Hiding and moving undead. Advice Needed [Pathfinder/3.5]

[Brass Dragon]

I've scoured the forums and have yet to find a thread to answer my query, so here goes:

I'm playing a necromancer, and I have no plans to conquer every metropolis I enter, silly me, so I need to know what ways, if any, there are to transport BIG undead creatures, without needing to just leave them out of town, sitting ducks, waiting to be destroyed, or, worse, killing a chunk of the population and them correlating the tragedy to my arrival.

What respectable, un-ostentatious , and hopefully economical (not a strict requirement), methods are there to cart around my Monstrous horde, so they can be at my fingertips in a time of need? [accessible within a few minutes at most]

[Kelb_Panthera]

Portable hole is capable of holding a large creature if it squeezes in. An enveloping pit could hold much larger but it's a kobold relic so there's a bit of rigamarole to getting it to work.

[Red Fel]

It's a bit of homebrew, but it makes logical sense, and it worked rather well in a campaign in which I played, so bear with me.

Start with a Robe of Bones (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#robeofBones). This is a wondrous item that has undead woven into it as patterns. Remove the pattern, bring out your undead.

Your character is going to take the Craft Wondrous Item feat and lots of ranks in the Craft (Needlework) skill. Your character is, with DM permission, going to stitch undead back into the robe.

It stands to reason. The Robe contains actual undead, not temporarily summoned or conjured ones - they have to come from someplace. So, logically, they had to be put into the robe at some point. Logically, therefore, you can put others in.

Note again that this is a homebrew work-it-out-with-your-DM option, but it worked quite nicely in a campaign in which I was a player. (Right up until our necromancer decided she wanted to put a skeletal dragon into her robe. Then we had problems.)

(And naughty euphemisms.)

[jedipotter]

I guess first of all, do you really need your Undead Army when you go to town? Do you really get into lots of combat on the city streets? Do you get into all sorts of bar fights at taverns?

Why can't you just hide them outside of town again? By ''big'' are you saying like dragon zombies? Zombie mountains? If you really do have giant, vast Apocalypse undead..why are you even going into towns?


Teleport, of course, can get you your undead even if you leave them miles away. So get an undead spellcaster, or an undead that can use a teleportation magic item. Gate can bring your undead army to you too.

Make the undead invisible?

Have more undead like ghosts and other incorporeal types. They can follow you easily, and keep out of sight.

If you can get plane travel, you could have your whole undead army follow on the Ethereal plane. Then they are just one spell/magic item use away...

[Brass Dragon]

I guess first of all, do you really need your Undead Army when you go to town? Do you really get into lots of combat on the city streets? Do you get into all sorts of bar fights at taverns?

Why can't you just hide them outside of town again? By ''big'' are you saying like dragon zombies? Zombie mountains? If you really do have giant, vast Apocalypse undead..why are you even going into towns?


Teleport, of course, can get you your undead even if you leave them miles away. So get an undead spellcaster, or an undead that can use a teleportation magic item. Gate can bring your undead army to you too.

Make the undead invisible?

Have more undead like ghosts and other incorporeal types. They can follow you easily, and keep out of sight.

If you can get plane travel, you could have your whole undead army follow on the Ethereal plane. Then they are just one spell/magic item use away...

Not so much of an army, Just two huge bloody skeletons (In this case, two hydras, one of the rare bloody skeletons that are better than the base (The rest of my HD are being used on the sea serpent that pulls our boat)

(Problem with ghosts and shadows and other nasty things is that they can run away, or escape, or go be evil all on their own. I'm a respectable LN necromancer, micromanagement capabilities are key, so i'm sticking with the ones from animate dead :smallbiggrin:)

The reason i need them inside the town or easily accessible is that we keep being accosted by bounty hunters and we've had to teleport away from the city more than once, leaving my bones behind.


I do like the ethereal plane idea, I have plane shift usable goodly amounts of times(oracle) so that shouldn't be hard to do


Any other ideas?

[Extra Anchovies]

Stick them in a portable hole? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389235-How-many-skeletons-fit-in-a-Portable-Hole)

Alternately, shrink them down somehow. Not sure if shrink object works on skeletons and such.

[g3taso]

Well, I personally just "harvested" a group of baddies in our game. I haven't animated them yet, but I took the time to cast a chained "Shrink Item" spell on them. Now they are all 1" or so in size and tucked into my belt.

As for "live" undead, I am a big believer in Haunt Shift. Let them haunt your stuff, ready at your command to materialize!

If you want a third option, check out the "Familiar Pouch" and "carry Companion" spells. It shouldn't be hard to create a necromantic/transmutation variant.

[5ColouredWalker]

Skeletons tend to be rather light.
Devils Crux/Cheliash Crux, findable on the PFSRD [Look by Alphabed under D, not in slotless], is a box that can hold up to 200lb of stuff, with no upper weight limit, and comes in at 2000gp. However, it takes 7 rounds to open even if you know the code by RAW, which is stupid.


Otherwise, I suggest you look into the Sculpt Undead and Gentle Repose spells, Sculpt Undead is basically a transmutation Disguise Other for corpses and undead, while Gentle Repose will prevent the disguise from rotting... It'll only really help for little undead though.