3.5 Magic Jar and soul-collecting

[DementedFellow]

So I'm reading this handy guide (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872726/Revised_Necromancer_Handbook)on how to be an excellent necromancer, when the topic shifts slightly to discuss catching souls and using them.

There is a part that I'm really confused about. It says that a standard way to collect souls is to use Magic Jar. But the text I see says nothing about the soul being trapped anywhere if the host body dies. All it says is "it departs".

Can someone explain this to me?

[Piggy Knowles]

Step 1: Cast magic jar, placing your soul into a gem.

Step 2: Possess a creature. This moves your soul out of the gem and into their body, and then forces their soul into the gem.

Step 3: Create an item, replacing some of the XP required with the soul in the gem (it will save you 10 XP!), or use it as an optional spell component in a spell (+10 to overcome SR!). The soul will be destroyed completely and permanently, and the enemy that you've possessed is gone forever and can never be resurrected.

Step 4: Your enemy's soul dealt with, go ahead and return to your original body.

Not too shabby for a fifth level spell, no? Be warned that BoVD says that the destruction of a soul is "evil of the blackest sort," and more or less strongly implies that there's no coming back from that.

EDIT: As for the rules re: using captured souls when creating items or as spell components, see BoVD pages 33 (Souls as Power) and 45-46 (Material Components, "soul in receptacle"), respectively.

[DementedFellow]

At this point you'd pretty much have to have these victims there in your lab or whatever since the spell magic jar is 1hr/level and it typically takes 8 hours of work a day to make something, right?

What other methods could one use to keep a stockpile of crafting xp (souls) around? Methods before level 8 and 9 spells would be preferable.

[Alex12]

At this point you'd pretty much have to have these victims there in your lab or whatever since the spell magic jar is 1hr/level and it typically takes 8 hours of work a day to make something, right?

What other methods could one use to keep a stockpile of crafting xp (souls) around? Methods before level 8 and 9 spells would be preferable.

Thinuan is probably the easiest way: it's a metal that traps the soul of anyone who dies while touching it. It's from Complete Warrior, I think.

Soul Shackles, a spell from BoVD, might work, if the target line didn't contradict the spell description.