06-28-2020, 05:59 PM | #21 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
I suppose we should simply agree to disagree on this, maximara. So long as calling something a lich in your games doesn't cause any sort of disconnect/misconceptions for your players, everything should be groovy, it's just been my experience that "lich" brings to mind a fairly narrow definition, with "skeletal" (still having flesh acceptable, but in that case the entity should be exceedingly gaunt with the bones clearly showing through, like the draugr from Skyrim) and "spellcaster" being the most important bits and "has a phylactery" being optional but ideal. I'd be more inclined to accept the titular character from Overlord as a lich (he's a skeletal spellcaster, but doesn't appear to have any sort of phylactery) than I would be to accept Lord Voldemort (who is arguably undead, and certainly has a phylactery - quite a few in fact - but is more akin to a snake-man than a skeleton) as one, for example.
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06-28-2020, 07:59 PM | #22 | |
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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The phylactery is the true house of the spirit force, and the incidental stiffs that it can possess are merely cannon fodder. Unless you find and destroy the soul box, it'll be back. One single Ravenloft adventure, Roots of Evil, has a line from Azalin the lich, as he sends the PCs back in time to possess bodies in history. He says something to the effect of "know that this existence, of possessing body to body at whim, is the essence of being a lich". |
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07-03-2020, 02:45 PM | #23 | |
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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I'm also interested in how to implement the lich's ability to possess the mortal shell of any inanimate corpse (or, potentially, any corpse under its command as a zombie or similar undead). At first, I thought of doing this as an inverse Possession - one that is changed to allow undead humanoids instead of living hosts. But then I noticed that your build makes use of the Reincarnation modifier to Unkillable - how does this differ from a Possession mechanic? |
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07-04-2020, 01:56 AM | #24 | |
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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Reincarnation on the other hand say nothing about your new body having to be a living body or prevents that body from actually the remains of your old body restored (somehow). The way a lich worked in the Dragon #26 article is in a weird place between Unkillable 2 and 3 as it can possess a body other then its own per Unkillable 3 but was limited in terms of spell power and does not become unconscious as is true of Unkillable 2 though to regain its full power it must possess its original body. Unkillable 3 (Reincarnation -20%) is a quick and dirty way to model this behavior. It was not perfect but it is a relatively (keep it) simple how to article. Yes, D&D1 liches were not only nasty but down right weird.
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Help make a digital reference for GURPS by coming to the GURPS wiki and provide some information and links (such as to various Fanmade 4e Bestiaries) . Please, provide more then just a title and a page number. Last edited by maximara; 07-04-2020 at 02:29 AM. |
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07-04-2020, 03:38 AM | #25 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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Most phylacteries are small gems, so relatively low DR, possibly can't be repaired and SM somewhere around -10. The gem can't be stolen in the sense that the lich will lose his Unkillable, so that's not a factor, but it also can't be (easily) replaced so Unique is a given. If the lich is destroyed when the phylactery is broken, you probably need to give it some variation of "reverse Unkillable" as a baseline trait along with "not 'reverse Unkillable'" that has the same gadget modifier as Unkillable. This way destroying the phylactery will not only remove Unkillable, but it will also free up the "reverse Unkillable" which instantly kills the lich. I can't remember the supplement where I saw "reverse Unkillable" defined or what it was actually called. Note that without the above, the lich will continue to exist even after the phylactery is destroyed, giving it a chance to make a new one. |
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07-04-2020, 04:30 AM | #26 | |
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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Moreover does knocking off a piece count as "destroying" a gem as far as enchantments go? This is one of those areas where things get a little squirrelly.
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07-04-2020, 07:48 AM | #27 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
I’m not certain what the right way to build a phylactery in GURPS is. For the “dead if destroyed” bit, you’d have an Instant Death Disadvantage worth somewhere between [-100] (from Terminally Ill, less than one month) and [-300] (as implied by the value of Heart Attack on Affliction), negated by an appropriately-limited Advantage.
As for the Gadget Limitation, there’s the issue that Gadget is normally for items you keep with you, not “so long as this item exists somewhere*, I have this ability.” The latter opens up a lot more options for protecting the item, making it much less limited than a typical breakable gadget; that indicates less of a discount, but I don’t know how much less is appropriate. *Not necessarily even in the same plane; in Order of the Stick, Xykon’s phylactery is currently hidden in a fortress in the Astral Plane.
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07-04-2020, 08:28 AM | #28 | |
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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Weakness (Loss of object; 1d/second; Quickened, +120%) [-22] It also has Achilles heel limitation applied to its unkillable.
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07-04-2020, 08:40 AM | #29 | |
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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07-04-2020, 09:47 AM | #30 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Different Liches [Magic/Horror]
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Well, unless the original intent was that all Gadgets that lacked Stealable work this way, but I don’t think that’s implied by the text and examples...
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