Hey guys!
Well, I have always wanted to play all those sweet things like liches, vampires, werewolves, beholders, archons, etc. My DMs have never really wanted me to (and I don't blame them.)
So I made this! Let me know if you like it, or if there are balance issues. I use the wizard as the base class to balance this against.
There are some things done in here that I haven't seen. This could be good or bad. We'll see.
HERE IT IS:
PC'd: The Lich
I'd like any feedback people are willing to share. Are there other forums I should know about? This one always seems so quiet.
Change the phalactery to first level since thats theain reason the lich is undead in the first place. You have it right now that the lich doesnt get a phalactery until later levels. Why would he make one if he previously didnt need one?seems a bit too powerful for me when I initially read it. Im not yet certain how broke or non broke it is. That will take much more time to devulge.
give it some time. If you think this is quiet, skip over to an AM BARBARIAN thread.
But anywho: seems good at first glance, powers at every level. You need a bit of proofing, in the spells section it still says "wizard" in the DC section.
I noticed that the phylactery weakness is greater. If its destroyed, no chance to rebuild it, just gone.
How does multiclassing affect those who multiclass out, or take a prestige class?
Can a lich cast in armor? I know you seem to put that in the proficiency section, but that is not well worded. It should say "A lich is not proficient with armor or shields"
Just a few things that caught my eye:
- I like the way a character starts a new unlife as a Lich at level 1.
- I don't like the fact that this Lich has to sleep, or even sleeps at all.
- The general properties of the undead are a bit too powerful to get at the first level - perhaps the class can start off being (semi-)alive and transform fully in the first few levels?
- It feels odd that the character gets a Phylactery at level 5 - where was its soul until then?
- Lich Mind is too powerful. Period. Apart from that, its bonus type should be specified.
- The Paralysis property should probably allow at least a second save after a while. Or one per day.
- Those Memories are basically spell-like abilities. So why give them a new name? And a strict "once per day" would be quite powerful enough, thankyouverymuch.
It looks like it's a class that's a lot of fun to play, but it has too many "cool" abilities and not enough drawbacks - though that is precisely why it would be fun to play. I do suggest toning a few of its abilities down, and add some drawbacks here and there: an unnatural aura that spooks animals, a rotting visage that needs to be covered up or glamoured away... things like that. You're an undead caster, not a sparkly vampire. ;)
Also: the Gravewalker Witch might be the most "lichesque" class that's already available.
Great responses! I'll look into those short comings.
I've tweaked the file. It should be updated to the newer file at the same link.
About giving the PC undead: Because I strip away all of their racial modifiers I feel that giving them undead early on is okay. The benefits are substantial, but the social repercussions are quite severe.
I didn't give paralysis a second save because the actual lich doesn't give a second save.
The lich does not need to sleep.
Memories are now usable once a day. Twice a day at 10th level+.
The lich does not need to sleep.
He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook.
Ah, good catch!
Fixed that little issue:
He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of rest and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. Rest can be attained by not doing anything for 8 hours, but does not require actually sleeping. The lich is accustomed to reading tomes and meditating for long periods of time.
Sadly, Mediafire ate the last upload. Here's a new one:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ow3bnuhdcurdb5c
Thanks for the feedback! Looking for more.
I always assumed that people wanted to be creepy and undead naturally. I suppose you are right, though, having the social interaction dictated through mechanical detriments does sound doable.
With Lich Body you naturally start to decay. I'll think of something more.
Updated it again. Reduced the power slightly to be more in line with wizard.
By the by, I always thought the racial bonus to listen came from the fact that the Lich now had a body that was naturally silent. No breathing, digestion or other such mess to interfere with the purity of sound.
Would help on stealth too, but not sense motive I don't think. Be good for bluff i suppose.
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Also if you have not seen this thread... you should take a look, the guys done incredible work? Savage Species
Fixed that little issue:
He must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of rest and spending 1 hour studying his spellbook. Rest can be attained by not doing anything for 8 hours, but does not require actually sleeping. The lich is accustomed to reading tomes and meditating for long periods of time.Sadly, Mediafire ate the last upload. Here's a new one:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ow3bnuhdcurdb5cThanks for the feedback! Looking for more.
Just a suggestion. Google Docs is an amazing free service you can use to share your builds. Easily update without the link breaking and you can access it everywhere easily. It even allows you to download your file as a PDF file. Great service. I really enjoy it.
As for your class it looks nice. I will take a closer look. The only problem I have had with classes like this or dragons, ect....
If your a Lich, or a Dragon, or a Baylor.... your supposed to be a nightmare... pure evil terror. Having a Level 1 Lich with 6 hit points kind of breaks that. So mechanically it works but it breaks the epicness of those races/monsters.
