Liches are always human

Of course not. Elves can only become 4th level fighters/7th level magic-users, or 10th level elves.

Either way, they're never getting access to those sweet, sweet 6th level spells that ambitious, power-hungry, and easily-corrupted Men who become magic-users do.

Christ, it's like people around here have only ever played d20 and never played D&D.

>he thinks non-human races have skeletons
You do know what's inside Elves, don't you??

>You do know what's inside Elves, don't you??

Peppermint candy cane? It's peppermint candy cane, isn't it.

Since when are liches always human? How would you tell anyway? Skeletons don't have pointy ears.

>Skeletons don't have pointy ears

not all of them obviously, duuuh.

dracolich?

LICHES FOR THULSA DO—waitaminute.

first post best post

Humans in most fantasy settings have incredibly high ambitions compared to most due to there relatively short life span. How to fix short life span to carry out a 200 year plan?
Undeath

I don't see why. Looking at their lore they are really limited in scope.

THULSA DOOM DEMANDS LICHES

underrated

This.

You'd think human wizards would try to turn themselves into elves instead of liches. Lichdom really, really sucks in a lot of ways.

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This guy sort of counts.

Dracolich

The only lich I've ever encountered was an elf. Then again, he was a weird elf. Years after becoming the archlich he slaughtered all of the elves on the plane for some reason.

So badass.

I think our group got one of these thrown at us as a miniboss and it was super lame.

NWN 2: Mask of the Betrayer had a Cloud Titan Demilich. It was a big-ass floating skull.

Penis, what is inside or should be inside elves is a Penis.

2 dwarves?

Elves are for rape, though, and that also really, really sucks in a lot of ways.

A wizard who's powerful enough to turn themselves into an elf probably doesn't have much to fear from rapists.

>He thinks he can beat the cock
Typical elf logic.

Give me demiliches
I need good Demiliches art

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Liches can be other races. Look at neverwinter for example where there's that elf lich

But Steve IS a good lich.

This is why Druids are the thinking man's wizards

Reincarnate yourself as an Elf
Then 18th level and extend your lifespan tenfold
Boom 10,000 year lifespan, you still get to keep your dangler, and you don't have those weird interdimensional stone golems coming after your ass constantly

Yeah, see it's kinda gotta be "THULSA DOOM DEMANDS LICHES", doesn't it? Because "LICHES FOR THULSA DOOM" sounds like a political endorsement. "Liches agree, Thulsa Doom is the sorcerer we want to Make Atlantis Great Again!"

Fuck you, I'm voting Nagash in 2020!

/thread

>Aren't elves better at magic than humans?

Every D&D campaign setting seems to disagree with you.
What takes centuries for elves only takes decades for humans.

Wizards can use Clone, Wish and another spell to become immortal and eternal. Liches are those wizards who didn't complete their studies and who got bonked on the head one too many times.

If I want elves to be the best at magic I'll play Warhammer, thank you.

But elves aren't the best at magic.

Don't delude yourself.
The skeletons have an inside man for every race

What do you think an elf skeleton looks like?
>no ears to tell the difference

Because other races have their own versions. Elf Liches are called Baelnorn

I'm pretty sure WHF humans can match High Elves when using Dhar. Nagash easily trumps Teclis in magical might.

Nothing but earlier gen Slann would best him.

but what about alhoons?

Dhar is like using raw nuclear power, it unleashes great energy, but it's self-destructive. High magic is much better and also save, humans can't even comprehend it.

Nagash is the Grombrindal of human wizards. Using him as a baseline is retarded.

Qhaysh is a more coherent force, yes, yet Dhar has matched it in potency.

It's one of the reasons why humans even pursue it so adamantly, to have a grasp of magic rivaling that of the High Elves, in rawness if not understanding.

Also, the ones that seek the path to demilichdom, in order to ascend beyond this shitty existence.

I figure it has more to do with the fact that elves think too differently from humans. The subconcious thought process is too alien. Liches maintain the same thought process as they did as mortals.

D&D has elvan liches. Baelorn or w/e they're called.

Nagash is the outlier among outliers. He's also had the benefit of living much longer than a normal human.

Anyway, being good at dhar is technically not really a sign of true magical mastery. Dhar takes less understanding and more straight up willpower, and, no matter how you use it, it's always self-destructive and destructive to the world around you. There are no 'good' dharic spells; by the nature of magic, using the Winds in such a way always results in effects that are detrimental, perverse, and destructive. It offers more raw force but it simply can't do many of the things Saphery can do - it can't heal, for example, and I don't think a single protective dharic spell exists.

Users of the dhar may get a magic missile that can pump out 4D6 S5 hits, but they lose out on versatility.

Caledor Dragontamer and Nagash are probably around the same level. The Great Vortex is honestly more impressive than The Great Summoning.

Invocation of Nehek heals.

Mechanically, yes.

Fluffwise it's just the necromancer in question pumping their undead full of more animating energy, causing them to get back up or ignore damage. It doesn't actually heal anyone.

Baelnorn are specifically GOOD elven liches, though, and they don't really work the same way.

I'd guess that elves don't become liches because generally speaking they respect the experience of death and the functions of the universe, and understand why things are the way they are. They also have much longer to come to terms with their eventual demise.

That's because eleven liches are called baelnorns, dwarfs can't in to magic and other races aren't important.

LICHES FOR THULSA DOOM!

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For all the stick 1e AD&D art gets, Dave Trampier got the lich down perfect. Also, I didn't remember this, but the 1e lich's alignment was listed as "neutral (evil)".

Serves him right for making a party of only women. You can't trust them.

Only humans are crazy enough to split their soul in an extremely painful process and forfeit their soul simply to attain immortality on material plane.

>the only things a dwarf hates more than anything is two dwarves
IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW

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wow so quirky and random! lol sharing this on facebook

xD

Doesn't really dissuade the fact that Dhar can, and has, matched Qhaysh in magical might.

Though I'm sure nobody will disagree that the latter beats the former in terms of versatility.

Speaking of lichdom, was Acererack human? I completely forget. I definitely like to see a nonhumanoid lich though. Like a really ambitious goblin say fuck it, lets go with Necromancy.

Hi, reddit

>was Acererack human

In the original Tomb of Horrors, he definitely was a human.

elves can't become liches
they don't have skeletons

Human, but then it was Cambion because it related to that Demon he had bound that you find later on.

It's impossible to tell how much of the elven population was born elves and how much of it is secretly composed of centuries old wizards with twinky rape fantasies.

Humans make the best wizards so naturally are better (and cooler) liches

Underrated.

I don't know what a demi-lich is, but you can have this.

Elves live long enough that they aren't concerned with dying.

that's actually a pretty good rendition of an annoyed demilich.

Favorite liches?

Kel'Thuzad- sexy voice, quippy, has emotions, still alive!, great raid boss, has a kitty cat

Arkhan the Black- best part of the end times, is also hilarious on purpose, highest body count during the ET, made out with Neferata, probably has a sexy voice

Nagash- just the hugest asshole, bros down with team order during the ET,

Acerak- Tomb of Horrors reveals how creative he is in his pursuit of dickishness

Voldemort- probably the most talented wizard in the setting yet is also a giant dumbass. His whole deal makes no sense BUT he did bang Bellatrix so thats cool. Lost due to a technicality.

Thats my husbando Archlich Kel'Thuzad from Warcraft. Someone threw his corpse in a magic jacuzzi so hes extra powerful.

A demi-lich is like a lich that basically gives up on their corporeal form because they are to busy doing research. Generally they keep a hand or their skull, think Acerak from DnD

I played WC3, you stuff his ashes into the urn of King Terenas Menethil after Arthas goes full retard and accepts death and decay as his lord and saviour. Ends up destroying a whole Elven Kingdom and half a city to use fancy well water to revive him in undeath.

Was a neat campaign.

Lich, from Dota 2. He's all Ice and Frost focused, but he has a god-tier voice and great lines.

frost puns best puns

Yes, you throw his ass in a magic jacuzzi. Then he pops up even sexier than before.

IMO the Human and Undead campaigns are the biggest events in "modern" Warcraft including the events of WoW et.al.

Liches aren't even that good as undead. Better than other low-tier undead like(vampires, ghosts, etc)

High tier versions of these undead are scarier(demilichs, early generation vampires)

The scariest undead are the ones with a deep connection to the life-force or the negative energy plane. These are the unelementals.

The truly most powerful wizards have neutronium golem bodies.

I'd go down on her for a wad of cash and a bottle of jack. but if I see a worm I'm outta there

Considering it also introduced the Orcs as noble savages who were tricked into drinking demons blood......twice, take it with a grain of salt.

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How about a gnome lich blinged out with a ridiculous amount of gems?

>short lives
>ambition
This is probably the best summary possible. More arcanely specialised races that would have an easier time of becoming a lich would see Humans as being full of endless ambition. Or maybe fail to, but they'd be idiots for failing to see that.

The only other short lived races are not only less arcanely skilled, but I'd probably rate an orc for instance as being relatively unambitious compared to a human. Sure, orcs vie for space in their various hierarchies, but they're still thinking inside the box when they do that. They wouldn't contemplate a course of action that would for instance render the entire existence of their tribes social hierarchy into chaos and laughable pointlessness. For that reason, they're unlikely to transcend the very nature of their own existence and become something fundamentally not an orc. Same with goblins. They're all too petty.

Kobolds are arcanely skilled, though. They breed fast and are ambitious to a fault, so logically speaking their race should produce the most liches.

Naw cowardliness and worshiping baphomet/Tiamat makes a race kind of unsuited to lichdom.

Humans tend to be pretty morbid overall, we all have this weird obsession with death. It stands to reason why the most necromancers are humans.