As promised, this is the first (of several) inquiries I will fire off to generate your collective input. Unless it is not 'appropriate' to do so, I may post some of these questions on the 1st edition bulletin, as many of them likewise pertain to that gaming genre', too. Thank you for your response in advance!
I was wondering if there is a limit to the number of times that a priest (or necromancer wizard) can animate the bodies (corpses or skeleton remains) of the dead with the "Animate Dead" spell. The mage spell description implies that this can be achieved but once, but there seems to be nothing stated definitively.
In short, is it possible for a mage or priest to 're-animate' the bodies once more after they fall in combat? If so, are these skeletons/zombies reduced in power (1/2 original HD, etc), or does the magic of the spell restore them to full power anew?
If not, can the 5th lvl priest spell "Undead Regeneration" from the Necromancer's Book (I have come to use that tome rather often these days, much to the dismay of my PCs!), be used to mend the corpses/bones for functional use again?
Animate dead fixes everything, and reanimates the damaged remains as a whole(if all the bits are there that is). _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
I don't know where you get that impression. The undead remains animated
until destroyed. When they are destroyed, what is left? Remains. The
spell affects remains, so the caster casts the spell again on the
remains that are now there yet again. As the DM, it is up to you to
decide how much of the remains must be relatively intact. For instance,
if a skeleton is shattered by a mace or hacked apart with axes/swords,
you might say, sure, it could be animated again, as there are pieces
that can be mended back together without much trouble. But, if the
skeleton was crushed to powder by a falling block trap, you would be
justified in saying that the spell does not animate dust. Why? Because you are the DM, that's why!
_________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
Cebrion, I completely agree about the "DM call." Boy, do I have to use that one often!
The reason why I feel safe that remains can only be animated once... look at page 165 in the PH:
"This spell assumes that the bodies or bones are available and are reasonably intact (those of skeletons or zombies destroyed in combat won't be!)"
I read that as it's a one shot spell, without any chance to recast it once zombies and skeletons have been defeated. Thus, Animate once, and that's all. That is why I suggested the option of using the "Regenerate Undead" spell from the Necromancer's Book as a (costly) way to make the smashed remains "whole" once more for Re-animation.
Do corpses rot once "Animate Dead" is cast? Or is the necromantic link such that the body will not decay? Interested in your thoughts, good people.
I am currently riding the fence on this, but leaning towards "No." Otherwise, the 'life expectancy' of the typical zombie would be rather limited, based on humidity, useage, and temperature...
Do corpses rot once "Animate Dead" is cast? Or is the necromantic link such that the body will not decay? Interested in your thoughts, good people.
I also say 'No' to that question. That being the case, however, undead bodies do decay due to combat, general wear and tear, and the tendency of magic to fail over a great period of time.
Thus, zombies aren't eternal, but they will last a few hundred years, if they aren't frequently ridden hard and put away wet.
Do corpses rot once "Animate Dead" is cast? Or is the necromantic link such that the body will not decay? Interested in your thoughts, good people.
I also say 'No' to that question. That being the case, however, undead bodies do decay due to combat, general wear and tear, and the tendency of magic to fail over a great period of time.
Thus, zombies aren't eternal, but they will last a few hundred years, if they aren't frequently ridden hard and put away wet.
Do corpses rot once "Animate Dead" is cast? Or is the necromantic link such that the body will not decay? Interested in your thoughts, good people.
I also say 'No' to that question. That being the case, however, undead bodies do decay due to combat, general wear and tear, and the tendency of magic to fail over a great period of time.
Thus, zombies aren't eternal, but they will last a few hundred years, if they aren't frequently ridden hard and put away wet.
SirXaris
What the hell are you doing to your zombies?
Better yet don't tell me.
Nice Wisdom Save Argon.....
Some things are best left unknown......
It strikes me as odd, perhaps disjointed even, that only wizards can create the more useful and powerful ju-ju zombies (using Finger of Death or Energy Drain, for starters) but priests (even those with major access to Necromantic sphere) cannot...
I think 2nd edition tried to address this issue with the specialty priests. Remember evil cleric's can control undead. Wizard's create undead or in some cases undead create undead.
Later
Argon
Last edited by Argon on Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
It strikes me as odd, perhaps disjointed even, that only wizards can create the more useful and powerful ju-ju zombies (using Finger of Death or Energy Drain, for starters) but priests (even those with major access to Necromantic sphere) cannot...
-Lanthorn
Later editions worked harder to address and answer issues like this. Earlier editions left that kind of specific information and explanation to the fancy of each individual DM. You can either look into the spell lists and the explanations of undead creation in later editions for inspiration or simply come up with a plan of your own making. The only answer that exists, in my opinion, is that the authors simply didn't consider every aspect of the spell and how it would interact with every other aspect of the game, so didn't provide such an explanation.
Do corpses rot once "Animate Dead" is cast? Or is the necromantic link such that the body will not decay? Interested in your thoughts, good people.
It's been a long time since I've played 1st/2nd edition but I'm almost certain there's a write-up about how the negative energy that animates them keeps their further deterioration in check.
Manual of The Planes, perhaps, re: negative energy plane.
It's as if the magic uses the energy created from the rotting process to "heal the damage". Thus, never improves; never gets worse. That's "undeath". Neither living nor dead.
Hope that helps/makes sense to you.
- D _________________ Quoted material has been reproduced in this post without express permission for the purposes of discussion, comment and review as permitted by Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.
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