Specifics on lich phylactery

[Jade Rose]

I am planning on making a lich for an upcoming campaign and I want to do something creative with its phylactery. However, the rules on the phylactery don't tell me if merely damaging it affects the lich, or if destroying part of it (say, a third or half of it) effectively renders it useless. How has anyone called this in the past?

For specifics, my lich will be at the top of an extremely old, magical tower that changes its number of floors and monsters every time the characters enter it. The lich is intended to be an NPC who can give the characters any crucial information they desire every time they make it to the top, and though it isn't meant as an enemy itself, some characters (such as paladins) may fight it if they don't come to terms with the idea of a helpful lich. When thinking up its phylactery, it seems best that it should be the tower itself since it is already incredibly magical and strong, though if busting part of a wall in or destroying a floor in a magical blast or a strong storm destroys its use as a phylactery, then it obviously wouldn't work. I double checked that a phylactery does not actually need to be a small or tiny item, and can in fact be practically anything.

[VRMH]

When destroyed, a Lich reforms near its phylactery. It would be rather embarrassing to be reconstituting yourself... on the doorstep of your magnificently warded tower.

[Morgen]

Your fine to have the tower be that phylactery. You can even leave some clues scattered around with the remnants of the rituals used to become a lich if you like. Just doing minor damage should be difficult to the tower due to the magic inside of it and it'd need to be destroyed completely for it stop functioning. A smashed in door here or a few cracks in the floor there should be fine. The building itself might even have some of the rebuilding magic built into it, given it is already quite mutable.

The whole phylactery thing is intentionally left a little vague to let GM's be creative with it like your doing. :)

[Joanna Swiftblade]

An interesting idea. I would think, at that point though, the lich would have made an army of unseen servant (or something like that) that would preform repairs on the tower if anything damaged on it. I would make for some pretty interesting encounters for the PCs, seeing bricks and mortar floating through the air towards a blasted open wall, and watching it slowly repair itself.

[Artanthos]

Have a Make Whole spell woven into the fabric of the tower, granting it the equivilent of regeneration.

In terms of affecting the lich, I would probably rule that only the destruction of a significant portion of the tower would kill the lich, though damage to any part would cause him pain.

[Malachi Silverclaw]

I have a question:

Assuming the lich itself is unharmed, what happens to it if the phylactery is completely destroyed?

Does the lich take damage? Is it destroyed when it's phylactery is? If the lich is unharmed, can it make another, or is it fated to stay destroyed without a chance to reform?

I'm talking about a normal phylactery here, not a tower-shaped one. : )

[Morgen]

The Lich should be just fine until it gets destroyed as well given that nothing says anything about it other wise. Expect table variation of course.

[VRMH]

Malachi Silverclaw wrote:

Assuming the lich itself is unharmed, what happens to it if the phylactery is completely destroyed?

Nothing at all, except that they'll be in a hurry to craft a new one.

Quote:

Does the lich take damage? Is it destroyed when it's phylactery is? If the lich is unharmed, can it make another, or is it fated to stay destroyed without a chance to reform?

No. No. Yes, no.

[Thane36425]

If the phylactery is destroyed it won't hurt the lich though it will likely be very angry at whoever did it. If it is smart it will have created boltholes to run to in that event where it can be safe and plot its revenge.

Under the official rules, the lich can't create a new phylactery. However, if you search the web for "Paragon Lich 3.5" you can find a racial paragon class from 3.5 edition. This has a few advantages including the ability to make additional phylacteries.

[Jade Rose]

Thank you, this was incredibly helpful and gave me new ideas as well.