In fantasy fiction, a lich (/ˈlɪtʃ/;[1] from the Old English līċ, meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature.
 A lich from the game The Battle for Wesnoth | |
| Grouping | Legendary creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Undead |
| Similar entities | Zombie, magician, revenant, skeleton |
| Other name(s) | Liche |
Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used lich as a general term for any corpse, animated or inanimate, before the term's specific use in fantasy role-playing games. The more recent use of the term lich for a specific type of undead creature originates from the 1976 Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game booklet Greyhawk, written by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz.[2]
Often such a creature is the result of a willful transformation, as a powerful wizard skilled in necromancy who seeks eternal life uses rare substances in a magical ritual to become undead. Unlike zombies, which are often depicted as mindless, liches are sapient revenants, retaining their previous intelligence and magical abilities. Liches are often depicted as holding power over lesser mindless undead soldiers and servants.
A lich's most often depicted distinguishing feature from other undead in fantasy fiction is the method of achieving immortality; liches give up their souls to form "soul-artifacts" (called a "soul gem" or "phylactery" in other fantasy works), the source of their magic and immortality. Many liches take precautions to hide and/or safeguard one or more soul-artifacts that anchor a part of a lich's soul to the material world. If the corporeal body of a lich is killed, that portion of the lich's soul that had remained in the body does not pass on to the next world, but will rather exist in a non-corporeal form capable of being reconstitute or resurrected in the near future. However, if all of the lich's soul-artifacts are destroyed, then the lich's only anchor in the material world would be the corporeal body, whereupon destruction will cause permanent death.
Historical background
Lich is an archaic English word for "corpse"; the gate at the lowest end of the cemetery where the coffin and funerary procession usually entered was commonly referred to as the lich gate. This gate was quite often covered by a small roof where part of the funerary service could be carried out.[3]
In literature
The literary lich developed from monsters found in earlier classic sword and sorcery fiction, which is filled with powerful sorcerers who use their magic to triumph over death. Many of Clark Ashton Smith's short stories feature powerful wizards whose magic enables them to return from the dead. Several stories by Robert E. Howard, such as the novella Skull-Face (1929) and the short story "Scarlet Tears", feature undying sorcerers who retain a semblance of life through mystical means, their bodies reduced to shriveled husks with which they manage to maintain inhuman mobility and active thought.[4]
The term lich, used as an archaic word for corpse (or body), is commonly used in these stories. Ambrose Bierce's tale of possession "The Death of Halpin Frayser" features the word in its introduction, referring to a corpse. H. P. Lovecraft also used the word in "The Thing on the Doorstep" (published 1937) where the narrator refers to the corpse of his friend possessed by a sorcerer.[5] Liches are sometimes depicted using a magical device called a phylactery to anchor their souls to the physical world so that if their body is destroyed they can rise again over and over, as long as the phylactery remains intact.[6] Other imagery surrounding demiliches, in particular that of a jeweled skull, is drawn from the early Fritz Leiber story "Thieves' House".[7]
Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons, said that he based the description of a lich included in the game on the short story "The Sword of the Sorcerer" (1969) by Gardner Fox.[8][9]
In popular culture
In print
- Acererak is the final boss of the classic Dungeons and Dragons adventure module Tomb of Horrors;[10][11] Acererak was also featured as the guardian of the Copper Key in the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.[12]
- In the webcomic The Order of the Stick, the main villain Xykon is a lich.[13]
- In the Harry Potter series, the main antagonist Voldemort commands armies of undead inferi and uses magical devices called horcruxes to store fragments of his soul in order to allow him to resurrect himself in the event that his body dies.[6][14]
Film and television
- In the Adventure Time television series, the main antagonist is an evil, powerful undead being known simply as "The Lich".[15][16][17] He describes himself as an ancient, cosmic being who is the manifestation of the inevitable death of all things.
Tabletop
- In the Dungeons & Dragons game, a lich is a spellcaster who seeks to defy death by magical means.[18][19]
- Liches also appear in other fantasy settings that draw upon D&D for inspiration, such as:
Video games
- Liches are prominent in the Might and Magic series of video games, appearing primarily as enemies, but also as playable characters in several installments. They are equally prevalent in the spin-off series Heroes of Might and Magic, where they appear in most installments as recruitable creatures, but also as heroes. One of the most prolific liches in New World Computing's old continuity was Sandro, appearing in many titles and referenced in many more.[24] The primary antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic III: Restoration of Erathia is also a lich: the former king of Erathia raised by necromancers.
- The Baldur's Gate series of video games includes several liches, as powerful but optional boss fights.[25][26]
- Warcraft III and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King features the continent of Northrend, the realm of the eponymous Lich King and his undead minions.[27] Arthas Menethil, also known as the Lich King, one of the most prominent antagonists in Warcraft lore, appears as a raid boss in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, as well as a playable character in the crossover video game Heroes of the Storm.
- In the Dota series of video games, Lich is one of the playable heroes.[28]
- In League of Legends, the champion Karthus embraced the gift of death and became a lich.[29]
- In the video game Enter the Gungeon, a lich is the final boss located in Bullet Hell.[30]
See also
References
External links
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