Archlich

Archliches were a type of lich that was good and noble, both in life and undeath. They could be of any type of spellcaster&mdash;including wizards, bards or clerics&mdash;and devoted their existence to whatever noble purpose motivated their transformation into lichdom.

Description
Archliches appeared almost indistinguishable from normal liches. They had skeletal appearances and blank eye sockets containing only points of light, and their bodies showed no signs of life. They did not eat, sleep, or breath unless they wished to.

Unlike common liches, their bodies and minds did not continue to deteriorate with time. As such, they had a virtual eternity to hone their skills, and would inevitably become very powerful.

Personality
Archliches retained all of the memories, personality, and abilities that they possessed in life. They were driven by the noble goals that had led them to seek undeath, generally a strong desire to protect someone or something, but occasionally their motivations were loftier. They might exist to serve a particular individual or organization, or even to pursue revenge. They generally avoided interjecting themselves into mortal affairs directly, instead preferring to monitor situations from afar and offer aid to those in need or information to those fighting to make the world a better place. They tried to avoid compelling or controlling others, either by magic or with fear.

While archliches were known to make friends with the living, to engage in earthly pleasures like eating and smoking, and even to fall in love, they were irrevocably undead and ultimately these showings of humanity were fleeting.

Patience, cunning, and intelligence were defining features of an archlich, and they were known for their great depths of knowledge. This was at least in part because they had perfect memories, which was both a blessing and a curse. Many archliches felt that their ever-lengthening pasts were a burden, however they never spurned or disregarded their old friends. Most preferred to spend their eons in private study and contemplation.

Abilities
The unique circumstances surrounding an archlich's creation meant that they had several unique powers. For one, upon the moment of their creation, an archlich was able to permanently affix up to nine spells in their memory, allowing them to cast these without the need for normal preparation or memorization. Most opted for a few offensive spells alongside dispel magic, fly, invisibility, and teleport. They could also walk on water and see perfectly clearly even in complete darkness.

An archlich had the ability to know if its name had been spoken anywhere on the same plane as it. Knowing an archlich's true name afforded no special power over it.

Despite their noble natures, archliches often made use of zombies and skeletons as minions as they had the ability to animate such creatures at will. Still, they had no interest in raising armies.

Combat
In general, archliches preferred to avoid combat.

Like other powerful forms of undead (such as a vampire or mummy), an archlich had unnatural powers owing to its state. For example, they could put mortals in a paralyzed state of hibernation with a touch, making them seem dead to others. An archlich was capable of sustaining tremendous physical damage, and was immune to diseases, poisons, fatigue and other things that affected only the living. Owing to the unique methods by which an archlich achieved undeath, they were additionally immune to all mind-affecting charms or enchantments, most shape-altering magics, and any mundane injuries. Despite all these undead "gifts", an archlich (like a lich) counted its vast intellect, its supreme mastery of wizardry and limitless time to research and plan, as its greatest resources.

Simply being near an angry archlich could be dangerous for its foes. Living enemies might have to brave an aura of necrotizing energy that drove them to flee in terror, while undead enemies were bombarded with radiant energy or could be repelled at will. Some archliches had such a mastery over the forces of life and death that they were energized by the deaths of their enemies and&mdash;on occasion&mdash;even by their own deaths, allowing them to continue fighting when they ought to have been defeated.

If destroyed, an archlich's remains would instantly teleport to the site or item where its essence was hidden.

Society
Archliches were so rarely encountered that some sages disbelieved that they existed. They were generally solitary, and sequestered themselves in secluded or extraplanar hideouts to allow the world to live its life without them. However, they always kept an eye on things&mdash;either via scrying or spies&mdash;and worked to manipulate affairs from behind the scenes. A notable exception was archlich bards, who would prowl desolate dungeons, ruins, and wildernesses playing their own compositions, which were often melancholy and haunting ballads about the past.

Relationships
Archliches existed for the sole purpose of achieving their noble goals, and would often seek to partner with goodly adventurers, particularly rangers, bards, and wizards (whom they would sometimes accept as pupils).

Most archliches concealed their true nature from the living in order to avoid confrontation or attack. Due to their goodly nature and activities, institutions normally dedicated to eradicating the undead&mdash;such as the church of Kelemvor&mdash;often sought to coax them into restful death rather than destroy them outright. This potentially included aiding an archlich in its pursuits if this would persuade it to pass on.

Creation
Archliches did not create phylacteries as did normal liches, and instead used practical magic items that could serve as more than just a repository for their souls, typically taking the form of a small spellbook. If this item was destroyed, so too was the archlich.

The first step in achieving archlichdom was to create the item that would house their soul. It then required them to brew a special potion, which had to be augmented with the spells animate dead, chill touch, contingency, pass without trace, permanency, teleport, trap the soul, and wraithform.

The prospective archlich then had to drink the potion while holding the created item&mdash;which was to be at least partially covered in the spellcaster's blood&mdash;while a secret spell was cast. This rite carried a small chance (less than one-in-ten) of possibly killing the prospective archlich and ruining the process. Otherwise, it put the drinker into a deathlike slumber for four to sixteen minutes. If the sleeper survived, they would wake up as an archlich. At that point, only divine intervention could reverse the transformation.

This process did not need to be completed wholly by the archlich on their own. They did need to have a direct hand in the creation of their magic item, but work on the item, the brewing of the potion, or the casting of the spell could all be performed by another. That said, the mark of an individual who was sufficiently noble and strong-willed to become an archlich&mdash;and not lose their sanity as did so many evil liches&mdash;was having the patience to recognize that the transformation should only be undertaken once they were ready to complete it themselves. Only a willing participant could undergo the transformation process and survive.

While the demilich type existed among liches, there was no equivalent type among archliches.

Notable Archliches

 * Lady Alathene Moonstar of Waterdeep
 * Bandaerl Dumatheir.
 * Ezzat the Archlich
 * Renwick Caradoon
 * Rhaugilath the Ageless
 * Lady Saharel