Lich – Species Descriptor [Cypher System]

Whether through your own artifice, accident, or a curse you have become the pinnacle of undead creatures, a lich. Regardless of if you look nearly alive or skeletal, your body is only a disposable puppet for you operated by your soul. Your immortal essence is now moored to a mystically imbued item called a phylactery. Rejoice, for you are immortal and shall walk the world eternally. Despair, for you mortal life and the pleasures of the flesh are now lost to you.

Suggested Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Modern (if setting has a supernatural element), superheroes.

You gain the following characteristics:

Unstuck Soul: You have one additional Pool called Soul that begins with 3 points, and it has a maximum value of 3 points. When your Might, Intellect, and Speed pools are all depleted  any excess damage is applied to your Soul Pool. If at least one point remains in your Soul pool, after applying damage, you do not die. Instead, your body crumbles to dust and your consciousness instantly moves into your phylactery even if it is not on you person. You can inhabit your phylactery indefinitely as long as nothing reduces your Soul pool to 0 points.  While in this state your phylactery is treated as your body and you can see, hear, and smell normally. You are debilitated and immobile until you use 1 or more recovery rolls to raise your Speed or Might pool to at least half of its maximum value. Doing so creates a new body for you, which your consciousness immediately inhabits. 

Destruction of your phylactery object instantly reduces your Soul pool to 0 points, but does not count against your damage track. This reduction is permanent until you replace your phylactery. A destroyed or lost phylactery can be replaced by obtaining a suitable item and spending 2 XP to conduct a ritual that takes one day. Cyphers and artifacts can not be made into a phylactery. 

Skill: You’re trained in resisting mental effects.

Inability: You are an unholy creature and purifying forces are anathema to you. Tasks to resist the effects of fire or holy energies are hindered.

Ageless: You do not age. 

Undead Physiology: Damaging effects and other threats that rely on a living body such as poison, disease, hunger, suffocation and so forth have no effect on you. Neither do beneficial drugs or other effects that rely on a living body. things that normally affect only spirits  or undead creatures can affect you.  Mundane healing methods, including the vast majority of restorative devices and medicines, do not restore points to any of your Pools. You can recover points to your stat Pools only by resting or through the use of magical effects. 

Unnatural: All positive interaction tasks with living creatures are hindered by two steps.  

Additional Equipment: You begin play with a small item such moderately expensive item, such as a piece of jewelry or a weapon, that serves as your phylactery.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

1. Your research has hit a dead end and you decided that joining the PCs might be a just the way to obtain information and resources to continue your progress.
2. You hope to enlist the aid of your new “friends”, the PCs, to dispatch one of the immortal rivals or enemies.
3. You lament your undead state and wish to return to being a living, mortal creature. The PCs have offered to help you do this.
4.  The PCs remind you of a group that you worked with when you were still alive. You joined them out of nostalgia. 

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