[RPG] How could a Lich maintain the appearance of being alive without magic

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I'm designing a character for a campaign whose role is to be a recurring antagonist. When the players first meet him, I want him to seem undeniably human. The idea is that the party will "kill" him and his body will be destroyed, only for him to be revived later and come back for revenge as Lich.

The party will be able to check him for magical effects when they first meet and I want it to be a surprise that he is a Lich. If they party detects Transmutation or Illusion magic on him or detect him as Undead it will give too much of a hint to his true nature.

Is there a way the Lich could retain a human form without magic?

Best Answer

He's still alive when the PCs meet him, but his phylactery is ready to go

Although it's widely believed that a lich must always commit suicide as part of the process of attaining lichdom, that's D&D canon, not Pathfinder. In fact, in Pathfinder, the process of lichdom is unique to the individual (wiki/SRD):

The spellcaster must first research the construction of a phylactery, and then discover the means by which to transfer their soul into the receptacle. As no two bodies or souls are the same, each of these processes are unique to the individual; what has worked in the past might kill or drive another person insane.

It's plausible that you might meet a spellcaster who has completed their phylactery, but has not yet died once. He's currently enjoying his remaining time as a living being, which has its advantages (moving openly in human society, enjoying pleasures like food and drink, raising a family and so on). When the PCs kill him, the phylactery works as intended and he is raised as a lich, and now he's really mad at the PCs for spoiling his plans.