# Magic Jar: Is it useful?



## lukelightning (May 3, 2007)

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?


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## Umbran (May 3, 2007)

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.


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## Morrow (May 3, 2007)

SRD said:
			
		

> Magic Jar
> Necromancy
> Level: Sor/Wiz 5
> Components: V, S, F
> ...




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.


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## Queen_Dopplepopolis (May 3, 2007)

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.


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## edbonny (May 3, 2007)

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.


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## Shemeska (May 3, 2007)

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.


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## Bihor (May 3, 2007)

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


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## painandgreed (May 3, 2007)

Bihor said:
			
		

> 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.


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## Mark Hope (May 3, 2007)

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 .


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## Twowolves (May 3, 2007)

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.


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## BlackMoria (May 3, 2007)

I've gotten great mileage out of Magic Jar as a player.  It is a spell you don't cast on a whim but if you take a prepared and calculated approach to its application, you can do all sorts of things with it that will drive DMs bananas.


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## schporto (May 3, 2007)

"Wow, look at the size of the gem on that cat's collar."
You get your familiar a 100gp bauble.  This acts as the jar.  You leave your body 'safe' somewhere (hmmm, maybe a magnificent mansion?).  Occupy the first schlub you come across.  Go party.
-cpd


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## Thomas Percy (May 3, 2007)

Can anyone imagine how non-evil PC can use this spell?


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## Thaumaturge (May 3, 2007)

Thomas Percy said:
			
		

> Can anyone imagine how non-evil PC can use this spell?





I was at an Living Greyhawk table with a guy who would magic jar himself and wait until there was an encounter with a creature with more or less hit dice than the party.  It was very odd grouping with an ooze.

Thaumaturge.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (May 3, 2007)

Thomas Percy said:
			
		

> Can anyone imagine how non-evil PC can use this spell?



Infiltration inside an enemy location.


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## Thomas Percy (May 3, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Infiltration inside an enemy location.



And it's not evil to steal someone soul and replace it with your own?


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## Tiberius (May 3, 2007)

Thomas Percy said:
			
		

> And it's not evil to steal someone soul and replace it with your own?




You do give it back in the end. It's really no more evil than Dominate Person.


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## Corsair (May 3, 2007)

I used the spell to communicate with someone under "house arrest".

We tunnelled under his home, so only the person we wanted wuold be at the extreme range of the spell.  I then possessed him and wrote him a note, leavnig it on his counter.  For the next hour or so, I keep periodically taking over his body to read/write notes with him.


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## Doug McCrae (May 3, 2007)

It's high risk, high gain. A gambler's spell. If you aren't a gambler then I can see how it wouldn't appeal.

I got good use out of it in our last long D&D campaign. Our city had been invaded by a MM III lizardman army. All out war, blood on the streets. My necromancer used MJ and the party half-demon flew around with the gem. I'd take over lizardmen, start fights, hop back, repeat. As a tactic it had a lot more staying power than tossing a few fireballs.

My best use was when the half-demon was grappled by a gigantic siege crab. Things looked bad for him and I was MJing trying to get the crab or the controller. By mistake I got the half-demon....

and cast dimension door from the grapple, saving his life. (He was on 1 hit point).

Also I find the body hopping to be fantastic fun.


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## Lord Zardoz (May 3, 2007)

Thomas Percy said:
			
		

> Can anyone imagine how non-evil PC can use this spell?



It is also an effective way to take someone prisoner.  Take over their body, strip naked, enter a jail cell, then return to your own meat sack.

In a combat situation, it is also effective for dealing with low will save mooks.  Jar them, then go after the bad guy.  It is sinister, but the end result is not much different than ganking someone after nailing them with Tasha's Hideous Laughter or Sleep.

END COMMUNICATION


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## lukelightning (May 3, 2007)

Twowolves said:
			
		

> Charm a troll, stick it in a cell, magic jar into it, then Alter Self back into yourself.




But wait! With _alter self_ you can only turn into creatures of your own type....when a human mage MJs a troll can it only _alter self_ to become humanoids (since the caster is a human), or giants (since the body is that of a giant)?


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## Spatula (May 3, 2007)

Thomas Percy said:
			
		

> And it's not evil to steal someone soul and replace it with your own?



You're not stealing their soul, you're swapping it.  The target is basically put in stasis while you run around in their body.  As long as you don't destroy the body, it's no different than tying up the target and impersonating him with a disguise or _change self_ or whatever.


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## Sabathius42 (May 3, 2007)

The most mileage I got out of the Magic Jar...

Party was attacked in a forest by an army of giants (10 or so in the original encounter with a threat of more coming along any time).

My wizard hid himself under a log out of the area of combat and grabbed the first available giant.  He proceeded to beat down the nearest giant to him until his body was killed by a swarm of angry giants.   Then he took over another giant...and did the same thing.  Finally he was down to no living giants in the area except himself.  Had there been 100 more giants in the area I could have with one spell decimated the entire army.

DS


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