A lich’s taste for souls is legendary. With its great longevity, a lich may consume hundreds—if not thousands—of souls to sustain its existence. In rare cases, a lich’s hunger for souls drives it to feed to dangerous excess. In an act of unforgivable genocide, a lich can consume the spirits of an entire nation, obliterating hundreds of thousands. This unpardonable evil invokes a dark ascension, allowing the lich to achieve a truly immortal existence infused with unrivaled psychic power. These blessedly rare eternal liches are ancient, prime evils—timeless, vile, and unstoppable. Appearing as ghostly vestiges of their mortal forms, these creatures could be easily mistaken for more common undead were it not for the psychic influence they emit at all times. Mysterious voices no one else can hear, levitating objects, and constant inexplicable pain betray the presence of an eternal lich.
ETERNAL LICH
Medium undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 475 (38d8 + 304)
Speed 0 ft., 40 ft. (hover)
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 (-2) | 26 (+8) | 27 (+8) | 30 (+10) | 29 (+9) | 26 (+8) |
Saving Throws Dex +17, Con +17, Int +19, Cha +17
Skills Arcana +19, Deception +17, History +28, Insight +18, Perception +18, Persuasion +17, Stealth +17
Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from magical attacks
Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone restrained, stunned, unconscious
Senses darkvision 120 ft., Lifesense 300 ft. (see traits), passive Perception 28
Languages telepathy 300 ft.
Challenge 30 (155,000 XP)
TRAITS
Eternal Evil. If destroyed by conventional means, the eternal lich is not truly slain. Instead, a fragment of the eternal lich’s soul seeks out a living humanoid creature within 10 miles of the site of the its destruction and attempts to consume the humanoid’s soul, rejuvenating the eternal lich’s essence in the process. If there are no eligible humanoids within range, the eternal lich’s soul is utterly obliterated, and it cannot return to life by any known means.
If the eternal lich successfully possesses a humanoid, over the next 24 hours the target must attempt on a DC 27 Constitution saving throw at the end of each hour as it struggles to survive. If it fails three saving throws in this manner, the creature dies. If a creature dies while affected by this feature, the eternal lich consumes its soul and becomes active again, regaining all of its hit points. If the creature manages to survive for the duration or if the eternal lich is expelled from the target’s body during the possession attempt, the eternal lich is utterly obliterated and cannot return to life by any known means.
When the eternal lich returns to life in this manner, it can choose to possess the body of the target, becoming indistinguishable from the target when it was alive (although close examination reveals that the target is dead). Doing so grants the eternal lich a number of temporary hit points equal to the target’s hit point maximum, and for as long as the eternal lich possesses the body it retains the target’s Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution ability scores and loses its immunity to conditions except the charmed, frightened, and poisoned conditions. The temporary hit points gained from this feature cannot be replaced with temporary hit points from another source, and the effect ends if the eternal lich takes an action to end it or if its temporary hit points are reduced to 0, causing the eternal lich to reappear in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body.
Incorporeal Movement. The eternal lich can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The lich’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 27, +17 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components, and it does not need to maintain concentration to maintain their effects for the duration:
- At will: dominate person, negative energy flood, synaptic static, wall of force
- 3/day each: disintegrate (8th level), dominate monster, feeblemind, mass suggestion, teleport
- 2/day each: psychic scream, weird
Lifesense. The eternal lich can detect and pinpoint the exact location of any living creature within 300 feet of it.
Mythic Resistance. When the eternal lich fails a saving throw, it can expend one of its unspent legendary actions to succeed instead.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The eternal lich casts two spells, one of which must be a spell it can cast at will.
Death Bomb (1/Day). The eternal lich fires a ball of pure negative energy at a point it can see within 1 mile. Each creature in a 30-foot-radius cylinder that is 100 feet high centered on that point must attempt a DC 27 Constitution saving throw, taking 100 points of necrotic damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much on a success. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this effect dies. Additionally, a 100-foot-high ring of negative energy appears at the impact point and expands outward from the affected area for 10 minutes, moving 30 feet away from the edge of the cylinder at the start of each of the eternal lich’s turns for the duration. A creature that comes into contact with the wall for the first time in a round must attempt a DC 27 Constitution saving throw, taking 100 points of necrotic damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much on a success.
True Telekinesis. The eternal lich targets up to four creatures or objects it is aware of within 300 feet of it. Each target must succeed on a DC 27 Strength saving throw or be subjected to one of the following effects. If the eternal lich is ever more than 300 feet away from a target affected by this feature, the effect ends (when applicable).
- Crush. The target takes 55 (10d10) bludgeoning damage.
- Restrain. The target is moved up to 30 feet and restrained. A restrained creature can be suspended in the air if the eternal lich desires and may attempt a DC 27 Strength saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect. This feature cannot affect creatures or objects weighing more than 100,000 pounds.
- Shove. The eternal lich throws the target up to 120 feet in a direction of its choice. If the target is a held object, the wielder must succeed on a DC 27 Strength saving throw or relinquish the object. This feature cannot affect creatures or objects weighing more than 100,000 pounds.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The eternal lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The eternal lich regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Cast a Spell. The eternal lich casts a spell that it can cast at will.
Power Overwhelming (Costs 3 Actions). Until the end of the eternal lich’s next turn, whenever it deals damage it instead deals double damage.
Read Minds (Costs 2 Actions). The eternal lich reads the surface thoughts of each creature with which it is able to be in telepathic contact. Until the end of the eternal lich’s next turn, affected creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks against the eternal lich.
Telekinesis. The eternal lich takes its True Telekinesis action but can only target a single object or creature.
Ref: TPKB1 p127