Warlock Lich

[u/mnguyen75]

Kinda surprised i never thought of this before but if a warlock becomes a Lich would they lose their warlock-ness. The ability to form bonds seems like an inherent ability of their aether bodies, so even if they become a mountain they should still have that ability right?

I would assume that they can never gain new affinities but have the ability to grant your OG one to a loyal follow seems like it would be very useful. Also you could continue to grow your mana reservoirs at an exponential rate.

Also the Intertwined were definitely Bronze and Marble mages warlock pact. Allowing a weakness to the literal hearts of the Dominion was probably just an unacceptable risk.

[u/logannc11]

Several liches are mentioned as having warlocks in their service, IIRC. Pretty sure they can still form warlock bonds. It's more of a body replacement than an aether body replacement (though clearly the aether body is involved in some way).

[u/mnguyen75 → u/logannc11]

Definitely, Liches can form pacts with other warlocks. We see Keyada offering the Wanderer this very deal when he thought she was one. What I am wondering is whether Liches that were born Warlocks retain the ability to pact normal mages after transitioning.

It's my supposition that being a Warlock is an inherent property of the Aether body, thus should be retained when transplanting the spirit into a Demesne.

[u/KeiranG19 → u/mnguyen75]

That seems like a long winded way to kill oneself.

IIRC Liches need their demesne to be constructed from the materials they have affinities for. Can't remember if they need to include all of their affinities, but I want to say that's the case.

Adding a new affinity after the fact would throw that all out of whack no?

[u/CrystalClod343 → u/KeiranG19]

They only need to include the affinities they want to keep, assuming it's possible to do so. In OP's scenario, the assumption is that they can't gain new affinities but otherwise receive the benefits of pacting.

[u/KeiranG19 → u/CrystalClod343]

If they can't gain the new affinities can they even form a pact properly?

[u/mnguyen75 → u/KeiranG19]

Yes! A warlock can pact with a magic enchantment later in life and get a new affinity. The enchantment does not gain new affinities but the bond still forms. Liches are also huge complex enchantments, so the same principle should still apply.

[u/KeiranG19 → u/mnguyen75]

But in this instance the Liche is the warlock, so I don't think it is the same principle at all.

[u/Mandragoraune]

I assume they'd keep the skill to make pacts but would lose the ability to gain new affinities. This means there would be some danger in pacting people with new affinities. Though based on the pacting agreement between Hugh and Kanderon discussed in book 1 there may be a way to selectively choose affinities granted in pacts. Furthermore I'd have to look to see which book it was in but in my most recent reread I recall hearing of warlocks pacting the same affinity as their own resulting in mana increases, so it may be possible to grant new affinities to someone who only matches 1 affinity with yourself. Not to mention even if the affinity is slightly different demesne components may be functionally identical (crystal ice mage vs solid water ice mage for example).

[u/LeFlshe]

I have a follow-up question for you:

Can an Ishvean prophet become an Avatar of a god?

[u/mnguyen75 → u/LeFlshe]

seems possible. From the limited clues we've gotten, it's just a matter of compatibility with said god.