Beast Bonded Witch [Twin Soul]

[Memorysquid]

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.

[Memorysquid]

Anyone have any ideas at all then? A logical reason why Twin Soul would pop a soul out of a body based on the text of a Magic Jar that functions without a receptacle but not ghosts or shadow demons? This is relevant to PFS play too I think.

[Aureate]

Since it says in the ability description that it works as a magic jar spell, I would rule that the target gets to make a save (as you would for magic jar). It's a 10th level ability and it would be in line with other save or die effects at that level.

For that reason I would say the host is killed and that the other things like the ghost's malevolence and shadow possession would behave the same.

[Memorysquid]

I like that interpretation for consistency's sake. I just don't think the RAI would entail that possession is a fatal power; I know they don't play it that way in the mods.

As for the RAW, who knows? The spell references the receptacle so much I don't think you are even able to read the text and make an unbiased determination of how it works without simply inventing a home rule. The majority of the sentences in the spell refer to some interaction with the receptacle. Saying you can use it without a receptacle leaves a fairly large void for RAW.