» Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:06 am 1.5.1 Lich
Becoming a lich is difficult and time-consuming. The process is not as simple as finding an instruction manual; recorded methods of it are extremely rare, and what does exist is incomplete and contradictory. The player must piece together what they believe to be a reliable collection of information, and then attempt the ritual. Willpower, Intelligence, and ranks in the Necromancy and Mysticism skills are the primary needs, and the lower the character's stats in these areas the more difficult and complex the ritual must be to compensate. Becoming a lich is one of the hardest rituals to complete successfully even if prepared correctly, and over the long period to perform it even something as simple as a passing rat knocking over an object within the ritual area can cause it to fail. At the least, failure wastes the time and resources involved. More severe failure can leave the character weak or injured, including unusual side effects, and may simply end in death.
Time is the lich's most important ally, as the ritual simply binds their soul to an undead form, and time is needed to fully adapt and synchronize the soul with its new state. In its initial stages, a lich is vulnerable, being weaker than they were in life, since the body essentially weighs them down as with an extremely sick individual. The undead state advances over time, but the lich cannot simply wait in seclusion, as additional rituals must be performed at periodic intervals to finalize the process. New materials must be gathered, and the lich must either move frequently or heavily guard their sanctum as well, as the chaotic energies they give off can draw undead hunters, adventurers, rival liches, or other threats. In the earliest stages, it is still relatively simple to return to life, since the body is intact, but as the process continues it can require multiple powerful mages, and eventually nothing less than divine intervention.
As time passes, the lich gradually shifts from a living thing, to corporeal undead, to a magical entity. As its body becomes more and more a decorative container, efforts go from physical to magical. Actions drain magicka instead of fatigue, until the fatigue bar becomes obsolete. Magicka capacity and regeneration both increase, while spell failure rates decrease. Injury reduces both health and magicka, as the latter is used to hold the body together. A fully transformed lich takes considerably less health damage and more magicka damage than a lesser lich, depending on the type of attack. Liches do not jump outside of the earliest stages; instead, holding the jump button causes them to slowly float upward, gradually draining magicka. How easy this is depends on how advanced the lich is, cost increasing with height. Fully transformed liches can hover a few inches above the ground at no cost; doing so protects them from some threats such as trap plates or losing their footing. Releasing the jump key causes the lich to float down to the highest point they can maintain at no cost, while pressing crouch in midair causes them to drop and land more quickly.
Pros:
-Undead. Immunity to ordinary poison and disease and many other ailments like bleeding, no need for food, sleep, or air.
-Magical Aptitude. Far more in tune with magical forces, increasing magicka capacity/regeneration, and lowering casting failure.
-Second Life. Magicka absorbs a degree of damage, lowering loss of health. Zero health does not result in death (see Possession below). Fatigue is eventually replaced by magicka, and the cost of actions is reduced.
Cons:
-Difficulty of full shift.
-Decay. Past the earliest stages of transformation, the lich is visibly undead and cannot interact normally with most NPC's without a disguise or illusion spell. The more advanced the decay, the more difficult it is to hide, and Detect Magic can reveal them at any stage, often forcing a lich to either avoid larger settlements or find alternate means of entry.
-Frailty. As the lich advances, its max hit points decrease, due to the Endurance bonus gradually fading. Though made up for by magicka absorbing some damage, the lich must rely on spells and artifacts to protect its body, and is especially vulnerable to things such as silver weapons and/or magicka-burning effects, often carried by those who hunt undead. Additionally, as muscles are replaced by magic, liches are initially weak and slowly become stronger. Though "advlt" liches are strong, they are surpassed by living creatures with high strength.
-Undead. Alongside positive immunities of undeath, a lich also cannot benefit from drinkable potions. Being a mostly magical entity, it cannot pass certain magical wards without destroying or dispelling them first.
Unique Abilities:
-Devour Soul. A lich can consume a soul held in a soul gem in order to quickly restore their magicka. Though less effective at lower stages, devouring especially powerful souls can speed the advancement process. If the restoration is more than the lich needs to recover their maximum magicka, the soul creates a Fortify effect, temporarily increasing maximum magicka. This effect stacks, though the higher the bonus the more powerful the soul needed to raise it further. As well, care must be taken. Though their undead body is immune to more mundane drugs, a lich can basically become "drunk" on souls, making them feel invincible among other effects and hindering their ability to perceive danger. In game terms, this obscures the accuracy of the magicka bar.
-Steal Soul. An enhanced version of Soul Trap, allowing the lich to claim a victim's soul without needing to kill them first. Comes in two forms; one which kills the target in the process, and one which keeps them alive without a soul. Both are highly difficult and consume a large amount of magicka. The weaker the target, the higher the odds of success. Keeping them alive additionally requires that the victim usually be either unaware or somehow restrained. An individual whose soul has been stolen is much easier to influence and give commands to, just as someone can be manipulated through threats and blackmail, and is much more vulnerable to command/illusion spells cast by the lich (but not those cast by any others). If the soul is used, such as through enchanting or is consumed, the victim dies. The lich may choose to release the soul, and physical destruction of the soul gem also releases it. Care must be taken, as powerful mages can track the lich from their victim via detection spells.
-Possession/Incorporeality. The lich dies if its magicka reaches zero. If its health reaches zero, it survives, but its body is destroyed and the lich becomes incorporeal, i.e., a ghost. Any items that the lich was carrying fall to the ground. Though immune to normal weapons, attacks that still harm the lich cause considerably more magicka damage without a body, making death likely if battle continues. The incorporeal lich has naturally high concealment, making it effectively invisible with the aid of a spell or by sneaking, even with low skills, but taking any actions will remove this bonus. The spirit is visible to whatever physically destroyed the lich, to anything nearby if it performs any actions, or if revealed via various spell effects. Though spell casting is still possible in this state (physical attack is not), the primary bonuses of increased magicka regeneration/capacity and lower failure rates are lost, which, combined with reduced durability and presumably low magicka left from the battle, make continued direct combat unwise. As a last-ditch means of escape, a lich may choose to willfully evacuate its body, as this removes the factor of being seen by one who destroyed it.
As a spirit, the lich cannot physically interact with any objects, though it may simulate it through telekinesis. It also cannot pass through solid objects, but it CAN distort its shape, allowing it to pass through small spaces such as beneath door cracks or through holes in the wall. The lich remains in this state until it possesses a new body. Any dead humanoid may be possessed, a process which takes some time, and which both leaves the lich temporarily weak and sets its stage of advancement back. The original body can only be returned to if its health is restored to full, which may not be possible depending on the means of destruction. It is also possible, though difficult, to possess a living body. This takes considerably more time and effort than inhabiting a corpse, depending on the target's willpower, access to remedies, and awareness of their situation. The lich may fail and be ejected from the target, both revealing and weakening it. During the process, as the two souls struggle for control over the body, control may alternate, with the lich losing control being a likely time for the victim to seek aid. When the process is nearly done, the lich must still confront the victim's astral representation as with the Possess spell effect; failure here undoes the entire process. Successful possession means the death of the target individual.
