[3.5] Animate Dead Questions

[A.A.King]

I was wondering how class levels affect the skeleton you create. It says that it loses all it's hit dice gained from class levels to a minimum of 1 but it also says that its abilities stay mostly the same. So I was wondering if I were to use Animate Dead on the skeleton of a LV20 Human Fighter would it lose the +5 Strength it had gained from reaching levels 4, 8, 12, 16 & 20? Also, would I need to use a Black Onyx Gem for each of the Hit Die of Skeleton I create (which in this case would be 1) or for each of the Hit Die of the base creature which would still include the class levels?

[mattie_p]

I was wondering how class levels affect the skeleton you create. It says that it loses all it's hit dice gained from class levels to a minimum of 1 but it also says that its abilities stay mostly the same. So I was wondering if I were to use Animate Dead on the skeleton of a LV20 Human Fighter would it lose the +5 Strength it had gained from reaching levels 4, 8, 12, 16 & 20?

Technically, yes - it retains the +5 strength if that is what the level 20 fighter did. Of course, the odds of finding a level 20 fighter corpse just laying around waiting to be animated are negligible. And if you have the capabilities of killing a level 20 fighter odds are you are making better undead than skeletons anyway.


Also, would I need to use a Black Onyx Gem for each of the Hit Die of Skeleton I create (which in this case would be 1) or for each of the Hit Die of the base creature which would still include the class levels?

You need a single 25 gp black onyx gem.


You must place a black onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead

[A.A.King]

Okay thanks, and you don't have to kill it, you can loot the corpses of gladiators who will have +X strength as a little added bonus.

[ArcturusV]

Though a Gladiator is probably a mid level fighter anyway by necessity, not a high one. I mean they want a show. Which means a fight has to last longer than 6 seconds. So you're not going to see level 20 pounce shock trooper power attackers. You'd probably have something like level 3 Fighters. Strong enough that one blow won't kill them. Weak enough that the fights will last for a few minutes. And just barely enough feats to have a showy combat trick to play up some sort of theme.

[A.A.King]

Maybe, but I was just wondering if it would retain the bonus it gets from reaching those levels dividable by 4 anyway. Just like to make sure the skeletons I create are top notch so I select only the best dead warriors and knowing that they retain their bonus helps with optimizing ability scores. They don't have to be gladiators. It could be a legendary hero, snatched from its tomb.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Though a Gladiator is probably a mid level fighter anyway by necessity, not a high one. I mean they want a show. Which means a fight has to last longer than 6 seconds. So you're not going to see level 20 pounce shock trooper power attackers. You'd probably have something like level 3 Fighters. Strong enough that one blow won't kill them. Weak enough that the fights will last for a few minutes. And just barely enough feats to have a showy combat trick to play up some sort of theme.

I'd imagine in D&D a lot of Gladiator matches would use blunted swords intentionally designed to soften bows so they say deal half-damage, fighting defensively or simply fighting to disarm and pin the opponent so they are forced to surrender. In the real roman gladiatorial fights putting on a good show was more important then bloodshed.(despite what you see in movies)