Non-evil liches

Most liches are foul, evil beings who are selfish and are willing to sacrifice others to prolong their presence on the Material Plane. Yet history has recorded the names of some very few liches of good or neutral alignment. Such beings are so rare that they are thought to be an inherent oxymoron or mere rumors meant to foul the names of some heroes of the past. A deeper investigation would reveal their presence in such places as keepers of ancient libraries, guardians of old monasteries that house the remains of legendary heroes, or even as the head of a noble house of elves. Some elven or half-elven good liches are known as baelnorns, they are gifted undeath by elven gods under rare circumstances should one be needed to preserve ancient lore or if one is the last of their tribe. Yet the good or neutral lich in general can come from a variety of humanoid races, not just elves.

These non-evil liches are known as archliches, they are liches that overpower the status quo of undeath.

Unfortunately some powerful evil liches have started to call themselves "archliches", hence furthering confusion between the two, so the term baelnorn has begun to be used to apply to even non-elven good or neutral liches, despite there being differences in powers and creation of archliches and baelnorns.

Archlich

An archlich is a powerful spellcaster of any humanoid race, whom like the evil-aligned lich has chosen to pursue immortality by becoming a powerful undead being. Most archliches are wizards, but there have been instances of clerics or warlocks becomeing archliches.

Greater Purpose. A powerful spellcaster may desire to become an archlich to continue pursuing arcane knowledge, but have no interest in the evil activities often associated with lichdom such as amassing undead armies. Some become archliches to become powerful, undying, and ever-vigilant vessels of good and protectors of their domain. Many archliches were once advenurters or renown heroes who decided to slip into obscurity and watch the world continue rather than move onto the afterlife.

Renounced Life. A defining trait between a good lich and an evil lich, is that an evil lich sacrifices others for immortality, while a good lich sacrifices a part of themselves for immortality. Becoming an archlich is not just an act of gaining power, but as an act of devotion and sacrifice for a greater purpose. The candidate for archlichdom, like those aspiring to be evil liches knows they are giving up the sensory pleasures of life such as food, but the archlich also begins much weaker than an evil lich, and looses a lot of magical power in the process of lichdom that only until much later do they regain. The ritual to become an archlich is long and painful, and one has to go through periods of time depriving one's self of certain pleasures. The final transition to undeath is also much more gruesome and painful to the archlich-to-be than becoming a soul-devouring lich, and in some instances is known to involve a dying a heroic death or sacrificing one's life to benefit another being.

Cautious Immortality. An archlich's phylactery does not feed off souls, nor does its creation require the sacrifice of a soul. The arcane secret to this type of phylactery is even more guarded than the type of phylactery that does. The secret is usually passed from an archlich to apprentice, or bestowed to someone an archlich deems worthy. A great amount of mental and magical dedication must be put forth to devote one's self to the process, moreso than the typical method an evil lich does. One must prepare one's mind not to fall into the pitfalls of power and immortality, and to refuse the help of evil beings who might appear to offer help to make the process faster and bolster one's magical power.

Gift of the Phoenix. The ritual and ingredients for an archlich's phylactery differ from that of a soul-devouring lich. Due to this difference, the abilities and characteristics of an archlich slightly differ. Archliches do not have resistance to lightning damage, but instead are resistant to fire. This difference hints one of the secrets to becoming an archlich: a pinch of the ashes of a phoenix. The effect of the phoenix ashes imbues the archlich with some of its firey power, allowing the archlich to even use its own reanimating force as a weapon.

Unlikely Ally. Most adventures who encounter archliches are surprised and often rightly suspicious of a friendly lich; the knowledge of archliches does not exist in most parts of the world. Most archliches are prepared to face such prejudices and make it a habit to prepare spells to stop righteous adventures from hurting them before they can explain themselves. Once a party of good-aligned adventures can gain the favor of an archlich, they have made a valuable ally for life.

An Archlich's Lair

Archliches can be found secreted away in abandoned places that have stood a great test of time such as old monastaries. Some archliches are less isolated and maintain regular contact with the living in great keeps and mansions. The lair of an archlich depends greatly on what it pursues in unlife, whether an existence of solitude on arcane research or and existence watching over the living.

Archliches understand that they may be targetted by do-gooder adventurers who belive them to be evil liches, or agents of gods who despise the undead, or worse gods or demon lords who despise undead who aren't under their influence. An archlich may have traps and wards to watch for such dangers or loyal cohorts who would be on guard.

An archlich encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the archlich can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the archlich can't use the same effect two rounds in a row: