Lich
In fantasy fiction, a lich is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a transformation, as a powerful magician skilled in necromancy or a king striving for eternal life using spells or rituals to bind his intellect and soul to his "phylactery" and thereby achieving a form of immortality. Liches are depicted as being clearly cadaverous, bodies desiccated or completely skeletal. Liches are often depicted as holding power over hordes of lesser undead creatures, using them as soldiers and servants. Unlike zombies, which are often depicted as mindless, a lich is, retaining independent thought and is as intelligent as it was prior to its transformation.
Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "Empire of the Necromancers", had used lich as a general term for any corpse, animated or inanimate, before the term's specific use in fantasy role-playing games. The more recent use of the term lich for a specific type of undead creature originates from the 1976 Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game booklet Greyhawk, written by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz.
Historical background
Lich is an old English word for "corpse"; the gate at the lowest end of the cemetery where the coffin and funerary procession usually entered was commonly referred to as the Lich Gate. This gate was quite often covered by a small roof where part of the funerary service could be carried out.In literature
The lich developed from monsters found in earlier classic sword and sorcery fiction, which is filled with powerful sorcerers who use their magic to triumph over death. Many of Clark Ashton Smith's short stories feature powerful wizards whose magic enables them to return from the dead. Several stories by Robert E. Howard, such as the novella Skull-Face and the short story "Scarlet Tears", feature undying sorcerers who retain a semblance of life through mystical means, their bodies reduced to shriveled husks with which they manage to maintain inhuman mobility and active thought. Gary Gygax, one of the cocreators of Dungeons & Dragons, stated that he based the description of a lich included in the game on the short story "The Sword of the Sorcerer" by Gardner Fox. The term lich, used as an archaic word for corpse, is commonly used in these stories. Ambrose Bierce's tale of possession "" features the word in its introduction, referring to a corpse. H. P. Lovecraft also used the word in "The Thing on the Doorstep" where the narrator refers to the corpse of his friend possessed by a sorcerer. Other imagery surrounding demiliches, in particular that of a jeweled skull, is drawn from the early Fritz Leiber story "Thieves' House".In popular culture
In print
- Acererak is the final boss of the classic Dungeons and Dragons adventure module Tomb of Horrors, Acererak was also featured as the guardian of the Copper Key in the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
- The Overlord light novel series has many characters who are Liches or Eldar Liches.
- The light novel series KonoSuba has a supporting character named Wiz, who is a Lich. A former adventurer, she now runs a shop in the town of Axel, specializing in magical items. Unlike the skeletal appearance of most liches, she appears as a pale-skinned human.
- In the comic book Gold Digger, the Lich King is one of the deadliest and most evil adversaries in the entire run of the book and is the grandfather of the book's protagonist.
- In the short story "Sticks" by Karl Edward Wagner, the protagonist comes in contact with a lich in a deserted farmhouse.
- In the webcomic The Order of the Stick, the main villain Xykon is a lich.
Film and Television
- In the Adventure Time television series, the main antagonist is an evil, powerful undead being known simply as "The Lich". He describes himself as an ancient, cosmic being who is the manifestation of the inevitable death of all things, while Finn is his opposite, a being of life and goodwill. Both are manifestations of Catalyst Comets, colored comets that broke off the Cosmic Comet, the source of life. The Lich is born of the Green Comet while Finn is born of the Blue Comet.
- In Mysticons, the undead sorceress Queen Necrafa is a lich. Her power is suggested to originate from the spectral hand, a reign of evil that started from a witch seeking district powers.
Tabletop
- In the Dungeons & Dragons game a lich is a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.
Video games
- In the game Dota 2, Lich is one of the playable heroes.
- In the video game Enter the Gungeon, Lich is the final boss located in Bullet Hell.
- Liches are prominent in the Might and Magic series of video games, appearing primarily as enemies, but also as playable characters in several installments. They are equally prevalent in the spin-off series Heroes of Might and Magic, where they appear in most installments as recruitable creatures, but also as heroes. One of the most prolific liches in New World Computing's old continuity was Sandro, appearing in many titles and referenced in many more. The primary antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Restoration of Erathia is also a lich: the former king of Erathia raised by necromancers.
- Warcraft III and features the continent of Northrend, the realm of the eponymous Lich King and his undead minions. Arthas Menethil, also known as the Lich King, one of the most prominent antagonists in Warcraft lore, appears as a raid boss in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, as well as a playable character in the Blizzard's crossover game Heroes of the Storm.
- In League of Legends, the champion Karthus embraced the gift of death and became a lich.
- In Kingdom Hearts III, a Lich Heartless steals the hearts of the Guardians of Light, causing the main hero Sora to dive repeatedly into a dangerous abyss to defeat it and recover each heart. A series villain comments that the Lich exists "to usher hearts down into the depths of darkness", separating hearts from bodies, possibly for its own personal use.
- The Baldur's Gate series of video games includes several liches, as powerful but optional boss fights.