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View Full Version : Question to all undead fans, and know it alls



Balkash
2007-10-11, 09:32 PM
mainly, i want to know if this is plausible. Before becoming a lich, a spellcaster created a clone of himself, after which he completed the process of becoming a lich. After centuries of adventuring and fighting, the lich decided he wished to be alive again. He went to his clone (lets just say it was stored away from harm or damage over the years) and there he destroyed his phylactery as well as his body. By destroying the phylactery he frees his soul from it, and by killing himself afterwards, he no longer is recreated in 1d10 days as a lich. Instead, wouldnt the now free soul go to his clone, thus technically bringing him back to life. Granted he would only be whatever level and such as he was when he created the clone (though he would have all the neat items).

TimeWizard
2007-10-11, 10:52 PM
I don't see why it shouldn't work. Sans phylacetary you're dead just like anyone else, but there might be some special rule for this.

fireinthedust
2007-10-11, 11:00 PM
the problem is if someone smashes the phylactery I thought the lich died. instantly-like.

if the wizard dies, doesn't the clone kick in? wouldn't the clone be the phylactery already? So during the ritual, the wizard would pop-alive in the clone. Or the clone would wake up at the same time as the lich did, so there'd be a living one and an undead one.

unless he carved off some flesh and put it in stasis/time freeze, then became a lice; then did the cloning (which may just make a second phylactery body), and kept the body in stasis.

still, it could be that the lich-ritual would curse the spellcaster: the plan goes well enough, the phylactery is destroyed, the spirit flies into the clone. However, once inside, the flesh of the clone form begins to decay. Then, without the phylactery, the lich is killable once and for all!

There could be some sort of quest for atonement, if the lich had repented and wanted to go back to being good (as part of lichdom is an evil act in the process). So break the phylactery, get all cloney, then before the body decays completely (con drain, etc.), save some stranded archon/diva from some fiends and take a dip in the magical pool of radiance. Otherwise, be stuck in a fetid body until its destroyed.

Xefas
2007-10-11, 11:11 PM
I think your plan would work, except I think you'd have to manually Magic Jar your soul into your clone's body.

After your phylactery is destroyed, and then your Lich-body is destroyed, your soul doesn't automatically go anywhere but to it's respective Afterlife.

Jack_Simth
2007-10-11, 11:17 PM
Well, you need to prepare for the possibility when you're still alive (as per Clone, the chunk of flesh must be taken from a subject that's still alive - which an undead is not), although technically the lowly Eschew Materials feat negates this (technically, so does your spell components pouch; there's no listed price, after all, and one cubic inch of fresh flesh from the subject *could* fit in a pouch; this also applies to a Solar feather if you ever need to make a Simulacrum with Wish as a spell-like ability - but is grounds for the DM hitting you on the head with the heaviest available hard-bound book).

You'll need a (commonly banned) Thought Bottle for after, though, if you want to remember your time as an immortal lich (regain lost levels, remember why you chose to revert, and so on).


I think your plan would work, except I think you'd have to manually Magic Jar your soul into your clone's body.

After your phylactery is destroyed, and then your Lich-body is destroyed, your soul doesn't automatically go anywhere but to it's respective Afterlife.
... at which point, it's available, and immediately goes into the Clone automatically.

Mojo_Rat
2007-10-11, 11:21 PM
A lich can live just fine without their phylactry. They just cannot rise again without it and they cant make a new one. This was answered in a Sage advice or Faq or similar that i read in the last week or so but i cant remember the exact details.

To the OP it will only work if you use another source to force inhabitation of the body. So if you Magic Jar the clone or something similar. IF you just Die and loose your phylactry nothing happens.

Obviously if this is part of a plot for an NPC as a DM you can make it happen if you want by throwing in a ritual or something?. But without creating rules you would normally just die.