Lich's Phylactery

[Tao_Tzu]

Does anyone know if anything happens to someone who touches a lich's phylactery...beyond any wards the lich would likely have in place, that is ?

I vaguely recall something about an energy drain or possession effect from 1st or 2nd edition AD&D, but can't seem to find it mentioned anywhere.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Dracons]

In 3.0 and 3.5, nothing happens at all if you touch a phylactery after bypassing any wards.

[Eloi]

Well the lich would probably grab your near hand and explode it with magic or something, but other than that, I don't think you do anything but tick off the Lich who has it.

[KillianHawkeye]

If it's 3.X or later, then nothing happens. You can carry around a Lich's phylactery all you want. This makes it a lot easier to blackmail the Lich instead of just destroying his phylactery when you find it, if that's what you're into.

[Starbuck_II]

If it's 3.X or later, then nothing happens. You can carry around a Lich's phylactery all you want. This makes it a lot easier to blackmail the Lich instead of just destroying his phylactery when you find it, if that's what you're into.

Yep, this is a big part of Red Hand of doom (assuming you find it).

There spoil covered.

[J.Gellert]

Yep, this is a big part of Red Hand of doom (assuming you find it).

Spoilers! :smalltongue:

[IdleMuse]

Some liches like to hide their phylactery as some kind of mundane object, so having any kind of inherent power that eats the hand of those who touch it is kinda restrictive.

For example, a companion of mine in a long-term game i'm in has just turned into a Lich via various shenanigans, and decided to specify his Spellbook as his phylactery. Just before going up against the army of clay golems, he secretly stuck it into the nearest magical library, where, presumably it could last for years without being noticed as anything different. After all, a lot of tomes have strong necromantic auras...

[Gruffard]

he secretly stuck it into the nearest magical library, where, presumably it could last for years without being noticed as anything different. After all, a lot of tomes have strong necromantic auras...

Genius! I wish I thought of something like that.

[Gadora]

Some liches like to hide their phylactery as some kind of mundane object, so having any kind of inherent power that eats the hand of those who touch it is kinda restrictive.

For example, a companion of mine in a long-term game i'm in has just turned into a Lich via various shenanigans, and decided to specify his Spellbook as his phylactery. Just before going up against the army of clay golems, he secretly stuck it into the nearest magical library, where, presumably it could last for years without being noticed as anything different. After all, a lot of tomes have strong necromantic auras...

The problem with that is that when he reappears, he's right in a place frequented by many high level wizards.

[Ormagoden]

Spoilers! :smalltongue:

Spoilers in your quotes!

[NEO|Phyte]

The problem with that is that when he reappears, he's right in a place frequented by many high level wizards.

"Just here to pick up a book, don't mind me."

[KillianHawkeye]

"Just here to pick up a book, don't mind me."

Might work as long as the place the book is hidden is somewhere that's tolerant of undead.

[Umael]

Question for all of you:

Can you make a lich's phylactery part of, say, a holy avenger?

(You can make the hilt or the pommel hollow if you want... or should I say, you can make it hallow.)

[Claudius Maximus]

But then you reappear next to the kind of people who carry around Holy Avengers. Naked and presumably short some spells.

[Starbuck_II]

Question for all of you:

Can you make a lich's phylactery part of, say, a holy avenger?

(You can make the hilt or the pommel hollow if you want... or should I say, you can make it hallow.)

Nope as Holy Avengers are also magic items. You can't make it part of another magic item.
You could make the whole phylactery a Holy Averger though.

[hamishspence]

How about the Socketable Gems rule in Magic Item Compendium? Items come with sockets, that can be filled with magic gems.

If a non-magic gem can be placed in one of these sockets, this would fulfill the criteria- phylactery being on the holy avenger, but not actually being the holy avenger itself.

The Book Of Lairs (a 2nd ed collection of short Forgotten Realms adventures) has a dracolich encounter, where the phylactery is the gem on the magic sword- so there is precedent.

[Umael]

The Book Of Lairs (a 2nd ed collection of short Forgotten Realms adventures) has a dracolich encounter, where the phylactery is the gem on the magic sword- so there is precedent.

Will having a socketed gem (turned into a phylactery) interfere with the creation of the holy avenger? I'm thinking of what happens if you have, essentially, two items as one - will one being essentially evil (well, necromantic) interfere with the other being holy, or vice versa?

From a fluff, plotwise viewpoint, you could say that the holy avenger acts as a prison for the lich's soul...

[hamishspence]

I was thinking more "items have space for sockets"

So, you create the weapon (with a socket as standard) you create the phylactery (in the shape of a gem that can be socketed) and you fit the gem to the weapon.

[Marriclay]

Will having a socketed gem (turned into a phylactery) interfere with the creation of the holy avenger? I'm thinking of what happens if you have, essentially, two items as one - will one being essentially evil (well, necromantic) interfere with the other being holy, or vice versa?

From a fluff, plotwise viewpoint, you could say that the holy avenger acts as a prison for the lich's soul...

ooh! or it could be a plot point! like a Half-Celestial's sword being used as a lich's phylactery so that good and evil can come together in a single weapon to turn back the tide of something bigger than petty grievances!

[Lapak]

But then you reappear next to the kind of people who carry around Holy Avengers. Naked and presumably short some spells.This is more something that an order of particularly vengeful holy warriors would do than something that a lich would want. Capture the phylactery, bind it to the sword, spend the next 100 years executing the lich immediately every time he regenerates.

[Marriclay]

This is more something that an order of particularly vengeful holy warriors would do than something that a lich would want. Capture the phylactery, bind it to the sword, spend the next 100 years executing the lich immediately every time he regenerates.

That's just mean

[Lapak]

That's just mean
Just the thing for a society of diehard Lawful Neutral types, I'd think. The thought brings a whole story to mind that I should go write down before it escapes: an order of knights captures a lich and sentences it to die once for each life that it took while it ran free. They entomb the sword and the lich together, deep in their dungeons, and bind it when it restores itself, letting it revive only long enough to carry out the sentence. It becomes the final, secret test for novices who wish to join the Order: a test of their commitment to Law over Mercy, that they must slay a bound and helpless enemy knowing that he will rise again only to be killed again, over and over.

[Starbuck_II]

How about the Socketable Gems rule in Magic Item Compendium? Items come with sockets, that can be filled with magic gems.


They are called Augment crystals. They are cryatals you can place in a gem that giver a partial magic benefit (dealing 1 instead of 1d6 fire). They are cheap since not that much benefit, but best part can be removed (incase party doesn't want whole sword but likes crystals).

So you can remove the crystal. So after awhile party might remove crystal if one in the sword doesn't seem to do anything beneficial (phylactery likely wouldn't).

[hamishspence]

The villains could apply Sovereign Glue to the crystal before socketing it.

[Morph Bark]

Some liches like to hide their phylactery as some kind of mundane object, so having any kind of inherent power that eats the hand of those who touch it is kinda restrictive.

For example, a companion of mine in a long-term game i'm in has just turned into a Lich via various shenanigans, and decided to specify his Spellbook as his phylactery. Just before going up against the army of clay golems, he secretly stuck it into the nearest magical library, where, presumably it could last for years without being noticed as anything different. After all, a lot of tomes have strong necromantic auras...

This gave me an idea...

Before becoming a lich, found a great magical library and make sure all the books' pages are filled with explosive runes (possibly metamagicked up the wazoo; could use sepia snake sigil in combination as well), but still all with relevant information about magic, items, monsters, you name it. Have everyone who comes in the library be subjected to a spell that makes it so that they won't trigger the spell. Find a way to make it so that the magical effects cannot be dispelled (either have the no-explosive-triggering spell disable casters from casting spells like dispel magic and disjunction or use a high-level magic item or artefact). Make your phylactery into a book of sorts. Make your phylactery immune to force damage and whatever else you think it might need to be resistant to. Put it in a prohibited section of the library. Allow undead spellcasters in the library.

Now what good does this? If you die, you come back to a location you own that is frequented by magic-users, which may be willing to help you or whom would attack your foes anyway if they came to the library to protect the vast precious knowledge it contains. Plus, if your enemies sneak into your library in search for your phylactery (if they ever find out it is there), they won't be subjected to the spell that prevents the triggering of explosive runes (and potentially sepia snake sigil) and will cause all the explosive runes in the library to go off. If they even survive, they will likely be targeted by a horde of anrgy spellcasters who frequented the library. The best part? Your phylactery is still intact.

[Ravingdork]

I would make my phylactery out of a fine grain of sand. Then I would throw it in the campaign world's largest desert (and on a different planet if I can).

Good luck finding it amidst the other ~8x10^27 grains of sand.

[Morph Bark]

I would make my phylactery out of a fine grain of sand. Then I would throw it in the campaign world's largest desert (and on a different planet if I can).

Good luck finding it amidst the other ~8x10^27 grains of sand.

I don't think it can be that small though. :smallconfused:

[ondonaflash]

I'd cast a gaeas trap on my phylactery, requiring the the individual who stole my phylactery to return it to me and perform any single service I name.

[Itamarcu]

Huh. Can I make the entire moon my Phylactery?
:smallamused:
Now how can you destroy it, huh?


And think about it: You'll regenerate in a quiet, safe place, and everyone who comes dies from oxygen loss. And you have no lungs.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[NEO|Phyte]

The best place to keep it is in the heart of a massive, undead and construct-staffed fortress.

On the Positive Energy Plane.

Yay for RAW-shenanigans making the PEP grant its fast healing to undead and constructs, who are immune to exploding from the overload of THP!

[Redshirt Army]

The best place to keep it is in the heart of a massive, undead and construct-staffed fortress.

On the Positive Energy Plane.

Yay for RAW-shenanigans making the PEP grant its fast healing to undead and constructs, who are immune to exploding from the overload of THP!
Wouldn't positive energy hurt the undead?
...
Feh, even if it does, just staff it entirely with constructs.

[Morph Bark]

Huh. Can I make the entire moon my Phylactery?
:smallamused:
Now how can you destroy it, huh?


And think about it: You'll regenerate in a quiet, safe place, and everyone who comes dies from oxygen loss. And you have no lungs.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

The problem will be getting there and back again. A Lich's tale by Sauro Saggits.

[NEO|Phyte]

Wouldn't positive energy hurt the undead?
...
Feh, even if it does, just staff it entirely with constructs.


An abundance of life characterizes planes with this trait. The two kinds of positive-dominant traits are minor positive-dominant and major positive-dominant. A minor positive-dominant plane is a riotous explosion of life in all its forms. Colors are brighter, fires are hotter, noises are louder, and sensations are more intense as a result of the positive energy swirling through the plane. All individuals in a positive-dominant plane gain fast healing 2 as an extraordinary ability.

Major positive-dominant planes go even further. A creature on a major positive-dominant plane must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being blinded for 10 rounds by the brilliance of the surroundings. Simply being on the plane grants fast healing 5 as an extraordinary ability. In addition, those at full hit points gain 5 additional temporary hit points per round. These temporary hit points fade 1d20 rounds after the creature leaves the major positive-dominant plane. However, a creature must make a DC 20 Fortitude save each round that its temporary hit points exceed its normal hit point total. Failing the saving throw results in the creature exploding in a riot of energy, killing it.

The negative energy plane at least has the decency to use effects that only work on the living (and specifies living creatures for the damage effect). Also, as far as I've seen, there's no "undead are damaged by this **** instead of healed" in the SRD content. Plus, there's spells/armor enchantments to block the effects of the NEP, not so much for the PEP. Just make sure your mindless guards have orders to use nonlethal damage and grapple/trip tactics, they don't have to kill intruders, just hold them up until the plane pops them. :smallbiggrin: