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Lich

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200px-Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)

Illustration of a lich by David A. Trampier from the 1st edition Monster Manual.

A lich is a powerful undead spellcaster who has chosen undeath as a path to semi-immortality. The lich originally appeared in Dungeons & Dragons (specifically the Greyhawk supplement of original D&D) and has since spread to other media. The term lich is an archaic term for a dead body or cadaver.

Liches are particularly feared because, in addition to powerful undead immunities and powers, they retain the ability they possessed in life to cast high-level magic.

Soul jars[]

In many settings, part of the process of becoming a lich (often the most important part) is for the pre-lich spellcaster to remove part of their own soul and put it inside an object (which either must be a magic item or becomes one after the process). Such objects can take any form and have many names, but in general are called soul jars.

This aspect of lichdom has its origins in stories such as the Russian folk tales of Koschei the Deathless and even The Lord of the Rings (in which the One Ring acts as a sort of soul jar for the Dark Lord Sauron). The process was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons (and thence to other role-playing games) by Len Lakofka in his article "Blueprint For A Lich" in Dragon Magazine #26, page 36. It uses the spells Magic Jar, Trap the Soul, and Enchant an Item, and the item must be worth at least 2,000 gold pieces.[1][2]

Games like D&D often use the term phylactery for soul jars. However, this term also refers to the tefillin, leather boxes that contain script from the Torah and are ceremonial objects in Judaism. As such, using the term for an evil artifact is potentially (if accidentally) anti-Semitic.[3] The term phylactery was first used with respect to liches in the 1st edition Monster Manual in 1977, but at that time it was a passing reference as an item that allowed liches to retain their minds and free will in undeath. The term was tied explicitly to soul jars in an Endless Quest book (choose your own adventure book) called Lair of the Lich by Bruce Algozin.[1]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Buzz et al. (2018-05-08). Re: "What is the origin of a phylactery as a soul jar?". Science Fiction & Fantasy at StackExchange. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  2. ↑ Len Lakofka (1979-06). Dragon issue #26, page 36. TSR. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  3. ↑ @Neala_Draws (2020-08-20). Thread re: phylacteries in D&D. Twitter. Retrieved 2020-08-21.

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