| 3 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
When I have several ongoing spell effects cast on my person, and then I cast magic jar, do the ongoing spells follow me into the new body? Or do they stay with my original body?
I am planning on using disguise self to adopt the guise of a drunken noble, who will infiltrate an upcoming ball. During the party, I will "pass out" from too much drink and then begin possessing guests one by one and using them as make shift assassins against the king, who will be visiting for his birthday.
If the ongoing spell (disguise self) does not stay with my original body, the plan won't work out too well.
On the other hand, I use a lot of long term spells (mage armor, protection from arrows, false life, and others) and it would be most beneficial for me to have them follow me into the new body so as to make it a more effective and longer-lived tool.
Or is it a matter of caster's choice, and I can have my cake and eat it too?
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When I have several ongoing spell effects cast on my person, and then I cast magic jar, do the ongoing spells follow me into the new body? Or do they stay with my original body?
I am planning on using disguise self to adopt the guise of a drunken noble, who will infiltrate an upcoming ball. During the party, I will "pass out" from too much drink and then begin possessing guests one by one and using them as make shift assassins against the king, who will be visiting for his birthday.
If the ongoing spell (disguise self) does not stay with my original body, the plan won't work out too well.
On the other hand, I use a lot of long term spells (mage armor, protection from arrows, false life, and others) and it would be most beneficial for me to have them follow me into the new body so as to make it a more effective and longer-lived tool.
Or is it a matter of caster's choice, and I can have my cake and eat it too?
My reading on Magic jar is that it's split between mental and physical. You leave your body(and thus any modifications made to your body) and take over someone elses. If that person is a raging barbarian, for example, you either get a very angry, potent body or one that has immediately become fatigued(DM choice, I would say as the spell is not explicit). You can't cast new spells or use the possessed body's native abilities unless they were already triggered before the possession and any spells you cast on your body(which is pretty much all of them) remain with your body.
My interpretation, anyway, and I'd welcome another opinion if someone else has more experience with magic jar.
Your spells stick to the body they're cast in. This lets you really buff the heck out of people willing to let you magic jar into them.
Is that just your opinion? Or do you have some rules support somewhere?
@Ravingdork
I think you have genuinely found an area of ambiguity in the rules, and I think your GM just needs to make a ruling. If I were your GM, I would rule that purely mental affects would transfer with you. Some examples:
Owl's Wisdom
Fox's Cunning
Eagle's Splendor
Heroism/Greater Heroism
Mind Blank
Detect Thoughts
Bless
Good Hope
Etc...
@Ravingdork
I think you have genuinely found an area of ambiguity in the rules, and I think your GM just needs to make a ruling. If I were your GM, I would rule that purely mental affects would transfer with you. Some examples:
Owl's Wisdom
Fox's Cunning
Eagle's Splendor
Heroism/Greater Heroism
Mind Blank
Detect Thoughts
Bless
Good Hope
Etc...
Would you allow me to use illusions to disguise my passed out body if I were in your game?
Sure, as long as you retrieve the material components for the spell from your inert body. The wording of the spell seems to imply that you retain your spellcasting ability, along with all your class abilities, even though you are in someone else's body.
Sure, as long as you retrieve the material components for the spell from your inert body. The wording of the spell seems to imply that you retain your spellcasting ability, along with all your class abilities, even though you are in someone else's body.
Oh that won't be necessary. I'd be playing a sorcerer with eschew materials, silent spell, and still spell. :)
Then the answer is 'yes', without qualification. :)
I think you have genuinely found an area of ambiguity in the rules, and I think your GM just needs to make a ruling. If I were your GM, I would rule that purely mental affects would transfer with you. Some examples:
Owl's Wisdom
Fox's Cunning
Eagle's Splendor
Heroism/Greater Heroism
Mind Blank
Detect Thoughts
Bless
Good Hope
Etc...
The basic premise here I think is a good one, although I might not agree on that exact list of effects.
My suggestion would be to allow all effects with the [mind-affecting] tag transfer along with your mind, and have all others stay with the body. So Heroism, Bless, and Good Hope would be transferable, but Owl's Wisdom and Mind Blank would not.