- a/state – Contested Ground Studios
- Complete Guide to Liches: Philolich – Goodman Games
- The Lords of the Night: Vampires – Bottled Imp Games
- Blood and Relics – RPGObjects
The Complete Guide to Liches: Philolich Preview
Do traces of humanity remain after a spellcaster’s transformation into a lich? The answer is yes. This guide to liches humanizes the evil monster that has traditionally been relegated to the lowest levels of dank, dark dungeons.
Necromancers pursue the path to lichdom for many reasons. Some are truly evil with dark plans that will take centuries to complete. But others are looking for nothing more than immortality. The transformation to lichdom is shrouded in mystery and secrecy, and few who undertake the process fully understand all the implications. Many are completely unaware that the enigmatic rituals that promise immortality may have sinister side effects. Thus it is possible that some liches were once paladins pursuing a centuries-long plan of good, or researchers who only wanted a few more years to complete their studies. Over time, the necromantic energies of the creation rituals corrupted them, and now they are evil liches… but the spark of humanity remains.
The Complete Guide to Liches introduces the concept of the redeemed lich, who has sloughed off his undead life of evil, and the philolich, a mortal lover reanimated by her lich companion to keep him company as he whiles away his centuries. The “typical” lich is examined in detail, along with several new varieties, including the monstrously powerful drowlich and the time-challenged novalich (whose more limited creation rituals give him but one year to complete a specific task).
The Complete Guide to Liches is a stand-alone, world-neutral sourcebook covering everything you ever wanted to know about liches. It is the seventh volume in the Complete Guide series. Each Complete Guide is exactly what it sounds like: a complete guide to playing a given kind of monster. As a GM, you’ll learn how to run that monster, both in combat and role-playing situations. The Complete Guide to Liches can be inserted easily into any fantasy setting.
Philolich
A philolich is a specialized lich sub-type that is inexorably linked to a lich. Philoliches can only be created by another lich; the philolich cannot be created by a living spellcaster. The living subject that becomes a philolich is usually either one of the undead creature’s fanatical “servants of the lich” or is emotionally connected to the lich in some other way, such as a child or a husband/wife of the lich when it was mortal whose love did not falter when the lich chose to become undead. Likewise, the lich still feels an emotional connection to this living person… and so chooses to have that person join them in their immortality by turning them into a philolich. Philoliches are less powerful than their lich creators/partners. They essentially exist only to be with their lich creators, and have little interest in other things. When a philolich is created, a bond between the lich and the philolich is forged that lasts until either the lich or philolich is permanently destroyed. The philolich cannot survive without its lich creator, and vice versa – should one have its phylactery permanently shattered, the other can only exist for 1d4 days before the pain of being finally separated from the other causes it to fade away into nothingness. While both lich and philolich are evil creatures, they share a twisted love that connects them in a singular undead existence.
Creating a Philolich
HIT DICE: Increase to d10
SPEED: Same as the character
AC: The philolich has +3 natural armor or the character’s natural armor class, whichever is better.
DAMAGE: Creatures without natural weapons gain a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d4+3 points of damage to living creatures; a successful Will save with a DC of 10 + 1/2 philolich’s HD + philolich’s Charisma modifier reduces the damage by half. Creatures with natural attacks can use either their natural weapons or this touch attack.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: A philolich keeps all of the character’s special attacks and also gains those listed below. All saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 philolich’s HD + philolich’s Charisma modifier unless otherwise noted.
FEAR AURA (SU): The fear aura projected by a philolich is not quite as powerful as that of its creator. Creatures of less than 3 HD within a 30-foot radius that see the philolich must succeed at a Will Save (DC 10 + 1/2 philolich’s HD + philolich’s Charisma modifier) or be affected as though by fear as cast by a sorcerer of 1/2 of the lich’s level. The philolich may choose to drop this aura of fear if so desired.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): As per the lich.
SPELLS: As per the lich.
SPECIAL QUALITIES: A philolich retains all of the character’s special qualities. In addition, the following qualities are gained, as is the undead type.
TURN RESISTANCE (EX): As per the lich.
DAMAGE REDUCTION (SU): The body of the philolich has damage reduction 10/+1.
IMMUNITIES (EX): As per the lich.
SECOND SIGHT (SU): Once per day, a philolich may look through the eyes of its creating lich as if using a crystal ball of telepathy. The philolich sees what the lich sees, and knows what the lich is thinking.
CHARM (SP): By gazing into a character’s eyes, a philolich can charm a target as per the charm person spell, as cast by a 12th-level sorcerer. This ability may be used three times per day.
SAVES: Same as the character
Abilities: A philolich gains +4 to Charisma, but being an undead creature, it has no Constitution score.
SKILLS: Philoliches receive a +8 racial bonus to Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise, same as the character.
Feats: Same as character.
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land and underground
ORGANIZATION: Pair (with 1 lich)
CHALLENGE RATING: Same as the character +2
TREASURE: Standard
ALIGNMENT: Any evil
ADVANCEMENT: By character class
Philolich Characters
Philolich characters can be of any class. They can even be zero-level characters. The only requirement to become a philolich is to be willing and to have a lich capable of transforming the character.
Philolich Phylacteries
A philolich’s phylactery costs a minimum of 78,000 gp and 3,100 XP to create, and possesses a caster level equal to that of its lich creator when it is made. This phylactery is of Tiny size and has a hardness rating of 14, 28 hit points, and a break DC of 28. Unlike that of a lich, a more elaborate and expensive phylactery makes no difference in creating a philolich. Failure of the join the soul spell during the creation of a philolich will change the character into a semi-lich.
- For more information, please visit Goodman Games’ official web site at www.goodman-games.com.
- Download the preview here: Philolich.
