Awaken Undead CR increase?

[Yael]

It's for an upcoming game, that involves an awakened Skeleton Blue Dragon, but I don't know at which part it will come up exactly, because the Awaken Undead spell (SpC) doesn't say anything about it.
I'm refering to the Skeletal Dragon template from Draconomicon, that adjusts CR to 1/2 from base dragon's CR.

Is there any FAQ/Errata/Houserule that actually explains or rules how to manage Awaken Undead's CR+? Because, even if it is not in the spell description, if the master is destroyed, undead awakened retain their will, and thus may be able to do whatever their bones/corpses dictate.

[Runestar]

Well, awaken undead would theoretically allow the skeletal dragon to use more complex strategies, even if it doesn't grant any new abilities.

I am not sure if we can just slap on a flat +1 cr increase like that without knowing how you intend to take advantage of that improved intelligence.

[DrMotives]

You might consider side-stepping the problem by making it a Bone Creature templated blue dragon, from the BoVD. Then it'll be a skeletal undead that retains it's full mind & abilities, with a CR increase in the template description. Call it an awakened skeleton in-game for your players, if you still prefer. It's not like they look through your notes on enemies.

[Yael]

Well, awaken undead would theoretically allow the skeletal dragon to use more complex strategies, even if it doesn't grant any new abilities.

I am not sure if we can just slap on a flat +1 cr increase like that without knowing how you intend to take advantage of that improved intelligence.

Well, they gain 4 + 1d6 Int, and I'm taking averages, so that's not quite a lot of intelligence (7), still, just wanted it to be free.


You might consider side-stepping the problem by making it a Bone Creature templated blue dragon, from the BoVD. Then it'll be a skeletal undead that retains it's full mind & abilities, with a CR increase in the template description. Call it an awakened skeleton in-game for your players, if you still prefer. It's not like they look through your notes on enemies.

I also thought of that, but having it keep its full abilities is really a tough challenge, considering the insane damage reduction Bone Creature provides.