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Zhē Drūmor amidst the revelry of Líches
”… in Meldutha he gathered his demons about him, those spirits who cleaved to him in the early days of his dwimmercraft, and became most like him in his corruption: their hearts were unlight, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had tongues of ice.”
-Nākadmazul, “Of the Fall”
The Líches, also known as demons, were Zhē Drūmor’s most terrible servants in the Wide World. They are ancient, unclean, malicious spirits conjured out of the nothingness that is That Which Is Not.
Being creatures entirely of the void, Líches lack bodies and therefore have little power over the physical matter of the world. On the other hand, this means they cannot be bested by force of arms, as swords and spears stick them as well as arrows wound the air.
Their chief powers are in fear, dread, the sapping of will, possession, hallucination, divination, and deception, and in this regard they are very deadly. Their foes forget about fighting, consumed entirely by thoughts of hiding, crawling away, and death. Animals recoil from them.
Like all those who have been touched by the Void, Líches hate all forms of light, sunlight most of all. Almost all those that survived the First War and the destruction of Meldutha were banished from the Earth by the Flower, though some small count escaped into the deep and secret corners of the world. They’re all dormant now, slumbering till roused.
Witches, Witen, and other practitioners of dark magicks have been known to summon and commune with (but never release) Líches from the Outer World through elaborate rites, seeking prophecy and evil wisdom.
Other Names
The Patrin remember the Líches as the Rāzmaur (“demon, race of demons”), from rās (“sorcery, witchcraft”) and -(m)aur (“suffix denoting hated or distrusted groups”).
Lích is derived from Old English līċ (“corpse”).
Known Talents and Abilities
Adversary 3 (Upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target thrice)
Dark Insight (Use Occult to determine spell effects)
Death Sight (Líches suffer no perception penalties at night or in total darkness)
Demon of the Outer World (Every time a Lích inflicts wounds or strain on a target, they reduce their Brawn, Agility, and Willpower ratings by 1 until the end of the encounter)
Ghostly (May move over or through terrain [including doors and walls] without penalty. Halve the damage dealt to this adversary before applying soak, unless the attack came from a magical source such as a spell or legendary weapon)
Hatred of the Sun (Add two setback dice to all checks when in direct sunlight)
Lifethirst (All enemies within medium range reduce the amount of strain or wounds regained by 1 each time they recover strain or wounds)
Master Sorcerer (May maintain concentration on one spell per turn as an incidental)
Terrifying 4 (Upon first sight, an individual must make a Fear check with a difficulty equal to the adversary’s ranks in Terrifying)
Undead (Does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive underwater; immune to poisons and toxins)