Thanks to intrepid Dungeon Masters and game designers, the game's 1977 edition of the Monster Manual has grown from a meager combination of weak and powerful creatures into a gigantic plethora of insignificant minions … However, it refers to the state of the lich. This pre-dates the Monster Manual (5e) (2014) which established that liches must consume souls to avoid degrading into a demilich state. (The gap in the blue line is for the demilich, the only CR 18 monster, whose max damage is hard to calculate.) The lich Acererak appears on the cover of the Dungeon Master's Guide (5e) (2014). Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. I mean It is a CR 18 creature. If you keep all of these factors in mind while you play the Demilich, you will find the Action Economy is one of the most tilted of any in the Monster Manual. 5E's Monster Manual describes a little variant called a Living Claw, made out of the severed hand of a still-living murderer and can basically be reattached to the hand of the murderer as if it's never popped off. The good lich and the lichfiend appeared in Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead (2004). Dungeons & Dragons has been around in one form or another for more than 40 years, which is a lot of time for people to come up with powerful monsters people can fight. Monster Manual descriptions [edit | edit source] 2nd Edition [edit | edit source] Demilich is a misleading term in that one might assume the "demi" refers to status. Inmost cases, all that remains of a demilich’s body are a skull, some bones, and a pile of dust. By all accounts it should be terrifiyng. After all these calculations, here are the Monster Manual average damages by CR, compared to the DMG expectations. But from what I am reading 4 9-10 lvl characters can easily best it, assuming half of them get the save of its howling ability. The Monster Manual damage is fairly close to the DMG expectation, though generally 10% to 20% low. Demilich. The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Robilar and Tenser (characters of Gygax's players Rob Kuntz and Ernie Gygax ) once faced the demilich Acererak after making it through the Tomb of Horrors , sacrificing many orc minions in the attempt. The demilich appeared again in the Epic Level Handbook (2002). Creative origins [edit | edit source] Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 (2003–2007) In D&D version 3.5, the 3.0 entry for the lich is duplicated in the revised Monster Manual (2003). The demilich uses Flight either to get out of range of an enemy who does one or more of the damage types listed above or to speed its departure toward its phylactery. I was reading the Demilich from the Monster Manual and it seems kind of Underwhelming. No list of D&D's heavy hitters would be complete without mention of the Prince of Demons.His appearance in the first Monster Manual had the distinction of having the highest listed hit points (200) of any creature.. Demogorgon's power lay not so much in damage dealing but in his host of crippling special powers. Cloud of Dust blinds all creatures within a 10-foot radius; there’s no reason ever to use this on just a single target. Only a small part of the body of a lick remains—dust, the skull, and possibly a few bones. His tentacles only dealt D6 damage but caused body parts to rapidly rot and … The Monster Manual also includes the demilich, naming Acererak as one such individual, and the dracolich.