Where does a killed Lich revive?

[erok0809]

If I kill a Lich without destroying its phylactery, I know it revives in 1d10 days. Where does it revive though? Like does the body just crumble away and then the reformation can happen anywhere (the Lich's base, most likely), or should a Lich have to reform where it was killed? I can't seem to find anything in the Monster Manual or Libris Mortis about this. Is it just DM ruling?

[Alaris]

If I kill a Lich without destroying its phylactery, I know it revives in 1d10 days. Where does it revive though? Like does the body just crumble away and then the reformation can happen anywhere (the Lich's base, most likely), or should a Lich have to reform where it was killed? I can't seem to find anything in the Monster Manual or Libris Mortis about this. Is it just DM ruling?

I believe it reforms near the Phylactery (as noted in Order of the Stick), but I could be wrong. It's been FOREVER since I've read the Lich entry.

[captain fubar]

3.5 rules are unclear on this but there are three options that I have seen.

1. in the same place they where slain becuse the rules dont say anything about movment.

2. near the phylactery becuse thats how it worked in previous editions, then again in previous editions they needed a corpse stash near by rather than making a new one

3. where the phylactery was created rather than its present location ... I don't realy remember what the arguement for number three was.

personaly I think option two makes the most sense and based on a number of "help me hide a phylactery" threads I suspect it is the general consencus of the board.

[Jeff the Green]

There is no rule for this; it's whatever you/your DM says.

Personally, I prefer with captain fubar's option 2. The phylactery holds the soul and is the thing that causes the lich to reform, so I'd make it so the lich reforms within 10 of the phylactery.

[ramrod]

The phylactery is linked with the liches soul. Upon death and destruction of the liches body, the soul returns to the phylactery and it will eventually reform the body.

Althought I have always thought that this process was a little unusual, seeing as becoming a lich is a two part process, creating a container to link with the soul and also preparing the body for undeath, preserving the corpse indefinitely and increasing resistances etc. However, it would appear that the phylactery is essentially capable of producing clones of said corpse!

[Starmage21]

I hate some of the changes that have been made to the lich's phylactery since 2e. Because of those changes, you cannot look to the past in this case to find any kind of precedent for the answer to questions like these.

In 2e, the lich's phylactery functioned as sort of a super Magic Jar. A lich could not reform a new body out of nothing, he had to possess one that was nearby his phylactery. If there was not a body nearby for possession, the lich was stuck until one wandered by. Magic Jar was even a required spell for the creation of a phylactery!

[Darth Stabber]

If I kill a Lich without destroying its phylactery, I know it revives in 1d10 days. Where does it revive though? Like does the body just crumble away and then the reformation can happen anywhere (the Lich's base, most likely), or should a Lich have to reform where it was killed? I can't seem to find anything in the Monster Manual or Libris Mortis about this. Is it just DM ruling?

Little known fact, liches actually reform in Detroit.

[Lapak]

I hate some of the changes that have been made to the lich's phylactery since 2e. Because of those changes, you cannot look to the past in this case to find any kind of precedent for the answer to questions like these.

In 2e, the lich's phylactery functioned as sort of a super Magic Jar. A lich could not reform a new body out of nothing, he had to possess one that was nearby his phylactery. If there was not a body nearby for possession, the lich was stuck until one wandered by. Magic Jar was even a required spell for the creation of a phylactery!I didn't remember that, but it serves as an admirable counterbalance for the whole 'bury it in a desert 1000 miles from anything / hide it in a Genesis demiplane / hurl it into the depths of space' business. A lich under this system has to balance out the safety of his phylactery against his ability to actually snag a new body, which makes the typical "his phylactery is hidden in a secret room next door to where you find him" much less ridiculous. For a lich who was confident that he'd take down at least one attacker in any assault against him, keeping a Magic Jar-style phylactery close at hand actually makes sense; you can potentially jump right into one of your former foes and restart the battle.

[ramrod]

But again, this makes no sense... A lich shouldn't be able to use just any old body. A lich corpse is specially prepared for the process. I would personally go with the phylactery reforms the body back at base.

As for the location of a phylactery, I thought (or perhaps assumed) that it had to be close to the lich either through requirement or compulsion/obsession with it. This prevents the ability to be completely indestructible by hiding just merging with a stone wall and talking a weeklong wander to find a random pocket to hold it.

[Starmage21]

But again, this makes no sense... A lich shouldn't be able to use just any old body. A lich corpse is specially prepared for the process. I would personally go with the phylactery reforms the body back at base.

As for the location of a phylactery, I thought (or perhaps assumed) that it had to be close to the lich either through requirement or compulsion/obsession with it. This prevents the ability to be completely indestructible by hiding just merging with a stone wall and talking a weeklong wander to find a random pocket to hold it.

The lich doesnt do anything to prepare his body really. The entire process used to involve creating a magic potion out of some rather gnarly poisonous ingredients. If the potion didnt kill you once imbibed, all you had to do was create your phylactery and then continue on as normal until you died. THEN you became a lich.

[ramrod]

My bad then, I remember some other preparations as well, which is what makes the body far more resistant than other undead and that it doesn't decay beyond a certain point. But cool... Sign me up for lichdom :smallbiggrin:

[Mnemnosyne]

In 2nd edition, the body got to make a saving throw to resist being possessed, but the lich's own body was at like -10 to the save. Although yes, it was possible to fail to possess your own body, even so.

[Lord Vukodlak]

I think the restrictions on phylacteries were lifted on the assumption that DM wasn't going to be a giant douche and design a Lich with an impossible to find phylactery.

Little known fact, liches actually reform in Detroit.That explains a lot actually

[Zaq]

Little known fact, liches actually reform in Detroit.

This is the kind of thing Calvin's Dad would say if he played D&D.