Earliest Access to Animate Dead [PF/3.5]?

[subject42]

What are the earliest methods available for casting Animate Dead?

Sorcerers can do it at level 8.
Dread necromancers can do it at level 8.
Wizards can do it a level 7.
Favored Souls can do it at level 6.
Warlocks can do it at level 6.
Clerics can do it at level 5.

Is there any way to do it earlier than a cleric?

[NelKor]

Couldn't you do it earlier as a sorcerer if you did some Lore Drake, Dragonwrought Cheese?

[Optimystik]

Pun-pun can do it at 1 :smalltongue:

Can't Phaerimm Sorcerers get it at 4?

[subject42]

Can't Phaerimm Sorcerers get it at 4?

Phaerimm sorcerer? What's the source on that?

[OldTrees]

1st level

Human Wizard 1 with 1 flaw

Fell Animate (+3 metamagic)
Easy Metamagic [Fell Animate]
Metamagic School Focus (reduce a metamagiced spell of you school by 1 level 3/day)


Human Cleric 1

Fell Animate (+3 metamagic)
Divine Metamagic [Fell Animate]


Fell Animate creates Zombies out of foes slain by the spell

[Optimystik]

Phaerimm sorcerer? What's the source on that?

Phaerimm are from either Monsters of Faerun (3.0) or Lost Empires of Faerun (3.5). Sadly, the 3.5 version is the broken one - they get sorc casting = character level, which stacks with sorcerer levels - which means, for every level of sorcerer one takes, it casts as though it'd taken two. Buy off the +2 LA and you're golden.

They're not very pretty though:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060515194712/forgottenrealms/images/6/64/Phaerimm.jpg


Fell Animate creates Zombies out of foes slain by the spell

Unfortunately, you have no way to control them.

[*.*.*.*]

Death Master from Dragon Compendium gets it as a 2nd level spell

[The Cat Goddess]

Death Master from Dragon Compendium gets it as a 2nd level spell

So, a Death Master-3/Dread Necromancer-1/Ultimate Magus-10 would be a 10th level caster in both classes. With shenanigans, a Death Master-1/Dread Necromancer-1/Ultimate Magus-10 would be a 9th level caster in both classes.

Unfortunately, there's no published way to keep raising both classes after reaching level 10 of UM. :smallmad:

Edit: Well, I guess 6 levels of Spell Thief & Master Spellthief would give a caster level of 16 for all three classes?

[Os1ris09]

1st level

Human Wizard 1 with 1 flaw

Fell Animate (+3 metamagic)
Easy Metamagic [Fell Animate]
Metamagic School Focus (reduce a metamagiced spell of you school by 1 level 3/day)


Human Cleric 1

Fell Animate (+3 metamagic)
Divine Metamagic [Fell Animate]


Fell Animate creates Zombies out of foes slain by the spell

Where are those feats located?

[ScionoftheVoid]

Where are those feats located?

Divine Metamagic is in Complete Divine, Metamagic School Focus is in Complete Mage. Fell Animate is probably Libris Mortis or Heroes of Horror or something, I don't know. Not sure where Easy Metamagic is.

[OldTrees]

Fell Animate (Libris Mortis)
Easy Metamagic (Dragon #325 or this database (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Easy_Metamagic))
Metamagic School Focus (Complete Mage)
Divine Metamagic (Complete Divine)



Unfortunately, you have no way to control them.

Fell Animate adds the undead to your animate dead control pool. (4HD/cl)

"The standard rules for controlling undead (see animate dead, page 198 of the Player's Handbook) apply to newly created undead gained through this metamagic feat."

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Spellstitched Necropolitan can get it as a spell-like ability at any level. Be sure to make your base race something that can get Magic in the Blood to make it usable 3/day.

[Lev]

It would be good to mention that metamagic school focus only works for 3 spells per day.

[Jack_Simth]

Death Master from Dragon Compendium gets it as a 2nd level spellIn which case an Artificer can make a scroll of the spell at 1st level.

Phaerimm are from either Monsters of Faerun (3.0) or Lost Empires of Faerun (3.5). Sadly, the 3.5 version is the broken one - they get sorc casting = character level, which stacks with sorcerer levels - which means, for every level of sorcerer one takes, it casts as though it'd taken two. Buy off the +2 LA and you're golden.

The other reason they're broken is that they cast their Sorcerer spells as Spell-Like abilities... but yeah. They're rather busted, even without LA buyoff - two Sorcerer levels and they're casting as a Sorcerer-4 at ECL 4. Nine Sorcerer levels and they're casting as a Sorcerer-18 at ECL 11. 9th level spells, and Wish for no XP. Hello game balance, it's been nice knowing you.

Of course, CR scales the same way, so that CR-10 Hatchling (base hatchling, plus 9 Sorcerer levels) casts as a Sorcerer-18.... EVIL!!!