Command Undead: What happens after

[Beelzebub1111]

After the duration runs out on a mindless undead, what happens? Do they follow the last order you have them? Do they do nothing? Do they follow the last order given before you cast the spell? Do they revert to the control of their original creator? What if their original creator is dead or escaped, perhaps to a different country.

[PersonMan]

After the duration runs out on a mindless undead, what happens? Do they follow the last order you have them? Do they do nothing? Do they follow the last order given before you cast the spell? Do they revert to the control of their original creator? What if their original creator is dead or escaped, perhaps to a different country.

This is definitely an 'ask your DM' question, but seeing as you're probably asking due to curiosity, I'll just say what I'd rule in this situation.

Being mindless, mindless undead have no memory, apart from what's required to follow orders. Once your magical control fades, the memory of your orders fades with it - essentially resetting them. So if they were told 'kill anyone wearing red' before you took control, they would keep doing that.

They do revert to the control of their former master (unless whatever control they have ran out during Command Undead's duration), but unless the master is present they won't be able to receive new orders.

[Darth Stabber]

That's basically how I would rule it too. Intelligent undead would, on the other hand, attempt to make your life/unlife as short as possible.

But basically, whatever to undead when their controller dies should inform you to some extent.

[Johel]

I think it's best if they go on "attack on sight anything alive" mode.
They see the living as half-empty bags of unfocused positive energy and have a urge to make it completely empty.

Intelligent undeads would just act as anybody after having been under a charm spell :
If they understand they have been charmed, they will hate you.
Otherwise, they might act neutral, at first at least.

They will find it odd that they didn't shred you to pieces in the first meeting.
But if you were able to convince them that there was a good reason not to do so, they might even become willing allies.
But unlike when they were charmed, they won't hesitate to betray you if it serves their interest.
You will be an asset rather than a friend.

[Toy Killer]

I would rule that a mindless undead will do as it was doing before the effect wore off. Mindless undead can't really do much for themselves and with help doesn't really do much for them either. remember they can't handle complicated orders (up to DM what is or is not complicated, but the book states one word commands if i'm not mistaken) so if you told them to, say, 'March North!' they would walk and walk and walk north, and when the spell wore off, they wouldn't have any reason to not keep walking.

If you told them to stand post at your necromantic castle of doom, and the effect wore off. they would probably keep standing there, and maybe attack something alive, ignore non-living things (Like elementals, constructs and naturally, undead) and then wander off aimlessly.

[PersonMan]

I think it's best if they go on "attack on sight anything alive" mode.
They see the living as half-empty bags of unfocused positive energy and have a urge to make it completely empty.

Mindless undead don't really have a 'kill everything' mode unless someone gives them one - they're mindless. They do what they're commanded to do, nothing else. I'd rule that, unless they've been commanded to do something that requires their senses, they don't even take in sensory information.

Mindless undead automatically trying to kill things doesn't really make sense as long as they're mindless - what makes them attack certain things but not others? They need a mind to differentiate between, say, a rock and a tree and a human in any meaningful way.

[Benly]

Mindless undead automatically trying to kill things doesn't really make sense as long as they're mindless - what makes them attack certain things but not others? They need a mind to differentiate between, say, a rock and a tree and a human in any meaningful way.

I'm not a big fan of citing Lichloved because that feat is skeevy as heck, but its main effect text is "mindless undead see the character as an undead creature". The fact that this is even a thing implies that mindless undead are assumed to be able to distinguish between the living and the undead, and (less strongly) that they treat them differently in some way.

[Shadowknight12]

They revert to what they were doing before Command Undead took control. If that action was "idling about" then that's what they will do from then on.

EDIT:


I'm not a big fan of citing Lichloved because that feat is skeevy as heck, but its main effect text is "mindless undead see the character as an undead creature". The fact that this is even a thing implies that mindless undead are assumed to be able to distinguish between the living and the undead, and (less strongly) that they treat them differently in some way.

That they're capable of distinguishing between undead and non-undead does not seem to be doubted, however, that feat might apply to orders given to mindless undead. If the necromancer tells its undead minions to kill any living creatures that they see (because he himself is undead), then someone with the Lichloved feat can waltz past them to the necromancer's lair itself.

As an aside, even though it's not explicitly spelled out in the feat, I would allow Lichloved to confuse a Dread Wraith's Lifesense (or any undead with the Libris Mortis feat of the same name) and spells such as Deathwatch.

Also, I have no problems with Lichloved when we're talking about intelligent, humanlike, VERY well preserved undead as the lover, such as vampires and (in my campaigns) wights, wraiths, spectres, ghosts, banshees and similar.

[Steward]

Mindless undead automatically trying to kill things doesn't really make sense as long as they're mindless - what makes them attack certain things but not others? They need a mind to differentiate between, say, a rock and a tree and a human in any meaningful way.

Aren't zombies (for example) Always Chaotic Evil? I assume that, on their off time, they go around slashing people's tires, deliberately clogging public toilets with random junk they find lying around, and going to restaurants solely for the purpose of giving the servers a hard time before leaving fake money behind as a "tip". It seems like the kind of thing they would do.

[TuggyNE]

Aren't zombies (for example) Always Chaotic Evil? I assume that, on their off time, they go around slashing people's tires, deliberately clogging public toilets with random junk they find lying around, and going to restaurants solely for the purpose of giving the servers a hard time before leaving fake money behind as a "tip". It seems like the kind of thing they would do.

Actually they're Always Neutral Evil. But it is often argued that, being mindless, that's something of a bug; they should probably be labeled Always Neutral and some other hack chosen to make sure certain spells have the right effect against them. (Perhaps giving them the Evil subtype would be suitable.)