Is there a limit to how far a lich can be from their phylactery? When they die they reappear at their phylactery but it never states a distance that the lich has to be within to rejuvenate.
If there's no range limit given, it's safe to assume there's no default limit.
However, as the GM, it's all up to you. You can have a limit, you can say it takes time for the soul to traverse the distance, or anything else you want.
Is there a limit to how far a lich can be from their phylactery? When they die they reappear at their phylactery but it never states a distance that the lich has to be within to rejuvenate.
The only limit given for the phylactery is that it must be on the same plane as the lich for the imprisonment spell to work,. As jl8e said, there's otherwise no range limit given.
Lorewise used to be that "liches sought to guard their phylacteries thoroughly against any attack and to place them in secure and secret locations. Typically, they chose hidden and well-defended vaults, even on other planes."
Part of the appeal of lichdom is there's no really obvious weakness/limitation like you see with vampirism. The phylactery is of course the failure point, but there's nothing about it that requires it be left vulnerable or exposed or that leashes the lich to it.
A phylactery is very much like a horcrux from Harry Potter. There is no real limit to the distance, beyond being on the same plane.
There are practical considerations, however. A phylactery that is too 'far' removed can be difficult to defend. On the other hand a phylactery that is too 'close' means that the lich can be killed and then the phylactery can be destroyed before the lich can reform.
Close and far in this context really refer to time rather than distance. A lich's phylactery could be on the other side of the planet, but if his lair contains a magic gateway that leads to that location then the pesky adventurers who wiped him out could quickly get to it.
Given that any group of adventurers powerful enough to defeat a lich almost certainly has access to spells to let them transverse vast distances quickly the incentive for a lich to put a phylactery really far away is not that high. They want it 'far' enough away that it is nearly impossible for adventurers to get a 'twofer' but close enough that they can keep an eye on it without raising suspicion (if people find out that the lich is making weekly checks on an ancient ruin that is on the other end of the continent then that is a good place to search for the phylactery).
Given that any group of adventurers powerful enough to defeat a lich almost certainly has access to spells to let them transverse vast distances quickly the incentive for a lich to put a phylactery really far away is not that high. They want it 'far' enough away that it is nearly impossible for adventurers to get a 'twofer' but close enough that they can keep an eye on it without raising suspicion (if people find out that the lich is making weekly checks on an ancient ruin that is on the other end of the continent then that is a good place to search for the phylactery).
Which is why a lich should make regular visits to the Dungeon of Screaming Agonizing Doom, hand out in the antechamber for like a day, then go home.
They should not check on their safety deposit box at the Bank of Hobbiton anything like as often.
Given that any group of adventurers powerful enough to defeat a lich almost certainly has access to spells to let them transverse vast distances quickly the incentive for a lich to put a phylactery really far away is not that high. They want it 'far' enough away that it is nearly impossible for adventurers to get a 'twofer' but close enough that they can keep an eye on it without raising suspicion (if people find out that the lich is making weekly checks on an ancient ruin that is on the other end of the continent then that is a good place to search for the phylactery).
You're ignoring the limitations on jumping vast distances; Plane Shift and Teleport need circle destinations, linked object, LoS, or intimate knowledge to be particularly precise, so if you put your phylactery in a secret lair near the summit of the Peak of Despair, the highest point in the remote Craggy Mountains, most people will be lucky to get within a few miles of the location with a Teleport. Gate only works interplanar, and Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum can block interplanar so it's pretty trivial for an immortal archmage to blanket a demiplane so it can only be entered through the gate they control.
Given that any group of adventurers powerful enough to defeat a lich almost certainly has access to spells to let them transverse vast distances quickly the incentive for a lich to put a phylactery really far away is not that high. They want it 'far' enough away that it is nearly impossible for adventurers to get a 'twofer' but close enough that they can keep an eye on it without raising suspicion (if people find out that the lich is making weekly checks on an ancient ruin that is on the other end of the continent then that is a good place to search for the phylactery).
You're ignoring the limitations on jumping vast distances; Plane Shift and Teleport need circle destinations, linked object, LoS, or intimate knowledge to be particularly precise, so if you put your phylactery in a secret lair near the summit of the Peak of Despair, the highest point in the remote Craggy Mountains, most people will be lucky to get within a few miles of the location with a Teleport. Gate only works interplanar, and Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum can block interplanar so it's pretty trivial for an immortal archmage to blanket a demiplane so it can only be entered through the gate they control.
A few miles is fine, especially if they teleport in with a flying mount/carpet/broom, so putting it near the summit of the Peak of Despair, which is 10,000 miles away, doesn't offer any real advantages over putting it on the summit of a much nearer mountain that you can keep an eye on without raising suspicion.
And adventurers who are determined to take you out (and who are skilled enough and knowledgeable enough to do so) will probably try to locate your phylactery before they ever face you. Otherwise, they will know they are doing nothing more than inconveniencing you and making a dangerous enemy. That means they will probably have an arrival point (destination circle, linked object, or a place they've taken the time to get intimate knowledge of) relatively close to your phylactery already prepped before they take you on (I know I would do that).
Of course, as I said, you don't want it so close that adventurers can quickly move from killing you to destroying it, so you don't want to keep it in your lair, but after a certain distance, you probably aren't gaining any more security. You're just creating headaches for yourself.
Among Notable Phylacteries in the Forgotten Realms, some are in lair treasure hoard, books collection, in magic items worn by the lich or someone else, in remote chambers even in a skeletton or golem!
Phylacteries are not necessarily hidden and stationary, it can even be gem in plain sight as given example circulating among the public in cities such as Alaghôn, where the trading and exchange of gemstones was commonplace.
As a lich i think i would place my phylactery in a extradimensional space somewhere and have a Contingency in place to move out somehow.
Question how well known are phylacteries? Can you stumble across that information while studying as a sorcerer with a sage background, or is it something you learn from dealing with liches?
Question how well known are phylacteries? Can you stumble across that information while studying as a sorcerer with a sage background, or is it something you learn from dealing with liches?
That would be world-specific. How many liches have been created in the world? How many were notable in their time? The more notable they've been, the more likely it is that someone's written about them and what keeps them alive. Something to bring up with the DM, or consider if that's you.
Question how well known are phylacteries? Can you stumble across that information while studying as a sorcerer with a sage background, or is it something you learn from dealing with liches?
Most likely not something every adventurer is going to know about as Liches shouldn't be that common, it'd probably be a DC25 or DC30 check on most worlds. However some Cleric and Warlock Patrons should be very familiar with the process and so there maybe other ways to get a hold of that information too. If you're a Warlock and your patron is an Archlich then you'd think that knowledge should be more easily available than normal.
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Is there a limit to how far a lich can be from their phylactery? When they die they reappear at their phylactery but it never states a distance that the lich has to be within to rejuvenate.
If there's no range limit given, it's safe to assume there's no default limit.
However, as the GM, it's all up to you. You can have a limit, you can say it takes time for the soul to traverse the distance, or anything else you want.
The only limit given for the phylactery is that it must be on the same plane as the lich for the imprisonment spell to work,. As jl8e said, there's otherwise no range limit given.
Lorewise used to be that "liches sought to guard their phylacteries thoroughly against any attack and to place them in secure and secret locations. Typically, they chose hidden and well-defended vaults, even on other planes."
Part of the appeal of lichdom is there's no really obvious weakness/limitation like you see with vampirism. The phylactery is of course the failure point, but there's nothing about it that requires it be left vulnerable or exposed or that leashes the lich to it.
A phylactery is very much like a horcrux from Harry Potter. There is no real limit to the distance, beyond being on the same plane.
There are practical considerations, however. A phylactery that is too 'far' removed can be difficult to defend. On the other hand a phylactery that is too 'close' means that the lich can be killed and then the phylactery can be destroyed before the lich can reform.
Close and far in this context really refer to time rather than distance. A lich's phylactery could be on the other side of the planet, but if his lair contains a magic gateway that leads to that location then the pesky adventurers who wiped him out could quickly get to it.
Given that any group of adventurers powerful enough to defeat a lich almost certainly has access to spells to let them transverse vast distances quickly the incentive for a lich to put a phylactery really far away is not that high. They want it 'far' enough away that it is nearly impossible for adventurers to get a 'twofer' but close enough that they can keep an eye on it without raising suspicion (if people find out that the lich is making weekly checks on an ancient ruin that is on the other end of the continent then that is a good place to search for the phylactery).
Which is why a lich should make regular visits to the Dungeon of Screaming Agonizing Doom, hand out in the antechamber for like a day, then go home.
They should not check on their safety deposit box at the Bank of Hobbiton anything like as often.
You're ignoring the limitations on jumping vast distances; Plane Shift and Teleport need circle destinations, linked object, LoS, or intimate knowledge to be particularly precise, so if you put your phylactery in a secret lair near the summit of the Peak of Despair, the highest point in the remote Craggy Mountains, most people will be lucky to get within a few miles of the location with a Teleport. Gate only works interplanar, and Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum can block interplanar so it's pretty trivial for an immortal archmage to blanket a demiplane so it can only be entered through the gate they control.
A few miles is fine, especially if they teleport in with a flying mount/carpet/broom, so putting it near the summit of the Peak of Despair, which is 10,000 miles away, doesn't offer any real advantages over putting it on the summit of a much nearer mountain that you can keep an eye on without raising suspicion.
And adventurers who are determined to take you out (and who are skilled enough and knowledgeable enough to do so) will probably try to locate your phylactery before they ever face you. Otherwise, they will know they are doing nothing more than inconveniencing you and making a dangerous enemy. That means they will probably have an arrival point (destination circle, linked object, or a place they've taken the time to get intimate knowledge of) relatively close to your phylactery already prepped before they take you on (I know I would do that).
Of course, as I said, you don't want it so close that adventurers can quickly move from killing you to destroying it, so you don't want to keep it in your lair, but after a certain distance, you probably aren't gaining any more security. You're just creating headaches for yourself.
Among Notable Phylacteries in the Forgotten Realms, some are in lair treasure hoard, books collection, in magic items worn by the lich or someone else, in remote chambers even in a skeletton or golem!
Phylacteries are not necessarily hidden and stationary, it can even be gem in plain sight as given example circulating among the public in cities such as Alaghôn, where the trading and exchange of gemstones was commonplace.
As a lich i think i would place my phylactery in a extradimensional space somewhere and have a Contingency in place to move out somehow.
Question how well known are phylacteries? Can you stumble across that information while studying as a sorcerer with a sage background, or is it something you learn from dealing with liches?
That would be world-specific. How many liches have been created in the world? How many were notable in their time? The more notable they've been, the more likely it is that someone's written about them and what keeps them alive. Something to bring up with the DM, or consider if that's you.
Most likely not something every adventurer is going to know about as Liches shouldn't be that common, it'd probably be a DC25 or DC30 check on most worlds. However some Cleric and Warlock Patrons should be very familiar with the process and so there maybe other ways to get a hold of that information too. If you're a Warlock and your patron is an Archlich then you'd think that knowledge should be more easily available than normal.