How does one stop a Lich whose phylactery is beyond reach or whose location is unknown?

@BeautifulDemon: They're also Evil and unlikely to be talked down. More likely to give the brave adventurer the ol' Death Touch or Power Word: Kill.

@UndeadPrivateer: They are evil, but evil doesn't necessarily mean they are lunatics that are thirsty of blood. They like cleverness. Think it like Hitler, he was evil yet he had many area of interests and he was not so very brutal to those who followed them. It might not be the best example since he had psychological problems but you get the point. If you are not a threat or hinderance, they wouldn't bother to kill you.

@BeautifulDemon: That's more a matter of the individual Lich's personality. Most are megalomaniacal psychopaths to have gone down the road to Lichdom in the first place. After all you're forfeiting all chances at an afterlife, and they're all at least evil during the period of attaining Lichdom. An "act of great evil" is one of the requirements to even complete the ritual, after all.

Though they're not immune to alignment shift, so one could end up shifting out of Evil and into simply being a Neutral or even Good megalomaniacal psychopath. But then they're unlikely to be threatening you in the first place.

@UndeadPrivateer: Well, since you put it that way... Which megalomaniac would bother himself with the life of an irrelevant insect unless it causes nuisance?

@BeautifulDemon: Because those insignificant insects could make [i]lovely[/i] undead servants with a mere touch of the bony, desiccated finger. Cue dry, coughing, maniacal cackle.

@UndeadPrivateer: But live subjects are better for further use, and you can always make minions out of any corpse. Plus a lich would not show himself in his true form unless he's definately discovered, and thereof would never reveal any intentions. He became lich for a greater cause, and that cause is seldom to take over the world with an undead army. Why would you not have smart followers instead of mindless slaves?

(lol this is like we are discussing our opinions on mortals as being a lich)

@BeautifulDemon: Ah, but you see, living subjects can lie and be deceitful. But on undead they can use Command Undead. Only Greater Undead will be able to fight it, and even then not guaranteed. That's the big clincher.

(Yeah, pretty much.)

@UndeadPrivateer: Yes, very much likely. But could followers' deceit and lies affect the lich on a greater so, less likely so. Therefore, since killing them and raising again is always an option, it would be unwise to do it as soon as possible. Additionally, there are many spells to dominate and control a living subject which are more useful as skill-wise and such...

@BeautifulDemon: None that are as unavoidable as Command Undead, and you can't perform Necromantic crafts on living beings either. A particularly enterprising Lich can turn any undead into an unliving weapon. Even just a literal walking bomb if they're particularly physically worthless.

That would be a strategy that would work for [i]some[/i] but not all. If you're unlucky enough to have a Lich who doesn't want any living assistants then you're gonna be feeling that cold caress of death sooner or later, you'd only be buying time. Stopping them by killing them is only going to lead to them holding a grudge on you and seeking you out to kill and enslave. Primary reason why Liches make such great Big Bad Evil Guys.

There [i]are[/i] solutions though, I'm just not gonna spoil 'em. And I wanna see if you can think of some ones that I have not.

@UndeadPrivateer: [quote]you'd only be buying time[/quote]
Where there is time, there is hope!

@BeautifulDemon: [i]All succumbs to death, in the end...[/i]