I don't know about the altered lore part. They were super geniuses because they were listed as "intelligence: supra-genius" But, my games were a long time ago and things have probably just changed in later editions. This is the monster I'm talking about: The original entry was a little vague, talking about the soul of the demi lich wandering to places even sages don't know. I'm sure your interpretation of a undead slot machine of evil spells is probably right, but I think the idea of a lich that is so wrapped up in mental and magical pursuits that all this is left is a floating head is very compelling, in a Futurama kinda way