The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

[The Glyphstone]

Must say, this whole thread of discussion does suggest to me I really have to edit up the second section of the handbook with some thoughts on dealing with the phylactery, since the subject of its continuing existence does come up again and again. Think I'll chuck it into the Rhest section, with basically two "paths":

(1) what if your party hangs onto the phylactery, and
(2) what if your party destroys the phylactery with plenty of lead time. This is particularly so given, absent a sourcebook I don't know about, I can't actually think of any mechanic that says a lich knows automatically who has destroyed its phylactery if it happens. The lich's MM entry doesn't mention it, so we're probably back to scrying or handwavium tracers on that score.

Indeed. I feel it's thematically fitting for a lich to know if he at least still has a phylactery or not, even if he can't figure out where it is, though there's no text that confirms this is true by ROFAW. Likewise, there's nothing either way that tells us if Liches can rebuild their phylacteries if they lose the original - I lean towards yes, because it'd be silly to put your sole hope of immortality into a box with Hardness 20 and 40HP, but again ROFAW is silent on the matter. Both are going to be highly DM-specific though, and will have drastic effects on the Ghostlord's reactions to anyone messing with his phylactery.

EDIT: Okay, according to Libris Mortis, it is a one-time thing:

A lich can construct only a single phylactery. A lich whose
phylactery is destroyed suffers no harm, but cannot construct a
new one.

Which brings up all sorts of new questions on its own, like the possibility if a Contingent Resurrection would let the caster go through the whole ritual and become a lich all over again.