Lich (monster class) - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Common traits */ upcoming

2025-05-30T03:26:10Z

‎Common traits: upcoming

Umbire the Phantom: tocright for style, another pass

2025-05-26T14:46:30Z

tocright for style, another pass

Umbire the Phantom: /* Common traits */ copyedit + upcoming

2025-05-26T14:28:43Z

‎Common traits: copyedit + upcoming

Umbire the Phantom: potholes et. al.

2024-06-25T13:14:50Z

potholes et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: traits

2024-03-07T10:27:50Z

traits

Umbire the Phantom: copyedit

2024-03-06T06:57:56Z

copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: /* Hack'EM */ potholes

2024-02-18T12:41:32Z

‎Hack'EM: potholes

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ word choice et. al.

2024-02-18T12:41:02Z

‎Strategy: word choice et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: languages

2024-02-18T12:33:35Z

languages

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ pothole, word choice

2024-01-23T11:22:21Z

‎Strategy: pothole, word choice

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 A lich will "mumble incomprehensibly" when [[chatting]] to one.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|aeb0ea65e3ea173ccab744964fa7a0bb8425dc0c}}, liches that are not [[cancelled]] can raise monsters killed by them as [[zombie]]s of the corresponding type, if they have one: they will be raised 5-20 turns after they are initially killed. This also applies to a [[hero]] that is killed by a lich, as well as a hero polymorphed into a lich, and lich monsters will also [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies.
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|aeb0ea65e3ea173ccab744964fa7a0bb8425dc0c}}, liches that are not [[cancelled]] can raise monsters killed by them as [[zombie]]s of the corresponding type, if they have one: they will be raised 5-20 turns after they are initially killed. This also applies to a [[hero]] that is killed by a lich, as well as a hero polymorphed into a lich, and lich monsters will also [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies. Per {{commit|228870706b7ad412953aa67ec4cddad458f16e9b}}, this will not occur on the [[Castle]], and a [[unique]] monster will never target monsters or be targeted for attacks in this way.
 Heroes killed by any lich that leave [[bones]] will arise as a zombie of the corresponding type&mdash;as of {{commit|3c421da746cdd3844c7f8d2312c7be5e5a25cfb9}}, the zombie will have the same intrinsics as the former character.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{languages}}
 {{otheruses||the monster|Lich}}
 The '''lich''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by the uppercase [[L]] glyph ({{white|L}}). Liches are designated internally by the macro '''S_LICH'''.{{refsrc|include/monsym.h|52|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
@@ Line 35: / Line 36: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Liches are generally annoying at best and incredibly lethal at worst: Many of them will frequently cast [[monster spell]]s such as [[curse items]], use [[aggravate]] to awaken other hostiles, and severely weaken your defenses with [[Destroy armor (monster spell)|destroy armor]] - the stronger covetous ones can freely warp towards you (including on [[no-teleport]] levels) and even use the [[touch of death]] on you. Liches are often the target of [[genocide]] by many players that are not observing [[genocideless]] [[conduct]], and it is often considered worth a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] to remove them all from the game.
+Liches are generally annoying at best and incredibly lethal at worst: Many of them will frequently cast [[monster spell]]s such as [[curse items]], use [[aggravate]] to awaken other hostiles, and severely weaken your defenses with [[Destroy armor (monster spell)|destroy armor]]&mdash;the stronger covetous ones can freely warp towards you (including on [[no-teleport]] levels) and even use the [[touch of death]]. Liches are often the target of [[genocide]] by many players that are not observing [[genocideless]] [[conduct]], and it is usually worth a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] to remove them all from the game.
-One of the best ways to deal with a lich in combat is to have a source of [[magic resistance]], which dampens the effects of its spells and prevents the higher-level ones from [[Instadeath|instantly ending your game]]: [[Magicbane]] in particular will absorb a mass majority of curses from the curse items monster spell. Even covetous liches will respect [[Elbereth]] and the scroll of [[scare monster]], though the former does not allow you to fight while standing on it and will not work in [[Gehennom]] - additionally, neither method prevents liches from casting certain ranged spells at you, and one particular spell, [[summon nasties]], may generate monsters that do not respect Elbereth or the scroll, such as [[captain]]s, [[minotaur]]s and [[Elvenking]]s.
+One of the best ways to deal with a lich in combat is to have a source of [[magic resistance]], which dampens the effects of its spells and prevents the higher-level ones from [[Instadeath|instantly ending your game]]: [[Magicbane]] in particular will absorb a mass majority of curses from the curse items monster spell. Even covetous liches will respect [[Elbereth]] and the scroll of [[scare monster]], though the former does not allow you to fight while standing on it and will not work in Gehennom&mdash;additionally, neither method prevents liches from casting certain ranged spells at you, and one particular spell, [[summon nasties]], may generate monsters that do not respect Elbereth or the scroll, such as [[captain]]s, [[minotaur]]s and [[Elvenking]]s.
 All liches minus the arch-lich do not have [[shock resistance]], making [[Mjollnir]] an excellent option to deal with most of them; similarly, strong non-elemental [[artifact weapon]]s like [[Excalibur]] and [[Sunsword]] (which deals double damage against liches and other undead) also work quite well. Liches are especially vulnerable to [[stoning]], [[disintegration]] and [[digestion]] attacks, all of which can reliably instakill them - their summon nasties spell can generate monsters with such attacks, which can be turned against them using [[conflict]].
-All types of lich can be pacified by reading the blessed [[Book of the Dead]], and it is additionally possible to tame liches and demiliches this way if done as a chaotic character.
+All types of lich can be pacified by reading the blessed [[Book of the Dead]], and it is additionally possible to tame liches and demiliches this way if done as a chaotic hero.
 ===As pets===
 Liches are generally strong pets with some trade-offs that are quite inconvenient. Their solid [[AC]] and increasingly powerful [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] make them difficult for most other monsters to kill and can prevent polymorphing, but said MR score also makes them difficult to tame. Covetous liches in particular cannot be tamed magically, though a tame lich can [[grow up]] into a covetous one as normal, and an existing pet can also be polymorphed into a tame covetous lich. Liches are also quite slow, with demiliches and stronger forms reaching a peak speed of 12 after casting [[Haste self (monster spell)|haste self]].
-Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them completely unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]] - this is applicable even to their stronger forms, and requires you to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR score, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more of each as they grow up.
+Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them completely unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]]&mdash;this is applicable even to their stronger forms, so you will often be required to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR score, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more of each as they grow up.
-Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one - unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any tame lich you have a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it perilous to navigate while wielding [[Stormbringer]]: although liches will not take as much damage from the [[bloodthirsty]] [[artifact]], carelessly untaming your pet arch-lich is asking for trouble. It is also nearly impossible to keep covetous liches away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. Furthermore, a covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths and similar attacks: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
+Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one&mdash;unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any tame lich you have a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it perilous to navigate while wielding [[Stormbringer]]: although liches will not take as much damage from the [[bloodthirsty]] [[artifact]], carelessly untaming your pet arch-lich is asking for trouble. It is also nearly impossible to keep covetous liches away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. Furthermore, a covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths and similar attacks: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
 [[Reflection]] is not as vital for a higher-level lich due to the amount of resistances they can gain, but it is still useful to protect against the [[disintegration]] [[breath]] attacks of [[black dragon]]s in particular - this is the best use for their amulet slot, since they cannot use the [[amulet of life saving]]. Similarly, while a lich has nothing to fear from death magic, a source of magic resistance can still protect them against stronger magical attacks such as an [[Angel]]'s magic missile.
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|8d2407f}}, monsters can gain intrinsics from eating corpses, making the inediate liches slightly weaker pets, though a lich can still gain useful resistances from becoming an arch-lich; pets that are polymorphed retain any intrinsics they gained previously.}}
+{{upcoming|3.7.0|The ability of monsters to gain intrinsics from eating corpses makes the inediate liches slightly weaker pets, though a lich can still gain useful resistances from becoming an arch-lich; pets that are polymorphed retain any intrinsics they gained previously, making it possible to transfer intrinsics that the resulting pet would not be able to obtain otherwise.
 ===As a polyform===
 Lich polyforms can wear all armor, and have similar strengths and weaknesses to pet liches: you have at least a few useful intrinsics and your base AC improves with the stronger polyforms chosen, but your base speed is lower, you cannot use your wielded weapon, and your only attack is a cold touch that does nothing against resistant monsters. Fortunately, you have access to spellcasting and several other forms of offense that can compensate, and your defensive qualities (including [[Death resistance|a resistance to death magic]]) are more than enough to ensure survival against all but the most powerful or nasty monsters.
 ==History==
@@ Line 78: / Line 85: @@
 [[SLASH'EM]] adds one new monster to the monster class:
-* {{monsymlink|Vecna}}
+* {{monsymlink|Vecna|variant=SLASH'EM}}
 Vecna and seventeen other random liches are generated across the [[Chaotic Quest]] at level creation.
@@ Line 88: / Line 95: @@
 [[dNetHack]] adds several new monsters to the monster class:
-* {{white|L}} lich:
+* {{brightgreen|L}} [[baelnorn]]
-** {{brightgreen|L}} [[baelnorn]]
+* {{brightcyan|L}} [[death knight]]
-** {{brightcyan|L}} [[death knight]]
+* {{black|L}} [[dokkalfar eternal matriarch]]
-** {{black|L}} [[dokkalfar eternal matriarch]]
+* {{yellow|L}} [[Acererak]]
-** {{yellow|L}} [[Acererak]]
+* {{brown|L}} [[Lich, the Fiend of Earth]]
-** {{brown|L}} [[Lich, the Fiend of Earth]]
+* Deferred monsters
-** Deferred monsters
+** {{monsymlink|Vecna|variant=dNetHack}}
 Of the undead that make up {{frac|7}} of the randomly generated monsters on the [[Anachrononaut quest]], approximately ~4.69% of them will be liches. The [[Binder quest]] generates a random lich tending to the unaligned altar that is unlocked once you have converted all three temples.
@@ Line 108: / Line 114: @@
 [[EvilHack]] adds one new monster to the monster class:
-* {{monsymlink|Vecna}}
+* {{monsymlink|Vecna|variant=EvilHack}}
-Players killed by any type of lich will arise as a [[revenant]] instead of a [[ghost]] in [[bones]] files.
+Heroes killed by any type of lich will arise as a [[revenant]] in [[bones]] files.
-Various liches are generated across the floors of [[Vecna's Domain]], a three-level [[branch]] where Vecna resides. Vecna's presence prevents the genocide of liches, as well as [[alhoon]]s - once he is destroyed, they can be subjected to genocide as normal.
+Various liches are generated across the floors of [[Vecna's Domain]], a three-level [[branch]] where Vecna resides. Vecna's presence prevents the genocide of liches, as well as [[alhoon]]s&mdash;once he is destroyed, they can be subjected to genocide as normal.
 Liches are much more dangerous compared to vanilla ''[[NetHack]]'', since they have access to several new monster spells, including [[Cancellation (monster spell)|cancellation]], [[Reflection (monster spell)|reflection]] and [[Stone to flesh (monster spell)|stone to flesh]]. This also makes them much better pets and polyforms, with full access to their repertoire of monster spells when fighting other monsters.
@@ Line 128: / Line 134: @@
 * {{green|L}} [[worm that walks]]
 * {{orange|L}} [[eye of fear and flame]]
-* {{monsymlink|Vecna}}
+* {{monsymlink|Vecna|variant=EvilHack}}
-As in EvilHack, players killed by any type of lich will arise as a revenant instead of a ghost in bones files.
+As in EvilHack, heroes killed by any type of lich will arise as a revenant in bones files.
 ==Encyclopedia entry==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Common traits==
-Liches are [[chaotic]], medium-sized [[undead]] [[humanoid]]s that are [[intelligent]] spellcasters. All liches are [[breathless]], [[inediate]], [[poisonous]] to [[digest]], and have enhanced [[regeneration]] and [[infravision]]; the stronger liches (informally called "purple Ls") are also [[covetous]]. All liches possess a [[cold]] touch attack and the ability to cast mage [[monster spell]]s once per round. Liches are [[slow]]-moving, and have resistance to [[cold resistance|cold]], [[sleep resistance|sleep]] and [[poison resistance|poison]] like most undead monsters; they also convey cold resistance when eaten, but lich corpses and tins do not exist.
+Liches are [[chaotic]], medium-sized [[undead]] [[humanoid]]s that are [[intelligent]] spellcasters. All liches are [[breathless]], [[inediate]], [[poisonous]] to [[digest]], and have enhanced [[Regeneration (property)|regeneration]] and [[infravision]]; the stronger liches (informally called "purple Ls") are also [[covetous]] and capable of warping.
-If [[chat]]ted to, a lich will "mumble incomprehensibly".
+Liches possess a [[cold]] [[touch]] attack and the ability to cast mage [[monster spell]]s once per round. Liches are [[slow]]-moving, and have resistance to [[cold resistance|cold]], [[sleep resistance|sleep]] and [[poison resistance|poison]] like most undead monsters; they also grant cold resistance when eaten, but lich corpses and tins do not exist.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Liches that are not [[cancelled]] can now raise monsters killed by them as [[zombie]]s of the corresponding type; if they have one, they will be raised 5-20 turns after they are initially killed. This also applies to [[you]] if you are polymorphed into a lich. Liches will also [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies. Players killed by a lich will arise in bones as a zombie of the corresponding type - as of {{commit|3c421da746cdd3844c7f8d2312c7be5e5a25cfb9}}, the zombie will have the same intrinsics as the former character.}}
+A lich will "mumble incomprehensibly" when [[chatting]] to one.
-Monsters with [[digestion]] attacks can gain [[intrinsic]]s from swallowing monsters whole, making it possible for them to gain cold resistance from a lich that is digested.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|aeb0ea65e3ea173ccab744964fa7a0bb8425dc0c}}, liches that are not [[cancelled]] can raise monsters killed by them as [[zombie]]s of the corresponding type, if they have one: they will be raised 5-20 turns after they are initially killed. This also applies to a [[hero]] that is killed by a lich, as well as a hero polymorphed into a lich, and lich monsters will also [[grudge]] living monsters that can be turned into zombies.
 ===Generation===
-Randomly-generated liches are always hostile, and [[Corpseless|never leave a corpse]] when killed - if killed by any method that ordinarily leaves a corpse, a message is printed about their body crumbling to dust.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="dusted"}} The master lich and arch-lich are only randomly generated in Gehennom.
+Randomly-generated liches are always hostile, and [[Corpseless|never leave a corpse]] when killed&mdash;if killed by any method that ordinarily leaves a corpse, a message is printed about their body crumbling to dust.{{refsrc|src/mon.c|2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="dusted"}} The master lich and arch-lich are only randomly generated in [[Gehennom]].
-Random liches appear among the [[throne room]] monsters placed in the center of the [[Castle]] on level creation - the class-specific monster generation used here makes it possible for master liches and arch-liches to generate outside of Gehennom. A random lich is generated within the [[Valley of the Dead]] at level creation outside of [[bones]], while another random lich is placed somewhere within the left side of the inner rooms of [[Asmodeus' Lair]] at level creation outside of bones.
+Each of the [[Fake Wizard's Tower]]s has a random lich monster dwelling inside, while two random liches inhabit the first floor of the real [[Wizard's Tower]], including one in the tower-like structure that houses the up [[ladder]]. Two random liches are generated within [[Moloch's Sanctum]] at level creation, and three random liches are placed around the [[Astral Plane]] at level creation.
-Each of the [[Fake Wizard's Tower]]s has a random lich dwelling inside, while two random liches inhabit the first floor of the real [[Wizard's Tower]], including one in the tower-like structure that houses the up [[ladder]]. Two random liches are generated within [[Moloch's Sanctum]] at level creation, and three random liches are placed around the [[Astral Plane]] at level creation.
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|fe99bcd591ad63569b8576b9369912a693cf1f0c}}, a Fake Wizard's Tower containing a random lich monster can be generated within filler levels in Gehennom.}}
 ==Strategy==

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 ===As pets===
-Liches are generally strong pets with some trade-offs that are quite inconvenient. Their solid [[AC]] and increasingly powerful [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] make them difficult for most other monsters to kill and can prevent polymorphing, but said MR score also makes them difficult to tame. Covetous liches in particular cannot be tamed magically, though a tame lich can [[grow up]] into a covetous one as normal, and an existing pet can also be polymorphed into a tame covetous lich. Liches are also quite slow, with demiliches and stronger forms reaching a peak speed of 12 after casting [[haste self]].
+Liches are generally strong pets with some trade-offs that are quite inconvenient. Their solid [[AC]] and increasingly powerful [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] make them difficult for most other monsters to kill and can prevent polymorphing, but said MR score also makes them difficult to tame. Covetous liches in particular cannot be tamed magically, though a tame lich can [[grow up]] into a covetous one as normal, and an existing pet can also be polymorphed into a tame covetous lich. Liches are also quite slow, with demiliches and stronger forms reaching a peak speed of 12 after casting [[Haste self (monster spell)|haste self]].
-Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]] - this is applicable even to their stronger forms, and requires you to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR score, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more of each as they grow up.
+Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them completely unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]] - this is applicable even to their stronger forms, and requires you to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR score, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more of each as they grow up.
-Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one - unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any lich you tame a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it perilous to navigate while wielding [[Stormbringer]]: although liches will not take as much damage from the [[bloodthirsty]] [[artifact]], carelessly untaming your pet arch-lich is asking for trouble. It is also nearly impossible to keep covetous liches away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. Furthermore, a covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths and similar attacks: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
+Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one - unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any tame lich you have a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it perilous to navigate while wielding [[Stormbringer]]: although liches will not take as much damage from the [[bloodthirsty]] [[artifact]], carelessly untaming your pet arch-lich is asking for trouble. It is also nearly impossible to keep covetous liches away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. Furthermore, a covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths and similar attacks: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
-[[Reflection]] is not as vital for a higher-level lich due to the amount of resistances they can gain, but it is still useful to protect against the breath attacks of [[black dragon]]s in particular - this is the best use for their amulet slot, since they cannot use the [[amulet of life saving]]. Similarly, while a lich has nothing to fear from death magic, a source of magic resistance can still protect them against stronger magical attacks such as an [[Angel]]'s magic missile.
+[[Reflection]] is not as vital for a higher-level lich due to the amount of resistances they can gain, but it is still useful to protect against the [[disintegration]] [[breath]] attacks of [[black dragon]]s in particular - this is the best use for their amulet slot, since they cannot use the [[amulet of life saving]]. Similarly, while a lich has nothing to fear from death magic, a source of magic resistance can still protect them against stronger magical attacks such as an [[Angel]]'s magic missile.
 {{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|8d2407f}}, monsters can gain intrinsics from eating corpses, making the inediate liches slightly weaker pets, though a lich can still gain useful resistances from becoming an arch-lich; pets that are polymorphed retain any intrinsics they gained previously.}}

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Common traits==
-Liches are [[chaotic]], medium-sized [[undead]] [[humanoid]]s that are [[intelligent]] spellcasters. A lich is [[breathless]], [[inediate]], [[poisonous]], and has enhanced [[regeneration]] and [[infravision]]; the stronger liches (informally called "purple Ls") are also [[covetous]]. All liches possess a [[cold]] touch attack and the ability to cast mage [[monster spell]]s once per round. Liches are [[slow]]-moving, and have resistance to [[cold resistance|cold]], [[sleep resistance|sleep]] and [[poison resistance|poison]] like most undead monsters; they also convey cold resistance when eaten, but lich corpses and tins do not exist.
+Liches are [[chaotic]], medium-sized [[undead]] [[humanoid]]s that are [[intelligent]] spellcasters. All liches are [[breathless]], [[inediate]], [[poisonous]] to [[digest]], and have enhanced [[regeneration]] and [[infravision]]; the stronger liches (informally called "purple Ls") are also [[covetous]]. All liches possess a [[cold]] touch attack and the ability to cast mage [[monster spell]]s once per round. Liches are [[slow]]-moving, and have resistance to [[cold resistance|cold]], [[sleep resistance|sleep]] and [[poison resistance|poison]] like most undead monsters; they also convey cold resistance when eaten, but lich corpses and tins do not exist.
 If [[chat]]ted to, a lich will "mumble incomprehensibly".

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{languages}}
 {{otheruses||the monster|Lich}}
-The '''lich''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by an uppercase [[L]] glyph ({{white|L}}). Liches are designated internally by the macro '''S_LICH'''.{{refsrc|include/monsym.h|52|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
+The '''lich''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by the uppercase [[L]] glyph ({{white|L}}). Liches are designated internally by the macro '''S_LICH'''.{{refsrc|include/monsym.h|52|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
 The monster class contains the following [[monster]]s:{{refsrc|src/monst.c|1512|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}
@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 Liches are generally strong pets with some trade-offs that are quite inconvenient. Their solid [[AC]] and increasingly powerful [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] make them difficult for most other monsters to kill and can prevent polymorphing, but said MR score also makes them difficult to tame. Covetous liches in particular cannot be tamed magically, though a tame lich can [[grow up]] into a covetous one as normal, and an existing pet can also be polymorphed into a tame covetous lich. Liches are also quite slow, with demiliches and stronger forms reaching a peak speed of 12 after casting [[haste self]].
-Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]] - this is applicable even to their stronger forms, and requires you to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more AC, MR and resistances as they grow up.
+Liches cannot cast spells against other monsters, forcing them to rely on their cold touch to deal damage. They cannot wield weapons to counteract this due to lacking a weapon attack, and their cold touch may destroy [[potion]]s in the target's inventory and renders them unable to kill any cold-resistant monsters, such as [[winter wolves]] or [[Zombie (monster class)|zombies]] - this is applicable even to their stronger forms, and requires you to kill such monsters yourself. Fortunately, their AC, MR score, and resistances combined with their regeneration and ability to [[cure self]] makes them difficult for monsters to kill, and liches gain more of each as they grow up.
-Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one - unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any lich you tame a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it nearly impossible to keep them away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. A covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
+Master liches and arch-liches in particular will constantly warp towards your position, making them easier to keep nearby without a [[magic whistle]] and lowering the risk of abandoning one - unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly dangerous for them to be [[confused]], so be sure to give any lich you tame a [[unicorn horn]] as soon as possible. The warping will also make it perilous to navigate while wielding [[Stormbringer]]: although liches will not take as much damage from the [[bloodthirsty]] [[artifact]], carelessly untaming your pet arch-lich is asking for trouble. It is also nearly impossible to keep covetous liches away from [[aligned priest]]s and [[shopkeepers]], and makes navigating around traps such as [[level teleporter]]s difficult. Furthermore, a covetous lich will often warp away to the up stair at the slightest sign of damage, which can be annoying; they are also inediate, making it near-impossible to raise tameness. Most annoying of all is the fact that even the strongest liches are still vulnerable to various instadeaths and similar attacks: stoning, disintegration, digestion and [[sliming]] will all make short work of a pet lich.
-[[Reflection]] is not as vital for a higher-level lich due to the amount of resistances they can gain, but it is still useful to protect against the breath attacks of [[black dragon]]s in particular - this is the best use for their amulet slot, since they cannot use the [[amulet of life saving]]. Similarly, while a lich has nothing to fear from death magic, magic resistance is still good to protect against stronger magical attacks such as an [[Angel]]'s magic missile.
+[[Reflection]] is not as vital for a higher-level lich due to the amount of resistances they can gain, but it is still useful to protect against the breath attacks of [[black dragon]]s in particular - this is the best use for their amulet slot, since they cannot use the [[amulet of life saving]]. Similarly, while a lich has nothing to fear from death magic, a source of magic resistance can still protect them against stronger magical attacks such as an [[Angel]]'s magic missile.
-{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|8d2407f}}, monsters can gain intrinsics from eating corpses, making inediate liches slightly weaker pets, though a lich can still gain useful resistances from becoming an arch-lich; pets that are polymorphed into liches also retain any intrinsics they gain from eating corpses as well.}}
+{{upcoming|3.7.0|Per {{commit|8d2407f}}, monsters can gain intrinsics from eating corpses, making the inediate liches slightly weaker pets, though a lich can still gain useful resistances from becoming an arch-lich; pets that are polymorphed retain any intrinsics they gained previously.}}
 ===As a polyform===
-Lich polyforms can wear all armor, and have similar strengths and weaknesses to pet liches: you have at least a few useful intrinsics and your base AC improves with the stronger polyforms chosen, but your base speed is lower, you cannot use your wielded weapon, and your only attack is a cold touch that does nothing against resistant monsters. Fortunately, you have access to spellcasting several other forms of offense that can compensate, and your defensive qualities (including [[Death resistance|a resistance to death magic]]) are more than enough to ensure survival against all but the most powerful or nasty monsters.
+Lich polyforms can wear all armor, and have similar strengths and weaknesses to pet liches: you have at least a few useful intrinsics and your base AC improves with the stronger polyforms chosen, but your base speed is lower, you cannot use your wielded weapon, and your only attack is a cold touch that does nothing against resistant monsters. Fortunately, you have access to spellcasting and several other forms of offense that can compensate, and your defensive qualities (including [[Death resistance|a resistance to death magic]]) are more than enough to ensure survival against all but the most powerful or nasty monsters.
 ==History==
@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 In ''Dungeons & Dragons'' settings, a mage that becomes a lich usually gives up some portion or the entirety of their soul to form "soul-artifacts" (also referred to as "soul gems" or "phylacteries") that are the source of their magic and immortality. Many liches take precautions to hide and/or safeguard them, as they anchor a part of a lich's soul to the material world: if their corporeal body is killed, those portions of the lich's soul within it will continue to exist in a non-corporeal form capable of being resurrected from that "soul-artifact" in the near future. However, if all of the lich's soul-artifacts are destroyed, then destroying the lich's body will kill it permanently. Most forays into lichdom often require the creation and consumption of a deadly potion on a full moon; the exact details vary, but almost universally involves acts of utter evil and vile components. Despite this process and their commonplace detachment from mortal morality, it is possible for liches to ascribe to any alignment - in very rare instances truly good liches can arise, either from possessing a more noble purpose for seeking lichdom or from having lichdom forced upon them; these were known as "archliches", not to be confused with the arch-liches of ''NetHack''.
-There are various other types of liches as well: demiliches, advanced liches who took to astral projection to traval other planes for knowledge and no longer had need for a body, concentrating their power into a single body part and leaving the rest to crumble away; elven archliches, or [[baelnorn]]s, whose undeath was gifted to them by the Seldarine in order to act as sources of magic, wise council, and guardianship; [[alhoon]]s, illithids who had achieved a limited form of lichdom and were considered deviant among their kind; and even dracoliches, dragons that tied their soul to a phylactery and could use their spirit to inhabit the body of any reptilian corpse upon death, though they were at their most powerful inhabiting the corpse of a dragon.
+There are various other types of liches as well: demiliches, advanced liches who took to astral projection to traval other planes for knowledge and no longer had need for a body, concentrating their power into a single body part and leaving the rest to crumble away; elven archliches, or [[baelnorn]]s, whose undeath is gifted to them by the Seldarine in order to act as sources of magic, wise council, and guardianship; [[alhoon]]s, illithids who have achieved a limited form of lichdom and are considered deviant among their kind; and even dracoliches, dragons that tied their soul to a phylactery and can use their spirit to inhabit the body of any reptilian corpse upon death, though they are at their most powerful inhabiting the corpse of a dragon.
 ==Messages==

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:33, 18 February 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	{{languages}}
	{{otheruses\|\|the monster\|Lich}}		{{otheruses\|\|the monster\|Lich}}
	The '''lich''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by an uppercase [[L]] glyph ({{white\|L}}). Liches are designated internally by the macro '''S_LICH'''.{{refsrc\|include/monsym.h\|52\|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}		The '''lich''' is a [[monster class]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is represented by an uppercase [[L]] glyph ({{white\|L}}). Liches are designated internally by the macro '''S_LICH'''.{{refsrc\|include/monsym.h\|52\|version=NetHack 3.6.7}}

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Liches are generally annoying at best and incredibly lethal at worst: many of them will frequently cast [[curse items]], use [[aggravate monster]] to awaken other hostiles, and severely weaken your defenses with [[Destroy armor (monster spell)|destroy armor]] - the stronger covetous ones can freely warp towards you (including on [[no-teleport]] levels) and even use the [[touch of death]] on you. Liches are often the target of [[genocide]] by many players that are not observing [[genocideless]] [[conduct]], and it is often considered worth a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] to remove them all from the game.
+Liches are generally annoying at best and incredibly lethal at worst: Many of them will frequently cast [[curse items]], use [[aggravate]] to awaken other hostiles, and severely weaken your defenses with [[Destroy armor (monster spell)|destroy armor]] - the stronger covetous ones can freely warp towards you (including on [[no-teleport]] levels) and even use the [[touch of death]] on you. Liches are often the target of [[genocide]] by many players that are not observing [[genocideless]] [[conduct]], and it is often considered worth a blessed [[scroll of genocide]] to remove them all from the game.
 One of the best ways to deal with a lich in combat is to have a source of [[magic resistance]] to dampen the effects of its spells and prevent the higher-level ones from [[Instadeath|instantly ending your game]]: [[Magicbane]] in particular will absorb a mass majority of curses from the curse items spell. Even covetous liches will respect [[Elbereth]] and the scroll of [[scare monster]], though the former does not allow you to fight while standing on it and will work in [[Gehennom]]; additionally, neither method prevents liches from casting certain ranged spells at you - one particular spell, [[summon nasties]], may generate monsters that do not respect Elbereth, such as [[captain]]s and [[Elvenking]]s.