DND3.5e/PF: What would you want as your phylactery?

[Xar Zarath]

As per the title thread, you have committed all the acts and rituals required to become an undead lich. You are almost ready but you have yet to prepare your phylactery.


What would you like to use as your phylactery? You can have only 1 phylactery. Also feel free to add any item from Real Life as well if you feel that is the best item.


For myself, probably a gemstone. Those seem durable and hardy enough, especially if you enchant them properly. Or maybe a magic spellbook. If a wizard grabs it, free body you know.

What about you?

[Silva Stormrage]

First thing to figure out is how the phylactery actually works.

It's not actually specified that the lich reforms next to the phylactery and it's not specified if it slowly regrows like OOTS handled it or wether the lich just spawns fully formed after the respawn period.

Regardless often times hiding the phylactery is the harder part than the actual choice of item. My general go to is a random underground room sealed and warded against divination. After that remove the air in the room via either custom magic or by summoning/teleporting living creatures in there until they have used up all the usable oxygen. Or if you are good aligned simply lighting a fire and consuming the oxygen that way. I often find people teleporting into sealed rooms fail to consider not being able to breathe. Have an unhallow on the room to apply dimensional anchor on everyone who enters as well, that can be fairly deadly for anyone breaking in unprepared.

For actual choice of phylacteries my favorite trick that I have used before is to make the phylactery a simple brick. Build a secret base with an altar with the brick and on top of the altar leave a magical skull of some sort then make sure the skull registers as a phylactery to detect magic and the like via various methods. Then make sure to cover/obscure your own phylactery's magical signature.

That way if someone finds their way into the room (Which should be difficult by itself if you hide it correctly) and survives the traps/set up in the room they will probably just smash the skull/fake phylactery and leave the altar in tact (Usually people don't bother with obvious set pieces, especially non magical ones.). The best possible fake I have thought of would be another lich's phylactery, but that might be tricky to get a hold of.

[Ellrin]

The most exquisite, delicate, fragile crystal figurine I can find.

Because obviously I'm going to throw it into a demiplane that I'm spending the better part of a century making impenetrable and unfindable because I obviously have the time now, and at that point who even cares how durable the phylactery itself is?

[MoogleMcGee]

Kidnap a village child, or maybe a prince/princess/other high royalty, in the dead of night. Slice open their chest and use their still beating heart as my phylactery. Close them back up, use a wand of vigor/cure moderate wounds to undo damage and put them back where I found them.

Side note, is it actually a requirement that a phylactery be a single object? Can it be a string of connected objects? I think I remember someone trying to justify building a town where the buildings were connected by a solid walkway and using the town itself as a phylactery. Then populating it with innocents.

[Celestia]

I'd choose a pebble. I'd then make it as indestructible as possible, protect it from all manner of divination, and then throw it into space. No one will ever find it even if they know what to look for and where to look for it. Plus, the more time passes, the further away it flies, and the more difficult it becomes to reach.

[unseenmage]

Either an embedded warforged component or a highly mobile Construct.
Either way it should be a non-magical magic item via being a device from Ravenloft: Legacy of the Blood.

[Azoth]

I am surprised no one has said a Nokia 3310 yet.

[GrayDeath]

I`d use the (or a, depening on the world) Moon, of course!

Noone but anime Monkeys would ever blow it up, and there are no anime Monkeys in my setting. ^^

[sleepyphoenixx]

The form doesn't really matter to much. Probably something small like a ring or amulet (non-metallic because some things can detect metals) with a permanent Magic Aura effect to make it detect as nonmagical.
Then i'd dump it into a sealed, lead-lined underground room with no entrances hidden under a big city with tons of old ruins and cellars under it.
Because even a sealed, lead-lined underground room can be found, but that doesn't help when it's just one of hundreds.


I`d use the (or a, depening on the world) Moon, of course!

Noone but anime Monkeys would ever blow it up, and there are no anime Monkeys in my setting. ^^
You must craft the Phylactery yourself with Craft Wondrous Item. So the moon is probably out.

[khadgar567]

in pathfinder the starstone it self since patyhfinder society and parties own greed keep it protected and you need to destroy god making artifact to get rid of me( which enough no no make sure society to keep it safe) plus if every thing go to bobo i can touch my phylactery to become god as final screw you to party otherwise some random object in dark archives vault.

[GrayDeath]

The form doesn't really matter to much. Probably something small like a ring or amulet (non-metallic because some things can detect metals) with a permanent Magic Aura effect to make it detect as nonmagical.
Then i'd dump it into a sealed, lead-lined underground room with no entrances hidden under a big city with tons of old ruins and cellars under it.
Because even a sealed, lead-lined underground room can be found, but that doesn't help when it's just one of hundreds.


You must craft the Phylactery yourself with Craft Wondrous Item. So the moon is probably out.


Not necessarily!

Craft a thing, polimorph the thing, exchange for a (small) moon or space station, I am sure there are ways tog et the Moon as my phylactery!^^

Are there ways tog et the moon as my phylactery?

[Bphill561]

I was always partial to the cursed item Stone of Weight in the DMG, even if smashed it comes back. But don't carry it yourself since it halves movement rates.

For style, I always thought a floating "Tree of Life" would be cool. Take:

1) The small collar from Savage species and add levitate, continual light, and sustenance ring effect to it. Have it dwarfcrafted out of Oerthblood alloyed-Obdurium with true ore mined from the plane of earth or glassteel if you are worried about rust effects. (Make this the phylactery)

2) Build a rune circle from Races of the Stone with properties as desired. If sized as a 5-foot space, it costs 1/8 the normal magic item cost.

3) Place the collar around a oak tree (or use a feather token to make oak tree where desired).

You now have a floating small oak tree hovering over your Rune circle. Cast Acorn of Far Travel if you want to get all the properties of the rune circle to effect you everywhere you go. Sustenance is for the Oak tree, not you obviously. Feel free to add in an Earth Node and/or Mythal Epic Spell for even more properties. And decorate the room nicely in your demi-plane fortress.

[Quertus]

Hmmm... Here's a few ideas of things that would be good candidates (regardless of their legality):

Sphere of Annihilation - it's deadly, it's valuable, is darn hard to get rid of.

Soandso's ex - as above. But less valuable. At least you're happy when the PCs destroy it.

The World - how many peaky PCs really want to destroy the world just to be rid of you once and for all? Bonus points if you are the last "surviving" member your race, having genocidally killed the rest of your race in your bid for "I'm evil enough to be as Lich", and then rebuilt the current campaign world from the ashes.

The skulls of the gods you slew before becoming a Lich. No, seriously, this is the kind of power I wielded, even back in my youth - are you certain that you want to **** with me?

The sun. Blow this up, and how much of the campaign world will survive?

A moon made of Void Stone. Blow this up, and how much of the campaign world will survive?

A moon made of Warp Stone. Blow this up, and, um, the campaign world will wish it hadn't survived.

Butterfly Dreams. Because I'm an oldschool 2e Lich, dagnabbit! These whippersnappers these days have no appreciation for dealing with abstract concepts.

The heart of a god. Not sure whether this is more fun with a friendly or enemy deity, or as a really oldschool good Lich.

Boccob's Bookmark. Because he wouldn't care.

Speaking of 2e, hide it inside Primus' book, as the ultimate "spot the difference" game.

Or use your own lifeline as your phylactery. Talk about recursion!

From this world? An unbreakable comb, nuclear waste, or a giant middle finger made out of asbestos? Or the batmobile? Because then I'd own the batmobile. :smallwink:

[lbuttitta]

First, build it out of some indestructible material, such as riverine (I forgot the source on this, but it's essentially water encased in a permanent wall of force), then ward it against disintegrate, which instantly destroy riverine, and divination, then encase it in a layer of boxes made of adamantine, aurorum, hardened lead, etc. (which have all been filled with some deadly liquid such as acid, poison, or lava and warded against divination), then cast an array of spell traps on it to protect it from intruders, then finally cast a permanencied prismatic sphere on it and throw it into the Para-Elemental Plane of Ooze, the River Styx, or the rift caused by that one trick with a bag of holding within a portable hole. That way, it's essentially invulnerable against all attack and magic, forever lost to the world, and you're generally home free.

Edit: If possible, see if you can get a spellblade- or spell immunity-like effect; riverine is explicitly only destroyed by disintegrate-like effects. Also, turns out riverine isn't destroyed by antimagic, since it's a magic item.


The World

For some reason I'm imagining Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure as a lich now. :smallbiggrin:

[Mindstab_Thrull]

Sneak into the party's camp sometime while most of the party is asleep. Steal the Big Dumb Fighter's Adamantine Greatsword +5 of Butt-Kicking and Can-Opening. Finish your ritual and cast the spell onto the sword. Then return it before dawn breaks.

Imagine their surprise when they search your entire abode for the phylactery and can't find it...

Mindstab Thrull
*looks up at Endrek Sahr* When's lunch?

[EldritchWeaver]

Pathfinder states this:


Each lich must create its own phylactery by using the Craft Wondrous Item (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/coreRulebook/feats.html#craft-wondrous-item) feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.


The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40.


Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

So no enchanting swords or similar.

[Sto]

A single grain of sand that's immune to locate any object. Stick it on a magic beach with magic sand.

[Andor13]

A Deathstar. One with shielded exhaust ports. :smallcool:

[BlackOnyx]

Libris Mortis does mention that all phylacteries have the same "game statistics" regardless of the specific item chosen, namely:


Tiny Size
HP 40
Hardness 20
Break DC 40


...so it does tend to edge out your monoliths and planetoids if you adhere to those rules.


That said, if you always wanted to make a phylactery out of your favorite crystal dolphin statue, at least you don't have to worry about knocking it off the table by accident.

[sleepyphoenixx]

It doesn't really matter too much what you use as your phylactery because in the end everything in D&D can be destroyed with the proper effort.
It's far more important how you hide it, so something innocuous is better than something that's tough to destroy once discovered (assuming you're trading the former for the latter).

Which is incidentally why Dry Liches (SaSt) are the superior liches unless you're epic and have access to Aumvor's Fragmented Phylactery (CoR).
Having dozens of phylacteries scattered throughout all the dungeons in your campaign world, all of them shielded against divinations, Magic Aura'd and looking like cheap crap no self respecting adventurer would pick up, that's the proper way to lich.

Because every third-rate hack can pay a psion some gold for a manifesting of Soul Crystal with Astral Seed instead of paying 120k gp and be a discount lich without the drawbacks or LA, so it's only worth doing if you abuse it properly.

[Sto]

Libris Mortis does mention that all phylacteries have the same "game statistics" regardless of the specific item chosen, namely:


Tiny Size
HP 40
Hardness 20
Break DC 40


...so it does tend to edge out your monoliths and planetoids if you adhere to those rules.


That said, if you always wanted to make a phylactery out of your favorite crystal dolphin statue, at least you don't have to worry about knocking it off the table by accident.

Doesn't someone use Shade (the city) as their Phylactery in one of the time of troubles books? It's been while since I've read any of them so I can't be sure which one. Does this imply that the size limit can be ignored for the sake of awesome?

[Crichton]

Doesn't someone use Shade (the city) as their Phylactery in one of the time of troubles books? It's been while since I've read any of them so I can't be sure which one. Does this imply that the size limit can be ignored for the sake of awesome?

I don't know about that, but during the Time of Troubles, Shade was still stuck in the Plane of Shadows. I guess maybe that would make for a harder to find phylactery?

[Segev]

If it functions in the fashion that I like thematically - modeled after the dracolich method of having the lich's spirit possess the nearest convenient corpse of the same (or at least similar) race - I'd make my phylactery a nice but unassuming plaque in a well-cared-for mausoleum in a large cemetery.

If it functions by simply having me reappear after 1d10 days, then its location is irrelevant, and I will go for the "protect it from all detection and send it into space/an empty plane" route. I can just greater teleport and/or plane shift when I reform in an inconvenient location.

For style points, making it a portrait of you in your prime might be neat. Shades of Dorian Grey.

Getting the contract to restore the Statue of Liberty and making her into my phylactery would be nicely ironic, as well as guaranteeing a ton of protection for it.

I might also just go for the classic box, and keep it locked under my bed...with a gentle repose effect that keeps the heart I put in there looking fresh. Hopefully any lich-slayers will open the box, see and stab the heart, and think their job done.

[Falontani]

I'd turn my phylactery into a coffin. Put the coffin on some obvious dirt, and put a zombie inside it with a gentle repose ring and make it look like myself. Craft a Contingency on the zombie to cast disintegrate on it when it is stabbed in the heart. Craft a contingency on myself that casts gaseous form on my corpse when I die. Disguise myself as a vampire throughout my lichdom. When someone finally kills me I'll gaseous form like a vampire would, they will quickly search for my coffin, find it, and stab my "heart". The zombie gets turned to dust like a vampire would. I'm obviously defeated. When I reform if my zombie is dusted then I disguise myself as a different vampire and reset everything.

[Celestia]

Getting the contract to restore the Statue of Liberty and making her into my phylactery would be nicely ironic, as well as guaranteeing a ton of protection for it.
That's not a good idea. If ever there is an apocalypse, it will be the first thing destroyed.

[Segev]

That's not a good idea. If ever there is an apocalypse, it will be the first thing destroyed.

Nah, it'll just be missing because it'll follow its orders to move off to a safer place. (What? You didn't think I'd take the opportunity to make a golem out of it?)

[BlackOnyx]

Doesn't someone use Shade (the city) as their Phylactery in one of the time of troubles books? It's been while since I've read any of them so I can't be sure which one. Does this imply that the size limit can be ignored for the sake of awesome?


Well, "rule of cool" is always valid as long as your DM gives you the all clear. I'm sure there's plenty of published modules and homebrew worlds out there in which villains (and possibly PCs) have access to special rituals/circumstances that allow them to create more elaborate phylacteries.


That said, if you're adhering to RAW rather than DM/module fiat, the Libris Mortis stats would probably come into play.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Kidnap a village child, or maybe a prince/princess/other high royalty, in the dead of night. Slice open their chest and use their still beating heart as my phylactery. Close them back up, use a wand of vigor/cure moderate wounds to undo damage and put them back where I found them.NPCs are notoriously fragile, and they only live for so long. Bad idea.


Side note, is it actually a requirement that a phylactery be a single object? Can it be a string of connected objects? I think I remember someone trying to justify building a town where the buildings were connected by a solid walkway and using the town itself as a phylactery. Then populating it with innocents.Likewise with this. Small hamlets are destroyed by rampaging monstrosities with alarming regularity in a D&D world.

Me? I'd ask one very important question: how often do (inter)planetary bodies get destroyed in your campaign? Unless I had just the right build going, I'd probably choose the planet itself. That, or the moon. Oof! Lich'd!

If this was something I had in mind the whole time and had built for properly, I'd go with my (or more likely, my minion's) psicrystal, which I would then turn into a demiplane using the planar vanguard (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031219a) ability. Entire planes of existence are notoriously difficult to destroy, especially more obscure ones.

Beyond that, perhaps an artifact. Those are hard to destroy, as well. There's a reason Sauron's soul was hidden in The One Ring, Which Could Only Be Destroyed By Hurling It Into Mt. Doom. Now, where is that bauble that allows the sun to rise each morning...?

[Celestia]

Nah, it'll just be missing because it'll follow its orders to move off to a safer place. (What? You didn't think I'd take the opportunity to make a golem out of it?)
I dunno if that'll work. Every apocalypse movie I've ever seen has destroyed the Statue of Liberty. I think it serves as some sort of apocalypse magnet.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Make a normal phylactery. Use dispel magic to make it temporarily nonmagical. Cast polymorph any object to turn it into rock. Rock to mud, followed by purify food and drink. Then dump the resulting water into the plane of water.

[Segev]

I dunno if that'll work. Every apocalypse movie I've ever seen has destroyed the Statue of Liberty. I think it serves as some sort of apocalypse magnet.

See, the trick here is that I've had the statue move away so it appears destroyed anyway.

[Boggartbae]

I've always been partial to building a Colossal sized adamantine golem and then hiding it on the negative energy plane inside of a giant fortress. Kit out the golem with a ton of magical items and enchantments, and then shield it from divination magic and you should be good.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I've always been partial to building a Colossal sized adamantine golem and then hiding it on the negative energy plane inside of a giant fortress. Kit out the golem with a ton of magical items and enchantments, and then shield it from divination magic and you should be good.Don't forget to awaken it using a lot of metamagic to get its mental stats as high as possible. Then make sure it has lots of ranks in useful skills, like Knowledge (Tactics) and (Strategy), as well as the most powerful feats you can muster up.

Even better if you can secure the loyalty of a powerful minion (such as a high level initiator or even a caster) and then body-swap him for the golem.