Strange lich's phylactery question

[Clumsyninja23]

Just theoretical, one of my players brought this up. Could a lich make his phylactery... another lich?

He wants to know if you can scribe the runes onto another lich's bones (and vice-versa) and be each other's phylacteries. My mind immediately went to no, because it's another creature and not an item (craft wondrous item), but he thinks there is enough room for an argument to be made. One example of a phylactery (Libris Mortis pg. 151) is:

"A gold-plated skull with magical phrases engraved upon the teeth"

If I had to make the call as a DM, I'd say no. Have you guys ever had a player suggest this or try this?

[Alaris]

Just theoretical, one of my players brought this up. Could a lich make his phylactery... another lich?

He wants to know if you can scribe the runes onto another lich's bones (and vice-versa) and be each other's phylacteries. My mind immediately went to no, because it's another creature and not an item (craft wondrous item), but he thinks there is enough room for an argument to be made. One example of a phylactery (Libris Mortis pg. 151) is:

"A gold-plated skull with magical phrases engraved upon the teeth"

If I had to make the call as a DM, I'd say no. Have you guys ever had a player suggest this or try this?

The Lich, and thus his body parts, count as a creature, not an object. Plain and simple.

The only reason the "Gold-plated Skull" could function as one is because it is not undead... it is an object.

[Waker]

Not to mention the whole crafting the phylactery part, "Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat." Kinda hard to make a lich. I suppose you could make a phylactery out of a corpse/skeleton/whatever and then later on raise it as an undead, although why you would want to is another question.

[vasharanpaladin]

Grafts are a thing that exists. Make your phylactery into a graft, stick it on the other lich, and have him do the same. It's functionally identical to having another lich as your phylactery, since a graft is, by definition, inseparable from the creature it's attached to and effectively "dies" when it does unless reattached to someone else on the spot.