Lich

Medium Undead (Wizard), Neutral Evil
Initiative +17 (27)
AC 20
HP 315 (42d8 + 126)
Speed 30 ft.
MOD
SAVE
MOD
SAVE
MOD
SAVE

Str
11
+0
+0
Dex
16
+3
+10
Con
16
+3
+10

Int
21
+5
+12
Wis
14
+2
+9
Cha
16
+3
+3

Skills Arcana +19, History +12, Insight +9, Perception +9
Resistances Cold, Lightning
Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Gear Component Pouch
Senses Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 19
Languages All
CR 21 (XP 33 000, or 41 000 in lair; PB +7)
Traits

Legendary Resistance (4/Day, or 5/Day in Lair). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Spirit Jar. If destroyed, the lich reforms in 1d10 days if it has a spirit jar, reviving with all its Hit Points. The new body appears in an unoccupied space within the lich's lair.

Actions

Multiattack. The lich makes three attacks, using Eldritch Burst or Paralyzing Touch in any combination.

Eldritch Burst. Melee or Ranged Attack Roll: +12, reach 5 ft. or range 120 ft. Hit: 31 (4d12 + 5) Force damage.

Paralyzing Touch. Melee Attack Roll: +12, reach 5 ft. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) Cold damage, and the target has the Paralyzed condition until the start of the lich's next turn.

Spellcasting. The lich casts one of the following spells, using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 20):

At will: Detect Magic, Detect Thoughts, Dispel Magic, Fireball (level 5 version), Invisibility, Lightning Bolt (level 5 version), Mage Hand, Prestidigitation
2/day each: Animate Dead, Dimension Door, Plane Shift
1/day each: Chain Lightning, Finger of Death, Power Word Kill, Scrying
Reactions

Protective Magic. The lich casts Counterspell or Shield in response to the spell's trigger, using the same spellcasting ability as Spellcasting.

Legendary actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, The lich can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The lich regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.

Deathly Teleport. The lich teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see, and each creature within 10 feet of the space it left takes 11 (2d10) Necrotic damage.

Disrupt Life. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 20, each creature that isn't an Undead in a 20-foot Emanation originating from the lich. Failure: 31 (9d6) Necrotic damage. Success: Half damage. Failure or Success: The lich can't take this action again until the start of its next turn.

Frightening Gaze. The lich casts Fear, using the same spellcasting ability as Spellcasting. The lich can't take this action again until the start of its next turn.

Some nefarious magic-users carry out forbidden necromantic rituals that sever their souls from their bodies to turn themselves into liches, masters of magic and undeath. With their souls preserved in hidden relics, liches puppet their own corpses as they pursue ambitions free from mortal bonds. Liches possess exceptional cunning and magical prowess, and they use their unnatural immortality to pursue arcane secrets few could grasp in a single life. Uncanny agendas lead them to plumb the secrets of life, the multiverse, godhood, and less fathomable topics. Careless of mortal lives or desires, liches go to any lengths to achieve their goals. A lich's age and origin influences its form. Older liches appear as little more than brittle skeletons clad in the rotten finery of forgotten empires, while younger liches more closely resemble living creatures and are clad in contemporary garb. Many cloak themselves in illusions of their idealized mortal forms. Although liches don't fear death, they're not free from the ravages of time. Over ages, some liches lose their connection to time and the physical world, degenerating into demiliches.
Habitat: Any
Treasure: Arcana
Monster Manual 2024 (BR)
  1. DnD 2024 Monsters › Lich
Lich