Goodman Games

Through the use of this spell does the Wizard gain the hit die of the body he inhabits, or does he retain his class die as he levels? Furthermore, if he then 'dies', (thereupon returning in soul to the phylactery) does his familiar unbind, or is it tied to the Wizard's soul?

If I hadn't thought about it, I would probably just give them the same stats and somehow handwave that the magic of the occupation molds the body to match (perhaps over a bit of time).

However, I like the idea of some variation. You could take it further; will the body have the same strength as the original? Does the brain of the body have an effect? For some reason I feel Luck should not ever change via this process.

As for familiars, I would probably choose differently along the lines of how deep is the familiar bond (time, power, emotive connection).

Thanks for your input. I too think some variation should be involved, and that Luck should remain a deeper cosmic connection untouched by the ritual of the soul phylactery. I am now self possessed of the belief that the stats that represent the physical body should be that of the host. Yet, the metaphysical like Luck, HD, INT, and PER should indeed remain constants.

As for the familiar I am now becoming more confident over time that it too, falls into this latter category. To me I think these are the mythological variant of a soul mate tethered to the wizard through a history akin to which Aristophanes explains in the Symposium.