Demilich (Dungeons & Dragons)

Demilich
Characteristics
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
Type	Undead

The demilich is a type of lich found in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

The demilich first appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the adventure Tomb of Horrors (1978), and later appeared in the adventure The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (1982), and was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983).

The demilich appeared in second edition under the "lich" heading in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The drow demilich appeared in Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III: Creatures of Darkness (1994).

The demilich appeared in the third edition in the Epic Level Handbook (2002).

If a lich exists long enough, it may reach a point where it feels it cannot learn any more in its present state and seeks other avenues to attain knowledge. The lich's interest turns away from the physical realm, and its soul voluntarily leaves its undead form and phylactery, using astral projection to travel across other planes of existence. The magics preserving the lich's body against the ravages of time weaken, usually causing the body to gradually deteriorate until only a skull or even a single skeletal hand remains; this advanced form of lich is known as a demilich. Despite its ruined body, a demilich is far from powerless; it is very resistant to most weapons and magic, and if disturbed, the skull will levitate and suck the souls from nearby living creatures.

The most notable demiliches are Acererak, found in the classic adventure Tomb of Horrors, and Kangaxx, one of the most powerful adversaries in the PC game Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn.

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