponential increase once they hit puberty. They are noticeably anti-social, even at a young age and treat other children and pets with sly contempt. Even their parents are given a cold shoulder, though the bond with the parents is one of the few that the Grey-Child will attempt to maintain at all. They do have vested interests in them, after all.
They are also unique in that they have two Phylacteries, technically. The drawback is that Grey-Children are the most vulnerable of all Liches, their Parents only function as Phylacteries until death. They will outlive their parents, but once they are dead, the Lich can die too.
For many Grey-Children, most will never know the truth of their condition. It even escapes them in some cases, though most will realise the truth once puberty begins and their true sorcerous potential emerges. They can interact with society, live long and prosperous lives, and only very rarely ever meet their ends at the enchanted blades of adventuring bands. They can often be found as doctors and healers, or alchemists, tending to their parents with doting, if cold, care.
Its in their best interests after all.
Grey Child Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Scavenger Lich
When a Lich goes too long without feeding itself on the vital energies of the living, they shrivel and prune. Leave it too long past that stage, and their phylactery will crack beneath the pressure of maintaining the Liches' life. When it finally reaches breaking point, and it shatters, the Lich usually dies. Sometimes though, it survives as a Scavenger Lich. The trauma is oftentimes enough to shatter the Lich's vulnerable psyche, and the mad and animalistic beast often resembles a Scrag-Lich. The difference is that the Scavenger Lich is driven with wild abandon to recover their now lost Phylactery. They have presence of mind enough for that.
And they are cunning too. Eventually it will dawn on the Scavenger Lich that the old Phylactery is gone forever, and so they will seek out a suitable replacement. The next stage comes much later, as the Scavenger Lich lacks the capacity to forge a new Phylactery, so they seek to trick some unsuspecting third party into creating one for them. Most will have been destroyed at some point by this time, but the few that make it will have stitched together some vague idea of humanity again, and while still mostly insane, they can converse well enough, and the most successful will even be able to attract a meagre cult of desperate individuals to try and get themselves resurrected. There have even been stories that it worked one time. Mostly they end in violence long before that point.
Scavenger Lich Powers
None, they barely have the strength to live, let alone manifest any other magics.
Hollow Lich
Monks oftentimes seek something greater than themselves, transcendence of this imperfect world. Occasionally they even find it. Some few of those who do, find the knowledge of the infinite that they have finally found to be less than satisfying, occasionally downright nihilistic. So burdened by the wright of cosmic truth, cast away their souls into the uttermost void between reality and itself, forever bereft of the need to care. They are... technically Liches, in that their soul is gone, and life eternal is theirs by virtue of their surpassing the laws of nature in their quest for perfection. They are in all regards perfect except that they lack a soul at all, and with it the desire to do anything at all.
They have no ambition, they exist only as machines, driven only to continue to exist as all things must.
They are terrifying to face, they know themselves perfectly, and their limits and techniques are honed to a razors edge. They probably know a fair amount about you, even at only a glance. And worse, you can't even kill them. They have surpassed that. Even pain is a distant memory to a Hollow Lich. They know the Underlying Patterns of reality, being run through with a sword is like a splinter to a Blue Whale. Insignificant.
The best part about Hollow Liches is that it is incredibly difficult to earn their enmity. Unless you really pose a threat to their continued existence, they often enough will merely leave you alone. You can even talk to them without fear of being crushed into paste. Some even attend monasteries, content merely to meditate when not conversed with.
When you know all there is to know, what else is there really to do?
Hollow Lich Powers
1 - Horrifying Revelation
2 - Solidify Flesh
3 - The Flowing Earth
4 - Still Thine Heart
5 - Rising Sun Strike
6 - Celerity
7 - Disrupt Ki
8 - Transcendent Visions
9 - Sunder Soul
10 - Divine Contemplation
Scapulan Lich
The Surgeon-Necromancers of Scapula, the Fat-black island, are mighty in their craft, beyond what most suspect. If you could somehow ever scrape up the inconceivable fortune they would require for such an operation, they might be persuaded to surgically remove your soul from you.
Such souls are kept in Phylacteries under the care of the Surgeon-Necromancers as a courtesy to their customers, and few would even think about breaking into the Chapel-Theatres of the Surgeon-Necromancers, for risk of being caught and used for "research".
Those who can afford to actual become a Lich in this way will often have the funds to also have their mortal forms extensively modified, sometimes just as a "social indicator of status," more often than not they add deadly weapons and flesh-extensions to their forms. Why be an impotent Lich if you can afford to harness more deadly powers than anyone else in a hundred miles?
While becoming a Lich in this manner won't grant the Lich any particularly skill with magic if it doesn't already have it, it will amplify what is already there. The process leaves the body better able to channel magical energies, and at extra expense, these aspects of the transformation can be further enhanced. A few such Scapulan-Liches will even hire retainer-wizards to cast spells and enchantments upon them, able as they are to absorb even greater amounts of magic than mere mortals.
In any case, the Scapulan-Lich is not to be taken any less seriously than any other kind of Lich.
Scapulan Lich Powers
1 - Lightning Gland
2 - Flame Pores
3 - Acid Spew
4 - Poison Nails
5 - Hidden Tendrils
6 - Distension Maw
7 - Telescopic Limbs
8 - Retractable Limb-Blades
9 - Throat Spike
10 - Mutation Gaze
Ghoul Lich
Ghoul-Wasps are not to be trifled with, and indeed Necromancers who master their control are widely respected and feared within the Necromancers' circles. [Editors Note: Ghoul-Wasps breed inside people, and turn them into Ghouls, flesh-hungry hosts of unhatched wasps] Sometimes one of these such Ghoul-Necromancers stumbles across a particularly vile and uncomfortable secret of Ghoul-Wasps, they can be used as a Phylactery, as long as they nest within the form of the Lich they preserve.
This does not stop many that discover this, already themselves somewhat inured to the horrors of the Wasps, and thus they become Liches with skin crawling from the masses of Wasps that slink their way through the necrotic meat and bunch up in the soft tissues of the belly and neck. Swarms of them pour from the Lich's gaping maw and the ragged holes torn in the Lich's sides, obeying the commands of their master.
Such a Lich is only vulnerable once their swarm is destroyed, and every single insect must die, else the Wasp will escape, inhabit a new person, breed, and the consciousness of the Lich will regenerate slowly with the addition of each new Wasp, a horrifying possession for the victim of the wasps by a gestalt lunatic.
Ghoul Lich Powers
1 - Command Insect
2 - Call Ghouls
3 - Infestation
4 - Gall-Cyst
5 - Chitin Storm
6 - Invertebrate Transformation
7 - Swarm Shape
8 - Bugs from Dust
9 - Plated Skin
10 - Create Hive
Henge Lich
In elder days, the barrier between the living and the dead was not nearly as well understood, or respected. Indeed, much of their sympathetic magics nowadays would be treated by most as gross necromancy. One of the more commonly recognised symbols of the ancient sorceries (even if the observer doesn't recognise its magical potential) is the ring of standing stones, and the intricate series of banks and ditches that run runes about them.
These are of course, magical conduits; and they maintain the Lich-Guardians of the Henges as part of their function.
They are really only Liches in the technical sense, they posses none of their old memories or life, they merely remember their tasks and carry them out with ruthless, unfeeling efficiency. They are more forces of nature than individuals at this point, and they only become more so with the passage of centuries. The very oldest have lost their physical forms almost entirely, and make their flesh from the chipped and scratched stone of the henge itself, packed with earth and spiralled in vines, their cries the deep roar of stone echoing down the aeons.
Some come marching to meet you will other archaic skeletons, called to service by the Henge-Lich, clad in bronze and rotted skins, clutching wooden weapons no longer fit for service, or flint knives and blades long since blunted and decayed. They throw themselves at you with relentless abandon. Their lack of proper weapons means nothing, their hands will serve well enough until they literally grind themselves to nothing against you.
All the while, the Henge-Lich watches, urging the very stones and bones of its domain to destroy you.
Henge Lich Powers
1 - Animate Stone
2 - Implore Nature
3 - Ley-Line Convergence
4 - Ancestor's Vengeance
5 - Spirits of Old
6 - Call Lightning
7 - Wrath of the Stars
8 - Celestial Alignment
9 - Earth Arise
10 - Growth/Decay
Loam Lich
Druids are not as incorruptible as they might say they are. Even the earth can be poisoned.
On the very blackest of days, a Druid that feels the call of Naturalisation but who abhors the idea will concoct a plan; they will take the very soul of the earth for themselves. They will amalgamate the earth with themselves, no the other way around. This of course, never quite works out as they imagine it will, not that this is enough to ever deter such individuals from trying it.
The resultant abomination is called a Loam-Lich. Their soul resides in the earth of their grove, but the grove has lost its connection to the World. They are one, but cut off from the greater whole. They despise what they are, what they could have been; and so feed off of what is around them. They drain the earth and feast on rotten beasts and trees, they waste the wilderness to allow them to survive, and they do it with a hateful glee.
The Loam-Lich still has their powers over nature, though now it is a result of their domination of nature, rather than their symbiosis with it. They still command the animal residents of the grove, but they are no longer alive. They aren't quite undead either, but they slowly slip towards it as the long decades drag on. The trees and plants survive too, but they are dry and twisted by their new lives too. They feed on the night and darkness rather than the sun, which now they merely endure. A Loam-Lich's grove is now an oasis of dull brown amongst the dead and dying wilds around it. Most Loam-Liches that live much more than a century will often reduce the surrounding lands to desert.
Growth still continues within the grove, but in a twisted reflection of what it was before. Brambles and thorns, dry twigs and bushes, emaciated and ferocious animals, unnaturally strong and vital for how thin they look.
And of course, the Loam-Lich itself (or more properly, the physical manifestation of the Lich's old body) remains, a grey-brown ghost that haunts the thickets and trunks. Its skin is dried and rotten leaves, its flesh is desiccated earth, and its teeth and eyes are chunks of rough flint. It comes and goes as it pleases, the earth is it as much as it is the earth, and so attacking the form of the Lich is about as useless as trying to kill the sea with a sword.
No-one quite knows how to kill a Loam-Lich. Destruction of the Grove seems to do the trick, but inevitably the earth beneath it regenerates with time, and the Loam-Lich returns. It might be centuries later, but the earth measures its life in aeons, not centuries. It seems that unless they very earth of the grove itself is destroyed (and no-one knows what that might even look like, let alone what efforts it would take), the Loam-Lich is as immortal as the world itself.
Loam Lich Powers
Note: These are not so much manifestations of magic like other Lich powers, these are merely the Loam-Lich's command of the grove-corpse itself. They are more like you flexing an arm than casting a spell.
1 - Hateful Plants
2 - Animal Monsters
3 - Desiccate and Wrack
4 - Viney Grasp
5 - Stone, Awaken
6 - Awaken Primality
7 - Wooden Prison
8 - Wind of Thorns
9 - Dust-Storm
10 - Insect Abomination
Sacred Lich
As much of an oxymoron it sounds, some gods pride themselves on their superior practicality, and occasionally reward their followers with Divine Lichdom.
The Sacred Lich was probably once a Paladin, or high-ranking Cleric of a particularly pragmatic church. They are most often driven by dogma rather than morals, though this need not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can a great desire to continue their works on earth that prompts their transformation. Either way, once the Sacred-Lich emerges, their soul has gone to heaven, but their body continues their grand commission, wreathed in glory and power.
To a one, they are imperious and cold and distant. They continue to act as they did in life, but their motivation is now mechanical rather than morally derived. They do so because that is what they do, why they exist, not because it is what they want to do. This callousness to their works is not particularly liked, but it is tolerated. Sacred-Liches are exceptionally good at what they do.
They might be captains of invincible warrior-priests, sent to hunt down the most grand evils imaginable, or they might be spell-casters without compare, better able to channel the miracles of their gods than mortals; their dead flesh more resistant to being seared by the holy power that surges through them.
Their divine status is not enough to keep them from making enemies of course. There are those that abhor the undead in whatever form they come in, doubly so when it is done in the name of a god. And of course, some people think that whatever good the Sacred Lich might do, the way they do it is kind of dickish. They always do what is right, whatever the cost.
If a Sacred-Lich dies, it is up to their god if they are regenerated back on earth. Sometimes it just isn't worth the bother. Sometimes, the corpse of a Sacred-Lich will be made into Relics on par with those made from Saint-bones, much to the annoyance of the Lich if it returns to the world while its body is divided up.
Sacred Lich Powers
1 - Divine Pronouncement
2 - Shackles of Faith
3 - Zealous Immunity
4 - Wrath of God
5 - Abjure the Heathen
6 - Undying Servant of God
7 - Blinding Light
8 - Cleansing Flames
9 - Binding Proclamation
10 - Perfect Judgement
Hostage Lich
Hostage Lich Powers
1 - Liquefy Flesh
2 - Ethereal Tendrils
3 - Souls Suction
4 - Drain Essence
5 - Weep Blood
6 - Infest with Worms
7 - Helminth Servant
8 - Deform Flesh
9 - Wracking Hunger
10 - Flense Innards
2 - The Tyrant
3 - The Tangled-Web
4 - The Shiv-Liches
5 - The Page Liches
6 - The Lich-Smiths
7 - The Lich-Wardens
8 - The Philosopher's Lich
9 - The Lich-Saint
10 - The Blizzard Lich
The Chain
The Liches of the Chain are mysterious, and apparently even more unkillable than regular Liches. A group of 8 who as far as anyone can tell all became Liches as one, have been residing in their conclave for well over 800 years, maybe even exponentially more time. Many have attempted to destroy them, some have even partially succeeded; but one always manages to escape, and then slowly the rest return as well.
The secret, as some scholars have guessed, is that the Chain have gamed the system. They arranged themselves as a circle of 8, and when the time came to dig the knife into their flesh to transcend this frail realm of life, they made their Phylactery the Lich next in line to them.
The result is this, the only way to destroy the Chain, is for each of them to be destroyed as one. If even one survives, it will resurrect the next in line, who will regenerate the next, and so on.
Of course, the logistics in destroying 8 Liches simultaneously is tremendous and herculean, and so they continue to reign from their towers and libraries.
Luckily for us, they seem to be somewhat benign. None have seen them act in anger in living memory; they seem content to remain within their lair for the most part.
But that doesn't mean they aren't up to something. All Liches are, inevitably.
The Tyrant
The Tyrant is a uniquely cruel and wicked individual with a uniquely cruel and wicked method for ensuring his survival; he turns others into Liches, and makes himself their Phylacteries. Much like the Chain, this means that his Servitor-Liches cannot die unless he is destroyed, but in doing so, their own destruction would be guaranteed. The Tyrant has made it so.
And so the Servitor-Liches are the Tyrant's greatest servants, though they wish they were not. They must defend themselves lest they see themselves and the others destroyed for their master's sake. There can be no rebellion against the Tyrant without mutual death, and since the Tyrant has been subtly playing a few of the Servitors against the others, there will be no mutual rebellion; if some rose up, others would try to stop them. If those others attempted to rebel, the first group would be at their necks in an instant.
The Tyrant itself however is just a Lich like any other, just one with a particularly sadistic bent with regards to its servants. Its Phylactery is the one of its Servitors that it loves most of all, but the identity of which one it is, has long since been lost.
The Tangled-Web
This Lich never originally intended to become a Lich, they originally wanted to be a Warlock. However, any prospective Warlock needs an eye for opportunity to be successful, and this Warlock saw one, and took it.
In life, they made pacts with otherworldly beings, demons, devils, angels, old gods, fey lords, one and all that they could. They were a master of hiding their own manner from prying eyes, none of their Patrons even knew what was going on until it was too late. Finally, a small bit of the soul was given to each Patron in turn, for safe-keeping of course, a semi-Lich servant that they can collect whenever they wish. Finally, after many bargains, the whole soul was gone, and the Tangle-Lich was born.
It is a careful balance the Tangle-Lich keeps, they have their immortality; none of their patrons can move against them to claim them for fear of reprisal of the other Patrons (which they have only now realised have had a claim on the Lich's soul as well), and no Patron holds enough of the Lich's soul to cause any particular harm to the Web-Lich. As long as it can maintain the balance, they are unkillable.
The Shiv-Liches
Known amongst the common folk as The Knives, the Shiv-Liches are a band of Orcish assassins, or at least they were. Now they are Liches, and their souls are bound within the Knives from which they take their titles.
The job goes like this, a king or noble or official or anyone really is gifted a knife. Nothing particularly horrid, but also nothing particularly glamorous. The gift is accepted, with wrinkled nose, and stored somewhere out of sight. Acceptance without acceptance. The Shiv-Lich, confirming the acceptance of the knife, casts their body into a flame, utterly destroying it. A new body forms with the knife, deep inside the defences, out of sight of the guards. Nothing is suspected until the butchered body is found. Even if they find the Lich, the knife is long-gone back to the others in case of this very eventuality, and besides, no-one was looking for that hack-rag anyway.
The Knives are tremendously effective, and though they are known in many parts, few if any know their particular method.
They are of course, masters of hiding in plain sight.
The Page-Liches
The Ivory Library is an institution that has survived the ages, wars, pestilence, flame, none have touched its hallowed walls, and the Page Liches are in large part responsible for that.
The Page-Liches, whilst stern and ill-suffering of fools, are not hostile in any manner. They have bound themselves body and soul to the Library, to serves its needs and requirements, and as a magical repository the density of which has not been seen anywhere else ever in the history of the world, the needs and requirements are many.
Only an immortal being has the patience to learn and navigate the ever-changing and shifting referencing systems. Only an immortal being of great magical capacity can deal with the occasional arcane avalanches that can spill from the upper levels. Only they who are dead can navigate the black abysses of the basements.
The library is vast and deadly, and so Liches are what it needs to maintain itself.
Who they were is no longer known. There are none who remember them as anything other than the ancient undying near-dead. Even the older Fey-Lords are reticent to speak on the subject, and will only offer conjecture, even though they may well know the answers.
The Lich-Smiths
Some work for art. And some will do it forever, as these have and will. In the ruined and gutted corpse of some ancient and now-nameless city, the Lich-Smiths toil over their furnaces, hoarding silver and bone.
They were once the premier artists of their day, as they will gruffly spit at you. Their time is precious, and so they removed themselves from the mortal world so that they might focus on and utterly perfect their arts. They are smiths, but also jewellers, bone-carvers, painters, etchers, enchanters, there are many many artistic disciplines and between them they have mastered them all.
These days, they find themselves growing bored, when they mastered all the skills they could, when they had made the most sublime and inscrutable works they could, they simply ran out of things to do. It is the final curse of Lichdom, at least as they will put it.
So they find that the last few things they enjoy taking on are commissions. Few hold the vast fortunes the Smiths require for their services. Most are kings, emperors, and of course, adventurers. They come to the Lich-Smiths requesting weapons, arms, and armour; equipment and implements; conduits and mechanisms. The Lich-Smiths demand silver and bone, and if the price is paid then the work begins.
The Lich-Smiths don't really need the vast fortunes they receive; its mostly to make sure that their customers really mean what they ask, and are of sufficient stature and import to ask for what they do, but also the Lich-Smiths use Silver and Bone in their works; they are their favoured mediums for their crafts and magics and enchantments. No matter what is requested, it is always delivered as bone inlaid with silver, and it is always sublime and beautiful, and indestructible (as far as any have dared test). The Lich-Smiths have only few customers, but none ever leave dissatisfied.
The Lich-Wardens of the God-Pharaoh
They gave up their lives to serve him, figuratively and literally. Their flesh was a willing and euphoric sacrifice for their deity, their frail and pathetic existences trade in for new, glorious, and eternal bodies with which to forever serve their master.
They are near-empty suits of armour now, their frail forms withing swaddled in bandages and scored with sacred charms and amulets. Their weapons and armour are golden and blazing with radiance, and their new artisanal leather-skin that contains their ancient bones is immaculate, and only slightly uncanny. They protect the God-Pharaoh with their un-lives, certain in the knowledge that if struck down, they will return, and earn ever greater rewards in the service of their lord. Their Phylacteries are stored deep within the vaults of the Blazing Palace, never shall the Pharaoh's guardians taste death until he shall demand they do.
Only rarely do they leave the palace; only the most dangerous missions can demand such power, and the risk to the God-Pharaoh's mortal form.
The Philosopher's Lich
As much a work of theoretical construct as the stone itself (at least, it is hoped), the Philosopher's Lich is merely a Lich, except for the fact that they (in theory) have taken the stone itself for their Phylactery.
Quite what this would mean, is the subject of much speculation. No-one truly knows what powers could be leeched from the stone by a Lich; true and perfect immortality is a common guess, no more of this soul-gathering business.
Certainly none have ever achieved this. Not a one. Certainly not this alchemist, he has only been alive a few decades. Certainly his potions and unguents are incredible, and well worth the price, but the accusations that he has lived for many centuries are scandalous in the extreme! He is content with his limitations, he would never pursue the stone, he certainly is not granted life eternal, even beyond mortal blow, nor have his magical capacities doubled in the last decade alone, nor has he a cadre of immortal and addicted death-knights to carry out his biding. His health tonic is a protected and secret recipe, and he will not give it up to the likes of you! He has to make a living somehow you know.
The Lich-Saint
Of all the names in the Blessed Canon of saints, there is one that is reviled, struck from its pages as much as ink can harm the names of those chosen by gods. Aedric was once the Saint of Restful Places, where the dead might find blessed peace, where respite would be sacrosanct, where nightmares would be held at bay. Then he broke the concord, took his own life (and the lives of all in his band of attendant-paladins at the same time) and became a Lich.
He is wreathed in terrible black-flames, grey light flickering across the ground around him, black smoke creeping at his feet. His eyes are dark, and his flesh ashen and dead. A cracked stone halo circles above his head, brittle and broken.
While his divine powers have fled him, screaming and crying for salvation, his void is filled now with despotic Lich-magics, he has not been diminished; dark powers have propped him up to raise him as a dark eidolon for the damned, and then he surpassed even them, shackling them to his own will.
Many have attempted to end his dark reign, and so the ranks of his Death-Knight honour-guard grow. He is an expert at breaking prisoners.
If the world has a villain, it is Aedric, the Lich-Saint.
The Blizzard Lich
On cold white nights on mountain tops, or in the arctic wastes, listen a while for moaning on the wind. If you hear it, run. You may yet outrun it.
The world has forgotten it, no tales of its origins, no suggestions of its end. It merely haunts the wild and wasted white-storms of the world, howling with the wind for the flesh and fluids of the lost and desperate.
If its prey are ever found, they are as drained and dry as it is, frozen and brittle.
One thing is for sure, it is a Lich. The few that have encountered it and survived have confirmed as much. Sometimes they strike it down, it always returns. Sometimes it fights with sorcery, sometimes with its cracked nails and shattered teeth. Always the cold-of-the-soul settles in the nooks and creases of the mind before it strikes.
Its mark is that it can dwell only in storms of snow and ice. Even on the mountain tops it has been confirmed to haunt, when the sky is clear, you are safe (from the Blizzard-Lich at least). Any suggestions as to its Phylactery have never been adequately investigated, its goals have never been satisfyingly inferred. It is merely left alone, and any who seek the lonely peaks it calls its lair have been urged to challenge other obstacles, like farming, or perhaps knitting.
1 - A Rod or Stave, there's a chance its even the real thing.
2 - A Pendent, bearing a picture of someone the Lich once held dear
3 - A Scroll in a crystal tube, bearing impossible arcane knowledge
4 - A withered old Heart in a Sandal-wood box
5 - The aged and creaking remains of the liches' Childhood Home
6 - A Tome, beautifully bound and crusted in precious stones
7 - A gnarled and twisted Tree, curled like an old man's hand
8 - The liches' own Spellbook, the pages all blank but for a faint smudge of ink
9 - The rune-scribed Bones of one of the liches' family members, glowing a soft blue
10 - The rune-scribed Bones of one of the liches' old pets, creaking under the magical weight
11 - A Portrait of the Lich, which changes and warps with age and is marred by corruption
12 - An enchanted Silver Mirror; it never quite shows the truth, only a crooked imitation
13 - A Black Canvas, framed in gold; clearly there was something beneath once, but what?
14 - A Painted Sea-Shell, twisted and flaking, within you hear the faintest of heart-beats
15 - A Reliquary bearing a gold-plated saint-remnant, any holy symbols blackened and charred
16 - An old Instrument, bending under the weight of years, all but useless now
17 - An ancient Carving of an Animal, some of the knife-scores still visible in the wood grain
18 - A lonely Pearl, still shining bright beneath the grime and scratches
19 - A small Stone, smooth and unassuming; one side of it has been rubbed truly flat
20 - A stern Stone Sarcophagus, filled with black liquid; the souls which invigorate the Lich
1 - Godhood, nothing less
2 - A better form of Immortality than Lichdom
3 - Perfecting their alchemical minions
4 - Developing ever-more advanced technologies
5 - Mastery of Magic
6 - Creation of their perfect Utopia
7 - The downfall of a Civilisation
8 - To learn, literally everything. Everything.
9 - To become the best at their chosen craft/skill
10 - The total destruction of their nemesis
11 - To rejuvenate their frail and decaying form
12 - To undo what they have done and to finally die
13 - To reshape the world into a more pleasing form
14 - To reshape the world into a more efficient form
15 - The resurrection of a loved one
16 - To push the boundaries of thought and knowledge
17 - To alter the fundamental rules of the world
18 - To destroy all life, everywhere
19 - To create true, pure, objective beauty
20 - To create all new forms of life and being
1 - That they are frail and weak, anything could destroy them, even a bird dropping from the sky
2 - Their loved ones remain with them, telling them that what they are doing is right and proper
3 - Their spells are alive in their head like worms, sometimes they have to pick them out to cast them
4 - The passage of time has worn thin around them, they can't trust it, especially not its secret agents!
5 - That writing is poisonous to it, show it a word, it will writhe, show it a book, it will drop comatose
6 - Cats are the guardians of the afterlife, any cat they might encounter might drag its soul away
7 - The Lichs' path is not its own to follow, it must head the signs and portents of the future
8 - The Lich has one it cherishes beyond all others, that it loves with all its withered forsaken heart
9 - All must be remade as the Lich was; they shall, one way or another, become Liches
10 - The Lich can form no memories since becoming a Lich, once it leaves the short-term, it is gone
11 - The Lich has twin personalities, each one rising and waning with the phases of the moon
12 - Nothing is worth it, nothing.
1 - A tower of ice and bone, a knife that gouges the clouds
2 - A twisting cone of dying and necrotised plants
3 - A crystal palace of sand, death knell of millions of ancient creatures
4 - A castle twisted from petrified creatures
5 - A cave system stitched throughout the many worlds of the world
6 - A pit into the black and weeping earth
7 - A grand crypt complex, each tomb a eulogy to a race the Lich has destroyed
8 - A stern monolith, slowly sinking into the mire of a slaughtered city
9 - A twisted nest of crooked fingers of black stone
10 - A buoyant island, chained to the earth, tectonically screaming for release
11 - An enormous fortress-palanquin born atop the shoulders of an army of the dead
12 - The immense corpse of a butchered star-beast, veins for tunnels, organs as cathedrals
13 - A town brought to life, limbs of earth, a hide of broken and crumbling buildings
14 - A twisting vortex in the sea, revealing the corpse-landscape of the sea-bed
15 - A crown of jagged stone, liquid flame pouring from the hands of carven titans
16 - A cavern of crystal, drained and brittle and stained grey by the Liches' inexhaustible hunger
17 - An almighty and blighted tree, weeping amber; enemies of the Lich bound within
18 - A howling plain of grey-scale dusts, endlessly tumbling
19 - The tomb behind the tomb, the house behind the house, the city behind the city
20 - Roll twice and Combine
1 - Alchemical Silver
2 - Blessed Water
3 - Salted Flames
4 - The Lich's own knife, with which it slew itself to become what it is
5 - Magical Light
6 - Worked obsidian, glistening like glass
7 - Cat's fangs
8 - Living Wood
9 - A weapon that has never taken a life
10 - The thorn of a rose
11 - A golden needle
12 - A unworked stone with which a man's life has been taken
13 - A shadow
14 - A weapon wielded by a person who has less than a day to live
15 - A weapon wielded by a person who knows the Lich's true name
16 - A weapon wielded by a person who has never killed any living thing
17 - Sunlight reflected from a tin mirror
18 - A ten-thousand year old spear
19 - Melancholy
20 - Song
1 - Raise Dead
2 - Drain Life
3 - Icy Touch
4 - Snuff Soul
5 - Necrotise Flesh
6 - Devour Shadow
7 - Mortal Puppet
8 - Sunder Mind
9 - Destroy Metal
10 - Wither Plants
11 - Desiccate Land
12 - Desecrate
13 - Unholy Words
14 - Snuff Flame
15 - Command Earth
16 - Master of Blood
17 - Fundamental Forces
18 - Pall of Darkness
19 - Zone of Silence
20 - Irresistible Commands
21 - Mutate Foe
22 - Unbearable Agony
23 - Vast Presence
24 - Induce Fear
25 - Soldiers from Stone
26 - Flesh to Bone
27 - Bone to Flesh
28 - Malevolent Doppelganger
29 - Instill Corruption
30 - Portal to the Outer Dark
31 - Shadowy Step
32 - Invisible Passage
33 - Seal Throat
34 - Crow Storm
35 - Searing Chains
36 - Ten Thousand Needles
37 - Gut-Shred
38 - Implacable Suggestion
39 - Shroud of Dusts
40 - Spear of Night
41 - Unwind Time
42 - Ironfire
43 - Crushing Depths
44 - Deluge
45 - Grasping Air
46 - Shadow Demons
47 - Entomb
48 - Seal of the Mind
49 - Ageing Gaze
50 - Final Moments
51 - Sunder Earth
52 - Grave-bound Titan
53 - Rend Divinity
54 - Command Vermin
55 - Call Demons
56 - Unseeming
57 - Devour
58 - Baleful Polymorph
59 - Blessings of Blood
60 - Bestow Immortality
So I've ended up writing about an undergraduate dissertation's worth of words about Liches of all things. Most of it is just weird and wild forms of Liches, non-standard stuff to be sure.
[Pontification Warning: Flee while you can]
I think this was mostly fuelled by some guy (or gal, who knows) on reddit who dismissed the idea that you could have a level 1 Lich, or that a level 1 character could become a Lich. To this I say POPPYCOCK AND BALDERDASH!!! A Lich (for my purposes) is a being who's soul has been removed from its body, and thus is reduced to an undead existence, immortal and undying yet sustained by its Phylactery, which contains the last dregs of its old life. I don't see why this has to be the purview of only high-level wizards, or even that the person who becomes the Lich is even necessarily the person who made them a Lich. It opens so many doors and opportunities (some of which have been explored below).
And please, this isn't an attack against that person. We are all free to like what we like, and who am I to impose rules on other peoples imaginary elf-games? If you like the "purity of what a Lich is" as presented in monster books of your system of choice, just ignore all mentions of Lich, and just steal the ideas you like (if any). I think that's kind of the point of ever doing anything in a public DnD blog like this one. Take what you like, leave what you don't.
Any, enough self-righteous pontificating; Liches.
I've got a mere 8 tables/idea mines for you today:
- Types of Lich
- Special Liches (more like unique Liches, those who twist the idea a little less than the ones above)
- Lich Phylacteries
- Lich Ambitions
- Lich Madnesses
- Lich Lairs
- Lich Weaknesses
- Lich Powers
The Types of Liches are twists on the formula (well 18 or so of them at least are) of a crazy old magic-man with his soul in a box in the basement. Sometimes its the box, sometimes its the old man. One of them is a druid, one of them is a monk, and a Paladin too. I tried to represent as many classes as I could. The other main goal was to present the idea that there are many different ways to become a Lich. Not all of them as "good" as others, but not all of them will be available to any given person. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have, and deal with the consequences later. But they are all, loosely at least, Liches.
The Special Liches are more like unique Liches, those ones who followed the instruction manual, but added their own special steps, rather than reinventing the wheel. Just, read them and see.
Lich Phylacteries are just that, a list of potential objects a Lich might use as a Phylactery. These are ones for those Liches who want to last. The more personal the object, the more connection the Lich has to it, the stronger the bond the Phylactery forms with the soul within. Of course, a Lich could make a random grain of sand in the desert its Phylactery such that it can never be found, but the Phylactery will not hold the soul for long, and lose it eventually, bringing mortality back into the question for the Lich. This might be the point.
Lich Ambitions are similarly straight forward. When forever is your time-frame, only the grandest of goals will ever do.
Lich Madnesses are the quirks that wrack the Lich as the weight of uncountable years sets in. Even the most secure of Phylacteries can't be water-proof (or soul-proof I guess) and as such, tiny bits of the Lich leak out over the centuries. These are how that might manifest.
The list of Lich Lairs is honestly the weakest part of all this I think. They are loose and flapping like flags in a gale. They are just the seeds of ideas where I'd love to give near-full-grown saplings. But we're already at a dangerous density of words, so seeds will have to do I think. Maybe for some of you that's a good thing.
Every good Bad Guy needs a Weakness and while this list could easily be one of the most expansive here, I've kept this one a little briefer than maybe I should, because I think most people can think of at least 1 or 2 really, really good and poetic and gameable and whatever weaknesses. This one is really just a springboard for ideas. But there you go, I can't give you everything! Freeloaders!
And finally, the various Lich Powers listed in this post are kept as short descriptive titles only, any stats you may want to give them, even what they actually do at all is totally up to you. They don't have to totally replace spellcasting for Liches, but they could. I'd say have 2d4 powers per Lich, with a modifier on those dice based on the power-rating of your lich, and whether you're giving them any special powers if they are a different type of Lich to the standard "True" Lich.
Types of Lich
1 - True Lich2 - False Lich
3 - Scrag Lich
4 - Wraith Lich
5 - Totem Lich
6 - Cinders Lich
7 - Sanction Lich
8 - Mitotic Lich
9 - Lichiarch
10 - Lantern Lich
11 - Umbralich
12 - Grey-Child
13 - Scavenger Lich
14 - Hollow Lich
15 - Scapulan Lich
16 - Ghoul Lich
17 - Henge Lich
18 - Blizzard Lich
19 - Sacred Lich
20 - Pact Lich
True Lich
These are the truly dangerous ones; the ones who have mastered life and found death wanting. These are the classic undead immortals. They wield magic like a swordsmaster a blade, they warp reality like gods do; they are used to their word being law. Their power is terrible, their ambitions mighty, their patience legendary. But you know much of this already.
True Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
False Lich
False Liches are those who successfully wrought themselves a new undead existence, but who didn't quite reach eternal life. They are lesser than True Liches, but still formidable. They may exist for some few centuries, and wield strange and terrible magics; but one day, they will run down, and die. Most go insane as their minds are worn away by the march of years. Their Phylacteries are slightly flawed, their powers subtly unstable, always grinding down little by little the energies that sustain them. Every few decades or so they are wracked by the imperfections that mar their immortality, sometimes disabling them for a few years, never less than a few months. No matter how hard they try, their efforts aren't quite enough, they can't repair the damage done. Many a driven to the edge by anger and frustration; sometimes they can be more dangerous than true Liches, as their rage boils over and they take it out on the mortals around them. If nothing else, they often have more drive and motivation to accomplish things than their more perfect brethren. This does not make things any better for anyone of course.
False Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Scrag Liches
Sometimes, the method is discovered by one not capable of handling it. They somehow stumble through it, chicken blood for vital fluids of dragons, virgin earth for virgin flesh, copper for gold. To their dismay, it goes totally, horrifyingly wrong.
They lurk now in graveyards, in dank sewers, and other such rank nooks. They crouch like children, gait like apes, teeth gnashing and foaming from the mouth. In one hand they might clutch their imperfect phylactery, broken nails scratching the surface which leaks foul smoke. They are as utterly inhuman as it is possible to be whilst still clad in the form of man.
They are not truly immortal, their life slowly slips away as before, just more slowly; the tides of life stymied a little by the phylactery. But their mind has not survived the process. Scrag Liches are horrifying wretches, life has abandoned them, man has abandoned them, and they wish they could do the same.
That is not to say they are as pathetic as they seem. They are still Liches; they are as tough to kill as a Lich, and they can regenerate their bodies if destroyed as long as their phylactery survives, though this often costs them much of the life they bought with their transformation. Some small modicum of magic also clings to their frail and withered forms, just not much.
Scrag Lich Powers
1 - Madness Scratches
2 - Ungodly Howl
3 - Filthy Grip
4 - Cage of Ribs
5 - Babbling and Groaning
6 - Vomit Darkness
7 - Wild Transformation
8 - Slink Unseen
9 - Grasp Heart
10 - Supernal Strength
Wraith Lich
Some Liches let go of more than just their lives, some let go of all existence. These are Wraith Liches, more like ghosts, or intangible spirits than any other kind of undead. Their mind lives on, sustained by the phylactery they crafted, but any material connection to the world is gone, not even a corpse remains.
Why they would choose this kind of existence perplexes many, but some choose it for one reason or another, or sometimes even because it is the only option they have. Over time, the Wraith Lich might be able to manipulate the real world with magic, or possess someone and steal their body, even if only for a time. Wraith Liches also find it much easier to manipulate the minds of living things, intangible fingers reaching into the mind and twisting the strands of thought found within.
They are also, by their very nature, the most subtle of Liches. Many villages host to a Wraith Lich may never realise the source of their corruptions. Only a tingle on the back of the neck, a surety that there is something unwholesome watching, but never being able to find it.
Wraith Lich Powers
1 - Possess Mind
2 - Possess Body
3 - Control Swarm
4 - Draining Mists
5 - Manipulate Weather
6 - Ghostly Hands
7 - Manifestation
8 - Ravage Spirit
9 - Decaying Presence
10 - Intrusive Thoughts
Totem Lich
Amongst the tribes of the great meadows and plain who recognise the might of the earth, some among them carve totems as tiny charms that conduct the power of the thing that they resemble as part of a bargain with the world.
Some subvert it, and carve an image of their own heart, and their mind (somehow), and their own soul, surmounting the world itself at the base. They bind the earth to their will, and live eternal, as long as the totem stands. They are regarded as some as being somehow lesser Liches than others, but the truth is beyond that, their powers are in relation to the carvings they have made. The more artistry and skill in the Totem, the more solid their hold on their mind, on life, on the things they carved.
Many Totem Liches carve other things into their Totems too, to gain their powers as well. Some Totems end up grand indeed, twisted towers of abhorrent bargains with dark spirits of the wastes.
They are of course, an affront to all living things, more so than regular Liches.
Totem Lich Powers
1 - Bestial Aspect
2 - Elemental Aspect
3 - Dominate Beast
4 - Dominate Land
5 - Twist Beast
6 - Twist Land
7 - Sunder Life
8 - Absorb Vitality
9 - Blight Land
10 - Ravage Land
Cinders Lich
Sometimes, a fire elemental will find its flames dwindling, its light fading. In desperation, it seeks a new source for its life, and might choose the souls of mortals. It is a Cinder's Lich, a cold black flame in the shape of a man, radiating blue luminescence, draining the heat of the world into itself. Heaven's save you if you fall into its clutches.
Some theorise the existence of a kind of Ice-Medusa that freezes mortals with its gaze; they merely have encountered the works of a Cinders Lich. Sometimes the ruined and ragged corpse of a man is found in the woods, and the Wendigo is blamed for it. Or a blizzard flows down from the mountain in the height of summer, and hags are cursed. The Cinders Lich remains hidden.
Their Phylacteries are different as well, due to their elemental natures. They are contained within the Cinders Lich itself, a shrivelled black and silver coal, right at its heart. Pluck it out, and crush it, and the Cinders Lich will be no more. Of course it is never as simple as all that.
Of all elementals, only Flame have been confirmed to do this, perhaps due to their transitory existences. Other such elemental Liches have been theorised: Drought Liches, Dusts Liches, Miasmic Liches.
Cinders Lich Powers
1 - Master of Ice
2 - Black-Flame
3 - Necrotise Element
4 - Flash-freeze
5 - Blood-frost
6 - Blizzard Crown
7 - Hoarfrost Breath
8 - Douse Flame
9 - Corrupt Elemental
10 - Snow-Blind
Sanction Lich
For some, even a long and drawn out death is not enough, their suffering must be made eternal.
Sanction Liches are even more pathetic and puny than Scrag Liches. Their existence has been tailor-made with bespoke skill and suffering to be as miserable and unbearable as possible. Their minds broke long before they were even transformed, and now their Phylactery creaks and moans beneath the weight of the Liches suffering.
It is of course, reserved for only the most heinous of crimes. Suffering of this magnitude has been known to start wars for being inflicted even on the most truly deserving. Of course, wars have also been started due to the possibly that the Sanction Lich may escape its bondage.
If it did, it would be a terrible whirlwind of death, a pall of destruction that could devastate continents. In its wrath, the almighty powers within it would blot out the sun and cause the earth to bleed and rivers to rise up out of the earth in horror and coil and contort like snakes across the ground hissing and screaming.
The Sanction Lich has to be inundated with magic to be born, and that magic waits like worms just beneath the surface, waiting for the moment to be unleashed.
Sanction Lich Powers
Apocalyptic in the extreme. It would be the end of days. It only needs one. Pray it does not have more.
1 - Rain of Blood
2 - Ichorous Earth
3 - Blistering Sky
4 - Eclipse
5 - Weeping Sea
6 - Insect Epidemic
7 - Plague of Undeath
8 - Betrayal of Metal
9 - Wither the World
10 - Catastrophic Conflagration
Mitotic Lich
Some Liches, while they have mastered most of the process of Undeath, spoiled one crucial step; the Phylactery. They function as Liches normally do, only the operative word here is they.
When a Mitotic Lich is vanquished bodily (and many only discover their natures when this happens for the first time), then when their form recongeals from their Phylactery, where once there was one, there are now two. This is only mostly confusing the first time it happens.
It will get out of control if the phylactery is well hidden enough. It usually is.
Most of the time the Liches mind controls all of the bodies, but it is unused to it for long long aeons, and the multiple bodies move awkwardly and staggeringly. Eventually some form of control can be established, but this is again thrown off balance when a new pair of Liches tumbles out of the Phylactery. It gets quicker each time, that's nothing to say about the threat posed by the horde of Liches that appear over the centuries...
Mitotic Lich Powers
No unique powers, roll additional times on the main table.
Lichiarch
Sometimes, a Lich will despise life and what their old life represented, that they will choose something even more vile than usual, to become their family's Lichiarch. When a Lichiarch is slain, it does not form a new body. Rather, the Liches spirit possesses another member of the Lich's family. Who ever is closest related to the Lich that still lives, becomes the next host of the undying mind of the Lich.
Another quirk of Lichiarchs is that they have none of the long life of other Liches. Each host of the Lich has their usual allotment of years, this is of only some small inconvenience to the Lich, usually. They end up spending much of their time putting in effort to unite the family such that no potential hosts end up as pariahs from their fellows in case they become the next host and render the Lich socially impotent. As much of the family will also be trained in the sorcerous ways, when the Lich possesses someone, they gain no extra magics outside of those inherent to their Lich existence.
Lichiarch Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Lantern Lich
It walks the world beneath the world, cowled and cowed. Hunched and hooded, it bears a staff with a hanging lantern at its top, it sheds no light, at least none that you can see. They wander the tunnels and caverns bearing a light that provides no sight to the living, and only the dead, they are shepherds of the living dead in the lands where no sun shines. Life flinches and cringes away from the invisible light, and thus the dead pass unmolested. No one knows what it takes to become a Lantern Lich, who becomes Lantern Liches, or why Lanterns Liches come to be. They are mysterious and enigmatic, they reveal nothing, and rarely engage anyone in anything, even those dead that follow them. They merely walk, and maintain the un-light that is there eternal life.
As far as anyone knows.
Lantern Lich Powers
1 - Blinding Light
2 - Draining Shadows
3 - Twisting Paths
4 - Fade
5 - Flare
6 - Ashen Storm
7 - Call Brethren
8 - Echoing Scream
9 - Sink Into Stone
10 - Pass Without Thought
Umbral Lich
Much like Wraith Liches, Umbral Liches have forsaken a physical existence, but have instead become a living pool of darkness, liquid and swirling. They are surprisingly active for Liches, often times taking active roles in advancing their schemes. Thankfully Umbral Liches' ambitions are somewhat less severe than other Liches it seems. Their plots are often on a very personal level, and the few examples of Umbral Lich writing show that they very much enjoy the intimate details that their unseen form allows them privy to. They enjoy being spies, assassins, voyeurs, stalkers. They learn their prey, inside and out, and slowly drive them mad.
Quite why they do this rather than pursue more grand designs is something of a mystery. It is speculated that as they become incarnate darkness, their minds are warped by it. Either way, it is a comfort to those who aren't the chosen prey of an Umbral Lich.
Umbral Lich Powers
1 - Animate Shadow
2 - Icy Touch
3 - Dislocate
4 - Primal Fear
5 - Something's Out There
6 - Dark Hands
7 - Shadow Strike
8 - Duplicate Darkness
9 - Looming Presence
10 - Muffle
Grey-Child
Once in a thousand million births, a child will be born without its soul embedded in its body as is proper. Instead, its immortal spirit resides split in two, half in its mother, half in its father. A Grey-Child.
They are alone in all of Lichdom in that (as far as is known) the child has no choice as to whether they become a Lich. They have an immense capacity for magic that waxes as the child ages, with an exponential increase once they hit puberty. They are noticeably anti-social, even at a young age and treat other children and pets with sly contempt. Even their parents are given a cold shoulder, though the bond with the parents is one of the few that the Grey-Child will attempt to maintain at all. They do have vested interests in them, after all.
They are also unique in that they have two Phylacteries, technically. The drawback is that Grey-Children are the most vulnerable of all Liches, their Parents only function as Phylacteries until death. They will outlive their parents, but once they are dead, the Lich can die too.
For many Grey-Children, most will never know the truth of their condition. It even escapes them in some cases, though most will realise the truth once puberty begins and their true sorcerous potential emerges. They can interact with society, live long and prosperous lives, and only very rarely ever meet their ends at the enchanted blades of adventuring bands. They can often be found as doctors and healers, or alchemists, tending to their parents with doting, if cold, care.
Its in their best interests after all.
Grey Child Powers
No unique powers, roll on the list of Lich powers additional times.
Scavenger Lich
When a Lich goes too long without feeding itself on the vital energies of the living, they shrivel and prune. Leave it too long past that stage, and their phylactery will crack beneath the pressure of maintaining the Liches' life. When it finally reaches breaking point, and it shatters, the Lich usually dies. Sometimes though, it survives as a Scavenger Lich. The trauma is oftentimes enough to shatter the Lich's vulnerable psyche, and the mad and animalistic beast often resembles a Scrag-Lich. The difference is that the Scavenger Lich is driven with wild abandon to recover their now lost Phylactery. They have presence of mind enough for that.
And they are cunning too. Eventually it will dawn on the Scavenger Lich that the old Phylactery is gone forever, and so they will seek out a suitable replacement. The next stage comes much later, as the Scavenger Lich lacks the capacity to forge a new Phylactery, so they seek to trick some unsuspecting third party into creating one for them. Most will have been destroyed at some point by this time, but the few that make it will have stitched together some vague idea of humanity again, and while still mostly insane, they can converse well enough, and the most successful will even be able to attract a meagre cult of desperate individuals to try and get themselves resurrected. There have even been stories that it worked one time. Mostly they end in violence long before that point.
Scavenger Lich Powers
None, they barely have the strength to live, let alone manifest any other magics.
Hollow Lich
Monks oftentimes seek something greater than themselves, transcendence of this imperfect world. Occasionally they even find it. Some few of those who do, find the knowledge of the infinite that they have finally found to be less than satisfying, occasionally downright nihilistic. So burdened by the wright of cosmic truth, cast away their souls into the uttermost void between reality and itself, forever bereft of the need to care. They are... technically Liches, in that their soul is gone, and life eternal is theirs by virtue of their surpassing the laws of nature in their quest for perfection. They are in all regards perfect except that they lack a soul at all, and with it the desire to do anything at all.
They have no ambition, they exist only as machines, driven only to continue to exist as all things must.
They are terrifying to face, they know themselves perfectly, and their limits and techniques are honed to a razors edge. They probably know a fair amount about you, even at only a glance. And worse, you can't even kill them. They have surpassed that. Even pain is a distant memory to a Hollow Lich. They know the Underlying Patterns of reality, being run through with a sword is like a splinter to a Blue Whale. Insignificant.
The best part about Hollow Liches is that it is incredibly difficult to earn their enmity. Unless you really pose a threat to their continued existence, they often enough will merely leave you alone. You can even talk to them without fear of being crushed into paste. Some even attend monasteries, content merely to meditate when not conversed with.
When you know all there is to know, what else is there really to do?
Hollow Lich Powers
1 - Horrifying Revelation
2 - Solidify Flesh
3 - The Flowing Earth
4 - Still Thine Heart
5 - Rising Sun Strike
6 - Celerity
7 - Disrupt Ki
8 - Transcendent Visions
9 - Sunder Soul
10 - Divine Contemplation
Scapulan Lich
The Surgeon-Necromancers of Scapula, the Fat-black island, are mighty in their craft, beyond what most suspect. If you could somehow ever scrape up the inconceivable fortune they would require for such an operation, they might be persuaded to surgically remove your soul from you.
Such souls are kept in Phylacteries under the care of the Surgeon-Necromancers as a courtesy to their customers, and few would even think about breaking into the Chapel-Theatres of the Surgeon-Necromancers, for risk of being caught and used for "research".
Those who can afford to actual become a Lich in this way will often have the funds to also have their mortal forms extensively modified, sometimes just as a "social indicator of status," more often than not they add deadly weapons and flesh-extensions to their forms. Why be an impotent Lich if you can afford to harness more deadly powers than anyone else in a hundred miles?
While becoming a Lich in this manner won't grant the Lich any particularly skill with magic if it doesn't already have it, it will amplify what is already there. The process leaves the body better able to channel magical energies, and at extra expense, these aspects of the transformation can be further enhanced. A few such Scapulan-Liches will even hire retainer-wizards to cast spells and enchantments upon them, able as they are to absorb even greater amounts of magic than mere mortals.
In any case, the Scapulan-Lich is not to be taken any less seriously than any other kind of Lich.
Scapulan Lich Powers
1 - Lightning Gland
2 - Flame Pores
3 - Acid Spew
4 - Poison Nails
5 - Hidden Tendrils
6 - Distension Maw
7 - Telescopic Limbs
8 - Retractable Limb-Blades
9 - Throat Spike
10 - Mutation Gaze
Ghoul Lich
Ghoul-Wasps are not to be trifled with, and indeed Necromancers who master their control are widely respected and feared within the Necromancers' circles. [Editors Note: Ghoul-Wasps breed inside people, and turn them into Ghouls, flesh-hungry hosts of unhatched wasps] Sometimes one of these such Ghoul-Necromancers stumbles across a particularly vile and uncomfortable secret of Ghoul-Wasps, they can be used as a Phylactery, as long as they nest within the form of the Lich they preserve.
This does not stop many that discover this, already themselves somewhat inured to the horrors of the Wasps, and thus they become Liches with skin crawling from the masses of Wasps that slink their way through the necrotic meat and bunch up in the soft tissues of the belly and neck. Swarms of them pour from the Lich's gaping maw and the ragged holes torn in the Lich's sides, obeying the commands of their master.
Such a Lich is only vulnerable once their swarm is destroyed, and every single insect must die, else the Wasp will escape, inhabit a new person, breed, and the consciousness of the Lich will regenerate slowly with the addition of each new Wasp, a horrifying possession for the victim of the wasps by a gestalt lunatic.
Ghoul Lich Powers
1 - Command Insect
2 - Call Ghouls
3 - Infestation
4 - Gall-Cyst
5 - Chitin Storm
6 - Invertebrate Transformation
7 - Swarm Shape
8 - Bugs from Dust
9 - Plated Skin
10 - Create Hive
Henge Lich
In elder days, the barrier between the living and the dead was not nearly as well understood, or respected. Indeed, much of their sympathetic magics nowadays would be treated by most as gross necromancy. One of the more commonly recognised symbols of the ancient sorceries (even if the observer doesn't recognise its magical potential) is the ring of standing stones, and the intricate series of banks and ditches that run runes about them.
These are of course, magical conduits; and they maintain the Lich-Guardians of the Henges as part of their function.
They are really only Liches in the technical sense, they posses none of their old memories or life, they merely remember their tasks and carry them out with ruthless, unfeeling efficiency. They are more forces of nature than individuals at this point, and they only become more so with the passage of centuries. The very oldest have lost their physical forms almost entirely, and make their flesh from the chipped and scratched stone of the henge itself, packed with earth and spiralled in vines, their cries the deep roar of stone echoing down the aeons.
Some come marching to meet you will other archaic skeletons, called to service by the Henge-Lich, clad in bronze and rotted skins, clutching wooden weapons no longer fit for service, or flint knives and blades long since blunted and decayed. They throw themselves at you with relentless abandon. Their lack of proper weapons means nothing, their hands will serve well enough until they literally grind themselves to nothing against you.
All the while, the Henge-Lich watches, urging the very stones and bones of its domain to destroy you.
Henge Lich Powers
1 - Animate Stone
2 - Implore Nature
3 - Ley-Line Convergence
4 - Ancestor's Vengeance
5 - Spirits of Old
6 - Call Lightning
7 - Wrath of the Stars
8 - Celestial Alignment
9 - Earth Arise
10 - Growth/Decay
Loam Lich
Druids are not as incorruptible as they might say they are. Even the earth can be poisoned.
On the very blackest of days, a Druid that feels the call of Naturalisation but who abhors the idea will concoct a plan; they will take the very soul of the earth for themselves. They will amalgamate the earth with themselves, no the other way around. This of course, never quite works out as they imagine it will, not that this is enough to ever deter such individuals from trying it.
The resultant abomination is called a Loam-Lich. Their soul resides in the earth of their grove, but the grove has lost its connection to the World. They are one, but cut off from the greater whole. They despise what they are, what they could have been; and so feed off of what is around them. They drain the earth and feast on rotten beasts and trees, they waste the wilderness to allow them to survive, and they do it with a hateful glee.
The Loam-Lich still has their powers over nature, though now it is a result of their domination of nature, rather than their symbiosis with it. They still command the animal residents of the grove, but they are no longer alive. They aren't quite undead either, but they slowly slip towards it as the long decades drag on. The trees and plants survive too, but they are dry and twisted by their new lives too. They feed on the night and darkness rather than the sun, which now they merely endure. A Loam-Lich's grove is now an oasis of dull brown amongst the dead and dying wilds around it. Most Loam-Liches that live much more than a century will often reduce the surrounding lands to desert.
Growth still continues within the grove, but in a twisted reflection of what it was before. Brambles and thorns, dry twigs and bushes, emaciated and ferocious animals, unnaturally strong and vital for how thin they look.
And of course, the Loam-Lich itself (or more properly, the physical manifestation of the Lich's old body) remains, a grey-brown ghost that haunts the thickets and trunks. Its skin is dried and rotten leaves, its flesh is desiccated earth, and its teeth and eyes are chunks of rough flint. It comes and goes as it pleases, the earth is it as much as it is the earth, and so attacking the form of the Lich is about as useless as trying to kill the sea with a sword.
No-one quite knows how to kill a Loam-Lich. Destruction of the Grove seems to do the trick, but inevitably the earth beneath it regenerates with time, and the Loam-Lich returns. It might be centuries later, but the earth measures its life in aeons, not centuries. It seems that unless they very earth of the grove itself is destroyed (and no-one knows what that might even look like, let alone what efforts it would take), the Loam-Lich is as immortal as the world itself.
Loam Lich Powers
Note: These are not so much manifestations of magic like other Lich powers, these are merely the Loam-Lich's command of the grove-corpse itself. They are more like you flexing an arm than casting a spell.
1 - Hateful Plants
2 - Animal Monsters
3 - Desiccate and Wrack
4 - Viney Grasp
5 - Stone, Awaken
6 - Awaken Primality
7 - Wooden Prison
8 - Wind of Thorns
9 - Dust-Storm
10 - Insect Abomination
Sacred Lich
As much of an oxymoron it sounds, some gods pride themselves on their superior practicality, and occasionally reward their followers with Divine Lichdom.
The Sacred Lich was probably once a Paladin, or high-ranking Cleric of a particularly pragmatic church. They are most often driven by dogma rather than morals, though this need not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can a great desire to continue their works on earth that prompts their transformation. Either way, once the Sacred-Lich emerges, their soul has gone to heaven, but their body continues their grand commission, wreathed in glory and power.
To a one, they are imperious and cold and distant. They continue to act as they did in life, but their motivation is now mechanical rather than morally derived. They do so because that is what they do, why they exist, not because it is what they want to do. This callousness to their works is not particularly liked, but it is tolerated. Sacred-Liches are exceptionally good at what they do.
They might be captains of invincible warrior-priests, sent to hunt down the most grand evils imaginable, or they might be spell-casters without compare, better able to channel the miracles of their gods than mortals; their dead flesh more resistant to being seared by the holy power that surges through them.
Their divine status is not enough to keep them from making enemies of course. There are those that abhor the undead in whatever form they come in, doubly so when it is done in the name of a god. And of course, some people think that whatever good the Sacred Lich might do, the way they do it is kind of dickish. They always do what is right, whatever the cost.
If a Sacred-Lich dies, it is up to their god if they are regenerated back on earth. Sometimes it just isn't worth the bother. Sometimes, the corpse of a Sacred-Lich will be made into Relics on par with those made from Saint-bones, much to the annoyance of the Lich if it returns to the world while its body is divided up.
Sacred Lich Powers
1 - Divine Pronouncement
2 - Shackles of Faith
3 - Zealous Immunity
4 - Wrath of God
5 - Abjure the Heathen
6 - Undying Servant of God
7 - Blinding Light
8 - Cleansing Flames
9 - Binding Proclamation
10 - Perfect Judgement
Hostage Lich
Let's just face it, no one would ever want to be a Hostage Lich, and if you do, you don't understand what a Hostage Lich is.
The Ethereal Fluke is a very slightly unreal parasite, which swims invisibly through the air before latching onto a victim's soul, and become real inside their body. This process is incredibly painful, and many don't survive, which is a big reason for the Ethereal Fluke's rarity. Unfortunately, it seems that wizards and other such spell-casters are particularly well suited to surviving an Ethereal Fluke's attack, and living on as a Hostage Lich.
Removing the Parasite is instant (and eternal) death as the soul is shredded in the Parasite's death-throes, it cannot survive reality without the soul it clings desperately to. Leaving the Parasite alone leads to a slow and tortuously long decline as the soul is gnawed to nothing; thus those poor souls have little option but the fuel the Parasite with the souls of others, rather than allow themselves to die slowly, and by inches.
While for some, this does not seem so bad, the full extent of the Liches' suffering only comes later. The skin begins to soften like jelly, flesh turns translucent, muscles atrophy to stringy chords. The Lich's body changes around it, until it becomes completely incapable of anything at all except to slop mournfully where it sits. The process has been described as some of the worst pain possible, it stings right into the heart of the soul. The only way to appease the Fluke (who causes the transformation) is ever increasing quantities of souls; eventually to the point that no amount is ever enough, to the doom of both Lich and Fluke.
These are all parts of the Ethereal Fluke's survival strategy. Swallow the soul of a Sorcerer or other Magic-User, then devour them slowly, destroy their flesh if they do not find further souls to feed it, hold them hostage in the most fundamental way possible. Even total bodily death is not the end of a Hostage Lich, they are reborn again by the Fluke, which regenerates the body much in the same way as a Phylactery. This is not a particularly pleasant experience for either of them. They are just slightly not Liches, but certainly are for all intents and purposes.
There are only two ways to destroy one. Firstly, you could kill the fluke; tear it out of the flesh and grind it into paste. Try not to thin of the poor sod you just obliterated. In all likelihood, they would probably thank you.
The second is to simply leave one, or hopefully, starve them of souls. They will waste away eventually, driven to the edge by the Fluke's ever-growing avarice.
The Ethereal Fluke is a very slightly unreal parasite, which swims invisibly through the air before latching onto a victim's soul, and become real inside their body. This process is incredibly painful, and many don't survive, which is a big reason for the Ethereal Fluke's rarity. Unfortunately, it seems that wizards and other such spell-casters are particularly well suited to surviving an Ethereal Fluke's attack, and living on as a Hostage Lich.
Removing the Parasite is instant (and eternal) death as the soul is shredded in the Parasite's death-throes, it cannot survive reality without the soul it clings desperately to. Leaving the Parasite alone leads to a slow and tortuously long decline as the soul is gnawed to nothing; thus those poor souls have little option but the fuel the Parasite with the souls of others, rather than allow themselves to die slowly, and by inches.
While for some, this does not seem so bad, the full extent of the Liches' suffering only comes later. The skin begins to soften like jelly, flesh turns translucent, muscles atrophy to stringy chords. The Lich's body changes around it, until it becomes completely incapable of anything at all except to slop mournfully where it sits. The process has been described as some of the worst pain possible, it stings right into the heart of the soul. The only way to appease the Fluke (who causes the transformation) is ever increasing quantities of souls; eventually to the point that no amount is ever enough, to the doom of both Lich and Fluke.
These are all parts of the Ethereal Fluke's survival strategy. Swallow the soul of a Sorcerer or other Magic-User, then devour them slowly, destroy their flesh if they do not find further souls to feed it, hold them hostage in the most fundamental way possible. Even total bodily death is not the end of a Hostage Lich, they are reborn again by the Fluke, which regenerates the body much in the same way as a Phylactery. This is not a particularly pleasant experience for either of them. They are just slightly not Liches, but certainly are for all intents and purposes.
There are only two ways to destroy one. Firstly, you could kill the fluke; tear it out of the flesh and grind it into paste. Try not to thin of the poor sod you just obliterated. In all likelihood, they would probably thank you.
The second is to simply leave one, or hopefully, starve them of souls. They will waste away eventually, driven to the edge by the Fluke's ever-growing avarice.
Hostage Lich Powers
1 - Liquefy Flesh
2 - Ethereal Tendrils
3 - Souls Suction
4 - Drain Essence
5 - Weep Blood
6 - Infest with Worms
7 - Helminth Servant
8 - Deform Flesh
9 - Wracking Hunger
10 - Flense Innards
Specific/Special Liches Subtable
1 - The Chain2 - The Tyrant
3 - The Tangled-Web
4 - The Shiv-Liches
5 - The Page Liches
6 - The Lich-Smiths
7 - The Lich-Wardens
8 - The Philosopher's Lich
9 - The Lich-Saint
10 - The Blizzard Lich
The Chain
The Liches of the Chain are mysterious, and apparently even more unkillable than regular Liches. A group of 8 who as far as anyone can tell all became Liches as one, have been residing in their conclave for well over 800 years, maybe even exponentially more time. Many have attempted to destroy them, some have even partially succeeded; but one always manages to escape, and then slowly the rest return as well.
The secret, as some scholars have guessed, is that the Chain have gamed the system. They arranged themselves as a circle of 8, and when the time came to dig the knife into their flesh to transcend this frail realm of life, they made their Phylactery the Lich next in line to them.
The result is this, the only way to destroy the Chain, is for each of them to be destroyed as one. If even one survives, it will resurrect the next in line, who will regenerate the next, and so on.
Of course, the logistics in destroying 8 Liches simultaneously is tremendous and herculean, and so they continue to reign from their towers and libraries.
Luckily for us, they seem to be somewhat benign. None have seen them act in anger in living memory; they seem content to remain within their lair for the most part.
But that doesn't mean they aren't up to something. All Liches are, inevitably.
The Tyrant
The Tyrant is a uniquely cruel and wicked individual with a uniquely cruel and wicked method for ensuring his survival; he turns others into Liches, and makes himself their Phylacteries. Much like the Chain, this means that his Servitor-Liches cannot die unless he is destroyed, but in doing so, their own destruction would be guaranteed. The Tyrant has made it so.
And so the Servitor-Liches are the Tyrant's greatest servants, though they wish they were not. They must defend themselves lest they see themselves and the others destroyed for their master's sake. There can be no rebellion against the Tyrant without mutual death, and since the Tyrant has been subtly playing a few of the Servitors against the others, there will be no mutual rebellion; if some rose up, others would try to stop them. If those others attempted to rebel, the first group would be at their necks in an instant.
The Tyrant itself however is just a Lich like any other, just one with a particularly sadistic bent with regards to its servants. Its Phylactery is the one of its Servitors that it loves most of all, but the identity of which one it is, has long since been lost.
The Tangled-Web
This Lich never originally intended to become a Lich, they originally wanted to be a Warlock. However, any prospective Warlock needs an eye for opportunity to be successful, and this Warlock saw one, and took it.
In life, they made pacts with otherworldly beings, demons, devils, angels, old gods, fey lords, one and all that they could. They were a master of hiding their own manner from prying eyes, none of their Patrons even knew what was going on until it was too late. Finally, a small bit of the soul was given to each Patron in turn, for safe-keeping of course, a semi-Lich servant that they can collect whenever they wish. Finally, after many bargains, the whole soul was gone, and the Tangle-Lich was born.
It is a careful balance the Tangle-Lich keeps, they have their immortality; none of their patrons can move against them to claim them for fear of reprisal of the other Patrons (which they have only now realised have had a claim on the Lich's soul as well), and no Patron holds enough of the Lich's soul to cause any particular harm to the Web-Lich. As long as it can maintain the balance, they are unkillable.
The Shiv-Liches
Known amongst the common folk as The Knives, the Shiv-Liches are a band of Orcish assassins, or at least they were. Now they are Liches, and their souls are bound within the Knives from which they take their titles.
The job goes like this, a king or noble or official or anyone really is gifted a knife. Nothing particularly horrid, but also nothing particularly glamorous. The gift is accepted, with wrinkled nose, and stored somewhere out of sight. Acceptance without acceptance. The Shiv-Lich, confirming the acceptance of the knife, casts their body into a flame, utterly destroying it. A new body forms with the knife, deep inside the defences, out of sight of the guards. Nothing is suspected until the butchered body is found. Even if they find the Lich, the knife is long-gone back to the others in case of this very eventuality, and besides, no-one was looking for that hack-rag anyway.
The Knives are tremendously effective, and though they are known in many parts, few if any know their particular method.
They are of course, masters of hiding in plain sight.
The Page-Liches
The Ivory Library is an institution that has survived the ages, wars, pestilence, flame, none have touched its hallowed walls, and the Page Liches are in large part responsible for that.
The Page-Liches, whilst stern and ill-suffering of fools, are not hostile in any manner. They have bound themselves body and soul to the Library, to serves its needs and requirements, and as a magical repository the density of which has not been seen anywhere else ever in the history of the world, the needs and requirements are many.
Only an immortal being has the patience to learn and navigate the ever-changing and shifting referencing systems. Only an immortal being of great magical capacity can deal with the occasional arcane avalanches that can spill from the upper levels. Only they who are dead can navigate the black abysses of the basements.
The library is vast and deadly, and so Liches are what it needs to maintain itself.
Who they were is no longer known. There are none who remember them as anything other than the ancient undying near-dead. Even the older Fey-Lords are reticent to speak on the subject, and will only offer conjecture, even though they may well know the answers.
The Lich-Smiths
Some work for art. And some will do it forever, as these have and will. In the ruined and gutted corpse of some ancient and now-nameless city, the Lich-Smiths toil over their furnaces, hoarding silver and bone.
They were once the premier artists of their day, as they will gruffly spit at you. Their time is precious, and so they removed themselves from the mortal world so that they might focus on and utterly perfect their arts. They are smiths, but also jewellers, bone-carvers, painters, etchers, enchanters, there are many many artistic disciplines and between them they have mastered them all.
These days, they find themselves growing bored, when they mastered all the skills they could, when they had made the most sublime and inscrutable works they could, they simply ran out of things to do. It is the final curse of Lichdom, at least as they will put it.
So they find that the last few things they enjoy taking on are commissions. Few hold the vast fortunes the Smiths require for their services. Most are kings, emperors, and of course, adventurers. They come to the Lich-Smiths requesting weapons, arms, and armour; equipment and implements; conduits and mechanisms. The Lich-Smiths demand silver and bone, and if the price is paid then the work begins.
The Lich-Smiths don't really need the vast fortunes they receive; its mostly to make sure that their customers really mean what they ask, and are of sufficient stature and import to ask for what they do, but also the Lich-Smiths use Silver and Bone in their works; they are their favoured mediums for their crafts and magics and enchantments. No matter what is requested, it is always delivered as bone inlaid with silver, and it is always sublime and beautiful, and indestructible (as far as any have dared test). The Lich-Smiths have only few customers, but none ever leave dissatisfied.
The Lich-Wardens of the God-Pharaoh
They gave up their lives to serve him, figuratively and literally. Their flesh was a willing and euphoric sacrifice for their deity, their frail and pathetic existences trade in for new, glorious, and eternal bodies with which to forever serve their master.
They are near-empty suits of armour now, their frail forms withing swaddled in bandages and scored with sacred charms and amulets. Their weapons and armour are golden and blazing with radiance, and their new artisanal leather-skin that contains their ancient bones is immaculate, and only slightly uncanny. They protect the God-Pharaoh with their un-lives, certain in the knowledge that if struck down, they will return, and earn ever greater rewards in the service of their lord. Their Phylacteries are stored deep within the vaults of the Blazing Palace, never shall the Pharaoh's guardians taste death until he shall demand they do.
Only rarely do they leave the palace; only the most dangerous missions can demand such power, and the risk to the God-Pharaoh's mortal form.
The Philosopher's Lich
As much a work of theoretical construct as the stone itself (at least, it is hoped), the Philosopher's Lich is merely a Lich, except for the fact that they (in theory) have taken the stone itself for their Phylactery.
Quite what this would mean, is the subject of much speculation. No-one truly knows what powers could be leeched from the stone by a Lich; true and perfect immortality is a common guess, no more of this soul-gathering business.
Certainly none have ever achieved this. Not a one. Certainly not this alchemist, he has only been alive a few decades. Certainly his potions and unguents are incredible, and well worth the price, but the accusations that he has lived for many centuries are scandalous in the extreme! He is content with his limitations, he would never pursue the stone, he certainly is not granted life eternal, even beyond mortal blow, nor have his magical capacities doubled in the last decade alone, nor has he a cadre of immortal and addicted death-knights to carry out his biding. His health tonic is a protected and secret recipe, and he will not give it up to the likes of you! He has to make a living somehow you know.
The Lich-Saint
Of all the names in the Blessed Canon of saints, there is one that is reviled, struck from its pages as much as ink can harm the names of those chosen by gods. Aedric was once the Saint of Restful Places, where the dead might find blessed peace, where respite would be sacrosanct, where nightmares would be held at bay. Then he broke the concord, took his own life (and the lives of all in his band of attendant-paladins at the same time) and became a Lich.
He is wreathed in terrible black-flames, grey light flickering across the ground around him, black smoke creeping at his feet. His eyes are dark, and his flesh ashen and dead. A cracked stone halo circles above his head, brittle and broken.
While his divine powers have fled him, screaming and crying for salvation, his void is filled now with despotic Lich-magics, he has not been diminished; dark powers have propped him up to raise him as a dark eidolon for the damned, and then he surpassed even them, shackling them to his own will.
Many have attempted to end his dark reign, and so the ranks of his Death-Knight honour-guard grow. He is an expert at breaking prisoners.
If the world has a villain, it is Aedric, the Lich-Saint.
The Blizzard Lich
On cold white nights on mountain tops, or in the arctic wastes, listen a while for moaning on the wind. If you hear it, run. You may yet outrun it.
The world has forgotten it, no tales of its origins, no suggestions of its end. It merely haunts the wild and wasted white-storms of the world, howling with the wind for the flesh and fluids of the lost and desperate.
If its prey are ever found, they are as drained and dry as it is, frozen and brittle.
One thing is for sure, it is a Lich. The few that have encountered it and survived have confirmed as much. Sometimes they strike it down, it always returns. Sometimes it fights with sorcery, sometimes with its cracked nails and shattered teeth. Always the cold-of-the-soul settles in the nooks and creases of the mind before it strikes.
Its mark is that it can dwell only in storms of snow and ice. Even on the mountain tops it has been confirmed to haunt, when the sky is clear, you are safe (from the Blizzard-Lich at least). Any suggestions as to its Phylactery have never been adequately investigated, its goals have never been satisfyingly inferred. It is merely left alone, and any who seek the lonely peaks it calls its lair have been urged to challenge other obstacles, like farming, or perhaps knitting.
Lich Phylacteries
1 - A Rod or Stave, there's a chance its even the real thing.
2 - A Pendent, bearing a picture of someone the Lich once held dear
3 - A Scroll in a crystal tube, bearing impossible arcane knowledge
4 - A withered old Heart in a Sandal-wood box
5 - The aged and creaking remains of the liches' Childhood Home
6 - A Tome, beautifully bound and crusted in precious stones
7 - A gnarled and twisted Tree, curled like an old man's hand
8 - The liches' own Spellbook, the pages all blank but for a faint smudge of ink
9 - The rune-scribed Bones of one of the liches' family members, glowing a soft blue
10 - The rune-scribed Bones of one of the liches' old pets, creaking under the magical weight
11 - A Portrait of the Lich, which changes and warps with age and is marred by corruption
12 - An enchanted Silver Mirror; it never quite shows the truth, only a crooked imitation
13 - A Black Canvas, framed in gold; clearly there was something beneath once, but what?
14 - A Painted Sea-Shell, twisted and flaking, within you hear the faintest of heart-beats
15 - A Reliquary bearing a gold-plated saint-remnant, any holy symbols blackened and charred
16 - An old Instrument, bending under the weight of years, all but useless now
17 - An ancient Carving of an Animal, some of the knife-scores still visible in the wood grain
18 - A lonely Pearl, still shining bright beneath the grime and scratches
19 - A small Stone, smooth and unassuming; one side of it has been rubbed truly flat
20 - A stern Stone Sarcophagus, filled with black liquid; the souls which invigorate the Lich
Lich Ambitions
1 - Godhood, nothing less
2 - A better form of Immortality than Lichdom
3 - Perfecting their alchemical minions
4 - Developing ever-more advanced technologies
5 - Mastery of Magic
6 - Creation of their perfect Utopia
7 - The downfall of a Civilisation
8 - To learn, literally everything. Everything.
9 - To become the best at their chosen craft/skill
10 - The total destruction of their nemesis
11 - To rejuvenate their frail and decaying form
12 - To undo what they have done and to finally die
13 - To reshape the world into a more pleasing form
14 - To reshape the world into a more efficient form
15 - The resurrection of a loved one
16 - To push the boundaries of thought and knowledge
17 - To alter the fundamental rules of the world
18 - To destroy all life, everywhere
19 - To create true, pure, objective beauty
20 - To create all new forms of life and being
Lich Madnesses
1 - That they are frail and weak, anything could destroy them, even a bird dropping from the sky
2 - Their loved ones remain with them, telling them that what they are doing is right and proper
3 - Their spells are alive in their head like worms, sometimes they have to pick them out to cast them
4 - The passage of time has worn thin around them, they can't trust it, especially not its secret agents!
5 - That writing is poisonous to it, show it a word, it will writhe, show it a book, it will drop comatose
6 - Cats are the guardians of the afterlife, any cat they might encounter might drag its soul away
7 - The Lichs' path is not its own to follow, it must head the signs and portents of the future
8 - The Lich has one it cherishes beyond all others, that it loves with all its withered forsaken heart
9 - All must be remade as the Lich was; they shall, one way or another, become Liches
10 - The Lich can form no memories since becoming a Lich, once it leaves the short-term, it is gone
11 - The Lich has twin personalities, each one rising and waning with the phases of the moon
12 - Nothing is worth it, nothing.
Lich Lairs
1 - A tower of ice and bone, a knife that gouges the clouds
2 - A twisting cone of dying and necrotised plants
3 - A crystal palace of sand, death knell of millions of ancient creatures
4 - A castle twisted from petrified creatures
5 - A cave system stitched throughout the many worlds of the world
6 - A pit into the black and weeping earth
7 - A grand crypt complex, each tomb a eulogy to a race the Lich has destroyed
8 - A stern monolith, slowly sinking into the mire of a slaughtered city
9 - A twisted nest of crooked fingers of black stone
10 - A buoyant island, chained to the earth, tectonically screaming for release
11 - An enormous fortress-palanquin born atop the shoulders of an army of the dead
12 - The immense corpse of a butchered star-beast, veins for tunnels, organs as cathedrals
13 - A town brought to life, limbs of earth, a hide of broken and crumbling buildings
14 - A twisting vortex in the sea, revealing the corpse-landscape of the sea-bed
15 - A crown of jagged stone, liquid flame pouring from the hands of carven titans
16 - A cavern of crystal, drained and brittle and stained grey by the Liches' inexhaustible hunger
17 - An almighty and blighted tree, weeping amber; enemies of the Lich bound within
18 - A howling plain of grey-scale dusts, endlessly tumbling
19 - The tomb behind the tomb, the house behind the house, the city behind the city
20 - Roll twice and Combine
Lich Weaknesses
1 - Alchemical Silver
2 - Blessed Water
3 - Salted Flames
4 - The Lich's own knife, with which it slew itself to become what it is
5 - Magical Light
6 - Worked obsidian, glistening like glass
7 - Cat's fangs
8 - Living Wood
9 - A weapon that has never taken a life
10 - The thorn of a rose
11 - A golden needle
12 - A unworked stone with which a man's life has been taken
13 - A shadow
14 - A weapon wielded by a person who has less than a day to live
15 - A weapon wielded by a person who knows the Lich's true name
16 - A weapon wielded by a person who has never killed any living thing
17 - Sunlight reflected from a tin mirror
18 - A ten-thousand year old spear
19 - Melancholy
20 - Song
Lich Powers
1 - Raise Dead
2 - Drain Life
3 - Icy Touch
4 - Snuff Soul
5 - Necrotise Flesh
6 - Devour Shadow
7 - Mortal Puppet
8 - Sunder Mind
9 - Destroy Metal
10 - Wither Plants
11 - Desiccate Land
12 - Desecrate
13 - Unholy Words
14 - Snuff Flame
15 - Command Earth
16 - Master of Blood
17 - Fundamental Forces
18 - Pall of Darkness
19 - Zone of Silence
20 - Irresistible Commands
21 - Mutate Foe
22 - Unbearable Agony
23 - Vast Presence
24 - Induce Fear
25 - Soldiers from Stone
26 - Flesh to Bone
27 - Bone to Flesh
28 - Malevolent Doppelganger
29 - Instill Corruption
30 - Portal to the Outer Dark
31 - Shadowy Step
32 - Invisible Passage
33 - Seal Throat
34 - Crow Storm
35 - Searing Chains
36 - Ten Thousand Needles
37 - Gut-Shred
38 - Implacable Suggestion
39 - Shroud of Dusts
40 - Spear of Night
41 - Unwind Time
42 - Ironfire
43 - Crushing Depths
44 - Deluge
45 - Grasping Air
46 - Shadow Demons
47 - Entomb
48 - Seal of the Mind
49 - Ageing Gaze
50 - Final Moments
51 - Sunder Earth
52 - Grave-bound Titan
53 - Rend Divinity
54 - Command Vermin
55 - Call Demons
56 - Unseeming
57 - Devour
58 - Baleful Polymorph
59 - Blessings of Blood
60 - Bestow Immortality
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