Does this work?

[Inevitability]

Okay, I got a question about something.

The spell 'preserve organ' from the BoVD, says:

'The organ is kept in the exact state it was in when the spell was cast.'

Does that mean a caster can cast it on his own brain, and stay able to think/live/cast stilled, silenced spells even though his skull has been destroyed?

It'd be interesting to cast it every morning on yourself, prepare a stilled silenced healing spell, and be virtually unkillable. (unless someone casts dispel magic on your brain.)

[Brookshw]

Shouldn't think so, the game treats HP as being alive, not the brain (well, vorpal). Check out the spell hide life.

[Inevitability]

But brains in a jar are monsters in the game. Aren't you effectively substituting the jar with a spell?

[Hand_of_Vecna]

Short answer; No.

Your idea relies on the real world concept that we esentially are our brains and our bodies are a combination life support system, sensory apparatus and means of locomotion.

I D&D you doesn't equal your brain in the same way. Consider the case of the psychic sandwhich.

Another way of putting it is that while the spell can keep a heart "bloody and beating" as the simple logic chain "his heart is beating so he must be alive." would dictate. It doesn't prevent you from dieing and dead characters can't take actions.

Persistent Beastland Ferocity+Delay Death gives the effect you're looking for at significantly greater expense.

[ZamielVanWeber]

A Brain in a Jar is undead.

If you want to get technical, casting Preserve Organ on a living brain would result in the brain being unable to cast spells (the brain's total composition would be slightly different after each spells cast) or even think. Otherwise this would work perfectly.

[Hand_of_Vecna]

But brains in a jar are monsters in the game. Aren't you effectively substituting the jar with a spell?

A brain in a jar is a specific creature with specific abilities and it doesn't even have the abilities of the creature whose brain it was created from.

So now your argueing that a spell should turn you into a specific undead creature that the spell makes no mention of and that rather than being that creature you should be a template that isn't even loosely based on that creatures stats?

[Brookshw]

But brains in a jar are monsters in the game. Aren't you effectively substituting the jar with a spell?

The spell does what it says it does, no more, no less. It doesn't say what you're suggesting so it doesn't work that way. The dm on the game can of course change it if they see fit.

[Psyren]

Even with stilled/silent spells, you need more than your brain to be able to take actions. For example, you can't actually target any of your spells since your brain on its own can't perceive anything, not even your own (non-existent) body.