Malgana the Twistwood Lich


Round 3: Create a villain stat block

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Montalve wrote:

I hereaby agree, calling her a witch doesn't exludes lichdom :D

I concur. In fact, I like her better as a lich. The whole thing with the phylactery tree and the acorn-grown body parts makes her even more awesome... but I can't call her a lich in my game, or the jig is up on the body-part hunt before it even starts. I mean, I can change it myself in my home game if I use her, but I think the name should revert in general, while the type of undead should stay.

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16 aka amusingsn

I'm going to vote for Malgana, but I refuse to buy any products you author unless you change her title back to the Twistwood Witch.

You're getting my vote because your mechanics this round are really strong. I think your idea might be something of a rip-off of the Mummy (imhotep) but I'm more than fine with that.

Your "recovering the body parts" mechanics are neat, clean, simple, and effective. Superstar.


Can't really say much that others haven't already. I didn't even pay much attention to Malgana in the last round because she seemed sort of weird, but that's certainly changed this time around. A great villain with great mechanics. She's got my vote.

(I must join the petition to restore her "witch"-status, however.)


You get my vote.

This is much improved from the previous round.

I like that there is a logical method for the head to move (still silent fly). I like that there are four delineated body parts, that each body part restores some of her lost powers. I also like that the details were spelled out. You even included a size increase.

You should have listed the cost of the meta-magic still silent.

The hit points are off, even after the missing body part adjustment.

This is a unique character.


I've just reviewed all the submissions. This was my favorite. Way to improve. You will get my vote.

The Exchange Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6 , Dedicated Voter Season 6

A big step up, though I liked the old name better. Solidly executed in a lot less words than many other blocks used. Like the mechanics for being a head-only lich, make me a believer in a concept I didn't care for the first time around.

This will yank one of my votes for the round.


Congratulations on making Round 4.
I will be interested to see what you come up with next.

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

Congratulations Kevin!

I voted for the lich you created for two basic reasons. She (it?) has many possible encounters. Somewhere out there a goblin is feeding his worgs liver treats that magically reform every 24 hours--and a wizard using a tongue to copy the spells it randomly speaks into his spell book--and a leathery heart on the edge of a dragon's hoard that would-be thieves suddenly feel cold and drained for touching.

Secondly the mechanic is nice, not a magic item or feat (ho hum) and perfectly simple for a recurring villain. Not to mention the CR can grow as the party does.

If I had found the witch, I would have tossed the head in the lake and ignored it, but as a lich (a flying-bodyless lich!)--brilliant.

Definately 'recurring villain' here so good job.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4 aka K. B. Carter

Wanted to say thanks to all who helped get Malgana into the next round!

I'm a bit bummed I wont get to reveal her lair, but there was another villain that got me super stoked during round 3. I remember reading the entry and thinking, "You know, I would LOVE to design a lair for this guy/girl/thing*!" so maybe it's all for the best.

(*being vague here as I don't want to give away the villain in question).

As for the feedback in this round, a few great points came up that I'd like to address:

Witch vs. Lich - I agree, "witch" is better. I only changed the name to call out the "lich" aspect so that people could get a quick impression of how the concept evolved just by reading the title off the round 3 main page. This was largely an evil ploy to get you to click on Malgana's entry, as I didn't want anyone skipping over her just because of her round 2 performance.

That said, I do think calling her a "witch" in game works much better, mostly because it's closer to her core concept. Lich is just her mechanic, but the "idea" of Malgana is pure "witch" (This is a BIG hint if any of my fellow contestants want to take a stab at her lair). Also, I think PCs will, in general, be much more afraid of a "witch" since there is no stat block they can look up in the MM as there would be for a "lich". Clever PCs will eventually realize that Malgana is using the mechanics of a lich, but by then they will have already faced her a time or two without this knowledge.

Random Rules Oversights - There were a couple of these (inconstant wisdom add, charisma add to hit points, 5th level spell count). My fault for doing much of Malgana's bookkeeping between the hours of midnight and 4am. One thing I've learned in the course of my writing career is that the key to survival lies in forming as many symbiotic relationships with as many gifted editors as possible. So thanks everyone for your help here.

Does a Disembodied Head Have a Gender? - Yeah, I have no idea.

The Iron Will Feat- The last campaign I ran had a very cunning PC arcane trickster and an equally cunning PC psionic/mage. Since then, I automatically give all my villains Iron Will; it's like a reflex or something. In retrospect, Spell Penetration or another Spell Focus (Enchantment) would have been better choices.

Those were the big ones. May have more to add later, but I have to run for now.

Thanks again, everyone!

Star Voter Season 6

Congratulations on your success! I can't help but think that you lucked out too, as now you're not nailed down to a "protect the tree!" lair. Good luck!

Star Voter Season 6

K. B. Carter wrote:


Does a Disembodied Head Have a Gender? - Yeah, I have no idea.

Yes, the DNA that created it would gear it towards a male sex or a female sex, even if it had no sexual organs.

Liberty's Edge

Yay, happy one of my votes won. I wish they'd give us more time to review each round... oh well.
Of course she has a gender! Would you call a flying human head an "it?"
Well... you actually might (mutters about weird humans), but us goblins are always figuring out if we can reproduce with another goblin, so our senses are finely attuned to the smell of other genders. It's part of survival, since we get killed so easily and have to make up for casualties.
It's kinda like salmon; we make 1,000 little goblins, but they get eaten by horses, vicious dogs, and adventurers 'till there's only 2 or 3 left. Predation, stupidity, and infanticide are the main causes of young goblin death. That's why we keep the little runts in cages.
I'm officially not supposed to like her, since she's been cut apart by the other goblins, but "Go Malgana!"

Marathon Voter Season 9

roguerouge wrote:
K. B. Carter wrote:


Does a Disembodied Head Have a Gender? - Yeah, I have no idea.

Yes, the DNA that created it would gear it towards a male sex or a female sex, even if it had no sexual organs.

There are also neurological differences.

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