Gigalich (Greater Black Skull)

This is another version of the dreaded lich, said to appear when a very powerful, elven or half-elven Cleric/Mage goes through the process of becoming a lich. They look the same as the common lich, but there's a greater (90%) chance that they'll be wearing clothes of nobility.

Combat: The Gigalich prefers to use his spells in combat, but when forced to engage in physical battler, it causes 1d12 points of damage to EVERYONE attacking it within a 20' radius by letting out a piercing howl. Then a save vs. death magic must be made to keep the creature from going deaf. Failure means the creature becomes permanantly deaf unless a Heal spell or Regeneration spell is cast on him. Deafness does not make the creature immune to the damaging effects of the wail.
The Lich can employ spells from either side of the casting spectrum, either Mage or Cleric. It will usually cast defensive spells on itself first and then attack with a powerful mage spell. Due to it's elven or half-elven heritage, most likely it will not be able to use the really high-level spells, although Gigalichs who have lived long enough can. And, of course, they have had plenty of time to research new spells. It takes magical weapons of +2 or greater to hit, or +1 or greater if used by a Paladin. The Gigalich, unlike the regular Lich, cannot see perfectly in the dark, but suffers only half the penalty a player normally would. To fully destroy a Gigalich, it's phylactery must be sought out and destroyed as well.

Habitat/Society: The Gigalich is a power-hungry creature who not only seeks power for himself, but seeks to weaken everyone else. For this purpose, they create the Black Skulls, armies of undead warriors to serve them. The Gigalich use these armies to attack town and slay the living. Their contempt for all that is alive has caused the Gigalich to band together and for the Ministry of Hate, a group of Gigalich and their servants dedicated to banishing the living from the world. In the Void, the land between planes, which encompasses the Nightmare Lands of Ravenloft, is where they live, terrorizing the people who live there. Many people don't live to see their first birthday. If a Gigalich is killed, then it's army stops functioning. The intelligence of the Black Skulls is provided by the Gigaliches and the death of their leader means they become nothing but piles of corpses.

Ecology: The Gigalich values magical components above all else. The things needed to cast their spells. They also value magical items and many are hellbent on finding out how each one works, even if it means destroying the artifact in the process.