a Lich's Phylactery vs a Dracolich's [Archive] - Wizards Community

a Lich's Phylactery vs a Dracolich's [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
cmrscorpio
08-06-05, 10:07 AM I was looking at the Draconomicon today and noticed that the cost to create a Dracolich's Phylactery is 25,000 gp plus the value of the gem (minimum 2,000 gp).

The Phylactery of a regular lich costs 120,000 gp to create.

If I were a lich, I'd be calling the better business bureau on whoever sold me the kit for making my phylactery.
The9gods
08-06-05, 02:54 PM Well if you think about if the humaniod lich does have a better selction. The Dracolich can only use a gem, so that will nerrow the adventure's serch down to looking for only gems. On the other hand the Lich can pick ANYTHING. The rules for a Lich's Phylactery are well, very open ended. An example of this is the the drow lich with an iron golem phylactery. Try this, a lich whoes Phylactery is a platium coin that she payed on of her lackies with. Being the only person who knows what they touched they can locate object and find it anywhere in this plane. For the party this task would be nearly impossible the coin COULD be ANYWHERE in their own coin pouch or in the horde of a great red dragon who killed hundreds of parties and on of those parties was unlucky to have the coin the lich gave to a lacky that was killed by a party after the lich whose bodies were picked clean by thieves who spent the coin in a small town for ale and escorts who used... you get the idea. Another extream would be if the Lich made it's entire castle it's Phylactery so after it's death the new "owners" would defend that castle until death. This idea is a is very risky, yet has a huge pay-off. So I think the Lich is being ripped off a little by price, but ideas of where to hide their life force, people always short change them. Come on they are at least smarter then the average person.
He Who Lurks
08-06-05, 03:09 PM Not to mention that being a dracolich sucks in comparison to being a living dragon. Lose a ton of hp, never gain another age category, become vulnerable to turning and the commands of necromancers and clerics... It's a bum deal in my opinion.
The9gods
08-06-05, 03:36 PM I do agree with the suck powers the dracolich gets. And not to mention the way it returns, if no lizard dead lizard is close than it just stays "dead." At least the lich just pops up from nowhere (I feel bad for those people who have it's coin at that time.)
Xalxika
08-07-05, 01:45 AM Some prestige classes allow for a lower cost to become a lich, too. There's one called the Crypt Lord in Relics and Rituals that cuts the cost in half for a lich at 10th lvl.
Manyfist
08-07-05, 01:54 AM My favorite thing to do with the Phylactery is to make it into an artifical Island out in the middle of the Astral Plane, then live on it. :D Want to destory me? Destory the entire island! :evillaugh Of course I like the option of it being anything, from a Coin to an Planet (Could happen). Every Lich is different...
cmrscorpio
08-07-05, 02:07 AM well, according to the MM, a lich's phylactery is most commonly a tiny box. Other forms exist such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

It seems to be that by raw, a lich's phylactery is a Tiny object, so phylacteries that are buildings, etc go against the raw.
runestar
08-07-05, 03:07 AM I think they were small because the general idea was that smaller items were easier to conceal or transport. Sure, making the effiel tower your phylactery might seem cool, but when the npcs find out.....
Slagger the Chuul
08-07-05, 05:54 AM It doesn't matter what you make your phylactery, as long as you remember the most important bit: deception.

You should have dozens (if not hundreds) of objects that could be your phylactery, both in plain view, on your person, and concealed in various places with substantial defenses. They should all physically resemble a phylactery and be enchanted with false magical auras.

The dracolich really loses out on this part, since you're just after the place with all the reptilian bodies lying about.
shadowflamedancer
08-07-05, 11:33 PM The dracolich really loses out on this part, since you're just after the place with all the reptilian bodies lying about.

Not a problem! Just carry a deab baby white dragon in a large pouch/pack attachted to your back or stomach. If the baby dragon is too big, go with a small (non draconic) lizard, but ti will take longer to regenerate. Lol. Some kind of contingency that teleported your body to a jungle as soon as you died may be nice as well.
digoraccoon
08-08-05, 09:52 AM An ironic thought, the lich's phylactery is the sword the PCs used to slay him with. :D Or better yet, the lich mades a decent magical armor his phylactery with the rumor that the lich can't hurt the PC wearing it! Now the PCs can't part with the "anti-lich armor" because it's so valuable to them, but they have to part with it to kill the lich...

...it's too early in the morning for me. :)
Giver_of_Rings
08-08-05, 11:32 PM Phylacteries cannot be inherently magical.

That's rule one.

Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool, and should be punched in the dicebag.

Now if a brick's the phylactery...that's different. A phylactery should be portable. If your tenuous grasp to the realm of the living was invested in an item you couldn't keep constant tabs on, you're a fool. Lich's just don't roll that way.

I quote Darth Sidious...those with power...blah de blah blah, you know the rest.
Xalxika
08-10-05, 03:28 AM For Vecna I made his phylactery his spellbook. Who's going to think to destroy that? Hell, who'd want to regardless?
runestar
08-10-05, 04:53 AM While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas?
Mirtek
08-10-05, 08:30 AM Not to mention that being a dracolich sucks in comparison to being a living dragon.
Indeed, but it's much better than being a dead dragon :D

Dragons in D&D are not immortal (see Draconomicon for the newest 3.5e confirmation of this fact) and thus there comes the time when becoming a dracolich doesn't suck anymore.
The9gods
08-10-05, 12:56 PM While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas?
I don't have my books at the moment so I don't remember the name of the class but I think is the Hunter of the Dead, on ablitity states if you kill and undead they cannot return as an undead... or something like that. But look up the class that should be helpful (keep this note in mind I am a DM and I just say either liches aren't affected because of the whole phylactery or that the come back as living creatures).
Chaotix42
08-10-05, 04:45 PM Phylacteries cannot be inherently magical.

That's rule one.

Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool, and should be punched in the dicebag.

What about the Creature Competition and the lich w/Iron Golem phylactery?
shadowflamedancer
08-11-05, 12:23 AM While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas?
Any kind of stasis or improsonment I suppose. If possible you could set it up so they regenerate in s destructive area, lava, acid, hell, etc.
obrysii
08-11-05, 10:45 AM Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool

Why do you say that? :rolleyes:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
cmrscorpio 08-06-05, 10:07 AM	I was looking at the Draconomicon today and noticed that the cost to create a Dracolich's Phylactery is 25,000 gp plus the value of the gem (minimum 2,000 gp). The Phylactery of a regular lich costs 120,000 gp to create. If I were a lich, I'd be calling the better business bureau on whoever sold me the kit for making my phylactery.
The9gods 08-06-05, 02:54 PM	Well if you think about if the humaniod lich does have a better selction. The Dracolich can only use a gem, so that will nerrow the adventure's serch down to looking for only gems. On the other hand the Lich can pick ANYTHING. The rules for a Lich's Phylactery are well, very open ended. An example of this is the the drow lich with an iron golem phylactery. Try this, a lich whoes Phylactery is a platium coin that she payed on of her lackies with. Being the only person who knows what they touched they can locate object and find it anywhere in this plane. For the party this task would be nearly impossible the coin COULD be ANYWHERE in their own coin pouch or in the horde of a great red dragon who killed hundreds of parties and on of those parties was unlucky to have the coin the lich gave to a lacky that was killed by a party after the lich whose bodies were picked clean by thieves who spent the coin in a small town for ale and escorts who used... you get the idea. Another extream would be if the Lich made it's entire castle it's Phylactery so after it's death the new "owners" would defend that castle until death. This idea is a is very risky, yet has a huge pay-off. So I think the Lich is being ripped off a little by price, but ideas of where to hide their life force, people always short change them. Come on they are at least smarter then the average person.
He Who Lurks 08-06-05, 03:09 PM	Not to mention that being a dracolich sucks in comparison to being a living dragon. Lose a ton of hp, never gain another age category, become vulnerable to turning and the commands of necromancers and clerics... It's a bum deal in my opinion.
The9gods 08-06-05, 03:36 PM	I do agree with the suck powers the dracolich gets. And not to mention the way it returns, if no lizard dead lizard is close than it just stays "dead." At least the lich just pops up from nowhere (I feel bad for those people who have it's coin at that time.)
Xalxika 08-07-05, 01:45 AM	Some prestige classes allow for a lower cost to become a lich, too. There's one called the Crypt Lord in Relics and Rituals that cuts the cost in half for a lich at 10th lvl.
Manyfist 08-07-05, 01:54 AM	My favorite thing to do with the Phylactery is to make it into an artifical Island out in the middle of the Astral Plane, then live on it. :D Want to destory me? Destory the entire island! :evillaugh Of course I like the option of it being anything, from a Coin to an Planet (Could happen). Every Lich is different...
cmrscorpio 08-07-05, 02:07 AM	well, according to the MM, a lich's phylactery is most commonly a tiny box. Other forms exist such as rings, amulets, or similar items. It seems to be that by raw, a lich's phylactery is a Tiny object, so phylacteries that are buildings, etc go against the raw.
runestar 08-07-05, 03:07 AM	I think they were small because the general idea was that smaller items were easier to conceal or transport. Sure, making the effiel tower your phylactery might seem cool, but when the npcs find out.....
Slagger the Chuul 08-07-05, 05:54 AM	It doesn't matter what you make your phylactery, as long as you remember the most important bit: deception. You should have dozens (if not hundreds) of objects that could be your phylactery, both in plain view, on your person, and concealed in various places with substantial defenses. They should all physically resemble a phylactery and be enchanted with false magical auras. The dracolich really loses out on this part, since you're just after the place with all the reptilian bodies lying about.
shadowflamedancer 08-07-05, 11:33 PM	The dracolich really loses out on this part, since you're just after the place with all the reptilian bodies lying about. Not a problem! Just carry a deab baby white dragon in a large pouch/pack attachted to your back or stomach. If the baby dragon is too big, go with a small (non draconic) lizard, but ti will take longer to regenerate. Lol. Some kind of contingency that teleported your body to a jungle as soon as you died may be nice as well.
digoraccoon 08-08-05, 09:52 AM	An ironic thought, the lich's phylactery is the sword the PCs used to slay him with. :D Or better yet, the lich mades a decent magical armor his phylactery with the rumor that the lich can't hurt the PC wearing it! Now the PCs can't part with the "anti-lich armor" because it's so valuable to them, but they have to part with it to kill the lich... ...it's too early in the morning for me. :)
Giver_of_Rings 08-08-05, 11:32 PM	Phylacteries cannot be inherently magical. That's rule one. Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool, and should be punched in the dicebag. Now if a brick's the phylactery...that's different. A phylactery should be portable. If your tenuous grasp to the realm of the living was invested in an item you couldn't keep constant tabs on, you're a fool. Lich's just don't roll that way. I quote Darth Sidious...those with power...blah de blah blah, you know the rest.
Xalxika 08-10-05, 03:28 AM	For Vecna I made his phylactery his spellbook. Who's going to think to destroy that? Hell, who'd want to regardless?
runestar 08-10-05, 04:53 AM	While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas?
Mirtek 08-10-05, 08:30 AM	Not to mention that being a dracolich sucks in comparison to being a living dragon. Indeed, but it's much better than being a dead dragon :D Dragons in D&D are not immortal (see Draconomicon for the newest 3.5e confirmation of this fact) and thus there comes the time when becoming a dracolich doesn't suck anymore.
The9gods 08-10-05, 12:56 PM	While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas? I don't have my books at the moment so I don't remember the name of the class but I think is the Hunter of the Dead, on ablitity states if you kill and undead they cannot return as an undead... or something like that. But look up the class that should be helpful (keep this note in mind I am a DM and I just say either liches aren't affected because of the whole phylactery or that the come back as living creatures).
Chaotix42 08-10-05, 04:45 PM	Phylacteries cannot be inherently magical. That's rule one. Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool, and should be punched in the dicebag. What about the Creature Competition and the lich w/Iron Golem phylactery?
shadowflamedancer 08-11-05, 12:23 AM	While we are on the topic of phylactaries, has anyone come up with a way of destroying a lich and bypassing its phylactary at the same time. I know what the MM says, but has anyone found a loophole around this. Like to destroy the lich outright without it having the chance to be reformed by its phylactary. I am guessing some sort of permanent magical imprisonment though. Ideas? Any kind of stasis or improsonment I suppose. If possible you could set it up so they regenerate in s destructive area, lava, acid, hell, etc.
obrysii 08-11-05, 10:45 AM	Any DM that makes a castle his Phylactery is a tool Why do you say that? :rolleyes: