Best way to make skeletons

[Dalebert]

When you kill things, they usually still have meat on 'em but what if you want skeletons and not zombies when you Animate Dead? What's the fastest and most efficient way to clean 'em up?

[MasterMercury]

Boil them. The meat falls right off.

[Coffee_Dragon]

What's the fastest and most efficient way to clean 'em up?

Prestidigit– *crushed by 16 ton weight*

[Belac93]

Boil them. The meat falls right off.

This can be a problem. If you boil them to little, they'll come back as zombies. But boiling them too much results in the bones themselves being as loose as the flesh. I would suggest boiling for a little while, but then finishing off the job with a knife. Possibly borrowed from your party rogue.

If your group has a ranger/druid, get the animal to eat off as much flesh as they can stomach on your downtime. This would count as a meal, and so could be done during a short or long rest.

[CaptainSarathai]

Try this:
https://youtu.be/JNUTJezkDoY
Haha

[JellyPooga]

The best way would be some flesh-eating bugs (if only for the creep-factor!). I assume the magic of animating them would take the place of whatever it is that joins bones together in the case that whatever it is gets eaten.[/not a doctor]

[MrStabby]

Vitriolic sphere?

[Belac93]

Vitriolic sphere?

I think the acid eats away at bone as well... What about a fire spell instead? Create Bonfire maybe? I'm not an expert on human biology, would the bone burn away with the flesh?

[CursedRhubarb]

The best way would be some flesh-eating bugs (if only for the creep-factor!). I assume the magic of animating them would take the place of whatever it is that joins bones together in the case that whatever it is gets eaten.[/not a doctor]

Second this. Boiling can also cause the bones to warp or become brittle. Beetles are amazing, really fast, and leave the bones in perfect condition. Used by taxidermists and artists for bone work.

[DragonSorcererX]

When you kill things, they usually still have meat on 'em but what if you want skeletons and not zombies when you Animate Dead? What's the fastest and most efficient way to clean 'em up?

I always tought that when you choose skeleton, the bones would rip themselves from the flesh of the corpse and megazord one skeleton, and that skeleton and zombie were just a way to divide the necromancers into team zombie and team skeleton.

[JellyPooga]

You could always invent a spell for it.

[Waffle_Iron]

Carrion beetles should do the job.

[MasterMercury]

Gelatinous Cubes and Ochre Jellies both dissolve flesh quickly, while leaving bones untouched. For a more magical solution.

[MeeposFire]

Lye. Side benefit you get to make soap to use and sell. Do not want to be smelly with your new skeletons.

[Professor Gnoll]

Use your other skeletons to strip them of flesh.

[Slipperychicken]

Use magic to create winged piranhas.

You will have more skeletons than you know what to do with.

[Gastronomie]

I always tought that when you choose skeleton, the bones would rip themselves from the flesh of the corpse and megazord one skeletonThis is a damn awesome idea.

Apart from that, the image of a necromancer summoning a horde of maggots and making them clean up the flesh is also interesting. As already mentioned by others, you could perhaps homebrew a cantrip that does that.

[Spore]

I think the acid eats away at bone as well... What about a fire spell instead? Create Bonfire maybe? I'm not an expert on human biology, would the bone burn away with the flesh?

There are certain acids that start with the bones and leave the skin intact only to destroy it from the inside. I think hydrofluoric acid does that if I remember my college professor correctly. Yes, you could use a fire that that's not that hot to burn away flesh.

[JackPhoenix]

I always tought that when you choose skeleton, the bones would rip themselves from the flesh of the corpse and megazord one skeleton, and that skeleton and zombie were just a way to divide the necromancers into team zombie and team skeleton.

It worked that way in 3.5e.

Also, you can take inspiration from this: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Corpse_Preparation

[Dalebert]

I always tought that when you choose skeleton, the bones would rip themselves from the flesh of the corpse and megazord one skeleton, and that skeleton and zombie were just a way to divide the necromancers into team zombie and team skeleton.

The reason you think that could be because that's how it worked in Pathfinder. That still sticks with me as how it should be. In particular, 5e is about having fewer spells and just make their effects broader, e.g. one Cure Wounds spell that you just cast at different levels. I'ma let people do that when I'm DMing.

I think fire would certainly go a long way toward getting the job done. The trick is cooking them right amount of time. Sadly, my cleric doesn't have Create Bonfire as a cantrip. Also, my cleric is terrified of fire now for reasons that I can't say without spoilers. He's a noble with retainers. Problem is his retainers are not big fans of desecrating humanoid bodies for some bizarre reason.

Also, a friend who played a necromancer wizard said that you only need the bones. They don't need to be intact and still connected. She says the spell fixes the skeleton if needed when it animates. I haven't read the spell recently but she says that's the RAW. *shrug*

[SharkForce]

Also, a friend who played a necromancer wizard said that you only need the bones. They don't need to be intact and still connected. She says the spell fixes the skeleton if needed when it animates. I haven't read the spell recently but she says that's the RAW. *shrug*

this is fairly true. the spell is cast on a "pile of bones" to make skeletons. now, i for one don't think of a properly arranged skeleton with the various tendons and such in place when i think of a pile of bones. i would argue that some degree of intactness needs to exist, but i believe there are actually examples of using bones from skeletons that were defeated to make new skeletons...

which brings up another way of getting skeletons suitable for animating into skeletons... kill someone else's skeletons :)

(that said, a spell which transforms zombies into skeletons or something similar would be pretty handy).

[MaxWilson]

this is fairly true. the spell is cast on a "pile of bones" to make skeletons. now, i for one don't think of a properly arranged skeleton with the various tendons and such in place when i think of a pile of bones. i would argue that some degree of intactness needs to exist, but i believe there are actually examples of using bones from skeletons that were defeated to make new skeletons...

which brings up another way of getting skeletons suitable for animating into skeletons... kill someone else's skeletons :)

(that said, a spell which transforms zombies into skeletons or something similar would be pretty handy).

Arguably, killing someone else's skeletons does not result in a pile of bones from a humanoid, as the spell requires. It may result in a pile of bones from an undead creature (skeleton), which therefore cannot be reanimated with Animate Dead.

Depends on how your DM views the physical mechanics of necromancy though.

[Slipperychicken]

Arguably, killing someone else's skeletons does not result in a pile of bones from a humanoid, as the spell requires. It may result in a pile of bones from an undead creature (skeleton), which therefore cannot be reanimated with Animate Dead.

Lore-wise, I think the remains of a destroyed skeleton should not be eligible for reanimation, as the skeleton would be too heavily damaged. Maybe if the necromancer was making some kind of bone-shard-elemental, but not for a proper skeleton.

[AbyssStalker]

Hmmm... I suppose getting a zombie to devour all the meat off the corpse(s) in question might work?

[JellyPooga]

Hmmm... I suppose getting a zombie ghoul to devour all the meat off the corpse(s) in question might work?

Corrected that for you :smallwink: Friendly chaps those ghouls; always happy to eat meet fresh new meat friends.

[JackPhoenix]

Corrected that for you :smallwink: Friendly chaps those ghouls; always happy to eat meet fresh new meat friends.

You'd have to make sure they don't break the bones to get at the marrow, though. That would be a little counter-productive. But then... bones are object, and that's what Mending is for, isn't it?

[SharkForce]

Arguably, killing someone else's skeletons does not result in a pile of bones from a humanoid, as the spell requires. It may result in a pile of bones from an undead creature (skeleton), which therefore cannot be reanimated with Animate Dead.

Depends on how your DM views the physical mechanics of necromancy though.

only if you presume that they can't be both. just because i am a human does not mean that i am not a mammal, or an animal, or a living creature. just because a pile of bones was moments ago an undead creature does not mean that the pile of bones is not *also* from a humanoid.


Lore-wise, I think the remains of a destroyed skeleton should not be eligible for reanimation, as the skeleton would be too heavily damaged. Maybe if the necromancer was making some kind of bone-shard-elemental, but not for a proper skeleton.

hard to say. the only explicit requirement is a pile of bones. i could certainly see a DM ruling this way (just as i could see a DM ruling that you need a complete set of bones, or that a pile of random bones from half a dozen different corpses is not sufficient). but there's nothing in the spell description preventing it. for all we know, as part of the spell the pieces of the bones are held together by magic in the same way that the separate bones are held to each other by magic.

[Slipperychicken]

hard to say. the only explicit requirement is a pile of bones. i could certainly see a DM ruling this way (just as i could see a DM ruling that you need a complete set of bones, or that a pile of random bones from half a dozen different corpses is not sufficient). but there's nothing in the spell description preventing it. for all we know, as part of the spell the pieces of the bones are held together by magic in the same way that the separate bones are held to each other by magic.

The rules can say a lot of things that don't always make sense to us, and by necessity they cannot cover everything. It's one of our jobs as players and GMs to determine appropriate ways to deal with rules that don't seem to work out the way we think they should.

[SharkForce]

The rules can say a lot of things that don't always make sense to us, and by necessity they cannot cover everything. It's one of our jobs as players and GMs to determine appropriate ways to deal with rules that don't seem to work out the way we think they should.

i wouldn't say in this case it has to do with making sense of anything. certainly, there are situations where you look at the rules and think "wait, this shouldn't work like that, the way it works in this one corner case doesn't make any sense", but in this case i think either way makes equal sense. the spell can cause two separate bones that have no connecting material to act as if they were joined together at the joint. we know that because it's what the spell does. so why couldn't it also take two halves of a bone that have been split apart (or ten pieces of varying sizes and shapes) and make them act as if they were a whole bone? i think it "makes sense" equally to rule in either direction, that the spell can or can't put broken bones back together.

[Seclora]

Use magic to create winged piranhas.

You will have more skeletons than you know what to do with.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is where Owlbears come from. It works, but how do you control the winged piranha swarm?


I think a gelatinous cube culture/extract diluted with water could handle it just fine, as long as you disposed of it properly later.

[Arkhios]

Steam should do it relatively well, still leaving the sinew intact. I think. No personal experience (thank god, that'd be gross!)

[Belac93]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is where Owlbears come from. It works, but how do you control the winged piranha swarm?

Speak with animals? Something like that.

Really, all you have to do is drop a wall of force over them, let them out of the cage, and them misty step out of there. When you are ready, use dominate beast to get them back in the cage.

Alternatively, use an unseen servant+cart to carry around a bunch of normal piranhas in a giant tub, and then you can just drag it along behind you and toss corpses into it as you go. Leave it for a day, and then use the unseen servant or mage hand to get the bones out. Simple and easy, as long as you can find the fish and some fresh water. Maybe use prestidigitation to keep it clean?

[N810]

Keep a gelatinous cube in a portable hole,
it would make a nice general purpose trap too. :xykon:

[Kane0]

I was always under the impression that the bones just 'shake' the flesh off.

In a most gruesome fashion of course.

[Daishain]

Take the advice of a Tamriel necromancer and let (mud)crabs do the work for you.

[Segev]

And now I'm picturing a variant on these basic kinds of undead that are essentially zombies which, when "killed," immediately become skeletons with full hp. They are destroyed, finally, when "killed" again.

[Coffee_Dragon]

And now I'm picturing a variant on these basic kinds of undead that are essentially zombies which, when "killed," immediately become skeletons with full hp. They are destroyed, finally, when "killed" again.

No, then they turn into spectres. Which when killed turn into wraiths. Which when killed turn into ghosts.

[RickAllison]

No, then they turn into spectres. Which when killed turn into wraiths. Which when killed turn into ghosts.

Which then become shadows?

I like the idea of a Shedinja-style enemy, where the creatures shed forms that can be filled by hostile spirits.

[Slipperychicken]

And now I'm picturing a variant on these basic kinds of undead that are essentially zombies which, when "killed," immediately become skeletons with full hp. They are destroyed, finally, when "killed" again.


No, then they turn into spectres. Which when killed turn into wraiths. Which when killed turn into ghosts.

You have a human, which reanimates as a zombie, which contains a skeleton, animated by a specter that reincarnates as a wraith and then a ghost. And when you finally kill or banish the ghost it probably goes to the Bad PlaceTM and might become a demon of undetermined power. And this isn't even touching on whether the human was also a werewolf (or otherwise shapeshifted) in life.

So basically what we're saying is that human beings are veritable matryoshka dolls filled with layers of potential evil monsters.

[Kane0]

Matryoshka monsters.

I love it!

Shapeshifted mortal wrapped in animated armor (or a golem) and an illusory nemesis placed on top of that. Once he's killed he gets zombified, then skeletoned, then discorporated THEN finally actually dies, going to the afterlife as a petitioner where he has the opportunity to come back AGAIN.

[Coffee_Dragon]

Also, squirrels that turn into tarrasques. They attack in groups.

Use against blast-happy spellcasters.

[DataNinja]

I love it!

Shapeshifted mortal wrapped in animated armor (or a golem) and an illusory nemesis placed on top of that. Once he's killed he gets zombified, then skeletoned, then discorporated THEN finally actually dies, going to the afterlife as a petitioner where he has the opportunity to come back AGAIN.

Don't forget is wearing a Cloaker, and has a bow that shoots arrows that are actually Mimics. :smalltongue: