Giving a Int - being intelligence (D&D 3.5)

[NapazTrix]

For example, a Human Warrior Skeleton has - or 0 int and is considered mindless, though the Wizard "Necromancer Variant" wants to give their companion intelligence to allow them feats, skills and eventually the ability to speak.

Is there anyway to give them intelligence if they start with - or 0? Will a simple headband of Intellect do the job or is it stated somewhere that it won't increase?

[Snowbluff]

Skeleton? Awaken Undead. Libris Mortis.

EDIT: Also, a skeleton has Int: -, which is different from 0 int. If you don't have an int score, you can't increase it.

Also, you can create intelligent undead with other necromancy spells (Create Undead), but you'll need to hit them with some other spells to bring them under your control (Like Control Undead).

[NapazTrix]

Skeleton? Awaken Undead. Libris Mortis.

Thank you, this would do well for a end goal for the character.


EDIT: Also, a skeleton has Int: -, which is different from 0 int. If you don't have an int score, you can't increase it.

Ah thank you for pointing that out, edited the title to reflect that. So Headband and spells that increase int will not work for int -.



Also, you can create intelligent undead with other necromancy spells (Create Undead), but you'll need to hit them with some other spells to bring them under your control (Like Control Undead).

This doesn't really apply to the situation but a good suggestion nonetheless.

[Necroticplague]

There are some templates that give you a minimum int of 3, like Fiendish, and Celestial. Unfortunately, neither can be applied to undead, so that's not particularly helpful in this situation. There might be one that does work, though.

[Nifft]

IIRC there is a spell which permanently applies the Fiendish template to a corporeal undead, even though that's not usually legal.

Ah yeah, it's "Vile Death", and it's even reprinted in the Spell Compendium.

At 100 XP, it's a very cheap way to awaken your skelebro.

[NapazTrix]

IIRC there is a spell which permanently applies the Fiendish template to a corporeal undead, even though that's not usually legal.

Ah yeah, it's "Vile Death", and it's even reprinted in the Spell Compendium.

At 100 XP, it's a very cheap way to awaken your skelebro.

Not exactly what I am looking for but could work for more "evil" necromancers. At 9th level that will be quite a wait as well.

Thanks.

[Nifft]

Not exactly what I am looking for but could work for more "evil" necromancers. At 9th level that will be quite a wait as well.

Thanks.

1 - You might be able to pay someone else to cast it. 100 XP isn't that many GP.

2 - You might be able to research a non-Evil version of the spell, to cross a Modron or Slaad with your slekebro... or even become the first person to create a heretical Celestial undead! You'd freak out everybody good and everybody evil.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Wee Jas would probably be okay with Axiomatic undead, if Celestial is out.

[NapazTrix]

The skeleton in question is the Wizard's Sister, and they kind of want to keep them intact and not meddled with much I would assume. So Late game resurrection/Awaken undead might be the best way to go about it.
Any earlier way to be able to pull their soul back and attach to the bones? Or just Vile-Death at 9th?

[Snowbluff]

Kill the skeleton, cast resurrection? That is the sane option. :p

[Nifft]

The skeleton in question is the Wizard's Sister, and they kind of want to keep them intact and not meddled with much I would assume. So Late game resurrection/Awaken undead might be the best way to go about it.
Any earlier way to be able to pull their soul back and attach to the bones? Or just Vile-Death at 9th?

Vile Death attaches the soul of a fiend to the undead, not your sister's soul.

Awaken Undead creates a new personality.

You know, the more I think about it, getting a spell to attach the willing soul of a generally good dead person might get you the Celestial template without any shenanigans (call the spell Grateful Dead).

[torrasque666]

Vile Death attaches the soul of a fiend to the undead, not your sister's soul.

Awaken Undead creates a new personality.

You know, the more I think about it, getting a spell to attach the willing soul of a generally good dead person might get you the Celestial template without any shenanigans (call the spell Grateful Dead).
Nah, then you just get a bunch of aging rockers crammed into the body.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Vile Death attaches the soul of a fiend to the undead, not your sister's soul.

Awaken Undead creates a new personality.

You know, the more I think about it, getting a spell to attach the willing soul of a generally good dead person might get you the Celestial template without any shenanigans (call the spell Grateful Dead).

How do you justify ripping someones soul out of the afterlife and stuffing it into an animated corpse as a good spell?
Especially considering that all spells that create undead are evil by default and there are plenty of options to get them back into a healthy living body if they want to return.

[Curmudgeon]

IIRC there is a spell which permanently applies the Fiendish template to a corporeal undead, even though that's not usually legal.

Ah yeah, it's "Vile Death", and it's even reprinted in the Spell Compendium.

At 100 XP, it's a very cheap way to awaken your skelebro.
That's D&D "permanent", meaning until dispelled (also dismissed, in this particular case).

[NapazTrix]

Kill the skeleton, cast resurrection? That is the sane option. :p

In a world where the players are one of the few spellcasters, so have to wait on their levels before Resurrection would become a viable option really.

[Necroticplague]

How do you justify ripping someones soul out of the afterlife and stuffing it into an animated corpse as a good spell?
The same way you do when you take someone's soul out of an afterlife and stuff it into their un-animated body and have a spell without alignment descriptors, such as with resurrection spells. In addition one has to remember the difference between [Good] and Good. [Good], the descriptor, merely means it uses energy from the Upper Planes (contrasted to [Evil],
meaning it uses forces from the Lower Planes), and has minor bearing on alignment at best. Filling a skeleton with angelic energy would be [Good], even if it wasn't Good.

[torrasque666]

The same way you do when you take someone's soul out of an afterlife and stuff it into their un-animated body and have a spell without alignment descriptors, such as with resurrection spells. In addition one has to remember the difference between [Good] and Good. [Good], the descriptor, merely means it uses energy from the Upper Planes (contrasted to [Evil],
meaning it uses forces from the Lower Planes), and has minor bearing on alignment at best. Filling a skeleton with angelic energy would be [Good], even if it wasn't Good.
Except that the various resurrection spells give the soul a choice. It doesn't just rip them down and cram them in without a second thought. If the departed is fine where they are, they stay dead usually.

[Necroticplague]

Except that the various resurrection spells give the soul a choice. It doesn't just rip them down and cram them in without a second thought. If the departed is fine where they are, they stay dead usually.

That's why you might note the original proposition specified a " the willing soul of a generally good dead person might get you the Celestial template without any shenanigans (call the spell Grateful Dead)."
Bolded for emphasis.

[Nifft]

That's why you might note the original proposition specified a " the willing soul of a generally good dead person might get you the Celestial template without any shenanigans (call the spell Grateful Dead)."
Bolded for emphasis.

Absolutely right.

This is an unusual situation: the undead is made from the remains of a beloved family member. That means you ought to be able to do unusual things, especially if you have the consent of the beloved family member.

Doing something with the unwilling soul of a [Good] petitioner would not be a [Good] spell.

Consent is important, especially ${INNUENDO_BONE} ${PUNCHLINE_SISTER}.

[ZamielVanWeber]

The same way you do when you take someone's soul out of an afterlife and stuff it into their un-animated body and have a spell without alignment descriptors, such as with resurrection spells. In addition one has to remember the difference between [Good] and Good. [Good], the descriptor, merely means it uses energy from the Upper Planes (contrasted to [Evil],
meaning it uses forces from the Lower Planes), and has minor bearing on alignment at best. Filling a skeleton with angelic energy would be [Good], even if it wasn't Good.

[Evil] does not necessarily mean that it uses Lower Plane power. It also refers to spells that achieve practical means through over agonizing methods. Wither Limb is a good example: in theory you could just make their limbs too heavy to function (a simple Transmutation) but instead you wreck their limbs, leaving them in punch with skeletal vestiges of their body parts.

[ekarney]

I'm AFB at the moment, but what about Animate Dread Warrior, it's a 4th/5th level spell iirc and basically reanimates someone as they were before but undead and under your control?
I believe you can relinquish control of them too.

I could be very wrong though.