Lich (MTAw)

Although many young mages equalize the term Lich with the Tremere, not all Liches are actually Tremere. A lich is any mage who has attempted magical immortality, whether through a form of undeath or by extending her lifespan beyond human norms. The word has dark connotations, marking the techniques used as almost invariably unpleasant.

Immortality is possible through Awakened magic, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. An inexperienced mage may use indefinite Life, Time or Death spells to stave off the end, often using scars or tattoos as Yantras to bind the magic into his body. All it takes is one mage to take umbrage with him to sever those spells and let time catch up with him — or a bullet or blade ruining the careful runic patterns.

Realizing that, a Lich has several options open to him, which the Orders classify into two varieties. The first seek to avoid their death by usurping the lives of others or forcing their death onto unsuspecting victims. Some examples of these include:

• Tremere Liches, who consume the souls of others in order remain eternally young
• Body-stealers, who find ways to permanently steal or swap bodies of others to stave off old age

The second sort of lich accepts death but intends to survive it, such as committing suicide while in the Anima Mundi, or using magic to become a Ghost mage, or transforming into spirits. Some examples of these include:

• Morpheans, mages who have inverted their own Oneiros and become bodiless minds who wander the Astral
• Ghost mages, mages who have managed to bind their minds and Awakened soul to their own Ghosts
• Spirit mages, who through magic or specific legacies (such as the Scions of God) have managed to transform themselves into Spirits

Lichedom that doesn’t persecute anyone or transform the mage into something else is seen as foolish and not achievable, the stuff of desperate attempts to extend the last few months of life. It seems to be a law of reality, perhaps enforced by the Psychopomp, that death is inescapable unless you pay a hideous price.

Famous liches include:

• Kosciej, the Deathless
• Erebus & Walpurga
• Lady Catarine Beldam, the Wildcat