LICH, PLEASE!

 My home D&D campaign of Embria is, and always has been, based off the classic adventures, modules, and concepts of Dungeons & Dragons. I borrow elements of various classic D&D worlds, such as Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and other popular D&D worlds; mixing them up to become a fun world of my own.

The timeline I use is almost exclusively built using events from classic D&D adventures.

When building such a world, I also try to keep in mind who the powerful movers and shakers of the world are. These include such characters as:

• Eclavdra Eilservs (from the G and D-series modules), who is now the Queen of the Vault of the Drow. Her gambit to lure surface world adventurers to attack the Queen of Spiders in the Abyss paid off, allowing her forces to destroy the Lolthites of the Vault and assume control of one of the most powerful drow cities of the Underdark. She has since made alliances with various other underworld factions, such as the duergar and the illithid, and created the Horizon Syndicate to trade goods with the surface world.

• Ashardalon (from various 3rd edition adventures, starting with “The Sunken Citadel”, and ending with “Bastion of Broken Souls”), an ancient red dragon with a massive cult following. He retreated from the world, after being wounded by an ancient druid and forced to use the balor demon Ammut the Soul-Eater as a replacement heart (bad-ass!). He was believed to have been destroyed at the Bastion of the Unborn, but – according to the board game “Ashardalon’s Wrath” – he has since returned to the mortal world and created a new lair in the caverns of Firestorm Peak (yes, THAT Firestorm Peak!).

• Legatus Dythan (appearing in Monster Vault - Threat to the Nentir Vale), a powerful dragonborn warlord with a massive army whose goal is nothing less than the rebirth of the dragon empire of Akhosia. His forces search the lands for any and all Arkhosia relics to be used to restore their homeland to prominence.

…just to name a few…

But among such powerful and august companies are the deadly foes known as liches. Few can match the power of a lich. Many of these beings have lived for centuries (some longer!), and have amassed not only magical spells and artifacts, but also numerous fortresses and hidden bastions around the world (and some not on this world). They also have access to minions, both mortal and… not.

So… who are the liches of Embria? Well, as with most things in my world, let’s go to the books!

Vecna

No list of liches is complete without Vecna. Heck, the guy is (probably) the first lich ever created, having learned the ritual from the Demon Prince of Undeath, Orcus himself! Vecna then went on to pen the ritual into the Book of Vile Darkness (which he ALSO created!) just so others might someday make use of it.

This guy turned his general, Kas, into a vampire and gave him an intelligent sword. Helped train the cambion Acererak (more on him later). And has made multiple attempts to become a god! 

Vecna’s first attempt at divinity ended with the betrayal of Kas, who cut off Vecna’s hand and eye, resulting in the creation of two powerful artifacts. Vecna and Kas both disappeared in a brilliant explosion, never to be seen or heard from for thousands of years afterward.

Vecna returned when his hand and eye became worn by the warlord Halmandar the Cruel, who was subsequently drugged and buried alive by his own servants. Halmandar’s crypt was unearthed by the Circle of Eight, only to discover Halmandar was now manifested as Vecna… who proceeded to slay the powerful cabal of wizards. Vecna once again attempts to perform his ritual of god-hood-ness, only for it to backfire and he is sucked into the Dread Domain of Cavitias. (see “Vecna Lives!”)

Eventually, Vecna gets tired of being trapped in the Shadowfell, and performs a ritual that helps him be restored outside the Domains of Dread (see “Vecna Reborn”). One year later, Vecna finally succeeds on his plans to become a deity. (see “Die, Vecna, Die!”). 

In recent years, the Hand of Vecna has appeared twice in major events. The first of these was during the Age of Worms, when the Vecnate cleric Darl Quethos became the bearer of the Hand for a year, all the while searching for means to discover the location of the Eye. He was slain by a band of heroes who used the Hand of Vecna in their battle against the demigod Kyuss. (see “Age of Worms: The Library of Last Resort” in Dungeons magazine #132) The hand was later discarded and hidden, only to be found by Vecna, himself, at some unknown date.

The second appearance of the Hand of Vecna was in the world of Exandria, when the members of Vox Machina battled the Whispered One. After the avatar of Vecna was defeated, his Hand was removed and claimed by the dragonborn paladin Arkhan the Cruel. He continues to wear the Hand of Vecna to this day; intent on using its power to help free the Queen of Dragons, Tiamat, from her prison on Avernus, the First Layer of the Nine Hells.

The Eye of Vecna has made no appearances in modern history, and continues to elude historians and treasure hunters alike.

Acererak

Following the Whispered One, few other liches are as known or feared as “The Devourer”: Acererak.

He was born thousands of years ago to a young witch. He was a cambion, the offspring of the balor Tarnhem. His demonic heritage was discovered at the age of 10, followed by the villagers burning his mother alive in their home. Acererak only survived due to his Abyssal lineage. He sword then to study the dark arts and gain vengeance upon all mortal creatures.

To this end, Acererak became the apprentice to the lich Vecna. During the betrayal of Kas, Acererak took advantage of the failed ritual to steal away several artifacts belonging to Vecna, including the Book of Vile Darkness. He ventured to the lands of Bael Turath, where his lineage was accepted by the tiefling community. Here, he studied to become a lich.

Acererak later went on to discover the city of Moil within the Shadowfell (see “Return to the Tomb of Horrors”), create the Tomb of Horrors to house his mortal riches as well as keep his physical body safe while his mind drifted through the Astral Sea. He eventually discovered the city of Omu in the Jungles of Chult, destroyed the Trickster Gods there and created the Soulmonger artifact to give birth to a dead god. (see “Tomb of Annihilation”)

Acererak is, without a doubt, one of the greatest liches to threaten the mortal world(s) and the planes beyond.

Asberdies

This relatively young and unknown lich makes his lair in the Troglodyte Warrens of the Underdark. (see D1: Descent into the Depth of the Earth). It is possible he is still new to lichdom. Despite this, his spell power is that of an archmage, and he has access to a great many treasures and magical items that he uses to pay the local troglodytes and trolls to serve as his guardians.

Who he was before his conversion into the undead is known. Also not known are his current and future plans with his newfound immortality.

Update: Asberdies has a noteworthy event from the time of his lichdom. According to "Monster Vault: Threats to the Nenitr Vale," scroll mummies are created using the essence of a lich after it has been slain, but before it can regenerate from its phylactery. It is mentioned in the lore of the scroll mummy that the first one ever created was called "Grisgol" who incorporated the phylactery of a lich named Asberdies. It is believed that Asberdies found a way to break free of his entrapment. This may explain why Asberdies has sought seclusion within the caverns of the Underdark.

Azalin Rex

The lich of Darkon once served as the lord-wizard for the vampire Strahd Von Zarovich in the realm of Barovia. Eventually, their alliance became frayed, and Azalin sought to leave Barovia, only to find himself in the Mists, where the lands of Darkon were created. However, even this new land to rule as his own did not please the lich. Azalin knew a prison when he saw one, and made multiple attempts to escape the Domain of Dread.

Through the use of an artifact known as the Requiem, Azalin has seemingly severed his connection with the lands of Darkon. He now seeks to free himself entirely from the Dread Domain, while the Mists slowly absorb sections of Darkon back into their haze.

The people of Darkon still see Azalin Rex as their ruler and fear him, as his secret police can be anywhere at any time. His rule is absolute, the point of ruthlessness.

Dragotha

In life, Dragotha was a powerful red dragon and consort to the Dragon Queen Tiamat. After Dragotha started hanging out with Kyuss and his death cult, the dragon fell out of favor with the Dragon Queen, who banished him and smote him until he was no longer alive.

Kyuss, who liked his newfound dragon buddy, used a powerful ritual to transform Dragotha into the first dracolich. Seeing Kyuss as his savior and BFF, Dragotha agreed to serve the budding demigod until the end of time. Shortly afterward, Kyuss started the ritual that would eventually make him a full-on godlike power. While Kyuss was trapped in his magical pillar / chrysalis, Dragotha continued tearing around the world and becoming a pain in the ass for everyone else. He made his lair in a cave near White Plume Mountain, where he spent most of his time until recently.

During the events of the Age of Worms, Dragotha once again emerged from his lair to help bring about the apocalypse foretold by his BFF Kyuss. He attempted to help bring Kyuss back to the world, but was destroyed by a bunch of pesky adventuring heroes trying to stop the rise of the demigod.

Maerynne, Marquess of the White Kingdom

Maerynne was a super-ancient and super-powerful lich from an ancient empire. How ancient? Think Atlantis, or maybe the Netheril Empire from Forgotten Realms, in terms of “old and mysterious.” She came from an empire of magic where only the most powerful archmages would rule.

After the downfall of her ancient empire, she wandered the realms and recently fell in with Doresain, the Exarch of Orcus. This “true ghoul” (also known as “fleshglotton”) was summoned to the mortal world by a cabal of necromancers trying to create a portal to the Shadowfell using the Orb of Shadows. Doresain killed several members of the cabal and turned the others into fleshgluttons. Then he went about creating the White Kingdom – the Kingdom of Ghouls – in the Underdark.

Maerynne aided Doresain as the keeper of the Orb of Shadows. After the White Kingdom started making forays to the surface world, a band of heroes formed the Army of Hope to storm the White Kingdom and destroy the Orb of Shadows; thus preventing Doresain from creating any more fleshgluttons. The lich Maerynne was believed to have been slain during this conflict. However she was survived by her human page Velberde. (see “Kingdom of Ghouls” in Dungeon Magazine #70)

It was later revealed that Maerynn was a special type of lich whose essence passed into a specially-prepared mortal body following her previous body’s destruction. Maerynne was reborn within Velberde, whose current whereabouts are unknown.

Lady Osterneth, The Bronze Lich

The enigmatic Lady Osterneth is a devoted servant of Vecna. She uses powerful illusion magics to conceal her form as that of a young lady visiting from a far-away land. She is charming, radiant, and always ready with a coy smile.

In truth, she is an ancient lich of unknown origin. Her skeletal body his covered in bronze metal, and her skull is adorned with gems she can use to draw forth the souls of mortals and consume their life, much like the powers of a demilich.

She is also the bearer of the Heart of Vecna.

Little else is known about this lich or her motivations, outside of serving the Whispered One.

Szazz Tam

This lich is a Red Wizard and the ruler of Thay. Before becoming the ruler of the nation, he was one of the Council of Eight, the Zulkir of Necromancy. Having the patience of the dead, Tam arranged for the murders of his fellow Zulkirs, placing the blame on agents from neighboring kingdoms and fermenting a climate of fear among the nobles. Claiming to investigate the murders, Szazz Tam placed himself as the ruler of Thay and declared war on all who opposed him.

Tam established his seat of power at Thaymount and evicted all his enemies from their estates in Thay. He established all Red Wizards to be trained in the arts of necromancy and for all of them to help contribute undead forces into the armies of Thay.

As time progressed, Tam saw better means to advance his nation by conducting trade in magical arms and weapons with his allies and establishing Red Wizard merchants as far away as the Sword Coast. Trade in magical goods and potions laced with addictive additives have filled the coffers of Thay and made the lich of Thaymount more powerful.

Thessalar

This legendary lich was the creator of numerous monstrosities during his mortal life. Many creatures, such as the cockatrice, owlbear, and the rust monster can be traced back to his alchemical laboratories. His most famous creations bear his own name, such as the dreaded thessalhydra.

Thessalar only became a lich so he could continue his work in creating new and interesting monsters. He does not do so out of spite, or to plague the world with horrors, but for the simple joy of creation.

Thessalar was last seen in the Wormcrawl Fissure by a band of heroes seeking to destroy the demigod Kyuss. It is believed he still dwells there, researching the strange monsters created by exposure to the necromantic Kyuss Worms. (see “Age of Worms: Into the Wormcrawl Fissure” Dungeons magazine #134)

Valindra Shadowmantle

Valindra is an elf lich and agent of the Red Wizard Szazz Tam. This lich rose to prominence in recent years, thanks to her assault on the city of Neverwinter. After gaining the aid of a dracolich from the Cult of the Dragon, Valindra attacked Neverwinter with a vast army of undead. Her goal was to acquire access to the Rift torn into Neverwinter by the eruption of Mount Hotenow and the powerful magical energies therein. However, Valindra’s forces were turned by the heroes of Neverwinter, including Sergeant Knox of the Neverwinter Guard, the cleric Celeste, the tiefling warlock Makos, and the rogue Xuna. Valindra’s forces were defeated at the Battle of the Sleeping Dragon Bridge, and she was forced to retreat.

Valindra tried many times to continue to attack on Neverwinter. She made alliances with the formorian King Malabog, created the Dread Ring to unearth the bones of the ancient black dragon Lorragath and transform it into a new dracolich.

Eventually, Valindra’s efforts in Neverwinter end when her body is destroyed by the Heroes of Neverwinter within the Dread Ring and she is forced to flee to her phylactery in Thay.

Szazz Tam later sends Valindra to investigate the Soulmonger in the Jungles of Chult. (see “Tomb of Annihilation”)