Invincible Lich

[Umbran]

Depending on how you consider stars to work the core of a star might also be a useable place.

To heck with that. By the d20 SRD, there's no particular limitation on the size or composition of the phylactery. So, make the planet's sun into a phylactery! Adventurers want to destroy the sun to get at the lich, they're welcome to try, for all the good it'll do them...

(I am having images of Chairface Chippendale as a lich, with the Moon as his phylactery.)

 

[Tharkon]

To heck with that. By the d20 SRD, there's no particular limitation on the size or composition of the phylactery. So, make the planet's sun into a phylactery! Adventurers want to destroy the sun to get at the lich, they're welcome to try, for all the good it'll do them...

(I am having images of Chairface Chippendale as a lich, with the Moon as his phylactery.)

Tiny size, 40 hp, hardness 20, break DC 40

Otherwise it would have certainly be interesting, although I wouldn't know how you would create a sun.

 

[Jimlock]

Tiny size, 40 hp, hardness 20, break DC 40

Otherwise it would have certainly be interesting, although I wouldn't know how you would create a sun.

...not to mention the difficulty of inscribing upon the sun the arcane wrting required...

 

[Loren Pechtel]

that would probably require a Knowledge (astrophysics) check with a DC... between 20 and 30....

Or some sort of very high level divination magic.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Damage done by pressure (or lack thereof)...

It's not magical, it's not elemental, so would DR work against it?

I don't think so.

Using common sense lack of pressure would not affect creatures that are entirely solid, like some constructs (just like pieces of rock in outer space don't explode or anything due to vacuum).

Agreed. That's why I didn't go with an outer-space solution. It's too easy.

Another thing to think about
Would high pressure turn a colossal wooden golem into a diminutive diamond golem?

No, too many impurities. I would say it would be destroyed by sufficient pressure, though.

Either way, how would you get to outer space?
Greater Teleport allows you to teleport to any place on the same plane of existence as long as you have an reliable description, but how do you get one?

I have always permitted teleporting using x, y & z offsets. It's going to take a bunch of attempts to learn what space is like.

Gaseous form allows you to ascend 200 feet/level normally but vampires can stay in that indefinitely.

And they fry as soon as they are out of shadow. They can't go between worlds.

 

[Jack Simth]

And they fry as soon as they are out of shadow. They can't go between worlds.

The Cleric-3 Deeper Darkness spell has a duration of Days/Level, can be attached to a mobile object, and will fix that little problem.

 

[Tharkon]

And they fry as soon as they are out of shadow. They can't go between worlds.

Right, forgot about that, the sun is hard to avoid up there.

The thing about outer space is also that considering it's the same plane, divination is easier.
But getting there is harder than for most planes depending on what magic access a character has, it's a tough choice.

What about this:
Living Vault in a spaceship that's rigged with magical traps and abjurations.
This spaceship is sent to an alternate material plane.
On this plane it is sent to outerspace.

Although tbh, not sure how much different outserspace on another material plan is from sending it to say, some plane of vacuum.

 

[jcbdragon]

Here's a simple option, especially if you want to require the lich to remain within a certain range of his phylactery, have to have periodic physical contact with it, etc.

Pick one random stone out of all of the stone walls in the lich's lair. Have it be of sufficient size that only a spellcaster as strong as the lich can Reduce it (reverse of Enlarge spell). Have a small cavity hidden behind the stone, just large enough to accommodate the phylactery, and make sure the stone is thick enough that Detect Magic and other divinatory spells are blocked. Add more powerful obscurements as you feel necessary.

The players will have no reason to look behind that particular stone to find the phylactery. Even if they manage to come up with some way of locating it, now they need a spellcaster powerful enough to shrink a stone of that size -- in other words, a spellcaster as strong as the lich himself.

Oh, and be sure to add extra layers so that a simple Transmute Rock To Mud won't be enough, and maybe put in a booby-trap or two as well. I mean, the lich has presumably had centuries to come up with ways to protect his phylactery.

 

[Tharkon]

Here's a simple option, especially if you want to require the lich to remain within a certain range of his phylactery, have to have periodic physical contact with it, etc.

Pick one random stone out of all of the stone walls in the lich's lair. Have it be of sufficient size that only a spellcaster as strong as the lich can Reduce it (reverse of Enlarge spell). Have a small cavity hidden behind the stone, just large enough to accommodate the phylactery, and make sure the stone is thick enough that Detect Magic and other divinatory spells are blocked. Add more powerful obscurements as you feel necessary.

The players will have no reason to look behind that particular stone to find the phylactery. Even if they manage to come up with some way of locating it, now they need a spellcaster powerful enough to shrink a stone of that size -- in other words, a spellcaster as strong as the lich himself.

Oh, and be sure to add extra layers so that a simple Transmute Rock To Mud won't be enough, and maybe put in a booby-trap or two as well. I mean, the lich has presumably had centuries to come up with ways to protect his phylactery.

A very nice and most important less complicated idea. Did they have re-inforced concrete back then? Thinking lead instead of steel though.
The problem with the boob traps a lich would make are that they would show up on a detect magic as well, unless they are behind the same stone I guess, which might be better anyway, setting of a trap is a sure sign there is something hidden.

I'm still thinking of some way to encourage players to unknowingly bring the phylactery with them, so the lich's respawn will be an awkward surprise. Hmm, phylactery inside a small golden statuette of at least 1 inch thick. Just have to figure out how the lich would access the phylactery. Maybe a certain part can be easily melted out and then melted shut again. I now fireball and lightning bolt can melt gold, so it's not hard to create a smaller scaled spell to create this effect.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I'm still thinking of some way to encourage players to unknowingly bring the phylactery with them, so the lich's respawn will be an awkward surprise. Hmm, phylactery inside a small golden statuette of at least 1 inch thick. Just have to figure out how the lich would access the phylactery. Maybe a certain part can be easily melted out and then melted shut again. I now fireball and lightning bolt can melt gold, so it's not hard to create a smaller scaled spell to create this effect.

How about a gold bar? That's very easy to melt down and then reform.