The Lich has never been the most powerful creature in Dungeons & Dragons. First, there was Demogorgon, and no, it’s not THE Demogorgon, just Demogorgon. Next, there is the Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon with its ridiculous CR 66 from 3rd edition. It’s a really good thing that they get along with most humanoids since it is literally a god killer. Of course, we also have the most well known of the powerful creatures, the Tarrasque with a CR 30, the same as that of Tiamat.

The Lich may not be the most powerful, but is it an epic monster that everyone should encounter at least once because everyone has to meet the magical undead embodiment of evil at least once in their lives. The Lich, while not the strongest, is still a creature to be feared, and many have died at the hands of a pissed off Lich.

The Lich is the result of an incredibly powerful magic-user, usually a wizard, craving immortality and going through the process to become an undead creature that can conceivably live forever. Some of the most famous Liches are Acererak from Tomb of Horrors (1978) and the demi-god Vecna, and how they became a Lich has changed over the years. In the first editions, a magic-user made a deal with a demon of some sort and was granted power and immortality. In subsequent editions, the magic-user creates a phylactery, where they store their soul and gain immortality, but still had to appeal to a demon, but now it was the king of the undead Orcus. One thing that has remained a constant is that the magic-user is an evil, power-hungry humanoid who, in his lust for power and ever-lasting life, was willing to give up their mortal body and soul.

Just because the Lich is undead doesn’t make it a mindless undead, one of the unique things about the Lich is that it carries over its memories and abilities from its mortal life. These creatures are ‘reborn’ in undeath with its entire knowledge of spells intact, and now can spend an eternity learning, studying, and creating new spells. Powerful Liches have been known to make evil plans that could take several years, perhaps decades, to come to fruition. When you are immortal, you have all the time in the world.

That is the basics of the Lich with each edition expanding upon the characteristics, ecology, lore, and abilities. There have also been various other types of Liches introduced, including a Lich of good alignment! So let’s start at the beginning with OD&D and see how one of the most powerful undead creatures in existence has changed throughout the editions.

OD&D - Lich

No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 3
Move: 6”
Hit Dice: 10+
% in Lair: 100%
Treasure Type: A
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-10 special

Eldritch Wizardy, 1976 TSR Inc — **Eldritch Wizardy**, 1976 TSR Inc

The supplement Greyhawk (1975) is the first time the Lich is mentioned in Dungeons & Dragons and very little information is provided about their lore or mechanics. We are told they are skeletal monsters of some sort of magical origin, they were once a powerful magic-user or magic-user/cleric and that they are only alive now due to powerful spells and the force of their disturbed will. Also, take a moment and realize you could stumble upon up to 4 of these creatures at one time and they all live in the same lair. That’s a bad day for anyone.

Most Liches are anywhere from 12th level to 18th level magic-user and are able to employ whatever spells would be appropriate to their magic-user level. Pretty standard as far as being a spellcasting monster for your players to fight except for one thing. If they touch you, you are paralyzed. No saving throw to resist, no ability to thwart it, you are just paralyzed. Though, for those lucky few creatures who see a Lich before they are even 5th level, you don’t have to worry about being paralyzed because you immediately flee in fear upon seeing a Lich.

The Lich is expanded upon in the next supplement Eldritch Wizardy (1976), where it clarifies that a Lich could have psionic abilities by rolling normally, meaning you randomly determine if they have abilities by rolling a d100 and getting above a certain percent. For a Lich, you just need to roll over a 90, so a 10% chance the undead with untold magical power also has the ability to tear you apart with their mind… how lovely.

Due to the complexity and nature of psionics, we won’t get into it here, but we will provide a very bare-bones description of the ability. Psionics is a type of magic where your mind can lash out and hurt other creatures. A character can attack other psionic characters, or non-psionic characters though it is difficult to do so and you must be powerful. There are a variety of attacks and abilities you can use with Psionics and you have a large pool of points to help fuel your attacks and you slowly regain these points over the course of a day. Giving any Lich this power is like a millionaire hitting the lottery, and it just isn’t fair.

Basic D&D - Lich

Armor Class: 0
Hit Dice: As character type + level
Move: 90’ (30’)
No. of Attacks: 1 touch or 1 spell
Damage/Attack: 1-10 + paralysis or by spell
Save As: Character type and level
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: See below
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: See below

Master’s DM Book, 1985 TSR Inc — **Master’s DM Book**, 1985 TSR Inc

The Lich took a long time to get introduced in Basic D&D and had to wait until the Master’s DM Book (1985) as the original Basic D&D from 1977 only took your heroes up to third level… and the Lich isn’t exactly a low-level bad guy seeing as how all characters below 5th level immediately run away from it. The Lich is fleshed out in much more detail in this edition, and what it looks like should scare even the heartiest of adventures.

Before a creature became a Lich, they were always evil and chaotic, having been corrupted by their desire to live forever. The minimum a creature could be before becoming a Lich was a magic-user or cleric that was at least 21st level, and though most Liches are between the levels of 27-36. If you aren’t sure how powerful a 36th level magic-user is, let’s talk about it real quick. A 36th level magic-user needS 4,350,000 experience points and for their troubles gain nine spell slots for 1st-level through 9th-level. That’s nine meteor swarms a day, not to mention you could cast wish nine times instead… and then you still have nine 8th-level spell slots to burn through, and then nine 7th-level slots and so on.

Because of how powerful a creature of 36th level, though even a 27th level is plenty powerful, part of the information concerning the Lich is recommending that the DM picks the Lich’s spells prior to an encounter. Luckily for our DM, this is made slightly easier by the fact that some Liches will have 1 or 2 spells cast on them permanently, like detect invisible or fly.

You might think that the Lich having access to so many spells and being undead already makes them very powerful, but that’s not enough to make an adventurer’s life very complicated. Liches are immune to a variety of effects like charm, sleep, feeblemind, cold, lightning, polymorph, and death spells, so cue up as many fireballs as you can. Speaking of spells, all spells that are 4th level or lower have no effect on the Lich. Which is even more reason to run away from a Lich if you are under 20th level and not just 5th level.

Because the Lich is undead, a powerful cleric can use their divine power to Turn them, though they can never destroy them with this ability. Still, the cleric needs to be at least 25th level or above to turn a Lich. For the last defense of our Lich, they can only be harmed by magical weapons, which is probably not as big of a deal as being immune to all 4th-level spells and lower.

The Lich still maintains the same abilities from OD&D including its paralyzing touch, which lasts up to 100 days, and all creatures of low enough level run away in fear… and we get it, we don’t want to be frozen stiff for 3 months waiting for a chance to save against this horrifying ability.

Unlike in OD&D, the Lich is now a solitary creature in that only 1 of them appears at a time… but that doesn’t mean the Lich doesn’t have friends. A Lich can summon other undead creatures to fight for him, the DM rolls randomly on a chart and could summon wraiths, vampires or even an undead beholder… which just makes us want to be a Lich so we can get one. If the Lich was once a cleric in life, they get even more undead types they can control about, not to mention that a Lich is a powerful enough undead to be considered a Liege and thus can control a number of undead by imposing its will on them. So while the Lich might be a bit more solitary than before, it has way more friends that can ruin an adventuring party’s day depending on how the DM rolls.

AD&D - Lich

Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 0
Move: 6”
Hit Dice: 11+
% in Lair: 90%
Treasure Type: A
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-10
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: +1 or better weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Supra Genius
Alignment: Neutral (Evil)
Size: M
Psionic Ability: See Below

Monster Manual, 1977 TSR Inc — **Monster Manual**, 1977 TSR Inc

The Lich appears in the Monster Manual (1977) with a new variation of the Lich coming out in 1978 with the release of Tomb of Horrors. Unfortunately, not much new information is provided about the Lich but several things are reinforced and will later carry on to the Basic D&D’s version of the Lich.

One of the most important mentions in the description is that of the phylactery, though it isn’t defined and is more of a passing mention. If you were like Chris and was playing this back in the 70s and 80s, you probably had no idea what a phylactery was and the definition is of no help either.

A small leather box containing Hebrew texts on vellum, worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law.
Lexico.com

This doesn’t really explain much of anything about a phylactery and there is no added information in the Monster Manual about what the phylactery does, but it’s in there and is a key point about being a Lich in later editions. Eventually, the phylactery will become more defined as Dungeons & Dragons continues, but we feel sorry for those back in the old days when this word meant nothing to them.

Going back to the mechanics of the Lich, they are far healthier than in OD&D as they now have d8’s for their hit dice as opposed to the standard d6s. So not only are they incredibly powerful spellcasters, but they also have more health, their touch still paralyzes, and their armor class is determined as if they are wearing +1 plate and a +1 shield. While they no longer get access to nine 9th-level spells to cast every day in this edition, they are still powerful and a pain to fight.

Tomb of Horrors, 1978 TSR Inc — **Tomb of Horrors**, 1978 TSR Inc

We mentioned earlier about a new variation for the Lich and one of them is introduced in the famous adventure, Tomb of Horrors. The adventure is about breaking into the ancient tomb of a powerful lich, Acererak, and stealing all his treasure. This is one of the top-rated adventures because it isn’t about fighting hordes of monsters but outsmarting traps, dungeon design, and the Demilich at the end of the adventure that we assume just TPKs any party that gets that far. The Demilich is then reprinted in the Monster Manual II (1983) where additional lore is added in.

The Demilich is typically a pile of bones, dust, and a skull, with the soul of the Lich traveling through the planes and looking for ancient knowledge and secrets. The Lich body is so old that even the powerful spells to keep it together have worn out and so the body is crumbling away in some old tomb, protecting it from intruders. If you are unlucky enough to find one, understand that you shouldn’t touch any part of the Lich’s old body and that just because a soul doesn’t currently inhabit the body, doesn’t mean that you aren’t about to have a bad day.

Monster Manual II, 1983 TSR Inc — **Monster Manual II**, 1983 TSR Inc

If you approach the bones or bone dust of the Lich, not including the skull, it will rise up in a vague man shape and begin threatening you, though it can't hurt you just yet. The more you attack it and deal damage to it, the stronger it gets until it takes on the form of a wraith, which isn’t really that dangerous compared to what comes next, but at least now it can hurt you. After you deal with the Lich-wraith, you then can’t touch the skull one little bit. Decorating this skull are a number of gems that are each worth about 50,000 gp, and you should keep the rogue away from it. By touching the skull, it lifts into the air and emits a horrifying howl that everyone has to succeed on a saving throw or they die immediately and permanently. The next round after the howl, it then picks the healthiest, still standing person and sucks their soul into a gem. No save, no stopping it, it just does it. It then floats back down and waits for you to touch it again. If you do, it repeats the process until everyone is dead, it runs out of free gems to store souls or you were smart enough to just leave it alone.

You can, of course, attack the Demilich skull, but it’s difficult and there are only a few ways of destroying it. You could cast shatter, dispel evil or holy word, but those aren’t going to destroy it immediately. If you want to ensure it is destroyed immediately, you have to cast power word kill from an astral or ethereal magic-user. Or maybe your party doesn’t have any of that fancy magic, you will need a variety of legendary magical weapons that are at least of a +5 magical weapon or similar, and just beat the skull up until it dies, though remember you are going to have to keep saving against its howl and one of you is going to get sucked into its gems every other round.

If you do get sucked into a gem, your soul isn’t gone forever unless the skull devours your soul immediately. If your party can take the gem you are trapped in and destroy it, thus making that 50,000 gp gem worthless, you have a chance of your soul escaping and going back to your soulless body. Once you get back into your body, hopefully, you have lots of holy water to pour on the bones, bone dust and anything else remaining of the creature or else it will reform in 1 to 10 days.

Now, what if your player wants to become a Lich? Luckily, Dragon Magazine #26 has an article titled, “Blueprint For A Lich” that goes into the deep process of a spellcaster becoming a Lich. First, you need a really expensive non-wooden object that it refers to as a jar, you then have to successfully cast enchant item and then trap the soul on it. After you do so, you can then cast magic jar to throw your own soul into the ‘jar’ and you have your phylactery ready. This has the unfortunate consequence of you losing a level and a hit die which then resides in the jar, but you can’t be a Lich without giving up a bit of your lifeforce for it.

Once you have the phylactery prepared, you then need to keep a fresh body, at least less than 30 days old, next to your phylactery at all times for the next time you die, your soul will get sent to your phylactery and then your soul can then inhabit the dead body. Of course, you can’t do that until you prepare your body first for this. In order to do so, you must drink the most disgusting potion in the world. This potion has nine ingredients to it, including belladonna, fresh phase spider venom, and the heart of a virgin humanoid killed by wyvern venom along with the blood of infants killed with a variety of different venoms and poisons.

Now that you have partaken of the worst potion ever, your body is ready to die. We should mention, at this point, that that potion has a chance to just ruin your life and feeblemind you or kill you outright, hopefully, it works though. The next time you die, your soul returns to the phylactery and then you inhabit the dead body next to the ‘jar’. Now, you aren’t truly a Lich yet, you must then find your old, true body and eat it. Upon devouring it, you are transformed into a Lich and… every time you die you lose a spellcaster level and keep getting weaker. If you can find a copy of this magazine, we recommend checking it out and reading it. This was the Wild West of the Dungeons & Dragons lore and people came up with a lot of weird ideas for their lore.

Dragon #110, TSR Inc — **Dragon #110**, TSR Inc

Lastly, we are introduced to the Dracolich in Dragon Magazine #110 in the article “The Cult of the Dragon” by Ed Greenwood. It’s a very lengthy article describing the process of a dragon undergoing the rituals of becoming a Lich, mirroring much of what is described in the previous Dragon Magazine #26 article of becoming a Lich. Instead of a lone process though, the dragon requires cult worshippers who will prepare everything for their would-be Dracolich and if everything goes according to plan, the dragon will die and then inhabit the body of a cult member where it then gets to eat at least 10% of its previous body, during this time it is only a Proto-Lich and is limited in its abilities. Once it finishes eating itself, it can then become a true Dracolich and they have the combined powers of a Lich and of the dragon. It is said that the Dracolich is the most powerful of all the Liches and after reading the article, it could very well be the truth.

2e - Lich

Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Nil
Treasure: A
Intelligence: Supra Genius (19-20)
Alignment: Any Evil
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 0
Movement: 6
Hit Dice: 11+
THAC0: 9
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-10
Special Attacks: See below
Special Defenses: +1 or better magical weapons
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (5’)
Morale: Fanatic (17-18)
XP Value: 8,000

Monstrous Compendium Volume One, 1989 TSR Inc — **Monstrous Compendium Volume One**, 1989 TSR Inc

The Lich and Demilich first appear in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989) and then are reprinted along with the Archlich in the Monstrous Manaual (1993). While very little changes for the basic Lich mechanically, there are several new editions to the lore of the Lich including their habitat and ecology. As we may have mentioned in prior articles, 2nd edition does a fantastic job providing more than just numbers and abilities.

Liches are creatures that prefer their undead life in solitude, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in what is going on in the world. In fact, a lot of Liches are responsible for some horrible things going on as they are constantly learning about magic, experimenting with new spells, and we bet that even a few have their mind on total world domination. Before a Lich can really begin their world tour of conquest, they will have to go through a lengthy process to actually be a Lich and it is a bit more concise than in AD&D.

The Lich needs a phylactery and this is the item that will hold its soul, and therefore their immortality. You need a container worth at least 1,500 gold and a combination of spells must be cast on it to have it become a phylactery. Enchant an Item and Magic Jar turns the container magical and allows it to hold the soul of the Lich. After that Reincarnation is then cast on the item, allowing the powerful and still alive wizard to come back as a Lich after the ritual is performed, and always be able to revive themselves should they die in their new form. Permanency is cast on it next, making all the other spells cast on it permanent. Normal people cast this spell on themselves or an object for such things as a way to always have Darkvision or create an orb of light. Not the Lich though, as he needs to make sure that his soul is protected forever.

Once the Lich has their phylactery finished up, they then have to create and drink one nasty potion, which also has a number of spells cast upon it, Wraithform, Permanency, Cone of Cold, Feign Dead, and Animate Dead. Once they drink the potion AND make a successful survival save, they become a Lich. Fail that save and your dreams of everlasting life are over, because you are permanently dead. No one said that gaining immortality wouldn’t involve you risking your life way more than if you just waited to die of old age.

Monstrous Manual, 1993 TSR Inc — **Monstrous Manual**, 1993 TSR Inc

Now, let’s say that you are now bored of being a Lich and you have learned all you can and need to go somewhere new for knowledge. At this point, the Lich must begin preparing their body to become a Demilich and to allow their soul to travel the planes in search of long-forgotten knowledge. The Lich first pulls out 5 to 8 teeth and replaces them with gems, these gems can absorb souls and pass on this energy to the soul, repowering the soul as it continues its immortal search for knowledge.

The Demilich is still the same as before and is a horror to fight. It can howl, forcing everyone to save against dying permanently and instantly. After that, it sucks out a soul and then repeats the process until it devours everyone’s soul or everyone is dead. One thing we didn’t mention that was in the past edition was that if it ever ends up running out of free gems to store souls into, it can begin inflicting curses on its enemies. These curses are powerful and are things like, no enemy can miss you with their attacks, you can no longer make saving throws or you can never regain experience points. Luckily, a Remove Curse spell can end this curse, but it also permanently removes a point of Charisma. Somehow, I think most are willing to lose their charm in exchange to not keep getting hit by everyone in the world.

The last new Lich added into the various Monster Manuals is the Archlich and is provided as a way to clarify that not only evil creatures can be Liches, but there have been lawful good Liches before. Its probably for the best then that the Lich no longer requires to drink a potion containing the blood of infants and virgins.

Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II, 1991 TSR Inc — **Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II**, 1991 TSR Inc

That isn’t the last of the Lich we see in this edition, in fact, it is just the tip of this massive lich iceberg. Starting in the Spelljammer setting, we are introduced to the Firelich, these Liches ended up messing up something in the transformation process and became a living fireball. The Firelich is still technically alive, it travels through the wildspace like a comet, screaming its head off, which you would do to if you were eternally on fire. Its hobbies included ramming Spelljammer ships, trying to set them on fire and generally looking to cause mayhem and destruction wherever it can. Along with the Firelich, Spelljammer was also the original introducer of the Archlich and later the Master Lich.

The Ravenloft campaign also introduced several more Liches with the first one being introduced in Dragon Magazine #174 with the Psionic Lich, it was later reprinted in the Van Richten's Guide to the Lich (1993) and several other monster compendiums. In the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III (1994) even more Liches are introduced such as the Defiler Lich, the Demi-Defiler Lich, the Drow Lich, Drider Lich, Drow Priestess Lich, the Elemental Lich, and the list goes on.

After Ravenloft, we are also introduced to several other Liches that appear throughout the Forgotten Realms like the Baelnorn, an elven Lich of good alignment, and then the Banelich, a Lich created by the god Bane. In Greyhawk, we are introduced to the Suel Lich, and then in the Red Steel setting introduced the Inheritor Lich. The list goes on for 2nd edition, and we haven’t even talked about the Dracolich, though we are just going to jump to 3rd edition where we can hopefully find some reprieve from this undead menace.

3e/3.5e Lich

Lich, 11th-Level Human Wizard
Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Initiative +3
HP 11d12+3 (74 hp)
Armor Class 23 (+3 Dex, +5 natural, +4 bracers of armor +4, +1 ring of protection), touch 14, flat-footed 20
Speed 30 ft. 96 squares)
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+5
Attack: Touch +5 melee (1d8+5 negative energy plus paralysis) or quarter staff +5 melee (1d6) or dagger +5 melee (1d4/19-20) or masterwork light crossbow +9 ranged (1d8/19-20)
Full Attack: Touch +5 melee (1d8+5 negative energy plus paralysis) or quarter staff +5 melee (1d6) or dagger +5 melee (1d4/19-20) or masterwork light crossbow +9 ranged (1d8/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Damaging touch, fear aura, paralyzing touch, spells
Skills Stealth +11
Special Qualities: +4 turn resistance, damage reduction 15/bludgeoning and magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mind-affecting effects, undead traits.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +10 (cloak of resistance +1)
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 16, Con -, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 13
Skills: Concentraion +15, Decipher Script +14, Search +16, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +2, Spot +12
Feats: Combat casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Quicken Spell, Sscribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Spell Focus (evocation), Still Spell, Toughness
Climate/Terrain: Temperate Plains
Orgnization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Standard coins, double good, double items
Alignment: By character class
Advancement: +4

Monster Manual, 2003 WotC — **Monster Manual**, 2003 WotC

The Lich is introduced in the Monster Manual (2000/2003) and brings an interesting twist with its statblock, or… lack of statblock? Instead of being a singular monster, the Lich is a template that you can apply to any creature of your choosing so long as they can be an 11th level wizard, sorcerer or cleric. This also means you have some pretty easy instructions if you have that one wizard in your party who is hoping to find the secrets of Lichdom and you aren’t sure how to accomplish that.

Speaking of only needing to be an 11th level spellcaster, that is disappointing since prior to this the Lich had to be a minimum of 18th level, and in some of the editions well in the 20’s. Apparently, anyone can become a Lich in 3e, so long as they have enough money. The phylactery costs 120,00 gp and 4,800 XP to create, along with the character needing the craft wondrous item feat which isn’t a very hard investment for a character, especially one with the drive and focus of someone who wants to be a Lich.

Beyond this, the Lich is pretty much the same. The character retains not only all the spells but class abilities it had when it was alive, plus all the fun powers a Lich gets, such as the aura of fear and paralyzing touch. The hit dice increase to d12 for all current and future rolls and the Lich is immune to almost everything it was before… which means that the Fireball is always the answer to the question, “What do you do when a Lich approaches you?”

Epic Level Handbook, 2002 WotC — **Epic Level Handbook**, 2002 WotC

In 2nd edition, we rushed through some of the Liches in that edition, but lets revisit a few of them as they make a return. The Archlich and Baelnorn, both introduced in Monsters of Faerun (2000), are both described as being good Liches, either they were forced to become a Lich or for whatever reason, though it would be a good idea to be an undead monster for the rest of eternity. The Baelnorn are the good Liches of the elves and many major families of elves have someone in their family that has taken this path. The Baelnorn is responsible for guiding the family and offering its wisdom and advice. The Archlich is any creature who becomes a Lich of good, these Liches typically help the world out by thwarting evil plans and keeping the people safe.

Libris Mortis: The Book of the Undead (2004) also introduces a few new Liches like the Lichfiend, a demon or devil that becomes a Lich, retaining all its powers from that life, and gaining the fun powers of a Lich, and also the Good Lich, which as the name implies… is a Good Lich. They are very much like the Archlich, but get a more descriptive name and they can turn the undead… hopefully, they don’t accidentally target themselves.

One last interesting thing we failed to mention previously is that there is a major Lich that is often overlooked, and that is the Githyanki’s Lich-Queen, Vlaakith CLVII. This undead Githyanki/Lich rules the city of Tu'narath and she devours any githyanki who gets too powerful. This allows her to keep down any potential rivals as well as gain power and strength from those who she eats.

4e - Lich

Medium natural humanoid (undead) / Level 14 Elite Controller
Initiative +8
Senses Perception +8; darkvision
Necrotic Aura (Necrotic) aura 5; any living creature that enters to starts its turn in the aura takes 5 necrotic damage
HP 218 Bloodied 109
Regeneration 10 (if the lich takes radiant damage, regeneration doesn’t function on its next turn)
AC 28; Fortitude 24; Reflex 28; Will 26
Immune disease, poison; Resist 10 necrotic
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1
Shadow Ray (standard; at will) Necrotic - Ranged 20;+18 vs reflex; 2d8+6 necrotic damage
Frostburn (standard; sustain minor; recharge 11) Cold, Necrotic, Zone - Area burst with 20; +18 vs Fortitude; 3d8 + 6 cold and necrotic damage. the burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of the lich’s next turn. The zone is considered difficult terrain. Any creature that starts its turn within the zone takes 110 cold and necrotic damage. The lich can sustain or dismiss the zone as a minor action.
Indestructible When a lich is reduced to 0 hit points, its body and possessions crumble into dust, but it is not destroyed. It reappears (along with its possessions) in 1d10 days within 1 square of its phylactery, unless the phylactery is also found and destroyed.
Second Wind (standard; encounter) Healing - The lich spends a healing surge and regains 54 hit points. The lich gains a +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of its next turn.
Alignment Evil Languages Abyssal, Common
Skills Arcana +18, History +18, Insight +13
Str 11 (+7) Dex 12 (+8) Wis 13 (+8) Cons 14 (+9) Int 22 (+13) Cha 18 (+11)

Monster Manual, 2008 WotC — **Monster Manual**, 2008 WotC

The Lich appears in the Monster Manual (2008) and there are two stat blocks for two different Liches, a Human Wizard Lich and an Eladrin Wizard Lich, with the information provided in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2008) on how you can create your own Lich with a template. There is no Demilich, but there is the Dracolich so that’s nice, instead, we are given the Lich Vestige, which is the remanents of a dead Lich brought back.

For the Human Lich, we no longer have the constant fear aura instead it is recreated into Frostburn. This aura is no longer permanent, but rather a bust of cold and necrotic damage that lasts until the end of the Lich’s next turn. While the Liches paralyzing touch is gone, instead they gain a Shadow Ray ability where they can shoot out necrotic energy at range, which is good as most Liches don’t actually like having to get in too close to their enemies. The Eladrin Lich doesn’t gain Frostburn, but does get the Necrotic Orb and Entropic Pulse abilities, which makes Frostburn look second rate. The Eladrin Lich can shoot out orbs of necrotic energy that stun you for a short while or use its Entropic Pulse to unleash pulses of necrotic energy.

Both of the Liches also get a new ability that no other Lich in the past editions receive, and that’s that they regenerate hit points every turn. So not only do they regenerate when they die, but they are also constantly regenerating while you are trying to kill them… which seems a bit unfair for creatures that can’t really die until you deal with their phylactery and, presumably, a big tomb full of traps that protects it.

As we stated above, the Lich Vestige replaces the Demilich. Where the Demilich was a pile of Lich dust, bones, and skull, the Lich Vestige is its entire skeletal body, which floats with trails of dead Lich energy trailing behind it. The main Vestige ability is the Orb of Obliteration, however, it cannot cast it alone. Lich Vestiges will actively seek out others and when it finds it friends will immediately use this ability when you stumble across them. The more of them there are, the deadlier this ability is as it increases in power. The Lich Vestiges can only be created when a Lich dies and it has no phylacteries, and then Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead, brings you back to life… well… sort of?

Arcane Power, 2009 WotC — **Arcane Power**, 2009 WotC

You can also become a Lich if it’s your heart’s desire, in 4th edition, there are different tiers of playing and you get special class features at very high levels. At 21st level, you gain an Epic Destiny, this is the ultimate goal of your character and when they reach 30th level and the campaign is winding down, their Epic Destiny provides inspiration for how you want your character to live on after the campaign. One Epic Destiny, found in Arcane Power (2009), is to become an Archlich, and this provides a variety of benefits like you gain a phylactery, you can unleash necrotic damage on your enemies and a variety of other Lich-like abilities.

Of course, maybe you, the DM, just need to create a Lich Kobold for the perfect bad guy, and the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2008) provides a template for this process. You first need to create a character that is at a certain level as well as they need to be a Wizard, Warlock or a multiclass Cleric. Then they undergo a transformation and gain several new abilities like increased hit points, an aura of necrotic energy, and regeneration. Of course, you need one thing to truly be a Lich…

To create your phylactery, it is incredibly expensive and filled with danger. First, you need to call upon Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead, who will, you hope, transform you into a creature of undeath, a skeleton with powerful magical abilities. Next, you need your metal box that will house your soul, also known as the phylactery, and that is going to set you back 100,000 gold pieces. You don’t specifically need a metal box with strips of parchment in it, you could use a ring or something else, but it needs to cost 100,000 gp. Your soul is then connected to your phylactery and your body rots away until you resemble a creepy skeleton.

If you do happen to die while a Lich, don’t worry you come back inside of 10 days and you can go back to setting your evil plans into motion. If your phylactery is destroyed, and you are still alive, you can create a brand new one for 50,000 gp, which… I guess your soul is less picky about its second home than its first home. It still requires 10 days to craft, and so for those hoping to hunt down a Lich, maybe destroy the phylactery first and then you have 10 days to find the Lich to destroy it before it gets its next phylactery up and running again.

5e Lich

Lich / Medium undead, any evil alignment
Armor Class 17 (natural armor) / Hit Points 135 (18d8 + 54)
Speed 30 ft.
Str 11 (+0) | Dex 16 (+3) | Con 16 (+3), | Int 20 (+5) | Wis 14 (+2) | Cha 16 (+3)
Saving Throws Con +10, lnt +12, Wis +9.
Damage Resistances cold, lightning, necrotic
Damage Immunities poison, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses truesight 120ft., passive Perception 19 / Languages Common plus up to five other languages
Challenge 21 (33,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead
Rejuvenation. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed lich gains a new body in 1d10 days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears 5 within 5 feet of the phylactery.
Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). The lich has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): Mage hand, prestidigitation ray of frost
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, shield, thunderwave
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, invisibility, Melf’s acid arrow, mirror image
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball.
4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door.
5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying.
6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability
7th level (1 slot): finger of death, plane shift
8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun.
9th level (1 slot): power word kill
Turn Resistance. The lich has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) cold damage. the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions. The lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The lich regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Cantrips. The lich casts a cantrip.
Paralyzing Touch (Costs 2 actions). The lich uses its Paralyzing Touch.
Frightening Gaze (Costs 2 Actions). The lich fixes its gaze one one creature it can see within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened for 1 minute. the frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the lich’s gaze for the next 24 hours.
Disrupt Life (Costs 3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within in 20 feet of the lich must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 21 (6d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Monster Manual, 2014 WotC — **Monster Manual**, 2014 WotC

The final iteration of the Lich is found in the Monster Manual (2014) and the stat block alone can make a player shudder in fear and an evil DM cackle with glee. This edition combines a lot of favorite abilities from previous editions, further developing the lore, and for the first time, describing the Lich’s lair.

The Lich regains the use of its Paralyzing Touch, as does a clear explanation of its spellcasting abilities and a suggestion on the spells it would have. The Lich is an 18th level spellcaster and gets the same number of spells that it would have in its previous life. 5th edition suggests that the 9th-level spell slot is used for Power Word Kill, so you better hope you’ve been nice to the cleric. On top of its normal abilities, it also gets access to Legendary Actions that allow it to act outside of its Initiative turn and murder you that much faster.

The lore has remained mostly the same, but there are a few updates for 5th edition. You still have the option of appealing to Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead, if you just want a quick way of becoming a Lich, this does have the problem of you owing fealty to him for the rest of your eternity. Orcus will provide the information on the rituals, how to build a phylactery, and the potion you need to consume to start the Lich transformation. But, if you don’t want to give unending fealty to a Demon Prince, we understand and you can search for that ancient knowledge on your own and this is a lengthy process.

An interesting edition is that the Lich must ‘feed’ their phylactery periodically or the magic that sustains their phylactery and their Lich-ness will start withering and they’ll become a Demilich. By the use of an Imprisonment spell, the Lich traps an unfortunate person’s soul and sends it to their phylactery where it is devoured within 24 hours. If the trapped person doesn’t get freed, the phylactery consumes them and the creature is beyond dead and permanently destroyed unless there is some sort of divine intervention that brings them back. If you get to the phylactery in time, you can cast Dispel Magic at 9th-level, but that’s the only way to get a soul out while it's in the phylactery beyond just destroying the thing. Let’s say you actually do want to destroy the phylactery, this is a process all by itself. No longer does it just have 40 hit points, now you need to go on a quest and learn how to destroy it and then find the powerful magic item, a special ritual or something else.

The Lich’s lair comes complete with other undead, traps, treasure, bounded demons, undead guards, and lair actions. If the Lich had a favorite location in its previous life, they typically set up their lair there. It doesn’t mess around when it comes to protecting their after-life home, there are all sorts of defensive spells, bound undead, and more defend their home and ensure that some pesky adventurer that doesn’t disturb them. The lair actions are pretty great for any Lich being fought at while in their home, not only can they regain a random spell slot up to 8th-level, they can tether to another creature to pass on any damage they take or summon the spirits who died in their home and attack the party.

The Demilich also returns in 5th edition, and there are a few changes to the lore worth pointing out. First, a Demilich is not created when a Lich wishes to go on vacation and explore the planes as just a soul, but rather a Demilich is formed when the Lich forgets to feed the phylactery. The Lich eventually crumbles to dust, and this is not an experience they wish to live through. Their skull survives this and haunts the lair, just waiting for adventurers to come and to destroy anything. While it lacks a lot of its previous arcane power, the Demilich is still fearsome… even if it isn’t as powerful as previous editions. It still has its howl that doesn’t outright kill you, but does drop you to 0 hit points… and then it can drain the life force and energy of creatures and… huh.

The regular Demilich doesn’t actually have gems embedded in its skull and has no ability to take your soul, though the lore mentions that if a Demilich has the presence of mind to feed just one soul to the phylactery it can return to be a Lich. Which makes us wonder, how exactly is it feeding a soul to the phylactery when it lacks all spellcasting abilities from before and it has no soul gems to capture a soul. One would assume at that point it just knocks you unconscious and then drags you along, this floating skull pulling you with its old, worn-out teeth, over to its phylactery and just kind of hopes something happens.

Now, there are special Demiliches introduced that are for Liches preparing to travel through the planes as disembodied souls. These Demiliches do get the soul gems inserted into the skull as a special ritual and have the ability to trap souls and feed off of the souls. You can still destroy the Demilich and crush the soul gems to unleash the soul of anyone caught inside of it, though make sure you do it before 24 hours pass or the soul is devoured and gone forever.

So there it is the Lich in all its glory throughout the editions. The Lich strikes fear, quite literally, in the hearts of low-level adventurers unfortunate enough to stumble across them. For those high-level characters that go hunting for a Lich, you’d better bring your cleric, your powerful magical artifacts and have a really good idea where it hid its phylactery!

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