[Mild Spoiler] Ghoul town - Random Lich

Giltintur

Heyya all!

So I just experienced something most unusual. I'm running a two player party (in multi) with a KenSage (dual at 13) and a SwashbuCleric (dual at 10). I'm quite high level now for the chapter, but I only got to the Eye of the Cult now.

There is the area below the main cult base, if you go down the hole beside the friend of the ex-cultist.
So, after hacking away a few mummies and ghasts, I went in after the ghoul who talks to you. First I wiped the first room, then the room with the talking guy and the "too much smell" monologue (north of it, to the other exit), and finally the room to the west.
Now, in the room to the west, a Lich appeared, and as this isn't quite my first play-through, he caught me quite unaware (I didn't have any spell protections up, nor my simulacrum running). I almost got him, but then his death spell got trough (I think it might have been a finger of death) and my protagonist was slain.
So, I reloaded, re-entered the area with a tad more defences up, summoned the similacrum, and prepared for the fight... and killed a bunch of mummies and ghasts, with no Lich anywhere near.

Is this normal? Do you random encounter liches?
I always thought major encounters are set in stone...

xzar_monty

Sounds like you just encountered the "monsters disappearing on reload" bug.

Giltintur

Oh... well actually on my first reload to the quick save, there where no monsters and I couldn't exit the area, so I went back to the last autosave, and this was what happened afterwards. All other mobs where there.

Gotural

Yes, you can randomly encounter Liches. It can only trigger if your XP is above a certain amount, I assume your KenSage got his Fighter abilities back ? In that case he has at least 2m750 XP (1m250 for Kensai 13 and 1m500 for Mage 14) which is enough to get the maximum level for monsters, and Liches as random encounters.

Good luck

abacus

Had a similar experience recently... Apparently the Umar Hills had 3 liches serving a measly shade lord!

simples

yeah turns out the umar hills are not a good place to NOT spam-rest

The_Potty_1

Between tactics 'always toughest encounters' and now SCS2 'always toughest encounters (except liches)', I have never seen either the unseeing eye or the shadow temple as quests to do at low levels.

[Spoiler]There should be another lich right after you rescue Imoen, immediately before you meet Dace.[/Spoiler]

jscohen

I always thought liches were supposed to be quite rare. I know, game mechanics and what have you, but it's not like there aren't other undead that are appropriate for high levels - an advanced mummy or a ghoul lord (like Kortash Khain, but of course he hadn't been invented yet when BGII first came out) could fill that role too.