Magic Jar: Is it useful?

[lukelightning]

I like the idea of the magic jar spell, but is it actually useful for a PC? It seems that given the duration and range limit you are placing yourself at an unacceptable risk; if your host body dies out of range of the jar, you are dead. If you can't get back to your body in time, you're dead.

Has anyone used this spell to good effect?

 

[Umbran]

As is often the case, I think the answer to the question is another question - "Useful for what?"

As a plot device, Magic Jar can be a lot of fun. And whether or not a risk is unacceptable depends on who you are, what the other risks around you are, and what you're trying to accomplish.

 

[Morrow]

Magic Jar
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 hour/level or until you return to your body
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
By casting magic jar, you place your soul in a gem or large crystal (known as the magic jar), leaving your body lifeless. Then you can attempt to take control of a nearby body, forcing its soul into the magic jar. You may move back to the jar (thereby returning the trapped soul to its body) and attempt to possess another body. The spell ends when you send your soul back to your own body, leaving the receptacle empty.
To cast the spell, the magic jar must be within spell range and you must know where it is, though you do not need line of sight or line of effect to it. When you transfer your soul upon casting, your body is, as near as anyone can tell, dead.
While in the magic jar, you can sense and attack any life force within 10 feet per caster level (and on the same plane of existence). You do need line of effect from the jar to the creatures. You cannot determine the exact creature types or positions of these creatures. In a group of life forces, you can sense a difference of 4 or more Hit Dice between one creature and another and can determine whether a life force is powered by positive or negative energy. (Undead creatures are powered by negative energy. Only sentient undead creatures have, or are, souls.)
You could choose to take over either a stronger or a weaker creature, but which particular stronger or weaker creature you attempt to possess is determined randomly.
Attempting to possess a body is a full-round action. It is blocked by protection from evil or a similar ward. You possess the body and force the creature’s soul into the magic jar unless the subject succeeds on a Will save. Failure to take over the host leaves your life force in the magic jar, and the target automatically succeeds on further saving throws if you attempt to possess its body again.
If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body, and the host’s life force is imprisoned in the magic jar. You keep your Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities. The body retains its Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, hit points, natural abilities, and automatic abilities. A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You can’t choose to activate the body’s extraordinary or supernatural abilities. The creature’s spells and spell-like abilities do not stay with the body.
As a standard action, you can shift freely from a host to the magic jar if within range, sending the trapped soul back to its body. The spell ends when you shift from the jar to your own body.
If the host body is slain, you return to the magic jar, if within range, and the life force of the host departs (it is dead). If the host body is slain beyond the range of the spell, both you and the host die. Any life force with nowhere to go is treated as slain.
If the spell ends while you are in the magic jar, you return to your body (or die if your body is out of range or destroyed). If the spell ends while you are in a host, you return to your body (or die, if it is out of range of your current position), and the soul in the magic jar returns to its body (or dies if it is out of range). Destroying the receptacle ends the spell, and the spell can be dispelled at either the magic jar or at the host’s location.
Focus: A gem or crystal worth at least 100 gp.

More troubling, in my opinion, is that you can't perceive enough information to target a particular soul. If you're battling foes with close to the same HD as your party, you become a danger to your companions.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

The baddies in our games have always made excellent use of Magic Jar. It's quite evil and our DM looooooves to bust it out against the characters with low will saves.

I don't know that I've ever seen a PC use it, though.

 

[edbonny]

An evil NPC safely in bed in a busy inn or congested city area could cause a lot of mischief jumping from body to body.

 

[Shemeska]

Magic Jar is awesome. Especially when it's being used by a balor, bound and geased to protect the interior of a dead god's tomb from intruders (like PCs...).

But seriously, the spell is thematically made of Awesome and Spectacular. It's the only spell of its level that I've automatically gotten for every arcane spellcaster I've ever played, just for the potential mischief that's inherent in it use. Yes there is some risk involved in its use, but given circumstances, it's useful for a whole host of things.

 

[Bihor]

My PCs used it to infiltrte a keep by taking the body of the captain of the gard then leting the players go inside.

it easy to end a dungeon, you just need to find the highest HD of the dungeon = BBEG

 

[painandgreed]

it easy to end a dungeon, you just need to find the highest HD of the dungeon = BBEG

Hrrm, wonder if it's worth looking into having BBEG keep pets that have more hit dice than themselves but weak combat ability.

Special breeds of 20 HD lapdogs with a 1d4 bite attack.

 

[Mark Hope]

I once killed a lich with magic jar back in 2e. I cast the spell and was able to take possession of his body. He was forced into my jar (rather than his phylactery) and I promptly committed suicide in his body. He died and I went back to my jar and returned to my own body. I am guessing that his soul would have gone his phylactery after that, but the campaign ended and that was that. He had already killed the rest of the party so it seemed like the only way to defeat him and his ghastly powerful spell-casting abilities .

 

[Twowolves]

This is not supposed to be a combat spell, IMO. It's easy to pick out the life force you want when it's the only other one in range. Charm a troll, stick it in a cell, magic jar into it, then Alter Self back into yourself. Now you have regeneration! Just one of dozens of fun ideas you can have if you don't mind screwing around with peoples' immortal souls.