D&D 5E Magic Jar: is it a pc spell?(update 2, the continuing saga - how it's working for my character)

[Mort]

But wait. That leads to a weird situation. That ruling suggests that if you cast Dispel Magic on an enemy, you will, unwittingly, dispel magic jar and kill them instantly if their body is more than 100 feet away. That doesn't seem in keeping with the spirit of the spell.

You're right, but that's still how the spell reads!

There seems to be a lot of potential weirdness and quite a bit of danger associated with this spell.

Keep in mind, rather than dispelling it, you could potentially coup de Gras "yourself", or have a party member do it for you, and kill the enemy that way anyway. You then jump back into the jar (well, with a successful save, otherwise you die too - thems the breaks). As I said, this spell introduces some serious weirdness.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

So, I think my plan is to have an ally carry the gem. I’ll possess an enemy and if i get dispelled, pop back in gem. My body will be in the chest on the ethereal. Maybe summon the chest just in case I’m worried things go south and I might need my body.

you’re right. Lots can go wrong but I may not have another opportunity to play a high level wizard. No guts, no glory!

 

[Mort]

So, I think my plan is to have an ally carry the gem. I’ll possess an enemy and if i get dispelled, pop back in gem. My body will be in the chest on the ethereal. Maybe summon the chest just in case I’m worried things go south and I might need my body.

you’re right. Lots can go wrong but I may not have another opportunity to play a high level wizard. No guts, no glory!

Yeah, you have to be careful going on the ethereal as that's more then 100 feet Away if you get dispelled or the body dies.

Still lots of benefits to this tactic and its certainly different which makes it kind of cool.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Yeah, you have to be careful going on the ethereal as that's more then 100 feet Away if you get dispelled or the body dies.

Still lots of benefits to this tactic and its certainly different which makes it kind of cool.

Yeah, High risk High reward, I think. I have portent. If I possess the spellcasters first, they can't cast dispel on me

 

[Mort]

Yeah, High risk High reward, I think. I have portent. If I possess the spellcasters first, they can't cast dispel on me

Yep, though you have to be careful with bards, Sorcerers, and warlocks - high CHA saves.

 

[ph0rk]

How do you plan to handle the social aspects of body theft? I figure that will be seen by many in-world as a step lower on whatever moral scale they happen to be using than Necromancy, and people aren't exactly nice to necromancers.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

How do you plan to handle the social aspects of body theft? I figure that will be seen by many in-world as a step lower on whatever moral scale they happen to be using than Necromancy, and people aren't exactly nice to necromancers.

I plan to only take bodies of enemies. The reason my character is going this route is because the faction we are fighting are awful people: sacrificing innocent people to summon devils; putting tattoos that dominate people and enslave them while their minds are living constant torture; a lich and; an artificer that makes weapons of mass destruction just to see how well they work, regardless of the loss of life as well as enslaving/torturing people in order to use their souls to power his devices.

So yeah. To hell with them.

They are pretty much the epitome of evil and are incredibly powerful so we are looking for every edge we can find.. We tend to set the hirelings and staff free but murder all the people in charge. My character will start with one of the leaders and go from there. Admittedly, it's a slippery slope.

 

[Ixal]

I plan to only take bodies of enemies.

That sounds simpler than it is.
If you are fighting normal humans then they are, despite being the enemy, normal humans and people might still object to body snatching, especially as that also leaves their sould imprisoned pretty much indefinitely.
But that depends on if people even find out that you are stealing bodies. That is after all far from obvious.

And if you are fighting monsterous humanoids or people who are obviously very evil (marked by tattoos etc.) then you have the problem that you will be walking around in a body of a monster/evil person and will be treated as such. Good for infiltrating said group, bad for basically everything else.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

That sounds simpler than it is.
If you are fighting normal humans then they are, despite being the enemy, normal humans and people might still object to body snatching, especially as that also leaves their sould imprisoned pretty much indefinitely.
But that depends on if people even find out that you are stealing bodies. That is after all far from obvious.

And if you are fighting monsterous humanoids or people who are obviously very evil (marked by tattoos etc.) then you have the problem that you will be walking around in a body of a monster/evil person and will be treated as such. Good for infiltrating said group, bad for basically everything else.

True but only the party will really know. And we’ve run into lots of regular (evil) humans. And if it starts to become inconvenient, it’s only a spell and isn’t permanent.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Ok, let me pick your collective brains one more time!

I have contingency - which requires a symbolic focus: a 'statue carved in a likeness of yourself'. You must have the focus on your person in order for the contingency to work.

I use magic jar to leave my body.

Does the contingency work on the new body?
If so, does the statue need to be on my original body or the body I'm currently borrowing?
Maybe it only works on the original body, regardless of where my soul is housed?

Thoughts?