Make your next Big Bad a Lich 💀

Thanks to Kobold Press for sponsoring this video!

► For more LICHY GOODNESS...

► INDEX
0:00 Intro
0:50 Why Liches?
1:23 Basic Lich
6:05 Deep Magic
7:20 Villain vs. Big Bad
10:12 Roleplaying a Lich

Music from Epidemic Sound

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[TheLukdkZone]

My favorite lich story is one where he was the owner of a gladiator arena, funded for the emperor's entertainment. The souls of those who died would go to the lich. No one suspected him; it was incredible

[georgercop]

An interesting idea I saw was someone who threw a Lich at their party, and when the group got confused why the Lich's spells were "wrong", the DM informed them that the Lich was using spells from 3.5e instead of 5e, because when they were alive, spellcasting worked differently. Thought that was a cool idea

[GrndAdmiralThrawn]

This Ginny Di/Pointy Hat crossover cured all my wounds

[redwolvlives]

My favorite twist on a lick was inspired by the OG pirates of the Caribbean. The Lich had made its phylactery as a single gold coin and kept in a chest with hundreds of other gold. The party found said chest of gold early on and used the money to buy some gear. Only to later on find merchants they had traded with were ending up dead or disappearing. The lich was hunting down people who had come in contact with its gold and possible phylactery. Which lead to multiple encounters with said lich as both parties raced to find it first.

[SpitfiretheCat]

Phylactery: An adamantine room with a single chair fused to the floor in its center. When he dies, he reappears in the chair, and if anyone else sits in the chair, their soul is absorbed into the phylactery, feeding the lich. Said lich is a king and an artificer, so it's an abominable wonder of technology, and an excellent way to execute enemies of the state. He had a sort of Dorian Grey meets Elizabeth Bathory type of undeath where he essentially sucks the life force out of his victims to add to his own ticking clock... though his ticks down much faster than average.

[TheHatwolf]

I do love the idea of a lich, who has reached their goal thousands of years ago, their big plan, their big break-through in arcane studies, that they sacrificed their life for, and now they are just bored. Adventures get to their tower, trying to get the legendary treasure of the ancient, powerful lich, go through monsters and traps, only to find the lich at the top of the tower, just like baking cookies (that they can't actually eat) and seeking a conversation with the adventurers. They resupply their own tower with traps and monsters not to kill adventurers, but so they "wouldn't be too dissapointed" when reaching the tower. The lich ends up just giving each party member a magic item and send them on their way.

Liches so old, they essentially just become an immortal grandma.

[suedenim]

"She don't wanna die, so she never will" is an incredibly catchy lyric, and also a perfect and perfectly simple reason for a lich to go down that road.

[launamcm]

My husband suggested a lich being the BBEG for my campaign not five minutes before this video notification dropped. I think this is the push I needed.

[faemerothgoblinbane]

Another interesting direction for a lich as a Big Bad is to make them a lich-to-be. It gives them a rock-solid goal - obtain lichdom - and a whole arc to travel through. There's plenty of room for clashes with the party as they search out the necessary knowledge and materials. And even a meaningful change for the party to enact on the plot: either they stop the Big Bad before they complete the ritual, or they have a "new", more powerful Big Bad for the next part of the story.

[Reohz]

My Lich had pauldrons with giant spikes sticking up, upon each of which was a disembodied head. The heads were his formal rivals he'd revived as his advisors. The heads were forced to obey his commands, but didn't have to be happy about it and delighted in pointing out any perceived failing they noticed.

[TsukoBzh]

In my campaign, the bbeg is a lich whose phylactery is his blood, that’s why his entire bloodline has to be defeated before taking him down. It’s not going to be an easy task because the lich’s blood gives incredible powers to those who carry it.

My party was never that invested in a villain before

[carsonm]

The vampire stat block just screams "campaign villain" and not encounter enemy the way that it's designed; it's not that interesting to fight but it has incredible power of intrigue. Count Strahd is the famous obvious example that makes full use of those features. The Mummy Lord stat block is also fun because it's lich-like in its ability to come back to life after being defeated but has totally different spells and other abilities, if perhaps not quite as iconic.

[InkDragonRosette]

I'd absolutely love a whole series on different Big Bads. I can always see how cool they'd be to run in my head, but i feel like i can't translate something right in the execution. Mindflayers, Beholders, Hags, Dragons! I want 'em all!

[torrencewaespe]

Your lich lady is so pretty in such a weird way, i love her!!! I really hope youre able to make this format into a series, ot was super helpful

[Jay-yroi]

I think the most fun one I’ve played was when the DM allowed us to find the lich’s safe, and we assumed it’s vessel was in there, and it took us several failures to realize it wasn’t in the safe; it was the safe

[brandongarcia]

Me seeing your lich: "I can fix her."

[timtamtube]

I love the idea of a lich being a god's mortal form. It's an undead ghostly image whose spells can be changed to befit the god. The phylactery can be a temple, and it's a good way for players to fight deitys who can never truly die.

[iknowisuck]

I absolutely want you to talk about hags!!! There is (apparently) a whole kingdom that was ruled by three hags that got ret conned out of the lore of dnd! It’s insane what you can do with those tall ladies

[HogandDice]

That roleplay foundation also really prepares you for when your players do things that ruin your plans. It helps prepare you for working out how the bad guy would respond

[Slanse]

"maybe one of the player has accidentally acquired the lich phylactery, but wanted nothing to do with it "

Frodo Baggins as joined the chat !

Great video as always, thanks