The Lich

The screams of souls torn from their bodies echo over the electric crackling of forbidden magic. A skeletal form rapidly stitches flesh and muscle to its frame, creating a seemingly living man - a man from an age and kingdom long gone. A man who ahs conquered death and risen again to enact his insidious will from millennia ago. The screams stop and are replaced with murmurs, as the corpses of the fallen arise as undead.
An ancient figure slowly turns the pages of a decrepit tome possessing forbidden cosmic knowledge. Tracing a bony finger over the inscription, the figure turns its head, revealing a gaunt, deathly face. "I do not receive company often," it rasps, slowly locking eyes with a broad-shouldered warrior. The warrior makes no movement or gestures, save for his eyes, which dart rapidly around the room in search of an escape. "Oh, do not struggle. It will be over soon." The deathly figure continues, raising itself up from a crouch. The very fabric of the room appears to warp and shudder within the figure's power and authority.
A Lich is to the arcane what a king is to their Kingdom: undisputed, absolute power. Resting upon a throne of raw, world-rending spellcasting potential, a Lich comes as close to a God as any mortal could imagine. However, this awe-inspiring power comes at a dear price. Immune to the effects of age but not time, a Lich is destined to exist without living for eternity. While this drives some Liches mad and others evil, it makes them all physically decrepit and feeble. Time itself takes their body from them until they are reduced to a skeletal head, passively watching the world pass them by.

Becoming a Lich

A Lich has the following transformation features:

Prerequisites

Ability Scores: Intelligence 16
Spellcasting Ability: You must have the ability to cast 7th-level spells.
Roleplay: You must complete the Ritual of Dread. The process of the ritual is partially described but left intentionally vague so it can be tailored to your setting and campaign. Discuss with your GM how you can achieve this in-game.
Some of your abilities require your target to make a saving throw to resist their effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Transformation Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Level Milestones

The following are examples of possible level milestones for the Lich:

• Discover ancient and dark arcane knowledge.
• Consume the soul of an exceptionally powerful spellcaster.
• Build a monument to your power to serve as a giant arcane focus.
• Create an army of undead.
• Kill a god.

Transformation Level 1

Starting at 1st level, you gain the following Transformation Boons and this level's Transformation Flaw.

Transformation Boon: Harvester of Souls

You have gained the ability to tear the soul out of creatures you kill and consume it for its invigorating effects. Whenever you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, if you are on the same plane of existence as your phylactery, its soul is captured and your phylactery becomes charged. On your turn, as an action, you can consume any number of charge levels from your phylactery to regain a single spell slot. When you regain a spell slot in this way, the spell slot's level is equal to one third of the charge you consumed, rounded down.

Transformation Boon: Undead Form

Your Intelligence score increases by 4 and your Wisdom score increases by 2. An ability score cannot be increased beyond 22 in this way. You become an Undead in addition to any other creature types you are. Spells and abilities that state effects or conditions specifically regarding Undead of a specific CR have no effect on you.
If a spell or ability other than your own would cause you to gain Hit Points, you gain that many temporary Hit Points instead. For example, if your hit point maximum is 50 and you are currently at 40 hit points, if you are healed by an ally for 23 hit points, you only gain 10 temporary hit points. If you are reduced to 0 hit points and fall unconscious as a result, any healing you receive will stabilise you and leave you at 1 hit point and unconscious. You stop aging. You are immune to any effect that would age you, and you cannot die from old age. You do not require air, food, drink or sleep.

Transformation Flaw: Phylactery

You have successfully torn your soul from your body and trapped it in a suitable object. The object must be a trinket or item no larger than 1 square foot in size. This item becomes your phylactery.
Phylactery. A phylactery is an enchanted vessel containing a Lich's soul. Additionally, a phylactery is a conduit for the Lich to feed on captured souls.
A phylactery has the following statistics:

• Armour Class: 18
• Hit Points: 90
• Speed: 0
• Damage Immunities: poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical sources.
• Damage Resistances: necrotic, cold, thunder, lightning, force, fire.

While a soul is stored in your phylactery, the phylactery is considered charged. Its charge level is equal to the CR of all the creatures whose soul you have captured. To store a new soul in your Phylactery, add the CR of the creature you killed to your Phylacteries charge level. The souls of creature with a CR of less than 1/4 area not great enough to charge your phylactery. Your Phylacteries charge level cannot exceed 27.
If your phylactery is reduced to 0 hit points, your soul is lost; you crumble to dust and are killed outright.
If you are killed and you control a charged phylactery on the same plane of existence, your phylactery's charge is consumed and your body is reconstructed within 5 feet of your phylactery 7 days later. If you are killed and your Phylactery does not have a level of charge, you are reanimated 7 days later as a Demilich under the GM's control.

Transformation Level 2

Starting at level 2, you can pick one of the following Transformation Boons. In addition, you gain this level's Transformation Flaw.

Transformation Boon: Puppet Master

Undead creatures of CR 1 or less that you animate with spells or abilities become permanently under your control. In addition, other creatures cannot gain control of undead creatures you raised.

Transformation Boon: Lichdom of the Arcane

Whenever you kill any creature with a spell, you may apply an additional effect depending on the damage dealt. Any effects with range are centred on or measured from the killed target, and if required, use your Transformation save DC.
This ability cannot be used when you kill a construct, undead, or any creature without a soul. The following are the effects caused when you use this ability:
Fire. The target is vaporised into a cloud of ash and smoke. The space that the creature died in, and each space within 5 feet of it, are considered heavily obscured for 1 minute. Winds of moderate or greater speeds (at least 10 miles per hour) also disperse the cloud.
Necrotic. As the soul of your enemy leaves their body, you are able to siphon off part of their life force. You regain hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1), plus your character level.
Poison. Target a creature within 10 feet of the killed creature. That creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or gain the poisoned condition for 1 minute.

Transformation Boon: Rift to the Dreadscapes

You gain the ability to open a rift to the Dreadscapes. As an action on your turn, you can choose a point within 5 feet of you to open the rift. Once opened, the rift stretches out from that point to a 20-foot-radius sphere. When a creature other than you enters the rift's area for the first time on its turn, or starts its turn there, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your Transformation DC. On a failed save, the creature suffers 10d10 necrotic damage, or half as much on a successful save. Undead creatures are immune to damage from this ability. The rift remains open for 1 minute, but closes if you become unconscious. Once you use this ability, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

Transformation Boon: Phylactery Bond

You share an especially strong bond with your phylactery and gain benefits from keeping it on your person. You may choose to craft your phylactery into an jewelleryWhen you finish a short or long rest and you are wearing your phylactery, you may choose a damage type other than radiant damage. As long as you wear your phylactery, you have immunity to that damage type. In addition, your phylactery is more resilient than normal. Your phylactery’s AC becomes 20 and its hit points increase to 120.
Your phylactery’s nature is hidden from casual observation, and an observer must make an Intelligence (Arcana) check against your Transformation Save DC in order to identify your phylactery.

Transformation Flaw: Hideous Appearance

Your appearance has become grotesquely transformed. Your skin has become rotten and pale, while your figure has become gaunt and hunched, radiating a ghastly aura. You can suppress this form and present the appearance of the humanoid you once were, however this is taxing and requires concentration. Moments of stress are likely to reveal your true nature. In the following situations your true form is revealed:

• Concentrating on a spell.
• Gaining the unconscious condition.
• Entering hallowed ground.
• Choosing to reveal yourself.

In events of extreme emotional or physical stress, a GM may call for a Constitution saving throw with a DC of their choosing to see if you maintain your humanoid form.
Non-evil creatures that witness your true form become instantly hostile to you, unless the GM decides otherwise.

Transformation Level 3

Starting at 3rd level, you can pick one of the following Transformation Boons, or pick a boon from a lower level that you meet the prerequisites for. You also gain this level's Transformation Flaw.

Transformation Boon: Relentless Undead

Whenever an undead creature you control is reduced to 0 hit points, it may immediately move up to its full speed and make an attack action before dying. This feature has no effect if the creature has been reduced to 0 hit points by radiant damage.

Transformation Boon: Arcane Supremacy

You become an exemplar of arcane power. When you cast a concentration spell, if you are already concentrating on one concentration of that spell; instead you gain one level of exhaustion. If you are already concentrating on more than one spell, this feature has no effect. If you cast a third concentration spell during this time, you lose concentration on one of the two spells. Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.

Transformation Boon: Staff of the Dreadscapes

Starting at 3rd level, you can use an action to summon a deathly staff made of blackened bone and twisted rotwood. The staff is the same as a quarterstaff, with the following features:

• Necrotic damage dealt by you ignores resistance to necrotic damage.
• Your Spell Save DC and Transformation DC are both increased by 2.
• Food and non-creature plants the staff touches wither and die.

You can unsummon the staff at any time with the use of an action. If you un-wield the staff, it immediately unsummons.

Transformation Boon: Enhanced Phylactery

Prerequisite: Phylactery Bond
Your bond with your phylactery strengthens, granting additional benefits:

• If you aren't wearing armour, your base Armour Class is 15 + your Dexterity modifier. Your Phylactery's AC is increased by 2.
• Your spell save DC and spell attack bonus each increase by 2.
• You and your phylactery have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Transformation Flaw: Necromantic Dystrophy

Your body has become dependent on consuming souls, otherwise it becomes withered and frail. If you go more than 24 hours without converting 4CR worth of souls from your Phylactery into spell slots you gain the following effects:

• You cannot use the dash, dodge, or disengage actions. You cannot use these actions or bonus actions.
• You cannot use your reaction to make opportunity attacks.
• You cannot disguise your hideous form feature.

Upon converting the required amount of souls into spell slots, you are no longer affected by the aforementioned effects.

Transformation Level 4

Starting at 4th level, you can pick one of the following Transformation Boons, or pick a boon from a lower level that you meet the prerequisites for. You also gain this level's Transformation Flaw.

Transformation Boon: Lord of Undeath

Whenever you reduce a humanoid to 0 hit points, you can choose to reanimate it. If you do, the creature rises at the beginning of its next turn as a zombie permanently under your control, following verbal commands to the best of its ability.

Transformation Boon: Arcane Omniscience

You have mastered the arcane arts. You know every spell from the wizard's spell list and can prepare a number of spells equal to your Intelligence modifier. Spells prepared in this way do not count towards the maximum number of spells you can prepare. Upon completing a short rest, you can change one or more of these prepared spells for another spell from the wizard spell list.

Transformation Boon: Deathly Being

You become immune to poison damage, as well as bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical attacks. In addition, you cannot become charmed, poisoned, paralysed, or frightened.

Transformation Boon: Soul Reflection

Prerequisite: Enhanced Phylactery
You have learned to utilize your bond with your phylactery to its greatest effect. While wearing your phylactery, whenever you are targeted by a spell, if you are the only target, you can use your reaction and spend charges from your phylactery equal to the spell’s level. If you do so, the spell reflects and instead targets an appropriate target of your choice within range of the spell as if you cast it. For the purpose of using this feature, cantrips are considered 1st-level spells.

Transformation Flaw: Weight of Ages

The weight of time is degrading for your Lich form and only the consumption of many souls can stay its effects. If you go more than 24 hours without converting 8 CR worth of soul from your Phylactery into spell slots you gain the following effects:

• You cannot use the attack action.
• If you move on your turn, you cannot use a bonus action or reaction until your next turn.
• If you use a bonus action on your turn, your speed becomes 0 until your next turn.

Upon converting the required amount of souls into spell slots, you are no longer affected by the aforementioned effects.

Type

Supernatural