Age of Conan gives us a look at the Lich class. A mage who can join the ranks of the undead and release death upon the world. The dark power of....okay I'll stop. Check out the new class preview.
This week the dark and menacing Lich class falls under our spotlight as we continue our previews of the classes available in Age of Conan.
Of all the mages the Lich is perhaps the most feared by the ordinary travellers. Where the Necromancer animates the dead, the Lich actually embraces and joins the dead, becoming one with the foul and decaying undead they can channel great power from by their sacrifice of parts of their mortal soul and body.
A Lich is a mage who has moved beyond merely summoning the dead and instead chooses to make the darkest of pacts with the undead. They allow themselves to be one with those who have passed from the mortal realm and can merge their own flesh and blood with that of the dead.
By fusing with the bones of the dead, the Lich gains impressive physical strength and resilience. In this form the Lich prefers to wade into battle and club enemies to death, although retains access to their full array of spells.
When using Champion of Death for example, that the Lich gets access to from level 20, The Lich inhabits the form of a powerful undead warrior, increasing health, attack rating and their unholy magic rating.
Calling forth dark and menacing clouds laden with the foul black reek of pestilence and disease the Lich can easily inspire dread on the battlefield.
The power of the undead is not just called upon to help the Lich defeat their foes, it can also protect. Pact of Dead Flesh for example, that is available from level 25 onwards, protects the caster's team against damage, absorbing the first X points of damage from each hit. There is a maximum amount of damage that can be absorbed before it fails though.
At Higher levels the Lich gets access to powerful and ancient magics like 'Flesh of the Wight' and 'Acheronian Abomination', the latter allows the Lich to literally take the physical form of an ancient Acheronian warrior. Twisting in pain that might cripple those not used to dealing in such foul arts, the Lich's skin becomes re-enforced with the thick leathery, puss ridden hide of these powerful undead incarnations, his convulsing face masked by the ornately carved and distinctive helms that mark the source of these evil beings.
The Lich's muscles and bones are infused with the ancient strength and malice that is breed by centuries of undead anguish and can then be unleashed upon their foes.
These spells Increase the amount of damage absorbed each hit by spells such as Pact of Dead Flesh. The caster also gains additional unholy damage on melee attacks, and attackers have a chance of being afflicted with a damage over time curse when they attack the caster or getting extra healing from foes that attack them. These are examples of where casters spells at the higher levels also increase the effectiveness of their other spells.
The Lich is a dread inducing and fearsome foe whose dark pacts with the undead give them a wide variety of options in battle, whether it is defending their allies or striking out against their enemies.
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