Is he a lich, whose phylactery is the One Ring?

>>55394432

He would probably be considered a kind of lich, yes. Though the specifics of his setup are unique enough that he would be a variant that has little in common with the traditional statblock. The Ring wasn't even specifically designed to act as a phylactery, it was designed to hijack control of other rings of power and their users. It was just such a large investment of Sauron's power itself that so long as it still existed there was enough of him to come back from the destruction of everything else.

>>55394432
The ring functions more like a horcruxe. Or it is to say a horcrux is similar to the ring. They both act as semi sentient anchors to the world that leave their creators broken spirits that can slowly regain some semblance of strength.
The ring of course has other abilities but as a tool for immortality it doesn't quite function as a phylactery

>>55394432
He's a maia and the ring is 80% of his soul.
dumb dndposter

The One Ring is more like a detachable organ than anything else.