Backlash damage from epic spell casting to a lich.

[Jensin3]

I am creating an epic lich and trying to create my own epic spell. In the mitigating factors it says that you can reduce the spellcraft DC by taking backlash damage.

“Backlash 1d6 points of damage (max d6 = caster’s HD ×2)”

“The caster cannot somehow avoid or make him or her self immune to backlash damage. For spells with durations longer than instantaneous, the backlash damage is per round. If backlash damage kills a caster, no spell or method exists that will return life to the caster’s body without costing the caster a level—not even wish, true resurrection, miracle, or epic spells that return life to the deceased. Spells that normally penalize the recipient one level when they return him or her to life penalize a caster killed by backlash two levels.”

My question is now. What would happen if a lich casts an epic spell and the backlash damage kills it? Would it still lose a level?

In the SRD under lich it says:

“As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.”

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Sounds pretty straightforward.

"If backlash damage kills a caster, no spell or method exists that will return life to the caster’s body without costing the caster a level..."

Since the phylactery is a method that exists to return life to the body, your lich would lose a level.