Lichdom: A Mod for Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (BG2EE) and the Enhanced Edition Trilogy (EET)!
Your souls are MINE!
So, you wanna be a Lich.
We're your friendly, neighborhood guide skeletons! Walk this way!
You're in the right place! You're also late to the party.
Throughout the realms and the planes, many have already become Liches or Demiliches of some sort. Perhaps they sought immortality. Perhaps they had enough of needing to eat and breathe. Perhaps they were tired of being chilled, shocked, diseased, entangled, level drained, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, polymorphed into squirrels, stunned, and webbed.
Regardless of their reasoning, with this mod, you too can become a Lich with the help of Gravetender Morris in Athkatla's Graveyard District (SoA) or Saradush (ToB). You have plenty of chances to decline, but because you came here, I assume you seek the secrets of a Lich transformation as performed by Gravetender Morris.
Requirements for Lichdom
Lichdom is not for everyone. It is a great potential power but also has a significant cost!
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Level 12 or higher in any casting class, kitted or not. This applies to Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Shaman, Sorcerer, and Wizard (Mage). Multiclassed or dual classed characters need at least 12 levels in one of these classes to undergo the ritual.
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120,000G per transformation. (This amount is configurable.)
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The chosen character may be of any alignment, but their alignment will turn into the Evil version of this alignment. Thus, LG/LN/LE become LE; NG/TN/NE become NE; and CG/CN/CE become CE. This alignment change may disqualify this character from their current class, such as a Paladin becoming an Ex-Paladin or a Ranger becoming an Ex-Ranger.
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Note that many recruitable NPCs simply refuse to undergo this Lichdom ritual for personal reasons. (This too is configurable if you just want to ignore the story ramifications of Valygar, Minsc, and Jaheira becoming Liches, for example.)
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A series of tasks given by Gravetender Morris. Notably, you will need at least 3 Lich Dusts (a new key item from this mod) from the corpses of Alhoons, Liches, and Demiliches. (This item is droppable, but unstealable.) If Dracoliches were in the game, they would also carry Lich Dust.
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The character can't have the Undead flag active. Thus, for example, Hexxat isn't eligible because of this.
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The character's soul must be in their body.
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Accepting the strong possibility that this process is irreversible.
Effects of Lichdom (Default)
This Lich is living his best unlife now! Careful about that glowing hand: If he touches you, that's the last thing you're likely to feel before you're paralyzed and dead, dead, dead!
Since the process of Lichdom is so varied within D&D's decades of canon, and much of it is left to intrepretation, various aspects of Lichdom are configurable in-game via an in-game configuration menu. (Check your innate abilities section.)
The default effects and requirements were heavily inspired by Liches in Baldur's Gate as well as 3.5's Liches.
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You gain the Undead flag, but for technical reasons you are immune to Turn Undead and Rebuke Undead.
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Immunity to damage from nonmagical weapons.
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Immune (100% resistant) to HP damage from cold, electricity, and poison.
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Immune to the negative statuses of Berserk, Charm, Confusion, Domination, Disease, Fatigue/Exhaustion, Fear, Grease, Entangle, Hold/Paralysis, Level Drain/Negative Levels, Petrification, Polymorph Other, Sleep/Unconsciousness, Stun, and Web. Also immune to at least most instant death effects such as Disintegrate and Finger of Death.
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Continual Detect Invisibliity.
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+1 to INT, WIS, and CHA scores.
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Natural AC improves by 3.
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You gain the ability of Lich Touch, usable at will as a melee weapon. Stats are listed in a section below.
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You gain the innate ability of Lich Form, usable at will but only once per turn. This is purely a cosmetic ability which changes the character's appearance to that of a typical Lich. By default, a Lich made by Morris's method looks identical to a typical character.
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Unlike a typical Lich in BG2, you have no racial immunity to spells of a certain level.
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All Liches start with their phylactery - a cloak called the Shroud of the Lich. This shroud is unstealable and undroppable. (For technical reasons, the Lich's phylactery - the Shroud of the Lich - is put onto an item instead of something else like a slotless script.)
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Because a phylactery is undroppable, it remains permanently equipped in your cloak slot while it is on your person. Your phylactery must be on you for you to auto-revive out of combat. (This auto-revival normally happens immediately after combat ends, but the script may need a few seconds to catch up.)
By default, your phylactery can't break upon your character's death, but this can be configured to have a chance of breaking upon death.
Regardless of settings, certain SoA events will remove CHARNAME's (the protagonist's) phylactery for a time.
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The UI changes your displayed race to Lich. Mechanically, you're still a member of your original race such as Human or Gnome.
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You gain an innate ability usable at will which changes your character's appearance to that of a typical Lich. This ability is only cosmetic.
Configurable Lichdom Options
This Lich grins, knowing he has many options!
Since Lichdom's requirements and effects throughout the editions and decades of D&D have varied so much, it seemed fitting to include a variety of options to better suit your play style.
Note that configuration options in this section ONLY apply to Lich characters from this mod and NOT to enemy/NPC Liches nor to any creature that becomes a Lich via any other method!
How many Crowns of the Lich should be for sale in Sister Garlena's shop? (Install Option)
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One (Default)
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Two
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Three
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Four
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Five
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Six
Lichdom Monetary Cost Per Transformation (Install Option)
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120,000G (Default)
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100,00G
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75,000G
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50,000G
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40,000G
% Chance for Phylactery to Break Upon Lich's Death (In-Game Configuration Option - Applies to current character)
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None (Default)
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1%
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3%
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5%
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10%
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15%
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20%
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25%
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33%
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50%
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80%
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100%
Can a broken phylactery be replaced? (In-Game Configuration Option - Applies to current character)
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Yes, but it costs the same as a new phylactery. Talk to Gravetender Morris for a replacement. (Default)
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No.
Is a Lich allergic to (unable to equip, regardless of proficiencies) to items that harm undead such as a Mace of Disruption, a Flame Tongue/Burning Earth Sword, a Protection from Undead scroll, or an Azuredge Axe? Note that your normal proficiencies apply, regardless of this option, and if you enable this option with anti-Undead items equipped, you will immediately unequip or drop them. (In-Game Config Option - Applies to current character)
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Yes (Default)
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No
What's the highest level of hostile spells to which a Lich should be immune? Note that friendly spells such as heals and buffs work normally, regardless of this setting. (In-Game Configuration Option - Only applies to Liches made after this option is set)
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None (Default)
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
What bonus to all mental ability scores (INT, WIS, and CHA) should apply to Liches? (In-Game Configuration Option - Only applies to Liches made after this option is set)
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+1 (Default)
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+2
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None
What bonus to natural AC (crushing, piercing, and slashing) should Liches receive? (In-Game Configuration Option - Only applies to Liches made after this option is set)
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1
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2
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3 (Default)
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4
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5
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None
What bonus to spell resistance should Liches receive? (In-Game Configuration Option - Only applies to Liches made after this option is set)
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None (Default)
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+5%
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+10%
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+20%
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+25%
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+30%
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+33%
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+40%
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+50%
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+60%
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+70%
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+75%
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+80%
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+90%
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+100%
What special senses should a Lich have? (In-Game Configuration Option - Only applies to Liches made after this option is set)
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Continual See Invisibility (Default)
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Continual See Invisibility and True Seeing
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None
What sprite should be used for this character's appearance? (In-Game Configuration Option - Applies to current character)
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Normal (Default)
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Standard Lich
Install Order Notes
This Lich is frazzled, having researched a proper mega mod installation for months now!
As of this writing, Lichdom has no mod prerequisites. The mod install order listed below is simply best practice to give you the best experience if you use these other mods.
Lichdom should be installed AFTER these mods if you use them: EET Start AKA EET Core, all mods that add quests or areas, all mods that add items, and all mods that add recruitable NPCs. Lichdom adds the key item Lich Dust - explained elsewhere in this document - to the inventories of Liches & Demiliches that fit certain code criteria, including ones added by mods.
Specifically, Lichdom has a small amount of cross-mod content AKA crossmod content with these mods, generally included with permission from authors of original NPCs:
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Skitia's NPCs for BG2 (Emily, Helga, Kale, Recorder, and Vienxay)
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Mods that port BG1 NPCs to BG2EE. Use of these characters is permissible as per Wizards of the Coast's Fan Content Policy.
Lichdom should be installed BEFORE these mods if you use them: EET End. Installing most mods after EET End is a bad idea that can corrupt your game or otherwise produce undesirable effects!
New Ability and Item Descriptions
This Lich admires his new phylactery. His life is in his hands.
Lich Touch (Innate Melee Weapon) This is a melee weapon usable at will. It strikes as a +5 weapon. It has a range of 1, the default range for melee weapons.
It does piercing damage equal to your d10 + STR bonus (minimum 0) as well as d10 cold damage. Each hit forces a save vs. death on the subject at no penalty or be paralyzed for 5 rounds (30 seconds). Spell resistance applies to this paralysis.
Crown of the Lich (Base Market Value: 100,000G, 1 Sold by default by Sister Garlena atop Watcher's Keep) With this crown equipped, you gain many of the benefits of being a Lich without the entire transformation. While a Lich can equip this crown, most of its effects are redundant.
Unlike a typical Lich, you have no phylactery and can't automatically revive if killed. Your alignment does not change. You don't gain the Lich Touch ability of a typical Lich.
You gain the Undead flag, meaning you can be turned or rebuked. (If you had immunity to turning or rebuking from another source, you still keep that immunity.) This is unlike a typical Lichdom Lich who is immune to turning and rebuking.
However, you gain many other abilities of a typical Lich:
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Immunity to damage from nonmagical weapons.
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Immune (100% resistant) to HP damage from cold, electricity, and poison.
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Immune to the negative statuses of Berserk, Charm, Confusion, Domination, Disease, Fatigue/Exhaustion, Fear, Grease, Entangle, Hold/Paralysis, Level Drain/Negative Levels, Petrification, Polymorph Other, Sleep/Unconsciousness, Stun, and Web. Also immune to at least most instant death effects such as Disintegrate and Finger of Death.
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Continual Detect Invisibliity.
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+1 to INT, WIS, and CHA scores to a maximum fo 25 each.
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Natural AC improves by 3.
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You gain an innate ability usable at will which changes your character's appearance to that of a typical Lich. This ability is only cosmetic.
Mod Source: Lichdom
Lich Dust (Base Market Value: 10,000G) This gathering of dust is seemingly all that remains of a powerful Undead spellcaster known as a Lich.
Mod Source: Lichdom
Shroud of the Lich
This ornate cloak is a phylactery that contains the soul of
Mod Source: Lichdom
Q & A (FAQ)
What's going on here? I too want to know!
How lore friendly is this mod?
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While I tried to make the premise of this mod fit within existing Faerun and Baldur's Gate series lore, I am not sure off-hand how accurate this is. The plot makes a big deal about certain characters dying, but Imoen can die and be raised freely in the games with no long-term story impact. Let's just say BioWare - and, by extension, BeamDog - were inconsitent in their writing in this regard.
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NPCs the world over were NOT recoded to treat characters drastically differently after becoming a Lich. In vanilla BG2, you could walk fairly freely through the streets and countrysides of Amn with a vampire, a drow, and a cackling Red Wizard spamming undead animating spells and NPCs would probably complain most about the drow, not the small army that acts as a Faerunian version of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) in their midst.
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Many recruitable NPCs will react to your earnlestly seeking to become a Lich if they're in your party when it happens.
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Ultimately, this Lichdom mod is mostly about the mechanical side of being a Lich. If you want a game that was built from the ground up to account for NPCs' reactions to becoming a Lich and the associated necromancy, play Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous or another relevant game, if that exists.
120,000 coins per Lich transformation? Boy, that sure is expensive!
- Lichdom is intended as a high initial cost, high long-time return for the character who undergoes this transformation. The auto-revival aspect matters more in no reload runs.
How am I meant to get 120,000 or more coins to afford this transformation at 12, the lowest possible level?! That's nuts!
- I wondered the same thing about the D&D 3.5 Lich that only needs caster level 11 to undergo the ritual when the expected wealth by level means that characters who become Liches are likely doing it MUCH later, like level 15+. The truest answer is, "Adventure!" Remember, you don't NEED to undergo the Lichdom ritual ASAP!
Why require only level 12 in a casting class to become a Lich?
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That's inspired by the D&D 3.5 Lich which requires caster level 11. Since caster levels don't work well as prerequisites in the Infinity Engine, I rounded up to 12 since that's when full casters (Cleric, Druid/Shaman, and Sorcerer/Wizard) start to get their level 6 spell slots in the Infinity Engine games.
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As a solo single-classed character, reaching level 12 is probably easy in BG2, even if you start in SoA. Reaching it as a triple-classed character in a party of 6, depending on your mod wad and the content you do, may take you until late SoA or even ToB to reach this point. In short, Lichdom is meant to be attainable by characters in SoA with a variety of play styles.
What plans do you have for BG1 (BGEE) or SoD content for Liches?
- None. Lichdom is simply a high-level thing, just like ascending to godhood is assumed to only be for high levels.
Why make the phylactery a cloak instead of a more traditional amulet or crown?
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Amulets: Edwin's Amulet is normally glued to his neck, and I wanted Liches to be able to use [https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Amulet_of_Power](Amulets of Power).
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Crown: I like Ioun Stones, and the Crown of the Lich mentioned elsewhere in this document allows anyone to temporarily get most of the effects of Lichdom.
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Cloak: Cloaks are generally a low-power item slot despite rare exceptions in vanilla. Maybe there are mods which give high-powered cloaks to casters.) In short, giving up a cloak slot is generally easier than giving up most other thematic slots.
Shroud of the Lich is also an intentional reference to an ability of the same name from DDO AKA Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Why does a Lich drop its items on the ground, even if it's about to auto-revive?
- That's how the base game was coded. if you use a mod to change that behavior so that dead party members don't drop their items, let us know!
How much EXP should I expect to get from doing all the quests in this mod?
- This mod has exactly one EXP reward which is 25,000 Quest EXP for giving Morris 3 Lich Dusts when he asks for them.
If I'm a Lich via this mod, can my project image and simulacrum spells auto-revive from my phylactery?
- No. This is done for technical reasons. Besides, these spells are probably powerful enough without another life!
My character is formerly a non-Evil caster who could Turn Undead, but I've turned Evil and I can still Turn Undead. What about Rebuke Undead?
- If this happens to you, it's from a technical limitation.
Why make Lichdom Liches immune to Turn Undead and Rebuke Undead?
- This way, classes that can use these abilities won't affect themselves nor their Lichdom Lich party members. (No sense in blowing up your allies because you misclicked the Turn Undead button.) Also, enemy priests were not likely to use Turn Undead or Rebuke Undead on the party.
Why make a mod about becoming a Lich?
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In Infinity Engine games, Lichdom is like dimension door - it seems like plenty of creatures can use it except you! Also, the notion of being able to use this option that's been in the D&D books for decades in various forms appealed to me.
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In short, it's unique. For the EE games, I know of no other mods which apply 'templates' to player characters like Lycanthrope, Lich, or Vampire. (I'm not counting recruitable NPCs that are these sorts of creatures, nor shapeshifting abilities to mimic these templates.) Maybe someone will soon make and public release a mod to turn characters into Werechihuahuas or other Lycanthropes, or into Angels, Constructs Demons, Devils, Elementals, Genies, Oozes, or Plants!
How does this mod interact with other mods that involve becoming a Lich?
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Most likely, they are totally separate. Maybe they are also mechanically compatible.
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For example, a Lichdom Lich and a quest in The Beaurin Legacy to become a Lich are totally separate. By default, becoming a Lich via one method does not affect your ability to become a Lich via another method.
What game areas/maps does the Lichdom mod change?
- Lichdom changes but does not overwrite Athkatla's Graveyard District (AR0800) and Saradush (AR5000). Lichdom also changes the scripts for these areas.
My main character became a Lich! Why won't certain recruitable party members join me?
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A small number of recruitable NPCs simply refuse to (re)join your party if your main character is a Lich. If they're in your party when you try justifying your reasoning for seeking Lichdom, your choice of reasoning may affect whether they stay or can be recruited again. As of this writing, these characters are:
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Ajantis
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Keldorn Firecam
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Minsc
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I transitioned from Shadows of Amn to Throne of Bhaal (SoA to ToB) by importing my saved game and recruitable characters who weren't in my party lost their Lichdom and other stats! What happened?!
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Importing a save from SoA to ToB simply resets recruitable character stats to their base for ToB, even in vanilla BG2EE. For example, it doesn't matter if Keldorn has Carsomyr and the best gear equipped in SoA if he's outside your party: His gear and stats simply reset to their baseline for ToB. (I discovered this resetting phenomenon by accident in 2016 when I put some characters in the Watcher's Keep 'parking lot' to preserve them between campaigns. These NPCs had awkward behavior.)
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However, if you qualify for Lichdom in SoA by giving Morris the Lich Dust he requests, then import that save to ToB, your quest progress will be kept. You won't need to get more Lich Dust to transform more party members into Liches.
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Playing on EET (Enhanced Edition Trilogy) will preserve the stats of recruitable characters and your quest progress between campaigns, regardless of whether they're in the party.
How do I get Lich Dusts?
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Remember, killing ANY Lich or Demilich or Alhoon (Illithid Lich) or Elemental Lich should drop 1 Lich Dust per kill. Vanilla locations for these creatures still apply.
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If you use any mods that add any Liches of the aforementioned types to the game and install Lichdom after these mods, these creatures should also drop these Lich Dust items.
What should I do with the extra Lich Dust items I find?
- As of this writing, the party only needs 3 Lich Dusts to begin the transformation from Morris. Any spares can be sold, dropped, kept, or whatever you feel like doing with them. If you want to make a mod that uses Lich Dust from Lichdom, such as in item crafting, go ahead!
What game versions and operating systems can run this mod?
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Lichdom will likely work on game version 2.5 or later. It was tested on game version 2.6.6.
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Lichdom was not tested on every operating system, but if your operating system can run a version of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition with WeiDU mods, it can likely also run Lichdom.
License, Editing, and Redistribution/Rehosting
Just as there's more than one type of Lich, there are others who may want to edit this Lichdom mod.
- This mod (Lichdom) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
In short, this license means that, so long as you link to the original mod (https://github.com/LCA-EET/lichdom/ or one of its official mirrors if there are any) AND you preserve the ENTIRE credits section AND you keep your version of this mod under this same license, you can otherwise redistribute and edit this mod.
Cross-mod AKA crossmod content is also allowed and encouraged! Don't ask permission for this: Just do it and pweath send us a link as an Issue on this GitHub repository or/and a linked forum thread! (Linking your crossmod content isn't required, but encouraged!) If instead you want your crossmod content or other code to be considered for inclusion in a future version, let us know via the Issues tab or on a forum thread linked above.
Just remember that this mod was made for non-commercial purposes, and Wizards of the Coast would probably very much NOT like you if you tried selling your Infinity Engine mods for money.
For clarity: This mod (Lichdom) is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Requests of the Community
A mod where the party can fight a Dracolich seems wonderful! Don't to expect to find it here!
I know I'm not the only Lich fan out there! This section is meant as inspiration for the community for anyone else who wants to make a Lich-themed mod to please me. Perhaps have a ship or an airship of adventurers fight a Dracolich mid-flight and prevent its corpse from crashing into a town below. And of course tracking down its phylactery and handling that seems interesting. But I've enjoyed Dracoliches.
Credits
We don't go through life alone. We all get by with a little help from our former enemies.
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Endarire: He did the design, voice acting, and writing for this mod - including this documentation!
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LCA: He coded this mod and proofread various documentation.
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mogui45: He provided a Chinese translation.
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RubyFeeedback: Thanks to your passion for Lichdom and helping to fix stuff.
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k4thos and others involved in making and publishing Protagonist Can Die which was sometimes called Player1 Can Die. No code from this mod was used for Lichdom, but its existence was an inspiration for the possibility of Lichdom's auto-revival being implemented! k4thos also made EET, and there was much rejoicing!
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Aaron Williams, author of Nodwick Comic: He was the first to use the phrase "Son of a Lich" regarding undeath.
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Angel and SubtleDoctor: Their discussions about the importance of lore adherence in mods helped in this mod's refinement.
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The Infinity Engine Modding Community.
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The Lord Jesus Christ. Many D&D spells and other things are inspired by Bible passages, such as Elijah calling down fire from heaven a la flame strike in 1 Kings 18, [water being created from a rock in Exodus 17 a la create water](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 17&version=NkJV), pillars of cloud and fire tagging along with the Israelites in the desert wilderness for years a la an air elemental and a fire elemental, and The Lord thundering loudly, confusing the Philistines into killing themselves a la confusion. Even the idol Bhaal/Baal is mentioned in various places in the Old Testament.
Change Log
Even Liches can change into Demiliches.
For a full list, check the tags page.
First Release: December 25, 2023 - Merry Lichmas!
-Initial Release. Enjoy your undeath!