I am a spiritualist and I want to make my phantom into a lich. Is this feasible? He would be willing but doesn't have his body. Also could I be the vessel for his soul that way he is still bound to me? I dont want to give him independence. Essentially I want to make him a lich slave.
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\$\begingroup\$ Hi and welcome to the Stack! That's a very interesting first question. I'd like to ask: Do you want sourced answers from RAW or from other locations like published works in the appropriate realms? This will help provide quality answers. \$\endgroup\$– Lino Frank CiaralliCommented Apr 11, 2017 at 3:13
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No.
“Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), provided it can create the required phylactery.
Each lich must create its own phylactery by using the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher.
(emphasis mine)
The phantom is not capable of creating the phylactery, as it cannot cast spells, and a lich must create its own phylactery.
Moreover, a lich can only be made from a living creature. As an Outsider (phantom) type creature, technically phantoms are living, but they are also described as once-living (read: no longer) spirits (read: a type of undead creature). This is a rather weird and awkward situation, and I don’t really know why Paizo went with Outsider type (but probably due to the extensive immunities that undead enjoy), but I would guess that most DMs would not rule a phantom as living, even if it is an outsider.
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\$\begingroup\$ It's most likely because they are inhabitants of the negative energy plane (again, so are shades): d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/… \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 3:35
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\$\begingroup\$ @ShadowKras The extraplanar subtype can easily be applied to undead, though, so that alone wouldn’t really justify it. As I said in the answer, I suspect it was a pure game-balance reason, because the undead type really is very good, and one of its major weaknesses, turn/rebuke undead, would be... very awkward in the case of a phantom. \$\endgroup\$– KRyanCommented Apr 11, 2017 at 15:15
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\$\begingroup\$ I agree that game-balance is one of the reasons. But also ease of play, for the same reason you mentioned, so a spiritualist doesn't have to worry about the party's cleric channel killing his pet. An undead pet would have problems on a bunch of parties just for being undead (try to explain it to the paladin). And they would have to explain why a spiritualist's phantom can be a non-evil undead while others can't for society games. Which is something the devs want to avoid in pathfinder, the can-o-worms "lawful good undead". \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 15:22
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\$\begingroup\$ @ShadowKras Sigh, that’s a good point, though a sad one. Always-evil undead make me sad. \$\endgroup\$– KRyanCommented Apr 11, 2017 at 15:23
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\$\begingroup\$ They dont forbid non-evil undead, they just dont want to justify them if they can avoid it. Not all published undead are evil though, see ghosts. The vampire template says "any evil", but unlike others, it doesn't say "always evil", meaning that vampires that arent evil should exist. And a shadowdancer's pet has the same alignment as the character. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 15:27