Ghostwalk and fighting beside yourself

[Xuldarinar]

Earlier today a concept dawned on me that I wanted to share and see how it could be done. In short, a ghost (ghostwalk, not MM) who fights along side their body. What ways could someone manage this?

[Jeff the Green]

Earlier today a concept dawned on me that I wanted to share and see how it could be done. In short, a ghost (ghostwalk, not MM) who fights along side their body. What ways could someone manage this?

Dread necromancer with animate dread warrior is the best way I can think of. Your body won't be as good at casting as you are, and every so often you'd need to resurrect, kill yourself, and reanimate your body to keep it up to snuff. Still, we're only talking DCs 2 lower and almost twice the undead HD at your command.

Alternatively, a sorcerer gish could do it, with the advantage of your body being more competent at fighting. Sorcerer 4/Paladin of Tyranny 2/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/whatever would be pretty competent. At early levels you'd need to use a scroll/schema of ADW, but that's not too bad. Plus you can reanimate anyone you kill as a loyal servant too.

A cleric with UMD or the magic domain would be even better, but that's more hoops and you'd always need a scroll/schema.

[Gemini476]

Dread necromancer with animate dread warrior is the best way I can think of. Your body won't be as good at casting as you are, and every so often you'd need to resurrect, kill yourself, and reanimate your body to keep it up to snuff. Still, we're only talking DCs 2 lower and almost twice the undead HD at your command.

I guess you technically could do something like replace the bones of your corpse with something else (Wolverine-style prosthetics, for instance), and then both animate your corpse as a Zombie (or Dread Warrior or whatever) and your skeleton as a skeleton.

It's the triple-dipping necromancy trick, except you're already the ghost so that third is out.

I'm not entirely sure that the body will count as "substantially whole", but I dunno.

Is there anything better that a skeleton could be reanimated as?

[Jeff the Green]

Bone creature from BoVD, maybe. Unfortunately I don't think bone creatures keep their class levels like dread warriors do, so it'd be the same as a generic human skeleton, just with an Intelligence score.

Plus, I can't think of a DM who'd say a deboned body was "substantially whole". There are probably ways to duplicate your body, though.

[Gemini476]

Plus, I can't think of a DM who'd say a deboned body was "substantially whole". There are probably ways to duplicate your body, though.

I guess it gets down to how it was done. It probably wouldn't work in this particular case, but you could try putting in the prosthetic bones while the soon-to-be undead minion is still alive? Zombie pirates can still be animated when they have peg-legs, I'm pretty sure, so maybe "A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse." and the like only apply to post-mortem modifications to the body?

Hmm.

Of course, even if you can't get the skeleton as an additional minion then you can always possess your undead body and put on a suit of animated armor. That'll give your DM a headache. Stacking minions is fun.

[Xuldarinar]

If we want to go the route of a simple, mindless undead for the body, then Death Master may certainly work, their undead minion being their corporeal body.

Intelligent undead, for me atleast, would be preferable. Undead Leadership could be an interesting route, attracting your corpse as a cohort.