help with liching

[MoogleMcGee]

Hello everyone this being my first post I would like to thank everyone in advanced. So to the issue at hand.

I have been playing in an evil campaign for some time now and have decided that my character is going to tread the path of lichdom. Now I've read a very interesting post here about many different ways to hide a phylactery, but my problem lies with my DM on that matter. My DM has ruled that for a lich to be returned to life via its phylatery the phylactery must be on the same plane as the lich when they die. He has also ruled that the lich will reform fairly close to the phylactery. So my question is simple, What would be some more mundane, yet still effective, ways to hide my phylactery not only from the world but also from the other players given these restraints?

For reference my character is building a stronghold as we speak and is a caster of sorts (we mildly altered ur priest to fit my purposes)

[Zytil]

I would start by asking your DM if he counts permanent planar bubbles as being on a different plane.

If he says no, i would try covering the fortress in negative energy planar bubbles, then follow up with a set of traps and defenses based on how cheesy you want to be.

[KillianHawkeye]

Put it inside a forcecage (the solid walls version) and have the entire room be buried secretly underneath your fortress with no way in or out except for teleportation. Don't forget to line the walls with lead, adamantine, and any other rare materials that might make the place harder to find and/or enter.

Finally, I'm sure there are plenty of ways out there to make the room, as well as your phylactery specifically, immune to scrying and other divination effects. Check out Stronghold Builder's Guide for some of their magical architecture and room effects; I'm pretty sure there were a couple in there that would help.

[OldTrees1]

The second best hiding place is somewhere only you know of. The best hiding place is one you don't even know of.

Cast Teleport(5th level spell) on a place viewed only once that is near half* your teleport range limit and within half* your teleport range from your stronghold. Repeat until you get lost(off target)
Cast several Passwalls(5th level spell) downwards.
Cast Stone shape(4th level spell) to make a tiny hole (large enough for your phylactery, a spellbook, and your reformed body).
Cast Fly(3rd level spell) to fly out of the last Passwall.
Dismiss the Passwalls in reverse order to be ejected to the surface.
Teleport(5th level spell) back to your stronghold.

Result: Your phylactery is hidden in a random location at a random depth somewhere within your teleport range of your stronghold.

*An even smarter lich would use some fraction 0<X<1/2 rather than the obvious 1/2.

[MoogleMcGee]

So far these are wonderful ideas. Sadly Zytil my DM claims they are technically another plane and therefore a no go unless I die inside the one with the phylactery or outside one of the bubbles if it's outside them. Well now that there are some ideas for how to hide it any ideas on what object to use as my phylactery? My fortress is near the surface of the underdark and I've been toying with the idea of using a lump of adamantine or something equally hard and inconspicuous.

[Murk]

...any ideas on what object to use as my phylactery? My fortress is near the surface of the underdark...

Make the fortress your phylactery!

Actually, I'm not sure if that'd be allowed.

[Nibbens]

Step 1) Make your Phylactery
Step 2) Find an Ocean
Step 3) You're a Lich and don't need to breathe, so walk on the bottom of the ocean for a month or so.
Step 4) Stoneshape/Wall of stone a box to house your phylactery.
Addendum 4) Do not name the location - resist that evil urge. Giving something a name is bad news bears and opens you up to all sorts of divination shenanigans.
Step 5) Forbiddance the area
Step 6) Sequester the area (return periodically to update the spell, unless your DM allows permanency)
Step 7) Teleport Trap the area into a "kill prison" of some kind. I'll leave the Lichly details to you.
Step 8) Mages Private Sanctum - Permanency
Step 9) Seal the exit with more stoneshape.
Step 10) Mindblank and non-detection on yourself daily
Step 11) Keep Teleport, and 2 stone shape spells in your spell slots at all times (so you can open and close your underwater sanctuary and leave if you ever die)
Step 12) Set up a 1 round resetting Repulsion Trap to go off for and remain for the duration of the spell for anything that approaches except you. The range of this should extend all the way from the phylactery itself to outside the walls of the stone box (Use pinprick holes for line of effect allowance). This will keep your phylactery from accidental destruction from idiot animals/whales/krakens.

[edwin1993]

theres also a spell in the players handbook that hides magic auras so cast it on your phylactery and buy a ton similar and now if ur base is found they wont know which one it is/ or that it is your phylactery

[Seward]

No solution is perfect. But going to a location a zillion miles from anything else that would kill anyone not a lich (deep under the sea was a very good suggestion - some situation with lots of ambient electricity might also be good if you could find one) and then doing permanent versions of the usual anti-divination spells is probably good enough. If you can somehow work it out so all your protections are permanent, doing something to make yourself forget the location is also helpful - you won't be able to be compelled to reveal the location and it can't be plucked from your mind should somebody dispel your mind blank.

[Flickerdart]

Polymorph it into a stick, of the kind that paladins put up their butts. Nobody will suspect!

[Nibbens]

Polymorph it into a stick, of the kind that paladins put up their butts. Nobody will suspect!

... Wait a minute...

Would it be possible:

Make the phylactery operate as a ring of regeneration. Grab a long-living (or eternal) creature, cut him open, place the ring of regen/phylactery on his ribcage, cure wounds to seal up the wound, mind rape to make him forget, and let him loose back in his general population...

heroes checking for your phylactery would be sent to a person, and since they're heroes they'll think they're being misdirected or something...

... I've been awake too long.

[elonin]

These have all been discussed before as this is a topic that comes up from time to time. I'd say figure out some way to make it an artifact. Or failing that an item like a weapon or other item of great renown. I do like the idea of having the paladins guarding it (relic).

[ManicOppressive]

Honestly, all of the magic and trickery in the world rarely beats dropping some anti-divination and basic hardening, putting it in a lead case and dropping it down your Fantasy Mariana's Trench.

[Acanous]

hole in the ground with a weirdstone is my go-to. Can't be scried, can't be ported to. you can toss an extra spellbook there, too. for giggles, it's under a farm or something innocuous. Put it far enough down and then toss up a circle of protection against anything to hedge out earth elementals. Done.