Demiliches are wiser, older, and far deadlier than common liches.
A demilich often appears as a single skull whose eye and tooth sockets have been fitted with costly gems. Other demiliches might appear as gem encrusted bones of another type, such as a skeletal hand or spine. The gems gleam wickedly with the light of stolen souls being slowly devoured. Particularly powerful liches sometimes learn the secret of fashioning soul gems, and so evolve to demilichdom. Demiliches are free to roam distant planes in astral form, leaving behind their physical remains to brood in dark tombs of horror. In their planar wanderings, which span centuries, demiliches seek to discover all the secrets of the multiverse, and beyond, applying themselves to the study of epic spells, the location of unique artifacts, and the keys to release and control imprisoned abominations. Many pursue plans far deeper, which may eventually win them control of vast stretches of the multiverse, or even grant them the spark of godhood.
Demiliches speak the languages they knew as liches and living creatures.
Combat
While demiliches are steeped in the knowledge of fell spells and defensive magic, they are usually content to trust in their innate defenses and magic immunuty, as well as their ability to suck the soul right from the body of those who displease it.
CREATING A DEMILICH
“Demilich” is a template that can be added to any lich. It uses all the lich’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here. A demilich’s form is concentrated into a single portion of its original body, usually its skull. Part of the process of becoming a demilich includes the incorporation of costly gems into the retained body part—see Creating the Soul Gems below.
Size: Medium-size and Large liches become Diminutive demiliches, Huge liches become Small demiliches, Gargantuan liches become Medium-size demiliches, and Colossal liches become Large demiliches. Hit Dice: As lich.
Speed: replace with Fly 180 ft., or the lich’s supernatural (not natural) fly speed, whichever is better.
AC: The demilich retains a +5 natural armor bonus and gains an insight bonus to AC equal to its Hit Dice, as well as a probable size adjustment to AC.
Damage: The demilich retains all its lich touch attacks (it now uses its entire flying skull to make the touch attack). The demilich’s touch attack uses negative energy to deal 10d8+20 points of damage to living creatures (no saving throw). Liches with natural attacks lose them.
Special Attacks: A demilich retains all the lich’s special attacks and also gains those listed below. Saves have a DC
of 10 + 1/2 the demilich’s HD + demilich’s Charisma modifier unless noted otherwise.
Trap The Soul (Su): A demilich can trap the souls of up to eight living creatures per day. To use this power, it selects any target it can see within 300 feet. The target is allowed a Fort saving throw with a DC of 10 + demilich’s HD + the Demilich’s Charisma modifier. If the target makes it save it takes 4 negative levels (this does not count as a use of Trap the Soul). If the target fails its save, the soul of the target is instantly drawn from her body and trapped within one of the gems incorporated into the demilich’s form. The gem gleams wickedly for 24 hours, indicating the captive soul within. The soulless body collapses in a mass of corruption and molders in a single round, reduced to dust. If left to its own devices, the demilich slowly devours the soul over 24 hours—at the end of that time the soul is completely absorbed, and the victim is forever gone. If the demilich is overcome before the soul is eaten, crushing the gem releases the soul, after which time it is free to seek the afterlife or be returned to its body by use of either resurrection, clone, or miracle.
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures less than 5 hit dice within 60' of the demilich must succeed at a Will save or be affected as though by fear cast at the 21st level.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature the demilich touches must succeed at a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim. This effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by the lich seems dead, but a spot check (DC 20) or heal check (DC 15) reveals that the victim is still alive.
Spells: The demilich can cast any spells it could cast as a lich. It also gains several spell-like abilities.
Perfect Automatic Still Spell: The demilich can cast all the spells it knows without gestures.
Spell-like Abilities: At will—alter self, astral projection, create greater undead, create undead, death knell, enervation, greater dispelling, harm (usually used to heal itself), summon monster I-IX, telekinesis, and weird; 2/day--greater planar ally. Demiliches cast these spells as casters of their spellcaster level, but the save DCs are equal to 10 + the demilich's HD + the demilich's Cha modifier.
Special Qualities: A demilich retains all the lich’s special qualities and those listed below.
Magic Immunity (Ex): Demiliches are immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects, except as follows. A shatter spell affects a demilich as if it were a crystalline creature. A dispel evil spell deals 3d6 points of damage (Fort save for half damage). Holy smite spells affect demiliches normally.
Phylactery Transference (Su): Headbands, belts, rings, cloaks, and other wearable magical items kept in close association with the demilich's phylactery transfer all their benefits to the demilich, regardless of distance between the demilich and its pyhlactery. The standard limits on types of items used simultaneously still apply.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A demilich has +20 turn resistance.
Damage Reduction (Su): A demilich has damage reduction 30/-- (30 points of damage is subtracted from all melee attacks, no matter the weapon’s enhancement bonus). Vorpal weapons, no matter their enhancement bonus, do standard damage to a demilich, though demiliches cannot be beheaded.
Resistances (Ex): Demiliches have acid, fire, and sonic resistance 20.
Saves: Same as the lich.
Abilities: A demilich gains +10 to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Skills: Demiliches receive a +20 racial bonus to Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. This does not stack with other bonuses from the lich template. Otherwise same as the lich.
Feats: Same as the lich.
Epic Feats: Demiliches gain the feats, Blinding Speed, Tenacious Spell and Automatic Quicken Spell.
Climate/Terrain: Same as lich.
Organization: Solitary or consistory (1 demilich, plus 3-6 liches, and 10-13 vampires).
Challenge Rating: Same as the lich + 6.
Treasure: As lich.
Alignment: Any evil.
Advancement: By character class.
DEMILICH CHARACTERS
The process of becoming a demilich can be undertaken only by a lich’s own free will. The demilich retains all class abilities it had as a lich.
CREATING THE SOUL GEMS
Liches have phylacteries which allow them to reappear 1d10 days after its apparent death, as do demiliches. Demiliches also have eight soul gems, each of which acts like a phylactery in its own right (if all the soul gems, and the demilich’s phylactery, are not destroyed after a demilich is downed, the demilich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death). The soul gems also allow the demilich to use its most devastating ability, Trap The Soul (see above).
Each demilich must make its own soul gems, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The lich must be a sorcerer, wizard, or cleric of at least 21st level. Each soul gem costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation. Soul gems appear as egg-sized gems of wondrous quality. They are always incorporated directly into the concentrated from of the demilich. For instance, a demilich skull might place the gems in the eye and tooth sockets of the skull, while a demilich hand might embed the gems faux joints.
Picture of Demilich from Epic-Level Handbook, found at Wizards.com.
Site Links
