The Lich

[--peerless42 59]

The Lich

Bless us O mighty Iblees we are not worthy of the glorious power of destruction.

Curses be to the living, who squander their mortality in foolish endeavors of love and war.

Out time is eternal we have the eons to stand still; to see the fires turn to cold.

In death our power grows ever stronger, we shall destroy those who walk among the living.

We shall destroy those who are weak and pathetic.

We hold no deals with the living, we take what is ours and deliver the living to death.

Glory to Iblees who had so much to offer, but was spat on by the fools of the living.

The living will perish, we owe nothing to their fate it is already determined.

Acknowledge the Pride of your un-death, you will walk beyond the threshold of time!

Envy only the end of time, it has not come fast enough to embrace.

Do not endeavor to befriend the living, give them only your Wrath!

Be as a Sloth to your Undead Brethren accomplishments, they will die faster.

Keep Greed as your constant companion, for it never dies as long as you remain.

May your Gluttony of the living drive you to feast on all the races.

Lust only after Iblees; and silently curse that his power should be yours.

The basic idea behind this group is to have a power group of Undead Magic users the likes of which no one in Aegis has heard of. This group is a mystery even said to be a myth, they do not live on the surface, they do not relish the solace of the day. They lay deep beneath the ground to plot and destroy what they wish, and send their agents of discord to reap the living. There are a total of 7 Leaders who control the dead. The top 7 are the most powerful, other then that the ranks are divided into two groups Harvesters, and Reapers. The difference between these two groups is that the Reapers kill indiscriminately. They will pick a target that is isolated, kill it, then the Harvester will take their inventory. They follow the same guidelines that are made to be abides by same rules. Every Reaper that is sent out will have a Harvester to accompany him.

This group is meant to operate much like the Ascended, except for the fact that no one knows if they exist. Sure there will be rumors of them running around and killing people, however that will be the front, the Harvesters and Reapers will be doing that together. If however a Reaper is killed in the actions of duty, that Harvester becomes the new Reaper. Subsequently enough another Harvester will be dispatched to the new Reaper. The group dynamic is meant to fool the eyes the living through non-invasive means. Meaning, when you look at a Harvester and Reaper, an Illusion Enchantment will make you believe them to be of the living. In case there is any doubt if this person is living the parties will each have to roll a successful 20. Only then will the person be able to see beyond the Veil of Death that surrounds the Reaper and or Harvester.

The main headquarters is deep underneath the ground with no marked tunnels of any kind. It was literally chiseled out of the top. This is where The Seven meet, these are the leaders of The Lich, their magic is rival only to the Ascended. It will be noted however that the Reapers and Harvesters are not privy to the location of the main headquarters. Extraction Points will be set up everywhere in the world of Aegis. If a Reaper and Harvester should come into the Headquarters without orders, they will be destroyed indiscriminately.

The Black Guard are the eternal blades of the Lich. They are the only ones who will defend the Extraction Points, select few will be given the location of the Keep of the Dead. Those selected for guard duty will neither leave, nor tell of the location of the Keep. They will live in the halls and be the chiefs to live and die there. Also to improve the living conditions as needed for the Lich. If a Black Guard abandons his post, he will suffer the wrath of the Lich, and be turned to dust.

Extractors, these are to be one of the most trusted members within the group. They will have the duty to bring gathered supplies from the Reapers and Harvesters. To a remote location near The Keep of the Dead, those who plunder from the Lich, will be hunted down and Reaped. Only a select few will be told of the location of the Keep of the Dead. That individual will be authorized to lie to the Reapers and Harvesters. But that Extractor must never tell the location of the Keep. To do so will make him/her a target.

Messengers, these will used in a rare fashion, the Messengers will inform other members of The Lich of a specific target that is to be attacked. Messengers will be authorized to speak to 1 Lich that will speak to them at a neutral location. Once the Message has been made that Messenger will be authorized to be the Voice of the The Lich. the Messenger will be a selected person who has proven their worth to that of The Lich. When the Messenger speaks it is the duty of the Harvesters and Reapers to carry that message out as though their existence depended on it. Which in all right it rightfully will, the added bonus of being a Messenger is that his/her mind will be linked all at once to Reapers and Harvesters. Thus he will be able to tell them all at once where a meeting will take place. When the Messenger sends the orders, the Reapers and Harvesters will carry out those orders.

The Lich these are the leaders, there are only seven Lich. That number will remain the same no matter what happens to all the others within the group. The Lich are the authority figures, despite the fact that no one within the core holds sovereignty they act in the best interest. Ideas and knowledge will be pooled together from within this core to construct plans of action. Each Lich will be chosen based on their merit to their intellectual merit alone. Each Lich will meet within The Keep of the Dead, and plan missions. If no mission is planned each of the subservient will act to gather resources, and or kill to gather resources. Each Lich will be given a name indicative of their vice.

As such they will be in charge of a particular branch of the group as a whole. That designation will be ascertained in character only, once a Lich has been designated. They will be at the center of the authority in the group. Answerable only to another Lich, the other support units will have to answer to them. The penalty for not answering to a Lich is death, if another Lich is suspected of treason, they will face death by the other Lich in the group. Then selection of a replacement will be conducted by Trial.

Questions?

[--peerless42 59]

-Bump-

[Justice Master 0]

Man, do I love this idea! However, I see The Lich being more or less a small group of people who make the entire group up andall decide on the things, with no group of leaders. Just everyone's a part of the group.

[--peerless42 59]

I suppose that is doable, though in part we should keep the amount of subservient men/women to a minimum. So as to adequately maintain the secrecy of the Keep of the Dead. In large part the Undead would be able to have invasive means of bringing in support. Thrall's, Mind Control, Telepathy, so in large part you would see a lot of stat-rolls. This is to ensure that activity is made toward the end of the group. While at the same time the Black Guard can continue to serve. Of course we can also think outside the box in terms of this.

In large part the Undead are very much non-existent, I say this because [i also read the thread by the same name.] But also from the lack of any antagonistic activity to the promotion of RP. In as much I used to run around in a Black Mage outfit, my third day on the server. A noob Dwarf saw me and screamed I smell death on you. [Mind you my character wasn't even Undead, he is just a travelling Wizard of no note. I prefer Free-Style methodology then established Lore, no offense to the GM's. But I find their ways of thinking to be too standardized.

So I've decided that the server is all to peaceful for my liking. Thus I am forced to be the villain in this case, with my set of skills to fight the onslaught of rules. I do not need to consult the rules if I do something the rules do not cover. Thus I am outside the realm of interference. There are ways of doing things to promote writing that cannot be written into a game. A game can only count towards so much, in as much a sand-box game like Minecraft can only do so much as well.

Therefore I made this group in order to inspire newer generations how to write.

[no longer active 734]

If you want to do this get a villain app :). Trust me, you can rob to your hearts delight.

[--peerless42 59]

If you want to do this get a villain app :). Trust me, you can rob to your hearts delight.

-_- That isn't the point of this, the point is to give the dedicated villains something new. Something exciting then just going around and robbing people. If you read the post you might realize that my aim is not to just go around robbing people. I have an intention to add to the flavor of the story-telling that is occurring. Because quite frankly it's lax, you're either told go here destroy fake Iblees worshipers. Or Go here and sack the Undead fortress.

Rest assured if I wrote a villain app, I'd make damn sure everyone. Including the Undead feared to even look at my character.

[Sporadic 2844]

Awesome idea! I've always thought as the Undead faction to be the liches, more or less. They have a lot of similarities to the liches of traditional forklore, and my character refers to them as 'Liches' because he finds the term more specific than the umbrella term 'undead'.

However, with the current way the Undead are maintained (and about to be pulled), having an own organization adopt this moniker and give it its proper name. The way you seem to pull it is marvelous. Though I'm a fan of the traditional lich concept myself, I can definitely see this working.

Just don't get too excited. Concepts like this are awesome, but there's a lot of pitfalls. The Undead are living (or not quite so living) proof of this. So whatever you decide to pull off, try to stick with your idea and keep it fresh. You seem to have ample writing skill to back you up, so good luck!

[Lynden 16]

This is a really cool idea to have seven extremly powerful people running around killing people it would add a lot more of a danger element to the world. However I would be careful about over doing it because it might get annoying if every one is just dying repeatly to your reapers. But all in all I guess its a good idea

[--peerless42 59]

I would prefer them to be True Undead, skeleton looking bastards with their magic and soul anchoring them to this plane. In light of this they would be presented as being really dead, but yet living. There are ways we can fix this so that if the group was ever discovered by a group of valiant warriors/knights. Then it was to be an all out conflict, that group of warriors would have to have Ender Pearls in their inventory, that would require the heroes to search all of Aegis for the Ender Pearls we can hide them in random location.

The Ender Pearl would function as an item that would serve to neutralize the hold on the plane. That the Lich would have to enforce his will, this way no players can just randomly pop up and say "u r undead die!" It would make players have to have a reason to search for these pearls, because this group wouldn't operate in the open easily. The Harvesters and Reapers, Messengers, Black Guard would be exempt from the Ender Pearl equation. Therefore the seven Lich would only have one fall-back they depend on their servants. Though more can be created for their own ambitions.

So technically a trusted GM or Admin would have to place Ender Pearls in remote locations around Aegis. Hide them and then leave for the sake of letting people try and find them. Of course those people would need a valid reason for needing those Ender Pearls in the first place.

[Zarsies 6795]

I am estatic about this whole concept here, I believe that if you aquired the attention of some "Higher Ups" then this would on a roll...

BTW: You have very impressive writing skills :P

[Sporadic 2844]

I would prefer them to be True Undead, skeleton looking bastards with their magic and soul anchoring them to this plane.

I'm not sure if this was directed at me. I don't quite get if you call the Undead as 'not true', but it hardly members. I'll have my character call the Undead something else if this comes out.

That being said, I feel your liches need more motivation than 'being discovered' in order to engage in full-out conflict. My definition of liches (which might differ from yours) are mages who willingly transformed to continue their studies in eternity. With that said, Liches that are discovered would much rather hide in magically protected caverns until their pursuers die and their legacy vanishes into obscurity: Their lives are too precious to risk.

They also tend to have their souls boxed away to seal their immortality. You exchanged this with them being vulnerable to Enderpearls, which probably works better in a Minecraft and LotC setting.

You should think about ways in which liches are different from the Undead. The Undead have the 'kill ALL the things' going on, and I new villains should have something deeper than this.

For one thing, I feel like liches would have much more internal conflict and battles with each other, them being power-hungry loners by definition and having no common deity to bind them. If they fight among themselves as well, you avoid a lot of the Undead pitfalls (and in doing so increase your chances of being approved, as people are getting fed up with the Undead). Mortals would be caught up in the battle and take sides, willingly or unwillingly.

[--peerless42 59]

I'm not sure if this was directed at me. I don't quite get if you call the Undead as 'not true', but it hardly members. I'll have my character call the Undead something else if this comes out.

That being said, I feel your liches need more motivation than 'being discovered' in order to engage in full-out conflict. My definition of liches (which might differ from yours) are mages who willingly transformed to continue their studies in eternity. With that said, Liches that are discovered would much rather hide in magically protected caverns until their pursuers die and their legacy vanishes into obscurity: Their lives are too precious to risk.

They also tend to have their souls boxed away to seal their immortality. You exchanged this with them being vulnerable to Enderpearls, which probably works better in a Minecraft and LotC setting.

You should think about ways in which liches are different from the Undead. The Undead have the 'kill ALL the things' going on, and I new villains should have something deeper than this.

For one thing, I feel like liches would have much more internal conflict and battles with each other, them being power-hungry loners by definition and having no common deity to bind them. If they fight among themselves as well, you avoid a lot of the Undead pitfalls (and in doing so increase your chances of being approved, as people are getting fed up with the Undead). Mortals would be caught up in the battle and take sides, willingly or unwillingly.

You present a valid point, and I do appreciate the feedback. Giving some thought to your suggestions the Lich would differ from the traditional Undead in a few ways. They might see normal Undead as inferior rotting flesh bags. Whose soul purpose is to harass the living, and only that. The Lich wouldn't relegated to just their caves. True they would need to seek knowledge that their servants couldn't be trusted to handle on their own. Therein lies the potential for discovery. I use the Ender Pearl concept, to draw a line to a soul container. But to be sure that each Ender Pearl is correctly matched to the specific Lich. We would need to name each Ender Pearl.

So as far to note a distinct between each Lich. They would have their own pursuits, goals, and endeavors to accomplish. So depending on how that would play out there is always a chance that an internal conflict can arise. Since each ?Lich would hold a token of pride in their works. Sure some of the others could despise them for their works, then brag about their task. Though with as few Undead that there are there would need to be a way to keep them united.

For instance some in there group could have grand ambition of taking Iblees power. That in itself would institute a major shift in the unity that the Lich would have. Some maybe for this individuals own scheme, while others feel that individual should be destroyed for such a grand scheme. There can of course be many variables, since potential union exists individual loyalty comes into question with any given concept.

The Lich themselves are practitioners of the magical arts. [Even arts not able to be applied to the servers mechanics.] We can potentially see them searching for information that is made available through the story. By allowing each Lich a specific goal towards their practice, new stories, adversaries, alliances are realized.

The big picture is, say for instance one of the Liches goal for draining Iblees power became known to say The Black Hand. It would obviously call for a call to arms against that specific Lich, since of course that endeavor is asinine to even allow. They would call for the head of this Lich, since they felt their would-be-gods honor soiled. Therein lies the conflict. If however their were Liches loyal to the cause of this specific Lich. You would find the schism develop. In any case you might see once mortal enemies join forces to combat this insidious plot.

[Petyr 485]

I'm a bit confused as to whether this is meant as a general addition or as a replacement for the Undead. It is quite similar to the Undead overall. Dark magickers worshipping Iblees who are undead who live out of the daylight, meant to operate much like the Ascended? Sounds like the Undead, or at least, the original concept behind the Undead. I personally would like some villainous organizations that don't necessarily have to do with darkness or Iblees. For example, a group of fierce raiders who burn and pillage as they storm across the continent.

I appreciate your attempt to deepen the lore and roleplaying possibilities, but I'm not sure if this is the way to do it.

[--peerless42 59]

I'm a bit confused as to whether this is meant as a general addition or as a replacement for the Undead. It is quite similar to the Undead overall. Dark magickers worshipping Iblees who are undead who live out of the daylight, meant to operate much like the Ascended? Sounds like the Undead, or at least, the original concept behind the Undead. I personally would like some villainous organizations that don't necessarily have to do with darkness or Iblees. For example, a group of fierce raiders who burn and pillage as they storm across the continent.

I appreciate your attempt to deepen the lore and roleplaying possibilities, but I'm not sure if this is the way to do it.

True, the concept itself does seem reminiscent of the traditional server Undead we have now. However I would first like to deepen the difference between the traditional Undead. Which we will define as dead fleshy beings, a Lich is nothing but bone. With raw, un-imaginable magical power, whose soul purpose is to gain more power. Normal Undead can be killed by destroying their bodies, or leaving no trace of their bodies left.

Where as a Lich has purposefully sealed their souls away from their bodies through the use of an Ender Pearl. Or what is commonly called a Phylacteries. Without the soul container being destroyed after the body of the Lich they can easily come back to inhabit another body. Similar yes, but they're quite resourceful in this way. Heroes who do not know how they work will find themselves fighting a losing battle if they're unprepared. The Lich wouldn't bear the same burden of worshiping Iblees. Instead they would feel their own goals to be of paramount importance compared to that of the garden variety Undead.

[susitsu 871]

Don't forget that their Phylactreries work like a pocket dimension(Though this would probably be a diamond and bedrock donator perk)