COMMUNITY - FORUMS - SOULS, TALENTS, & REINCARNATION
Lich question

What's stopping a lich from putting their phylactery into a protective case and just dropping it into the deepest part of the ocean? I'm not sure how the lich ability works other than the soul goes in the object keeping the person from dying. Or do they respawn at the location of the phylactery making that a really bad idea?


4/21/2019 2:30:08 AM #1

I'm not sure that liches will be in the game. If so, there is no official information on how the mechanics will work. All the discussions I recall concerning liches have been player speculation based on non-CoE lore and sly innuendos from SBS staffers.


4/21/2019 2:50:01 AM #2

I was reading through a ton of the Dev Journals and I was pretty sure one of them talked about if you were a person who figured out how to be a lich and how you could protect your phylactery with an underground maze and traps and guards as an example of stopping thieves. That's where I got the idea from, but haven't seen anything else official about them. I guess it's not completely figured out yet, or secret like the rest of the talents.


4/21/2019 3:01:38 AM #3

I believe this was the DJ you were referring to :P
https://chroniclesofelyria.com/blog/1365/DJ-15-PlayerCreated-Dungeons

However, at some point during your time playing CoE you gain access to something so valuable that you no longer trust it in the hands of a bank. For example, let's say you're one of the rare few who discover the secret of becoming a Lich, and you've trapped your soul in a phylactery.

You wouldn't want to just put your phylactery in a bank box. The owners of the bank could recognize you as a Lich, illegally go into your bank box, find your phylactery and destroy it. No, that won't do.

You will find little teases from the devs on things like this and as you said talents, or magick even. But of all the things they will tease us with, how to become a Lich, and how to destroy a Lich are 2 things I am positive we will never know until we figure it out in game.

So as far as throwing your phylactery into the deep ocean... we don't know :D If Liches exist, and you figure out how to become one, you can risk the experiment of throwing the most important item you own into the ocean and hoping it doesn't get destroyed somehow. Be sure to let us know what happens!


6/12/2019 9:30:03 PM #4

This is exactly what i want to discover if i am granted a position in fennec academy. I think that if we study magic and liches specifically, we could give the game something truly awesome. Imagine walking along the battlements of your city, and seeing thousands of undead soldiers, highly trained and maximised in combat skills standing ready to protect your dynasty for their eternal life. Having that kind of military force would make you near unbeatable.


" you underestimate my stupidity "

-runs through minefield-

6/12/2019 9:52:56 PM #5

And you would've gotten away with it too except some clam-diving To'resk discovered the phylactery and cracked it open hoping for something precious...


6/12/2019 11:41:42 PM #6

The depths do bad things to phylacteries, I'd imagine. Why, I'd bet that all that weight of the water above them crushing down on one would be downright damaging. Destructive, even...


  • Snipehunter
6/13/2019 1:15:32 AM #7

Posted By Snipehunter at 6:41 PM - Wed Jun 12 2019

The depths do bad things to phylacteries, I'd imagine. Why, I'd bet that all that weight of the water above them crushing down on one would be downright damaging. Destructive, even...

I heard water pressure is just a myth. All the good lich players dump them into the ocean.


6/13/2019 6:22:23 AM #8

Everytime i think about liches and them making their own evil kingdoms it makes me think 'Wrath of the Lich King' lol


6/13/2019 12:45:30 PM #9

Even if it gives the liches the ability to "fast travel" on death, I have to say I would prefer that they are forced to respawn at their phylacteries; because not only does this make sense, but it would also be a double edged sword (getting poffed back after hours of travel will be infuriating I can imagine). That would also naturally prevent liches from putting them in obscure locations.

6/13/2019 3:41:01 PM #10

The phylactery might wash up on any random shore in the area.


"We're all connected;
To eachother, biologically; To the earth, chemically; To the rest of the universe, atomically." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

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6/13/2019 6:07:40 PM #11

That's why you fill your phylactery with water before you toss it in the ocean. Or do souls take up some fixed volume and are made from compressible materials?

I agree with the respawn at your phylactery though, which brings up the question of what all that pressure would do to the remains of your body. Or is your lich body impervious to physical harm? That would be a funny trap to fall into. An infinite loop of being crushed and respawning.


6/14/2019 7:24:39 AM #12

Anything that can be done to render lichdom more trouble than it is worth is good, IMO.


6/14/2019 2:50:28 PM #13

Posted By Kaynadin at 8:07 PM - Thu Jun 13 2019

That's why you fill your phylactery with water before you toss it in the ocean. Or do souls take up some fixed volume and are made from compressible materials?

Ah, I hate being the spoil-sport nerd about these things, but... Even if you could do this, it just adds more density to the volume than what air would have. It does have an effect of course, but the difference is kinda negligible when compared to the depths of the ocean, at some point the outside pressure will still become overwhelming compared to the inside pressure.

If the goal is to live forever then leaving your lifeline in the hands of the elements where you couldn't even reach it yourself probably wouldn't be the best move really.

6/15/2019 12:01:02 PM #14

Step 1: become lich. Step 2: make dummy phylacteries and sell them as jewelry. Step 3: Hilarity ensues as people cause chaos randomly destroying valuable jewels.


"It's not the scales, the wings, the teeth, or even the breath that set a dragon at the pinnacle of creation. It's not the strength or senses, nor the size of his hoard. It's something that a dragon knows that only comes with age and experience. It's a skill mortals never truly master."

"A dragon...knows how to wait."

6/15/2019 1:05:24 PM #15

Step 1) Fill castle with fake phylactery jewels. Step 2) Make phylactery into the shape of a key. Step 3) Place phylactery on key ring with dozens of keys that open doors all throughout your house. Step 4) Place key ring in drawer in room near entrance of castle. Step 5) Watch as people carry the phylactery all over your castle looking for the phylactery they're carrying, while getting slowly pummeled by your magic the entire time. Step 6) Dos Equis