Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
  • School necromancy []
  • Spell Lists
    • spiritualist 3
    • occultist 3
    • cleric 3
    • sorcerer/wizard 4
  • Casting Time 1 standard action
  • Components V, S, M (an onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead)
  • Range touch
  • Target(s) one or more corpses touched
  • Duration instantaneous
  • Saving Throw none

This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies that obey your spoken commands.

The undead can be made to follow you, or they can be made to remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. A destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again.

Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can’t create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single casting of animate dead. The desecrate spell doubles this limit.

The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are released. Undead you control through the Command Undead feat do not count toward this limit.

Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse, the flesh falls off the bones.

Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a physical anatomy.


The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.

Sources:

  • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

SECTION 15

  • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Copyright 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  • The Book of Experimental Might, Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
  • Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.
  • Open Game License v 1.0a, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  • System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  • Pathminder, Copyright 2016, Drumanagh Wilpole.