Hey! Currently running a homebrew campaign (My first one) In which the Players are now Looking for a lich phylactery, what are some creative ways to destroy them?
Powerful magic weapons, powerful magic monsters (think the basilisk fang in Harry Potter), dwarven furnaces deep underground that burn hotter than anything, or perhaps just feeding it some dodgy souls.
Be specific with the phylactery's makeup and remember that it has been constructed to protect the fragment of the lich's soul within. If you construct it out of multiple rare substances you can brainstorm ways to negate each one. If it's made up of cold iron and bone fragments from a red dragon for instance, you could make it susceptible to a rust monster's touch and a strike from a Frost Giant's magic hammer, or something like that. This gives you multiple quest options/paths before you get down to destroying the phylactery. And once its broken you have to deal with the soul fragment within... how does that play out? Does it try and posses one of the PCs? Can it only be destroyed with a special ceremony and divine clerical magic? Fun times!
I'd also suggest having it destroyed on another plane. This can open up an entire separate adventure, with the lich becoming a pursuer. It could be fun to have the party trying to stay one step ahead of this powerful undead entity as it continues to chase them in the hopes of reclaiming its phylactery.
As Knightmare13 noted, you should definitely build out the detail of what the phylactery is made out of. If you want to melt it down, perhaps only the hottest forge can do - that forge being in the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Or maybe the it needs to be struck by a weapon forged on Mount Celestia.
Another route too could be that the phylactery is made of such precious metal that it has attracted the gaze of Mammon, Lord of the Third Layer of the Nine Hells. Not only does he want the phylactery, but as a devil, he wants the soul fragment inside. Perhaps he sends a devil to petition the party to trade it for an infernal boon or favor. Do they trade one enemy for another?
Thanks for the feedback! They are actually searching down multiple phylacteries (Much like in harry potter) So the first one they found is a gold ring with a small snake that still slithers with the would of the litch in it. All these ideas were perfect and exactly what I was needing, thank you!
Not sure if you want to tug at the heart strings this much, but there is always the tried an true option of making the Phylactery(ies) a person like an NPC or even a character if thats backstory appropriate. Ideally, discovering this is a big reveal where the party finds numerous clues that point to which person contains a piece of the Lich's soul. Now the PCs need to stare at their navels and decide if killing the NPC (or Character!) is the right thing to do. If its a character definitely think of some ritual that can be performed to exorcise the Lich from the PC rather than essentially forcing the PC to sacrifice themselves.
If you want to make things really morally murky, make the lich's phylactery an item that is of great importance to an allied faction--like a religious icon or an irreplaceable tool they would have a difficult time managing without. Maybe they don't even realize the lich has turned that into their phylactery until the players kill the lich and, a few days later, he pops out of it. Now you have competing interests the party must navigate that want to destroy, but also preserve the phylactery.
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Hey! Currently running a homebrew campaign (My first one) In which the Players are now Looking for a lich phylactery, what are some creative ways to destroy them?
Powerful magic weapons, powerful magic monsters (think the basilisk fang in Harry Potter), dwarven furnaces deep underground that burn hotter than anything, or perhaps just feeding it some dodgy souls.
What are you anticipating the Phylactery being?
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Be specific with the phylactery's makeup and remember that it has been constructed to protect the fragment of the lich's soul within. If you construct it out of multiple rare substances you can brainstorm ways to negate each one. If it's made up of cold iron and bone fragments from a red dragon for instance, you could make it susceptible to a rust monster's touch and a strike from a Frost Giant's magic hammer, or something like that. This gives you multiple quest options/paths before you get down to destroying the phylactery. And once its broken you have to deal with the soul fragment within... how does that play out? Does it try and posses one of the PCs? Can it only be destroyed with a special ceremony and divine clerical magic? Fun times!
I'd also suggest having it destroyed on another plane. This can open up an entire separate adventure, with the lich becoming a pursuer. It could be fun to have the party trying to stay one step ahead of this powerful undead entity as it continues to chase them in the hopes of reclaiming its phylactery.
As Knightmare13 noted, you should definitely build out the detail of what the phylactery is made out of. If you want to melt it down, perhaps only the hottest forge can do - that forge being in the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Or maybe the it needs to be struck by a weapon forged on Mount Celestia.
Another route too could be that the phylactery is made of such precious metal that it has attracted the gaze of Mammon, Lord of the Third Layer of the Nine Hells. Not only does he want the phylactery, but as a devil, he wants the soul fragment inside. Perhaps he sends a devil to petition the party to trade it for an infernal boon or favor. Do they trade one enemy for another?
Thanks for the feedback! They are actually searching down multiple phylacteries (Much like in harry potter) So the first one they found is a gold ring with a small snake that still slithers with the would of the litch in it. All these ideas were perfect and exactly what I was needing, thank you!
Not sure if you want to tug at the heart strings this much, but there is always the tried an true option of making the Phylactery(ies) a person like an NPC or even a character if thats backstory appropriate. Ideally, discovering this is a big reveal where the party finds numerous clues that point to which person contains a piece of the Lich's soul. Now the PCs need to stare at their navels and decide if killing the NPC (or Character!) is the right thing to do. If its a character definitely think of some ritual that can be performed to exorcise the Lich from the PC rather than essentially forcing the PC to sacrifice themselves.
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If you want to make things really morally murky, make the lich's phylactery an item that is of great importance to an allied faction--like a religious icon or an irreplaceable tool they would have a difficult time managing without. Maybe they don't even realize the lich has turned that into their phylactery until the players kill the lich and, a few days later, he pops out of it. Now you have competing interests the party must navigate that want to destroy, but also preserve the phylactery.
"Not all those who wander are lost"