What happens when a lich uses the Blackstaff?

Question

The description of the Blackstaff magic item in the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure (p. 190) states:

When the Blackstaff dies, the spirit of that individual becomes trapped in the staff along with the spirits of the previous Blackstaffs.

If a lich is worthy enough to attune to the staff, then when it dies, does the Blackstaff have precedent over the lich's phylactery?

Huh, that description makes the Blackstaff sound insidious. I could have sworn in earlier editions it was a copy of the mind/spirit/intellect that was stored in the staff/tower to help the future Blackstaff — Karan Shishoo, Jan 27 '20 at 04:52
Does this answer your question? What happens to a lich's soul when it dies with a Ring of Mind Shielding? — Dan B, Jan 27 '20 at 05:00

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 27 '20 at 05:01

Probably not

We have a very similar question about a ring of mind shielding, and the same reasoning applies here. Liches do not die when their bodies are destroyed, so the blackstaff does not trigger. Also, a lich's soul is already stored in the phylactery (and not in its body), so stuff that tries to take a lich's soul from its body is unlikely to work.

What happens when a lich uses the Blackstaff?

1 Answers1

Probably not

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