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Beast Bonded Witch has a 10th level SU ability to, as if using Magic Jar, take over another creature's body at will, as long as the PC & his familiar are currently sharing a body. The power specifies the Magic Jar like ability requires no receptacle. The spell Magic Jar references the receptacle in over 50% of the sentences in the spell's entry and almost all the mechanics. Removing all references to the soul receptacle from the spell leaves its function completely arbitrary.

In a homebrew, everyone can simply agree how it works, but I'd presume for PFS there needs to be a universally understood function? There is no clear way to determine that from what is left of Magic Jar if you delete all references to the jar itself and the jar's function from the spell.

The flavor text of the spell mentions it is an attempt to possess. The mechanics reference the fact that if a soul has nowhere to go, it dies. Normally the soul of the caster goes in the jar, and is then swapped to the target creature with the target's soul going in the jar.

With what's left of the RAW after removing all mentions of the jar, I'd presume the spell would function like a ghost's malevolence or a shadow demon's own magic jar, which are both described as possessions as well, and which I've never understood to be 'save or [literally] die' powers. I wouldn't have thought twice about this, however, several people including a VC have assured me I am wrong, and variously that only the witch power is fatal for the possessee or that all three would be.

Have I missed an errata, PFS clarification or otherwise on this? If not, can there be an official clarification for PFS specifically?


4 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

This power is written in an ambiguous manner. I am wondering if there's an official clarification anywhere that specifies how "magic jar without a receptacle" works or Twin soul specifically. Magic jar as a spell is riddled with references to the jar and if you take them out, there's no spell left. You have to invent results because the spell frequently references the jar.

Ghosts' malevolence is an SU that functions as magic jar, w/o a receptacle and makes no mention of the host soul in the bestiary text. The flavor text describes it as possession.

Shadow demons have magic jar as an SP, spell like abilities being clarified as not needing foci - so w/o a receptacle. The flavor text describes it as possession. No mention of displacing the soul in the power or bestiary text.

Twin soul is described as taking over another body [possession?] as if using magic jar [without a receptacle]. No mention of the host's soul is in the power or Beast bonded witch text.

The spell magic jar mentions removing the caster's soul to the jar which then attacks another life force and swaps souls with it. Obviously that won't happen when there is no receptacle focus, but what does happen?

Here's the question: does Twin Soul displace the soul of the possessed target thus killing it instantly by RAW? I'm dealing with some real RAW sticklers who've decided that is what it means. I don't see it. In fact, if you remove references to the jar, I don't think there is enough coherent left of the spell to make it meaningful which necessitates home ruling.

I think the reasonable solution is to treat Twin Soul as the similarly worded and related powers of the ghost and shadow demon which I've always understood as a temporary possession. That or treat ghosts and witches as having a save or die possession power with no SR and shadow demons the same but with SR.

But I would love an official answer because it seems a vague and potentially broken power as written.