Liches are, let’s face it, are at the top of their game. Whatever form of Arcanum they practiced in their (previous?) life would have been renowned if studied. A lich who was a cleric or mage in their old existence have now reached the pinnacle in their field. On top of that pinnacle lays their phylactery.
While anything but divine, they have still elevated themselves to a level that is beyond what their mortal bodies could have handled. But what exactly makes a lich, well, a lich?
How to Become a Lich in Dungeons and Dragons 5e?
Liches have thus far appeared in every rendition of Dungeons and Dragons. In current day DND 5e, there seems to be a few potential ways of turning oneself into such a creature. Metamorphosis into a Lich occurs most commonly in two sought after ways. Necromancy and some form of phylactery must be involved to summon this awakening.
The Ritual of Becoming and Ceremony of Endless Night
The first method involves drinking a lot of poison. Known as the Ritual of Becoming or Ceremony of Endless Night, it requires the creation of a phylactery and drinking of said potion. Most commonly the soon-to-be lich would be found conducting the ceremony under a full moon.
The potion itself is no simple task of just mixing together the right ingredients found at the local potion shop. Most of the contents required are vile and grotesque in nature, like blood from an infant slain by the lich-to-be’s own hand.
After ingesting the vile potion, it ends up killing the arcane user who produced it. While I do not know if I could call it a successful potion, if it works the caster should be reanimated as a lich a few days later.
Not only do you get an undead body, but you also get your soul located in the cute little phylactery you custom made!
Another Way to Become a Lich
While this is not the most streamlined method, it is possible to become a lich through other means. Metamorphosis into a lich can also occur through life lengthening magic.
It is not the end goal to become a lich, but the magic they study establishes the connection needed to lichdom. The main goal in these cases are some form of immortality, which is granted in a sense. Albeit, being revived as an undead being with supreme magical knowledge and power.
What Are the Results of a Lich Ceremony?
Unlike other undead, a Lich has some perks that comes with the title. There is no loss of memory or lack of personality. This is, in my opinion, why so many try and reach this altered state. Being able to not start from zero is reminiscent of so many different forms of televised media streaming in modern day. The main protagonist in one way or another reincarnated and gets a huge boost of power and knowledge to start their new life.
Now with eternity in the palm of their skeletal hand, they can now use said knowledge to expand on it. With all of this extra time, they will inevitably become more powerful in their chosen arts.
But wait there is more!
What Are the Special Powers of a Lich?
Just like similar undead (aka mummies and vampires), they gain unnatural powers related to their now newfound title. Mortals that come across a lich can soon be put into a paralyzed state within their minds. This make the person appear dead to other mortals. Another special lich power is its use of necromancy to summon other lesser undead to protect themselves.
It is also important to state that while they get some powers added to their inventory, their intelligence is what makes them truly powerful. Given time, they can scheme and plot to their hearts content, even waiting for your future generations to pass before enacting their plans.
With eternal life, a lich would need an eternal body to boot. The vessel of a lich does not decay, along with being able to be immune to disease, poison, fatigue and other effects that affect only the living. Along with immunity, their body holds great power, making it very difficult to destroy.
So now your party, after a long battle, have finally defeated the lich in their domain. Your group travels back to a local bar where you tell stories of your adventure and drink ale to you hearts content. A keen listener suddenly asks, “How did you destroy the lich’s phylactery?”
“What’s a phylactery?” the adventurer responds
With all of this mention of a phylactery and how important it is in rituals, what is a phylactery in Dungeons and Dragons?
Funding a Phylactery
Do you ever wonder why liches are so far and few in-between? Even if you have all the magic in the world to make such a creation, if you do not have the cold hard coin to back it, a phylactery can not be created.
All together, the total costs of such a project ranges between 100,000 to 120,000 gold coins. (If you want to find out if your character could afford it, check out our article : How to Play a Peasant: Ye Old Roleplaying Guide).
As mentioned before, the proficiency that it takes to create a phylactery is nothing to scoff at. Much time, effort, and resources goes into the creation. This simply isn’t something that can be created overnight. While their drinks may be refreshing, most likely your local bartender will not be creating one any time soon.
The craftsmanship must also be superb. Using a solid material, magical or non-magical, you must have a high-level expertise to intricately create the phylactery’s etchings. It does state very clearly that wood must not be used for the project, but the reasoning for it is not obvious.
The only gear in the process of making a phylactery that can be varied would be the cost of solid material component. Stating that is must cost at least 2000 gold coins, it then goes on to state that you could increase the value of the object if the magic necessary is not at your disposal.
Authors Note:
Does this mean that if I were low level but talented/rich enough, I could pour the money into my object?
Liches in Popular Media
What are some popular liches in media? While Dungeons and Dragons have their fair share of liches, other media platforms also have their own portion. From the magical world of Harry Potter to the familiar dungeons of 5e, it seems like a liches reach are a multi-world conquest.
Vecna: Dungeons and Dragons
Vecna stands alone at the top as one of the most popular liches in media today. Starting out in the Dungeons and Dragons universe, Vecna was once a powerful king. His past is surrounded in mystery but there are multiple theories to how he gained his mastery over undeath.
Vecna was once thought of as a powerful (human or half-elf) wizard king in the lands of Oerth. As time passed and he gained power, there was a sense of fear for his own mortality. Rumors have spread that he learned how to gain enteranl life from Orcus, Lord of Undeath.
Surprisingly, Vecna’s immortality is not attributed to a phylactery. It is as if his essence itself is his phylactery.
Some have stated that his sense of fear of mortality was triggered by the death of his mother
Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter
Infamously, in and out of the series, he is known as Lord Voldemort. We would later find out his real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, an evil dark wizard whos original role is far lesser than what his future provided.
Originally Tom discovered he was the heir of Salazar Slytherin. His original destiny was to open the chamber of secrets, which would in turn drive all muggle-born children out of Hogwarts.
Tom would then later be referred to as Lord Voldemort, from the anagram of his name, “I am Lord Voldemort”. Tom, now Voldemort, would set his eyes on a much larger goal than Hogwarts. He would have his supremacy spread all throughout the wizarding world. Vodemort would then go on to create the death eaters, a group of evil wizards that would help him due his biddings.
While Voldemort did not have quote unquote “phylacteries”, he did have seven Horcruxes. Parts of his soul were divided, which Harry Potter had to locate and destroy them before they could defeat Voldemort.
Lord Voldemorts Seven Horcruxes –
–Tom Riddle’s Diary
–Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring
–Salazar Slytherin’s Locket
–Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup
–Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem
–Nagini (his pet snake)
–Harry Potter (unintentionally, as a part of his soul latched onto Harry during the attack on the Potters)
The Lich: Adventure Time
Known simply as “The Lich“, he has been around since before the creation of the universe. A direct manifestation of death, The Lich’s goal is simply to eradicate all life in all the multiverse.
Millions of years ago the essence of the Lich was deposited on earth via the Catalyst Comet. Time passed and during a great war he was able to inhabit the body of a human that was mutated. The Hero Billy, cast him down and closed off The Lich’s connection to the world, trapping him in an ancient tree. After escaping, The Lich killed the Hero Billy and set to wreck chaos across the multiverse. Towards the end of the series he was eventually stopped by Finn and Jake, turning him into a baby.
The Lich did in fact have a form of a phylactery tucked away in the lands of Ooo. Simply known as “The Snail”, as the name suggests it was a snail that could be seen in the background of almost every episode. The existence of “The Snail” meant that The Lich could continue to live, even if perished. This would leave The Lich without such a vessel after Finn and Jake freed the snail from the evil essence.
Out of 283 episodes and across 10 seasons, “The Snail” did not appear in only 14 episodes!
Lich Stat Block
For all of you DM’s out there, this is what the actual stat block for a lich looks like. As mentioned before hand, liches have a long history of some form of Arcanum. If any of your players are hoping to fight this undead, just know they are fighting against an 18th-level caster.
On top of high level spellcasting, the lich will now have access to another wide array of powers. Legendary Resistance, Legendary Actions, Rejuvenation with their phylactery, you name it. With all of that in mind do not forget that liches also have access to lair actions as well.
Why Should I have a Lich In My DND Game?
If you decide to have a lich in your game, I highly recommend the use of their phylactery somewhere as well. Having the moment of realization that they have won the battle but not the war brings a sense of doom and eagerness for total destruction.
Phylacteries can be great for storyline driven games in your fantasy setting. A lich can put its soul into pretty much anything with enough work put into it. It could be a gold coin thrown into the economics of a kingdom, a pair of dice in a casino. It could even a be mirror that was sold to the king which now lays in his personal chambers.
Whatever it is, you have 1d10 days to find it after the defeat of the lich. I would suggest you start looking.
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