Does a corpse qualify as a "person"

[SolkaTruesilver]

For things like "Enlarge Person" or "Reduce Person", or even "Recall" (PHB2), does the corpse of someone can count as a "person", or is it a thing?

[Tweekinator]

Is the spell cast before or after death?

[Mike_Lemmer]

I would say yes, but save my final verdict for after I learn exactly what you plan to do with that corpse...

[Burrito]

My guess would be no, otherwise it would probably be Enlarge Item. If it works on a corpse, then would it work on part of a corpse? A corpse is just a hunk of meat (in differing degrees of freshness). The wording and description of the spell may be a bit ambiguous, but I believe the intent of the writers is clear. A Person is a human/demi-human/etc, who is above -10 HP.
But then again it all depends on how well you can argue a case and how stringent your DM is.

[Burrito]

Looks like I double posted. So I will try and edit this into some form of usefull post. As far as the Recall spell goes, I think most DM's would allow you to bring back fallen party members. they may have a house rule caveat to the spell though. for instance they may just allow the corpse/person thing to work for just that spell, and no others. Or maybe tweek it a bit and "as long as each member keeps this special Amulet of Recall in their possession", the spell will work. Either way it is a neat trick, and your DM should allow some form of it. Most DM appreciate creativity that doesn't really break the capaign.

[Zherog]

A corpse is an object, not a creature. Therefore it's not a valid target for a spell that targets a creature - such as enlarge person.

[SolkaTruesilver]

"Recall" allows the caster to regroup (or is the spell named "regroup"?) his party member. He teleports them from a remote location to a square right next to him.

Handy to recover party members' corpses that fell in a battle against something too big to chew.

[Telonius]

Hmm. I would say that it's an item.

Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? My cheese-o-meter is registering some faint signs with a whiff of necromancy.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Just wondering if we could save party members' corpses with this spell. No cheese here, just ass (literally) saving

[Mike_Lemmer]

If that doesn't work, try lassoing it.

[SolkaTruesilver]

In the last case, it would not have worked. The Geludon would have had all the time to cut us to pieces.

Lasso can also make the dead char to loose stuff (with a nasty DM), and it takes time. As opposed to a simple usefull spell by the Duskblade.

[horseboy]

Hmm. I would say that it's an item.

Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? My cheese-o-meter is registering some faint signs with a whiff of necromancy.

Ohh! Pocket zombies! What a great idea! Zombie owl bear, I choose you!!

[giblina]

I would also say a corpse is an object, not a person.

Otherwise enlarge person would also work on many undead (because they used to be people).

[valadil]

I was wondering about this a while back, albeit it not in a D&D context. Y'see there are these traffic laws where you get to ride in a much faster carpooling lane depending on whether or not there's another person in the car with you. I had no one to carpool with and my friend's dad is an undertaker, so you get the picture.

[TSGames]

Corpses are people too![/zombierightsacitivsm]

[SolkaTruesilver]

I would also say a corpse is an object, not a person.

Otherwise enlarge person would also work on many undead (because they used to be people).

No. When you rise someone as an undead, he gain the Undead type.

but does a corpse - freshly killed corpse - still an humanoid?

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

I think when you're just a corpse (sans reanimation) you're just an object. So that makes me wonder how to sunder a corpse...

[LeeMon]

I've been trying to find the answer's location for a few days now, but I do remember the answer itself. A dead character's body counts as an object and cannot be the target of spells that do not affect objects.

This is assuming my memory's not completely on the fritz. :)

[triforcel]

Well an inanimate body, that is one that is not alive or undead, is solely an object and not a creature in anyway. Further more a zombie or skeleton has lost it's humanoid subtype and could not be affected, but a sentient undead such as a vampire could be a viable target since it retains said subtype.

[Zherog]

I've been trying to find the answer's location for a few days now, but I do remember the answer itself. A dead character's body counts as an object and cannot be the target of spells that do not affect objects.

This is assuming my memory's not completely on the fritz. :)

Here ya go...

Is a dead warforged character’s body subject to sunder attacks, since it is now just an object of wood and metal?

A dead body of any creature (warforged, human, dragon, whatever) is treated as an object, and thus it can be damaged using the rules for “Smashing an Object” (PH 165).

There are no rules for determining the hardness or hit points of a corpse. Most dead bodies don’t have a hardness score, but the creature’s DR (if any) should continue to apply against attacks. Use Table 9–9: Substance Hardness and Hit Points and Table 9–11: Object Hardness and Hit Points in the Player’s Handbook to estimate hit point values for corpses should such situations arise in your game.

Also...

Does the speak with dead spell work on destroyed undead? For example, can my cleric kill a zombie and then use speak with dead on it to learn who created it? The spell description implies the one-time act of becoming undead ruins any chance the spell will have of working against a creature ever again, even after it is “dead” again.

Speak with dead doesn’t work on undead creatures, only on corpses. An undead creature is not alive, but it’s also not a corpse—a corpse is an object. (The undead creature might have been made from a corpse, but it has transformed into something else, mainly a creature). If you destroy an undead creature, it ceases being a creature and becomes an object again.

Speak with dead probably won’t work on a destroyed undead creature, either, since they’re probably too badly damaged to respond to the spellcaster’s questions.

So there's two places where the FAQ declares a corpse is an object (though I disagree with the last sentence of the second answer).