Elder Lich

Elder Liches (エルダーリッチ) are powerful undead magic casters, capable of commanding lesser undead with their necromancy and casting highly destructive magic.

Background
Elder Lich is a monster that spawns when the corpse of an evil magic caster gains unholy life through sacrificial rituals. Due to their fearsome reputation infamously known by the New World inhabitants, they see Elder Liches as rulers of the undead and lord of the labyrinth.

In YGGDRASIL, they were also nicknamed as White Counterfeiters. Monsters like these were level 30 and were ranked second within the Elder Lich family. There were other, palette-swapped monsters like these in YGGDRASIL, colloquially known as the Red Counterfeiters and the Black Counterfeiters. Moreover, if a player who is a Skeleton Mage possesses a Book of the Dead, then they can use it to ascend into an Elder Lich with specific conditions required to do so.

In the New World, certain individuals who have died prematurely would be able to spawn into an Elder Lich if their regrets are very high and deep such as was the case of Davernoc.

On the other hand, there is an infamous elder lich, who haunts the Katze Plains on a Ghost Ship that travels around the fog banks. There is also another famous one which haunts and ruled over an abandoned Castle.

Appearance
Elder Lich wears an old and luxurious robe that covered its body of rotting skins and bones. They would also hold a twisted staff adorned with gems on its end. Beneath its rotting exterior lies a pair of evil eyes brimming with intelligence. Its aura of negative energy covers its body like a thin fog, giving off a menacing atmosphere.

Abilities
Unlike normal undead, an Elder Lich retains its intelligence. Thus, it's capable of complex thought.

As a magic caster, the Elder Lich's source of mana comes from negative energy power. As Elder Liches leveled up, they gained a skill that when the undead touched someone, they dealt negative energy damage. However, it is poorly suited for melee battles.

On the other hand, there were many many different kind of Elder Lich. This includes the Elder Lich Iguva=41 that Ainz managed to summon and it was only level 22. While the Elder Liches working in Ashurbanipal were nicknamed White Counterfeiters, they were only level 30 and are ranked second within the Elder Lich family. There were other, palette-swapped monsters like these in YGGDRASIL, colloquially known as the Red Counterfeiters and the Black Counterfeiters.

Known Elder Liches

 * Ainz Ooal Gown
 * Davernoch
 * Iguva=41
 * Librarian J

Trivia

 * In the Web Novel, the prerequisite of becoming an Overlord was to be an Elder Lich.
 * Apparently, there is a ritual in the New World that allows one to become an Elder Lich, but the power to ascend or descend (depending on one's point of of view) to a lich requires the sacrifice of at least the entire population of a city.
 * Khajiit was attempting to turn himself into a Elder Lich by sacrificing the entire population of E-Rantel.
 * It would be challenging to defeat for a platinum-ranked adventurer team, and relatively winnable for a mithril-ranked adventurer team.
 * Elder Lich is ranked middle within the hierarchy of the Elder Lich type monsters. While as a Skeleton Mage being the lowest, Overlord being the highest.
 * According to Hejinmal, when enough elder liches gather together, they begin to form a mage cabal.
 * Momonga utilized the Book of the Dead to ascend into an Elder Lich.