My players are rapidly approaching the point in our campaign where the head of the BBEG group reveals themself, and after a player made a comment in passing of "man, I have always wanted to fight a lich, but they're kinda weak.", I decided to make that wish come true.
Now, I have the lich mostly built, but it's time to make her spell list. The lich is a Mystic Theurge (wizard and cleric) with a caster level of 13 in both.
While I can play casters pretty well, building a spell list of this level is pretty daunting, so I was hoping to crowd source it. Any ideas would be helpful, and appreciated.
What do you want the lich to do? Does he have any minions that would help you decide?
Summoning
Save or Die
Aoe debuff
Blasting
I assume he is lv15+ so a big part of this will be deciding what his spell perfection spell is
No minions unless she summons them, though I have no problem with that happening. She has plenty of wealth to play with, so scrolls and wands are on the table.
Contingency. With CL 13 that's up to a 4th level spell, likely dimension door to get away when things turn bad.
If she's allowed to call rather than summon minions, planar binding.
Permanency and assorted spells made permanent, depending on how much 'plenty of wealth' is.
All of those are spells which can and should be cast in advance. Scrolls and wands shouldn't be necessary - her big problem will be getting enough actions to use the spells she has natively.
As far as attack spells go her first choice should be something to slow down the enemies. A wall spell or (persistent) phantasmal web or something. Assuming she has quicken spell - which feats does she have, BTW? - quickened mirror image comes next. Only after that should she try and pick off those not slowed with full-on attack spells. If she's driven away (via her contingency or otherwise) then magic jar lets her come back swiftly, hopefully as one of the PCs.
Several permanent spells: see invisibility and arcane sight are pretty basic; others to taste.
A lich who can scry and who listens to minions (including via speak with dead), or casts legend lore on PCs of level 11+, should have prepared counters to quite a few of the PCs' regular tactics, or exploits for their weaknesses (notably, spells targeting PCs' weak saves to take them out of the fight).
Most of its 2nd-4th level slots should be used for long-duration buffs (it won't get to cast any of those spells during encounters, so why not make them useful ahead of time?) With cleric and wizard slots, that's a truly amazing number of buff spells. With Extend Spell or a rod, lots of hour/level buffs could be running around the clock (CL 13 x2 = 26 hours/day, at the right time it could even have 2 copies of each buff spell up).
Minions -- a couple of shield guardians in particular, who can eat some of the damage that hits the lich, would be useful. Big bulky mooks, grappling-type mooks to slow down PC fighters, incorporeal types to walk out of the walls or floor and attack fragile PC spellcasters, etc.)
Project image is very nice for engaging the PCs without exposing one's precious self to danger. Other sorts of illusions/misdirections to get the PCs to waste alpha strikes on decoys would be good. Likewise, consider the area where the PCs will encounter the lich -- they should certainly have had to spend some of their resources to get into the situation. Programmed illusions can be very handy in this regard (again, help with action economy by precasting -- something like "Demon, slaughter my enemies!" as the trigger for a programmed illusion of a nalfeshnee teleporting in wreathed in flames can effectively let the lich turn a free action into creating an effect.)
Start at the top -- pick high-level spells first, then mid- and low-level ones to fill in gaps or for utility reasons. Think about tactics.
Consider opening with mass-debuffs like blasphemy or a dazing AoE spell.
Thanks everyone, some of these ideas really helped. The programmed illusion idea in particular sounds like a great idea, and a contingent spell for getting away could be used to extend the fight (teleporting into another chamber further in the lair, and healing up a bit could be annoying).
I have always found Suffocate to be a spell worth more than it's level would suggest. If they fail the save they're pretty much dead, if they pass they are still massively debilitated.
Key things needed for the Lich to put up a good fight
1) Bodyguards or effects like Repulsion to keep people from hand to hand combat
2) Time to cast spells in advance , in particular a high level caster and Mystic theurge has far more spells than they can cast in the 1-4 round fight. So getting their protective spells off before the pc's arrive is very useful to make them a real threat. Contingent Dimension door for an escape (if a wizard) with healing available
3) Quickened spells probably via a metamagic rod but could be 1st-3rd levels spells quickened in higher level slots. Improves action economy for the bad guy. For a cleric a quickened Harm spell to heal all their damage is pretty good.
4)Tailored spell list to deal with what the bad guy knows about the pc's if he knows they all have great will saves don't target them etc
5) It sounds like your mystic theurge is probably going to be at least a 16th level character with the Lich template that probably means the pc's will be about 13-15th level , This means any pure caster PC will be a better caster than the Lich. If you have a Cleric or Wizard pc in the party seriosuly consider making the lich a 16th level cleric/wizard or sorceror, the access to 8th level spells while the pc's only have 7th at best makes them feel more powerful and scary
6) Setting up some sort of constant AOE cold or negative energy damage(particularly Negative energy as it heals the Lich) in the room the fight will take place in to make the pc's feel like they are slowly being ground down (even 2d6 a round will make them feel rushed)
7)If a cleric unexpected Domain spells can really mess with the heads of a party. I had an 18th level cleric Lich use Time stop , totally confused the pc's and they had a sudden doubt it their intelligence was wrong.
Some additional useful tricks (I've recently had cause to build both high-level clerics and high-level wizards, so this may be applicable)...
Ablative Barrier. Ablative Barrier basically functions like an extra 5 DR, converting lethal damage to nonlethal damage. Undead are immune to nonlethal, so this is basically an extra 50 HP against melee attacks, which stacks with the Lich's current DR 15/Bludgeoning. If you want to rule that spell-created nonlethal does affect the lich, then the odd Quickened Inflict Wounds on self will work out to much the same effect, healing both actual and nonlethal damage.
Resist Energy & Protection from Energy: You are probably thinking of them, but at CL 13 these spells last two hours each, and the lich should have enough spellslots to cast five of each, making her all but immune to many evocation magics.
Disruptive Spell + Contagious Flames, Quickened Stone Call, or Quickened Magic Missile. Or really Disruptive Spell plus anything. The biggest weakness boss monsters tend to have is action economy, and Disruptive Spell, at the cost of a +1 Metamagic, requires your PC casters to make concentration checks to cast anything. If the lich has really high DCs, this basically lets her swing the action economy her way.
I'm a Fan of Cloudkill, Always have been and always will be.
Item you will want:
Fog cutting Lenses
Cast Cloudkill:
If they do not have Protection from Evil up. Then follow it up with Emergency Force Sphere + Magic Jar while your protected by the sphere. Grab ones of them and suicide them into the gas. If they figure out X is possessed they have to find him the in gas to free him.
If they are Protected with Pro. EvilStay in the gas (your immune you lucky undead you) Use Cloudkill as your Cover.
Several Choices you can do-
1: Spells Like Telekinesis (Combat maneuver spells) to bullrush/Force them back into the Gas.
2: Summon Armies with Summon spells
3: Blast them to smithereens while they work to deal with the cloud.
4: Hit them with Enervation
5: Feeblemind the arcane caster.
After 1 or 2 of the PCs drop animate dead it.
The lich is a cleric. Put an unhallow spell in its sanctum and tag to it whichever of the many possible spells the lich thinks will most help it or hurt the PCs. (Seriously, darkness or dimensional anchor keyed to "only affects non-worshippers of <lich's god>" can be surprisingly effective at this level.
Then there are symbols. Maybe even multiple symbols.
Just remember to take the casting cost of all these spells out of the lich's wealth. Otherwise it gets even more overpowered.
More buffs
Circle protection vs good.
Magic vestments.
Ironskin / barkskin.
Airwalk.
Fickle winds.
There's also lots of smaller buffs like false life, heroism, aid.
More defense, dust form is good.
Improved invisibility and nondetection is better than mirror image. Iron Circlet of guarded souls is even better than nondetection.
Animate dead. There is now 240 skeletons with the exact same appearance as the lich
Bound outsiders are always fun
Spirit Guardian(monster summoners handbook)
An improved familiar with UMD would help alot
Undead are immune to lightning and cold so he can freely unleash AOE damage per round spells of those elements
Spell Perfection candidates: Harm, Dimension door, wall of force, chain lightning, disintegrate, enervation
For high level bosses I always give him 1 scroll of wish
If he has a bunch of corporeal undead (skeletons, zombies, bigger threats), he can use magic jar to possess one after another of them and keep casting spells at the PCs while they keep wasting resources on mook after mook... (read the spell carefully before planning this, and make sure all the skeletons have a spell component pouch.)