Arch-Shadow

Some evil wizards and priests, facing old age and death, gamble on lichdom. Most perish in the attempt; the rare, unfortunate ones who live through a failed ritual become arch-shadows, undead resembling ghosts or banshees. Usually disguised, in its true form one is a ghostly outline of its former body, with piercing blue-white points of light for eyes, ebony hair and blue-black nails.

Watching that form for 1d4 rounds reveals another layer: the skin pulls tight, the eyes take on a crimson tint and the face twists in agony, perhaps, sages guess, the look it wore at its moment of death.

An arch-shadow fights mainly to drain energy from powerful beings and advance toward becoming a demi-shade. In a battle that cannot serve that goal, it fakes its own destruction and waits for a better chance. Each hit deals 1d4+1 (just 1d4 to cold-immune creatures), and by an effort of will it can also drain one life energy level, though doing so exposes its true form.

It keeps the spellcasting of its former life, usually 18th level or higher, and can use any magic items it once wielded. It needs a weapon of +1 or better to be hit, ignores natural sunlight, and shrugs off charm, sleep, hold, enfeeblement, energy drain and mental attacks. It is turned as a wraith, to which it is especially vulnerable.

Neither weapons, spells nor luck destroy it, because its life force lives in a receptacle. Reduced to 0 hit points, it dissolves and returns to that object; only destroying the receptacle ends it.

Obsessed with reaching demi-shade status, an arch-shadow will do anything and work with anyone, adventurers included, who can help. Its helpers can expect little more than the right to serve the demi-shade afterward, and demi-shades demand loyalty while betraying followers without hesitation.

No priest or wizard sets out to become an arch-shadow; it is always an accident. A would-be lich builds a phylactery to hold its life force, and if that item fails, usually from shoddy craft or a slip in the incantation, it explodes, with a 5% chance that the caster becomes an arch-shadow rather than being annihilated. Even then it must pass a system shock roll or be pulled into the Negative Energy Plane.

On a success it is teleported to a magic item of moderate to great power, such as a ring of wizardry, a staff of curing, a weapon of +3 or better, or anything worth over 1,500 XP, and binds its life force there. It does not choose the item. Artifacts never qualify, nor does anything owned by it or its former henchmen, or anything within 10 miles of the failed ritual. Once bound, it gains great command over the item: it can add powers, lay contingencies and wards on it and warp its magic, though each added power risks destroying the item (5% per spell level), and with it the arch-shadow. Should the receptacle be destroyed, the arch-shadow bleeds away 2 hit points each day and dissipates forever upon reaching 0.

To transform, it must drain life levels from creatures that touched its receptacle in the previous 24 hours, usually eight levels inside two hours. It can push its luck for more power: each level beyond eight adds a Hit Die, and draining in a deeply unhallowed place adds one more, to a maximum of 30 Hit Dice.

The demi-shade is the arch-shadow's mature form, a physical version of its old body with gray-black skin and fiercely burning crimson eyes. After emerging it usually vanishes from the world for a time to plan, taking its receptacle along, since freeing itself from that weakness now becomes its overriding concern.

Its touch deals 2d4 and drains one level, and items that guard against level loss, such as a scarab of protection, fail 25% of the time against it. It has every resistance and immunity of an arch-shadow, can be hit only by +2 or better weapons, and dislikes sunlight though it suffers no harm from it. Destroying its receptacle costs it 4 hp a day until it perishes. It is turned as a lich.

After 4d10 or more years of seclusion, the demi-shade sets its plans in motion, staying keenly interested in the affairs of the living. Rarely does it want a throne; it simply wants to watch the world burn, and sowing widespread terror and ruin along the way only proves its power.