The case of the flesh golem zombie

[Torben Raibeart]

Evening playground.

I was thinking about zombies and skeletons in DnD, and realized that there's just two requirements for something being turned into a skeleton or a zombie:
1) Corporeal creature (other than an undead)
2) Has a skeletal system

This got me wonderling what would classify as a skeleton system. Would for example something with an ecoskeleton, like a giant ant or a spider, be classified as having a skeleton system for the purpose of making a zombie? But then it hit me: You kan make a skeleton or a zomby out of ANY corporeal creature that isn't an undead as long as it har a skeleton system. Even a construct. And a flesh golem is sawn together by parts from humanoids. It got a skeleton system.

I could make a flesh golem zombie. Or more silly, a flesh golem skeleton.

So what exactly are the limits to what you kan turn into a zombie? What can be called "a skeleton system"? Does warforged have a skeleton system? Can I make robot-zombies in DnD?

[hicegetraenk]

Interesting. At first I thought, flesh golems couldn't be turned into zombies, since they are immune to magic that allows spell resistance. But as create Undead / Animate Dead doesn't allow sr... the Golem should be a valid target.

Making a skeleton out of (giant) vermin would need the decisionmaking of the DM I guess. As an exoskeleton ist not a skeleton, I'd not make it possible.

The spells do target touched corpses. Thus, robots can't be zombified, because they leave no corpses. But something like warforged...?!

[Rubik]

Making a skeleton out of (giant) vermin would need the decisionmaking of the DM I guess. As an exoskeleton ist not a skeleton, I'd not make it possible.Why doesn't an exoskeleton count, exactly? Would an endoskeleton not count because it has a prefix, too?

If the answer there is "no," what exactly would count for making a skeletal undead?

Exoskeletons ARE skeletal systems and should count as such.

[Elycium]

Actually, already exist something like that. It is in the epic manual.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Flesh_Colossus

[Humble Master]

As said above I think that it would ultimately come down to what the DM calls. There are no rules in DnD defining what a skeletal system is and thus it would be the DM's decision about what you could turn into a Zombie/Skeleton.