how would this work, or can it?

[buttcyst]

A question came up in a game I am playing in recently when the party sorcerer wanted to cast command undead on something that was summoned by the party cleric.

basically, can this work? what kind of check is involved, if any.

best we came up with was a caster level check or possibly a charisma check.

[Galvin]

It would work, and there would be no caster level check. If you cast command undead on a random skeleton that was created by some random sorcerer, there is no caster level check with the sorcerer.

[buttcyst]

I should clarify a little better, the cleric summoned an undead centipede and was currently commanding it when the sorcerer tried to take over control of the creature, it wasn't unsupervised at the time.

[Shpadoinkle]

Uh... it depends on the undead in question. If it's intelligent it gets a saving throw based on its own stats, and if it's not it doesn't get a save. The fact that the party cleric summoned it is a non-issue in this case. What exactly are you confused about?

[SaintRidley]

I should clarify a little better, the cleric summoned an undead centipede and was currently commanding it when the sorcerer tried to take over control of the creature, it wasn't unsupervised at the time.

Shouldn't make a difference - command undead will work, no opposed checks necessary.

[Chronos]

When two characters attempt to exert magical control over a single creature, it'll attempt to obey both, to the extent that it's able. If there's an actual conflict, then the two controllers make an opposed charisma check.

[buttcyst]

When two characters attempt to exert magical control over a single creature, it'll attempt to obey both, to the extent that it's able. If there's an actual conflict, then the two controllers make an opposed charisma check.

this is viable to an extent, and also the part that has me confused the most.

the reason for the sorcerer casting the spell in the first place was to stop the cleric from maintaining control. I guess the question would be who's saves are used, the summoner's or the creatures? or is it like chromos said, the creature obeys both as long as possible? or if the cleric fails his check but the creature passes if rolled separately?


***backstory*** cleric is evil as sin and summoned this thing at the end of an encounter, while we were collecting treasure, in an attempt to make the party bow to his bidding. my barbarian slaughtered it almost single handedly.

[Chronos]

The creature uses its own saving throws. If the save succeeds, then the sorcerer has no control at all, and it remains 100% under the control of the cleric that summoned it, just as if the sorcerer had done nothing. If the save fails, then both the sorcerer and the cleric have magical control over it, and it's as I said before. And if the two controllers are actually directly opposed to each other, they're likely to be explicitly giving orders that directly conflict, and so you'll go straight to the opposed check.