One of my PCs is wearing a Lich's phylactery!

[librarius_arcana]

You could also just wait untill one of the player characters buys the farm, then let the lich take over the body then, inform the dead characters player (alone) what has happened and ask him to continue running that character,

theres a nice surprise

 

[teitan]

Hopefully being the operative word.

Lawful Stupid does spring to mind...

 

[librarius_arcana]

Kyuss, are you looking for a RAW (as you put it) answer?,

Or a creative one?


Or both?

 

[Remathilis]

depends on where you want to take this...

a.) An identify spell will spell it out for any PCs. Woe to the PC who doesn't ID his loot!
b.) The lich has time: wait till they are asleep or indesposed (the end of a difficult battle is nice) then have it reform and claim its phylactary and leave.
c.) Or keep harrowing them with minions. Especially the "how the hells did they find us here" harrowing...
d.) Use some form of "possession" rules (Eberron, Vile Darkness, etc) and adapt them.
e.) Someone good could sense it for what it is "paladin, coutal, etc) and tell them how to dispose of it.
f.) Convince the PC to make a Grisgol (MM3) with it

 

[Pbartender]

Now, the Lich will scry its phylactery and see the PC wearing it.

[Hypersmurf]
Technically, you can't scry on a phylactery... "You can see and hear some creature, which may be at any distance."
[/Hypersmurf]

Of course, there are plenty of other divinations that could let the Lich know who is holding on to the repository of his soul... And then he scries on the PC.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I can't say I have any advice that hasn't been given, but damn, is that a brilliant turn of events. So many possibilities....

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Send this to Rich Burlew. Make some fun for OOTS ...

 

[werk]

I also think, that the Lich's consciousness reforms in the phylactery and the Lich can then take over a new body from there, however, I would not give the Lich the ability to possess living beings, but only corpses rather. ...Basically the Lich has to wait until a fitting corpse comes into range (probably just use the Magic Jar range here, I don't think there are any ranges given), and can then transfer the consciousness into the new body.

That would be awesome!

Party kills BBEG wizard Steve.
Lich Dave inhabits the corpse of Steve.

Later, the party encounters the lich again, recovering his phyl.

"Steve! What foul sorcerery is this, we killed you months ago."
"I am not Steve, I am Dave! <Maniacal laughter>"
"No...I'm pretty sure the wizard's name was Steve, Dave was the lich."
"Right, I am the lich, but I took over Steve's body."
"So which is it, are you Steve or Dave?"
"Uh...kinda both...I guess..."

 

[Yellow Sign]

Have the Liche only able to control the player's charater when they are asleep.

 

[lukelightning]

I've always played it as the lich's body reforms near the phylactery. This keeps the lich from having the phylactery imprisoned, cast into the Eternal Nothingness From Which Nothing Can Return or other crazy overboard ways of protecting the phylactery. The lich would have to keep the phylactery somewhere where it can re-form and survive and exit from.

This also means that the lich better have a spare spellbook near the phylactery if it's a wizard.