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Mindleshank
2009-07-22, 09:18 PM
Okay so Animate dead makes Zombies and skeletons based on sized in that case what does create undead do because i am confused on the whole "they don't gain any features as they do in life thing that i see all the time.

The question is does create undead turn something into an undead that keeps all the features that said corpse had in life or is it just another thing for me to look up in the MM?

Salt_Crow
2009-07-22, 09:37 PM
For Animate Dead: Whether you animate a 10th-level human fighter into a zombie or a 10th-level human wizard into a zombie, it doesn't make a modicum of difference. They'll both become 20-HD zombies, nothing more. No feats, no spells, no skills, no nothing except perhaps equipments that you haven't salvaged yet and Ex special qualities that improve its melee/ranged attack (hydra's ability attack with all of its head, for example).

Create Undead: It seems to indicate that you also replace all of the given corpse's statistics with that of the specified monster. Also, losing all of its class features and HDs in the process. None of the examples indicate they're 1st-level commoners or whatnots after all (unlike zombie/skeletons which do).

Xefas
2009-07-22, 09:40 PM
For Animate Dead: Whether you animate a 10th-level human fighter into a zombie or a 10th-level human wizard into a zombie, it doesn't make a modicum of difference. They'll both become 20-HD zombies, nothing more.

Actually, they'll become 1 HD skeletons or zombies. Under the skeleton and zombie templates, they specify that you drop all Hit Dice gained from class levels.

EDIT: Whoops, the poster below me is more right than I am. Skeletons would be 1 HD. Zombies would be 2 HD. Zombies double the amount of HD they get.

KillianHawkeye
2009-07-22, 09:46 PM
For Animate Dead: Whether you animate a 10th-level human fighter into a zombie or a 10th-level human wizard into a zombie, it doesn't make a modicum of difference. They'll both become 20-HD zombies, nothing more. No feats, no spells, no skills, no nothing except perhaps equipments that you haven't salvaged yet and Ex special qualities that improve its melee/ranged attack (hydra's ability attack with all of its head, for example).

This is wrong. They both become 2 HD zombies because they lose all those extra levels.


Drop any Hit Dice from class levels (to a minimum of 1), double the number of Hit Dice left, and raise them to d12s.

The same goes for skeletons, except you don't double the remaining HD.

As for create undead, unlike animate dead, this spell lets you create more fearsome undead creatures than skeletons and zombies (ghouls, ghasts, mummies, and mohrgs). These undead are not templated creatures like skeletons and zombies, so the stats of the original creature don't matter.

Salt_Crow
2009-07-22, 09:49 PM
Thanks for correcting me guys ;) Rather rusty there, ain't I?

The Mentalist
2009-07-22, 09:52 PM
There are templates for the various types of intelligent undead (in Savage Species mostly, IIRC) but in core, yes they're just something else to pull out of the MM.

Mindleshank
2009-07-22, 09:53 PM
Okay so both spells are independent from any class levels or ability scores that the subject had in life

ZeroNumerous
2009-07-22, 09:57 PM
Mummified Creature retains class-levels, but cannot be created with either of the above spells.

Jalor
2009-07-22, 10:04 PM
BoVD also has templates for intelligent skeletons and zombies, which retain class levels.