A Lich is a vessel in The White March - Part I and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. They are completely immune to Freeze and Shock damage, but vulnerable to Crush damage.
Background[ | ]
Some wizards seek fame, others fortune. Many seek both. For those whom neither will satisfy, there is immortality. Few wizards possess the knowledge to grasp at eternity, and fewer still the fortitude, because the cost is steep indeed: one must sacrifice one's soul.
Neither living nor dead, a lich retains their mental acuity but does not hunger for the flesh of kith as undead creatures do. To avoid the decay of undeath, a wizard must bind their soul to their body. However, the process for doing so is unpleasant in the extreme. First, they must carve a series of intricate runes into their skull, then overlay that with a complex net of spellwork, and finally complete the transformation by boring a hole into their forehead that they then plug with a large piece of adra.
What drives a wizard to become a lich? The reasons are as varied as the wizards themselves. One might fear death, while another might fear being bested by a rival. Still another may desire only the ability to continue their work, amassing ever greater knowledge of the nature of essence and the runes and incantations required to master it.
Whatever their reasons, all liches develop the characteristic form of their kind as their bodies rapidly wither and age. Their skin grows thin, almost translucent, stretched across their bones like a thin film of algae spreads across a pond. What hair remains runs white. Their body cools until its touch holds all the warmth of glacier ice. In the end, only their magic, might, and malice remain.
If a lich's body is destroyed, they become a void seer, a floating skull.
Description[ | ]
Liches are as formidable as they are rare. They're masters of the arcane who have discovered ways to extend their own lives without facing the mental deterioration of fampyrs and other vessels. There are no reliable records or accounts of how to become a lich - the few who've managed to succeed have been hesitant to share their methods - but it's believed that the process is both difficult and excruciating. The annals of wizardry are littered with cautionary tales of ambitious mages who attempt immortality but manage only to rip their own bodies apart.
While liches decay physically, they retain their mental faculties, which is part of what separates them from vessels. They achieve this by binding their own essence to phylacteries, which are popularly represented as vials or charms worn or kept close to the body. However, none of the few known liches have ever revealed the nature or location of their phylacteries, so theories about them are ultimately speculation.
Most liches are believed to be powerful wizards or mages, but this is a generalization rather than a rule. One lich who lived almost a thousand years ago was a priestess of Berath who was sustained through her own rigorous devotion. Animancers have been rumored to experiment with similar concepts, but given the profession's questionable reputation, none have been willing to admit this.
Encounters[ | ]
- Liches are exceedingly rare. Concelhaut is the only one encountered in The White March - Part I and is characteristically powerful in terms of magic and quite resilient in terms of durability. The real threat comes from the coterie of special creatures he has at his disposal.
Behind the scenes[ | ]
- Liches in Eternity are a variation on the archetypal undead found in classic fantasy.
Gallery[ | ]
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