d20 Bottled Imp Games The Lords of the Night Liches.pdf

BOOK TWO OF THE DARKNESS RISING SERIES

INDEX

CREDITS

Chapter One: A History of the Arcane ................... 2 to 4

Chapter Two: A Treatise on the Arcane .................. 5 to 8

Glossary .................................................................. 9

Chapter Three: Arcane Rules ..................................10 to 12

Chapter Four: The Rituals of the Arcane

Transference ...................................................... 13 to 15

Chapter Five: Character Creation ......................... 16 to 44

Death Touched ................................................. 17 to 18

Living Dead ....................................................... 19 to 20

Sunken Lich ...................................................... 21 to 22

Necrotic Lich .................................................... 23 to 24

Skeletal Lich ...................................................... 25 to 26

Spectral Lich ..................................................... 27 to 28

Vas Inanis ........................................................ 29

Artifex Lich ........................................................ 30 to 31

Artifex Golem ................................................. 32

Darke Lich ........................................................ 33 to 34

Dirge Lich ......................................................... 35 to 36

Frost lich ........................................................... 37 to 38

Mors Lich .......................................................... 39 to 40

Prime Lich ......................................................... 41 to 42

Umbral Lich ...................................................... 43 to 44

Chapter Six: The Arcana ........................................ 48 to 74

Chapter Seven: Sorcerae ........................................ 75 to 77

Chapter Eight: Arcane Feats .................................. 78 to 80

Chapter Nine: Insanities ........................................ 81 to 85

Chapter Ten: Kethak .............................................. 86 to 100

Map of Kethak ....................................................... 101

Chapter Eleven: The Conclave .............................102 to 105

Arikostinaal ........................................................... 106

Chapter Twelve: The Spectral Plane .....................107 to 111

Chapter Thirteen: The Valiari .............................. 112 to 114

Chapter Fourteen: Role Playing an

Arcane Lich ...................................................... 115 to 117

Chapter Fifteen: The Rituals of Power ................ 118 to 119

Chapter Sixteen: The Void .................................. 120 to 126

Epilogue ........................................................................127

Index/OGL ................................................................... 128

FAQ ........................................................................ 129 to 132

Written by: Stuart ‘Karis’ Renton

Edited by: Robert Keay

Cover Art by: Ralph Horsley

Interior Art by: Dave Allsop, Elliot Christian,

Ralph Horsley, Brad McDevitt, John McSweeney,

Scott Purdy & Thom Scott

Kethak Map designed by: Edward Bourelle

Graphic Art by: Jason ‘J-Lo’ Sawyer

With special thanks to: Harvey Barker,

Robert Keay, and Allen Norris

Without whom this book would

not have been possible

PDF Version: December 2004

BOTTLED IMP GAMES

reserved. Reproduction without the written permission

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by Bottled Imp Games 2004. “D20 System” and the

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Dragons® and Wizards of the Coast® are trademarks of

Wizards of the Coast, and are used in accordance with

the Open Game License v1.0a and D20 Trademark

Licenses contained on page 128 of this book.

A HISTORY OF THE ANCIENTS

“All things are possible in dreams...”

We are old, older than mountains, older than worlds. We

have seen civilizations rise and fall, worlds formed and

destroyed in the swirling wash of Creation. We were ancient

when reality was nothing but blackness upon the glimmering

Spectral.

And these gifts we used, creating many things both beautiful

and unsightly, some of which still linger in the remote places

of the universe. Of all our creations, our greatest was our

city of light, a realm of wonder where we could gather and

discuss, our voices ringing loud and clear through the

amethyst heavens. Our city was a shining testament to all

we could create.

We know secrets and mysteries, have unlocked science and

nature, life and death. We are timeless; to us there is no

death, only the continuation of consciousness. Nothing exists

beyond that which cannot be imagined and we are limited

only by our dreams.

Countless aeons passed and worlds formed in the lower

realms. Although Creation was spent, far beneath us it still

burned hot, and had created much without our knowing.

Far below spread out the worlds of flesh, the mortal realms

where planets spun endlessly around blazing suns and where

creatures whose existences lasted but an instant flashed across

these vibrant worlds.

We come from the Spectral, the realm of Creation, chance

and of what might be. Every thought, every daydream, every

figment of possibility comes from the Spectral, and it was

from the Spectral that we were dreamed. And so it was that

we came to be.

We watched in rapture as beings, powerful and wise came

to these worlds and took dominance over the lesser races.

Gods they were called and their power over their own worlds

was great. We watched in secret, watching the universe

unfold beneath us. Yet we quickly grew tired of the realms

beneath our own. Their secrets exhausted, they were no

longer fashionable. To us, they were insects, creatures of no

significance whose lives were over before they had begun.

We could not fathom any meaning in their existence and so

we left them alone, content to explore the higher realms.

At first in those early days we simply were; observers beyond

the pale that watched the forming universe from our realm

of dreams. Perhaps we were caretakers, guardians of the

primordial wash of chaos that became reality, yet perhaps

we were creators, given consciousness to shape the raw

universe as we saw fit. Whatever we were, we were free to

dream; to create and to dance unfettered within the Spectral.

We wandered long under the stars in those early times as

reality unfolded around us, naming the things we saw

through our wonder filled eyes. The universe was not

harmonious; certainly not. Reality broiled, and the tearing

asunder as new constellations were formed was dazzling,

yet we were there at the very start, the first to witness the

startling birth of Creation.

Aeons passed. Perhaps we should have paid more attention

to the mortal realms as they thrived upon their insignificant

worlds. In hindsight it is easy to speculate on what should

have been, yet we were content to explore the higher planes,

the meaning of existence and the possibility of tomorrow.

We could not fathom that one day the realms of flesh might

prove to cause the destruction of all. Yet something terrible

happened. Something that threatened the very existence of

everything.

And we found that we were not only spectators; visitors born

of star-stuff. We were also able to manipulate our

environment. Even as possibility churned, so could we mirror

its actions, weaving our own reality from the essence of

Creation. The power over reality was ours to command and

it was limited only by our imagination.

Something we did not see…

The coming of the Void.

From a dark place that even we had not uncovered, the

Void discovered our reality. We did not perceive the danger

until it was too late.

It was then that a flicker of dissonance ran through the

Spectral. Our once clear minds experienced a glimmer of

uncertainty. Many of us reached out to the Void in an

attempt to turn back the tide of shadow, yet those that did

found only madness. The Void took those that had not the

strength to resist and twisted them into harrowed creations.

These Wraiths fled the Spectral to wander the mortal realms,

champions of evil and enemies of the Arcane, bound in

mortal flesh and given strength by the Void.

Perhaps it had always been too late…

The Void was utter corruption, a force of darkness and

terrible malevolence. In our arrogance we believed we were

above its influence, that it could not destroy us.

We were wrong.

It was then in our darkest hour that we discovered the true

intent of the Void. The Void fed upon Creation. It feasted

upon Arcane, the true essence of the universe, transforming

it into a dark and stagnant corruption that mirrored its own

sinister heart.

The Void was from a reality far older than ours. It had

wisdom greater than we possessed and knew secrets that

we did not. We were as children before it. It commanded a

power of which we – with our great knowledge and far seeing

eye – had no comprehension.

Uncertain of what to do or how we could fight this terrible

menace, we hid in the Spectral, fearful for the first time in

our endlessly long lives. Yet even our own home was soon

denied us.

We were powerless against it.

At first the Void was but a vague smudge of shadow upon

the distant horizon; insignificant and unthreatening. Curious

as to the nature of this new phenomenon, we sent our

Guardian to investigate. Armed with our most potent powers,

the Guardian’s might was considerable. When he did not

return, we knew only too late what had occurred…

It began slowly, the Void insidiously devouring our realm.

We began to find corruption in the amethyst heavens, cracks

in the furthest reaches of our home that stank of the foul

touch of the Void. The Void and its minions were slowly but

surely consuming the Arcane from the Spectral and as the

Spectral diminished, the Void grew, gaining ever greater

power with each new day that passed.

The Void corrupted our Guardian, twisted his consciousness

with its insidious power. For two thousand mortal years he

became the Sentinel of the Void, a creature of terrible evil

and malevolence. He became ally to the First; beings known

as vampires in the mortal realms and the absolute champions

of the Void.

We retreated, our powers meaningless against the Void. We

pulled further and further back, until one day, we were faced

with disaster. Utterly violated, the Spectral was Shattered,

becoming a dark and corrupt place in which we could no

longer remain. Great pools of corruption were visible as far

as the eye could see and the amethyst heavens glowered

with sullen Void. Beauty was transformed into stifling

darkness and oppressive shadow. Our home was no longer

a safe haven for us. Faced with no other choice, we did the

only thing we could.

But the Guardian’s worst betrayal was yet to come. To prove

his loyalty, the newly named Sentinel of the Void gave his

dark master a terrible gift. He devised magical incantations

that allowed mortals the ability to trade their life energy in

exchange for the powers of Creation. Known as Black Rituals,

these incantations were terrible and sinister indeed, for in

addition to the power to shape reality, those performing the

Rituals were flooded with Void, the wicked darkness that

ensnared their minds and corrupted their thoughts. They

became slaves to the Void, minions of a truly terrible evil.

We fled.

We left the Spectral, gathering in a dark place far from the

realms of light. There we made counsel, deciding upon our

future.

Thriving on shadow, all who cast the rituals became known

as Void Liches and they were a force of terrible darkness,

twisted by the power of the Arcane and wrapped with the

rage and madness of the Void.

Many of us deemed this reality irrevocably damaged and

chose to ascend to the higher realms. They believed they

would be safe in Eternity beyond the reach of the Void. Those

few of us that remained chose to create a new home. This

place we called the Ash Plane and upon it we founded the

great city of Kethak.

Reality heaved.

Corporeal beings that should not have had access to such

powers were freely able to shape the world about them.

And each and every time they used their powers, reality

was further corrupted by the insidious taint of the Void. The

Spectral was corrupted, growing steadily darker, day by day.

There in the City of Lost Souls would we make our final stand

against the Void, for we knew that we must protect this

reality, lest it be utterly devoured. But so few of us remained

and the powers of the enemy were great.

After many years, we acted. A great many of us went to the

mortal realms and made war with the enemy. Yet the Void

was strong, more powerful than we could ever have

envisaged and Creation had diminished to a mere ember of

possibility. While our greatest powers were gone, the Void

had increased its strength tenfold.

Many mortals joined us in those early days, learning the

secrets of our ways and offering a part of their mortality in

exchange for knowledge. They became creatures of great

power and wisdom. Where the Void Liches stagnated in

darkness and evil, our Arcane Liches were filled with light

and grace, truly enlightened beings.

For every two of us that fought, one was corrupted by the

Void. Even the strongest of us seemed incapable of resisting

its touch. As we battled our deadly enemy, the Void reached

out its shadow and

twisted our powers,

dragging many of us into

its sinister clutches.

To them we became the Guild of Wizards, beings of

unfathomable power that remained mysterious and aloof

within our lofty Spire. We never told them our names, to

them, we were nothing

more than the ancients.

We taught the Conclave

all we could, revealing

the past and the present,

but we could no longer

see the future. All that lies

ahead is darkness...

We could not hope to

defeat an enemy that

turned our own numbers

against us.

Those touched by the

Void were transformed

into madness-stricken

Wraiths filled with a

desperate thirst for

Arcane energy and a

terrible desire to feast

upon our essence.

Although it will soon

reach its conclusion, the

Great War has yet to

break. We face terrible

odds, the powers of the

Void are considerable.

They control much of the

Spectral and have

numbers far in excess of

our own. They have

insinuated themselves

into the mortal realms,

forming Hives in places of

darkness where they can

corrupt the desperate

and the power-hungry.

For the first time in our

endless existences we

were utterly defeated.

We fled back to Kethak,

diminished and stripped

of our power.

In our most desperate

hour we were left with

only one option. We

amended the Rituals the

Sentinel of the Void had

used to enslave his army

of Void Liches. Binding

the Ritual to the forces of

Creation we gathered our powers and created the first

Arcane Liches. These first beings formed the mystical order

that would protect us for the next two thousand years. Known

as the Conclave, they were bound with much of our power.

As their numbers grow

and they strip the

Spectral of its essence, the

future looks clouded, yet

we have hope, something

we have learned from

mortals themselves.

Hope. It is all that prevents us from abandoning this reality

to the shadow of the Void. We have so very few reasons to

stay. We have little in common with the dead and nothing

in common with the living, yet as the Great War falls into

place around us, it might be the mortal races that prove to

be our future.

Armed with the Rituals of the Arcane Transference, the

Conclave was sent out into the mortal realms in search of

others to join our army. We offered our powers freely,

allowing those that would cast the Rituals to do so of their

own volition. They would not be slaves - like those minions

of the Void - but would be enlightened beings nurtured by

the Arcane. With Creation behind them, there was little they

would not be able to accomplish.

A Great War is coming.

Our future is uncertain.

Arikostinaal.

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